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U.S. Shoots Down Suspected Spy Balloon; Chile Wildfires. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired February 05, 2023 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome. Coming to you live from Studio 4 at the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.

Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM --

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible.

HOLMES (voice-over): The U.S. has shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon after it traveled across America for days. Recovery efforts now underway. China says the balloon entered U.S. airspace by accident, heightening already tense relations between Washington and Beijing. We're live in Hong Kong with the latest from there.

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HOLMES (voice-over): But it's not the only one. The Pentagon says a second balloon is flying over Latin America. The report ahead.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.

HOLMES: We want to show you the dramatic moment a U.S. Sidewinder missile took out the suspected Chinese spy balloon that has caused so much havoc this week. The balloon was so high up, nearly 12 miles or 20 kilometers, that it took a few seconds for the shockwave to reach the ground, have a listen.

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HOLMES (voice-over): The shoot-down happened Saturday off the coast of South Carolina near Myrtle Beach. It was a sensational landing to a saga unfolding for days, as the giant craft drifted silently above the American heartland.

China is loudly protesting, accusing the U.S. of overreacting. Beijing continues to insist it was merely a civilian scientific balloon that blew off course. After studying its movements and patterns for several days, Pentagon officials say they are confident the lumbering craft was conducting surveillance.

For now, many answers will have to wait until the balloon and its payload are recovered and analyzed. At last report, we're told the wreck along is lying on the ocean floor some 50 feet down, about 15 meters, and salvage efforts are starting to get underway. Oren Liebermann explains what the U.S. plans to do with the balloon's remnants.

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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: What has been an effort to track this Chinese surveillance balloon for days, as it made its way across the United States and out over the ocean, is now a recovery effort to bring up the wreckage of the Chinese surveillance balloon and the payload it was carrying from the ocean floor.

Not all that deep, according to the Pentagon, a senior Defense official said the wreckage landed in 47 feet of water, so relatively shallow there. And there were Navy and Coast Guard assets onsite to begin establishing a perimeter and a salvage vessel on its way to start bringing up the wreckage.

It may be difficult to see what's left; it did fall from a height of 60,000 feet, nearly 12 miles, and impacted the water. That may have done serious damage to the technology on board.

That's what the Pentagon and the U.S. government will figure out, what condition it's in, what is salvageable, what can you learn from this and what can you glean about the state of Chinese technology and what they put on the surveillance balloon.

A senior Defense official said it didn't just start now; over the course of the last several day, the Pentagon made an effort to make sure this balloon couldn't gather as much information as they were looking for.

They wouldn't detail exactly what those efforts entailed; instead, they tried to flip the scrip, monitoring the balloon constantly and trying to learn what they could about it as it traversed the United States.

In terms of what went into this beforehand, there were days of planning to figure out what was the best time to shoot it down. In fact, it was decided not to shoot it down over the continental United States because of the risk to people and property.

Instead the decision was made to shoot it down over the water. The Pentagon and Northern Command launched F-22s from Langley Air Force Base as well as support aircraft, F-15s and tankers.

In the end, it was a single F-22 that fired a single AIM-9 Sidewinder, a short-range heat seeking missile, that pierces the balloon, one shot, one kill, bringing down the surveillance balloon as it made its way across the U.S.

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LIEBERMANN: That's the military side, the diplomatic side as well, the U.S. making it very clear they found this unacceptable and considered a violation of U.S. airspace and now we have seen the military's response -- Oren Liebermann, CNN, at the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Ivan Watson is in Hong Kong with the latest from there.

China's view, overreaction by the U.S., a violation of international practice, which is surprising when you think about what China would have done if it was the U.S. balloon over its territory.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I don't think that an aircraft like that would survive for very long in Chinese airspace, transiting the entire country. The Chinese official reaction to this has evolved.

On Friday night, the Chinese foreign ministry expressed regret and said that this was a research aircraft that had gone off course, had been blown off course, and it was working with the U.S. to help deal with this.

Now after you have an F-22 shooting the balloon down right off the coast of South Carolina, the Chinese foreign ministry is suddenly protesting this, saying, quote, "China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and protests against the U.S. use of force to attack civilian unmanned aircraft.

"The Chinese side has repeatedly informed the U.S. side after verification the airship is for civilian use and entered the U.S. due to force majeure. It was completely an accident."

Now as the Chinese government has argued, that this was a research meteorological balloon, the question is, which branch of some Chinese company or the Chinese government could it be from?

We haven't heard any real explanation about that yet. We also know that China is very jealous about its own territorial sovereignty as it has made claims into what international courts of arbitration have argued are international waters, such as the South China Sea.

China has accused other governments of infringing on its own sovereignty when, say, the U.S. sails warships in the South China Sea or flies planes there. So it doesn't seem to have a very steady leg to stand on when it is arguing that the U.S. shooting down a Chinese balloon over U.S. airspace infringes on Chinese property.

HOLMES: Yes and, Ivan, that balloon's not the only one. There's a second reported balloon over Latin America.

Any response to that one? WATSON: Yes, I mean, there are so many unanswered questions here because not only have you had this balloon flying over the entire U.S. but now you have Costa Rican aviation authorities and Colombian air force saying, we're seeing something that looks an awful lot like the same balloon flying over our own airspace.

There's been this statement from the Colombian air force, saying they're seeing an object at an altitude of more than 55,000 feet -- which is similar to the balloon that was flying over the U.S., at a similar altitude -- saying they're following it, that it doesn't pose an immediate threat.

And we're also starting to see images emerging from people on the ground in Central and Latin America. And guess what, it looks an awful lot like the same balloon that the U.S. warplane just shot down over the U.S.

A lot more questions about this.

And you know, Michael, it brings another question. If, as the Americans have said, this balloon had solar panels and had equipment on it the length of three buses, why would China be sending such equipment, such technology, flying around the world and not have a way to reclaim it?

It would just seem to be throwing away resources, throwing away money. So many more questions that, perhaps, we'll get an answer from Chinese government officials on Monday when they do their routine briefings.

HOLMES: Yes. Appreciate the update, Ivan Watson in Hong Kong.

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HOLMES: Military analyst Malcolm Davis is the senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. He joins me now from Canberra.

Good to see you.

What do you make of China's story of a civilian commercial balloon?

A story they are sticking to.

Do you buy it?

MALCOLM DAVIS, SENIOR ANALYST, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Well, thanks, Michael.

No, I don't buy it at all. When you look at this balloon before it was shot down by the F-22, it was a fairly sophisticated platform, had a large set of solar arrays that were powering an instrumentation package underneath the balloon itself. That doesn't sound very much like a weather balloon to me.

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DAVIS: And the very fact that this balloon was floated over sensitive U.S. military sites, it would have been an ideal platform to gather signals intelligence, electronic intelligence rather than necessarily taking photos. So I think the Chinese claim that this is somehow an innocent weather balloon gone off course is, frankly, nonsense.

HOLMES: Tell us more about what you military types call SIGINT?

What could this thing do that a low orbit satellite couldn't?

DAVIS: OK, well, a satellite is in orbit, it's moving in orbital velocities, about 27,500 kilometers per hour, moving very fast, which means its dwell time, its ability to be over a particular target, is very short.

The balloon is at 60,000 feet, drifting with the wind. So it can actually spend a long time over a particular region.

And with signals intelligence and electronic intelligence, or SIGINT and ELINT, it's about scooping up radio transmissions, radar emissions, microwave transmissions, everything that could be happening electronically in the air around those sensitive U.S. military sites, including significant numbers of nuclear missile ICBM silos.

So this is an important area for the U.S. military. That Chinese balloon would have been gathering intelligence on SIGINT and ELINT emissions and it would be a useful way for that intelligence to then be sent back via satellite to the Chinese.

HOLMES: Yes, yes. And it's going to be interesting. We don't really know what the Americans, if anything, were able to jam or block as it flew along.

But what sorts of things might the payload reveal once the Americans get it off the ocean floor?

DAVIS: Well, that largely depends on just what the shape of the payload is. I mean, it's fallen from 60,000 feet, as you saw in the shoot-down video. The payload, the instrumentation package and the solar panels separated from the balloon itself, which was ruptured by the Sidewinder shot.

So it would have been falling at a terminal velocity, about 225 feet per second. So it would have hit the water fairly hard. We don't know just what shape the payload would be in.

But assuming some of it is intact, it would give the U.S. and its allies some understanding of what sort of signals intelligence and electronic intelligence gathering capabilities the Chinese would have for that particular type of aircraft.

HOLMES: And when it comes to implications going forward, what might the Chinese do now to avoid losing face?

Would you expect a response perhaps in other parts of the world where the American military operate?

DAVIS: Yes, I think that's quite possible. What you could see is the Chinese responding essentially asymmetrically or indirectly in other parts of the world, particularly such as the South China Sea where the U.S. undertake freedom of navigation operations, FONOPs as they're called.

We've had incidents of U.S. aircraft being harassed by Chinese fighter aircraft, Australian aircraft harassed in that area; ships at sea have been harassed. These are international waters and international airspace. They are not Chinese territory.

And so the Chinese will go into that international airspace and harass U.S. flights. That's a possibility that we could see.

HOLMES: Great analysis as always, Malcolm. Appreciate it.

Malcolm Davis there for us.

DAVIS: Thank you very much.

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HOLMES: Divers from the U.S. Navy are working to recover the debris of that Chinese spy balloon from the Atlantic Ocean. Sources telling CNN it will then be taken to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis. CNN's Tom Foreman with more on what they will be up against.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the portion of this balloon investigators want to get their hands on, the payload, central core and what looked like a couple of solar arrays on either side.

When the balloon was destroyed, you could clearly see it falling away below. Now if this had the mass of a human, like a sky diver, it might be falling at 100-150 miles an hour, something like that.

If it had the mass of a couple of cars, its terminal velocity might have been more like 500 miles an hour or up from that. What that means is, when it got to this area just off Myrtle Beach, the water would be essentially like concrete.

It would hit it with tremendous force and be absolutely misshapen, torn apart and broken up by this impact.

What does that mean to recovery?

What it means is the first thing they have to do when they get settled out there, to get divers down, 47 feet down, that's good. That's a good, workable depth. There they have to look at this, figure out how many pieces it's in, where they are, assess it, figure out if some of it is buried down in the muck below.

And then come up with a list of priorities.

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FOREMAN: What do they want to bring up first? How do they want to bring it up to protect all of this as much as they can?

And how long will it take?

These operations typically are longer than most people expect, even though they believe this one could be pretty fast. Think of it this way: this is like an underwater crime scene now and they have to protect their evidence as best they can if they want to learn all they can about this balloon.

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HOLMES: Some of the battle tanks promised to Kyiv are headed Ukraine's way. As those weapons depart, Ukraine getting commitments that more Western firepower will follow.

Also, deadly wildfires scorching thousands of acres in Chile. We'll have the very latest from there as well.

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HOLMES: After drifting silently for days above the American heartland and causing a great deal of consternation on the ground, that suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot out of the sky on Saturday by a U.S. fighter jet. The balloon had finally drifted out over the Atlantic when President Biden's standing order to shoot it down was executed.

The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard are now actively looking to salvage the balloon and its payload from about 50 feet or 15 meters of water off the coast of South Carolina.

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HOLMES: Those materials will then be taken to an FBI lab for analysis.

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HOLMES: Multiple people witnessed the moment the balloon was shot down near Myrtle Beach on Saturday afternoon. Here's one local resident's account.

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RON LAPMAN, WITNESS: We came here to the parking lot and saw the balloon up ahead -- up high. And then we probably watched it, I don't know, maybe about five minutes and then started seeing some jet trails coming from the west.

And one in particular all of a sudden seemed like it was coming fast and coming straight toward the balloon. And from there, suddenly we saw something take off from the jet and knew it was a missile. And you could see the explosion.

Didn't hear anything but saw the explosion of the balloon. And it seemed like it started falling apart and starting to come down. Now it's just stretching out into the ocean. Hard to see anymore but it's still out there, though.

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HOLMES: Now the jet that reportedly took down the balloon was like the one you see there on your screen. U.S. military says it was an F- 22 fighter from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia and that it made the hit with an AIM-9X missile.

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HOLMES: Ukraine says around 500,000 people are without power following a technical failure at an electricity substation in the country's third largest city. Officials say an Odessa station suffered a serious malfunction Saturday after being damaged in Russian strikes earlier.

The city's heat and water system are still up and running. But officials are rushing in emergency generators as well.

In the east, pro-Russian officials say one person was killed in an artillery strike on that occupied part of Ukraine. They say the victim was found under debris after a Ukrainian attack hit an apartment block in the city of Donetsk.

Canada says the Leopard tanks it promised Ukraine are on the way. Canada's defense minister posting this video of tanks being loaded onto transport planes.

On Saturday, Portugal became the latest country to pledge Leopards to Ukraine, while France and Italy are now promising a new air defense system to be delivered this spring. The pledge came as Ukraine's president made this warning.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Over the 346 days of this war, I have often said the situation at the front is tough and that the situation is getting tougher.

Now it is such a time again, the time when the occupier is throwing more and more of its forces at breaking down our defense. It is very difficult now in Bakhmut and other directions.

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HOLMES: Ukraine says over 100 of its prisoners of war are back home after the latest prisoner exchange with Moscow. It says the remains of two British aid workers killed in the east of the country were also returned. A Russian state news agency says more than 60 Russian troops were

freed by the Ukrainians in a deal mediated by the United Arab Emirates.

For the fifth straight weekend, thousands of protesters filled the streets across Israel.

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HOLMES (voice-over): This was the scene in Tel Aviv; thousands more demonstrating in Jerusalem, Haifa and other Israeli cities. Protesters object to the right-wing government of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a series of planned judicial changes.

Opposition leaders attended the demonstrations again this weekend, including the former prime minister Yair Lapid.

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HOLMES: Dozens of wildfires are burning in Chile and the weather is not helping. Temperatures in excess of 100 degrees or 40 degrees Celsius. An area the size of Philadelphia, already charred. The cost in human lives continues to rise. The death toll now standing at 23.

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HOLMES (voice-over): The fires have done their damage in this part of Chile, home after home burned to the ground, some flames yet to die out. Wildfires are raging through some 40,000 hectares of land in the south and central parts of the country, fanned by strong winds and searing temperatures.

The government declaring a state of catastrophe in some areas, so that soldiers can join firefighters in battling the blazes. Chile also asking its neighbors for assistance, with Argentina pledging to send more manpower and machinery.

That help too late for some; more than 20 people have died because of the fires. And hundreds of homes have been damaged. Much of the terrain in the fires' path made up of vulnerable farms and forests.

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HOLMES (voice-over): Some residents going into salvage mode, pouring buckets of water on their still-smoldering property to prevent reignition. But for many, a total loss. What's left of their homes lies in scrap piles.

On Friday, Chilean president Gabriel Boric cut short his summer vacation, visiting people in shelters, saying the government is using all its strength to combat the fires and the families of the victims will get the help they need.

No help in sight from the forecast, with more hot temperatures and windy conditions expected, which could further the advance of the fires, despite the reinforcements Chile is bringing in. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: A massive fire near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border followed a train derailment that happened nearly 24 hours ago. Evacuation and shelter in place orders were put into effect for nearby residents in northeastern Ohio. No injuries have been reported.

But the train was hauling some 20 cars with hazardous materials, according to a local transport official. However, environmental authorities say they have not detected any harmful releases at the moment. The cause of the derailment, unclear.

Do stay with us. For our international viewers, "INSIDE AFRICA" is next. For viewers in the United States and Canada, I'll be back with more news after the break.

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HOLMES: Welcome back to our viewers in North America. I'm Michael Holmes. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

The U.S. military right now working to salvage that suspected Chinese spy balloon after it was shot down over the Atlantic. President Biden giving the go-ahead to shoot it down several days ago and the Pentagon waiting until it was out over water to execute that order.

On Saturday, a single U.S. missile hit the balloon at an altitude of some 12 miles or 20 kilometers. The debris is now said to be on the ocean floor but in relatively shallow water.

China's foreign ministry protesting the shoot-down of what it said was a research balloon that had gone off course. But the Pentagon says it is confident the balloon was conducting surveillance as it slowly floated over the U.S. mainland and some sensitive military sites.

President Biden said he approved the plan to shoot down the Chinese balloon earlier in the week. He says the Pentagon wanted to wait until it was over water to avoid damage to anyone on the ground. CNN's Arlette Saenz has details from the White House.

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Biden told his top military leaders on Wednesday to shoot down the Chinese spy balloon transiting over the U.S. as soon as possible.

The president heard advice from military leaders, who warned that shooting anything down over land, over ground, could pose a risk to American lives. So ultimately the president heeded their advice and waited to have this balloon shot down until it was over the waters on Saturday afternoon.

President Biden was briefed on those final plans Friday evening and ultimately Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin gave that final go-ahead shortly after noon on Saturday. The president was flying on Air Force One from Syracuse, New York, to Maryland and was on the phone with his top officials as this operation was underway.

Here's what he had to tell reporters about the considerations given.

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BIDEN: On Wednesday, when I was briefed on the balloon, I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible.

They decided -- without doing damage to anyone on the ground. They decided that the best time to do that was, as it got over water, outside -- within our -- within the 12-mile limit.

They successfully took it down. And I want to complement our aviators who did it. And we'll have more to report on this a little later.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, what does this say about China?

What's your message to China?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were saying the recommendation from your -- was from your national security --

BIDEN: I told them to shoot it down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On Wednesday?

BIDEN: On Wednesday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the recommendation from them --

BIDEN: They said to me, "Let's wait until the safest place to do it."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Republicans were quick to criticize the president for not taking it down sooner. They said it's a sign of weakness. The White House pushed back, saying this was a responsible action for the president to take. He was trying to save American lives. There are lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling for briefings and hearings in this matter.

The so-called Gang of Eight will receive official information from the president next week as there are so many outstanding questions about how this unfolded. Arlette Saenz, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Let's discuss more with our senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, also senior editor of "The Atlantic."

Good to see you, Ron.

Politically, what does President Biden do now?

Is this a political gift or a burden?

How does he handle this domestically, politically, diplomatically and so on?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think diplomatically, it is going to be an issue. It's just another turn of the screw in the several-year process we've seen, of both parties moving toward more skepticism of China and harder line positions toward China.

But I think in domestic politics, the impact is likely pretty slight over time. A lot of things can go wrong between now and 2024 for President Biden.

But the idea there's a meaningful number of voters who would really otherwise be open to voting for him are going to conclude that he doesn't deserve a second term because he waited so long to shoot down a Chinese balloon. Seems to me kind of a small number there.

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BROWNSTEIN: What it will do is provide today's fodder for the kind of the outrage machine that Republicans will have going full-time, 24/7, between now and November 2024.

HOLMES: Yes. Yes. Even though we now know these balloons were out there under Trump as well and were not shot down.

Does that blunt their argument?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, clearly. Like I said, there is a demand side -- I kind of look at this as an example of the dynamic we're in, is there is more of a demand side than a supply side call for the kind of outrage du jour, especially once you have control of one chamber of Congress.

There is constantly going to be something, always going to be something, between now and Election Day 2024, that is going to cause congressional Republicans to erupt in outrage.

It just kind of -- there's a demand. Something has to fill that spot on any given day. And right now this is the thing that will fill it for the next few days. But I suspect it will not dominate political conversation any longer than the balloon itself lasted over the U.S.

I do think it is going to kind of advance that debate -- and it isn't a debate at this point; it's really more of a movement in both parties toward a harder line toward China. But I think this is more about providing this week's example for the existing conservative audience for why Joe Biden is a failure as president. HOLMES: Yes. China is sticking with the civilian craft story. That

might be true. Doesn't look like it, according to the experts.

But regardless, how important is it for the Biden administration politically and otherwise to prove the Chinese story wrong, to get that stuff out of the water and to a FBI lab and say, see, we were right about this?

BROWNSTEIN: That's a really good point. Look, again, I think the implications are more significant for international relations than for domestic politics. And I think that will be a very important point that they will want to underscore.

There are obviously issues. And I'm sure you've talked to other experts, who said, exactly why did they need a balloon traversing the U.S. when they have a satellite system that can -- satellite surveillance?

They can presumably achieve many of the same goals. This was a provocative act. It was not something that they had to do. You know, they can argue they're responding to our own spyplanes and so forth.

But the reality is that, in a context in which we have seen both parties move away from where they were, under Bill Clinton and certainly even Barack Obama, toward believing that we could coax China into becoming more of a model -- or at least a kind of participant in the international system or a responsible participant.

Both parties are extremely skeptical of China. We see it in all sorts of ways. Even the Inflation Reduction Act and all efforts to move critical materials and production of EV batteries out of China back toward the U.S.

And I just think this is something that is going to give more momentum to that cooling toward China, which really now has become almost a fully -- there's still a difference of degree between where Republicans and Democrats talk about China. But both are moving toward a harder line.

HOLMES: Also, the timing of the balloon's journey seems even more extraordinary, given Antony Blinken was about to visit and that was a meeting the Chinese wanted.

You've got to ask, why do it now?

How big of a blunder is this for China?

And is it leverage for the Americans?

BROWNSTEIN: First of all, one-party states, closed systems, as we are learning again -- with -- or as Putin is perhaps learning -- are not always the best predictors of how their actions are going to be received outside of their borders.

They really have no experience in trying to manage any kind of political debate. They're used to doing what they want and not hearing anything back.

So it is hardly surprising, I think, that China miscalculated as fundamentally as this.

And yes, I do think -- you know, Joe Biden is not Bill Clinton or Barack Obama. He did not begin his presidency looking for ways to enhance China's integration into the global system.

In many ways, he echoed the skepticism of China -- in a less bellicose fashion than we heard from Donald Trump. And this, you know, gives him more reinforcement in that direction.

I think it further marginalizes -- I don't think there's a faction in either party, a kind of substantial faction in either party, that's looking to reverse course on China. And this is the kind of thing that will make that even -- reinforce that basic trajectory of our policy.

HOLMES: Great points as always. Ron Brownstein, always a pleasure. Good to see you.

[01:40:00]

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

HOLMES: Commercial airliners spent extra time on the ground as the U.S. military takes aim at a suspected Chinese spy balloon. When we come back, what steps were taken to keep air traffic away so the military could knock that balloon out of the sky.

Also, the northeastern United States finally thawing out from that arctic blast that brought record-breaking low wind chill temperatures. We'll have all of that and more when we come back.

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HOLMES: This breaking news just coming in here at CNN. The former Pakistani president, general Pervez Musharraf, has died. According to a statement from Pakistan's military, he died in Dubai after a prolonged illness.

Musharraf was president of Pakistan from 2001 through 2008 during the height of the U.S. war on terror and the conflict in Afghanistan. He was 79 years old.

More now on our top story. The U.S. retrieving the remnants of that suspected Chinese spy balloon after shooting it down over the Atlantic Ocean. Witnesses captured the moment it was struck by a single missile for a fighter jet.

It happened off the South Carolina coast on Saturday, a week after it was first detected over Alaska.

[01:45:00]

HOLMES: And days after the balloon gained public attention over Montana. It drifted across the country at an altitude of about 60,000 feet or 18,000 meters. That's almost twice as high as most passenger planes.

But to take the balloon down, U.S. officials had to make sure that civilian air traffic stayed well away from the area. As CNN's Pete Muntean reports, that required taking some steps that have not been seen in a long time.

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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The Federal Aviation Administration has now ended its temporary flight restriction, the restricted airspace that it put in place it says at the request of the Department of Defense, because apparently, of this shoot down of this Chinese spy balloon as it wafted over the coast of the Carolinas.

This huge piece of restricted airspace twice the size of the State of Massachusetts, five times the size of the restricted airspace that's been in place post 9/11 over Washington, D.C.

What was very telling about this one, this went into place about 1:30 pm on the East Coast on Saturday was that this was up to 60,000 feet, which the Pentagon says was the altitude that this balloon was floating at.

That is very critical because the FAA simply wanted to clear out the airspace below and make it so there would not be a hazard to airliners which fly at roughly half the height of this balloon.

The FAA put in place a ground stop as well because of that restricted airspace at three airports along the Carolina coast -- Wilmington in North Carolina, Charleston in South Carolina and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. Those airports were paralyzed for about an hour as the shootdown took place.

It wasn't long after that all of these restrictions were lifted, although, this would likely go down in history as one of the largest pieces of restricted airspace ever.

We have never seen something like this put into place and the FAA says, it was all at the request of the Pentagon -- Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: The arctic blast that gripped the northeastern United States for a few days is beginning to taper off, finally. The wind chill alerts have ended and the gusting winds have died down. Temperatures are expected to be about 5 to 10 degrees above normal in the coming hours.

On Saturday, Boston dropped to a low temperature of -10 degrees. The mayor declaring a state of emergency through the weekend and opening warming centers for people experiencing homelessness during what was life-threatening cold.

And parts of New York City hit 5 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday. As CNN's Gloria Pazmino reports, the brutal cold forcing many to stay home and off the streets.

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GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Record low temperatures across the region. But here in New York City, right outside of Central Park, people have been doing what they do best here in New York: they have been braving the elements.

All day I've been speaking with tourists and New Yorkers who are unfazed by the cold temperatures. All day, I've been watching my friend here, Jamal (ph), who is running this hot dog cart here. He had a hard time this morning trying to get it set up because his generator had actually frozen. The oil and gas inside of it.

He had a hard time getting it set up. And he told me that business is a little bit slow today.

Right?

Not so good. Not many people out here in these cold temperatures. And just take a look. This bottle of water frozen solid. It has been frozen all day. That should give you an idea of just how cold it is here. But as I said New Yorkers, those who are visiting, for the most part, taking it in stride, out for a jog, walking the dog and just enjoying the weather.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just ran around the park.

PAZMINO: Just ran around the park?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PAZMINO: 12 degrees?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not bad when the wind is not blowing.

PAZMINO: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It feels good.

PAZMINO: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It feels really refreshing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people here and they're like, oh, my God, it's like fashionable. And I'm like yes, but it's also function. Like the hat to make sure ears are warm, like her face is warm, her head and the shoes because it's like New York and there's gloves and like all these other stuff, so yes.

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PAZMINO: I also spoke to a man who was visiting New York City from Chicago. He told me this is nothing. He was perfectly comfortable because he was dressed for the elements.

That is one of the most important things; if you are going to go outside in these very cold temperatures, do dress appropriately. Wear you layers. And if you don't need to, it's probably best to stay home -- I'm Gloria Pazmino, in New York, CNN

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HOLMES: Pope Francis meets with internally displaced people in South Sudan and gives the country's children a special blessing. That story when we come back.

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HOLMES: Pope Francis is celebrating mass at a mausoleum dedicated to a hero South Sudanese independence this hour. It's his final day in the country. He heads back to Rome later today.

On Saturday the pope met with some of the millions of South Sudan's internally displaced people. Delia Gallagher is in Juba with the story.

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DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: On Pope Francis' final evening in South Sudan, he was able to meet with several hundred of the some 4 million internally displaced people and refugees of this country.

He gave a message which he had given to political leaders on Friday evening, that the peace process must be taken seriously, the conflict must end. The future of South Sudan, he said, does not lie in refugee camps.

The civil war, which began in 2013, has created the third largest refugee crisis in the world, according to the U.N. Over half of those refugees are children. And Pope Francis heard from a young girl who lives in one of the camps. She thanked him for coming.

She said we'll remember this day forever. And she also asked for a special blessing, which he gave together with the two other Christian leaders traveling here with him.

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GALLAGHER: Later in the evening, the three participated in a joint prayer service for several thousand here in the capital city.

They represent the three churches to which most South Sudanese Christians belong. On Sunday Pope Francis will say mass for Catholics in Juba before returning to Rome in the afternoon -- Delia Gallagher, CNN, Juba.

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HOLMES: Now fire and water don't usually mix but, when they do, it can be spectacular. The annual Venice Carnival got underway, complete with a floating unicorn. Thousands of spectators lined the canals and bridges of the ancient city.

The two-week long Venice Carnival dates back to the 11th century as a way to party to excess before Lent. It was revised in 1979 to attract tourists and promote Venetian culture.

I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram. Do stick around. My colleague, Laila Harrak, picks up with more news after the break.