“We acquired this property to blow it up.”

Macon, Ga., Mayor Lester Miller, in reference to the city’s plan to implode a vacant 16-story hotel at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Last year, Macon-Bibb County spent $4.5 million to buy the hotel in a federal bankruptcy proceeding. The city-county has hired a demolition firm to blow up the building for $2.6 million. Miller says the city hasn’t yet decided on how the land will be used. (Associated Press — Nov. 20, 2024)