around the country Thursday, news reports indicated.

In Seattle, an

assignment editor at KIRO-TV confessed that he was "just playing a joke"

when he crushed some peppermint Life Savers, placed the candy in an

envelope, and addressed it to his news department.

According to the

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a Hazmat unit was later called to the

station and the newsroom was evacuated before the employee, identified as

Bryan Thielke, admitted that he was the prankster responsible for the letter

and apologized.

Meanwhile, anthrax hoaxes have reportedly spread overseas,

with word that a woman has been arrested in Paris for sending 40 letters

containing a powdery substance to members of the French National Assembly

and others.

Today's New York Post reports that legendary

actress Olivia De Havilland, 85, who received the Best Actress Oscar twice

for her performances in 1946's To Each His Own and three years later

for The Heiress, was among those who received a letter containing a

similar powder. The Post reported that she has tested negative for

the disease.