Chinese balloon soars across US; Blinken scraps Beijing trip

4/2/2023 7:20

        A huge, high-altitude Chinese balloonsailed across the U.S. on Friday, drawing severe Pentagon accusations of spying despite China's firm denials. Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceled a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing U..S.-China tensions.
        
        Fuzzy videos dotted social media sites as people with binoculars and telephoto lenses tried to find the "spy balloon" in the sky as it headed eastward over Kansas and Missouri at 60,000 feet (18,300 meters).
        
        Blinken's cancellation came despite China’s claim that the balloon was merely a weather research "airship" that had blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand - as well as China's contention that the balloon, about the size of two school buses, was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.