The New York Times on Friday received a letter containing a suspicious white powder and a copy of a recent editorial in which the paper defended its coverage of the Bush administration's anti-terrorism programs.The incident, which helped push U.S. stocks lower, raised fears of a possible recurrence of anthrax-tainted letters sent to newsrooms and other offices in late 2001.
"At about 12:30 p.m. (1630 GMT) this afternoon ... an employee opened an envelope that contained a white powdery substance. The envelope was handwritten and addressed to the New York Times, not to any individual. The postmark was from Philadelphia with no return address," said Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis.
Emergency vehicles and an ambulance responded to the newspaper's offices on 43rd Street and Mathis said the man who opened the envelope was taken to hospital for precautionary tests and treatment.
Conservatives have criticized the Times in recent weeks for writing about the Bush administration's covert anti-terrorism programs. This week protesters rallied outside the newspaper to object to its decision to publish details about terrorism financing and secret government programs to monitor phone conversations of U.S. citizens.
Mathis confirmed that the envelope included a copy of a June 28 editorial entitled "Patriotism and the Press" with an "X" marked through it.
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