Washington, D.C
National World War I monument made in Englewood is unveiled in Washington D.C.
‘A Soldier’s Journey,’ the centerpiece of the nation’s World War I monument, was five years in the making in New Jersey by artist Sabin Howard
Timelapse: National WWI Monument being made in Englewood
Timelaspe: Master Sculptor Sabin Howard and his team assemble one of the panels of the National WWI Monument which is to be unveiled in Washington DC.
Tariq Zehawi, NorthJersey.com
With candles glowing and trumpets blowing, in a ceremony that combined stirring music and somber reflection, America’s World War I memorial was officially dedicated Friday night in Washington, D.C.
“The greats of the Italian Renaissance and their lineage played forward to create excellence in this memorial, and I know they are watching tonight,” said Sabin Howard, who assembled the mammoth bronze frieze over a four-year period in a 5,000-square-foot studio in Englewood.
He was speaking to the crowd of about 1,000 military veterans, politicians and the lay public, gathered at the recently created National World War I Memorial Urban Park — formerly Pershing Park — abutting the Federal Triangle in downtown Washington.
“This memorial is like a wedding ring,” said Joseph Weishaar, the architect of the project. “It is a symbol honor and fidelity and commitment that has remained vibrant for nearly a century between the nation and the men who served in the first world war.”
“A Soldier’s Journey,” the centerpiece of the nation’s World War I monument is a sculpture that tells a story.
So it was fitting that sculptor himself should be on hand, to narrate.
“This is a story of what happens to one family and one soldier when he enters into service for his country.” Howard said in a recorded narration during the presentation. “The soldier is an allegory for the United States. It explains the hero’s journey through World War I.”
In the presentation, called “First Light,” the crowd was taken, panel by panel, left to right, through the 58-foot long, 10-foot high bronze frieze.
As first one section and then another lit up, Howard — his recorded voice — told the story. The father, being handed a helmet by his little daughter, going off to war. The soldier, now one among many, in an agonizing tableau of bayonets and bombs, with fellow doughboys screaming and nurses caring for the wounded. And finally — in the last panel — the returning civilian handing the helmet back to his little daughter.
Then, after the crowd had a good look, sequentially, at the 38 figures, all the lights went up. And there it was, all complete: “A Soldier’s Journey,” dedicated on General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing’s 164th birthday, and the new main attraction in what used to be called Pershing Park on 11th Street.
It is now the National World War I Memorial Urban Park — the $40 million project of the World War I Centennial Commission (the war ended Nov. 11, 1918) and paid for largely through donations.
An appropriate setting
The sculpture itself, the largest freestanding bronze relief in the western hemisphere according to Howard, is just part of the project.
The whole square has been re-landscaped, with fountains, a reflecting pool, and berms on three sides to dampen the traffic noise and create a quiet atmosphere for contemplation. An existing statue of General Pershing by Robert White (grandson of architect Stanford White), on site since 1983, has been worked into the new scheme.
“It’s a very serene place,” said Joseph Weishaar, the architect of the park. “Especially with the fountains going. You have the roar of the water, evocative of the sounds of war.”
Memorials: North Jersey Sept. 11 memorial events remember those lost 23 years ago
It was Weishaar, winner of a design contest by the Centennial Commission for his submission “The Weight of Sacrifice,” who brought Howard on board as his sculptor of choice.
“His accomplishment is one of amazing craft,” Weishaar said. “I don’t think it’s rivalled anywhere. My role is like a jeweler making a ring. I made the ring. But Sabin is the diamond. The sculpture is the diamond. That’s the piece that everybody is going to be wowed about.”
On the reverse side of the tableau is inscribed part of a poem by Archibald MacLeish:
“Whether our lives and our deaths were for peace and a new hope
or for nothing we cannot say; it is you who must say this.
They say: We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning.
We were young, they say. We died. Remember us.”
Howard’s sculpture, like this verse, is not jingoistic. But neither is it cynical. It invites viewers to ponder the first modern war, the “war to end all wars” that killed 116,516 Americans (40 million worldwide) in a global cataclysm that was viewed by many afterwards as a tragic, senseless waste.
“As an artist, I’m very anti-war,” Howard said. “I didn’t make a sculpture about the glorification of war. I made a sculpture about human beings that are there in a very noble and heroic act of being in service to one’s country. This is their story. It’s to honor them. And I’ve had hundreds of letters from military families saying thank you, finally, for acknowledging us. The cool part is, they’re saying thank you for your service.”
That was, in its way, heroic too.
A long term project
For five years, Howard, his assistant Charlie Mostow, and a handful of others put in long days in the Englewood studio. For hours on end, models posed, Howard sculpted, and his wife, filmmaker Traci Slatton Howard, documented.
One by one, Styrofoam “maquettes” were covered with clay to create the figures, which were then transferred through a silicon mold to wax, which in turn became the ceramic shell. These were sent over to England to be cast in bronze. For the last month, on and off, Howard has been on-site in Washington D.C., supervising as the pieces were put in place with cranes, in the setting that Weishaar created for them.
“The reassembly was incredible,” he said. “Four panels, 38 figures, and everything has to fit. If it doesn’t, what are you going to do — chop away the stone or something?”
“A Soldier’s Journey” is a monument, in more than one sense.
To all the soldiers and civilians who served and died in World War I, certainly. More, to all soldiers, in all wars (veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars served as models).
But additionally, it’s a monument to an idea: Sabin Howard’s fervent belief that modern America needs a public, neo-classical art. An art that unifies rather than divides. An art that can ennoble our squares and promenades, the way Michelangelo’s and Donatello’s sculptures adorned the piazzas of Florence.
“In the Renaissance, they used to make sculptures like the David, and they would put it in the square,” said Howard, who trained in Italy and at the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts).
Such art, he said, uplifted. “It was a symbol of rising to the occasion, as a nation, and on a citizen level,” he said. “This is the exact same damn thing. I made a sculpture with 38 figures that shows a tapestry of the United States and its variety, with women, children, Democrats, Republicans, all under one flag as Americans. We are one unified country. That’s what the sculpture is.”
African Americans, Asians and Native Americans are included among the figures (though Howard takes the liberty of showing Black soldiers fighting alongside whites; the U.S. army was then segregated).
“This is something that brings us together,” Howard said. “Most modern art brings us apart.”
Aftermath of war
Ironically, it was World War I itself, and the ensuing cynicism about war and sacrifice, that gave rise to the iconoclastic modern art movements that dominated Western culture for the last 100 years. With “A Soldier’s Journey,” Howard wants to use that same war as a jumping off place, to bring the heroic back to art. “This is an American cultural renaissance,” he said.
His next project is also in that vein: an “American Exceptionalism Arch” project in Dallas, which will probably be completed 10 years from now. It too, will uplift and ennoble. “It’s another epic sculpture, which this many figures and this amount of story,” he said.
One thing he says he learned from working with veterans during the World War I project: the notion of being “in service of.”
“I feel that my work is in service to something greater than myself,” he said. “That’s what I’m so excited about.”
WASHINGTON (7News) — If you’ve got plans around D.C., Maryland, or Northern Virginia this weekend, you’ll want to stay flexible.
The forecast brings a mix of warm temperatures, sunshine, and a few rounds of showers and storms—especially Saturday and late Sunday.
Here’s a simple, hour-by-hour style breakdown so you can plan ahead.
Saturday: Warm Front, Clouds, and Spotty Storms
Morning (6 AM – 12 PM)
Mostly cloudy to start
A few early showers possible, especially toward the MD/PA border
Temperatures climbing through the 60s into the low 70s
What’s happening: A warm front is lifting north, bringing in milder air.
Afternoon (12 PM – 5 PM)
Highs reach the mid-70s
Clouds may break at times
Scattered showers and thunderstorms develop
Storm window: 2 PM – 7 PM
About a 50% chance of rain
Severe risk is low, but not zero
Possible:
Brief heavy downpours
Gusty winds
Maybe even small hail in isolated spots
Good news: Not everyone sees rain—but keep an eye on the sky.
Evening & Night (After 7 PM)
Storm chances linger early, then fade
Skies turn partly cloudy overnight
Lows drop to the mid-50s
Winds become light
Most of the night should be quiet and comfortable.
Sunday: The Pick of the Weekend
Morning
Dry and pleasant
A mix of sun and clouds early
Afternoon
Sunny and warmer
Highs in the low 80s
Light southwest breeze
This is your best outdoor day—great for parks, brunch, or yard work.
Sunday Night (After Midnight)
Clouds increase
Showers likely after midnight (70% chance)
Lows in the mid-50s
Winds shift from the north
Rain becomes more steady and widespread overnight
Looking Ahead (Late Sunday into Monday)
A cold front approaches from the northwest
Best chance for rain: Sunday night → Monday morning
Rainfall totals:
Generally 0.10″ to 0.25″
Locally higher in spots
Storms are possible, but:
Limited instability
Severe weather risk remains low
Weekend Planning Tips
Saturday:
Keep plans flexible—have a backup indoor option in the afternoon
Sunday:
Get outside early—it’s the best weather window
Sunday night:
Expect rain if you’re out late or traveling
The Big Picture
This weekend is part of a warming trend, with temperatures climbing from the 70s into the 80s. But with that warmth comes multiple chances for showers and storms, especially as weather fronts move through the region.
This weekend compared too next
Washington, D.C
Mom finds out daughter with autism was sexually abused at DC school week after it happened
CONTENT WARNING: This story contains content that may be uncomfortable to some readers. Discretion is advised.
WASHINGTON (7News) — A mother said she learned her 13-year-old daughter was sexually abused in a D.C. school when a detective contacted her a week after it happened. She said the school never notified her.
7News sat down with the mother on Friday, while her daughter was being evaluated and interviewed by detectives. We’re not sharing the mom’s identity to protect her daughter.
ALSO READ | Virginia health officials monitor cruise ship passengers for deadly hantavirus symptoms
The mom said she got a call Sunday night, “regarding my daughter and a sexual assault that happened at school involving my daughter last Monday.”
However, it didn’t come from the place or people she said she counted on.
“I never got a phone call from the school, an email, a text, nothing to say,” said the mom. Nothing happened until a week later.
That’s when a detective called and told her what happened.
“She was forced to give oral sex to a student in school,” said the mom.
Her 13-year-old daughter is disabled, autistic, and has challenges communicating.
The mom said she was sending her daughter to school without knowing what happened.
“I noticed a little behavior, emotional changes,” said the mom. “When I got that call now, it makes sense to, you know, what you because of what she had experienced at school and to come home and she didn’t say anything or no one had called me and just like it breaks my heart.”
7News obtained a copy of the police report, which confirms the youth investigative branch is investigating what happened to her daughter as sexual abuse. It shows that a Kelly Miller Middle School social worker reported it to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) last week.
“I just hope that I can be able to get her back on the right track. From all the trauma, on top of trauma,” said the mom. “To be able to grow and not have to hold that in the back of her head that she experienced in school, which should have been her safe place.”
7News started reaching out to DCPS just after 12:30 p.m. to ask if the students suspected of the abuse have been removed from the school, and why parents wouldn’t have been notified about the incident. They did not get back to us until after our first report aired. They did not answer either question. They provided the following statement.
A district spokesperson provided this statement:
At DC Public Schools (DCPS), student safety and wellbeing are paramount, and the district treats any allegation of sexual misconduct with the utmost seriousness. DCPS will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as this matter is investigated.
In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and our obligation to maintain student confidentiality, we are unable to provide comment on individual student cases.
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault or abuse, the National Sexual Assault Hotline can be accessed by calling 1-800-656-4673.
WASHINGTON – A cyberattack on the Canvas learning management system left thousands of schools and universities offline Thursday, disrupting access to grades, assignments, course materials and lecture videos as students prepared for finals.
The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the breach, according to the Associated Press. Instructure, the company behind Canvas, did not immediately respond to questions about whether the system was taken down as a precaution or knocked offline, the AP reported.
READ MORE: Canvas outage impacts thousands of schools, universities: Hacker group reportedly takes credit
The hacking group posted online that nearly 9,000 schools worldwide were affected, with billions of private messages and other records accessed. Many school systems and universities in the Washington, D.C. region rely on Canvas as their primary learning management system.
In Montgomery County, school officials said access to the platform will remain unavailable “out of an abundance of caution” while they work to understand the impact of the incident and any potential vulnerabilities. Families were urged not to log in until MCPS and the myMCPS Classroom vendor resolve the issue.
The University of Maryland said it does not yet know when Canvas will return to service.
Canvas Cyberattack DC-Area School Systems Affected
Montgomery County Public Schools
Canvas (myMCPS Classroom) owned by Instructure Inc., is used by the school district as its learning management system. Due to a reported global cybersecurity concern involving Canvas, and impacting numerous school systems, universities, corporations in Maryland, other states, and worldwide, thus access to myMCPS Classroom has been disabled.
Out of an abundance of caution, access to the system will remain unavailable while we work to better understand the full impact of the incident and any potential vulnerabilities involving information connected to the platform. Please do not attempt to log in to the platform until MCPS and the myMCPS Classroom (Canvas) vendor have resolved this problem.
At this time, appropriate MCPS technology and security staff are continuing to assess the situation and coordinate with the vendor. We understand this disruption is frustrating and appreciate your patience as this work continues.
myMCPS Classroom provides access to student information such as grades, assignments, attendance, and course materials, and is an important tool for students and families to monitor academic progress. Additional information on how students can access resources and functions in myMCPS Classroom will be provided as soon as possible.
Updates will be shared as soon as additional information becomes available.
University of Maryland
Canvas may appear to be up right now, but please to not use it. DIT Security is not confident the system is safe to use right now. Please check back here before using Canvas.
For our faculty who use Canvas, we have created this guidance, and we will continue adding resources tomorrow. Please stay in touch with your students as we adapt to this evolving situation.
Prince George’s County Schools
There has been a cybersecurity incident involving Canvas, our Learning Management System.
Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, notified us of a global cybersecurity incident affecting 275 million users across numerous educational institutions. We have been informed that PGCPS was one of the many impacted organizations. While personal information including names, emails and Student IDs was impacted, NO sensitive information, such as dates of birth, passwords, financial information, was involved. PGCPS does not store that type of sensitive information or parent information in Canvas.
We are using this as an opportunity to reinforce the importance of exercising caution when communicating by email and remaining vigilant regarding suspicious messages, spam, phishing attempts, or other potentially fraudulent communications.
We will continue to monitor the situation and remain in close communication with Instructure.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Due to the ongoing issues with the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), AACPS will operate schools on Friday, May 8, 2026, without the use of the LMS. The Virtual Academy will also remain open with altered instructional delivery that will also not use the LMS. Further instructions will be communicated from the school principal. The latest information regarding the breach and the status of school district operations can be found at www.aacps.org/canvasbreach.
Prince William County Public Schools
We are aware of the error appearing when accessing Canvas and are actively working with the vendor to resolve it. The issue is not just impacting PWCS, and is widespread and national in scope. We will provide updates when the vendor has resolved the issue.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press and previous FOX 5 reporting.
-
New York45 minutes agoMan Dies in Subway Attack; Mamdani Orders Inquiry Into Suspect’s Release From Bellevue
-
Detroit, MI1 hour agoPatchy dense fog turns to stronger thunderstorms for Metro Detroit to start the weekend
-
San Francisco, CA1 hour agoWhere to watch Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Francisco Giants: TV channel, start time, streaming for May 9
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoFC Dallas vs Real Salt Lake Preview: Lineups, Storylines & What to Watch
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoMiami Area Gets First New Manufactured Home Community in Decades
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoWhat we know about wrong-way driver killed in head-on collision with state trooper in Lynnfield – The Boston Globe
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoA Frontier plane hits a pedestrian during takeoff at Denver airport
-
Seattle, WA2 hours ago
Where to watch Seattle Mariners vs Chicago White Sox: TV channel, start time, streaming for May 9