We're following
new details
about that Chinese spy
balloon traveling across the country.
New video
in to the CNN NEWSROOM
showing the balloon now
hovering over
Asheville and Charlotte, North Carolina,
in the last hour.
And it could make it out to sea
at any moment.
The balloon was first
spotted over Montana on Wednesday.
China claims
it's a civilian research vessel
that blew off course, but the U.S.
isn't buying that.
Calling the balloons flight over U.S.
soil an irresponsible act.
Secretary of State
Antony Blinken
postponing a planned trip
to Beijing in response.
CNN's Oren
Liebermann is at the Pentagon for us.
So, Oren, officials say the balloon
doesn't currently currently
seem to present a threat.
But why is the Pentagon also proceeding
with caution on it?
So the Pentagon has said for now
that it will not be shooting this down
because of the risks
from two different perspectives.
First, there's the risk to what's below
blow something up at
60,000 feet,
and that could be scattered over
quite a large debris field.
So there is a risk
to people and property
but they are keeping
a very close eye on it
and are continuously monitoring this
as it makes its way across, frankly,
much of the United States
almost like a scenic tour
from the Northwest
over Montana
to where
it's just been spotted
over the course of the last hour or so.
Asheville, North Carolina,
Charlotte, North Carolina,
some sightings there.
So it's making its way
excuse me, along that sort of east
southeast track.
The other reason
they haven't taken it down yet
is because they don't believe
it has surveillance
or intelligence gathering capabilities
above and beyond.
Chinese spy
satellites,
which are constantly rotating
around the earth
and taking their own pictures
of the United States.
So for that reason,
the decision has been
made at this point,
not to, frankly,
shoot this thing out of the sky.
President Joe Biden
did request military options
when this was first spotted over the U.S.
earlier this week over Montana.
But the Pentagon recommended
against that at this time.
The question is,
what is the response from here?
Both the State Department
and the Pentagon have made it clear
they view this as a violation of U.S.
airspace,
a violation of breach
of international law.
And they view this
severely ahead of a high stakes visit
or planned visit,
I should say, of Secretary of State
Antony Blinken to Beijing
it was to be the first time the top U.S.
diplomat has visited China and Beijing
in six years,
and the Chinese took
this very seriously,
especially with high tensions.
So for this to have happened,
a major mistake on their part,
and they have apologized multiple times
and said, look,
this was just a weather balloon
that was barely controllable.
It was pulled over the U.S. by winds.
The U.S.
has made it clear
they're not buying that explanation.
They delayed or postponed
at least the trip of Blinken to China
And now the question,
where does this go from here?
First, is there more diplomatic fallout?
Second,
is there a military response
in being at the Pentagon today?
There are key staff members
from the top levels of the Pentagon here.
And that raises the question.
Does the Pentagon plan
on shooting this down
once there's no longer a risk of
the people and property below?
And this is out over U.S. waters right?
All right.
Well, you'll be watching. Keep us posted.
Oren Liebermann, thank you so much.
I mean, so many extraordinary
things about this,
but particularly the balloon
is actually visible
to the naked eye,
giving many in North Carolina
a view this morning.
And joining us right now
on the phone, Evan Fisher.
He saw the balloon over Asheville,
North Carolina, this morning.
Evan, had you been looking for it?
I mean, in anticipation
that it might be moving over
North Carolina airspace?
How did you spot it?
Well,
we were expecting it
to move over
the western North Carolina area
between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m..
But then to our surprise,
it didn't show up until after sunrise.
So I spotted it around
eight 50 this morning
in the southern sky
to the south of Asheville
and much larger than I expected it to be,
drifting off
to the east southeast,
as we were just talking
about an interview.
Beautiful sight,
a little unusual
as a member of the public.
You know,
we're not too educated on
everything that is going on
with the balloon.
But it was very interesting to see it
and follow the saga
that's been playing out
across the United States
over the past few days.
And these are your images
we're looking at, right?
I mean, you saw it with the naked eye,
but then how did you get these images?
Is this from your,
you know, your cell phone
or did you use a camera,
a professional grade camera?
Sure.
So for the still image
that was with a camera and a zoom lens,
that was pretty tight
on the balloon itself.
And with some editing and cropping,
I was able to get it
pretty close on there.
But for the video
that was actually just shot with
with an iPhone zoomed in.
And as you can see
from the very beginning,
it does look small on
iPhone photos and iPhone videos.
But in reality,
it looks much larger in person
to the naked eye.
Wow. And here you're a meteorologist.
You've got a clear sky.
She had a clear viewing of it.
What are ordinary people
in your proximity saying about this site?
Oh, the community was very excited
to be able to contribute
to these reports.
There were lots of folks
all across Asheville up
to South Carolina
and western North Carolina
as a whole,
sending in pictures
and just sharing their
experience with it.
And that was so wonderful
to see everyone coming together
and then sharing oh, yeah.
I mean, you mentioned it
being a beautiful site.
I mean, there's something
there are a lot of things
very ominous about this. It's mysterious.
We don't know the purpose of it.
What what it is gaining from,
you know, being
over the North Carolina skies there.
But talk to me about
just emotionally
what you were feeling and thinking
not just as a meteorologist,
but just as a,
you know, as a citizen with this
unknown object in the air and moving.
You're absolutely right.
It is a bit
ominous and a little concerning.
But to be honest,
in western North Carolina,
I wasn't too concerned about the spy
aspect of it.
I'm not sure how that would impact
my day to day
life here in Fairview, North Carolina.
But my gut reaction was just excitement.
I really did not expect to see it
because it was supposed to pass over
so much earlier in the day.
So when I stepped out on the porch
and looked up in the sky,
lo and behold, there it was.
And I went scrambling for a camera.