Letters with 'suspicious substances' sent to US senators and election offices

Federal authorities say they are investigating "potentially hazardous" letters containing "suspicious substances" that have been sent to congressional and state election offices around the US. The FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) said they were trying to trace the "suspicious mailings", some of which were intercepted before they were received.Authorities declined to say how many offices had been targeted, but several secretaries of state and congressional offices reported receiving the letters.Coming just weeks before the US midterm elections, it echoes previous security scares involving suspicious mail. The suspicious letters were sent to at least five Democratic senators' offices, most of which were intercepted before delivery.They include California's Alex Padilla, Connecticut's Chris Murphy and New York's Kirsten Gillibrand, the senators' offices confirmed to the BBC. New York Senator Chuck Schumer and Delaware Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester were also sent the suspicious pieces of mail, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News. "This incident is a stark reminder of the very real danger facing those who serve the public and who help administer our elections in th...