The Daily Signal - TOP NEWS | Chinese Balloons All Over the World, Americans Told to Leave Russia Immediately, Does Biden Have More Classified Documents? | Feb. 13

Starting point is 00:00:01 I'm Samantha Chiris. I'm Virginia Allen. And this is the Daily Signal top news for Monday, February 13th. Here are today's headlines. In less than a week, America has shot down four objects from our airspace. So far, we know that the first object was a Chinese spy balloon, but officials have not told the public what the three other objects are. And it's possible officials are also still trying to determine the nature of the objects. The latest object was shot down on Sunday. But we know China is not just sending its spy balloons over America. Lieutenant General Alex Grenkowitz is the commander of U.S. Air Force's Central Command, and he said Monday that the U.S. has documented Chinese surveillance balloons flying over the Middle East and Afghanistan multiple times in recent years. The general says high-altitude stratophobic balloons have transited the region,

Starting point is 00:01:09 referring to the Middle East, but he added that the balloons have not hung out over American bases or been any threat to our forces whatsoever. In total, Chinese balloons are reported to have flown over 40 different countries. But China made claims today that America has flown 10 surveillance balloons into Chinese airspace in the past year. But John Kirby, a spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, denied China's claim during an interview with M.S. MSNBC today, calling it not true. And he went on to explain America's current relationship with China. We still have diplomatic relations with China. We still have an embassy there. It's not like all communications between us and the PRC have shut down. Obviously, there are certain vehicles

Starting point is 00:01:55 like military to military vehicles, which are not open to us right now, and that's unfortunate. But we do have the ability to communicate directly with the Chinese leaders. And we have in private settings about our concerns over that spy balloon. Be sure to check out the Daily Signal podcast interview edition tomorrow morning as I will be sitting down with the Heritage Foundation's Dakota Wood to discuss in-depth what we know about the four objects America has shot down. We have an update on President Biden's classified documents. The Daily Signal reported today that we learned Biden had documents stored at an office in Boston. Whether or not they were classified documents remains unknown. But here's what we do know. Through a Freedom of Information Act,

Starting point is 00:02:39 Heritage Foundation Oversight Project obtained emails that were sent to the National Archives regarding Biden's classified documents. Remember that in November, Biden's attorneys found classified documents at an old office belonging to Biden in Washington, D.C. Well, shortly after those documents were discovered, the General Counsel for the National Archives, Gary Stern, emailed Biden's attorney Patrick Moore, saying, please ensure that the boxes are, in your office in Boston remain secure in a locked space and are not accessed by anyone. On Election Day in November, Stern followed up with more, asking if the boxes in the Boston office could be picked up and moved to the JFK Library the following day. He was likely referring

Starting point is 00:03:29 to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, which is run by the National Archives. We'll keep you all informed of any developments as we learn more about the nature of Biden's documents at the Boston office. Americans living in Russia are being told to leave now. The State Department ordered all U.S. citizens to leave Russia, citing concerns over rising tensions between the two countries amid the war in Ukraine. The U.S. embassy in Moscow warned that U.S. citizens residing or traveling in Russia should depart immediately and should exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detentions.

Starting point is 00:04:09 The embassy added, Russian security services have arrested U.S. citizens on spurious charges, singled out U.S. citizens in Russia for detention and harassment, denied them fair and transparent treatment, and convicted them in secret trials, or without presenting credible evidence. Russian officials have brushed off the warning. According to Reuters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said, warnings have been voiced by the State Department many times in the last period, so this is not a new thing. It's not clear why this warning was issued today, but it raises concerns over growing tensions amid the war in Ukraine. A former Georgia police officer has

Starting point is 00:04:51 lawyered up and is taking action to protect Americans' First Amendment rights. We've been following the story of former police officer Jacob Kersey here at the Daily Signal. The Port Wentworth Police Department, just outside Savannah, Georgia, put Kersey on paid administrative leave after he shared his personal biblical view of marriage in a Facebook post. On January 2nd, Jacob Cursey wrote on Facebook, God designed marriage. Marriage refers to Christ and the church. That's why there is no such thing as homosexual marriage. When he refused to delete the post after his commanding staff asked him to, he was put on leave for a week. He was then told that he could come back to work, but was not allowed to post anything on social media that was not a direct

Starting point is 00:05:40 quote from scripture that could be seen as offensive. Cursey made the choice to resign from the Port Wentworth Police Department. He says he resigned because he didn't want to go back and play their game. But now, Cursey is being represented by the Legal Group First Liberty Institute. This is the same legal organization that represented Washington State football coach Joe Kennedy, who was fired per praying on the field after football games. This morning, Cursey's legal team at First Liberty sent a letter to the police department and the Port Wentworth Mayor, demanding the city change its policy to protect the First Amendment rights of its employees. The attorneys wrote in the letter, the city of Port Wentworth and the Port Wentworth Police Department should issue a public

Starting point is 00:06:26 statement committing to respect the First Amendment rights of its police officers and announce an official change of policy. First Liberty has offered to help the city craft a policy that will protect employees' rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Neither the mayor nor the police department have responded to the Daily Signals' request for comment as of yet. If you watch the Super Bowl on Sunday night, you may have seen two Jesus-centered ads. The ads are part of a campaign called He Gets Us. It is funded by the family that owns the popular chain craft shore Hobby Lobby. The campaign's mission, according to its website, is to reintroduce people to the Jesus of the Bible and his confounding love and forgiveness. The ads aim to show that

Starting point is 00:07:14 Jesus understands the world we live in today and that his truth is relevant to the cultural challenges of the 21st century. But New York Democrat Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez does not appear to be a fan of the ads. Following the ads, AOC tweeted, something tells me Jesus would not spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign. AOC faced a lot of backlash on Twitter for the comments. Former football player for Auburn University, Lee Zyemba,

Starting point is 00:07:47 responded sarcastically, Love Your Enemy equates to fascism? You're brilliant. And attorney Eric Owens, wrote on Twitter responding to AOC, that's your take from a great Super Bowl ad, reminding us of the truth universal to all religious and all wisdom, is that hate is bad? Are you serious? Adding, presumably an intern is writing your tweets while you wear a fancy dress to a Super Bowl ball. To learn more about the He Gets Us campaign, visit Hegets Us.com.

Starting point is 00:08:20 And that I'll do it for today's show. Thank you for listening to the Daily Signal's top news. If you haven't gotten a chance already, be sure to check out our morning show right here in this podcast feed, where we interview lawmakers, experts, and leading conservative voices. That's right. And as I mentioned earlier, I will be sitting down with Dakota Wood, a senior research fellow here at the Heritage Foundation, to take a deep dive into these four objects that have been shot down. One we know was a Chinese spy balloon. But what about the others? Are we headed for a war with China? Dakota will break down these questions and much more.

Starting point is 00:08:55 So be sure to tune in tomorrow morning. Thanks, Sam. I'm looking forward to that conversation. It's going to be very interesting. And also, for all of our listeners, if you have not had the chance already, be sure just to take a few minutes and leave us a five-star rating on review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen. It makes a huge difference to us, and we truly love hearing all your feedback.

Starting point is 00:09:14 Thanks again for listening. Have a great night. And we'll be back with you all tomorrow morning. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a minute. million members of the Heritage Foundation. Executive producers are Rob Luey and Kate Trinko. Producers are Virginia Allen and Samantha Asheris. Sound designed by Lauren Evans, Mark Geiney, and John Pop.

Starting point is 00:09:37 To learn more, please visit DailySignal.com.

The Daily Signal - TOP NEWS | Chinese Balloons All Over the World, Americans Told to Leave Russia Immediately, Does Biden Have More Classified Documents? | Feb. 13

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