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What we know so far: Suspicious packages delivered to Democrats, CNN

Suspicious packages were sent to prominent Democrats this week and CNN's offices in New York City.
Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Police, FBI and other emergency workers gather outside the Time Warner Center after an explosive device was found this morning on October 24, 2018 in New York City.

Multiple suspicious packages were sent to prominent Democrats this week as well as CNN's offices in the Time Warner Building in New York City. Though law enforcement officials have not apprehended any suspects yet, the Secret Service, federal authorities and the New York Police Department all confirmed that these packages were potentially explosive devices. Authorities were treating the incidences as if they were related.

Here is what we know so far:

How many packages were intercepted?

At least 10 bombs were sent to various locations and intercepted since Monday. The FBI said that number could grow.

What was in the packages?

Most of packages were mailed in manila envelopes, affixed with six Forever stamps and a computer-printed address label showing a return address for "Debbie Wasserman Shultz," a misspelled name for the Florida Congresswoman, according to the FBI.

Credit: DC Police Department
The DC Police Department shared a photo of a suspicious package, saying others looking similar to it have been found in New York and D.C.

The bombs seized Wednesday, each with a small battery, were about six inches long and packed with powder and broken glass, said a law enforcement official who viewed X-ray images and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, according to the Associated Press.

The official said the devices were made from PVC pipe and covered with black tape.

Where were packages sent?

The Clintons

A suspicious package was addressed to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton late Tuesday night at her home in Westchester County, New York, according to a statement from the Secret Service. The packages were identified during "routine mail screenings" and were "appropriately handled" by authorities, the Secret Service said.

Neither Clinton nor former president Bill Clinton received the packages, "nor were they at risk of receiving them," according to the Secret Service, which has also launched a criminal investigation into the incident.

The Obamas

Early Wednesday morning, another package addressed to former president Barack Obama was intercepted by Secret Service agents at his home in Washington, D.C.

The Secret Service has also launched an investigation into this incident and said the Obamas were not in any danger of coming into contact with the potentially explosive packages.

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
U.S. Secret Service Uniform Division officers stand guard at the end of the block where former President Barack Obama and his family live and where an explosive device was sent October 24, 2018 in Washington, DC.

George Soros

On Monday, an explosive device was found in the mailbox of a Bedford, New York, home that is co-owned by George Soros' private company, the Soros Fund Management LLC. Soros, a businessman and Democratic Party donor, was not at the home when the package was opened by an employee of the residence.

The case was turned over to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force Division, which issued a statement on Twitter on Monday, saying, "We are conducting an investigation at and around a resident in Bedford, NY. There is no threat to public safety, and we have no further comment at this time."

Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A mailbox stands in front of the Bedford residence of billionaire George Soros on October 23, 2018 in Bedford, New York.

CNN's New York offices

A suspicious package was also delivered to the Time Warner Building in New York on Wednesday morning, which houses many CNN offices and studios. Two law enforcement officials said the package was believed to contain a pipe bomb.

The officials said the CNN bomb was crude but operational and was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, who appears on air on other broadcast and cable outlets. NYPD also said that in addition to the package, an envelope with white powder was found at the offices.

CNN employees were directed to evacuate the building while Jim Sciutto and Poppy Harlow of CNN Newsroom were still on the air.

Coverage was directed from the New York studios to its offices in Washington, D.C.

CNN's president, Jeff Zucker, asked employees to stop sharing images or geotags that would reveal their locations, "out an abundance of caution."

Former DNC chairwoman and Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

A suspicious package was sent to Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. It was addressed to former US Attorney General Eric Holder.

It waas sent to her office on the Sawgrass Corporate Parkway in Sunrise, which is near Fort Lauderdale.

Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The Broward Sheriff's Office bomb squad deploys a robotic vehicle to investigate a suspicious package in the building where Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) has an offce on October 24, 2018 in Sunrise, Florida.

California Rep. Maxine Waters

Two suspicious packages addressed to Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters were similar in appearance to five others that were received by other Democrats on Thursday, the FBI confirmed.

One package addressed to Waters was intercepted at a Los Angeles mail facility. The LAPD evacuated the facility to investigate the suspicious package and then later handed the investigation over to the FBI.

Earlier in the day, Waters said her Washington office was the target of a suspicious package.

Robert De Niro

A New York City police bomb squad removed a suspicious package from a Manhattan building associated with Robert De Niro on Thursday morning.

A law enforcement source told The Associated Press that the device appeared to be linked to the others sent to Democratic figures and CNN's New York City hub. The package looked similar to the others and had a similar device inside, the source said.

The NYPD said the device was taken from 375 Greenwich Street in the Tribeca neighborhood around 6:30 a.m. Thursday.

A spokesman said police were called for a report of a suspicious package at the location around 5 a.m.

Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Police gather near the scene of where another package bomb was found early Thursday morning at Robert De Niro's Tribeca Grill restaurant, October 25, 2018 in New York City.

Joe Biden

A law enforcement official said two packages addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden were intercepted in Delaware. One was intercepted a mail facility in Wilmington. The other was found at a postal center in New Castle.

The official said the packages had similar markings and characteristics as the packages containing bombs sent to other prominent Democrats. The official wasn't authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

Biden lives in Delaware, and a police sweep of his Greenville home turned up nothing on Wednesday.

Credit: John J. Jankowski Jr./The News
Police have cordoned off the Lancaster Ave. post office in Wilmington, Delaware. (Photo: John J. Jankowski Jr./Special to The News)

Who has not received dangerous packages

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo initially said his Manhattan office received a suspicious device on Wednesday. But a spokesperson for the NYPD later said the package was not a bomb and unrelated to other devices.

Cuomo tweeted that he's deploying National Guard soldiers and more state law enforcement to "double security at vital transportation assets."

"New Yorkers have never succumbed to fear or intimidation, and today will be no different," he tweeted.

White House

Administration officials said they know of no threatening packages sent to the White House. They also note that packages to the White House have to go through an off-site processing center, so a suspicious package would not reach the building.

San Diego Union-Tribune

The San Diego Union-Tribune and other businesses were evacuated after a "stack of suspicious looking packages" was seen in front of a building they share, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Wednesday.

Police later gave the all clear and said the boxes were filled with "everyday items" including children's books and a football, the Union-Tribune reported.

California Senator Kamala Harris also has an office in the building at 600 B Street. Harris' communications director Lily Adams said in a tweet their office evacuated and confirmed that the packages were not addressed to Harris or their office.

Contributing: Associated Press, USA Today

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