The offices of Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and Susan Collins received envelopes containing a “white powder” Friday, bringing the number of lawmakers targeted in the suspicious-mail campaign to more than a dozen.

The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Capitol Police are investigating the letters. Some were intercepted before they reached their intended recipients.

“This afternoon, my Houston office received a suspicious piece of mail containing a white powder substance,” Cruz, R-Texas, wrote on X. “The FBI, Houston Police and Fire Department, and U.S. Capitol Police responded swiftly.”

Cruz described the incident as “deeply concerning,” adding that “attempts to intimidate your political opponents have no place in our country.”

A similar letter addressed to Collins, R-Maine, arrived at her Portland office, prompting an evacuation and emergency response. Another letter sent to her Washington, D.C., office was intercepted by U.S. Capitol Police.

“Thank you to the Portland police, the Portland fire department, the hazmat team, and the FBI for their quick and courageous response,” Katie Brown, Collins’ chief of staff, said in a statement to local outlets. “This was the fourth attack targeting Sen. Collins’ office or home in the past two months.”

“Despite escalating political rhetoric and harassment, we will continue our work for the people of Maine.”

Cruz and Collins are both facing close midterm reelection contests.

Senate offices received a warning about the letters from Capitol Police on Thursday, along with an image showing what the suspicious envelopes looked like.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said his staff did not open a “suspicious piece of mail” that arrived at his Sioux Falls, South Dakota, office Friday because of the law enforcement warning.

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“I am grateful for the U.S. Capitol Police, who intercepted other letters and sent out a warning allowing my team to recognize this letter before opening it, and to the Sioux Falls Police Department,” Rounds wrote on X. “I am also grateful for all of my team members, who work tirelessly on behalf of South Dakotans despite the risks involved.”

The senator added, “This situation is deeply concerning and follows a trend of intimidating tactics that impact our team members. This has no place in our nation. America is better than this.”

The Senate warning included a photo of one suspicious envelope postmarked “DSA,” with a return address at 75 Maiden Lane, a Financial District building that the Democratic Socialists of America formerly listed on its membership forms.

“DSA has not occupied this office address since 2013,” a representative for the organization said in a statement. “We are also no longer headquartered at 75 Maiden Lane.”

In addition to the three Republican Senate offices that received letters Friday, at least 15 congressional offices held by Democrats and about 26 state election offices have also been targeted, according to NBC News.

New York Reps. Laura Gillen, Tom Suozzi and Ritchie Torres, as well as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are among the Democratic lawmakers who have confirmed receiving letters.

The FBI has not identified the substance inside the envelopes, describing it only as “an unknown substance.”

Congressional offices have previously been targeted with contaminated letters, most notably during a series of anthrax attacks in 2001 that sent the deadly bacteria to Senate offices.

One of those letters arrived at the office of then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., in October of that year. Staff members sought medical treatment, and an entire building was later decontaminated.

The mailing spree killed five people and sickened at least 17 others.

Letters containing ricin, a poison, have also been mailed to Senate offices in the past, but didn’t result in any deaths.

Elizabeth Hurley set off a firestorm of engagement rumors with Billy Ray Cyrus by wearing a massive diamond ring on her left hand in a recent Instagram post.

Elizabeth Hurley, 61, and Billy Ray Cyrus, 65, made their relationship public over Easter 2025 after first meeting while working on the 2022 film Christmas in Paradise.

This week, Hurley—who recently joked that she is turning Cyrus into a “country gent”—shared a series of behind-the-scenes photos from her show The ‘Burbs, including one that prominently featured a striking piece of jewelry.

Wearing a bathrobe, the actress showed off her long legs as she took a selfie with her left hand, placing the dazzling ring squarely in view.

Insiders have alleged the country crooner, who has six children including pop star Miley Cyrus, has proposed to Hurley after more than a year of dating, via Page Six.

“She’s filming The ‘Burbs; I hardly think this ring is a prop,” another source remarked.

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Hurley and Cyrus for comment.

Cyrus also lent credence to the rumors with a telltale Instagram post of his own on Thursday that featured a ring emoji.

The post showed the Hannah Montana alum in profile, wearing aviator sunglasses and a dark gray leather-and-denim jacket over a charcoal shirt.

Cyrus opened the post by promoting the “Party’s in the Back” remix he made with country-rock trio DELTONA, which was released on October 2.

“This is the most fertile solid ground I have stood on in a long time,” Cyrus wrote.

“Party’s in the Back with DELTONA went over half a million views in a few days. It’s fun. Speaking of … wait until you hear them on the I Want My Mullet Back 20-year anniversary special. They also join me on a John Prine tribute track of the classic and still relevant to a whole new generation … ‘Storm Windows.’”

“I like seeing people’s dreams come true. I’m so excited for the show this weekend teaming up with NASCAR in Phoenix!!! Kinda has a ring to it,” he concluded, adding a suggestive ring emoji.

Hurley was previously married to Arun Nayar. The couple wed in 2007, separated in 2010 and divorced the following year.

She also famously dated British actor Hugh Grant for 13 years before their relationship ended in 2000.

The Bedazzled star shares a son, 24-year-old Damian, with the late businessman Steve Bing.

Cyrus, meanwhile, has been married three times. He was wed to Cindy Smith from 1986 to 1991, Tish Cyrus from 1993 until 2023, and Firerose for approximately seven months.

Hurley and the Achy Breaky Heart singer have been going strong for over a year after going public with their romance in April 2025.

She’s shared that they prefer living the quiet life in the countryside while splitting their time between her farm in Herefordshire, England and his farm in Tennessee.

Hurley has acknowledged they may seem very different, but insisted they are a lot more alike than people realize.

Speaking on the SheerLuxe podcast, she quipped: ‘There are a lot more similarities than you’d think. We have the same hair. Identical hair. Apart from his beard, we’re actually like twins.’

She joked Cyrus looks like he could be the father of her model son Damian, and that a recent photo of the three of them with her brother Michael showed them all looking like ‘cousins.’

Hurley admitted they are an ‘unlikely pairing in some ways’ but their lives are actually ‘quite similar.’

‘We’ve both lived out of suitcases our entire life,’ she explained. ‘And we both also a long time ago moved out of the cities. He’s got a farm in Tennessee, I’ve got one here in Herefordshire, and neither of us really go out much unless we have to ’cause it’s work. So there are a lot more similarities than you’d think.’

However, she noted she is much more organized than the singer, and she is often shocked by his diet.

‘He sort of bumbles around. He’s a bit more bumbly than me,’ she said.

‘He can’t cook and he doesn’t eat properly and there’s never any food in his house. When I arrive I’m like, “What have you been eating?” “Oh, nothing.” Sweets or popcorn or something. So there are differences. But because we both like sort of snuggling up, we’re actually quite similar.’

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday suspending a broad sanctions package aimed at Russia’s economy, notifying Congress that the decision was in the national interest.

Trump had approved the underlying legislation the previous month.

The bill, named for the late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, was designed to more rapidly restrict the money and resources supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The order came one week after Trump unexpectedly said the United States had agreed to buy diesel from Russia in an effort to lower worldwide energy costs — a move that could potentially undermine Ukraine as it continues fighting Moscow.

The Trump administration had offered little public comment since the legislation passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. Lawmakers had been pushed to advance the measure by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, following Graham’s sudden death.

Trump’s decision also followed his announcement last week that he had reached an understanding with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone conversation that was expected to focus on a suspected plague case in Russia.

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Instead, Trump said Russia would begin shipping more than 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, with another 500,000 tons scheduled for November and 1 million tons to follow “immediately thereafter.”

He added that Russia would provide a further 3 million tons “within a short period of time.”

The sanctions legislation had also become a central campaign issue for Sen. Darline Graham, the late senator’s sister. She was appointed to complete the remainder of his term and is seeking a full Senate term of her own.

During a debate earlier this week against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, Graham said she was “so proud” to have helped pass the bill. She also recognized that Trump would decide how — or whether — to put the measure into effect.

“It gives the president tools that he can use if he so chooses, to end the war through economic sanctions,” Graham said Sunday during the debate in Columbia.

“So that’s up to him as to whether or not he wants to use it, or whether he wants to use something else, but I think the purpose of it is to bring down the gas prices and ultimately end the war. And when the war ends, gas prices will fall.”

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