‘Octagonal’ flying object shot down in Michigan | First Thing

Military general says he will not rule out any explanation as fourth object is downed over North America this month. Plus, is Florida running out of orange juice?

Good morning.

The US military has shot down a third flying object over North American airspace in three days, as the air force general overseeing the airspace said he would not rule out any explanation for the objects yet.

What was the object? Gen Glen VanHerck, who is tasked with safeguarding US airspace, said the military had not been able to identify what the three most recent objects were, how they stayed aloft, or where they were coming from.

What was the fourth flying object to be shot down in North America? On Saturday an object about the size of a small car was downed over Yukon in Canada.

What else is happening? A US resident from Pakistan has anonymously donated $30m to victims of the earthquake, according to officials. Word of the Pakistani businessman’s kindness has provided a rare instance of uplifting news amid the mounting toll of death and damage associated with the calamity.

Why did so many people die in Turkey? In 1999, more than 17,000 people were killed in an earthquake near the Turkish city of Istanbul. In the aftermath, authorities promised stricter building regulations and introduced an “earthquake tax” aimed at improving preparedness in a country that sits on two major geological faultlines. The current death toll for this earthquake suggests lessons of 1999 were not learned.