China Syndrome: The US says China has a spy balloon hovering over the northwestern part of this country. It was seen yesterday over Billings, Montana, looking like the moon in daylight.

  Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the balloon is “traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.” It’s floating at about 66,000 feet.

  The Pentagon says China has done this before. The US has not shot it down for fear of showering a civilian area with debris. Authorities tell the press that the balloon has limited intelligence value. Spy satellites can pick up more information than a balloon. But still, really? A spy balloon?

It’s Political: The House Republican majority voted to oust Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from the chamber’s Foreign Affairs Committee, citing anti-Semitic

comments she made and apologized for four years ago. 

  Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, the incoming chairman of the House Ethics Committee said, “All members, both Republicans and Democrats alike who seek to serve on Foreign Affairs, should be held to the highest standard of conduct due to the international sensitivity and national security concerns under the jurisdiction of this committee.” 

  If the Republicans really had high ethical standards they wouldn’t have a majority.

  Omar is a Somali born naturalized citizen, one of only three Muslims serving in all of Congress. The Republicans are taking revenge for the Democrats kicking Republican extremists Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona from their committee assignments in 2021. 

  Speaker Kevin McCarthy has already ejected Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from the  House Intelligence Committee, basically accusing both of being a risk to national security.

The War Room: Russia’s Vladimir Putin yesterday used the 80th anniversary of his country’s defeat of Nazi Germany to pledge a renewed effort to bring Ukraine under his heel.

  Even though he invaded Ukraine, Putin said, “We are again and again being forced to resist the aggression of the collective West.” He went on, “The legacy of generations, values and traditions — this is all what makes Russia different, what makes us strong and confident in ourselves, in our righteousness and in our victory.”

  It’s been costly. Western officials say the number of Russian dead and wounded is approaching 200,000.

  Ukraine has been warning that Putin plans a new offensive to take the eastern part of the country. Yesterday his missiles struck the city of Kramatorsk, a major Ukrainian military hub in the east. Russian ground forces are grinding away, trying to take the eastern city of Bakhmut with barely trained soldiers getting gunned down by the defenders.

  The Institute for the Study of War says that, “Ukrainian Colonel Serhiy Hrabskyi stated that Russia does not have sufficient forces to conduct an attack along the entire 1,500km frontline in Ukraine and will concentrate its efforts on seizing Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.”

Econ 101: The stock value of Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, rocketed up more than 23 percent, yesterday, its biggest daily rise in nearly 10 years. It gained nearly $100 billion in market value in one day. 

  Last year Meta lost  60 percent of its value, but is up more than 50 percent this year. 

  At the same time, Google’s parent company Alphabet has suffered a 34 percent drop in net income in the last quarter, its fourth consecutive decline because digital ad placements are softening. 

  And Amazon, even with the Christmas season, reported almost no profit.

Murder Mystery: Police in New Jersey say the murder of 30-year-old Sayreville council member Eunice Dwumfour appears to have been specifically targeted, but so far they can’t say it was politically motivated. Dwumfour was a single mother until she recently married. She was found late Wednesday in an SUV in front of her apartment building.

The Spin Rack: The Bed Bath and Beyond housewares chain is closing another 87 stores as the struggling retailer barrels steers toward possible bankruptcy. They’ve already closed 150 stores. — EzriCare Artificial Tears eyedrops are being recalled because the product has been linked to a drug-resistant bacteria strain that has caused at least one person’s death and loss of sight in five others. — Brazil plans to sink a mothballed aircraft carrier that no other country will accept for dismantling because it was built with asbestos insulation and has built up toxic gas in its compartments. Now there are environmental objects to sinking it as well. — In a rare public admission of disagreement, Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he does not agree with Marjorie Taylor Greene’s assertion that January 6^thrioter Ashli Babbitt was “murdered” by a Capitol Police officer while she tried to breach doors to the House. “I think the police officer did his job,” McCarthy told reporters. 

Wind Chill: Forecasters say the Northeast is going to experience a “a once-in-a-generation cold” today and tomorrow. Temperatures in the low teens or below zero combined with winds up to 40 mph are going to make it pretty chilly. 

  The combination of wind and cold are what’s called “wind chill.” Forecasters and newscasters love it because it make the weather sound more threatening … it might “feel” 50 below zero. They say it will “feel” colder because it actually isn’t colder. Here’s the thing. A glass of water in 20 degree air does not freeze any faster when the wind is 40. The air is still 20. 

Below the Fold: The Los Angeles area’s most popular public radio station is changing its name from KPCC. Southern California Public Radio says it’s part of a move to consolidate the Pasadena station’s radio, podcast, digital and event offerings under the new name which is … wait for it … “LAist 89.3.” Kinda’ rolls off the tongue, don’t you think?

  Somebody got paid money for this.

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