michigan. we do know that object was shot down by an f-16. norad s commander says they aren t calling that object a balloon because they re not able to say right now how that object was able to stay in the air. the uncertainty is escalating the war of words between the united states and china. china claims the united states has been flying balloons over chinese airspace without permission. that s an argument admiral john kirby flatly denied earlier. not true. not doing it. that s absolutely not true. we or not flying balloons over china. also this week, over a week since the devastating earthquakes in turkey and syria, rescue crews are amazingly still finding survivors in the rubble this morning, but the devastation is immense, spanning the area nearly the size of texas, and the number of people confirmed dead is now more than 35,000. in moments i ll be talking with former arizona senator jeff flake, now the ambassador to turkey about how the u.s. is helping people there.
dependence on china and investigating the alliance between russian president vladimir putin and chinese president xi jinping, especially as it relates to defending taiwan. garrett, beyond briefings, hearings, resolutions condemning china, what kind of legislation might be on the table for lawmakers? reporter: alex, i would say despite the fact standing up to china is one of the few principles that unites democrats and republicans in this congress, it s hard for me to see how much legislation might make it out of this congress and to joe biden s desk. to the degree there is any, i think it follows the template laid out in the last conference which is something like the chips and science act which managed to pass late last year to fund the u.s. semiconductor industries to make us less dependent on chinese and chinese manufacturers. started as more of a r&d-focused bill and ended up being more manufacturer support.