News of the World

[kyonides]

US Defense Department tracking another balloon
traveling between Hawaii and Mexico

Officials do not believe the balloon is owned by the Chinese

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is tracking another high-altitude balloon that crossed over Hawaii and is heading toward Mexico.

The DoD and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) detected and tracked an unmanned balloon off the coast of Hawaii on April 28, which was floating at about 36,000 feet, a DoD spokesman said.

The ownership of the balloon is unknown and according to the spokesman, there was no indication whether it was being maneuvered or controlled by a foreign or adversarial actor.

When the balloon crossed into U.S. airspace over Hawaii, it did not float over critical infrastructure used for defense or any other U.S. government sensitive sites, the spokesman said, nor did it pose a threat to the military or people on the ground.

Mexican President Stops Pentagon from Tracking
‘Asian’ Balloon Through Country’s Airspace

[Mexican President Andres Manuel] Lopez Obrador made the comments during one of his morning news conferences in Mexico City. He claimed to be standing up for Mexican sovereignty. As part of his rhetoric, AMLO has often claimed that he will not tolerate Mexico being subservient to the U.S. as they were in the past and will fight to keep its interventionism out of Mexico.
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“(On Wednesday) they called from the Pentagon to (Mexican) Defense to ask for permission because they wanted to fly over our airspace with airplanes and drones of high technological military level because they had detected a balloon that came from Hawaii and was going to pass through Mexico,” Lopez Obrador said during his conference as he emphasized his stance on not allowing other nations to intervene in Mexican affairs. During his comments. AMLO used the term “from Asia” to describe the balloon but did not say specifically if it was Chinese.

Despite the request, Lopez Obrador said he did not allow the U.S. military to follow the balloon as it was about to enter Mexican airspace at 35,000 feet. Tracking indicated the balloon would enter Mexico through Manzanillo and exit through Tamaulipas.
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The Mexican president said that his country is willing to cooperate and that the U.S. could send the information to them. Mexico would do its own tracking operation using its own equipment. He added that some information was shared but that Mexico did not find anything.

It remains unclear where the balloon went after entering Mexican airspace. The AP reports that the U.S. government has since determined that it was not a Chinese aircraft.

So Mexico told the US to simply shove it.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky stepping down

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced Friday she is stepping down from her role.

The CDC said Walensky will leave the agency at the end of June.

"The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency marks a tremendous transition for our country, for public health, and in my tenure as CDC Director," Walensky wrote in her resignation letter to President Biden. "I took on this role, at your request, with the goal of leaving behind the dark days of the pandemic and moving CDC – and public health – forward into a much better and more trusted place."
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The president added that Walensky "leaves CDC a stronger institution, better positioned to confront health threats and protect Americans.  We have all benefited from her service and dedication to public health, and I wish her the best in her next chapter."
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Before joining the CDC, Walensky "served as Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital from 2017-2020 and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School from 2012-2020," it also said.

I would say they turned a health institution into a tyrannical government machinery. If you don't believe me, just ask any landlord and he or she won't have a hard time confirming it at all.

Footage captures hundreds of migrants
crossing into Texas as Title 42’s end approaches

The thermal drone footage, captured overnight, shows hundreds of migrants streaming into Brownsville from Matamoros, Mexico. Agents are encountering migrants at a rate of 2,000 a day in Brownsville. Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources say in the first four days of May they have been encountering more than 8,000 migrants a day border-wide.

That is before the end of Title 42 on May 11. The public health order was implemented in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and millions of migrants have been rapidly expelled back to Mexico under the order for public health reasons. In March, 46% of all encounters resulted in a Title 42 expulsion.

But the looming end to the order next week has led to fears of a renewed surge at the border, with prior Department of Homeland Security estimates warning that there could be up to 14,000 migrant encounters a day. The latest footage suggests that may not be an exaggeration.

The Biden administration has been scrambling to implement measures to reduce the number of illegal crossings and establish a more orderly process. The administration also announced this week that it is sending 1,500 troops to the border, although officials have said they won’t be engaging with migrants but acting in a supporting role to Customs and Border Protection.

It has also proposed a rule that would, in theory, bar migrants from asylum eligibility if they enter illegally and have also failed to claim asylum in a country through which they have already passed.

Canada Considers Expelling Chinese Diplomats Over Intelligence Report

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said her department was summoning China´s ambassador to a meeting to underline that Canada won´t tolerate such interference.

She said the intelligence agency report indicated that opposition Conservative lawmaker Michael Chong and his Hong Kong relatives were targeted after Chong criticized Beijing´s human rights record.

“We´re assessing different options including the expulsion of diplomats,” Joly said before a Parliament committee.

Canada´s spy agency has not released details publicly. Chong has said the report identifies a Toronto-based diplomat as being part of the plot. Chong has been critical of Beijing´s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China´s Xinjiang province.

“I cannot imagine the shock and concern of learning that your loved ones have been targeted in this way,” Joly said to Chong at the committee hearing. “There will be consequences.”

Chong said the diplomat should be on the first plane out of Canada.

“It is inexplicable that this diplomat hasn´t been told to leave the country already,” he said.

China: Kremlin Drone Attack Crossed a ‘Red Line’ in Ukraine War

The Chinese Global Times government newspaper described the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin early Wednesday morning as the crossing of a “red line” in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine: the targeting of heads of state.
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Zelensky suggested that the Kremlin was blaming Ukraine for the attack because Putin “can no longer motivate his society and cannot simply send his military to their deaths. He has no victories, the world’s second army has lost on the battlefield.”
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“China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. All sides need to avoid taking actions that might further escalate the situation,” spokeswoman Mao Ning said. Asked if China would revoke its plan, announced last week, to send a negotiating team to Ukraine in light of the attack, Mao did not answer directly but appeared to indicate that the plan would not change.

“About the Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs’ visit to Ukraine and other countries, we will make further announcements in due course,” Mao said. “China will continue to work with the international community to play a constructive role for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”
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Ukraine is a member of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its predatory loan program for impoverished countries. Last year, Zelensky encouraged “Chinese businesses” to help rebuild post-war Ukraine.

The Chinese government-run Global Times had more to say on the attempted drone attack on Thursday than the Foreign Ministry. Citing Chinese regime-approved “experts,” the propaganda outlet described the attack as the crossing of a “red line” that had not yet been addressed in the war: the targeting of heads of state of either country. The attack is “very serious,” the government outlet claimed, because it opened the door for Russia to attempt to kill Zelensky.
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A Chinese “military expert” identified as Song Zhongping told the outlet that he believed that Russia would “implement effective strikes against more significant targets in Ukraine” and seek “retaliation against Zelenskyy.”