US military retrieves ‘significant’ debris from China spy balloon | First Thing

Sensors and electronics pulled from waters off South Carolina, says military. Plus, how AP African American studies became the most controversial course in the US

Good morning.

The US military has recovered “significant debris” from a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon shot down this month, the Pentagon has said, after the White House claimed China had been operating a high-altitude balloon program spying on the US and its allies for many years.

What did John Kirby say? “It was operating during the previous administration, but they did not detect it,” Kirby said. “We detected it, we tracked it. And we have been carefully studying to learn as much as we can.”

What’s happening in Canada? An object roughly the size of a small car was shot down down over a rugged section of Canada’s Yukon territory. Canadian crews are currently searching the vast and bitterly cold landscape for any debris. Residents along the coast of Lake Huron have found themselves at the centre the search for unidentified flying objects.

What have the police said? While appealing for information from the public, the police said it was unclear what the motive for the attack may have been and work to identify the suspect was ongoing. Earlier in the evening, police released images of the suspect, describing him as a short male wearing a mask.