quote:

Nerve Agent Scare Clears Senate Building By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer 35 minutes ago WASHINGTON - At least eight senators were among 200 people being held in a Capitol parking garage Wednesday night after a security sensor indicated the presence of a nerve agent in their office building. A later test proved negative. "Tests initially indicated a nerve agent," said Capitol Police Sgt. Kimberly Schneider. "A subsequent test indicated it is not a nerve agent." Schneider said the senators were among 200 people who were asked to remain in the West Legislative Garage. Senate aides inside the garage said they were told they would be held for up to an hour as authorities awaited the results of a third test for more conclusive results. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., was among the lawmakers inside the garage. He and several of his staff were headed out of the Russell Senate Office Building around 7 p.m. EST when security closed the doors and told everyone to go to the garage, said his spokesman, Mike Buttry. "We're stuck until they get the results back," Buttry said. Schneider said none of the people gathered in the garage was showing any signs of sickness or other adverse symptoms, such as a runny nose, that might indicate the presence of a nerve agent. She did not know whether sensors positioned in the attic of the Russell building, which picked up the suspicious material, were able to tell whether it was in powder, liquid or gas form. Earlier, police said they had discovered a suspicious powder in the attic. The Homeland Security Department did not have an immediate comment, but a senior counterterror official said it did not immediately appear to be an emergency. Among the senators in the building according to aides were: Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Gordon Smith, R-Ore., Richard Burr, R-N.C., Larry Craig, R-Idaho, John Thune, R-S.D., Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.

http://www.comcast.net/news/index.j.../08/322179.html

Nothing was found, thank goodness.

But it's a failure in security. What if it was for real? All the freedom that was taken from us by the patriot act, and that hasn't stopped anything.

We need to rethink this whole anti-terrorist stuff, because nothing is working.