In brief: Fire breaks out in Macy’s flagship store
New York – A two-alarm fire broke out in the basement of Macy’s flagship store Friday night, sending plumes of smoke into the air and forcing shoppers and store clerks outside while firefighters brought the blaze under control.
No one was injured in the fire that broke out about 8:15 p.m. at the iconic department store on 34th Street, fire department spokesman Jim Long said. The fire was extinguished in about an hour. Fire marshals were investigating the cause.
Jackson will sell home in D.C. to help pay fine
Washington – Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. will sell his townhouse in the nation’s capital to help pay a $750,000 forfeiture he owes, according to a court filing Friday.
Jackson, 48, who quit Congress last November, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on Aug. 14 after using $750,000 in campaign cash on a Rolex watch, furs, vacations, celebrity memorabilia, mounted elk heads and other whims.
In Friday’s court filing, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, lawyers said Jackson “has been unsuccessful in his attempts to satisfy his forfeiture money judgment, and thus has agreed to sell the O Street property (in Washington), and to use the proceeds of the sale” to meet the obligation.
Squirrel is top suspect in bicycle vandalization
Estherville, Iowa – A squirrel roaming a community college in northern Iowa has become the No. 1 suspect in a vandalized bicycle incident.
Officials at Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville said the rodent chewed through two tires, a bicycle seat, a headlight and a taillight in the span of two days beginning Wednesday.
The Sioux City Journal reported that the bicycle owner, an associate math professor, reported the incidents to Estherville police. Another professor later came forward with a photo that shows the squirrel attacking the bike.
A school spokesman said the photo helps solve the mystery of how the bicycle was vandalized without witnesses seeing a suspect. The professor has since parked his bicycle indoors.