Black out at White House: Break in power line causes lights to go out in Washington

Washington DC: A power line broke loose at an electrical substation near Washington on Tuesday, briefly dimming the White House, emptying museums and cutting electricity to government buildings and the US Capitol for hours. [caption id=“attachment_2188389” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  AFP image.[/caption] The Justice Department and State Department were among thousands of customers whose power was cut in the early afternoon, along with the University of Maryland and some World Bank offices. The outage was caused by a power line breaking loose in Maryland state south of Washington, causing a drop in voltage, electrical company officials said. There were concerns that militant groups might be responsible, but the Department of Homeland Security said there was no indication of malicious activity. The outage was centered in the heart of Washington before power was largely restored a few hours later. Reuters