China escalated tensions over the shooting down of an alleged spy balloon, imposing fines and sanctions on two US defense companies. Lockheed Martin and a subsidiary of Raytheon were added to a list of “unreliable entities” for selling weapons to Taiwan, China’s Ministry of Commerce said Thursday. Later in the day, US President Joe Biden sought to both ease American concerns about a spate of aerial objects (including the balloon) that have appeared over the US in recent weeks and clear the air with Beijing. He said he intends to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping about the entire matter. .......