China's Xi to visit Saudi Arabia amid frayed ties with the US

Several months after President Joe Biden promised Saudi Arabia would suffer "consequences" after the Saudi-led OPEC+ oil cartel unexpectedly announced it would cut production, the Biden administration has no plans to take proactive steps to punish -- let alone significantly reorient its posture toward -- the oil-rich Middle East kingdom, multiple sources on Capitol Hill and in the administration tell CNN.

As the US and its Canadian partners continue to monitor a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon floating above the northern United States, one question stands out among the rest: Why hasn't it been shot down?

Russia's mass mobilization, looming offensive and missile-borne terror against civilians is triggering fresh calls for even greater Western lethal aid to Ukraine, days after leaders signed off on their latest package that included the first tanks.

The US military has shot down the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, a US official said Saturday.

When President Joe Biden first learned a likely Chinese spy balloon was drifting through the stratosphere 60,000 feet above Montana, his first inclination was to take it down.

President Joe Biden said the mission to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the East Coast was successful, and that he had ordered the Pentagon to knock the aircraft out of the sky as soon as it was safe to do so.

Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling says he believes it is more likely China was trying to learn how the US would respond to the spy balloon rather than collect real intelligence from the endeavor.

CNN's Oren Liebermann reports.

China has expressed its "strong dissatisfaction and protest" against the United States' decision to shoot down its high-altitude balloon, accusing it of "overreacting" and "seriously violating international practice."

Allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete at the Paris Olympics could lead to a large-scale boycott and render the Games "pointless," Poland's sports minister said on Thursday.

CNN's Jake Tapper asks Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) about a senior US defense official saying there were three instances during the Trump administration that China briefly transited a surveillance balloon over the continental United States.

Former CIA and FBI official Phil Mudd discusses whether the US overreacted to the suspected Chinese spy balloon that hovered over the nation for days before the US military shot it down.

The US has repeatedly called on its Middle Eastern allies to support its efforts in slowing the Russian war machine, but a public threat of consequences against a close ally like the UAE is rare.

Frida Ghitis writes that in the continuing drama surrounding Republican Rep. George Santos of New York, there's one particularly disturbing aspect that points to a dangerous weakness in American democracy: Who paid for Santos' election camapign?

Democratic Problem Solvers Caucus co-chair Rep. Josh Gottheimer tells CNN's Jake Tapper that while he supports discussions about America's long-term economic stability, "it's irresponsible to default on our responsibilities as a country."

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who leads a major mercenary force fighting in Ukraine called the Wagner Group, is rising in power, but could he replace Russian President Vladimir Putin? Russian investigative journalist Mikhail Zygar discusses with CNN anchor Erin Burnett.

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges (Ret.) tells CNN's Fareed Zakaria why the Russian-occupied region of Crimea could be a decisive area for the Ukrainian military in the next phase of the war.

The economy wasn't supposed to add half a million jobs in January.

Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta discusses China's response to a suspected spy balloon being shot down off the East Coast of the US.

Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg was on CNN's State of the Union to discuss the Biden administration's response to the suspected Chinese spy balloon that floated over the continental United States for eight days.