(NEW YORK) — Few modern-day structural mysteries have garnered as much international fascination as the tall, mirrored monolith columns that have appeared in seemingly random locations since 2020.
Reminiscent of the prehistoric Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, but rooted in Millennium-era fictional lore, monoliths are long vertical metal slabs, each approximately 10 to 12 feet tall.
Monoliths are believed to stem from Arthur C. Clarke’s “Space Odyssey” series and Stanley Kubruck’s 1968 famed sci-fi film “2001: A Space Odyssey,” where aliens used large, black monolith-shaped machines as a guide to monitor and control humans’ evolution.
However, the scores of monoliths that have appeared around the world since 2020 look slightly different from those Clarke and Kubrick imagined — opting for a metal, often stainless steel structure.
From Utah in the United States, Wales in the United Kingdom and as far as Romania in southeastern Europe, these often unexplained structures have left officials and Internet sleuths questioning their makers and intentions.
Below is a timeline of monolith appearances internationally since 2020.
Nov. 18, 2020: Utah
The first unaccounted-for monolith appeared in Utah’s remote Red Rock Country on Nov. 18, 2020, during the height of the pandemic.
The Utah Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau was working to conduct a count of big horn sheep in a portion of southeastern Utah when crew members “spotted an unusual object” and landed nearby to investigate further, according to a press release at the time.
The crew members discovered the metal monolith installed in the ground in a remote area of Red Rock, according to the release.
Just 10 days later, the monolith disappeared, with officials saying it was removed by an “unknown party.”
“We have received credible reports that the illegally installed structure, referred to as the ‘monolith’ has been removed by an unknown party,” the Utah Bureau of Land Management wrote on X on Nov. 28, 2020.
A man named Andy Lewis later took credit for the removal, sharing a YouTube video of him and a small crew detaching the monolith from the rocks.
“We removed the Utah Monolith because there are clear precedents for how we share and standardize the use of our public lands, natural wildlife, native plants, fresh water sources, and human impacts upon them,” Lewis said in an interview at the time.
Despite Utah officials never specifically saying where the monolith was located, online detectives allegedly found it on satellite images dating back to 2016 and determined its GPS coordinates, according to Britain’s The Independent at the time.
Nov. 27, 2020: Romania
Just as the monolith was removed from its location in Utah, another monolith was discovered across the world in Romania.
The prism was found near an archaeological site outside of the city of Piatra Neamt, on the plateau of Bâtca Doamnei, officials said at the time.
Piatra Neamt Mayor Andrei Carabelea took to Facebook to joke about the mysterious monolith in Romania, “My guess is that some alien, cheeky and terrible teenagers left home with their parents’ UFO and started planting metal monoliths around the world. First in Utah and then at Piatra Neamt. I am honored that they chose our city,” the mayor wrote.
Four days after it first appeared, the Romanian monolith disappeared as mysteriously as it arrived.
Dec. 2, 2020: California
The streak of monolith appearances continued the exact day the column was removed in Romania — this time in California.
On Dec. 2, 2020, another monolith was discovered on Pine Mountain in Atascadero, a city in San Luis Obispo County in central California.
The 10-foot-tall and approximately 18-inch-wide monolith was found by hikers two miles up from the base of the mountain, according to local reports.
“I think it disappeared in Utah and landed right here in Atascadero,” hiker Blake Kuhn told ABC News’ Fresno affiliate at the time.
However, unlike the mysteries surrounding the other monoliths, the makers of the California column came forward to reveal themselves.
The four men who created and installed the third monolith are Travis Kenney, his father Randall Kenney, Wade McKenzie and Jared Riddle, they said in a statement.
“The purpose of this project was to create a positive and encouraging environment in a rather negative 2020, a year that has been plagued with health issues, political separation, and systemic racism,” Riddle said in an interview with Your Tango. “This event separated all of that!”
December 2020: Various locations
After the Internet frenzy the string of back-to-back monoliths caused, several copycat monoliths started popping up around the world in Pittsburgh, Joshua Tree, Las Vegas, Boulder, Albuquerque, Russia, Colombia, Spain and more.
A Business Insider report in Dec. 2020 estimated there were 87 monolith sightings globally.
March 12, 2024: Wales
Years after the initial monolith obsession died down, the tall, mysterious structure reemerged in Wales, United Kingdom, in 2024.
The 10-foot-tall silver monolith was discovered in Hay-on-Wye in Powys, Wales, by construction worker Craig Muir while he was out for his regular hike.
Muir posted a video of the bizarre find on TikTok, saying, “I come up here most days, and I’ve never seen this before. Almost looks like a UFO just put it on the ground.”
June 17, 2024: Las Vegas
This month, the monolith mystery continued when the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department took to X to share two photos of the long, vertical slab of metal they said appeared on a hiking trail near Gass Peak on the northern side of the Las Vegas area.
“We see a lot of weird things when people go hiking like not being prepared for the weather, not bringing enough water… but check this out,” the department wrote alongside photos of the column.
In the photos, the tall, geometric figure reflects the rocky desert and perfectly aligns with the horizon.
A similar monolith appeared in downtown Las Vegas in December 2020, standing under the Fremont Street Experience canopy.
The monolith was removed by Las Vegas police on June 20, saying it was necessary “due to public safety and environmental concerns.”
MYSTERIOUS MONOLITH UPDATE:
A lot of you have asked about the mysterious monolith that was recently spotted north of Las Vegas. Yesterday afternoon, we assisted with the removal of the item due to public safety and environmental concerns. pic.twitter.com/4NrR9FDo4T
(CHICAGO) — The search has expanded for a Chicago woman who went missing while on a yoga retreat in the Bahamas last week, police said.
Taylor Casey, 41, was last seen on June 19 in Paradise Island at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat, which reported her missing the following day when she didn’t show up for morning classes, the organization and police said.
The search for Casey — which has involved drones, canines and divers — has extended beyond the immediate area of the retreat to other parts of the island, Royal Bahamas Police Force Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings told reporters Wednesday afternoon. Investigators are also checking surveillance cameras, she said.
“Let me say that our priority is to find Taylor … in good health,” Skippings said during the briefing.
Skippings said it is too early in the investigation to say if any foul play is suspected.
Casey’s cellphone was found “in waters,” Skippings confirmed to reporters on Wednesday, though she did not specify where it was found due to the ongoing investigation.
Police also have Casey’s journal, Skippings confirmed to ABC News on Thursday.
Asked if police have any specific leads amid the ongoing search, Skippings told ABC News they are “still investigating.”
Casey was attending a yoga certification retreat when she went missing, the yoga retreat said. Skippings was unable to say when Casey arrived in the Bahamas for the retreat, though said it was taking place over four to five weeks.
Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat told ABC News it is cooperating with authorities on the investigation.
“The Ashram is asking anyone with information on Ms. Casey to contact the local police,” the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas said in a statement on Tuesday.
Casey’s family has traveled to the Bahamas amid the investigation and met with police on Wednesday, Skippings said.
Her mother, Colette Seymore, said it is unlike Casey to disappear like this and she is concerned for her safety.
“Taylor always calls me, keeps in touch. Taylor sent me beautiful pictures from the Bahamas, Taylor in the ocean,” Seymore told ABC News. “We want Taylor home. We need Taylor in our lives. We miss Taylor.”
A State Department spokesperson told ABC News that they are aware of reports of a U.S. citizen missing in the Bahamas.
“When a U.S. citizen is missing, we work closely with local authorities as they carry out their search efforts, and we share information with families however we can,” the spokesperson said. “The Department of State has no higher priority than the welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad. We stand ready to provide assistance to U.S. citizens in need and to their families.”
The spokesperson said the State Department had no further comment due to privacy concerns.
ABC News’ Anselm Gibbs contributed to this report.
(MOSCOW, Idaho.) — A trial date of June 2, 2025, has been set for Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in an off-campus house.
The trial is expected to run until Aug. 29, 2025, precluding Juneteenth and the Fourth of July.
The defense still wants a change of venue, which has not yet been determined. If the venue changes, the trial date should still hold, Judge John Judge said.
The parents of 21-year-old victim Kaylee Goncalves had been desperate for a date to be set, telling ABC News in January their family is “in limbo” until trial begins.
“We got to get this case over,” Steve Goncalves said. “Let’s do it. Let’s stop playing these delay tactics, let’s just get it done.”
The Goncalves family said in a statement Thursday, “We are hopeful the trial stays in Latah County so as not to disrupt the scheduling order and we are praying for no more delays. We moved a little closer to justice today for Kaylee, Maddie, Xana and Ethan.”
Roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, as well as Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin, were stabbed to death in the girls’ off-campus home in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022. Two other roommates survived.
Kohberger, who was a criminology Ph.D. student at nearby Washington State University at the time of the gruesome crime, was arrested weeks later.
A not guilty plea was entered on Kohberger’s behalf for four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
The prosecution and defense have gone back-and-forth proposing potential trial dates at hearings this year.
On Jan. 26, the prosecution told the judge it was ready to go to trial in summer 2024. Prosecutors said summer is best because there will be out-of-state witnesses who need accommodations in Moscow, which they said is difficult while local schools are in session.
The defense argued a summer 2024 trial is not realistic for this complex case. The defense said it still had a lot of digital evidence to go through, more potential witnesses to speak with and more documents to collect from Kohberger’s past and his family.
The prosecution agreed that there was a large amount of information to sift through.
The defense recommended a summer 2025 trial if the case moved forward in Latah County, but days after the Jan. 26 hearing, Kohberger’s defense filed a motion for a change of venue.
The prosecution said the case has national and international interest, so a change of venue would not solve any problem.
At a Feb. 28 hearing, the judge and prosecution proposed a trial date of March 3, 2025, while the defense asked for a June 2025 trial.
The next hearing to discuss a change of venue will be on Aug. 29.
ABC News’ Julie Scott and Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Despite the U.S. Supreme Court issuing a decision allowing emergency abortions in Idaho, many pro-abortion groups criticized Thursday’s ruling and said it was far from a win for abortion rights.
“This is not a time for applause for the way that the court has functioned,” Fatima Goss Graves, the CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, said in a briefing with reporters. “This is a crisis of the court’s making.”
“We definitely deserve better from our court,” Goss Graves said.
The decision was the first time the court weighed in on abortion since it overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, ending federal protections for abortion rights. Since then, at least 14 states have ceased nearly all abortions and seven other states have imposed restrictions on care.
While the ruling will allow abortions to resume in cases of medical emergencies, abortion rights advocates criticized the court opinion, saying the ruling did not address the merits of the case and failed to find that patients are entitled to emergency abortion care to protect their health and lives.
“While the opinion temporarily restores the ability of doctors in Idaho to provide emergency abortions required under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), by dismissing Idaho’s appeal without resolving the core issues in the case, SCOTUS will only continue to put pregnant patients at unnecessary risk,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement.
Advocates also argued that the decision is “the bare minimum” and the court should have been more clear in ruling that EMTALA protects abortion in emergency situations across all states.
“The fact that this case was before the Court and remains open to further litigation tells us everything we need to know about the anti-abortion movement: They would rather let pregnant people suffer life-threatening health consequences than allow them to receive stabilizing abortion care,” Destiny Lopez, the acting co-CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, said in a statement.
“This outcome does not remedy the harm that the Court’s anti-abortion justices inflicted with the Dobbs decision two years ago,” Lopez said.
Of the states restricting abortion, at least seven do not have clear exceptions for emergency care.
“The courts caused a months-long catastrophe that was completely unnecessary,” President of Planned Parenthood Alexis McGill Johnson told reporters.
“They had the opportunity to bring clarity to the chaos they caused … but they missed the mark,” McGill Johnson said.
The case now returns to the Ninth Circuit where it will be further litigated.
“The Court could have upheld this basic right, but they refused to. Instead, the conservative majority kicked the case back to a lower court, punting so that they didn’t need to weigh in before an election where attacks on abortion access are already top of mind for voters,” Reproductive Freedom for All, a pro-abortion group, said in a statement Thursday.
The Center for Reproductive Rights told reporters that the Thursday decision does not impact access to abortion in the 20 other states with restrictions or bans in effect — and a case over EMTALA could be back before the court next session.
Texas sued the U.S. government over EMTALA guidance, and the Fifth Circuit court successfully blocked the guidance.
Advocates issued warnings that echoed reactions to the court’s decision striking down an abortion pill ruling this month.
“Several justices provided a roadmap for just how they would strip pregnant people of this basic right when this case comes back to the Court,” Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said in a statement.
Anti-abortion group Americans United for Life, meanwhile, called the ruling “highly fractured.”
“The Court recognized based on representations by the Biden administration that Idaho may continue to enforce its pro-life law, and the rights of pro-life doctors and nurses will be respected in all circumstances as federal law requires. The case will develop further in the lower courts and the Supreme Court seems ready, willing, and able to review the case again once an appropriate factual record based upon the Biden administration’s actual position is developed,” said Steven Aden, chief legal officer and general counsel.
Another anti-abortion group called the decision “a setback.”
“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a setback, but our fight for babies and moms continues,” National Right to Life said in a statement. “With its sound ‘life of the mother’ provision that allows pregnant women to receive emergency care, Idaho’s pro-life law is consistent with EMTALA which requires hospitals to provide stabilizing treatment to both mothers and unborn children. Under Attorney General Raul Labrador’s leadership, we are confident Idaho will eventually prevail on the merits of this case.”
(WASHINGTON) — A coalition of racial justice and civil rights nonprofit advocacy organizations are formally joining the fight to prevent a ban on TikTok.
The Asian American Federation, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, Calos Coalition and Hispanic Heritage Foundation are among the 13 groups arguing that TikTok serves as an essential platform for communities of color and other marginalized groups.
“TikTok is a modern-day digital town square that empowers diverse communities, often neglected by traditional media outlets, to share their underrepresented voices with people across America and the world,” lawyers from the firm Cooley LLP wrote in a court filing expected to be filed Thursday on behalf of the coalition.
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law as part of a larger spending package, could potentially make the app unavailable in the U.S. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance filed a lawsuit against the law, which is now formally supported by the civil rights nonprofits.
Supporters of company’s lawsuit argue the legislation threatens the First Amendment rights of 170 million U.S. users and would effectively ban the app. The groups argue the legislation is unconstitutional and they also expressed “grave concerns about anti-Asian animus undergirding the TikTok Ban.”
“The TikTok Ban imposes an unprecedented prior restraint on free speech, silencing countless voices, while also discriminating on content and viewpoint,” the Cooley lawyers wrote.
Congressional leaders and President Biden have argued that restricting the app is necessary due to security concerns with the Chinese government.
ByteDance refuted those allegations in its lawsuit, arguing there has been no tangible evidence that the app poses any security risk.
Roddy Ricch calls 911 in his latest single and video, directed by Spike Jordan.
In it, he takes on the role of a man who saves people from danger, including a woman who almost got hit by a train.
“Shake my hand, and I might take you on a trip/ Pretty, smooth skin, nice toes, you just my type/ Usually I don’t take her home first night/ But for you, I just might/ I know you know, these b****** can’t f*** with you/ On your worst day when you come around my way,” Roddy sang.
“911” follows Ricch’s “Survivor’s Remorse” and appears on his upcoming third studio album, The Navy Album.
