LETTER 'IS OF CONCERN': Envelope Sent to Senator Tests Positive for Ricin

Published April 16, 2013

FoxNews.com

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An envelope containing ricin was sent to the Capitol Hill office of Sen. Roger Wicker, lawmakers told Fox News on Tuesday. 

Milt Leitenberg, a University of Maryland bioterrorism expert, said ricin is a poison derived from the same bean that makes castor oil. According to a Homeland Security Department handbook, ricin is deadliest when inhaled. It is not contagious, but there is no antidote.

The letter to the Mississippi Republican was intercepted at an off-site mail screening facility and never reached the Hill. 

"It is of concern," Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said after learning about the incident in a briefing with other senators late Tuesday. 

Fox News confirmed the envelope tested positive for ricin. 

The envelope had a Tennessee postmark and no return address. 

The letter inside included an implied threat to effect of: "You haven’t listen to me before. Now you will, even if people have to die," Politico also reported.

Sources say officials are familiar with the person believed to have sent the letter as the person has sent other letters before.

FBI Director Robert Mueller and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano were on Capitol Hill on Tuesday for a scheduled talk about cyber security. But that briefing morphed into talks about Boston, after the bombings Monday.

Senate Sergeant at Arms Terry Gainer conducted a separate briefing for senators specifically on ricin.

It's unclear whether the letter had any connection to the Boston attack. 

The mail-screening system was established after the Anthrax attacks of 2001 that closed the Hart Senate Office Building.

Fox News' Chad Pergram and Mike Levine and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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An open letter to pregnant Kim Kardashian

Dear Kim:

I read with great concern about your trip to the hospital after returning from Paris for Fashion Week, in which you feared you were having a miscarriage.

I have to tell you as one of the leading high-risk obstetricians in the country, you are doing too much. The problem with too much traveling during pregnancy, especially during your second trimester, is that you have significant disruptive sleep and physical exhaustion.

This could lead to an increased level of cortisol, which could ultimately cause other chemicals in your bloodstream to elevate, like prosatocyclins – which have been linked to premature contractions, putting a pregnant women at risk for early delivery.

Reports have also indicated that you are working a full schedule, as well as working out with personal trainers seven days a week in order to keep your weight in check. Again, you need to pace yourself. Exercise in pregnancy is healthy, but excessive exercise can lead to physical exhaustion in pregnant women – another risk for premature delivery.

In other words – in pregnancy, too much of a good thing can be bad.

Moderation is key.

I think you need to find a balance between your work duties and your physical rest. The most important thing that a pregnant woman can do for her child is to try to minimize any risk that could lead to a premature birth, which is anything before 37 weeks.

All the best,
Dr. Manny

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