No.
Something is a miss here, and this explanation doesn’t line up with their actions, or their earlier claims.
Even if this is what happened, it would not justify a 10 day NOTAM.
Behind the scenes some big breakdown in comms happened causing a panic.
That incompetence in our defence and airspace apparatus is *deeply* dangerous.
The “99 luftballon” excuse makes a great headline about a dumb administration, but stops people from digging into the deeper systematic issues that have to be present for this to happen.
Reporters need to dig deeper into that.
Especially because a high energy laser weapon would eviscerate a party balloon, and so there would be no way to confirm it.

So the DOD started laser testing because they believed party balloons were drones, shut down all of El Paso airspace, and blamed it on Mexican cartels? x.com/jenniferjjacob…

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Original Author: He Hao, Wall Street Insights

On Thursday, US stocks plunged, with the Nasdaq falling over 2%. Some traders sold precious metals to offset losses in the stock market, causing gold, silver, copper, platinum, and palladium to decline sharply. The US dollar index rose slightly.

Amid renewed concerns about whether massive investments in artificial intelligence can truly be implemented on a large scale, US tech stocks declined. Metal prices suddenly fell due to suspected algorithmic trading selling, forcing some investors to exit commodity positions, including metals, to obtain liquidity, while some funds turned to US Treasury bonds for safety.

Spot gold fell as much as 4.1%, and silver plummeted 11...

Gold fell more than 4% at one point, and silver plummeted 11%, as a sharp drop in US stocks triggered a sell-off in algorithmically traded precious metals.

Written by: Mahe, Foresight News
Solana, one of the most successful public blockchains, is also facing a winter.
Since the market crash on February 5th, Solana's token SOL once fell to $67, a new low since December 2023. As of now, SOL is currently priced at $80, a 24-hour drop of 3.57%. Looking at the monthly chart, SOL has been declining for five consecutive months since its October 2025 high, with a maximum drop exceeding 71%. The most well-known aspect of this ecosystem...

Meme wanes, narratives cool: Solana's cyclical boom ends as it falls below $80.

Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency exchange in the US, has just announced its Q4 2025 earnings results, showing significant changes amidst a sharp decline in the crypto market at the end of the year. The developments...