Here's The Terrifying Video From Inside The Washington Monument During The East Coast Earthquake

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The National Park Service announced Monday that the Washington Monument will remain closed to visitors indefinitely while engineers continue to survey the obelisk for damage from August's earthquake.

Making matters worse, the Park Service found a crack at the top of the 555-foot tall structure that allowed in water from Hurricane Irene.

Visitors were on the observation deck 500-feet above Washington when the earthquake struck — and were hit by falling debris as they evacuated the national landmark down its 897 steps.

The Park Service released video from three of the observation deck's security cameras showing the quake hitting in a haze dust and debris. At one point it appears at least one tourist is knocked down by debris, only to be helped up and down the stairs by other visitors and Park Service staff.

Watch the video below (the shaking starts at about 1:44):

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The Huge Story In Washington: Fiscal Policy Rises From The Dead, As Bernanke Runs Low On Bullets

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Coming as it did on a busy day, Ben Bernanke's speech in Minnesota this past Thursday was probably overlooked, but it was hugely important.

Here you had the Chairman of the Federal Reserve barely touching on monetary policy (at a time when everyone is obsessed with the QE3 question) and instead talking mostly about fiscal policy, and the folly of premature retrenchment.

Then, perfectly, later that night, Barack Obama announced a brand new stimulus, which will be difficult to pass, though not totally impossible.

The bottom line is this: Whereas not long ago, it looked like all stimulus from now on would have to be from the monetary side, fiscal policy has come back from the dead, and is now back in the mix. Bernanke, whose efforts to goose the economy have been mixed (at best), has to be pleased.

And generally, this is a positive development for the economy. The bottom line is that when the private sector is as water-logged with debt as it is, making money cheaper to borrow does very little. Only the addition of new money (via more spending) has much hope of moving the needle.

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VIDEO: Time-Lapse Of IRENE Crashing Through Washington D.C.

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