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Powder Found in Al Gore's Mail Not Anthrax

Aired August 28, 2002 - 14:47   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: More developments on a story that we told you about yesterday, and that was a that letter was received to Al Gore.
We bring our Gary Tuchman in now.

Gary, this happened yesterday, a breaking news story, a letter came in to the Loews Hotel, where the office of the former Vice President Al Gore is. One of the staffers opened up the letter, a white powdery substance came out. Test results are in. What can you tell us?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, here is the latest, hot off the press. The FBI, the National Fire Department, the local county health department, have just told CNN, minutes ago, that preliminary testing is now done, the white powder that spilled out in Al Gore's office here in Nashville is not anthrax. Once again, it is not anthrax, beyond all reasonable doubt.

The final testing will be complete tomorrow for anthrax. But they are reasonably certain, beyond a reasonable doubt, that it was not anthrax.

It was very scary day yesterday: Two people were inside the office, the office manager and the office director who helped run the former vice president's headquarters here in his home state of Tennessee. Mary Patterson was opening a letter addressed to Al Gore. White powder spilled out. She screamed to Robert McLarty, who is the office director, There's powder in here. He told her wash her hands. They turned off the air conditioning, they turned off the vent, they then summoned emergency officials here.

The health department arrived. They immediately took the sample of the powder. They also took Miss Patterson's clothes for testing, but the testing has now come back, and it is negative, the preliminary tests.

We are told that it is very likely this letter was sent by a prisoner from a prison. The FBI is still investigating that possibility, but the news is good: The two people inside Al Gore's office were just informed a short time ago too that the testing is negative. We are told, as you might expect, they were very relieved

The former vice president and his wife Tipper, by the way, are on vacation, in northern California. They were made aware of this. They expressed their concern. We would assume when they hear this on CNN, they will be happy too. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Gary, I have a quick question for you. When this happened yesterday -- the information, we were receiving it minute by minute, Mary Patterson and her co-worker immediately put this down, closed the doors, turned off the air conditioning, she went and washed her hands. I found that interest; I'm wondering if all political staffers have been trained now on how to deal with the possible threat of anthrax.

TUCHMAN: Kyra, we live in a different world than we lived in before September 11. And yes, all these types of offices have been trained in what to deal with this type of situation.

The Nashville Health Department and Fire Department just told us a short time ago that since September 11 they have had 400 cases just in this city of fakes just like this one.

PHILLIPS: Definite waste of time and energy, that for sure.

Gary Tuchman -- we don't like those hoaxes.

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