Chinese balloon now over central US as Blinken cancels visit

A huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon sailed across the U.S. on Friday, drawing severe Pentagon accusations of spying and sending excited or alarmed Americans outside with binoculars. Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceled a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing U..S.-China tensions.

The cancelation came despite China’s claim that the balloon was a weather research “airship” that had blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — and China’s contention that the balloon, about the size of two school buses, was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.

The balloon was detected earlier over sensitive military sites in Montana but had moved eastward over the heartland of the central United States by midday and was expected to remain in U.S. airspace for several days, officials said.