ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
We bring you this special bulletin from the Intercontinental Radio News about the reported unexplained drone sightings in the sky over New Jersey. Here's our correspondent Joel Rose.
JOEL ROSE, BYLINE: Thousands of New Jersey residents have observed unidentified lights in the night sky, car-sized objects hovering above reservoirs, military bases and other critical infrastructure. To some, the situation is reminiscent of another moment when New Jersey was at the heart of a drama about unidentified flying objects.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ORSON WELLES: It is reported that at 8:50 p.m., a huge, flaming object believed to be a meteorite fell on a farm in the neighborhood of Grover's Mill, New Jersey, 22 miles from Fenton.
ROSE: In October of 1938, a fictional radio drama called "War Of The Worlds" touched off a full-blown panic about a martian invasion.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
WELLES: The flash in the sky was visible within a radius of several hundred miles. And the noise of the impact was heard as far north as Elizabeth.
SHAPIRO: Well, due to circumstances beyond our control, we are unable to continue with that special report. But Joel is here live in the studio with more on these real-life reported drone sightings across New Jersey. Hey, Joel. Thanks for that walk down memory lane.
ROSE: Hey, Ari.
SHAPIRO: In all seriousness, what are federal officials saying about these sightings?
ROSE: They say there is no need to panic. You know, as we've heard, there have been thousands of unexplained drone - reported drone sightings over New Jersey and other states in the Northeast. And federal authorities say the vast majority of these sightings are likely manned aircraft - in other words, regular air traffic - though some are likely drones. And Homeland Security officials say there is no evidence that these unidentified drones are dangerous. The Department of Defense said today there's no sense that they are being run by a foreign country. But clearly, these explanations are not putting the issue to rest for a lot of people who think something more nefarious is afoot.
SHAPIRO: Why do you think people aren't satisfied with these official explanations?
ROSE: Partly because there is just low trust in federal institutions at this moment and partly, I think, because administration officials have not said much about what they think these drones actually are. You know, there have been bipartisan calls for the administration to release more information, including today by President-elect Donald Trump, who said, quote, "the government knows what's happening."
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DONALD TRUMP: Our military knows where they took off from. If it's a garage, they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it went. And for some reason, they don't want to comment. And I think they'd be better off saying what it is. Our military knows, and our president knows. And for some reason, they want to keep people in suspense.
ROSE: You know, Trump declined to say whether he has received an intelligence briefing on the drones. And in fact, U.S. military officials have said publicly they do not know where these drones are coming from. And that lack of information creates a vacuum into which people can insert all kinds of conspiracy theories, that perhaps this is surveillance from a foreign power, or it could be the U.S. military testing out some kind of classified technology, you know, to name just a few of the more popular ones.
SHAPIRO: Popular and unconfirmed - any idea why federal officials can't say more about what's happening?
ROSE: Federal officials say their hands are somewhat tied when it comes to these drones. The Department of Defense, for example, has limited authority about how much it can do to investigate what's happening outside of its military bases. You know, Homeland Security officials say they want to give local and state officials more leeway to respond directly to the drones. But the reality is there are over 1 million drones that are legally registered, 8,000 that are in the air on any given day. And national security experts say it is probably time for the government to update its policies. Stacie Pettyjohn is with the Center for a New American Security. She spoke today with NPR's Morning Edition.
STACIE PETTYJOHN: People do need to become accustomed to seeing them. And the government also needs to adjust itself and its expectations so that it is prepared to identify them because this is a phenomenon that's not going away.
ROSE: Pettyjohn says the public has a lot of fear and a lot of anxiety around this new technology, and that can lead to panic. This would not be a brand-new phenomenon, right? I mean, we've seen it all the way back to 1938 with "War Of The Worlds."
SHAPIRO: Yes, indeed. NPR correspondent Joel Rose. Thank you.
ROSE: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
