comment: >
  
  What was China thinking?  Of course, the balloon would be seen, and the US would respond.  Was this meant to embarrass Biden or to embarrass Xi?  It just does not make sense to me
context: This story has been updated.
  A U.S. military aircraft on Saturday downed the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that had been floating over the United States for several days, according to eyewitness video circulating on social media.
  The balloon was brought down just off the Atlantic Coast, shortly after the Federal Aviation Administration, citing an unspecified security situation, announced ground stops for all flights in and out of Wilmington, N.C., Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Charleston, S.C.
  In a statement, the agency said the ground stop was to “support the Department of Defense in a national security effort.”
  The balloon was disclosed to the public on Thursday after appearing over Montana the day before, prompting a temporary stoppage of all flights out of the airport in Billings. On Friday a second Chinese spy balloon was spotted over Latin America, the Pentagon said. U.S. officials say there is likely a third such balloon conducting surveillance in another part of the world.