Poisoning plot revealed
The week's news at a glance.
Washington, D.C.
Cookies laced with lethal doses of rat poison were sent to all nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005, retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor revealed at a legal conference last week. Authorities confirmed that 60-year-old Barbara Joan March of Bridgeport, Conn., had sent parcels containing poison cookies or candy to the justices and a handful of other officials. Mail to government offices is routinely screened, and none of the officials received the packages. They were traced back to March, who had used the return addresses of former co-workers and others she considered her enemies. March pleaded to guilty to mailing dangerous substances and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Authorities say she did not intend to hurt anyone; each package included a letter warning that the contents were poisoned.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Home Depots are the new epicenters of ICE raids
In the Spotlight The chain has not provided many comments on the ongoing raids
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?
Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
The pros and cons of banning cellphones in classrooms
Pros and cons The devices could be major distractions