The first tangible signs of movement may be emerging in the impasse that has shut down the government for weeks: President Donald Trump is promising a "major announcement" about the closure and the U.S.-Mexico border and Democrats are pledging more money for border security. It was unclear whether the developments, following days of clashes between Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., might represent serious steps toward resolving the partisan fight or instead may simply be political posturing as the partial shutdown reached a record 29th day. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have gone without paychecks, enduring financial hardship. Many public services are unavailable to Americans during the closure. The White House has declined to provide details about what the president would announce midafternoon Saturday. Trump was not expected to sign a national emergency declaration he has said was an option to circumvent Congress, according to two people familiar with the planning. Get More

Thousands are preparing to take the streets on Saturday for third annual Women's March. The march initially was a reaction to the election of President Donald Trump by women worried about his agenda and offensive comments. Many participants wore distinctive "pink pussy hats" as a symbolic way to show resistance. But now allegations of anti-Semitic allegations are causing a divide. Get More

People throughout parts of the Midwest woke Saturday to a heavy and steady snowfall that forced the cancellation of hundreds of airline flights and made driving dangerous. More than 672 flights were canceled Saturday morning at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in Chicago and about 84 flights were canceled at Chicago's Midway International Airport. In the Detroit area, many motorists were moving well below posted speed limits along freeways due to slushy conditions. The snowfall is part of a wall of hazardous weather that trekked from the Dakotas and across the Great Lakes states, headed toward New England. The National Weather Service has warned that conditions in the Northeast "could approach blizzard criteria." Some areas in the storm's path saw ice instead of snow. Get More

President Donald Trump was paying tribute Saturday to the four Americans killed in a suicide bomb attack in Syria this week as he set off to Dover Air Force Base for the return of their remains. The trip was not listed on the president's public schedule that was released Friday night, but he tweeted the news before he left the White House in the morning. "Will be leaving for Dover to be with the families of 4 very special people who lost their lives in service to our Country!" he wrote. He later told reporters: "When I'm going to meet relatives of some of our great, great heroes that have fallen, I think it might be the toughest thing I have to do as president." Get More

The white Chicago officer who gunned down a black teenager in 2014 was sentenced Friday to nearly seven years in prison, ending an explosive case that arose from a graphic dashcam video and added fuel to debates about race and policing and law enforcement's "code of silence." Jason Van Dyke was convicted last year of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery — one for each bullet fired at Laquan McDonald. Attorneys on both sides agreed that if he behaves in prison, Van Dyke could be released in less than three and a half years. Get More

President Donald Trump will hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to broker a deal to coax the North to give up its nuclear weapons, the White House announced Friday. News of a second meeting with the reclusive North Korean leader came after Trump's 90-minute meeting in the Oval Office with a North Korean envoy, Kim Yong Chol, who traveled to Washington to discuss denuclearization talks. Get More

After a horse became trapped in a dumpster in Orange County, California for hours, firefighters successfully hoisted the animal to safety Friday afternoon. The call came into crews at 2:30 p.m. of a trapped horse at the Golden West Stables, Huntington Beach Fire Department said. "I was actually in my horse's stall getting ready and then I heard my mother say, 'there's a horse in the dumpster!' And my heart stopped," said Brooke Winger, who owns a horse named Abby at the center. Get More

Special counsel Robert Mueller's office issued a rare public statement Friday night that disputes a BuzzFeed News report that President Donald Trump had directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress, NBC News reported. BuzzFeed News on Thursday evening reported that Cohen told special counsel Robert Mueller the president personally instructed him to lie to Congressional investigators in order to minimize links between Trump and his Moscow building project, citing two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter. The report also alleged that Cohen was directed to give a false impression that the project had ended before it actually did. Get More at NBC News

A federal judge this week ruled against a lesbian couple who sued a Missouri retirement home for rejecting their apartment application because their marriage is not "understood in the Bible,” NBC News reported. Bev Nance, 68, and Mary Walsh, 72, were married a decade ago in Massachusetts and have been in a committed relationship for roughly 40 years. Get More at NBC News

A Los Angeles teachers' strike that sent thousands of shouting educators into downtown streets, paralyzing traffic during a rainstorm and leaving a half-million students in uncertainty, isn't the kind of publicity Mayor Eric Garcetti needed for his potential presidential campaign. The Democratic mayor, who has said he will soon decide whether to enter the 2020 White House contest, would anchor his candidacy to the idea that local government is where things get done in America, in contrast to the turmoil and vast political divide in President Donald Trump's Washington. But the televised scenes of angry picketers leading chants with bullhorns and blocking streets during rush hour chafes against the notion of LA as a model metropolis and provides a reminder of the challenges that come with trying to mount a national campaign from City Hall, not Capitol Hill or a statehouse. Get More

Former President George W. Bush delivered food to federal workers on Friday who are still on the job despite not being paid due to the partial government shutdown. Bush posted a photo of himself in Florida delivering boxes of pizzas to the workers to his Instagram page. "It’s time for leaders on both sides to put politics aside, come together, and end this shutdown," Bush said in the post. Get More

A Massachusetts man has been identified as one of the victims who died after an avalanche rushed down a mountainside at a New Mexico ski resort on Thursday. The avalanche near the highest peak of Taos Ski Valley happened around 11:30 a.m. NBC10 Boston has confirmed Matt Zonghetti, the man who was killed, was a graduate of Mansfield High School. Get More