Powder sent to Biden brother investigated

OCEAN RIDGE, Fla., Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Federal and state officials searched for the source of an envelope with a white powder sent to the younger brother of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

Francis "Frank" Biden, 57, was dusted with the powder Saturday when he opened the manila envelope, which may have originated in India, just inside the doorway of his Florida home, South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.

"When I opened it, it went 'Poof,' " Biden said Sunday, explaining his hands and arms "up to the elbows" were sprayed with the powder.

"It was one of those moments where you go, 'Uh-oh,' " he said. "I immediately knew something was amiss."

A hazardous materials crew dressed in protective gear was sent to Biden's Ocean Ridge residence to check out the mysterious substance, the newspaper said.

The FBI said the powder would be sent to a laboratory in Tampa for more testing, but said a preliminary test showed it was not threatening.

The Boynton Beach Fire Rescue, called after the envelope was found to contain a powdery substance, determined it wasn't an explosive material. Neighbors were evacuated and the street was closed for more than 8 hours as a precaution.

Biden and the woman he lives with were taken to a Boynton Beach hospital, where he was held overnight for observation. His companion, identified only as Mindy, did not come in direct contact with the powder and was released, the Sun Sentinel reported.

Biden said he talked by phone to the vice president during the ambulance ride.

"I wanted to know if this was something that was happening to him contemporaneously," he said. "He's my brother, my best friend. He assured me nothing was happening."