PITTSBORO, N.C. -- A clock tower has collapsed in a fire that severely damaged a historic North Carolina courthouse that's been the site of a dispute over a video purportedly showing John Edwards in a sexual encounter.
Multiple media outlets reported the tower at the Chatham County Courthouse in Pittsboro collapsed early Friday. The fire started Thursday afternoon.
Hearings have been conducted in the courthouse on the handling of the video by a one-time aide to the former presidential candidate. Superior Court Judge Abraham Penn Jones told The Associated Press on Thursday the materials turned over in the case are in a vault away from the courthouse.
The cause of the fire hasn't been determined, but a city spokeswoman says renovations at the 129-year-old building had begun about two months ago.
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