Nearly a decade into its combat service in the US military, the F-22 Raptor fighter jet finally completed its first air-to-air strike. It took out a balloon.

As excited onlookers watched from Myrtle Beach, the jet climbed to 58,000 feet and downed a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday. The balloon’s debris was scattered across seven miles of the sea—but the geopolitical fallout from its doomed voyage is much wider.

Here’s what you need to know about balloongate.

Why wait to shoot it down? The US knew that the balloon had entered its air defense zone on Jan. 28, well before it floated across North America. President Biden wanted to shoot the balloon down last Wednesday, when it was hovering above Montana, but military leaders recommended waiting until no Americans were in harm’s way when its remnants came crashing down.

Biden was attacked by Republicans, who wanted him to destroy the balloon much earlier and called it a “projection of weakness” to allow a Chinese surveillance tool to enjoy unfettered access to our amber waves of grain. But the Pentagon actually thinks the balloon played into the Americans’ hands—they were able to study the balloon as it floated, and an analysis of the debris will teach them even more about Chinese espionage tactics.

What is China’s response? The foreign ministry called the balloon pop a “clear overreaction” and suggested it could retaliate. China never admitted the balloon was intended for spying—claiming instead it was a meteorology research airship that got blown off its course. The US isn’t buying that.

Were there other Chinese spy balloons? Yes, and pretty recently, too. Chinese surveillance balloons entered US airspace at least three times during the Trump administration and once previously while Biden was president, a senior defense official said. And there’s also one currently floating above Latin America, the Pentagon revealed on Saturday.

What happens next? The balloon drama will only deepen the distrust between rivals US and China—it already led Secretary of State Antony Blinken to call off his planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. But China’s relatively muted response to the balloon downing suggests it may let the hot air blow over...just like the US did.

Major quake hits Turkey. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake and several aftershocks struck southeastern Turkey early today, causing buildings to collapse and sending tremors across other areas of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. The preliminary death toll was at least 234 people, but that number is expected to rise. Compounding the damage: Many of the residential buildings in the region near the epicenter are of low-quality construction, making them susceptible to shaking, per the United States Geological Survey.

Close call at Austin’s airport. A FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest 737 came within 1,000 feet of one another in a scary moment at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Saturday morning. Investigators are looking into the incident, which may have been caused by an air traffic controller double-booking a runway (the Southwest plane was taking off right as the FedEx one was landing). This is the second near-collision in as many months—authorities are investigating a close call on a JFK runway that occurred in January.

Kyrie Irving is headed to Dallas. The Brooklyn Nets are shipping star Kyrie Irving to the Mark Cuban-owned Dallas Mavericks days after Irving requested a trade. Irving’s four-season ride with the Nets was a bumpy one—he missed 35 home games under NYC’s Covid vaccination policy, and earlier this season was suspended for posting a link to an antisemitic movie on Twitter. Expect a flurry of other moves ahead of the NBA trade deadline on Thursday.

Beyoncé cemented her reign on the musical throne last night, becoming the most-decorated artist in Grammy Awards history.

Her four wins, including best dance/electronic album for Renaissance, vaulted her past classical conductor Georg Solti for the most Grammy awards ever. She ended the night with 32 total.

While Beyoncé was the biggest story of the Grammys, she wasn’t the only story from the award show, which returned to the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles after several pandemic-altered broadcasts.

• Harry Styles won album of the year. His groovy Harry’s House topped entries from Beyoncé, Adele, and Bad Bunny.
• A new EGOT was crowned: Viola Davis became the 18th person to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony after she received a Grammy for the audiobook to her memoir, Finding Me.
• The best performance: Certainly the Questlove-produced celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
• Didn’t see this one coming: Dr. Dre won the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award.

Looking ahead…the first tickets for Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour, her first solo tour in seven years, go on sale today. Ticketmaster has changed its process to avoid being attacked by the BeyHive like it was the Swifties.

It’s Super Bowl week. Here are a few storylines to get you prepped for Sunday’s game between the Eagles and the Chiefs: Read about the woman who rescued Patrick Mahomes’s season. Two starting Black quarterbacks will face off in the Super Bowl for the first time ever—and so will two brothers. Here’s a preview of Rihanna and the other musical acts. Finally, browse the Super Bowl betting guide.

State of the Union address: President Biden will deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night with a potential reelection campaign looming on the horizon. In something we can definitely relate to, he’ll probably be editing the speech up until deadline to tweak his China section in light of the balloon drama.

Earnings: This week’s busy earnings slate is highlighted by Disney, PepsiCo, Uber, and Chipotle. Investors are setting the bar low given the disappointing Q4 reports companies have posted thus far.

Everything else…

• Google could make some big AI announcements at an event on Wednesday.
• LeBron James is just 36 points away from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. He should break the record this week.
• It’s National Pizza Day on Thursday (and, frankly, every other day of the year).

Stat: Yes, we all know it was really cold in the Northeast on Friday night. But how cold? So cold that New Hampshire’s Mount Washington found itself in the next layer of the atmosphere. Freezing temps caused the atmosphere to compress, and the dividing line between the troposphere (which we’re in right now) and the stratosphere sank in altitude to below the summit of the mountain.

Quote: “It’s really an amazing day, an awe-inspiring day and actually a bit of a frightening moment.”

Speaking of Mount Washington, there were actually people up there as the wind chill plunged to a record low of minus 108 degrees Fahrenheit. A team of scientists live on the mountain in order to take weather measurements, and one of them—Francis Tarasiewicz—described to WMUR the thrilling-but-terrifying experience of braving the historic cold this weekend. Tarasiewicz said it was so cold that frostbite would set in after less than a minute.

Read: I hired five people to sit behind me and make me productive for a month. (Simon Berens)

Life hack: Use this one-page calendar.

Listening binge: A podcast on the mysterious Havana Syndrome.

Wellness tip: That caffeine kick you feel from coffee is really just borrowed energy you’ll have to pay back later.

Work smarter: A (fake) calendar plug-in that shows the cost of your meeting. Plus, thoughts on being laid off.

Interview evolution: The problems with automated interviews are real; here’s what HR professionals need to know.

Your potential “buy low” moment: Want top stock picks? The Motley Fool is offering new members a $79 intro offer. Their picks have averaged a 420% return since its inception [as of 2/3/23].*

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Turntable: There are 38 words just begging you to find them in today’s Turntable. Play it here.

Peak trivia

New Hampshire might have Mount Washington, but not all states can boast such great heights.

There are five US states where the highest point of elevation does not exceed 1,000 feet. Can you name them?

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IT Brew shares the three big cybersecurity trends that will shape 2023. Check them out.

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