Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst.

President Biden says the Pentagon shot down a suspected Chinese military spy balloon

over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina this afternoon.

He says he gave the order Wednesday to bring down the balloon and the military waited

until it was in the safest spot to do so.

Impires Jenna McLaughlin has more.

After a week of monitoring a large Chinese balloon as it traveled over the United States,

the US military has finally shot it down off the coast of the Carolinas.

The Pentagon says it's been tracking the suspected spy craft since before it entered US airspace

and has revealed it traveled over sensitive sites including nuclear bases in Montana.

However, officials say it didn't pose an outsize risk to civilians or to US secrets.

While the Pentagon says it isn't the first time China has launched balloons like this,

in or near US airspace, the balloon's trajectory quickly became a subject of geopolitical drama,

resulting in the postponement of Secretary of State Antony Blinkens travel to China.

Jenna McLaughlin and P.R. News.

The Democratic National Committee overwhelmingly voted to reshuffle the party's presidential

primary calendar.

As MPYR's Barbara Sprint reports, the approved order removes the Iowa caucuses from the early

slate of states and elevates primaries in states with more diverse electorates.

Under the adopted proposal which President Biden himself advocated for, the 2024 presidential

calendar will give South Carolina the first place position, followed by New Hampshire and

Nevada jointly sharing the number two slot.

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