On This Day In 2001: Anthrax claims third victim in US

US Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge said that the strain of anthrax used in the attacks on US media companies and the Senate appeared to be the same.

"We are obviously preparing for more," he said.

Nearly 40 people in the United States, including 28 who work at the US Senate, have been exposed to anthrax bacteria in the past month.

Teams of hazardous material experts have been checking the House of Representatives after an anthrax-tainted letter was found in the Ford House Office Building mailroom.

The US is offering $1m for information on who is behind the anthrax attacks.

The US postal service is sending cards to every home and business - 147 million addresses - telling people how to deal with suspicious post.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/21/newsid_2489000/2489325.stm

Less than a sugar packet's worth of evidence, and not a whole lot of clues. That's what the Federal Bureau of Investigation's massive anthrax probe comes down to six months after a spurt of mystery mailings killed five people, sickened 17 others, paralyzed mail delivery, and terrified the nation. The FBI's aggressive–and some declare flawed–probe of the attacks has run into one dead end after another, causing frustration and disappointment. "As an investigation, it's a nightmare," one official tells U.S. News.

http://www.anthraxinvestigation.com/USNews.html
WWASHINGTON, Oct. 21 - In a development that could undercut reporters' ability to obtain confidential information, Justice Department officials agreed Thursday to distribute to dozens of federal investigators in the 2001 anthrax case a document they can sign to release journalists from pledges of confidentiality.

Lawyers for Steven J. Hatfill, a former Army bioterrorism expert, had sought the releases as a step toward questioning reporters about their sources in the case. Dr. Hatfill, who has been described by Attorney General John Ashcroft as a "person of interest'' in the anthrax investigation, is suing the government over leaks of a variety of information suggesting his guilt.

Experts on journalism and the law said the releases - first used in another case, involving a leak of the identity of Valerie Plame, an undercover officer for the Central Intelligence Agency - could erode government employees' confidence that they can provide information to reporters without fear of being later identified and punished.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/22/politics/22anthrax.html