Listener supported WNYC Studios.

It's the Brian Lera Show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone. Okay, it's our turn, which we haven't done yet on this show, to talk about the drones. Hundreds of reported sightings over New York and New Jersey and a few other places in recent weeks. I don't have to tell you. Drones as big as SUVs were told in some cases. So everyone's

talking about them. It's been open season for legit fears and conspiracy theories alike. We'll

invite your calls if you think you have seen a drone or just questions on the topic. And we'll

see what we can learn with a reporter who actually covers aviation safety

for the Wall Street Journal. But first, for all the heat that local officials of both parties

have been putting on Washington over allegedly withholding information, here are two officials

who have spoken in the last two days, one national, one local, both saying that this appears to be normal activity of various kinds, we're all just noticing it more. First, here's Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on CNN last night, asked by the host John Berman whether the drones might pose a risk.

The answer to that is no. We don't propose to see any national security or a public safety

risk by these drones and these aircraft that are flying. And I would remind people that there are

millions of drones that fly over the skies of the United States routinely, thousands and thousands

that have registered with the FAA, and a lot of them do really good work for public safety and

for the public good, such as law enforcement drones, commercial drones. To date, no sense

and no indication that there's a national security or public safety risk posed by any of this

activity. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on CNN last night.

Kirby also said in that interview, quote, after days and days now,

forensics work analysis, detection work, and looking at the tips that came in,

our assessment is that these drones represent lawful, legal, commercial, hobbyist drones, even law enforcement

drones, unquote. So that's John Kirby from the Pentagon. And locally, here's what Rebecca

Weiner, the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism, said yesterday.

All people are seeing on the news is drone sightings everywhere.

So we're getting a lot of misattributed activity, right?

...