HOPE, Ark. >> The home in Hope where former President Bill Clinton spent the first four years of his life is set to reopen following a Christmas Day fire.

National Parks Service officials told reporters that volunteers and employees were unpacking boxes in an effort to have the home ready for visitors this weekend.

The Dec. 25 fire, which was called arson, damaged the exterior and some of the interior of the home, and graffiti was found on a sidewalk and on a door of the home. Authorities did not immediately return phone calls Thursday for comment on whether any arrests had been made.

The President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site was owned by Clinton’s maternal grandparents, and he lived there with his mother following his birth in Hope.

Memorial planned for attack site

ORLANDO, Fla. >> The Pulse nightclub, the gay venue where 49 people died last month, has found its way onto itineraries for tourists from around the world who pay their respects and leave handmade memorials.

Although the club remains closed and cordoned off, its owner is planning a permanent memorial to honor the victims. Club owner Barbara Poma and her attorney formed a nonprofit company, OnePulse Foundation, in a state filing earlier this month.

No details were outlined for the memorial, which is likely to draw even more visitors.

“I think it’s a natural human phenomenon to be attracted to places of gore and tragedy,” said Brigitte Sion, author of “Death Tourism: Disaster Sites as Recreational Landscape.” “Especially in the age of globalized media.”

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