White House evacuated

The White House was briefly evacuated and Air Force fighter jets scrambled over a reported restricted-airspace violation before it was determined to be a false alarm.

Birds or some other type of anomaly tripped the radar that guards the presidential complex, sending out an erroneous report of a plane flying within five miles of restricted airspace.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, dispatched fighter jets to head off the target.

Accordingly, the Secret Service evacuated the building.

“When the NORAD fighters got to the location of the alleged violation, they found nothing,” William Shumann, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman told the Associated Press. “It’s one of those electronic gremlins that pops up, but there was no aircraft there.”

Twenty minutes later, staff members were allowed back into their offices and the “emergency” ended, but not before sparking alarm among jittery investors.

The already weakened dollar dropped sharply against the euro on word of the evacuation. The euro surged to $1.1969 before easing back.

“People are worried about the worst potential incident. Until we get some sort of reasoning the market is going to be on the defensive,” Tim Mazanec, senior currency strategist with Investors Bank & Trust in Boston, told Reuters.

The scare follows twin bombings targeting British interests in Istanbul, that killed at least 26 and injured nearly 450.

Explosives-laden trucks blew up outside the British consulate and the high-rise headquarters of British bank HSBC – the second largest bank in the world.

President George W. Bush is currently in London on an official state visit with the first lady.