Ex-Los Angeles sheriff hit with stiffer corruption charges

This Jan. 7, 2014 file photo shows Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca announces his retirement at a news conference at Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau in Monterey Park, Calif. Federal prosecutors have brought tougher charges against Baca just days after he withdrew his guilty plea in a corruption probe. A grand jury indicted Baca Friday, Aug. 5, 2016 on charges of obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to federal investigators.

Previous Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca was arraigned Friday on charges of deterring equity and contriving with subordinates to wreck a government examination concerning debasement and beatings in the country's biggest correctional facility framework.

The energizes that convey to 20 years in jail come days after Baca pulled back a blameworthy request to deceiving agents and said he would go to trial to "put some rumors to rest" before he is debilitated by Alzheimer's ailment.

Baca, 74, settled on the choice knowing government prosecutors were liable to bring stiffer charges, yet his legal advisors said he didn't have much decision when arrangements caved in after an elected judge dismisses a supplication bargain as excessively permissive. That assention required close to six months in the slammer.

Guard legal advisor Michael Zweiback said it showed up the judge was looking for quite a long while in jail, and Baca required assurance since his condition has as of now weakened.

"We have a, little window of time that we trust Mr. Baca's life will be typical," he said Monday. "On the off chance that there was a probability that he was going to go past his great years in jail, then he ought to go out and battle."

Baca is currently confronting the first charge of deceiving government powers and new charges of check of equity and connivance to hinder equity.

Resistance legal advisors had foreseen the stiffer charges, and said Friday that they speak to discipline for Baca's choice to go to trial.

Lawyer Nathan Hochman said prosecutors uncovered in court filings that proof is meager to bolster the check body of evidence against Baca.

"On the off chance that you look in the administration's own particular sentencing position on this case, they experience every one of the distinctive activities of charged impediment, and you'll see, highlighted toward the end of every passage, they'll say: 'Baca was not included. Baca did not take an interest,'" Hochman said.

Twenty individuals from the Sheriff's Department have been sentenced in the test that started after delegates found a detainee was a FBI witness gathering proof about social equality misuse and defilement in the correctional facilites.

Baca had denied any contribution in a plan to conceal the source from the FBI in what backstabbers named "Operation Pandora's Box." The detainee was moved to various prisons and recorded under invented names. Appointees scared a FBI operator with the risk of capture at a certain point.

In the supplication assention that has subsequent to been pulled back, Baca recognized interestingly that he had deceived agents and knew about endeavors to foil the examination. Members of the jury won't be informed that he already conceded.

Baca unexpectedly ventured down in January 2014 in the wake of heading the country's biggest sheriff's power for a long time.

His second in summon, Paul Tanaka, who unsuccessfully battled to supplant Baca, was indicted and sentenced to five years for his part in the trick.

The president of the union speaking to sheriff's delegates, which condemned the request bargain as a slap on the wrist while general population officers got stiffer terms, said Baca's discipline ought to be at any rate as unforgiving as Tanaka's.

"Baca realized what was going on, and he propagated and energized the way of life," said George Hofstetter, president of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs. "At the point when stood up to with the wreckage he had made, Baca faulted his subordinates as opposed to assuming liability as a pioneer ought to."

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North Korea wants to "conquer space" and plant flag on the Moon

North Korea wants to "conquer space" and plant flag on the Moon

North Korea is chipping away at an arrangement to put propelled satellites into space and plant the nation's banner on the moon, in a striking move counter to worldwide authorizations.

A senior authority at North Korea's space office, addressing the Associated Press, said that Pyongyang arrangements to have satellites in circle by 2020 and its banner on the moon inside ten years. He included that global assents the outcast state won't dissuade its desire for its space program.

"Despite the fact that the U.S. what's more, its associates attempt to hinder our space advancement, our aviation researchers will vanquish space and certainly plant the banner of the DPRK on the moon," said Hyon Kwang Il, executive of the logical exploration division of North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration.

North Korea's third-era pioneer Kim Jong-un approved the five-year program, Hyon said, as he keeps on requesting further ballistic rocket tests that heighten pressures with the nation's neighbors. On Wednesday, the North Korean military test-let go its fourth ballistic rocket in two weeks.

"We are wanting to build up the earth perception satellites and to take care of interchanges issues by creating geostationary satellites. Every one of this work will be the premise for the flight to the moon," Hyon said on July 28.

North Korea has become progressively unsettled after the U.S. what's more, South Korea declared that they would introduce a rocket safeguard framework on the Korean Peninsula in response to Pyongyang's proceeded with test. North Korea debilitated a "physical reaction."

The nation routinely issues dangers to its southern neighbor with aggressive talk however once in a while finishes.

North Korea stays secluded in the global group, with neighboring China going about as its exclusive incomplete political associate, and authorizes have harmed its economy, leaving thousands in destitution and Kim's administration not able to subsidize a military of might.

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Kerry to visit Turkey amid strained ties after failed coup

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reviews the military guard of honor before a meeting with the President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan at the Presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016. Nursultan arrives in Turkey, becoming the first foreign head of state to visit since the failed coup.

 Former Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca was indicted Friday on charges of obstructing justice and conspiring with underlings to derail a federal investigation into corruption and beatings in the nation's largest jail system.

The charges that carry up to 20 years in prison come just days after Baca withdrew a guilty plea to lying to investigators and said he would go to trial to "set the record straight" before he is incapacitated by Alzheimer's disease.

Baca, 74, made the decision knowing federal prosecutors were likely to bring stiffer charges, but his lawyers said he didn't have much choice when negotiations collapsed after a federal judge rejected a plea deal as too lenient. That agreement called for no more than six months behind bars.

Defense lawyer Michael Zweiback said it appeared the judge was seeking several years in prison, and Baca needed certainty because his condition has already started to deteriorate.

"We have a very, very small window of time that we believe Mr. Baca's life will be normal," he said Monday. "If there was a possibility that he was going to go beyond his good years in prison, then he should go out and fight."

Baca is now facing the original charge of lying to federal authorities and new charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Defense lawyers had anticipated the stiffer charges, and said Friday that they represent punishment for Baca's decision to go to trial.

Attorney Nathan Hochman said prosecutors revealed in court filings that evidence is very thin to support the obstruction case against Baca.

"If you look in the government's own sentencing position on this case, they go through each one of the different actions of alleged obstruction, and you'll see, highlighted at the end of each paragraph, they'll say: 'Baca was not involved. Baca did not participate,'" Hochman said.

Twenty members of the Sheriff's Department have been convicted in the probe that began after deputies discovered an inmate was an FBI informant gathering evidence about civil rights abuses and corruption in the jails.

Baca had denied any involvement in a scheme to hide the informant from the FBI in what conspirators dubbed "Operation Pandora's Box." The inmate was moved to different jails and listed under fictitious names. Deputies intimidated an FBI agent with the threat of arrest at one point.

In the plea agreement that has since been withdrawn, Baca acknowledged for the first time that he had lied to investigators and was aware of efforts to thwart the investigation. Jurors will not be told that he previously pleaded guilty.

Baca abruptly stepped down in January 2014 after heading the nation's largest sheriff's force for 16 years.

His second in command, Paul Tanaka, who unsuccessfully campaigned to replace Baca, was convicted and sentenced to five years for his role in the conspiracy.

The president of the union representing sheriff's deputies, which criticized the plea deal as a slap on the wrist while rank-and-file officers got stiffer terms, said Baca's punishment should be at least as harsh as Tanaka's.

"Baca knew what was going on, and he perpetuated and encouraged the culture," said George Hofstetter, president of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs. "When confronted with the mess he had created, Baca blamed his subordinates instead of taking responsibility as a leader should."

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FBI chief calls for national talk over encryption vs. safety

FBI Director James Comey gestures during an address to the American Bar Association annual meeting Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, in San Francisco.

The FBI's chief said Friday the office is gathering information to exhibit one year from now with expectations of starting a national discussion about law authorization's expanding powerlessness to get to encoded electronic gadgets.

Speaking Friday at the American Bar Association yearly meeting in San Francisco, James Comey said the office was not able access 650 of 5,000 electronic gadgets agents endeavored to seek in the course of the most recent 10 months. He said the issue is just going to deteriorate without a dialog about the innovation.

Comey says encryption innovation makes it incomprehensible in a developing number of criminal cases to seek electronic gadgets. However, he said it's dependent upon U.S. residents, as opposed to the FBI or government authorities, to choose whether to adjust the innovation to help law requirement get to the gadgets.

Comey's worry with encryption developed recently when the FBI occupied with a prominent lawful battle with Apple over getting to information from a bolted iPhone utilized by one of the two shooters in the San Bernardino, California, terrorist assault. The legitimate battle stayed uncertain on the grounds that the FBI dropped its court challenge after it said it figured out how to get to the shooter's iPhone.

Silicon Valley organizations say encryption defends clients' security rights and offers insurances from programmers, corporate spies and different breaks.

"The San Bernardino case was fundamental, however in my perspective, it was additionally counterproductive," Comey said amid his 20-minute discourse. "It was essential since we needed to get into that telephone. It was counterproductive on the grounds that it made it difficult to have a mind boggling discussion."

Comey said he trusts a more settled discussion about encryption and its impacts on open security can be begun in 2017 after the presidential races setting Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Comey criticized Clinton on July 5 for being "greatly inconsiderate" in utilizing private email servers for government interchanges while serving as secretary of state, however he suggested no criminal allegations.

On Friday, because of an inquiry regarding the choice, Comey said, "I would prefer not to discuss the case itself any longer, following four hours and 40 minutes without a restroom break" affirming before Congress about the FBI's examination of Clinton's email rehearses while secretary of state.

In any case, he said that it was "remarkable for the FBI to demonstrate the sort of straightforwardness" it did in examining its examination of Clinton and suggestion to prosecutors to swear off criminal allegations.

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Railing collapses at New Jersey concert injuring

Wiz Khalifa performs at Arena stage at Roskilde Festival in Roskilde, Denmark June 29, 2016. Scanpix Denmark/Torben Christensen/via 

Many concertgoers endured minor wounds on Friday night when a railing given way amid a hip bounce show including Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa in west New Jersey, neighborhood media reported.

Around 30 individuals were brought to clinics with minor wounds when they fell and were pounded after a railing crumpled close to the phase at around 10 p.m. neighborhood time in the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The daily paper reported that the railing isolated the structure's yard from inside seating and caved in when concertgoers inclined toward it.

An observer educated the paper that regarding 50 individuals fell around 10 feet (3 meters) onto concrete.

Powers said that in regards to 30 individuals, who endured minor wounds, were taken to healing centers, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported

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