Improved surveillance caught Chinese balloon; Fox sells out Super Bowl ads; N.Y. funeral home finds woman breathing | Hot off the Wire podcast

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On this version of Hot off the Wire:

» U.S. officials say that efforts ordered by President Joe Biden to strengthen defenses against Chinese espionage helped identify last week’s spy balloon — and determine that similar flights were conducted at multiple points during the Trump administration.

» A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake has rocked wide swaths of Turkey and neighboring Syria, killing more than 3,400 people and injuring thousands more.

» Officials say a Maryland woman conspired with a neo-Nazi leader in Florida to plan an attack on Baltimore’s power grid in an effort to further their racist mission.

» A Florida teenager faces a possible life sentence after he pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a 13-year-old classmate 114 times and leaving her body in a wooded area near their homes in 2021.

» A majority of Democrats now think one term is plenty for President Joe Biden, despite his insistence that he plans to seek reelection in 2024. That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

» New York City is ending its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for municipal employees including police officers, firefighters and teachers.

» COVID-19 vaccinations are no longer required for military personnel. But that hasn’t ended litigation over the issue.

» The hottest ticket in town for advertisers is officially sold out. Fox said Monday that in-game ads for Super Bowl LVII have all been sold.

» Police say an 82-year-old woman was pronounced dead at a New York nursing home but found to be breathing three hours later at the funeral home where she had been taken.

» AMC Theaters is the nation’s largest movie theater chain and on Monday, it unveiled a new pricing scheme in which seat location determines how much your movie ticket costs.

» On this week’s AP religion roundup, Pope Francis makes a historic trips to Africa, and psychedelic churches are pushing the boundaries of law and religion.