Review of evidence from raid blocked
A federal appeals court on Friday barred the Justice Department from reviewing evidence seized from a Louisiana congressman’s office during an unprecedented FBI raid on his Capitol Hill office in May.
A three-judge panel ordered a federal trial judge to ensure that Democratic Rep. William Jefferson be given copies of seized evidence contained on more than a dozen computer hard drives, several floppy disks and two boxes of documents.
The panel said Jefferson then must be given the opportunity to invoke legislative privilege claims in private with the trial judge before investigators can review the materials.
The materials were seized May 20-21 during an 18-hour search of Jefferson’s Rayburn Building office.
The search was part of a 16-month international bribery investigation of Jefferson, who allegedly accepted $100,000 from a telecommunications businessman, $90,000 of which was later recovered in a freezer in the congressman’s Washington home.
FRESNO, Calif.
Officials hike toll from heat wave
The state appeared to break out of its nearly two-week heat wave Friday, but not before it caused as many as 141 deaths and did significant damage to crops.
Authorities raised their toll of possibly heat-related deaths by more than 40 on Friday. The big increase came primarily from Los Angeles County and the Central Valley counties of Merced and Stanislaus, where coroners struggled to keep up.
Stanislaus County, which includes Modesto, has reported 29 heat-related deaths. It normally sees just one such death a year, county emergency services spokesman David Jones said.
California had been sizzling in triple-digit temperatures since July 16. Several cities set records for extended heat waves, including Sacramento, with 11 consecutive triple-digit days, said Cynthia Palmer, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
On Friday, officials said the heat wave appeared to be over, with temperatures expected to return to normal over the weekend.
LOS ANGELES
Gibson arrested on DUI suspicion
Academy Award-winning director Mel Gibson was arrested Friday on suspicion of drunken driving in Malibu after a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy clocked him driving 80 mph – twice the speed limit – on the Pacific Coast Highway.
Gibson, who starred in the “Lethal Weapon” movies and directed “The Passion of the Christ” and “Braveheart,” was stopped around 2:30 a.m.
After smelling alcohol in the car, the deputy administered breath and field sobriety tests, said Steve Whitmore, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman. Gibson’s blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.12 percent (0.08 percent is the legal limit in California).
Gibson was taken to the Malibu-Lost Hills sheriff’s station, where he was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and released in lieu of $5,000 bail.