American Scene

CALIFORNIA

Toyota rebuts LaHood’s warning

TORRANCE | Toyota said recalled vehicles that have not experienced problems with their accelerator pedals are safe to drive.

The automaker made the comments after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that Toyota owners should stop driving recalled Toyota cars and trucks. Mr. LaHood later told reporters that he misspoke and said drivers of recalled vehicles should take them to dealerships to have them repaired.

Toyota, which has recalled 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. because of the potential for sticky accelerators, said the problem is rare. The automaker is shipping a fix to dealerships across the country this week.

COLORADO

No charges planned in Amtrak incident

DENVER | Prosecutors said they won’t pursue charges against an ex-convict accused of making a threat against an Amtrak train because further investigation revealed that the man displayed no bizarre behavior or made a threat.

Ojore Nuru Lutalo, 64, of Elizabeth, N.J., was arrested Jan. 26 on suspicion of felony endangering public transportation.

Otero County District Attorney Rod Fouracre said Wednesday that the Amtrak steward who reported the threats to police later said she hadn’t heard any threatening statements herself but reported concerns voiced by other passengers. The passengers on the train later told police that they never heard any specific threats to the train.

CONNECTICUT

Mom hides triplets, dies giving birth

SHELTON | A Connecticut woman hid from her husband and other family members that she was carrying triplets, then bled to death while delivering the full-term but stillborn babies in her home, officials said Wednesday.

Shelton police Detective Ben Trabka said he thinks Victoria Hope, 26, denied being pregnant and instead gave medical reasons “why she had put on weight.”

Mrs. Hope did not disclose her pregnancy to anyone with whom police spoke, including the father of her children, Detective Trabka said. The father suspected that Mrs. Hope was pregnant but she denied it, and police do not know why she hid her condition.

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