Nation briefs 6/17/05

'Deep Throat' signs deal for book and movie

SAN FRANCISCO -- The man who recently revealed himself as "Deep Throat," the key source for the Washington Post during the Watergate investigation, has agreed to a book and movie deal, his publisher and agent confirmed Thursday. Mark Felt, 91, has chosen PublicAffairs Books to release a combination biography and autobiography, according to Peter Osnos, publisher and chief executive. The book should hit shelves by February 2006. Osnos said Universal Pictures has optioned Felt's life story and the book for a movie to be developed by Tom Hanks' production company, Playtone.

Former Klansman taken to hospital from court

PHILADELPHIA, Miss. -- An 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman Edgar Ray Killen was taken from court on a stretcher and hospitalized with high blood pressure Thursday, the opening day of testimony at his murder trial in the 1964 killings of three civil rights workers. The trial later went into recess until at least today, depending on Killen's ability to attend. The defense does not dispute that Killen was a member of the Klan at the time of the slayings, but denies he had anything to do with the attack. Killen could get life in prison if convicted in the state trial.

House supports ruling over medical marijuana

WASHINGTON -- Yes, the government can make a federal case out of medical marijuana use, the House said Wednesday. Less than a week ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the government can prosecute medical marijuana users, even when state laws permit doctor-prescribed use of the drug. In response, the House rejected a bid by advocates to undercut the decision.

Child molester may have thousands of victims

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Dean Arthur Schwartzmiller, 63, a convicted child molester, may have thousands of victims, police said Thursday. Police discovered child porn and logs with lists of more than 36,000 children's names and codes that appear to indicate how he abused them. Although police say Schwartzmiller appears to have spent much of the past 30 years in California, he has also been arrested on child molestation charges in New York, Idaho, Oregon, California, Arkansas and Washington. Police believe he may have victims in Brazil and Mexico.

--From wire reports