right now, two separate senate committees are drilling into u.s. and china relations. in the wake of that chinese spy balloon entering the u.s. just last hour senator jon tester made the stakes abundantly clear. china s a real threat and one we need to take seriously, which is exactly why we re here today. house members this morning receiving a classified briefing on the balloon ahead of a vote scheduled just a few minutes from now to condemn china s use of a spy craft. senators are set to receive an all members briefing of their own in about 30 minutes. all of this happening as the state department is revealing fresh details about china s surveillance program this morning. and just what the balloon hovering over the u.s. was capable of. in a few moments, i ll talk to former u.s. ambassador to china max baucus about what we can learn and the very real threat posed by china. plus, fading hopes for survival, days after devastating earthquakes rocked turkey and syria. the
security issue economically if you fact or in what s being talked about now. what happens if chinese starts purchasing oil on the global market? china s brazen infiltration of our airspace is a key topic. we re learning it hasn t been the first time. republican mike rogers chairs the house armed services committee. the biden administration allowed a spy balloon to look at our nation s military sites. it was intentionally launched as a show of force. we have to stop being naive about the threat we face from china. harris: well, they were on full defense the administration and pentagon about the timing of taking down that spy craft. the white house deflected on possible additional china spy flights on biden s watch. the chinese surveillance balloons program has been around for some time. when the surveillance balloons transited the continental u.s. briefly three times during the prior administration and once that we know of the beginning of this administration, but never
at this hour. the u.s. navy is racing to recover the debris from the chinese spycraft miles off the coast of south carolina. on the screen right now, our first look at what those divers are now pulling out of the ocean and at the balloon itself, so take those new images in. john: it went down in relatively shallow water, about 50 feet deep. biggest challenges are currents and water temperature which is only this time of year about 53°. sandra: in a moment, we will be speaking to retired navy seal commander sears about what they are recovering and what the navy is doing about it. john: bryan llenas is off a boat close to the recovery effort. how is it looking from where you are, bryan? the weather has gotten better since the weekend, incredible conditions on the water, great for a salvage operation underway. you are looking live at our fox news drone showing you the military ships that are over the debris field said to be 15 by 15 football fields wide. right now this
the train derailment emergency in ohio. authorities release toxic chemicals from tanker cars. the race to recover that suspected chinese spy balloon shot down off the south carolina coast. the military saying the debris field is roughly 15 football fields by 15 football fields wide. what can the u.s. learn from the remnants? president biden on the eve of the state of the union address. our new reporting on last-minute changes to his speech. a day after she made grammy history, tickets to beyonce s new tour on sale. and the father, the daughter, and the bucket list in inspiring america. this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. good evening, and thank you for joining us. powerful and dangerous aftershocks have continued to rattle parts of turkey near the syria border where the death toll has climbed above 3,000 after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake. as we begin tonight, let me warn you, some of the videos are terrifying. multiple-story buildings crashing into
officials telling nbc news the goal of the president s address tonight is to affirm the core promises of his 2020 presidential campaign. restoring the soul of the nation. tonight s critical address as the polling shows the president faces growing dissatisfaction at home. the administration is not taking care of our own people. you have to get these old guys out. i will be joined by chris jansing and katy tur. plus, looming large. the diplomatic fallout from shooting down the 200-foot tall chinese spy balloon over the atlanta expected to play heavily into tonight s address. some of the lines of the speech referring to china were being edited in the wake of the military operation. how hard will the president go against china tonight? death toll rising. more than 5,100 people dead after two powerful earthquakes striking we were hearing voices, messages from under the rubble. we couldn t do anything. good morning, everyone. i am andrea mitchell in washington. this