U.S. Military Releases New Details About Balloon That Flew Over Hawaii

The U.S. military released new details Monday afternoon about another mysterious balloon that recently flew over Hawaii late last week.

“Applying newly-established parameters for monitoring U.S. airspace, the Department of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) detected and observed April 28th an unmanned, balloon off the coast of Hawaii, floating at approximately 36,000 feet,” a DOD spokesperson said in a statement.

“Ownership of the balloon is unknown, but there is no indication that it was maneuvering or being controlled by a foreign or adversarial actor,” the statement claimed. “The balloon did not transit directly over defense critical infrastructure or other U.S. Government sensitive sites, nor did it pose a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”

Officials said that it did not pose a threat to civil aviation despite it flying at an altitude common in civil aviation.

“Based on these observations, the Secretary of Defense concurred with the recommendation of his military commanders that no action need be taken against the balloon,” the statement concluded. “The balloon is now out of Hawaii’s airspace and territorial waters.”

NBC News reported on the balloon earlier on Monday and said that officials believe that it is currently headed toward Mexico.

The report comes after a Chinese spy balloon flew over the U.S. back in February after President Joe Biden’s administration failed to shoot it down when it first entered U.S. airspace.

Biden officials initially claimed to Congress that they took measures to prevent the Chinese spy balloon from being able to transmit whatever information that it collected as it flew over sensitive U.S. military installations.

However, a report from early last month revealed that the balloon gathered and reported intelligence from multiple sensitive American military sites despite the Pentagon’s claims that it blocked transmission.

The report, which cites two current American officials and one former administration official, says the balloon was controlled by China, which maneuvered it to make several passes over certain military sites, sometimes in a figure-eight pattern – all while transmitting the gathered data back to Beijing in “real time.” The three officials say the data obtained by China was primarily electronic signals that could be collected from weapons systems or base communications.

The spy balloon was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on February 4 when the U.S. military used an F-22 Raptor to down the object with a single air-to-air AIM-9X Sidewinder missile.

General Glen VanHerck, Commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), said that the balloon was up to 200 feet tall and weighed “in excess of a couple thousand pounds.”

After the balloon was shot down, the U.S. subsequently downed three more unidentified objects over Alaska, Lake Huron, and Canada.

Gisele Bundchen Attends Met Gala Solo For First Time In More Than A Decade

Gisele Bundchen definitely turned heads when she showed up at the 2023 Met Gala in New York City on Monday, solo for the first time in more than a decade following her divorce to NFL star Tom Brady in October 2022.

The 42-year-old supermodel hit the red carpet decked out in a feathered cape and a floor-length white sequined gown from the Chanel Spring-Summer 2007 Couture for this year’s theme of “in honor of Karl [Lagerfeld],” the famed German fashion designer who passed away in 2019 at the age of 85.

The model spoke briefly to Vogue about choosing her look for the annual event.

Gisele Bündchen shines while going solo on her first #MetGala carpet since her divorce from Tom Brady. 🤍 More pics: https://t.co/nH9Vw9K3aUpic.twitter.com/bFLRtkFYDJ

— ExtraTV (@extratv) May 1, 2023

“He [Lagerfeld] was a lovely man,” Bunchen said. “So, I’m happy to be here to honor him. This dress is vintage Chanel.”

“I wore this dress in a 2006 … or 2007 in an editorial with [Lagerfeld], I wore the same dress,” she added. “So when I was picking a dress, I was like, which dress that is going to be the dress.”

“And I thought, this is going to be the one,” Bundchen continued. “Bye guys. Take care.”

The editorial she referenced with Lagerfeld can be seen below.

Gisele Bündchen for the 2023 #MetGala. pic.twitter.com/8gpoKWljo6

— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 1, 2023

The retired Victoria’s Secret model is a staple of the annual fashion showcase. She first attended back in 2003, People magazine noted.

Gisele Bündchen on her way to the 2023 #MetGala pic.twitter.com/iS8fTkZZQH

— @21metgala (@21metgala) May 1, 2023

When the model hit the red carpet in 2006 at the Met Gala, it would be the last time she would attend as a single girl. Gisele and the Superbowl-winning QB would quickly become a staple, appearing together at the glitzy annual affair for the next 15 years.

The supermodel recently broke her silence on her divorce from Brady after 13 years of marriage and hit back at rumors about what lead to their divorce, as previously reported.

“When I was 26 years old and he was 29 years old, we met, we wanted a family, we wanted things together,” Bündchen explained. “As time goes by, we realize that we just wanted different things, and now we have a choice to make.”

“That doesn’t mean you don’t love the person,” she added. “It just means that in order for you to be authentic and truly live the life that you want to live, you have to have somebody who can meet you in the middle, right? It’s a dance. It’s a balance.”

“When you love someone, you don’t put them in a jail and say, ‘You have to live this life,'” she continued. “You set them free to be who they are, and if you want to fly the same direction, then that’s amazing.”

Related: Tom Brady Posts Cryptic Quote About ‘Betrayal’ After Gisele Bündchen Breaks Silence On Their Divorce

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