“Anthrax” on The Daily Caller

MIAMI (AP) — The U.S. government has agreed to pay $2.5 million to the widow and family of a Florida tabloid photo editor killed in the 2001 anthrax attacks. (more)

“If you see something, say something,” our national security officials are fond of telling us. Indeed, the idea that ordinary citizens should be vigilant in spotting suspicious behavior was broadly encouraged long before this handy slogan was popularized. In the days after 9/11, as the anthrax scare ramped up, President George W. Bush was pressed by reporters as to just what sort of things folks should be looking for. The exhausted commander-in-chief replied, in a wordier iteration of the current motto, “If you find a person that you’ve never seen before getting in a crop duster that doesn’t belong to you — report it.” (more)

An employee at Marc Jacobs’ SoHo store intercepted a delivery of cocaine; she called the cops because she thought it was anthrax. It can be hard to tell the difference between drug dealers and terrorists. (more)

The Arizona Republic is reporting that the Executive Tower at the Arizona Capitol was on lockdown earlier today after police found a letter containing a “white powdery substance” was found. (more)

From “Courting Disaster:” (more)

More than eight years after the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks, the United States is still unprepared to respond to a major biological terror attack, a congressionally appointed commission said Tuesday in a report that gave the federal government mixed grades overall for protecting Americans from the threat of weapons of mass destruction. (more)

The French health ministry issued a warning on Tuesday after eight people died and seven fell sick in two European countries from using heroin contaminated by anthrax. (more)

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire health officials say four new test samples taken from the building where a woman contracted a rare form of anthrax have shown low levels of anthrax spores. (more)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An anthrax scare Tuesday at Montgomery’s municipal court building is not related to a string of suspicious letters sent to Alabama congressional offices around the state, the FBI said. (more)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Envelopes containing white powder set off anthrax scares in five Alabama cities, shutting down two federal courthouses Monday and trapping a congressman in his office as authorities tested the substance. (more)