Environment

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High waves hit a breakwater in Kihocho, Mie prefecture, western Japan Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012. A powerful typhoon is heading to Tokyo after injuring dozens of people, causing blackouts and paralyzing traffic in southern Japan. (Kyodo News via Associated Press)

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Don Dobbs, owner of Buckhorn Ginseng in Wisconsin, displays a wild ginseng root. The wild roots are believed to be more potent than cultivated roots and can be worth as much as $600 a pound, making them attractive to poachers. (Associated Press)

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Predatory plants will be on display at the U.S. Botanic Garden’s “Savage Gardens: The Real and Imaginary World of Carnivorous Plants” through Oct. 8.

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Predatory plants will be on display at the U.S. Botanic Garden’s “Savage Gardens: The Real and Imaginary World of Carnivorous Plants” through Oct. 8.

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Campbell Soup Co. is closing two U.S. plants, including the one in Sacramento, Calif., seen here on Sept. 27, 2012. (Associated Press)

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The home at 6201 Kellogg Drive in McLean is on the market for $979,000. Built in 1961, the four-bedroom, three-bath home has 3,250 square feet of living space over four levels.

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Drees Homes is building 238 single-family homes on quarter-acre sites at Colonial Forge at Augustine in Stafford. The Abriel model, with 2,723 square feet, is priced from $432,400.

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Marine One, the presidential helicopter, could complicate repairs to the Washington Monument during flyovers as a result of White House security measures, the National Park Service says. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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National Park Service Superintendent Bob Vogel announces details Wednesday for the repairs on the earthquake-damaged Washington Monument. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs, the founder of the Millennium Villages Project, says that villagers in Africa are stuck in a poverty trap, but he insists that with the right help, they can escape it for good. Many international observers, however, say he is well-intentioned, but they remain skeptical. (Associated Press)

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African women fetch water at the site of a borehole in the Millennium Project village of Dertu, Kenya. The Millennium Villages are part of a global anti-poverty initiative launched under U.N. auspices in 2000. The goal is to bring people out of poverty with assistance that will wean them off of aid after several years. Ghana’s “village” actually comprises 34 villages. (Associated Press)

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D.C. police post a photo of the traffic jam from an overturned truck spilling diesel fuel on I-495 on the department's official Twitter feed. Photo from MPD.