Washington, D.C.
Three Senate office buildings were shut down this week after white powder found in a mailroom tested positive for ricin, a deadly poison. The mailroom is attached to the offices of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. Although several field tests detected ricin, which has no known antidote, security officials said they could not be sure what was in the powder until it was analyzed in an Army lab. No one fell sick—ricin causes severe breathing problems, fever, and nausea—but dozens underwent a decontamination procedure as a precaution. “I’m not particularly worried,” said Joseph Zogby, 34, counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. “But maybe I should be.”
Subscribe to 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.
-
Jonathan Powell: who is the man behind Keir Starmer's foreign policy?Today's Big Question Prime minister's national security adviser is a 'world-class operator'
-
Summer sipping: the best fruit beersThe Week Recommends Check out these delightfully refreshing sweet and sour brews
-
How Putin misunderstood his past victoriesIn Depth Though Vladimir Putin has led Russia to a number of grisly military triumphs, they may have misled him when planning the invasion of Ukraine
