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ASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI has arrested an Afghan man who officials say was inspired by the Islamic State militant organization and was plotting an Election Day attack targeting large crowds in the U.S., the Justice Department said Tuesday. Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, of Oklahoma City told investigators after his arrest Monday that he had planned his attack to coincide with Election Day next month and that he and a co-conspirator expected to die as martyrs, according to charging documents.

The Washington Monument remained closed for a second day Tuesday to repair "damage to the electronic access system caused by Sunday morning's lightning strike," the National Park Service said. A bolt of lightning struck the monument in Washington, D.C., on Sunday morning, and it was closed Monday, the National Park Service's National Mall account tweeted. Travis Nix, a law student who tweets under the handle @tnix113, tweeted the video early Sunday....

The Washington Monument will remain closed indefinitely to the public to protect staff and visitors from COVID-19, the National Park Service (NPS) said Saturday. The monument closed on Jan. 11 as part of security measures around President Joe Biden’s inauguration. NPS said they would be keeping an eye on the public health conditions in the D.C. area and other indoor attractions’ operating status to determine when it would be safe to reopen. Along with the Washington Monument, all indoor attractions managed as part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks — such as the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, Ford’s...

Today Hasher Jallal Taheb, 23, of Cumming, Georgia, has pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to destroy, by fire or an explosive, a building owned by or leased to the United States. Taleb had planned an attack on the White House using weapons and explosives.  As part of the plea agreement, the defendant and the government agreed that the defendant should receive a 15-year sentence of imprisonment.“Taheb planned to conduct a terrorist attack on the White House as part of what he claimed was his obligation to engage in jihad,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John...

A leading archeologist tweeted instructions on how to safely topple an obelisk as George Floyd protestors in her town toppled a Confederate statue during a demonstration that escalated into unrest. University of Alabama at Birmingham archeologist Sarah Parcak took to Twitter Sunday evening offering details on how to bring an obelisk down as demonstrators in the city's Linn Park defaced a Confederate monument and tore down a statue of Confederate Naval captain Charles Linn Sunday night. A day earlier, protestors in Nashville, Tennessee, toppled a statue of Edward Carmac, a former politician and newspaper publisher who wrote editorials expressing racist...

We have seen a lot of disgusting, repugnant tweets and threads on Twitter, especially with the riots going on across the country. But this thread from a professor named Sarah Parcak giving very specific details on how to destroy the Washington Monument is a humdinger of horrible. Take a look. PSA For ANYONE who might be interested in how to pull down an obelisk* safely from an Egyptologist who never ever in a million years thought this advice might come in handy *might be masquerading as a racist monument I dunno

An Alabama professor obliquely encouraged protesters outraged over the death of George Floyd to pull down monuments that are “celebrating racism and white nationalism” and gave demonstrators detailed instructions on how to “safely” do it. The thread “PSA For ANYONE who might be interested in how to pull down an obelisk* safely from an Egyptologist who never ever in a million years thought this advice might come in handy,” wrote Sarah Parcak, a professor and Egyptologist at The University of Alabama at Birmingham. In the U.S., the most famous obelisk, a tall upright pillar erected as a commemorative monument, is,...

American professor gives instructions to radicals on how to topple monuments. ...

Amid protests across the country in the wake of George Floyd's death, a University of Alabama at Birmingham professor provided a step-by-step guide along with a figure drawing explaining how protesters can "topple" Confederate monuments. Sarah Parcak, a well-known archaeologist who received a Guggenheim fellowship in 2020, shared on Sunday "handy" information about how to destroy public property she considered "racist." "PSA For ANYONE who might be interested in how to pull down an obelisk* safely from an Egyptologist who never ever in a million years thought this advice might come in handy," Parcak tweeted. "*might be masquerading as a...

First lady Melania Trump cut the ribbon Thursday as the Washington Monument reopened to the public for the first time in three years. The 555-foot stone obelisk closed in September 2016 in order to replace the aging elevator and upgrade security systems. Accompanied by a group of local fourth graders, Trump took the new high-speed elevator to the observation floor near the top, which offers a commanding 360-degree view of the entire District of Columbia. The monument has been closed off and on for most of the past eight years. An August 2011 earthquake left cracks in the stones near...

The Washington Monument has been transformed into a stunning tribute to the first moon landing through a dazzling series of projections. Crowds packed the National Mall to watch the 17-minute show, which was projected three times each on Friday and Saturday, marking the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Cheers rose from the crowd as the Saturn V rocket was seen lifting off. The show also included various scenes of the stages separating, the moon landing, and splash-down as the hero astronauts returned to Earth.

Federal authorities on Wednesday announced a terrorist case against a metro Atlanta resident accused of plotting to destroy the White House and other Washington D.C. government buildings. Hasher Jallal Taheb, of Cumming, was arrested in Gwinnett County and appeared briefly in court in downtown Atlanta in the case brought the FBI.

Federal authorities have arrested a man in Georgia who is accused of plotting attacks on the White House and other landmarks and buildings in Washington, D.C., according to media reports. Hasher Jallal Taheb, of Cumming, Ga., appeared Wednesday in court in downtown Atlanta in a case brought by the FBI, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The newspaper reported that authorities believe Taheb was acting alone and that no other threats are imminent. Taheb had been under FBI investigation after authorities in Georgia reported concerns that he had been radicalized, ABC News reported, citing a criminal complaint filed Wednesday. Taheb...

A poster for a recent Pearl Jam concert has sparked outrage for depicting the corpse of President Donald Trump. The band staged a concert to get fans to vote for Democratic Sen. Jon Tester on Monday. To promote the show, bassist Jeff Ament and artist Bobby Draws Skullz drew up some artwork that included graphic imagery of the White House on fire and the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial cracked and breaking. The artwork also included an image of the corpse of Trump being picked at by a bald eagle while it reaches for a briefcase that appears to have...

More than 150 cracks have been repaired, rainwater leaks have been sealed, and the 130-year-old Washington Monument will reopen Monday for the first time in nearly three years since an earthquake caused widespread damage.

Pittsburgh’s mayor-elect Bill Peduto traveled to Washington D.C. last week and Channel 11 News has learned he had an interesting request for the president. Peduto was one of 16 newly-elected mayors to meet with President Barack Obama on Friday. The president discussed city challenges and job creation with the group. But Peduto said he also asked the president for the scaffolding around the Washington monument. “The president asked, ‘why would you want it?’ I think he thought I was going to scrap it and make some money. I said, ‘no, what I would like to do is make it so...

The Washington Monument will continue to be off-limits to visitors in the wake of last month's damaging earthquake, officials said Monday. But there's still plenty to see. Beginning at 8 a.m. today, mountain climbers will simultaneously rappel down each of the monument's four sides to examine the extent of the damage suffered by the landmark. That's the only way authorities can get a detailed look at the exterior of the monument, which stands just over 555 feet tall. "The good news is that it is structurally sound," Bob Vogel, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, said at a...

The Washington Monument is pictured early morning. (WTOP/Neal Augenstein) Wednesday - 8/24/2011, 4:18am ET The National Park Service says engineers have found cracks in the stones atop the Washington Monument, shutting down the area indefinitely. The cracks were discovered during a secondary inspection after Tuesday's earthquake. Structural engineers will evaluate the cracks on Wednesday to determine the best way to repair the Monument before it is reopened. The Lincoln and Jefferson memorials have reopened after being closed for several hours following the earthquake. The park service says all monuments and memorials on the National Mall, including the new Martin Luther...

Hurricane Irene revealed new cracks in the Washington Monument, which was already closed following the Virginia earthquake, the National Parks Service said. Spokeswoman Carol Johnson told CNN Wednesday Parks Service employees found standing water in the monument when they inspected it Monday. She said engineers tried to find holes following last week's 5.8 magnitude earthquake and in advance of the hurricane. "There were some leaks that we were not able to identify or able to plug," Johnson said. "What happened was a lot of mortar popped out, so much so that you can see sunlight above 450 feet in the...

The Rev. Pat Robertson, who once said his prayers turned a hurricane away from Washington, D.C., feels quake damage to the Washington Monument may carry a message from “the Lord.” The TV evangelist cited a four-foot crack in the Washington Monument, caused by Tuesday’s 5.8 earthquake, as a possible sign from the supernatural. He did not discuss greater damage inflicted on spires of the Washington Cathedral. “Ladies and gentlemen I don’t want to get weird on this so please take it for what it’s worth,” the Rev. Pat, a former Republican presidential candidate, told his TV audience.