Laser Warning System

My brother assured me over lunch last week that there are anti-aircraft missile launchers atop the White House.
The Pentagon have now said it will use lasers to warn pilots when they've flown into restricted airspace near the Capitol.
SNAP - as I was writing this, listening to the news, an item said the US President had been evacuted from the White House into a shelter after a plane encroached restricted airspace over the Capitol.
Does this mean the system didn't work or that it's not operational yet? Apparently the latter - checking back, the news report I read was dated 11 April and the Pentagon had said the system would be operational within 30 to 45 days.
So how does it work? And wouldn't shining lasers into the eyes of the pilots make them go blind? And haven't there been numerous reports of late throughout the USA (about 100!) of incidents where laser beams have been flashed into cockpits?
Yes and no. According to NORAD the low-intensity lights they will use are less powerful that those that have prompted warnings, and tests have shown they are safe for the eyes.
NORAD says that the lasers could replace fighter jets as a way to warn the hundreds of small private planes which stray into Capitol airspace. Hopefully the training program NORAD plans will be a success so the pilots know that the red-red-green flashes means "oops". But wouldn't it be funny (??) if the laser malfunctioned one day and all the pilot saw was a steady red laser beam (like the kind they've seen on laser sights on rifles)?
Who said flying was dangerous?