by Trish Turner | February 22, 2012UPDATE 2:00pm ET: Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer has just sent an updated e-mail to all Senate offices confirming that three total congressional offices have received threatening mails containing a powdery substance that has initially tested negative for containing a bio-agent and more letters could be on the way.
But the Gainer warning, obtained by Fox, makes clear, "The author of these letters has indicated that additional letters containing a powdery substance will be arriving at more Senate offices and that some of these letters may contain an actual harmful material. Although all letters received thus far have proved harmless, it is essential that we treat every piece of suspicious mail as if it may, in fact, be harmful."
A Senate state office and a House district office received the threatening letters Tuesday, and Gainer says an additional Senate state office received a letter Wednesday. The Sergeant at Arms does not indicate which office received the correspondence, but Gainer repeats the earlier call for members to be on the lookout for a particular Portland, Oregon address previously reported by Fox.
Gainer says his staff is "working closely with federal and local law enforcement in this ongoing investigation."
Congressional security officials, police, and staff often work with outside law enforcement. Recently, a joint investigation thwarted a would-be suicide bomber who was intent on attacking the U.S. Capitol.
UPDATE, 12:00 pm ET: FBI spokesman Peter Donald confirmed Wednesday that agents from his New York office responded to the offices of Viacom after receiving "suspicious mailings."
An unnamed law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two letters sent to Viacom were addressed to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. The official said letters were also sent to the offices of "several" members of both the House and Senate.
All sources are stressing that no actual danger or threat has been detected and threatening notes are often sent to lawmakers' offices and elsewhere.
-- Fox News' Mike Levine contributed to this report.
EARLIER STORY:
After sending out an outdated message in error warning Senate offices of potentially dangerous letters, the Office of the Sargeant at Arms has issued a new email to chiefs of staffs, administrative managers, chief clerks and staff directors warning of suspicious mail.
"Yesterday, a Senate state office received threatening mail that contained a suspicious powdery substance. While this letter was tested and the substance found to be harmless, these incidents are reminders that we need to remain vigilant in handling mail, recognizing suspicious items and knowing what immediate actions to employ if faced with suspicious mail in the office.
"Law enforcement sources have advised us other such letters may be in the mail stream and to be watchful for a particular return address on mail arriving at Senate offices: The MIB, L.L.C., 2413 NW Burnside, Portland, OR 97209."
The reminder is at least the second to come from the Sergeant at Arms office this year. Earlier in the day, the office sent out and then retracted a message to administrative managers and chief clerks that originally dated to January 2011.
The notice of suspicious mail should be disregarded, the email reads, "as the information is no longer current."
In that email, the Sergeant at Arms warned that the Senate Post Office had processed two envelopes containing threatening language and a powdery substance.
"The envelopes were from the same sender and were addressed to two senators’ offices in Washington, D.C.," the warning read.
"The initial tests of the substance were negative," the email continued, reminding offices to remain "vigilant."
The communiqué asked lawmakers' offices to be on the lookout for mail from the Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Comstock, N.Y.
The reminders are ominous echoes from a bioterror attack on two Senate offices shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Letters were then sent to the offices of two Democratic leaders, Sens. Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.
Following the 2001 attacks, new procedures for handling mail were put into place to protect staff. All mail bound for congressional offices must first be processed off site. Much of the mail now arrives late and often damaged from the rigorous screening procedures, according to numerous aides.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Threatening letters, powdery substance sent to congressional offices, Colbert and Stewart
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Air Quality Mystery « Weather Blog
Something funky is going on in Eastern Utah. And it has many scientists scratching their heads trying to figure out what in the world is going happening. In the winter, especially Utah, you expect to find some of the cleanest air where only a few people live and you’re surrounded by basins and snow-capped mountains. It’s also an area that like Oklahoma has plenty of energy drilling ( such as natural gas and oil).
But, just last month, recent ozone reports indicated that the amount of ozone present in The Unitah Basin was nearing 140 ppb. OK, I know that means nothing to you. In other words, the EPA’s standard is 75 ppb which is what many large cities experience during the peak of the summer when ozone alert is usually at it’s worse. That’s right, cities that have millions of people in it have cleaner air than an area that has just a few people per square mile. So, what in the world is going on here?
Scientists are puzzled and aren’t sure either. Are these pollutants coming from something that existed long before the oil and natural gas fields were started? It’s been stated that the gas and oil drilling itself is not the cause for the extremely high ozone. Does it have to deal with the snow and how the sun and snow interact? There are many questions to be asked here but what we do know is that amounts of ozone at this level can lead to many type of respiratory effects and damage to crops and plants. NOAA has a field of instruments surveying the area. Check back as we watch this story closely. Because it if’s happening in Utah, it could very well happen right here in Oklahoma.
-Damon
4.0 earthquake in Missouri shakes 9 states - msnbc.com
USGSEAST PRAIRIE, Mo. — Residents got an early morning jolt Tuesday after an earthquake rumbled at least nine states, causing minor damage and a big stir in the town of East Prairie, near the quake's epicenter.
“I live on a main highway and five miles from the reported epicenter,” Rhonda Brack, a manager at Tasters Restaurant in East Prairie, told msnbc.com. “It sounded like a semi-truck and it rattled my windows and it rattled my house.”
She said the magnitude 4.0 earthquake has been the hot topic of conversation since the popular breakfast and coffee house opened up at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.
"We're no strangers to quakes, but this one was different," Brack said. "We had one four years ago and that one rolled. This one was straight underneath us and lasted for 30 seconds or so. It reminded you of lightning."
U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist John Bellini said the rural farming community of East Prairie is known for its seismic activity.
"It's a normal event that occurs from time to time," Bellini told msnbc.com. "It happens every two years or so. They have many that are small but no one can really feel them. Once in a while you will get one like this one that is wider and stronger."
Bellini said several people in Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee also reported being awakened by the temblor that happened at 3:58 a.m. GMT. A few residents of North Carolina, Alabama, Indiana and Georgia also experienced some shaking.
East Prairie City Administrator Lonnie Thurmond told The Associated Press he's heard reports of cracks in sidewalks and walls, some broken windows, and minor household damage such as rattled shelves and things falling from cabinets.
Adam Rhodes said he was awakened by the earth’s trembling and then carried on with this morning routine before heading into work at Creative School Zone in East Prairie.
“You heard it and felt it,” Rhodes said. "It woke up my wife and my 3-year-old, but my baby slept right through it."
