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Washington is facing fresh security concerns as political battles intensify over immigration and presidential power. Meanwhile, a massive financial development is drawing attention to the future of artificial intelligence, and new discoveries are offering a fascinating glimpse into the distant past.

We're also looking at a growing crisis in American public schools and what falling enrollment could mean for communities nationwide.

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Secret Service officers arrested an armed man within blocks of the White House on Thursday night after he allegedly told them voices in his head had sent him to Washington to assassinate President Trump. Officers found three firearms, including a rifle, and dozens of rounds of ammunition in his car, which had been reported stolen, officials said.

The Department of Homeland Security identified him as Ronny Yordrix Guanipa Chrinos of Venezuela and said he entered the US through Texas in March 2024 before Border Patrol released him. He faces multiple weapons and property-related charges, and it was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire directed city police to limit cooperation with federal immigration officials, breaking with a policy set by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who lost his reelection bid this week after Democrats' strong showing in Texas. "I do this to begin a healing process," the Democratic mayor said Friday.

Police will now contact ICE only when someone arrested for a jailable offense also has an administrative ICE warrant, rather than over minor stops like traffic citations. The change follows months of outcry after an ICE officer fatally shot a man who was driving to work, and Austin has begun a similar policy shift.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is poised to become speaker, said Democrats could pass a war powers resolution to try to force an end to the war with Iran, though they lack the votes to override a veto. He also called for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's removal but stopped short of backing impeachment.

On Friday, President Trump confirmed new US strikes on Iran's Qeshm island, saying forces knocked out an anti-aircraft system in "about 15 minutes, maybe five." The US military also offered up to $20 million for information about Iran's nuclear program as Trump said talks with Tehran had made progress.

China confirmed it is discussing a three-way meeting of Xi Jinping with Presidents Trump and Putin that could come on the sidelines of a Shenzhen summit this month.

Russia hit power facilities around Ukraine's capital with missiles and drones overnight and damaged a major bridge over the Dnipro River as temperatures neared freezing.

The ANC suffered a historic defeat in South Africa's local elections with about 31% of the vote as it lost its majority in six of eight major metro areas.

DTE Energy and Consumers Energy sued to block a ballot measure more than 80% of Michigan voters approved that bars their political contributions to state politicians.

The polar vortex is faltering early in what meteorologists call the earliest disruption ever observed, raising the risk of cold snaps across the Northern Hemisphere.

Several historic firsts are headed to the Senate, including Iowa's Josh Turek as the first Paralympian to serve and Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed as its first Muslim member.

OpenAI has reportedly raised $11 billion so far in a funding round that values it at $1.25 trillion and could total about $20 billion when it closes.

DraftKings shares tumbled on a weak outlook for 2027 after the company said it would spend up to $700 million this year on its new prediction markets business.

Opendoor shares plunged 21% after the home-flipping company missed revenue estimates and burned through $836 million in cash as its home resales stalled while purchases quadrupled.

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A 47-million-year-old owl fossil from Germany is offering clues about when owls became nocturnal and was so well preserved that its last meal was still in its stomach.

China's space station will host its first foreigner when a Pakistani astronaut joins the crew of Shenzhou 24 for a short flight, state media said.

An ultrasound device spotted eggs inside living coral underwater for the first time so researchers can check reproduction without cutting the coral open to look.

Luka Doncic banked in a 61-footer at the first-half buzzer against Portland and finished with 53 points as the Lakers won 124-118, later joking he "decided to make it."

Kirill Kaprizov scored his NHL-leading 16th goal and added three assists in Minnesota's 4-1 win over San Jose, pushing the Wild to a Western Conference-best 27 points.

Valparaiso stunned Purdue 83-80 in double overtime when Justus McNair hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer after teammate Rakim Chaney scored a career-high 35 points.

Arizona recovered an onside kick with less than two minutes left and kicked a 37-yard field goal with 39 seconds remaining to beat TCU 29-28 early Saturday.

Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult screen-tested to play the next James Bond, joining a crowded field of rumored contenders as producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman push Bond 26 forward.

Adam Driver won't return for HBO's "Girls" revival, telling an interviewer, "No, but I wish them the best of luck," as Lena Dunham's five-episode reboot prepares for 2027 production.

The Bachelor is returning on March 21 for its 30th season nearly two years after its last one ended, as ABC revealed its 2027 midseason schedule.

What it is: Public schools across the US are facing a steep and accelerating drop in enrollment, driven mostly by falling birth rates and now by deportations and the departure of immigrant families. The number of public school students peaked in 2019 and fell by roughly 1.5 million as of the 2024 school year, and federal researchers project a loss of at least 2 million more by 2030.

The detail: The number of Americans under 18 has dropped by roughly 2.1 million since 2010. Los Angeles Unified, the second-largest district in the country, has lost more than 300,000 students in two decades, and a board member said a predicted 2% drop turned out to be double that. Texas classrooms lost more than 76,000 students statewide last year, while Miami-Dade and Broward County lost about 30,000 combined in a single year.

Why it matters: Fewer students means less money. A June report from two education think tanks found sustained declines reshaping districts in 40 states and predicted $11 billion a year in lost public school funding, and many communities now face painful decisions about closing schools. It is the first time in nearly a century that birth rates and immigration are low at the same time.

What to watch: Researchers say the long-term effect of immigration policy depends on how long the crackdowns last. Private schools are also projected to lose more than a million students by the end of the decade.

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An 80-year-old who once lifted 56 pounds with his little finger 21 times says pumping iron during TV ad breaks keeps him fit, decades after catching Guinness World Records' attention.

Two giant pandas made their public debut at Zoo Atlanta on Friday after Ping Ping and Fu Shuang arrived from China on a FedEx flight dubbed the Panda Express.

Students at a Georgia elementary school haul cafeteria scraps to a compost bin while salad leftovers go into the school's chicken coop as more US schools cut food waste.

A Thomas Nast cartoon uses an elephant to represent Republicans (1874) · Jeannette Rankin becomes the first woman elected to Congress (1916) · Franklin D. Roosevelt wins a fourth term (1944) · Carl Stokes is elected mayor of Cleveland, the first Black mayor of a major US city (1967) · Douglas Wilder becomes the first Black person elected governor of a US state (1989) · Magic Johnson announces he is HIV-positive and retires from the NBA (1991)

"I may be the first woman member of Congress, but I won't be the last." — Jeannette Rankin after her election (1916)

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—The Five Minute Daily Team