U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had been scheduled to visit Beijing on Friday, marking the first cabinet member to meet with China. But thanks to this balloon, that's no longer happening. Chinese officials did admit the balloon was theirs, but claimed it was mainly meteorological and had accidentally drifted off-course. American officials say that explanation is a third and it's no coincidence the balloon's flight path took it right over Air Force bases and U.S. nuclear bases housing ICBM launch facilities.

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