White House denies aliens involved after three high-altitude “objects” shot down this weekend – National & International News – MON 13Feb2023

White House: “No indication” three high-altitude “objects” recently shot down are extraterrestrial.

Georgia judge orders partial release of report on Trump election interference.

Turkey arrest building contractors after deadly quake; toll passes 36,000.

NATIONAL NEWS

White House: “No indication” three high-altitude “objects” recently shot down are extraterrestrial

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre clarified to reporters today that there was “no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity” connected with three high altitude objects shot down in as many days over Canadian and US airspace.

Last Friday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced a US jet had shot down an object floating at around 40,000 feet over Alaskan. Kirby said the object was about the size of a small car and had no propulsion and was floating “at the mercy of the wind”. An unidentified source also described that object as “cylindrical and silver-ish gray”.

On Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed that Canadian and US pilots had shot down another object. That object was also described as “cylindrical”, this time by an official source, namely Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand.

Yesterday, the US Air Force shot down a third object over Lake Huron. Another unnamed US government source described this object as “octagonal” with strings attached but no discernible payload (that is, it didn’t appear to be carrying external equipment).

General’s comments fuel speculation

Jean-Pierre’s comments were likely in response to comments by Air Force General and NORAD commander Glen VanHerck following Sunday’s takedown. At a press conference, reporters also asked VanHerck if an extraterrestrial origin for the objects had been ruled out. “I will let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out,” VanHerck answered. “I haven’t ruled anything out at this point. We continue to assess.”

When asked if the objects were balloons, VanHerck responded, “I’m not going to categorize them as balloons. We’re calling them objects for a reason”. Other comments from VanHerck served to explain why the military is detecting more of these objects than previously. Following the incursion of a Chinese spy balloon that floated across the US a couple of weeks ago, NORAD retuned its radar settings to detect smaller and slower moving objects.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

Related: China says US balloons have breached Chinese airspace at least 10 times in the past year.

Georgia judge orders partial release of report on Trump election interference

Late last month, Georgia judge Robert McBurney heard a request from several media outlets to publish the findings of a grand jury probe into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn Biden’s 2020 election win in Georgia. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who led the probe, argued against releasing the report. Willis said that she wanted to protect the integrity of any potential prosecutions in the case. During that hearing, Willis said decisions on indictments were “imminent”.

Today, Judge McBurney ruled that due to overwhelming legitimate public interest, three sections of the report should be made public this week, regardless of DA Willis’ timeline. Included in the release will be the report’s introduction and conclusion and a section in which the grand jury “discusses its concern that some witnesses may have lied under oath during their testimony”. McBurney ordered Willis to release those three sections this Thursday.

During months of closed door hearings, the grand jury called several prominent Trump allies to testify, including Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). The grand jury also heard from Georgians involved in the plot to set up a fake slate of pro-Trump electors. Trump himself was not called to testify.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Turkey arrest building contractors after deadly quake; toll passes 36,000

Turkish officials have issued arrest warrants for about 130 major building contractors whose buildings toppled during the 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes last Monday. It’s not clear how many of these contractors have actually been arrested as many of them likely fled the country in the past week.

One contractor, Mehmet Yaşar Coşkun, was nabbed at one of Istanbul’s major airports as he was about to catch a flight out of the country. Coşkun’s brother and business partner, Hüseyin Yalçin Coşkun, was last known to be in Montenegro and has gone off the grid. The Coşkun brothers’ “earthquake-proof” luxury building in Antakya toppled over and entombed many of its occupants. Days after the quake, rescuers using thermal imaging could see that many of the trapped occupants were still alive, but dying of injuries, as well as cold, hunger and thirst. The building’s construction makes it all but impossible to save them since rescuers do not have the right heavy equipment. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has a long history of granting “amnesties” to contractors who buildings were not up to code. These amnesties were preferentially granted to contractors with ties to Erdogan’s nationalist AKP party. The arrest warrants are a bit of political sleight of hand on Erdogan’s part. Anger has been growing in Turkey over the government’s response to the quake. Opposition figures are also reminding the public of the culture of corruption, negligence and nepotism in Erdogan’s government that allowed so many shoddily built constructions. 

The death toll in Turkey and Syria is now over 36,000. However, Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, expects that the toll could eventually top 50,000.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

Please share any thoughts, comments or questions in the Comments section below!