Suspicious packages that reportedly contained functioning explosive devices were sent to the home of President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the office of President Barack Obama, CNN, philanthropist George Soros, former Attorney General Eric Holder, and Rep. Maxine Waters over the last 48 hours.
The big picture: The events — branded an "act of terror" by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio — come at a time of ever-increasing polarization in the United States, when political discourse is often hijacked by the most extreme voices on both the left and the right. From the congressional baseball shooting to Charlottesville, political violence has increasingly been on the rise in America.