• Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that his country has developed nuclear missiles that cannot be neutralized by traditional missile defense systems.  As NPR reports, however, Russia’s claims with respect to its nuclear arsenal have historically been difficult to verify.  [NPR]
  • A day after a congressional oversight panel opened an investigation into the purchase on Wednesday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development began attempts to cancel an order for a $31,000 furniture set originally destined for Secretary Ben Carson’s office.  Carson claims that he was unaware that any order had been placed. [BBC]
  • A 12-year-old Palestinian girl hailing from the Gaza Strip was reunited with her mother while awaiting a life-saving kidney transplant.  The girl was granted permission to travel to the West Bank for the procedure, but her mother originally was not.  [Al Jazeera]
  • On Wednesday, President Trump’s communications director, Hope Hicks, announced that she would leave her position less than six months after officially taking it.  The resignation comes a day after Hicks testified for eight hours before the House Intelligence Committee regarding Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election, during which she admitted to telling “white lies” for the President. [New York Times]
  • The East Coast is expected to experience brutal winds Friday as a Nor’Easter intensifies offshore.  Meteorologists predict wind gusts as high as 70 miles per hour in parts of the country including Washington, D.C., with heavy snow and rainfall in New England. [Mother Jones]

FACT OF THE WEEK: March was originally the beginning of the year in the 10-month Roman calendar.  At that time, the month was called Martius.  January and February were added around 700 BC. [TimeandDate.com]