(Washington, DC) -- Top intelligence officials are outlining the leading global threats to the U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines testified in a Senate hearing and identified China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as key areas of concern. She noted the widespread global impacts of climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. Haines also addressed global terrorism and growing cyber threats. She was pressed about how the coronavirus outbreak started and said the specific answer has not been confirmed.
Haines noted two theories about the evolution of the pandemic. One involves human contact with infected animals. The other has to do with the possibility of a laboratory accident in Wuhan China. That's where the first known cases of the virus were reported.