Firefighters warn a Tesla fire is 'one of our worst nightmares'

Electric vehicle fires in US taking hours, thousands of gallons of water to extinguish

Greg Norman / FOXBusiness

The concerns come as electric vehicle sales are trending upward in the U.S., with automakers selling 807,180 of them last year to increase market share to 5.8%, compared to 3.2% in 2021, according to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal. 

Fire departments in states such as California and Massachusetts say electric vehicle fires are taking hours to put out, with one in recent weeks needing more than 20,000 gallons of water to extinguish. The challenges are being blamed in part on the batteries found inside electric vehicles. 

"It can take four to five hours to extinguish a battery fire and after that, once it gets to a tow yard, they have had those fires reignite -- even two to three days afterward," Lt. Robert Muylaert of Shelby Township Fire in Michigan told Fox2 Detroit.

"Once they start to burn, it goes into what is called thermal runaway," he added. "So in that one battery, [it] puts out enough heat and fire to light...Read more and see video here. 

Pentagon Confirms Second Chinese Spy Balloon, Here's Where It Is

Spencer Brown / Townhall Tipsheet

 

So, it turns out the Chinese spy balloon drifting — potentially still being steered by China — across the United States is not the only nefarious surveillance operation happening in our hemisphere. 

According to Pentagon Press Secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder, the Department of Defense is "seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America" and "now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon" as of Friday night.

Ryder's statement given to multiple media outlets is as vague as he was during a Friday afternoon press briefing in which he refused to disclose the exact location of the first spy balloon that's been over the United States and will be for the next few days as it traverses the continental United States. 

But "Latin America" doesn't exactly provide enough detail to discern which other country China could be looking to spy on, nor does it indicate...Read more and see tweet here.

RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...Podcast

 
If you missed last night's show where RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discussed FL. Governor Ron DeSantis takes on the gas stove controversy; Diversity professor verbally attacks student; January Jobs Report numbers; Chinese spy balloon flies over U.S. and Biden does nothing...you can listen to it (and previous shows) at your convenience at: https://rspradio1.com to go directly to our podcasts and hope you become 'followers' of RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS. 

 

(Almost) Daily Meme

China launches investigation into suspected spy balloon flying over US, ministry says

Mao urged the US and China to proceed 'calmly and carefully' amid the suspected spy balloon investigation

Lawrence Richard / Fox News

China has announced its government is looking into reports that a suspected Chinese spy balloon was discovered flying in U.S. airspace over Montana.

"China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international laws, and China has no intention to violate the territory and airspace of any sovereign countries," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning during a daily briefing on Friday.

She also urged U.S. officials and Chinese authorities to proceed "calmly and carefully" amid the investigation. "As for the balloon, as I’ve mentioned just now, we are looking into and verifying the situation and hope that both sides can handle this together calmly and carefully," Mao added.

The foreign minister said judgment should be withheld "before we have a clear understanding of the facts."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to visit China on Friday, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the country since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more and see video here.

DeSantis Proposes Permanently Abolishing Sales Tax on Gas Stoves

Leah Barkoukis / Townhall Tipsheet 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waded into the debate over gas stoves, proposing all gas appliances be exempt from sales tax in The Sunshine State. 

Tucked into the nearly $115 billion budget is a $7 million permanent exemption on gas appliances – a move DeSantis argued “needs to be done.”

"They want your gas stove and we’re not going to let that happen,” he said. “And we’re not even a state – the way Florida was built, a lot of this wasn’t even connected to gas lines, you got a lot of electric stuff, but it’s just the principle of, you know, this is ridiculous that they – and they do want to go after it. They got blowback, so they kind of had to back off. They want to go after the gas stoves and so we’re saying, you know, we want you to be able to buy those free of charge from the state of Florida." Read more, see tweet and video here.

RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!
 

Today, Friday, February 3rd, from 7-8:00pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss the important news of the day. Hope you can tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com. Click 'LISTEN LIVE' starting at 6:50 pm EST with show beginning at 7pm EST.