Mystery, Alaska : The US yesterday on the orders of President Biden shot down what the administration describes as a high altitude unidentified object over the waters of Alaska. The presumption is that it was another Chinese balloon, but there’s no confirmation of that.

  The object was described as being the size of a small car flying at about 40,000 feet, an altitude that could have been a danger to civilian aircraft.

  This was less than a week after the Air Force shot down a Chinese balloon that the administration says it has verified as a spy craft. President Biden is still taking flak for not ordering the shootdown until the balloon had traversed the entire country and gotten on the radar of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Quake Zone: This morning a 16 year old boy was pulled alive from the rubble 119 hours after the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Survival drops dramatically after 72 hours. As of today, more than 24,000 people are dead.

  Hundreds of thousands of people are homeless, overwhelming available aid. Some say they have not eaten in days.

The War Room: Once again yesterday Russia fired waves of drones, rockets and cruise missiles aimed at Ukraine’s already badly damaged infrastructure. Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelensky said, “Their targets were civilians, civilian infrastructure.” 

  The Ukrainian Air Force said the assault was a “massive attack” involving 71 cruise missiles and seven Iranian-made drones. Ukraine claimed to have shot down 61 of the cruise missiles and five of the drones.  

  This comes as Ukraine says Russia appears to be stepping up operations in the east for a winter or early spring offensive to take ground.

  Yevgeny Prigozhin the owner of the Russian private army the Wagner Group, said in an interview that it will take a year and a half to capture the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine and that “I have my own ideal plan” to reach the English channel if necessary.

God Knows: Former President Donald Trump’s legal team recently handed over another file of classified information found at the former president’s Florida estate, eclipsing news about Mike Pence.

  The FBI yesterday found another classified document in the Indiana home of the former vice president. The Pences were travelling while the search was conducted.

  Pence and his aides agreed to the search after they discovered some classified documents in the home last month.

  Reports say that there’s some tension between Pence and the Justice Department. They had been discussing or negotiating the terms for a search when news of it leaked to the press. 

  Pence was on his high horse after classified documents were found in the home and former office of President Biden. He said, “There would be no reason to have classified documents, particularly if they were in an unclassified area.”

Less Free: Conservatives who defend an unfettered right to own a gun now have their sights on freedom of the press.

  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is one of the most prominent politicians calling for the Supreme Court to overturn its landmark decision that protects the press from getting sued for unintentional errors. The case known as NY Times v. Sullivan created a higher bar for public figures to sue for libel and defamation. Under Sullivan, public figures must prove that a report containing false and damaging information was published with “actual malice” and reckless disregard for the truth.

  “How did it get to be this doctrine that has had really profound effects on society?” DeSantis asked at an event dealing with the issue. He accused the press of using Sullivan to “smear” politicians, discouraging people from running for office.

  Donald Trump has already sued CNN, suggesting that the Supreme Court “should reconsider whether Sullivan’s standard truly protects the democratic values embodied by the First Amendment.” 

  Ironically, if the Sullivan case is overturned, the people who might get hurt the worst are the conservative politicians making fantastically false claims about their perceived enemies.

The Spin Rack: After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew about 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts at a cost of about $1.5 million, the Republican supermajority in the legislature has voted another $10 million to ship migrants located in other states to so-called ‘sanctuary cities.” — The IRS announced that most relief checks issued last year during the pandemic are not taxable. — The City of Philadelphia is considering greasing light poles to prevent Super Bowl celebrants from climbing them.

Just Super: Tomorrow’s Super Bowl in Phoenix is being touted as historical because it will  feature two Black quarterbacks and two brothers on opposite teams, but more significant is that it will be the first Super Bowl to have a sports betting operation on stadium grounds, BetMGM. Fans will be able  to bet on the game as it plays out in front of them. 

  With tickets costing multiple thousands, Rihanna doing the halftime show, and commercials bombarding the American public, the Super Bowl has become a showcase for every American excess, now with gambling included.

  As for the actual game, for the first time both teams will be steered by Black quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes for the Kansas City Chiefs, and Jalen Hurts for the Philadelphia Eagles.

  Two brothers … blood brothers … also are facing off. Jason Kelce is the starting center for the Eagles, and Travis starts as tight end for the Chiefs. 

  One team is going to win and one is going to lose. Bet on it.

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