Congressional offices get threats
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some congressional offices outside Washington and media organizations have received threatening letters containing a suspicious powdery substance that was tested and proved to be harmless, the FBI and the Senate’s top law enforcement officer said Wednesday.
Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Gainer said in a memo to Senate offices that the letters were sent to three state and home district offices. A district office of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, received one of the letters, spokesman Kevin Smith said. A federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that so far fewer than 10 members of Congress had received letters.
Letters were also sent to several media organizations. FBI spokesman Peter Donald said agents had responded to Viacom and at least one other location in New York. Preliminary tests showed that the powder did not pose a threat, he said.
“So far, none of the letters have contained a hazardous substance,” FBI Special Agent Jason Pack said. “We are working with those law enforcement agencies affected to determine if the mailings are related.”
Fraud charge in deadly mine blast
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The superintendent of the West Virginia coal mine where an explosion killed 29 men was charged Wednesday with conspiracy to defraud the federal government, becoming the highest-ranking employee to face criminal prosecution in an investigation that appeared to be moving steadily up the corporate ladder.
Former Upper Big Branch mine boss Gary May, 43, of Bloomingrose, W.Va., is named in a “federal information,” a document that signals a defendant is cooperating with prosecutors. He is the second employee of the company that owns the mine, Massey Energy, to face prosecution in the case. U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said his investigation of the worst U.S. mine disaster in four decades is “absolutely not” finished.
FDA panel backs weight loss pill
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — A previously rejected weight loss pill won an overwhelming endorsement from public health advisers Wednesday, raising hopes that the drug from Vivus Inc. could become the first new anti-obesity medication to reach the U.S. market in more than a decade.
The Food and Drug Administration has rejected three weight loss pills in the last two years, including Vivus’ pill Qnexa, due to safety concerns. Experts agree new weight loss drugs are needed to treat an estimated 75 million obese adults in the U.S., but the string of rejections has raised questions of whether any pharmaceutical treatment is safe enough to win approval.
At a public meeting Wednesday, an FDA panel of outside physicians voted 20-2 in favor of the weight loss drug from Vivus, setting the stage for a potential comeback for the drug.
Lohan gets kudos from L.A. judge
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lindsay Lohan drew praise Wednesday from a judge who said the actress was one court hearing away from putting a long-running drunken driving case behind her.
“Ms. Lohan, you’re in the home stretch,” Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner told Lohan. “The probation officer is pleased with your progress.”
The former Disney star has progressed under strict probation guidelines imposed by Sautner last year, including weekly stints working at the morgue and therapy sessions. Lohan, 25, now has to work 14 days at the morgue and attend five therapy sessions before the judge ends her probation on a 2007 drunken driving case that has dogged Lohan for years.
