National

Thirteen advocacy groups filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee this week, requesting an investigation into Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and allegations about tasks she requires of her staff.

Driving the news: In a letter first reported by The Hill, Sinema is accused of requiring her Senate staff to "conduct a wide variety of activities unrelated to their job responsibilities," including personal errands, household tasks at her private residence and advancing their own money for her personal purchases.

The allegations are based on a 37-page memo reported by The Daily Beast in December, which allegedly served as a scheduling guide from Sinema to her staff.

Zoom in: The letter alleges that Sinema required her staff to schedule her physical therapy and massage sessions, and to manage her dietary schedule.

The letter states that the "most troubling" aspect of the memo is that staff members were allegedly tasked with scheduling and facilitating political fundraisers and meetings with campaign donors. 

Congressional staff cannot participate in campaign activities while on congressional property or while being paid by their employer, according to rules established by the Senate Ethics Committee. 

The allegations "paint a picture of a Senator who is not only unresponsive to her constituents, but also disrespectful and even abusive to her employees and wholly unconcerned about her obligations under the law," the letter states.

The 13 activist groups that sent the letter, many based in Arizona, urged the committee to investigate the "highly troubling" allegations.

Sinema's office and the Senate Ethics Committee did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Go deeper: Sinema's mutually assured destruction

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Ethics complaint filed against Sen. Kyrsten Sinema over staff tasks

The groups alleges that Sinema required her staff to schedule her massage sessions and manage her dietary schedule.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema at the U.S. Capitol on July 28, 2022 in Washington, DC. Photo: Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Kyrsten Sinema

Politics & Policy

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Pete Reed died in Ukraine on Thursday, according to a statement from his wife and from Global Response Medicine, the humanitarian aid group he founded.

The big picture: At least seven Americans are known to have died in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began a year ago. 

The U.S. government has discouraged Americans from fighting in Ukraine over concerns that they may be taken hostage by Russian forces.

Driving the news: Reed, 33, was evacuating civilians in Bakhmut and responding to the wounded when the shelling occurred, his wife Alex Potter said in a post.

He'd stepped away from his charity last month to work with Global Outreach Doctors on their mission in Ukraine and was killed while rendering aid, according to Global Response Medicine.

What they're saying: "He died doing what he was great at, what gave him life, and what he loved, and apparently by saving a team member with his own body," his wife said.

"This is a stark reminder of the perils rescue and aid workers face in conflict zones as they serve citizens caught in the crossfire," the charity said. 

Former Marine killed in Ukraine while giving aid to wounded

"He died doing what he was great at, what gave him life, and what he loved," Pete Reed's wife said in a tribute post.

Black smoke rises after shelling in Bakhmut on Feb. 3 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Pete Reed died in <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Ukraine" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/world/axios-explains-ukraine" data-vars-content-id="8c905236-020b-41f3-9aa6-00cda7503627" data-vars-headline="Former Marine killed in Ukraine while giving aid to wounded" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/world/axios-explains-ukraine" target="_self">Ukraine</a> on Thursday, according to a statement from his wife and from Global Response Medicine, the humanitarian aid group he founded.The big picture: At least seven Americans are known to have died in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began a year ago.

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

World

The U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the South Carolina coast Saturday that it had been tracking this week.

The latest: The balloon was downed by an American fighter aircraft above the Atlantic Ocean with President Biden's authorization.

U.S. military commanders developed plans to take the balloon down over water to minimize risk, the Department of Defense said in a statement.

The remnants of the balloon are to be taken to an FBI lab in Virginia, for analysis, CNN reports.

The mission was carried out in coordination and with the support of the Canadian government, the DOD said. The balloon had entered Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on Jan. 30 before crossing back over into the U.S. on Feb. 1, per AP.

Canada "strongly supports" the U.S. decision to shoot down the balloon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on social media Saturday, adding that "we’ll keep working together ... on our security and defence." 

Catch up quick: The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday issued an airspace closure and paused departures and arrivals from the Wilmington, Myrtle Beach International and Charleston International airports for about three hours to "support the Department of Defense in a national security effort." 

An operation was underway to recover debris from the balloon, AP reports, which was estimated to be about the size of three school buses. 

The Pentagon has accused China of using the balloon to collect information on sensitive military sites, which China denies.

When announcing the balloon's existence Thursday, the Pentagon said it does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Friday that the balloon was well above the range of civilian air traffic, at about 60,000 feet, and is being closely monitored by the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

In terms of size, Ryder said it was large enough to "cause damage from the debris field if we downed it over an area."

The Pentagon said "we know exactly where this balloon is, exactly what it is passing over." On Friday, Ryder said it continued to move eastward and that it was over the center of the continental U.S. at the time.

U.S. officials initially decided against shooting the airship down over safety concerns.

The Pentagon said Friday night that a second Chinese balloon was traveling south of the U.S., transiting Latin America.

What they're saying: China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the balloon is from China, but said it's a "civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes" and that it deviated far from its course.

The Pentagon rejected the claims that it wasn't used for surveillance.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday postponed his planned trip to Beijing, saying the surveillance balloon in U.S. airspace "is a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law."

Thought bubble via Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian: Chinese President Xi Jinping has recently softened his tone towards western nations, hoping for a thaw in relations as he grapples with major domestic challenges. 

But sending a spy balloon directly over the heads of the American populace has accomplished the opposite, greatly raising the sense of a direct Chinese threat to the American homeland.

Everything we know about the China balloon

"We're going to take care of it," President Biden said on Saturday.

President Biden, with son Hunter Biden, arrives at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York, on Feb. 4. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

China

The U.S. <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="shot down" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/04/chinese-balloon-shot-down-us-military" data-vars-content-id="b3d8f9b4-b870-42b8-be5c-7dcc176624c5" data-vars-headline="Everything we know about the China balloon" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/04/chinese-balloon-shot-down-us-military" target="_self">shot down</a> a suspected <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Chinese surveillance balloon" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/04/what-we-know-china-balloon" data-vars-content-id="b3d8f9b4-b870-42b8-be5c-7dcc176624c5" data-vars-headline="Everything we know about the China balloon" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/04/what-we-know-china-balloon" target="_self">Chinese surveillance balloon</a> off the South Carolina coast Saturday that it had been tracking this week.The latest: The balloon was downed by an American fighter aircraft above the Atlantic Ocean with <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="President Biden" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/joe-biden" data-vars-content-id="b3d8f9b4-b870-42b8-be5c-7dcc176624c5" data-vars-headline="Everything we know about the China balloon" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/joe-biden" target="_self">President Biden</a>&#x27;s authorization.

Tennessee's emergency medical services board voted Friday to suspend the licenses of two first responders accused of failing to provide treatment to Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man​ who died days after being beaten during a Jan. 7 traffic stop.

Driving the news: Robert Long and JaMicheal Sandridge of the Memphis Fire Department were called to the scene to provide medical treatment to Nichols for a pepper spray injury.

Over a 19-minute period, they failed to engage in emergency care and treatment for the patient, "who was clearly in distress" as he lay on the ground multiple times, according to Matthew Gibbs, an attorney for the Tennessee Department of Health, which requested the license suspensions.

Zoom in: Gibbs said the two EMTs did not provide a primary or secondary examination of Nichols, take his vitals, perform cardiac monitoring or administer an IV. 

The EMTs also failed, he added, to administer high-flow oxygen, which is used to provide oxygen to patients struggling to breathe.

Gibbs presented a 19-minute video to the board, which he said showed police officers and the EMTs standing near Nichols and failing to provide aid.

Of note: Both EMTs, as well as Lt. Michelle Whitaker, had already been terminated from the Memphis Fire Department for violating protocol, including for failing to conduct a patient assessment, the department said earlier this week.

What they're saying: "Their patient was in obvious distress," board member Dr. Sullivan Smith said after the vote. 

"It's obvious to even a layperson that he was in terrible distress and needed help, and they failed to provide that help. They were his best shot. And they failed to help."

 Go deeper: Memphis police fire sixth officer in Tyre Nichols case

EMTs at Tyre Nichols scene stripped of first responder licenses

"Their patient was in obvious distress," a board member said. "They were his best shot. And they failed to help."

Demonstrators march through downtown protesting the death of Tyre Nichols on Jan. 28 in Memphis, Tennessee. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Tyre Nichols

Tennessee&#x27;s emergency medical services board <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="voted" data-vars-click-url="https://tdh.streamingvideo.tn.gov/Mediasite/Play/c5eb30e829544542b47b561f5a0bf14a1d" data-vars-content-id="ba761fb9-1b24-409c-997d-aa3ef740afb5" data-vars-headline="EMTs at Tyre Nichols scene stripped of first responder licenses" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://tdh.streamingvideo.tn.gov/Mediasite/Play/c5eb30e829544542b47b561f5a0bf14a1d" target="_blank">voted</a> Friday to suspend the licenses of two first responders accused of failing to provide treatment to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Tyre Nichols" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/01/25/tyre-nichols-memphis-police-death" data-vars-content-id="ba761fb9-1b24-409c-997d-aa3ef740afb5" data-vars-headline="EMTs at Tyre Nichols scene stripped of first responder licenses" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/01/25/tyre-nichols-memphis-police-death" target="_self">Tyre Nichols</a>, a 29-year-old Black man​ who <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="died days afte" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/01/25/tyre-nichols-memphis-police-death" data-vars-content-id="ba761fb9-1b24-409c-997d-aa3ef740afb5" data-vars-headline="EMTs at Tyre Nichols scene stripped of first responder licenses" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/01/25/tyre-nichols-memphis-police-death" target="_self">died days afte</a><a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="r" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/01/25/tyre-nichols-memphis-police-death" data-vars-content-id="ba761fb9-1b24-409c-997d-aa3ef740afb5" data-vars-headline="EMTs at Tyre Nichols scene stripped of first responder licenses" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/01/25/tyre-nichols-memphis-police-death" target="_self">r</a> being beaten during a Jan. 7 traffic stop.Driving the news: Robert Long and JaMicheal Sandridge of the Memphis Fire Department were called to the scene to provide medical treatment to Nichols for a pepper spray injury.

The U.S. on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the South Carolina coast, the Department of Defense announced.

The big picture: The balloon, which the Pentagon accused China of using to collect information on U.S. military sites, has heightened tensions between the two nations.

Driving the news: The balloon was downed by an American fighter aircraft above U.S. territorial waters, per the DOD.

President Biden had given his authorization Wednesday — a day before news of the balloon was made public —  to take down the surveillance balloon "as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path," the department said.

U.S. military commanders determined that doing so over land posed a risk and so they developed plans to take it down once the balloon was over water.  

The procedure was done in coordination and with the support of the Canadian government, the DOD said. 

Efforts to recover the remnants from the Atlantic Ocean were underway.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued an airspace closure around 12:45 p.m. EST in parts of North Carolina and South Carolina, pausing departures and arrivals from the Wilmington, Myrtle Beach International and Charleston International airports in order "support the Department of Defense in a national security effort."

The airspace and airports reopened around 3:30 p.m. EST, per the FAA.

What they're saying: "Today’s deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first while responding effectively to the PRC’s unacceptable violation of our sovereignty," the Defense Department said.

Biden told reports Saturday after the balloon was downed: "I ordered the Pentagon on Wednesday to shoot it down," adding that the Pentagon opted to wait until it was over the water.

When asked by a reporter earlier Saturday if there were plans to shoot down the balloon, Biden said in his first public comment about it, "We're going to take care of it."

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Chinese balloon shot down over Atlantic Ocean by U.S.

When asked by a reporter if there were plans to shoot down the balloon, President Biden said, "We're going to take care of it."

A Chinese high-altitude balloon balloon flies above Charlotte, North Carolina on Feb. 4. Photo: Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The U.S. on Saturday shot down a suspected <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Chinese " data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/04/what-we-know-china-balloon" data-vars-content-id="e8afc13e-00f3-4400-9513-cdc0933e499f" data-vars-headline="Chinese balloon shot down over Atlantic Ocean by U.S." data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/04/what-we-know-china-balloon" target="_self">Chinese </a><a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="surveillance" data-vars-click-url="https://www.google.com/search?q=surveillance&amp;spell=1&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwipk76L0fz8AhW2IkQIHZYhCk4QkeECKAB6BAgJEAE" data-vars-content-id="e8afc13e-00f3-4400-9513-cdc0933e499f" data-vars-headline="Chinese balloon shot down over Atlantic Ocean by U.S." data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=surveillance&amp;spell=1&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwipk76L0fz8AhW2IkQIHZYhCk4QkeECKAB6BAgJEAE" target="_blank">surveillance</a><a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" balloon" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/04/what-we-know-china-balloon" data-vars-content-id="e8afc13e-00f3-4400-9513-cdc0933e499f" data-vars-headline="Chinese balloon shot down over Atlantic Ocean by U.S." data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/04/what-we-know-china-balloon" target="_self"> balloon</a> off the South Carolina coast, the Department of Defense <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="announced" data-vars-click-url="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3288535/statement-from-secretary-of-defense-lloyd-j-austin-iii/" data-vars-content-id="e8afc13e-00f3-4400-9513-cdc0933e499f" data-vars-headline="Chinese balloon shot down over Atlantic Ocean by U.S." data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3288535/statement-from-secretary-of-defense-lloyd-j-austin-iii/" target="_blank">announced</a>.The big picture: The balloon, which the Pentagon accused China of using to collect information on U.S. military sites, has heightened tensions between the two nations.

Sareen Habeshian

Stories

Chinese balloon shot down over Atlantic Ocean by U.S.

Everything we know about the China balloon

Former Marine killed in Ukraine while giving aid to wounded

Ethics complaint filed against Sen. Kyrsten Sinema over staff tasks

EMTs at Tyre Nichols scene stripped of first responder licenses