Letters with powder hit more banks

Seven Chase bank branches in Phoenix and the New York Times headquarters in New York received envelopes containing a suspicious white powder on Wednesday as a wave of threatening US mailings spread.

More than 45 threatening letters have been received since Monday at financial institutions in at least 11 states, FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said. "Most of the letters contain a powder substance with a threatening communication," he said.

No harmful substances have yet been identified but more tests are being conducted at regional laboratories, he said.