today it's about the renewed UFO alarm in the USA, about the possible party expulsion of Hans-Georg Maassen - and about the parliamentary elections in Berlin.
Where do the UFOs come from?
It's not entirely clear what's on the US' minds more early this week, the Super Bowl or a possible alien invasion from space.
What is certain is that the Super Bowl takes place every year, while an alien invasion is not that common.
For all those who are slowly losing track, let me make it clear once again: the US Air Force has shot down three unidentified flying objects in total in the past few days.
That doesn't include the wrecked spy balloon believed to have originated in China.
NORAD, the military organization responsible for patrolling the airspace over the US and Canada, is quite busy.
The latest fighter jet downing took place over Lake Huron on Sunday.
As with the other two shootdowns over Alaska and Canada, the US military and FBI experts are in the process of securing remains of the flying object.
Only after an analysis of the parts should it be communicated who or what could be behind the whole thing.
At least that's the plan.
This cautious approach by US President Joe Biden's government is understandable, but it is still causing growing nervousness among the public.
Nobody knows anything for sure and that's why there is wild speculation.
In US media, experts are allowed to think aloud about the cause of the sudden increase in flying objects.
A possible alien invasion is not one of the typical explanatory patterns, even if that would of course be the most exciting story.
The attempt at an explanation made by an anonymous government employee in the Washington Post seems plausible.
According to this, the US radar systems for detecting approaching missiles or enemy aircraft changed their filters after the appearance of the Chinese balloon.
This means they may now pick up more flying objects in the air that were previously neglected.
It is also conceivable that behind the sudden frequency of these phenomena there could be a targeted action by a single state, according to the Anonymous.
You have to know that the USA has suspected China of running an extensive espionage program with balloons for some time.
Russia could also use similar techniques, for example to record radio traffic from the USA.
In a brief statement on the recent shooting down, the Pentagon itself said that the object represented a potential threat because of "possible surveillance technology".
Over Lake Huron: US Air Force shoots down flying object again
Berlin didn't deserve that
Every nation gets the government it deserves.
That's a nice sentence, but it's often not true - and it certainly doesn't apply to Berlin.
Berliners do not deserve the red-green-red government that has been dabbling in various constellations in the city for years.
Berlin deserves just as little that the same people now apparently want to continue governing in one way or another.
Berlin politicians like Franziska Giffey are simply too small for the big problems of this megacity.
The Greens' top candidate Bettina Jarasch, on the other hand, can't really convince anyone apart from the regular Green clientele.
Berlin's fate is that the winner of the election, Kai Wegner from the CDU, also doesn't exactly correspond to what one could call cosmopolitan level.
He was probably elected mainly because a number of Berliners could no longer stand the red-green-red government in all its savagery.
Under these circumstances, the CDU could have sent a cardboard comrade into the race.
Of course, Mr. Wegner from Spandau and his CDU should now get the right to form a coalition government as the election winner.
For example with the shrunken SPD.
However, it is doubtful whether this government would necessarily be much better than what the city has experienced so far.
The older Berlin friends among us get nervous twitches in their eyes when the words Berlin, Senate and Grand Coalition are uttered in the same breath.
On the other hand: All that was missing was the resurrection of Harald Juhnke and Günter Pfitzmann and everything in Berlin would be as beautiful as it used to be.
Giffey and the SPD defeat: The loser just wants to stay seated
CDU decides on Maassen
The next chapter in the saga about the former head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution,
Hans-Georg Maassen,
who drifted too far to the right, is being written today.
The top committees of the CDU are discussing a party exclusion procedure against Maassen.
It is expected that the federal executive board will decide to initiate such a procedure.
The CDU leadership had given Maassen a deadline of February 5 to voluntarily leave the party, but Maassen let it pass.
Maassen himself addressed the CDU leadership in a statement.
In his letter, he strictly rejected the allegation of party-damaging behavior.
He called the demand for voluntary withdrawal from the CDU just as unlawful as a party exclusion procedure.
There is no material basis for this.
This shows that Maaßen obviously does not want to back down under any circumstances.
Since party exclusion proceedings can be a lengthy and complicated matter, the CDU can now expect the conflict with him to continue for months.
He can go to court against the exclusion.
Then Maassen can continue to play the favorite role of all right-wing populists – that of eternal victim.
Maassen lets the deadline for leaving the CDU pass: he's still there
Here is the current quiz of the day
The starting question today: Which long-distance train station was the least punctual in 2022?
Losers of the day...
...are
Alice Schwarzer and Sahra Wagenknecht.
Together they wrote a »Manifesto for Peace« in Ukraine and have been busy collecting signatures since the weekend.
The two receive a lot of approval from all sorts of left and right corners, including from the AfD.
But because the paper reads as if it had been written personally by the Kremlin's press secretary, there is also a lot of headwind.
legitimately.
In essence, Schwarzer and Wagenknecht say Ukraine cannot win the war against Russia.
Therefore, there should now be a ceasefire and negotiations as soon as possible.
The "escalation of arms deliveries" to Ukraine should also be stopped.
The real curiosity of the appeal is that it is not addressed to the aggressor Vladimir Putin, but to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as if Berlin and Kiev had started the war and not Moscow.
Appropriately, Schwarzer and Wagenknecht also want to hold a "peace rally" on February 25.
Where?
In front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
That, of course, is the wrong place: on Red Square in Moscow would be bolder.
You can find more news and background information on the war in Ukraine here:
The latest developments:
Around 300,000 cubic meters of water are to flow into the Donbass through a new water pipe per day.
Zelenskyj calls for sanctions against the Russian nuclear sector.
And: confused statements from Italy.
Life after fleeing:
Almost a year ago, 17 Ukrainian women told SPIEGEL the dramatic stories of their escape to Germany.
We interviewed eight of them again.
How have they fared since then?
And what comes now?
Column – Is Putin planning another storm on Kiev?
On the anniversary, Ukrainian military expect a new offensive in eastern Ukraine.
However, Moscow sources believe another scenario is more likely.
Only the IOC is stubborn:
36 countries want to exclude Russia and Belarus from the 2024 Olympic Games.
That doesn't suit the IOC at all.
Association boss Thomas Bach sees his Russia-mild course in danger.
The latest news from the night
Von der Leyen promises Erdoğan further earthquake aid:
The EU Commission President wants to send tents and blankets to Turkey, the WHO has convoys ready for the rebel areas in north-west Syria.
The death toll climbs to more than 35,000.
France outraged by looting soldiers in "Black Panther" movie:
In the Hollywood blockbuster "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," soldiers are portrayed as villains whose clothing resembles that of French units in Africa.
At least that's what Paris thinks - and protests.
Seven dead whales washed ashore on the west coast of Cyprus:
There have never been so many dead animals on this stretch of coast of Cyprus: One reason for the death of the seven Cuvier's beaked whales could possibly also be the severe earthquake in Turkey.
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
"Teachers who don't admit mistakes are the worst":
Ewald Arenz is a writer and teaches at a high school in Nuremberg.
He is amazed at his stressed colleagues and the pressure some parents have to perform – and he has girls with eating disorders in every high school class.
How Graham Mansfield killed his ailing wife and nearly killed himself too:
she had asked him to end her life.
That's why Graham Mansfield killed his wife, who was seriously ill with cancer.
His own suicide attempt failed.
What has all this done to him .
Why the ban on killing chicks is not a success for animal welfare:
Male chicks are no longer allowed to be killed in Germany.
Is this a win for animal welfare?
A balance sheet after a year with a law that should eliminate suffering and instead creates new problems.
"The distinction between first and second training is relatively complicated":
Since January there has been more child benefit.
But for adult children, the Family Benefits Office checks whether they continue to pay.
Marieke Einbrodt from Stiftung Warentest tells you what to look out for.
I wish you a good start into the day.
Yours, Roland Nelles, US correspondent