Friday morning news: February 6, 2026

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Homeland Security shutdown more likely » Congress is racing to fund the Department of Homeland Security before current funding expires at the end of next week.

Lawmakers recently agreed to fund the rest of the government through September, but only funded DHS for a couple of weeks: just long enough to buy more time to negotiate changes to immigration enforcement.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Democrats in the House and Senate are communicating:

LEAVITT:  I know Senator Schumer and Leader Jeffrey sent over a very long list of demands, uh, some of which the administration is willing to discuss. Others don't seem like they are grounded in any common sense and they are non-starters for this administration.

Republicans have already agreed to certain measures, such as body cameras for federal immigration agents. But they disagree with other demands, such as barring agents from wearing masks. They say that change would open those officers to personal targeting and violent attacks.

But Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday:

SCHUMER:  If Republicans don't like our proposals, pouting is not going to make the chaos in the streets go away. The Republicans need to explain why to the American people.

But Senate Majority Leader John Thune said they can explain it very simply:

THUNE:   At the end of the day, we are not gonna do things that are gonna undermine law enforcement officials job or ability to do their jobs.

Thune said the onus is on Democrats to negotiate a solution, adding that this not a—quote “blank check situation where Republicans just do agree to a list of Democrat demands.”

Some in Congress are also discussing ways to keep parts of DHS funded—such as TSA, airport security, and the Coast Guard if the full package can’t be finished in time.

National Prayer Breakfast » Elsewhere in Washington:

BEN KLEIN: Heavenly Father, we come before you with humble and grateful hearts, mindful that every authority on earth is under your sovereign care...

Lawmakers from both parties gathered for the 74th Annual National Prayer Breakfast. WORLD’s Harrison Watters has more from the nation’s capital.

HARRISON WATTERS: President Trump headlined this year’s event with a nearly 80 minute address. He took jabs at political opponents and celebrated wins ranging from peace agreements to economic milestones.

TRUMP: All of these good things I'm doing, including for religion, you know, religion’s back now, hotter than ever before, I mean...

WATTERS: Trump also introduced special guests including Sudanese Christian Miriam Ibrahim and two youth camp counselors who rescued girls during last year’s flood in Texas.

He went on to highlight new guidelines for the right to pray in public schools, and announced a day of prayer for rededicating the nation to God. That will take place on the National Mall in May.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Harrison Watters, in Washington.

Jobs numbers » U.S. job openings slipped to about 6.5 million in December, according to the government’s latest survey. That is the fewest since late 2020 and that was well below what economists expected and follows a downward revision to November’s figures.

Hiring stayed weak even as overall economic growth has held up, and layoffs ticked up only modestly. The number of workers quitting jobs went largely unchanged.

Other early data show private employers added only a small number of jobs in recent weeks.

Ukraine-Russia latest » Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says "there is more to come."

His remarks came at the conclusion of two days of peace talks in Abu Dhabi between Ukraine and Russia — brokered by the United States.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

Zelenskyy says more talks are planned, with the next round likely to take place in the United States.

Representatives of both Russia and Ukraine praised the talks as both positive and constructive, but there is no word of any breakthroughs in terms of territorial disputes or a ceasefire.

There was one positive development however:

SOUND: [Families reunite]

Russian and Ukrainian families were reunited with loved ones yesterday after the two countries completed an agreed-upon prisoner swap.

Arizona DPS chopper crash » An Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter crashed yesterday while responding to a shootout between police and a suspect, killing the pilot and a trooper on board.

Director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety Col. Jeffrey Glover

GLOVER:  At the time of the incident, there were 2 DPS personnel on board, a pilot and a trooper paramedic. Unfortunately, both are tragically deceased.

No one on the ground was hurt. Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash.

The helicopter was assisting law enforcement officers Wednesday night as they exchanged gunfire with a suspect in a domestic violence incident.

Chief Sean Connolly with the Flagstaff Police Department said the suspect was armed with a semi-automatic rifle.

CONNOLLY:  Hopping from roof to roof, taking points of vantage from high ground, firing upon our officers into homes, multiple backyards, multiple community members, multiple rooftops.

Officers eventually wounded the suspect and took him into custody.

Kamala Harris re-launching social media » Could former Vice President Kamala Harris be gearing up for another presidential bid?

 More than a year after her election loss in 2024, Harris is rebooting her campaign social media sites:

HARRIS:  To get basically the latest of what's going on and also to meet and revisit with some of our great courageous leaders; be they elected leaders, community leaders, civic leaders, faith leaders...

Harris is reaming up with a liberal activist group to rebrand her Kamala campaign accounts to simply be known as "Headquarters."

The team working behind the rebrand said it’s about making use of the public outreach machine built in the last election. But it has further fueled speculation that Harris may be gearing up to launch another White House bid.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Backlash over this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. That’s coming up on Culture Friday. Plus, an old-fashioned love story set in Italy.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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