Hits and misses from the Grammys, the Chinese balloon saga, devastation in Turkey and Syria, and this week's top stories

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Beyoncé sits alone atop the Grammy throne as the ceremony's most decorated artist in history, but at the end of Sunday's show it was Harry Styles who walked away with the album of the year honor.

The Grammys spread its top awards among other artists, leaving Beyoncé off stage at the end of the night. But the superstar was a constant presence throughout the night, even when she wasn't in the room, especially once she won her 32nd award and surpassed late composer Georg Solti in all-time wins.

“I’m trying not to be too emotional,” the superstar said after her historic win as her husband Jay-Z stood and applauded her. The singer thanked her late uncle, her parents, Jay-Z and her children for supporting her. “I’m just trying to receive this night. I want to thank God for protecting me. Thank you, God.”

Read the full story here, followed by highlights, winners and red carpet fashions:

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THE TOP MOMENTS

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THE WINNERS

Winners in the top categories at the 65th Grammy Awards:

Album of the year: “Harry’s House,” Harry Styles

Record of the year: “About Damn Time,” Lizzo

Song of the year (songwriter’s award): “Just Like That,” Bonnie Raitt.

Best new artist: Samara Joy

Best pop solo performance: “Easy on Me,” Adele

Best pop duo/group performance: “Unholy,” Sam Smith and Kim Petras

Best rap album: “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” Kendrick Lamar

Best dance/electronic album: “Renaissance,” Beyoncé

Best R&B song: “Cuff It,” Beyoncé

Best country album: “A Beautiful Time,” Willie Nelson

Best pop vocal album: “Harry’s House,” Harry Styles

Best música urbana album: “Un Verano Sin Ti,” Bad Bunny

Best rock album: “Patient Number 9,” Ozzy Osbourne

Best rock performance: “Broken Horses,” Brandi Carlile

Best rock song: “Broken Horses,” Brandi Carlile

Best rap performance: "The Heart Part 5,” Kendrick Lamar

Best rap song: “The Heart Part 5,” Kendrick Lamar

Best melodic rap performance: “Wait For U,” Future featuring Drake & Tems

Best R&B album: “Black Radio III,” Robert Glasper

Best R&B performance: “Hrs & Hrs,” Muni Long

Best traditional R&B performance: “Plastic Off the Sofa,” Beyoncé

Best progressive R&B album: “Gemini Rights,” Steve Lacy

Best alternative music performance: “Chaise Longue,” Wet Leg

Best alternative music album: “Wet Leg,” Wet Leg

Best audio book, narration and storytelling recording: “Finding Me,” Viola Davis

Best traditional pop vocal album: “Higher,” Michael Bublé

Best solo country solo performance: “Live Forever,” Willie Nelson

Best country duo/group performance: “Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde

Best country album: “’Til You Can’t,” Cody Johnson

Best music video: “All Too Well: The Short Film,” Taylor Swift

Producer of the year, non-classical: Jack Antonoff

Best comedy album: “The Closer,” Dave Chappelle

Best musical theater album: “Into The Woods (2022 Broadway Cast Recording)”

Best music film: “Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story”

Best song written for visual media: “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from “Encanto,” Lin-Manuel Miranda

Best jazz vocal album: Samara Joy

Best Americana album: “In These Silent Days,” Brandi Carlile

Best Americana performance: “Made Up Mind,” Bonnie Raitt

Best American roots song: “Just Like That,” Bonnie Raitt

Best dance/electronic recording: “Break My Soul,” Beyoncé

Best metal performance: “Degradation Rules,” Ozzy Osbourne featuring Tony Iommi

Best engineered, non-classical album: “Harry’s House,” Harry Styles

Best compilation soundtrack for visual media: “Encanto”

Best score soundtrack for visual media: “Encanto,” Germaine Franco

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THE RED CARPET

Owners of a Glen Ellen, California, vacation rental recently discovered that acorn woodpeckers are true hoarders.

When exterminator Nick Castro inspected the home for mealworms in December, he cut a hole in a bedroom wall and something unexpected came gushing out. Over 700 pounds of acorns had been stacked 20 to 25 feet high in the home's chimney, he said.

"I've never seen anything like that," said Castro, owner of Nick's Extreme Pest Control in Santa Rosa. "The more acorns I pulled out from the wall, the more there were. It felt like it wasn't going to end."

The culprit was a pair of acorn woodpeckers, big-eyed birds with clownish faces and red caps often known to squirrel away large amounts of acorns. They had pecked holes in the two-story home's chimney stack and hidden their cache inside, Castro said.

Previous owners had wrapped the house in vinyl after its wood siding was destroyed when the woodpeckers stashed acorns behind the trim, Castro said. But the vinyl proved too tough for the woodpeckers and, instead, they dropped their oak nuts down the chimney stack.

All told, Castro's crew walked away with eight garbage bags full of the birds' sacred hoard.

"We could barely pick up the bags," Castro said with a laugh.

Castro estimated the woodpeckers had been adding to the stockpile for at least two to five years. But the trove had been covered by fiber glass and rat droppings so they were discarded, he said.

Acorn woodpeckers, found in oak and mixed oak-evergreen forests on the West Coast and in the Southwest, typically drill small holes in a dead tree, harvest the nuts in the fall and store them in the holes to eat during winter. Some trees are used for generations and have up to 50,000 holes.

In some cases, however, these birds may hide their accumulations in natural holes and cracks in bark. Other times, as Castro found, they pick unusual spots for storage.

The birds' atypical hiding place could be them adapting to an ever-changing landscape, according to Scott Jennings, an avian ecologist with Marin County nonprofit environmental advocacy group Audubon Canyon Ranch. When infrastructure is built on their natural habitats, he said, they'll adapt to those changes.

"It's an anecdote I've heard a lot," Jennings said.

The cities with the worst pest problem

Cities With the Worst Pest Problem

Rodents are significantly more common in older homes

Low income homes are more likely to experience daily pest problems

10. New Orleans-Metairie, LA

9. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

8. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

7. Raleigh, NC

6. Kansas City, MO-KS MSA

5. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

4. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

3. Memphis, TN-MS-AR

2. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

1. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.

The object was flying at about 40,000 feet and posed a “reasonable threat” to the safety of civilian flights, said John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesman. He described the object as roughly the size of a small car and said it was shot down near the U.S.-Canada border.

It was the second time in a week U.S. officials had downed some type of flying object over the U.S. On Saturday fighter jets fired a missile into a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

There were few answers about the object, and the White House drew distinctions between the two episodes. Kirby said it wasn't yet known who owned it, and he did not say it was a balloon. Officials also couldn't say if there was any surveillance equipment on it. Kirby didn't know yet where it came from or what its purpose was.

Still, it posed enough of a concern that U.S. officials felt it best to knock it out of the sky.

“We’re going to remain vigilant about our airspace," Kirby said. "The president takes his obligations to protect our national security interests as paramount."

Kirby said fighter pilots visually examining the object ascertained it was not manned. The president was briefed on the presence of the object Thursday evening after two fighter jets surveilled it.

The object fell into frigid waters and officials expected they could recover debris faster than from last week's massive balloon.

The development came almost a week after the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian craft and threatened repercussions.

Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier. He was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water. Military officials determined that bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.

The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for “several years,” the Pentagon has said.

China responded that it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”

Here's a complete recap of Thursday night's NFL Honors ceremony, including all of the winners, the 2023 NFL Hall of Fame inductees, and video from a special moment with Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin:

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THE WINNERS

Patrick Mahomes wins 2nd MVP award ahead of Super Bowl

PHOENIX (AP) — Patrick Mahomes dominated the voting for the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award. Now, he’ll try to break the MVP curse. Mahomes, who also won in 2018, easily outdistanced Jalen Hurts, receiving 48 of 50 first-place votes from a nationwide panel of media members who regularly cover the league. He earned 490 points to 193 for Hurts, who got one first-place vote, 26 seconds, 11 thirds and 10 fourths. Read the full story here:

Here's who won the 2023 NFL Honors top awards

Most Valuable Player: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

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2023 HALL OF FAME CLASS

Thomas, Revis headline new Pro Football Hall of Fame class

PHOENIX (AP) — Joe Thomas gave fans of the new version of the Cleveland Browns something they could finally celebrate.

The six-time All-Pro offensive lineman will join lockdown cornerback Darrelle Revis as inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on their first try, becoming the first Browns Hall of Famer from the team’s inglorious expansion era. Full story:

***

A SPECIAL MOMENT

Damar Hamlin joins medical staff that saved his life

PHOENIX (AP) — The first responders who saved Damar Hamlin's life were recognized with a tribute video at “NFL Honors” before being invited onto the stage.

The man they saved was right behind them.

Hamlin made his second appearance in Phoenix during Super Bowl week Thursday night, paying tribute to those who had a hand in giving him a second chance at life.

“My entire life, I felt like God was using me to give others hope and now with a new set of circumstances, I can say he’s doing what he’s always done,” Hamlin said from the stage at Phoenix Convention Center. “I have a long journey ahead, a journey full of unknowns and a journey full of milestones, but it’s a lot easier to face your fears when you know your purpose.” Full story:

NEW YORK (AP) — When the pandemic threat eased, Maureen Holohan was eager to scale back her online shopping and return to physical stores so she could more easily compare prices and scour ingredients on beauty and health care products for herself and her three children.

But that experience was short lived. In the past six months or so, CVS, Target and other retailers where Holohan shops have been locking up more everyday items like deodorant and laundry detergent as a way to reduce theft. And the 56-year-old Chevy Chase, Maryland resident is now back to shopping online or visiting stores where she doesn't have to wait for someone to retrieve products.

"I know they've got to do something, but locking the stuff up definitely just has me walking by that aisle," said Holohan, a business consultant.

Across the retail landscape, businesses have been putting items under lock and key as a quick way to stop thieves. Some are considering extreme measures, including Rite Aid Corp., whose chief retail officer Andre Persaud told analysts on an earnings call late last year that it's looking at "literally putting everything behind showcases to ensure the products are there for customers who want to buy it." It's also considering using off-duty police officers at some of its stores.

But by trying to solve one problem, these businesses may be creating another: turning off shoppers with overreaching measures.

"Everything has changed. We used to be catered to," said Sheila Schlegel, 43, of Queens, New York.

But now, "if you're coming to the store, there's one person at that store, and that person you can tell has been there for 15 hours," said Schlegel, who recalled an incident where she waited for a sales clerk to unlock an item only to be told he didn't have the key. "You don't want to ask them for something if you don't have to."

For consumers of color especially, the stepped-up security measures risk alienating a population that already feels overpoliced. That could unravel some of the inroads that chains like CVS, Sephora and Walmart made in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder in 2020, when they promised to avoid racially biased practices like locking up products only for Black customers.

"Whenever there's a push toward greater criminalization, whenever there's a narrative of increased crime and things like that, it is always consumers of color that are going to be bearing the brunt," said Tiffany Gill, associate professor of history at Rutgers University, and an expert in African American Women's History, fashion and beauty culture.

CVS Health Corp. and Sephora declined to comment for the story. Walmart said that its position of not locking up beauty products for women of color remains the same. Target confirmed it was locking up more products but instead of targeting certain items, it locks up entire categories.

It's unclear how much money retailers are losing due to organized retail crime -- or if the problem has substantially increased. But the issue has received more notice in the past few years as high-profile smash-and-grab retail thefts and flash mob robberies have garnered national media attention.

The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, said its latest security survey of roughly 60 retailers found that inventory loss -- called shrink — clocked in at an average rate of 1.4% last year, representing $94.5 billion in losses.

The greatest portion of shrink — 37% — came from external theft, including products taken during organized shoplifting incidents, the trade group said. It also noted retailers, on average, saw a 26.5% uptick in organized theft incidents last year.

But while high theft in stores depletes inventory and limits sales, locking up items also reduces sales — by 15% to 25%, according to Joe Budano, CEO of Indyme, a technology company that sells retailers security devices.

John Catsimatidis, who owns the New York supermarket chains Gristedes and D'Agostino's, said the chain has locked up more products like aspirin and deodorant in the past year but not as many as his drug store chain rivals. His chains have also doubled the number of security guards at some of its stores

He acknowledged that the move has resulted in some lost sales from impulse shopping but the added security has made shoppers more comfortable and has helped reduce theft, although he's not sure by how much.

"This is not an exact science," he said.

Store workers, meanwhile, face the pressure of trying to do their jobs while also monitoring theft. Isabela Burrows, 20, a manager at pet supplies chain PetSmart in Howell, Michigan, noted that her store in recent months has had to lock up more items like diffusers to calm dogs and cats and electric shaving shears. But while she feels more comfortable, she's also had to deal with shopper annoyance.

"I feel overwhelmed," Burrows said. "They're frustrated with me, and I have to find the item."

In what could be a sign of the overall challenges, drugstore chain Walgreens acknowledged that it might have overblown the shoplifting threat and gone too far in its security measures.

"Maybe, we cried too much last year," James Kehoe, global chief financial officer at Walgreens told analysts during an earnings call last month. "Probably we put in too much and we might step back a little bit from that."

But a Walgreens spokesman cautioned that while the company is pleased to see retail theft levels starting to stabilize, they are "still a serious national problem affecting all retailers."

Some retailers are coming out with less intrusive solutions to store theft. Home improvement retailer Lowe's has followed Home Depot in testing technology that unlocks power tools when shoppers buy them at the cash registers instead of resorting to keeping the items in cages.

Anat Shakedd, the CEO and co-founder of Nexite, a company that makes tiny Bluetooth tags that can go on items, says her company has partnered with a top department store in the U.S. and other brands across Europe and Israel to help them monitor their inventory without locking things up.

The Freedom Case, developed by Indyme, asks shoppers for a cell phone number to opt into its service. The shoppers then receive a text message with a four-digit code that lets them open the case. Customers can retain their self-service privileges as long as they show normal shopping behaviors. But if they exhibit suspicious behaviors, store workers will be notified to provide assistance, he said.

Holohan said she doesn't mind extra security guards, but she's not interested in giving out her phone number.

"It's invasive," she said. "If they're going to make it that hard to buy something, I'll find somewhere else to buy that."

WASHINGTON (AP) — What in the world was that thing?

The massive white orb that drifted across U.S. airspace this week and was shot down by the Air Force over the Atlantic on live television Saturday triggered a diplomatic maelstrom and blew up on social media.

China insists the balloon was just an errant civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research that went off course due to winds and had only limited “self-steering” capabilities.

The United States says it was a Chinese spy balloon without a doubt. Its presence prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a weekend trip to China that was aimed at dialing down tensions that were already high between the countries.

The Pentagon says the balloon, which was carrying sensors and surveillance equipment, was maneuverable and showed it could change course. It loitered over sensitive areas of Montana where nuclear warheads are siloed, leading the military to take actions to prevent it from collecting intelligence.

A U.S. Air Force fighter jet shot down the balloon Saturday afternoon off the Carolina coast. Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the balloon slowly drifting toward the water. An operation is underway to recover the remnants.

More on this story:

Latest Headlines

Chinese spy balloon over the US: An aerospace expert explains how the balloons work and what they can see

• Iain Boyd, Professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Saturday downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America and became the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing.

An operation was underway in U.S. territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean to recover debris from the balloon, which had been flying at about 60,000 feet and was estimated to be about the size of three school buses.

President Joe Biden had told reporters earlier Saturday that "we’re going to take care of it,” when asked about the balloon. The Federal Aviation Administration and Coast Guard worked to clear the airspace and water below the balloon as it reached the ocean.

Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the balloon descending toward the water. U.S. military jets were seen flying in the vicinity and ships were deployed in the water to mount the recovery operation.

Officials were aiming to time the operation so they could recover as much of the debris as possible before it sinks into the ocean. The Pentagon had previously estimated that any debris field would be substantial.

The balloon was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the coast. In preparation for the operation, the FAA Administration temporarily closed airspace over the Carolina coastline, including the airports in Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina. The FAA rerouted air traffic from the area and warned of delays as a result of the flight restrictions.

The Coast Guard advised mariners to immediately leave the area because of U.S. military operations “that present a significant hazard.”

Biden had been inclined to down the balloon over land when he was first briefed on it on Tuesday, but Pentagon officials advised against it, warning that the potential risk to people on the ground outweighed the assessment of potential Chinese intelligence gains.

Read more about the suspected spy balloon here:

Latest Headlines

A look at what's known about the suspected Chinese spy balloon crossing the US — and what isn't

• By LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP, The Associated Press

Latest Headlines

Billings Gazette spy balloon photos play role in White House's response to China

• Billings Gazette

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The State of the Union address tends to have a ritual rhythm. Grand entrance. Applause. Platitudes. Policies. Appeals for Unity, real or imagined.

President Joe Biden checked those boxes, and a few more, during his speech to a joint session on Congress on Tuesday. In part, he seemed to be laying the foundation to run for a second term. “We've been sent here to finish the job,” he said.

Biden made calls for unity and tried to emphasize conciliation over conflict, easier to do in this rarefied setting, seemingly impossible to sustain in such divided times.

Takeaways from the president's State of the Union address:

More conciliation than conflict

Biden's speech almost defiantly ignored the bitter divisions between Republicans and Democrats and his own low standing with the public.

He returned repeatedly to common ground, making the case that both parties can back U.S. factories, new businesses being formed and the funding of 20,000 infrastructure projects. When Biden hit each of these themes, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy politely clapped, even standing to applaud at one point.

It’s a sign that Democrats and Republicans can at least agree to a shared set of goals, even if they have very different views of how to get there.

In the midterm election campaign, Biden warned of Republican extremists. On Tuesday night, he portrayed them as partners in governance during the first two years of his presidency.

But then came a Biden comment that generated boos and hoots from Republicans: Biden said some in the GOP were bent on cutting Social Security and Medicare.

That sparked a raucous back and forth that seemed more in line with the reality of the actual relationship between the parties.

Regular Joe

Biden used the speech to highlight his focus on the common man, calling out billionaires who pay lower tax rates than the middle class and airlines that treat their passengers like “suckers.”

It amounted to a dare to Republican lawmakers who increasingly claim to represent blue-collar workers.

“No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a school teacher or a firefighter,” Biden said in one of the bigger applause lines of his speech.

The president brought back an idea from last year to put a minimum tax on billionaires so they don’t pay a lower rate than many middle-class households. Biden had pitched a 20% tax on the income and unrealized financial gains of households worth $100 million or more. The administration estimated it would generate $360 billion over 10 years. That would in theory help fund some priorities and possibly reduce the deficit.

But Biden’s tax plan might be more about scoring political points, as he couldn’t get it past West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin in the Senate last year.

He was straightforward in saying he would stop airlines from charging fees in order to sit families together, saying that children were being treated like luggage. He wants to ban hidden resort fees charged by hotels and penalties charged by cell service providers.

“Americans are tired of being played for suckers,” Biden said.

Passing over China balloon

Biden had been on a winning streak countering the United States’ rising military and economic competitor China.

Then Beijing brazenly floated a spy balloon across the United States, an embarrassing episode for Biden that culminated last weekend with him ordering the Pentagon to shoot the craft out of the sky over the Atlantic Ocean.

The incident has dominated headlines, with some Republicans arguing that it demonstrates Biden has been wobbly on Beijing.

Biden briefly addressed the incident directly: “As we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did.”

Lost in the noise is the Biden administration’s increasingly aggressive efforts to counter China. like agreements with the Philippines and Japan to adjust or expand the U.S. military presence in those countries.

The balloon drama overshadowed all of that.

Standing with Ukraine

Last year’s State of the Union was dramatically shaped by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which started days before the address.

At that moment, the chances of Ukraine staying in the fight with a more formidable Russian military seemed highly unlikely. Nearly a year later, Ukraine is firmly in the fight.

Biden took a moment to pay tribute to Ukraine, addressing one of his guests, Ambassador Oksana Markarova, as representing “not just her nation but the courage of her people.”

He also applauded Congress for giving the Ukrainian what it needed to face Russia’s brutal aggression; the United States has already committed nearly $30 billion in security assistance since the start of the war.

In private, administration officials have made clear to Ukrainian officials that Congress’ patience with the cost of the war will have its limits. But with Tuesday’s address, Biden offered an optimistic outlook about the prospects of long-term American support.

“Ambassador, America is united in our support for your country,” Biden said looking toward Markarova in the gallery. “We will stand with you as long as it takes.”

Finish the job

Biden uttered the phrase “finish the job” 13 times during his address. It sounded like the makings of a slogan he might employ for a reelection campaign.

But it is highly unlikely he will be able to finish the job on many of the things he referenced, like an assault weapons ban, universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds and forcing companies to stop doing stock buybacks.

At least not during this term.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft and threatened repercussions.

President Joe Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier, on Wednesday. He was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, U.S. officials said. Military officials determined that bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.

China responded that it reserved the right to "take further actions" and criticized the U.S. for "an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice."

In its statement Sunday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that "China will resolutely uphold the relevant company's legitimate rights and interests, and at the same time reserving the right to take further actions in response."

The presence of the balloon in the skies above the U.S. this week dealt a severe blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years. It prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing tensions.

"They successfully took it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it," Biden said after getting off Air Force One en route to Camp David.

The giant white orb was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the Atlantic coast. About 2:39 p.m. EST, an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile at the balloon, puncturing it while it was about 6 nautical miles off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, senior defense officials said.

The spectacle had Americans looking to the skies all week, wondering whether the mysterious balloon had floated over them.

Latest Headlines

A look at what's known about the suspected Chinese spy balloon crossing the US — and what isn't

• By LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP, The Associated Press

On Saturday, Ashlyn Preaux, 33, went out to get her mail in Forestbrook, South Carolina, and noticed her neighbors looking up — and there it was, the balloon in the cloudless blue sky. Then she saw fighter jets circling and the balloon get hit.

"I did not anticipate waking up to be in a 'Top Gun' movie today," she said.

The debris landed in 47 feet of water, shallower than officials had expected, and it spread out over roughly seven miles and the recovery operation included several ships. The officials estimated the recovery efforts would be completed in a short time, not weeks. A salvage vessel was en route.

U.S. defense and military officials said Saturday that the balloon entered the U.S. air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on Monday. It crossed back into U.S. territory over northern Idaho on Tuesday, the day the White House said Biden was first briefed on it.

The balloon was spotted Thursday over Montana, home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, which has fields of nuclear missile silos.

Latest Headlines

Billings Gazette spy balloon photos play role in White House's response to China

• Billings Gazette

The Americans were able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the U.S., giving them a number of days to analyze it and learn how it moved and what it was capable of surveilling, according to two senior defense officials said. The officials briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

The officials said the U.S. military was constantly assessing the threat, and concluded that the technology on the balloon didn't give the Chinese significant intelligence beyond what it could already obtain from satellites, though the U.S. took steps to mitigate what information it could gather as it moved along.

Republicans were critical of Biden's response.

"Allowing a spy balloon from the Communist Party of China to travel across the entire continental United States before contesting its presence is a disastrous projection of weakness by the White House," said Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., tweeted: "Now that this embarrassing episode is over, we need answers from the Biden Administration on the decision-making process. Communist China was allowed to violate American sovereignty unimpeded for days. We must be better prepared for future provocations and incursions by the CCP."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was more positive: "Thank you to the men and women of the United States military who were responsible for completing the mission to shoot down the Chinese surveillance balloon. The Biden Administration did the right thing in bringing it down."

China has claimed that the balloon was merely a weather research "airship" that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — as well as China's contention that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.

The Chinese government on Saturday sought to play down the cancellation of Blinken's trip. "In actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that," China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. "We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon," Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement. Officials said the balloons are part of a fleet that China uses for surveillance, and they can be maneuvered remotely through small motors and propellers. One official said they carry equipment in the pod under the balloon that is not usually associated with standard meteorological activities or civilian research.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a question about the second balloon.

This isn't the first time Chinese spy balloons have crossed into U.S. airspace in recent years, one of the officials said. At least three times during the Trump administration and at least one other time during Biden's time as president they've seen balloons cross, but not for this long, the official said.

Blinken, who had been due to depart Washington for Beijing late Friday, said he had told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the U.S. was "an irresponsible act and that (China's) decision to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have."

Uncensored reactions on the Chinese internet mirrored the official government stance that the U.S. was hyping the situation. Some used it as a chance to poke fun at U.S. defenses, saying it couldn't even defend against a balloon, and nationalist influencers leaped to use the news to mock the U.S.

China has denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the balloon's journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. not to "smear" it because of the balloon.

In preparation for the operation Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily closed airspace over the Carolina coast, including the airports in Myrtle Beach and Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina. The FAA rerouted air traffic from the area and warned of delays as a result of the flight restrictions. The FAA and Coast Guard worked to clear the airspace and water below the balloon as it reached the ocean.

Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the giant deflated balloon descending like a ribbon toward the water.

Bill Swanson said he watched the balloon deflate instantly from his house in Myrtle Beach as fighter jets circled around.

"When it deflated it was pretty close to instantaneous," he said. "One second it's there like a tiny moon and the next second it's gone." Swanson added that a trail of smoke followed the balloon as it dropped.

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PHOENIX (AP) — Donna Kelce brought cookies to Super Bowl opening night.

The mother of All-Pros Travis and Jason Kelce surprised her sons during an interview with NFL Network's Michael Irvin with two batches of cookies — one for each.

Keep scrolling for photos from Super Bowl opening night

"It's just been amazing that they've both been able to get to this point in their careers and both enjoy the Super Bowl together," Donna Kelce said. "It's just so amazing."

The Kelces are the first brothers to face each other in the Super Bowl, Travis as a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, Jason as a center for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Donna and her husband, Ed, have mostly kept private over the years, but she's become a minor celebrity as she crisscrosses the country to watch her boys — often in a jersey with Travis' front stitched to Jason's back.

More than 150,000 fans signed a petition for the NFL to have her do the Super Bowl coin toss, but she said in a social media post that the NFL already had someone in place.