The Daily Signal - TOP NEWS | Democrats Don’t Want Biden to Run Again, U.S. Moves China Spy Balloon, NYC Buses Migrants to Canada | Feb. 6

Starting point is 00:00:01 I'm Virginia Allen. I'm John Pop. And this is the Daily Signal Top News for Monday, February 6th. Here are today's headlines. The remains of the China spy balloon are being taken to an FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia. The surveillance balloon was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean this weekend. It appears the Chinese balloon was over American territory for about a week. China has admitted the balloon is theirs, but says it was being used for the purposes

Starting point is 00:00:42 of gathering information about the weather. But was that really the balloon's only purpose? Here with us to answer this question is Heritage Foundation Asian Study Center Research Fellow Michael Cunningham. Michael, thanks so much for being with us today. Thanks for having me. So China says the balloon was collecting information on the weather.

Starting point is 00:01:02 To me, that sounds a little bit unlikely. What was this balloon really doing, do you think? Well, it was collecting information, not about the weather, though. I mean, it was spying. It was, you know, a weather balloon doesn't just magically happen to find itself over some of the most sensitive military sites. So particularly when it was over Montana, it was certainly looking at the missile silos there. It was likely taking photographs and sending information back. unless there is the likelihood also that it was actually being jammed,

Starting point is 00:01:45 that it wasn't able to send this information back, which hopefully was the case, but we can't be sure. But yeah, it was certainly spying. So the remains of this balloon are now being taken to Quantico to be looked at. what do we know about what the FBI is really going to be looking for and trying to find in the remains of this balloon that was shot down? Well, there's quite a bit of intelligence value in the remains as long as, you know, it's enough in one piece that they can actually figure out what it is. So they're going to be looking at the technology, the equipment. I mean, we understand from reports that just the intelligence payload of it was about the size of a jetliner.

Starting point is 00:02:38 So it's massive, but it didn't all make it down in one piece. And so hopefully they'll be able to actually look at the tapes, see what it collected. But at the very least, they'll be able to see what kind of technology and equipment was in it. Okay. Now, I was fascinated to learn on Monday that, there was another Chinese balloon spotted over Latin America. China has said, yes, that's our balloon. They're calling it a civilian, that it was of civilian nature, this balloon, which I found fascinating. Why would China have a balloon over Latin America? Any thoughts there on what their

Starting point is 00:03:18 interests would be? Well, I would say, first of all, that there are probably other balloons that haven't been spotted yet. And, you know, currently probably, but definitely there have been others in the past and we have heard reports that, you know, this isn't the first time. And it's not really the first time we've heard about them, but it's the first time it's been such a big news story. And really, frankly, it's quite unprecedented for us to watch it float across the continental United States and not really do anything for so long. But it's really not a surprise that they have a balloon over Latin America as well. Likely doing similar things, collecting similar information, about the weather,

Starting point is 00:04:01 about military capabilities and other stuff of interest to the Chinese. They have a lot of interest in Latin America. They are expanding their political economic reach in Latin America as well. And so probably doing similar things in Europe, Africa and other parts of the world. Well, Michael, we appreciate your time today, and I encourage all of our listeners to check out your work at heritage.org or daily signal.com as they can follow all of the in-depth research and analysis that you're doing on China and the threat that it poses to America today. Michael, thank you for your time. Thanks a lot. President Biden is set to deliver his state of the union address tomorrow. Lawmakers and the media anticipate Biden will use the speech to outline what his top priorities will be should he choose to run again in 2024. But the Associated Press reported earlier today that most Democrats don't want Biden to run again. According to an Associated Press Nork Center for Public Affairs Research poll, just 37% of Democrats went Biden to run for second term.

Starting point is 00:05:13 That's down from 52% shortly before the midterm elections last fall. One of the main reason Democrats say they don't want Biden to run again is his age. He is 80 now and would be 86 at the end of the second term. Just 22% of all adult Americans think Biden should run again. Biden's approval rating is around 41% right now. While Biden has not officially announced he's running again in 2024, he is expected to make such an announcement in the coming weeks or months. Texas might be suing the Biden administration.

Starting point is 00:05:45 The possible lawsuit concerns a new conservation rule that threatens farmers and could harm landowners. The Biden administration recently passed a new regulation protecting the lesser prairie chicken. These chickens are endangered in parts of Texas and threatened in others. The conservation rule essentially will prevent farmers and landowners from using millions of acres in an effort to protect the species. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton notified the Department of the Interior and Fish and Wildlife

Starting point is 00:06:20 Service of the possible lawsuit today. Paxton said in a statement that this rule was a tariff. attempt to implement an unlawful, top-down federal approach aimed at advancing a radical environmentalist agenda, which would crush the type of economic development that aids in providing funds for conservation. Paxton added that the rule is not going to fly in Texas. But Texas is not the only state fighting the environmental rule. In total, the rule affects land in five states, And last week, Kansas Attorney General Chris Kobich also said he would sue in response to the rule. Kobich said the rule will have a devastating impact on Kansas ranchers, Kansas oil producers, and Kansas wind farms.

Starting point is 00:07:08 He also called the new environmental rule illegal. As of right now, the policy is scheduled to go into effect on March 27th, but this could change depending upon the legal challenges the rule faces. Illegal immigrants are now accepting bus tickets to Canada. The New York Post broke the news Sunday night that New York taxpayer's money is going to buy bus tickets from migrants in New York City to travel from the Big Apple up to Canada. Drug use and homelessness in New York City are reportedly driving some migrants north in hopes of a better life in Canada. Susie Sanchez-Solzarno is 33 and she's from Peru. She recently left New York for Canada with her husband and two. daughters. She told the New York Post, I wanted to live in New York because I thought it would be a

Starting point is 00:07:56 better future for my daughters. She said, but as the days went by, I saw insecurity, many homeless people, many people who shout and are disrespectful, and many people on drugs. The woman added, I'm going to Canada for the safety and future of my girls. I only ask God that everything goes well and that Canada is not like the United States. More than 21,000 illegal migrants have been bused to New York since last year, and Mayor Eric Adams has been clear that the city does not have the resources to care for the migrants. And that's going to do it for today's episode. Thanks so much for listening to The Daily Signal's top news. If you haven't gotten a chance, be sure to check out our morning show right here in this podcast feed where we interview lawmakers, experts,

Starting point is 00:08:41 and leading conservative voices. Join us tomorrow morning for the Daily Signal interview edition. Samantha Ascheris and myself have the chance to catch up with two. Congresswoman, Elise Stefonic, and Harriet Hagman, to talk about the state of the union address and to give President Joe Biden a grade on his first two years in office. Also, make sure you subscribe to the Daily Signal wherever you get your podcast and help us reach more listeners by leaving a five-star rating and a review. We read all your feedback. Thanks again for listening. Have a great night and we'll be back with you all tomorrow morning and just a quick announcement.

Starting point is 00:09:19 We're going to be having some great coverage of President Biden's State of the Union address here at The Daily Signal. So be sure to follow along on Tuesday night at DailySignal.com. You can also track us across social media platforms to see some neat exclusive content that we're going to be bringing you breaking down the speech. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. Executive producers are Rob Lewy and Kate Shrinco. Producers are Virginia Allen and Samantha Asheris. Sound designed by Lauren Evans, Mark Geiney, and John Pop. To learn more, please visit DailySignal.com.

The Daily Signal - TOP NEWS | Democrats Don’t Want Biden to Run Again, U.S. Moves China Spy Balloon, NYC Buses Migrants to Canada | Feb. 6

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