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ByAmandaLeeMyers The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Themother of a fugitive teenager known for using an "afflu- enza" defense in a deadly drunken-driving case agreed Tuesday to be sent from California to Texas to face a charge. Tonya Couch, 48, said very little at an extradi- tion hearing in downtown Los Angeles, where she was flown after being deported from Mexico. She answered "yes" when asked if she is the Tonya Couch wanted by the state of Texas. It wasn't clear when Couch would return to the Lone Star State, but author- ities there said they will bring her back before Fri- day. Tarrant County Sher- iff Dee Anderson said he will dispatch deputies to pick her up after clearing up some "administrative matters." She is charged with hin- dering the apprehension of a felon and will be held on a $1 million bond. Couch and her 18-year- old son, Ethan, were ap- prehended last week in the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta, where au- thorities believe the pair fled in November as Texas prosecutors investigated whether he had violated his probation in a car crash that killed four people. Ethan Couch was be- ing held at a detention fa- cility in Mexico City after winning a court reprieve that could lead to a weeks- or even months-long legal process in Mexico. His law- yer in Mexico, Fernando Benitez, said he met with the teen at the center Tues- day but declined to say what they discussed. Tonya Couch's attorneys previously released a state- ment saying she had done nothing illegal and wanted to get back to Texas as soon as possible. "While the public may not like what she did, may not agree with what she did, or may have strong feelings against what she did, make no mistake — Tonya did not violate any law of the State of Texas and she is eager to have her day in court," lawyers Stephanie K. Patten and Steve Gordon said in the statement. She is being held without bail until she is extradited to Texas. Prosecutors and defense attorneys declined to comment after Tuesday's hearing. Ethan Couch was driving drunk and speeding near Fort Worth in June 2013 when he crashed into a dis- abled SUV, killing four peo- ple and injuring several oth- ers, including passengers in his pickup truck. During the sentencing phase of his trial, a de- fense expert argued that his wealthy parents cod- dled him into a sense of irresponsibility — a con- dition the expert termed "affluenza." The condi- tion is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiat- ric Association, and its invocation during the le- gal proceedings drew rid- icule. He was sentenced to pro- bation. DEADLY DRUNKEN-DRIVING CASE Motherof'affluenza'teen agrees to be sent back to Texas GENAROMOLINA—LOSANGELESTIMESVIAAP Tonya Couch, le , is seen during an extradition hearing at the Los Angeles Superior Court, in Los Angeles, on Tuesday. By Robert Burns The Associated Press WASHINGTON In his blue- print for a stronger Navy, the sea service's new top boss, Adm. John M. Rich- ardson, is blunt about what he thinks matters most: nuclear punch. Battling terrorists is to- day's problem, but in look- ing toward a farther hori- zon, Richardson wants a Navy built to counter un- predictable future threats from other countries. No. 1 on his list is a new fleet of nuclear-armed subma- rines, known as "boom- ers," that prowl the oceans as the quiet centerpiece of the nation's nuclear force. The Navy plans to replace the current fleet of 14 Ohio-class boomers, which began service as early as 1981, with 12 next-genera- tion subs. "This is foundational to our survival as a nation," Richardson writes in what he calls his design for the future, released Tuesday. It also is a gigantic in- vestment, estimated at $100 billion. Even one of the project's biggest sup- porters, Sen. Richard Blu- menthal, D-Conn., calls the cost "staggering." And it happens to be just one of three efforts by the Penta- gon to modernize the U.S. nuclear "triad" — new long-range bomber air- craft, new or upgraded land-based intercontinen- tal ballistic missiles and new missile-toting sub- marines. The price tag for these, plus related up- grades and replacements, is likely to approach $348 billion by 2024, according to the Congressional Bud- get Office. Richardson acknowl- edges the expense but ar- gues it is part of the cost of doing business on the world stage. "From a security stand- point in this day and age, a world-class nuclear ca- pability" is required to be considered a great power, he said Dec. 31 in an As- sociated Press interview. Without it, "we could be threatened or coerced by another nation who could hold this nuclear threat over our heads," he added. Russia and China are both modernizing their nuclear forces, although not every expert agrees that this alone justifies to do the same, at huge ex- pense. William J. Perry, defense secretary from 1994 to 1997, says the U.S. can adequately de- ter a nuclear attack with a slimmed down force of nuclear bombers and nu- clear-armed submarines. He favors scrapping the Air Force's land-based mis- siles, or ICBMs. Others say a combina- tion of ICBMs and subs would be the right mix. In almost any proposed arrangement, the subma- rines would be part of the mix. That is because they are easily the least vulner- able to targeting by an en- emy force, since they are nearly undetectable while on undersea patrol. Richardson took over as the Navy's chief of na- val operations, its top job, in September after three years as head of naval nuclear propulsion pro- grams, meaning he was responsible for the nu- clear reactors that pro- pel submarines and air- craft carriers, but not for the Navy's nuclear weap- ons. He is a career sub- mariner. His focus on the Na- vy's nuclear future may seem surprising at a time when the military's agenda is dominated by the threat posed by the Islamic State and other terrorist groups, who are not in the nuclear game and may not be deterred by U.S. nuclear weap- ons. The Navy plays sev- eral roles in countering terrorist threats, includ- ing launching airstrikes from aircraft carriers, flying aerial reconnais- sance missions and pro- viding Navy SEAL teams as part of the military special operations forces in Afghanistan and else- where in the greater Mid- dle East. Richardson says the Navy must stay fully in- volved in countering ter- rorism, but he is con- vinced that it must also maintain a nuclear arse- nal second to none. Like most new service chiefs, Richardson spent his early weeks on the job developing a document that outlines his view of the service's future. At the top of his list of ways the Navy must strengthen its combat power is the nuclear challenge, which he defines as maintaining and modernizing the nu- clear submarine force. FURTURE THREATS New Navy leader: Nukes 'f ou nda ti on al to our survival' By Josh Lederman The Associated Press WASHINGTON Tears streak- ing his cheeks, President Barack Obama launched a final-year push Tuesday to tighten sales of firearms in the U.S., using his presiden- tial powers in the absence of tougher gun restrictions that Congress has refused to pass. The president struck a combative tone as he came out with plans for ex- panded background checks and other modest mea- sures that have drawn con- sternation from gun rights groups, which Obama ac- cused of making Congress their hostage. Palpable, too, was Obama's extreme frus- tration at having made such little progress on gun con- trol since the slaughter of 20 first-graders in Connecticut confronted the nation more than three years ago. "First-graders," Obama said woefully, resting his chin on his hand and wip- ing away tears as he recalled the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. "Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad." Obama's 10-point plan to keep guns from those who shouldn't have them marked a concession by the presi- dent: He'll leave office with- out securing the new gun control laws he's repeatedly and desperately implored Congress to pass. Although Obama, act- ing alone, can take action around the margins, only Congress can enact more sweeping changes that gun control advocates say are the only way to truly stem a scourge of mass shootings. "It won't happen over- night,"Obamasaid."Itwon't happen during this Con- gress. It won't happen dur- ing my presidency." But, he added optimistically, "a lot of things don't happen over- night." The centerpiece of Obama's plan is an attempt to narrow the loophole that exempts gun sales from background checks if the seller isn't a federal regis- tered dealer. With new fed- eral "guidance," the admin- istration is clarifying that even those who sell just a few weapons at gun shows, flea markets or online can be deemed dealers and re- quired to conduct checks on prospective buyers. Whether that step can make a significant dent in unregulated gun sales is an open question, and one not easily answered. Millions of guns are sold annually in informal set- tings outside of gun shops, including many through private sales arranged on- line. But the Obama admin- istration acknowledged it couldn't quantify how many gun sales would be newly subjected to background checks, nor how many cur- rently unregistered gun sell- ers would have to obtain a license. Easily reversible by a fu- ture president, the govern- ment's guidance to gun sell- ers lacks the legal oomph of a new law, such as the one Obama and likeminded lawmakers tried but failed to pass in 2013. The Justice Department said online the guidance "has no regulatory effect and is not intended to create or confer any rights, privileges, or benefits in any matter, case, or proceeding." What's more, none of the steps would have probably prevented any of the recent mass shootings that Obama invoked in the East Room: Aurora, Oak Creek, Charles- ton, Newtown, to name some. But Obama defiantly rejected that critique, dis- missing it as the tired trope of gun lobbyists who ques- tion "why bother trying?" "I reject that thinking," Obama said. "We maybe can't save everybody, but we could save some." Hoping to give the issue a human face, the White House assembled a cross- section of Americans af- fected by searing recent gun tragedies, including for- mer Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Mark Barden, whose son was shot to death at Sandy HookElementarySchool,in- troduced the president with a declaration that "we are better than this." Obama readily conceded the executive steps will be challenged in court, a pre- diction quickly echoed by Republicans. Chuck James, a former federalprosecutorwhoprac- ticesfirearmslawatthefirm Williams Mullen, said op- ponents are likely to chal- lenge Obama's authority to define what it means to be "engaged in the business" of selling guns beyond what's laid out in the law. The White House asserted con- fidence Obama was acting legally, and said Justice De- partment and White House lawyers had worked dili- gently to ensure the steps were watertight. Other new steps include 230 new examiners the FBI will hire to process back- ground checks, aiming to prevent delays that enabled the accused gunman in Charleston, South Carolina, to get a gun when the gov- ernment took too long. Obama is also asking the government to research smart gun technology to reduce accidental shoot- ings and asking Congress for $500 million to improve mental health care. Other provisions aim to better track lost or stolen guns and prevent trusts or corpo- rations from buying danger- ous weapons without back- ground checks. FINAL-YEAR PUSH 'It gets me mad' — Obama acts alone on gun control redbluffdailynews.com • Choice of ad sizes • Free ad design • Free link to your webpage Now Look Here... Get All This ➞ 6,000 guaranteed online ad impressions For $ 99 CallyourDailyNewsadvertisingreptoday! (530) 527-2151 advertise@redbluffdailynews.com WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 5 B