Anthrax letter reaches Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle tested positive for anthrax on Monday as the bioterrorism scare rattling the nation reached the halls of Congress. \nThe discovery of anthrax in Washington followed earlier instances in Florida, New York and Nevada in which at least 12 people were exposed to spores of the potentially deadly bacteria. Monday night, another case of the disease was announced in New York. \nThe 7-month-old child of an ABC News employee has tested positive for anthrax, ABC News President David Westin said. The child is expected to recover. New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik said news agencies around the city were being inspected for anthrax contamination. \nThe piece of mail in Daschle's office, which contained a powdery substance, was dispatched to an Army medical research facility at Fort Detrick, Md., for further examination, said Capitol Police Lt. Dan Nichols. \nThe Fort Detrick findings could be available as early as Tuesday, officials said. Nichols and others warned that the initial tests were not necessarily accurate. \nBush told reporters "there may be some possible link" between the spate of anthrax incidents across the country and Osama bin Laden, who administration officials say was behind the Sept. 11 airline hijack attacks. \n"I wouldn't put it past him, but we don't have any hard evidence," Bush said. \nDaschle was in the Capitol and was not exposed to the letter, which was opened in his other office a block away in the Hart Senate Office Building. \nOfficials would not identify the person who opened the letter, though Nichols referred to the aide as a female. Aides who may have been exposed to the letter were tested with nasal swabs and being treated with the antibiotic Cipro as a precaution, said Dr. John Eisold, attending physician in the Capitol. \n"They are innocent people caught up in a matter for which they have nothing to do," a somber-looking Daschle, D-S.D., told reporters at a news conference outside the Capitol. "I am very, very disappointed and angered." \nNichols said a criminal investigation led by the FBI was under way. \nThe suspension of the tours -- which had already been curtailed after the Sept. 11 attacks -- was planned before Monday's incident, Nichols said. \nBush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said precautions were being taken at the White House with regard to mail, but added she was not aware of any tainted letters being delivered there. Other White House aides said they've been told strict limits will be put on deliveries, including food. \n"Like everybody else, we are being very cautious about what we open," Rice said. \nIn Trenton, N.J., Postal Inspector Tony Esposito and FBI officials said the letter to Daschle was postmarked in Trenton on Sept. 18, the same date and postmark on a letter that infected an NBC employee in New York last week. \nOfficials also were testing a female mail carrier and male maintenance worker in Trenton who reported possible symptoms of anthrax, Esposito said.