for police reform. stephanie ramos in memphis. that dangerous ice storm, winter alerts across 30 states. 50 million americans. that ice storm causing those multiple accidents already. concerns over the power grid tonight. hundreds of flights canceled. and the record-breaking cold right behind it. wind chills well below zero by tomorrow morning. mireyavil villarreal in dallas. ginger zee timing it out. police appealing for the public s help. the suspect accused of brutal by beating and kidnapping a woman who is now in critical condition. authorities say he may be using social media and their warning tonight. matt gutman reporting. secretary of state antony blinken in israel tonight, urging calm on all sides after some of the worst violence in years. and the mysterious drone attacks in iran. what we re learning tonight. back here at home, the alec murdaugh trial. the new interview played for the jurors. and what he told investigators just after the murders. 6 and the de
any safety risks because there was an urgency here. this balloon is not armed, it does not pose some physical threat to the united states, even from an intelligence perspective. the chinese have much more effective ways of picking up intelligence from the satellites and otherwise. the fact that the president said what he said about taking care of it. now we have the physical fact that the balloon is heading towards the atlantic. these airports in north and south carolina are being closed for the moment. it does seem to set the stage and present an opportunity to have this shot down. it is really not a reversal. i think they ve been preparing for this and contingency planning. once it is not overland, it changes the calculus. general, weigh in for me if you will, you heard the presidents words there, we are going to take care of this. from your estimation, what is taking care of this look like and what are the risks and calculations going into that decision? i think what
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
. the crazy thing about this is that this is protective net. that s crazy. wow. look at that. yeah. it looks like it s water. geez. that is pretty crazy. good morning, everyone. we re so happy you re with us on assignment in los angeles. the northeast, is bracing for anarctic blast. extreme wind chills set to be the lowest in decades. this morning, the areas impacted by the cold temperatures. we ll take you live to boston. plus, a suspended chinese spy balloon the size of three buses has been seen hovering over usair space. where it was just spotted and what the pentagon plans to do now. plus this they see me as a powerful voice that needs to be silenced. that is congresswoman omar. she has been removed from the house foreign affairs committee. democrats accusing republicans of racism. what kevin mccarthy is staying ahead. we do begin this hour with extreme arctic weather unleashing some of the coldest temperatures the northeast has seen in decades. forecasters ar
really developing. it is not known what the chinese is trying to do with this thing despite the apology issued this morning. the chinese government saying it is wayward weather research balloon. let s get to it, and even more mounting at the hour. and first to kiley adwood who is here with me. what are you hearing from the state department about blinken s trip now being postponed, kiley? we just got off of the phone with the senior white house official, and they they this balloon is violating international law and sovereignty. and this morning, secretary blinken called his counterpart and said that the conditions are not right for this trip. so it is a last-minute cancellation. we don t have a date for when is going to be replanned. i asked what are the conditions for this trip to be rescheduled, and they would not say. they said that china regrets this, but what the united states is clear on is their assessment, that it is a chinese spy balloon, and it is over u.s. territo