Introduction
Yet another unidentified object flying over our country has been shot down. Angie is in Washington with the latest on what’s going on. Plus: who’s your valentine? We take a look at how this holiday for love got its start. Those stories and more today on Notice News.
More Unidentified Objects Shot Down in North America
Hey everyone, it’s Jonathan here at Notice HQ in Brooklyn. Our top story – questions are mounting after three more unidentified objects were shot down over North American airspace this past weekend. Our Washington correspondent Angie has more.
Angie: Just a little more than a week after American fighter jets took out a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, three more unidentified objects have been shot down over the skies of North America.
The first was over the northern shore of Alaska on Friday, the second over the Canadian province Yukon on Saturday, and the third near Michigan over Lake Huron on Sunday. Authorities say the objects didn’t pose a military threat, but possibly had surveillance equipment on them and could interfere with regular air traffic.
Sound: Justin Trudeau: “It represented a reasonable threat to civilian aircraft. So I gave the order to take it down.”
A White House national security spokesperson said that these objects were smaller than and didn’t resemble the Chinese spy balloon. And – when asked if the U.S. has ruled out the possibility of aliens, here’s how one Air Force general replied: 2
Sound: “I haven’t ruled out anything at this point, we continue to assess every threat or potential threat, unknown, that approaches North America with an attempt to identify it.”
But – let’s be serious – that’s highly unlikely. The military says since that Chinese balloon crossed American skies, they adjusted radar to catch objects flying at a lower altitude.
Yesterday, the military was searching for the objects that were shot down, hoping to recover and analyze them.
Headlines
Here’s what else is making news right now.
The U.S. government said Monday American citizens should leave Russia immediately, saying they could be randomly arrested or harassed by Russian authorities. It’s the latest such warning since Russia invaded Ukraine almost a year ago.
This drone footage shows cracks in the earth in southern Turkey after massive earthquakes hit the middle east last week. The death toll has risen to nearly 36,000 as rescue and relief efforts continue.
And – could this be the future of transportation? This actually isn’t a drone, it’s an electric flying taxi. The city of Dubai announced that it plans to launch an aerial ridesharing service by the year 2026.
History of Valentine’s Day
February 14 is a huge day for chocolate makers, florists, card shops, and oh yeah… romance. But how did Valentine’s Day get its start?
The short answer: nobody really knows.
The Roman Catholic Church recognizes three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus. One of them lived in Rome in the 200s AD. According to legend, before he was put to death for helping Christians escape prison, he sent a note to the woman he loved – the first valentine.
It’s also unclear why it’s in the middle of February. It may be to commemorate the death of one of those saints, or it may be the adaptation of an earlier Roman festival. What is clear is that by the Middle Ages, the holiday was firmly established. Today, it’s one of the biggest commercial occasions of the year.
According to the National Retail Federation, American consumers are expected to spend a total of 25.9 billion dollars this year on Valentines Day, a 2 billion dollar increase from last year. In fact, the average consumer will spend 192 dollars, which is up from 175 dollars in 2022.
If you’re looking to save money, financial experts say buying candy on the day of – or the day after – will save you a lot of money.
Conclusion
That’s it for today but you can learn more about those objects that have been shot down on our website, noticenews.com. I’ll be back tomorrow with more from us, Notice News.