{"id":119098,"date":"2024-12-17T01:46:32","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T01:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/mystery-drone-sightings-continue-in-new-jersey-and-across-the-us-heres-what-we-know-the-associated-press\/"},"modified":"2024-12-17T01:46:32","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T01:46:32","slug":"mystery-drone-sightings-continue-in-new-jersey-and-across-the-us-heres-what-we-know-the-associated-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/mystery-drone-sightings-continue-in-new-jersey-and-across-the-us-heres-what-we-know-the-associated-press\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery drone sightings continue in New Jersey and across the US. Here\u2019s what we know – The Associated Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
That buzzing coming out of New Jersey? It\u2019s unclear if it\u2019s drones or something else, but for sure the nighttime sightings are producing tons of talk, a raft of conspiracy theories and craned necks looking skyward. (AP Video: Joseph B. Frederick)
In this image taken from video provided by MartyA45_, several drones appear to be flying over Randolph, N.J., on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (MartyA45_ \/TMX via AP, File)
This photo provided by Brian Glenn shows what appears to be multiple drones flying over Bernardsville, N.J., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 (Brian Glenn\/TMX via AP, File)
That buzzing coming out of New Jersey? It\u2019s unclear if it\u2019s drones or something else, but for sure the nighttime sightings are producing tons of talk, a raft of conspiracy theories and craned necks looking skyward. (AP Video: Joseph B. Frederick)
In this image taken from video provided by MartyA45_, several drones appear to be flying over Randolph, N.J., on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (MartyA45_ \/TMX via AP, File)
In this image taken from video provided by MartyA45_, several drones appear to be flying over Randolph, N.J., on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (MartyA45_ \/TMX via AP, File)
This photo provided by Brian Glenn shows what appears to be multiple drones flying over Bernardsville, N.J., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 (Brian Glenn\/TMX via AP, File)
This photo provided by Brian Glenn shows what appears to be multiple drones flying over Bernardsville, N.J., on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 (Brian Glenn\/TMX via AP, File)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) \u2014 A large number of mysterious drones<\/a><\/span> have been reported flying over New Jersey and across the eastern U.S., sparking speculation and concern over where they came from and why.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and U.S. Sen. Andy Kim have both gone out on drone hunts, hoping for answers. The FBI, Homeland Security, state police and other agencies are investigating.
Murphy and law enforcement officials have stressed that the drones don\u2019t appear to be a threat to public safety<\/a><\/span>, but many state and municipal lawmakers have nonetheless called for stricter rules about who can fly the unmanned aircraft \u2014 and to be allowed to shoot them out of the sky.
Dozens of witnesses have reported seeing drones<\/a><\/span> statewide since mid-November, including near the Picatinny Arsenal, a military research and manufacturing facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s golf course in Bedminster.
Murphy, a Democrat, said Monday that equipment supplied by the federal government has yielded little new information. He declined to describe the equipment except to say it was powerful and could even \u201cmitigate\u201d the drones, though he added that\u2019s not currently legal on U.S. soil.
The state tallied 12 sightings Saturday and just one on Sunday.
Murphy urged Congress to give states more authority to deal with the drones.
A large number of mystery drones flying over parts of New Jersey and the East Coast have drawn criticism over why the public doesn\u2019t know more about them. Here\u2019s what to know.<\/p>\n

The growing anxiety<\/a><\/span> among some residents is not lost on the Biden administration, which has faced criticism from Trump for not dealing with the matter more aggressively.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby on Monday said the federal government has yet to identify any public safety or national security risks from reported drone sightings in the northeast, saying officials believe they were lawfully flown drones, planes or even stars.
\u201cThere are more than 1 million drones that are lawfully registered with the Federal Aviation Administration here in the United States,\u201d Kirby said. \u201cAnd there are thousands of commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones that are lawfully in the sky on any given day. That is the ecosystem that we are dealing with.\u201d
The federal government has deployed personnel and advanced technology to investigate the reports in New Jersey and other states, and is evaluating each tip reported by citizens, he said. The FBI received more than 5000 tips in recent weeks, he added, with only \u201cabout 100\u201d deemed credible enough to require additional investigation.
Authorities say they do not know.
The Department of Homeland Security and FBI said they have no evidence that the aircraft pose \u201ca national security\u202for public safety\u202fthreat or have a foreign nexus.\u201d
Speculation has nevertheless raged online, with some expressing concerns that the drones could be part of a nefarious plot by foreign agents.
Officials stress that ongoing investigations have found no evidence to support such concerns, but U.S. Rep Chris Smith, a Republican, on Saturday echoed such speculation.
\u201cThe elusive maneuvering of these drones suggests a major military power sophistication that begs the question whether they have been deployed to test our defense capabilities \u2014 or worse \u2014 by violent dictatorships, perhaps maybe Russia, or China, or Iran, or North Korea,\u201d he said.
On Monday, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder cast doubt on the idea that the drones are engaged in intelligence gathering, given how loud and bright they are. He said about 1 million drones are registered drones in the U.S. and about 8,000 flying on any given day.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh has said the aircraft are not U.S. military drones.
In Boston, city police arrested two men accused of operating a drone \u201cdangerously close\u201d to Logan Airport on Saturday night.
Authorities said an officer using drone monitoring technology detected the aircraft and the location of the operators. A third man fled police and remains at large.
Authorities said the two men face trespassing charges and could face more charges and fines.
Drones flying around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base<\/a><\/span> near Dayton, Ohio, forced base officials to close its airspace for about four hours late Friday into early Saturday, said Robert Purtiman, a base spokesperson.
It was the first time drones had been spotted at the base, one of the largest in the world, and no sightings have been reported since, Purtiman said Monday. He said the drones had no impact on any facilities on the base.
Trump has said he believes the government knows more than it\u2019s saying.
\u201cLet the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!\u201d he posted on Truth Social. Kim said he\u2019s heard no support for the notion the government is hiding anything. He said a lack of faith in institutions is playing a key part in the saga.
\u201cNothing that I\u2019m seeing, nothing that I\u2019ve engaged in gives me any impression of that nature. But like, I get it, some people won\u2019t believe me, right? Because that\u2019s the level of distrust that we face,\u201d Kim said Monday.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut last week called for the drones to be \u201cshot down.\u201d
Rep. Smith urged the Pentagon to authorize the use of force to bring down one or more drones to try to figure out who deployed them.
The objects could be downed over the ocean or in an unpopulated area on land, Smith said Saturday.
\u201cWhy can\u2019t we bag at least one of these drones and get to the bottom of it?\u201d Smith said.
Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said members of the public must not try to shoot down drones, as that would violate state and federal laws.
Drone sightings were also reported in New York, where a permit is required. Mayor Eric Adams said the city was investigating and collaborating with New Jersey and federal officials.
The runways at Stewart International Airport \u2014 about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of the city \u2014 were shut down for about an hour Friday night because of drone activity, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
\u201cThis has gone too far,\u201d she said in a statement.
The governor called on Congress to strengthen the FAA\u2019s oversight of drones and give more investigative authority to state and local law enforcement.
Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky; and Aamer Madhani in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.That buzzing coming out of New Jersey? It\u2019s unclear if it\u2019s drones or something else, but for sure the nighttime sightings are producing tons of talk, a raft of conspiracy theories and craned necks looking skyward. (AP Video: Joseph B. Frederick)In this image taken from video provided by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119099,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-119098","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}