The following stories are brought to you by the fine folks on the News4 assignment desk.
VICK REINSTATED BY NFL COMMISH
Michael Vick is back in the NFL. Now all he needs is a team to play for. Vick, free after serving 18 months in prison for running a dogfighting ring, was reinstated with conditions by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday. He could participate in regular-season games as early as October. Vick can immediately take part in preseason practices, workouts and meetings and can play in the final two preseason games — if he can find a team that will sign him. A number of teams have already said they would not. (NBC Washington)
LOCAL MAN A "TOP GUERRILLA ARTIST"
Mark Jenkins knows how to elicit a double take. Best known for the whimsical street sculptures he creates using packing tape, he has exhibited his work in galleries from Brazil to Europe to Japan and teaches "tape casting" workshops. "There is opposition, and risk [in street art]," Jenkins told the blog MyArtSpace.com in 2008. "It's good for people to remember public space is a battleground, with the government, advertisers and artists all mixing and mashing, and even now the strange cross-pollination taking place as street artists sometimes become brands, and brands camouflaging as street art creating complex hybrids or impersonators." (Time via DCist)
FAKE COP PULLS OVER REAL ONE
Oakland police say a man impersonating a police officer tried to pull over a real undercover officer and was arrested. Police say 21-year-old Antonio Fernandez Martinez of Oakland was arrested Wednesday in the Fruitvale district after trying to pull over an unmarked police vehicle. Martinez was driving a Ford Crown Victoria outfitted with flashing lights, a microphone and speakers. Martinez, a convicted car thief, will have his felony probation revoked and could face a prison term. (MSNBC)
"IMPEACH OBAMA" BUMPER STICKERS MET WITH PROTEST
While protesters rallied in his support, the owner of a Concord Mills kiosk that sells conservative merchandise said he met with the mall's manager Sunday to see what arrangements can be made for him to remain after his lease expires Friday. Nothing was agreed to, except that the two would meet again Monday, said Loren Spivack, owner of Free Market Warrior. Spivack has contended that he's being kicked out of the mall for political reasons. He's traced his exile to a letter to the editor in the Charlotte Observer criticizing his business, saying it promotes “ideas such as racism, sexism and even slavery.” (McClatchy DC)