BREAKING: White House says U.S. military shot down an ‘object’ flying at 40,000 feet in U.S. territorial waters over Alaska in the last hour

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon downed an unidentified object over Alaska on Friday at the order of President Biden, according to a U.S. officials.

John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, confirmed the shoot down at a news conference on Friday.

The U.S. official said it was not confirmed if the object was a balloon, but it was traveling at an altitude that made it a potential threat to civilian aircraft.