Streets near White House closed due to suspicious package

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Streets near the White House were shut down temporarily on Wednesday because of a suspicious package, but the area has since been cleared, the U.S. Secret Service said. Secret Service spokeswoman Nicole Mainor said the package was cleared at 1:20 p.m., and there were no reports of other problems. The Washington Post reported earlier on Wednesday that police were investigating a package found several blocks east of the White House at corner of 15th Street and F Street NW. The Washington police department said in a Twitter post that streets were shut down in an area east of the White House, but did not give details about the police activity that prompted the closures. A spokeswoman for the police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales, Julia Edwards and Emily Stephenson; Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Sandra Maler)