Milestones

By Melissa August, Elizabeth L. Bland, Sora Song, Roy B. White and Rebecca Winters

CHARGED. DARRELL DAVID RICE, 34, with capital murder for the 1996 slayings of two women hikers in Shenandoah National Park; in Charlottesville, Va. Federal prosecutors invoked the 1994 bias-crimes law and plan to seek the death penalty for Rice, who they say chose his victims based on gender and sexual orientation. The case marks the first time the death penalty has been sought under the 1994 law.

CONVICTED. JAMES A. TRAFICANT JR., 60, flamboyant Ohio Congressman known for punctuating his raucous floor speeches with "Beam me up!"; of 10 federal charges, including bribery, racketeering, tax evasion and obstruction of justice; in Cleveland. The nine-term Democrat, who does not have a law degree, represented himself in court, clashed frequently with the judge and now faces up to 63 years in prison.

DIED. DOROTHY LOVE COATES, 74, high-spirited gospel singer whose fervid performances and gravelly voice inspired crowds of listeners during the civil rights years; of heart disease; in Birmingham, Ala.

DIED. JOHN AGAR, 81, Air Force sergeant, actor and, briefly, husband to Shirley Temple; of emphysema; in Burbank, Calif. Agar was 24 when a friend enlisted him in 1945 to escort Temple, then 16, to a party. The two married and three years later had a daughter, but Agar's drinking led his wife to file for divorce in 1949. He appeared with Temple in John Ford's cavalry classic Fort Apache and went on to a film career that included westerns, war films and a host of grade-B horror flicks, including Revenge of the Creature and The Brain from Planet Arous.

DIED. MARIA FELIX, 88, glamorous Mexican film star whose perfect beauty got her discovered as she was walking down the street and catapulted her to international stardom; in Mexico City. A self-taught actress, Felix portrayed a collection of fierce women in such films as La Generala and Enamorada. Her own life was similarly feverish--she married five times and dated a succession of lovelorn painters, writers and musicians.

DIED. DEAN BUMPUS, 89, oceanographer who littered the Atlantic with tens of thousands of bottles to study the ocean's currents; in Woods Hole, Mass. He asked seabound friends and strangers to dump overboard boxfuls of bottles--each with a note asking its finder to send a postcard with the place and date of its discovery, in exchange for 50 [cents]. The project helped track weather and fish patterns; postcards are still coming in.