Suspicious white powder sent to multiple U.S. election, congressional offices

In other news, law enforcement agencies across the United States say they are investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to multiple election and congressional offices. As of Friday, at least 36 lawmakers reported getting suspicious letters. Some contained a white powder. Darren McCaffrey is looking into this story for us this morning. Darren, what do we know about these deliveries? Well, as you say, they've been described as suspicious packages, potentially containing what is called hazardous substances. And as you rightly point out, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are currently investigating this, though they are pleased to report that many of these packages have been intercepted before they were received. But dozens have been sent to congressional and state election officers across the United States. People like Senator Susan Collins of Maine, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Rounds of South Dakota have all confirmed that they're among Republican lawmakers who've received these mailings. But it also includes Delaware's Department of Elections, the Oklahoma State Election Board and even in Louisiana, staff were evacuated after one package was delivered on Tuesday. We also heard from a Democratic congressman, Richie Torres, who spoke about what his office had received. It was an unnerving experience for everyone on my team. You know, we live in a world where elected officials and their staff are constantly facing threats against our life. And so the thought of a chemical attack is deeply unnerving to the people who dedicate their lives to public service. This investigation is well underway, but at the moment, they're not at all the police describing what might have motivated these packages to be sent. But it is just weeks out, isn't it, from those crucial midterm elections. And it does echo previous security scares. In fact, ahead of the 2024 election, vote officials in 17 states received suspicious packages. And a year earlier, some envelopes laced with fentanyl were sent to election officers. So this is part of a trend ahead of elections. But as I say, those investigations well underway. All right. Thanks so much for this, Darren.