The Sunday Subject – February 5, 2023

The U.S. military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast.

The Pentagon had been monitoring the balloon, which was first spotted over Montana, before President Biden authorized the takedown. Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, postponed a planned trip to China after the Pentagon detected the balloon. While the Pentagon believes the balloon was collecting intelligence on the U.S. military, China claims it was gathering weather data.

The Democratic National Committee voted to change the order of Democratic presidential primaries.

South Carolina will now go first, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada. The new calendar attempts to put more racially diverse states at the front of the line, resulting in Iowa losing its opening vote. 

U.S. employers added 517,000 jobs in January.

The unemployment rate has fallen to 3.4%, a 53-year low. The unexpectedly large increase in jobs in an already tight labor market may be a welcome sign that a recession is not looming.