the white house from camp david today saying he wanted to shoot down the balloon at the first available opportunity and that, in his view, is exactly what the pentagon did. watch it come over into the united states from canada. i told them to shoot it down as soon as it was appropriate. they concluded we should not shoot it down over land, was not a serious threat and we should wait until it got across the water. that s, of course, what happened saturday afternoon. a usf-22 fighter firing a single sidewinder missile at the chinese balloon bringing it down just off the coast of south carolina, and the president said the chinese were well aware of what was coming. we made it clear to china what we were going to do. reporter: but critics, many of them republican, question the wisdom of waiting to shoot down the balloon until after it had flown right across the united states and over several sensitive u.s. military sites. look, i m not saying detonate this thing over a
his grieving mother pleading for action on police reform. so what are lawmakers going to do? and more lies from george santos, the latest having to do with a broadway show. even the great white way can t escape this. the new reporting and what it means for the gop. let s start with the story we are all talking about this evening, the chinese spy balloon flying over the country tonight. cnn s alex marquardt has the latest. reporter: tonight u.s. officials tell cnn the u.s. has not ruled out shooting down the chinese spy balloon once there is no risk to civilians below. but secretary of state antony blinken telling reporters that china s flagrant violation of u.s. sovereignty forced him to postpone his trip to beijing. i made clear that the presence of this surveillance balloon in u.s. air pace is a clear violation of u.s. sovereignty and international law. it s an irresponsible act and that the prc s decision to take this action is detrimental to the substantive discussi
do? and more lies from republican congressman george santos. the latest has to do with now a broadway show. even the great white way can t escape this. we ll break down the new reporting and what it all means for the gop. but let s start with the story we re all talking about this evening, the chinese spy balloon flying over the country tonight. cnn s alex marquardt has the latest. reporter: tonight u.s. officials tell cnn the u.s. has not ruled out shooting down the chinese spy balloon once there s no risk to civilians below. but secretary of state antony blinken telling reporters that china s flagrant violation of u.s. sovereignty forced him to postpone his trip to beijing. i made clear that the presence of this surveillance balloon in u.s. airspace is a clear violation of u.s. sovereignty and international law, that it s an irresponsible act and that the prc s decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions
world. ahead on cnn newsroom, all eyes are on the sky. we re tracking the suspected chinese spy balloon flying across the united states. we ll have a live report on what the chinese are say ing about this incident. officials are advising people to stay indoors. if you go outdoors, be advised that exposed skin can get frostbite in as little as a few minutes. more than 20 million americans for impact from what wou could be the biggest cold snap of the season with windchills in new hampshire reaching negative 100 degrees fahrenheit. president biden previewing his platform for a possible 2024 reelection bid. this as the u.s. releases a blockbuster jobs number report. the u.s. military believes a suspected chinese supply balloon will finally leave u.s. air space in a couple days, or it could be sooner. some weather models show the winds pushing it out over the atlantic as early as today. the pentagon has been close let tracking the large object and concluded it s carrying a
u.s. officials tell cnn the possibility of shooting down the chinese spy balloon has not been ruled out. this as the secretary of state warns beijing that the balloon s brazen flight over the united states is a clear violation and an irresponsible act. also tonight, president biden is out touting a blockbuster jobs report, proving it claims critics of his policies are wrong. we ll break down the political impact for the president just ahead of the state of union address and the expected launch of his re-election campaign. and a life-threatening arctic blast is bearing down right now on the northeast. stand by for an up-to-the-minute forecast on the bitter cold and dangerous winds, putting tens of millions of americans at risk. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. we begin with the rising tensions right now between the united states and china as that massive spy balloon is still out there