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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Nation in brief: Obama open to Miranda change

From Wire Reports

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is open to the idea of reviewing Miranda warnings for terrorist suspects, senior White House adviser David Axelrod said Monday.

Axelrod’s comment came after Attorney General Eric Holder said changes by Congress may be needed to allow law enforcement more time to question suspected terrorists before being told about their right to a lawyer and their right to remain silent during interrogation.

Toyota was tardy on 2005 recall

MIAMI – Toyota waited nearly a year in 2005 to recall trucks and SUVs in the United States with defective steering rods, despite issuing a similar recall in Japan and receiving dozens of reports from American motorists about rods that snapped without warning, an Associated Press investigation has found.

The lengthy gap between the Japanese and U.S. recalls triggered a new investigation Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Coverage change will raise premiums

WASHINGTON – Letting young adults stay on their parents’ health insurance until they turn 26 will nudge premiums nearly 1 percent higher for employer plans, the government said in an estimate released Monday.

The coverage requirement, effective starting later this year, is one of the most anticipated early benefits of President Barack Obama’s new health care law.

The new benefit will cost $3,380 for each dependent, raising premiums by 0.7 percent in 2011 for employer plans, according to the department’s midrange estimate. Some 1.2 million young adults are expected to sign up, more than half of whom would have been uninsured.

Woman admits raping, killing girl

TRACY, Calif. – A California Sunday school teacher accused of kidnapping, raping and killing an 8-year-old playmate of her daughter in March 2009, then stuffing the body in a suitcase, pleaded guilty Monday to murder.

Melissa Huckaby, 29, entered the plea in San Joaquin County Superior Court to a charge of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of kidnapping. As part of a plea deal, all other charges – including two involving rape and lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under 14 – were dropped, according to court spokeswoman Sharon Morris.

Morris said Huckaby faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole at her June 14 sentencing.