White powder found in NY government building

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York police are investigating a package containing white powder that was found outside the office of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn on Wednesday, a police spokesman said.

The package was opened by an employee from the mailroom, the spokesman said.

The incident recalled the anthrax attacks of 2001.

In the months after the September 11 attacks, five people died and several were sickened when anthrax was sent in letters to media and government offices in New York, Washington, Florida and elsewhere. Those cases have not been solved.

Quinn is openly gay and an advocate for same-sex couple rights. She is often talked about as a potential candidate for mayor in 2009.