The US mail-bomb scare widened on Thursday as officials seized three more suspect packages addressed to former Vice President
Joe Biden and the actor
Robert De Niro.
The
FBI said the packages were similar to crude pipe bombs sent to former President
Barack Obama,
Hillary Clinton,
CNN and others in the past few days.
Officials have warned that more suspect packages may emerge.
A package was sent to a restaurant owned by actor De Niro in Tribeca, a neighbourhood of Manhattan and discovered on Thursday morning.
Hours later, two more packages addressed to Mr Biden were discovered in at postal facilities in Delaware - the former Vice President's home state. A bomb squad was dispatched to safely remove the devices.
It follows a wave of basic explosive devices - described as "pipe bombs" - that have been sent to at least six recipients, including leading Democrats and prominent critics of President Donald Trump.
The packages sent to De Niro and Mr Biden appear to be from the same sender, officials confirmed.
Donald Trump on Thursday blamed 'anger' in American society on the media, which he said produce "purposely false and inaccurate reporting". He added: "It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!"
On Thursday morning, a suspicious package addressed to Mr Biden, Mr Obama's vice president, was found at a postage facility in New Castle County in Delaware. A second suspicious package was also intercepted in the state, officials said.
There has been no claim of responsibility. Officials said the devices contained in the envelopes were similar to the one found in the mailbox of Mr Soros' home and later detonated by police. At least one bomb was packed with shards of glass, a federal source said.
Who has already received a 'pipe bomb' in the post?Pipe bombs were earlier this week sent to Barack Obama, top Democrats and CNN - hate figures for supporters of Donald Trump - inflaming America's already tense political landscape as critics accused the Republican president of sowing violence.
Democrat and Trump foe Hillary Clinton was one of those targeted just days before the bitterly divided country votes on November 6 in elections seen as a referendum on the Republican president.
CNN is known for its robust coverage of the Trump administration and for constantly provoking the ire of the president, who succeeded Obama and defeated Clinton in 2016. Signs at his rallies condemn the network.
The spree of bomb alerts kicked off on Monday with a device found at the New York home of billionaire liberal donor George Soros.
What is in the manila envelopes with bubble wrap?"So far the devices have been what appear to be pipe bombs," said FBI agent Bryan Paarmann.
"Whether it's one person or a network, not really sure at this point," New York police chief James O'Neill told CNN, saying he expected those responsible to be identified and arrested within the next few days.
At least six suspicious packages were sent in New York, Washington and Florida, including to prominent African American Democrats - Obama's former attorney general Eric Holder and Maxine Waters, a politician from California.
They were sent in manila envelopes with bubble wrap, marked with computer-printed address labels.
Each listed Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, as the sender.
Donald Trump launches new attack on 'endless media hostility'Donald Trump has launched a fresh attack on the media's "endless hostility", hours after authorities intercepted bombs sent to a news network and prominent Democrats who have been the targets of some of his sharpest barbs.
The US president's scripted message was a dissonant one for the president, who has repeatedly blasted his political opponents as criminals and argued that they will destroy the country if they win control of Congress in the mid-terms.
Mr Trump has frequently labelled stories he doesn't like as "fake news" and many reporters as "enemies of the people." He has also denounced his political enemies in deeply personal terms and even described those who tried to thwart his second Supreme Court nominee as "evil.
He said: "The media also has a responsibly to set a civil tone and to stop the endless hostility and constant negative and oftentimes false attacks and stories."
"We want all sides to come together in peace and harmony," Mr Trump said at a campaign rally in Wisconsin. "Any acts or threats of political violence are an attack on our democracy itself."
The president noted the unusually subdued tone of his remarks.
"By the way, do you see how nice I'm behaving tonight?" he said. "Have you ever seen this?"
On Thursday he added on Twitter: "A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News. It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!"