This from the FBI's Infragard Jan. 11th Daily News:
Postal and Shipping Sector
23. January 9, Associated Press - (District of Columbia) Post union miffed by ‘sloppy’ evacuation. Postal workers who returned to work in Washington D.C. January 8 said a package that ignited at a government mail facility conjured painful memories of the anthrax attacks that killed two of their colleagues in 2001. The fiery package found January 7, which was addressed to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, followed two packages that ignited January 7 in Maryland state government mailrooms. It halted government mail until bomb-sniffing dogs could sweep the District of Columbia facility. Mail processing resumed January 8 after a meeting with workers, the local postmaster and the workers’ union. The postal workers union president said the package worried many employees. “We want them to feel safe and secure and be able to trust management to respond properly if this were to happen again,” the union official said. When the popping and smoking package was discovered, postal service managers failed to follow proper safety procedures, the union official said. The evacuation process was “very sloppy,” she said, because workers in the back of the building had no idea they were supposed to evacuate. Managers should have made an announcement on the public address system, she said. A mail processing clerk at the D.C. facility said co-workers told her management had trouble deciding whether to evacuate the building and wanted to wait for postal inspectors or police to decide. A worker ended up flagging down a police car, and workers said police evacuated the building. Source: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110109/NEWS03/301099901/1066/NEWS03
24. January 8, Christian Science Monitor - (District of Columbia; Maryland) Janet Napolitano was apparent target of D.C. package, widening investigation. Authorities investigating two incendiary packages in Maryland have more evidence to examine after a third package ignited January 9 in Washington D.C. The mailing in Washington was similar in design and shape to the packages in Maryland, according to the Baltimore Sun. The District of Columbia package was addressed to the Homeland Security Secretary, said a department official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The other packages were intended for The Maryland governor and the state’s transportation secretary. Although all three parcels aroused alarm because of their fiery characteristics, they did not appear to contain explosive material. The devices in the Maryland packages each contained a small battery and an electric match, CNN said, citing law-enforcement officials. Each of the mailings will now be examined more closely at the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia. Already, investigators were sorting through phone calls, e-mails, and letters to try to identify suspects, the Sun said. One focus was disgruntled people who have made threats against state government, according to the Associated Press. Still, much remained to be determined. The Metropolitan Police Department in the District of Columbia, the Department of Homeland Security, the Postal Inspection Service, and other federal agencies are also involved in the investigation, the New York Times said. Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0108/Janet-Napolitano-was-apparenttarget- of-D.C.-package-widening-investigation
25. January 8, Minneapolis Star-Tribune - (Minnesota; Wisconsin) 13 letters with white substance sent to Twin Cities businesses. The FBI is investigating 13 threatening letters containing white powder and sent to Twin Cities stores in Minnesota. The letters went to eight Home Depots around the metro Minneapolis and St. Paul area, and five Renewal By Andersen businesses, the FBI said in a statement released late January 7. The substance in 12 letters, analyzed by the Minnesota Department of Health, has been identified as sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda, and is not dangerous, according to the FBI. The last letter would not be analyzed until early the week of January 10. The first letter was received December 31 and the most recent on January 6, according to the FBI. The return addresses are identical on all the letters, with “exactly the same letter that appears to have been photocopied,” the statement said. The Home Depots that got the letters are in Inver Grove Heights, Eagan, Maplewood, Apple Valley, Forest Lake, Hastings, Woodbury, and Hudson, Wisconsin. The Renewal By Andersen locations that got the letters are in Edina, Burnsville, Roseville, Bayport, and Cottage Grove. Source: http://www.startribune.com/local/113104004.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiD3aPc: _Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU
26. January 7, Torrance Daily Breeze - (California) White powder at Comerica Bank processing center turns out to be salt. A white powder spilled from an envelope at a Comerica Bank check processing center in Redondo Beach, California, January 7, prompting a hazardous materials investigation and a federal probe into who mailed the letter. The powder turned out to be a tablespoon or two of salt and posed no threat to the 100 employees in the building on Manhattan Beach Boulevard near Vail Avenue, firefighters said. But its discovery prompted a major response from county, Redondo Beach fire and sheriff’s department hazardous materials units, along with agents from the county health department, the FBI, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The salt spilled shortly before 1 p.m. as a worker used an automatic letter opener, said a Redondo Beach Fire Department hazardous materials specialist. Source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_17038665
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