(Reuters) – A suspicious package addressed to CNN was intercepted in Atlanta, the network announced on Monday, as a man accused of mailing bombs to the network and some of U.S. President Donald Trump’s leading critics was due to make his first appearance before a federal judge in Miami on Monday.
The package addressed to the news network was intercepted at an Atlanta post office, CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker said in a post on Twitter.
Zucker said there was no imminent danger and that since Wednesday all mail to CNN has been screened at offsite facilities. The Time Warner Center in New York, where CNN’s New York operation is located, was evacuated on Wednesday after a suspicious package turned up there.
Cesar Sayoc, a former male stripper and part-time pizza deliveryman, was arrested on Friday on suspicion of mailing at least 14 pipe bombs to CNN, a range of prominent Democrats, and other frequent targets of Trump’s scorn, including former President Barack Obama. Sayoc was due to appear in court in Miami later on Monday.
(Writing by Rich McKay; editing by Nick Macfie and Jonathan Oatis)
By Jonathan Allen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Time Warner Building in New York City was evacuated on Wednesday morning after a suspicious package that had been mailed was found in the CNN mail room, New York police and CNN said.
The New York Police Department’s bomb squad “believes they have this under control” and that the package appears to be an explosive device, CNN reported.
A member of the New York Police Department with a dog is pictured outside the Time Warner Center in the Manahattan borough of New York City after a suspicious package was found inside the CNN Headquarters in New York, U.S., October 24, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
The package contained a device that looked like a pipe, similar to those found at other locations, including the homes of former President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
There were wires in the package found at the CNN mail room, the network reported.
Two new anchors were on air shortly after 10 a.m. when a fire alarm was audible to viewers, and the network went on a commercial break. After the commercials, reporters from the CNN bureau in New York were seen on air outside on the street.
The NYPD said the package to CNN was reported to police at 9:53 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Additional reporting by Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Police temporarily evacuated a terminal at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday as they investigated a report of a suspicious package, authorities said.
A Homeland Security K-9 unit was checking into an unattended bag at about 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT) in the departure area of Terminal Five, said Joe Pentangelo, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the airport.
Pentangelo said the bomb squad had responded and roadways to the area were temporarily closed. The package was cleared and the terminal resumed normal operations, the spokesman said.
The evacuation came a day after suicide bombers blew themselves up at the main airport in Istanbul, Turkey, killing at least 41 people and injuring hundreds.
After the attack, the Port Authority deployed armed, high-visibility patrols at the three main airports in the New York metropolitan region.
(Reporting by Daniel Wallis and Laila Kearney; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jeffrey Benkoe)
