(BALTIMORE) — A Baltimore judge has shut down efforts by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan to put an early end to enhanced pandemic unemployment benefits.
Judge Lawrence P. Fletcher-Hill of the Circuit Court for Baltimore issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday ordering that immediate action be taken to ensure Maryland residents continue to receive “any and all” expanded unemployment benefits available to them through federal programs.
The legal action came in response to multiple cases challenging Hogan’s decision, which was announced in early June. The Republican governor said at the time that many businesses were facing “severe worker shortages” and “we look forward to getting more Marylanders back to work.”
Fletcher-Hill wrote the plaintiffs demonstrated that they “will suffer irreparable harm” if the injunction was not issued, and have shown that the issuance of it “is in the public interest.”
Federal pandemic unemployment benefits include an extra $300 a week and also expand eligibility to allow more people who may not have previously qualified (such as independent contractors) to receive jobless aid. The bolstered federal unemployment insurance programs were set to last through early September, though Hogan sought to cut them off in July.
A slew of states have similarly sought to curtail the enhanced federal unemployment benefits programs. Many Republican governors, including Hogan, have argued these benefits are dissuading people from seeking work as the economy begins to bounce back from the pandemic-induced downturn. An apparent labor shortage in the restaurant industry as many businesses reopen at once has also left some employers struggling to find staff.
Many economists have refuted the argument that enhanced unemployment benefits are preventing people from working. Low hiring numbers have also sparked a debate about dismal wages in the service industry.
A spokesperson for Hogan’s office did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment Wednesday, but told The Baltimore Sun that the governor won’t challenge the decision.
“While we firmly believe the law is on our side, actual adjudication of the case would extend beyond the end of the federal programs, foregoing the possibility of pursuing the matter further,” Michael Ricci, Hogan’s director of communications, told the local outlet.
(NEW YORK) — A judge has delayed the sentencing of a man convicted of murdering University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts after defense attorneys filed court documents accusing prosecutors of failing to disclose that police were investigating a sex trafficking “trap house” involving a man linked to a missing 11-year-old boy.
Instead of sentencing Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who was expected to receive life in prison without the possibility of parole, Judge Joel Yates will hold a hearing on Thursday on a defense motion to set aside the verdict and schedule a new trial.
A jury convicted Bahena Rivera, a 27-year-old Mexican national farmworker, in May of first-degree murder in the 2018 abduction and killing of the 20-year-old student.
On Tuesday, Bahena Rivera’s attorneys filed a motion, alleging prosecutors failed to disclose a separate investigation was occurring at the time of Tibbetts’ disappearance involving a man allegedly operating a sex trafficking “trap house” in New Sharon, Iowa, 27 miles from Brooklyn, Iowa, where Tibbetts went missing on July 18, 2018.
The 50-year-old man the defense attorneys identified by name in their motion was once the live-in boyfriend of the mother of 11-year-old Xavior Harrelson, who vanished from a rural Iowa trailer park on May 27, a day before the jury found Bahena Rivera guilty.
The motion also claimed that an investigation by the defense found that, in the past few years, at least 10 children have been reported missing in or near Poweshiek County, Iowa, the same county where Tibbetts was stabbed to death and dumped in a cornfield.
The defense attorneys filed court papers last week asking for a new trial based on information from two witnesses who came forward to law enforcement in May saying they independently spoke to a man who claimed he and a 50-year-old sex trafficker killed Tibbetts and framed Bahena Rivera.
One of the new witnesses purportedly claimed the real killer — who was in jail with the witness at the time — told him that he first saw Tibbetts bound and gagged at a sex trafficking “trap house” owned by his alleged accomplice. The man claimed, according to the defense motion, his alleged accomplice grew worried after federal authorities searching for Tibbetts showed up at a house next door to his.
“That Mexican shouldn’t be in jail for killing Mollie Tibbett, because I raped her and killed her,” the witness claimed the confessed killer told him, according to the earlier defense motion.
In their motion filed Tuesday, defense attorneys attached a police search warrant affidavit for the New Sharon home that they say “corroborates the ‘trap house’ account.”
A second individual contacted the Mahaska County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office with a similar story involving the same man who reportedly confessed, but deputies said the witness appeared to be under the influence at the time and dismissed the story as not being credible.
Both witnesses contacted investigators within hours of each other on May 26, the same day Bahena Rivera testified at his trial that he was kidnapped by two masked men who forced him to drive them to where Tibbetts was expected to be jogging. He claimed that when they found Tibbetts, one of the men stabbed her to death, put her body in the trunk of Bahena Rivera’s car and made him drive to a cornfield, where the young woman’s badly decomposed remains were discovered a month after she went missing.
Bahena Rivera admitted on the witness stand that he placed Tibbetts’ body in the cornfield but was not involved in her murder. Bahena Rivera claimed during his testimony that he didn’t tell investigators about the masked men because they threatened to harm his former girlfriend, the mother of his daughter, if he did.
In his closing argument, prosecutor Scott Brown called Bahena Rivera’s testimony a “figment of his imagination.” A jury deliberated seven hours over two days before finding Bahena Rivera guilty.
Following the verdict, prosecutors informed the defense attorneys that the two witnesses had come forward.
The defense motion filed Tuesday argued that Bahena Rivera’s “claim based on newly discovered evidence has turned into a due process violation arising from the prosecution’s failure to turn over reports involving trap houses and kidnappings in or near the Poweshiek County area.”
Prosecutors from the Iowa State Attorney General’s Office have yet to comment on the new developments but are expected to file a response to the defense motion for a new trial on Wednesday.
(ANNAPOLIS, Md.) — An arrest has been made in the slaying of a Houston mom who was shot and killed while in Maryland to drop off her son at the U.S. Naval Academy, authorities announced Wednesday.
Angelo Harrod, 29, allegedly shot Michelle Cummings, 57, while she sat on an Annapolis hotel patio in the early hours of June 29, according to Annapolis police.
Harrod was confined to home detention on May 3 and allegedly cut off his ankle bracelet before the shooting, Annapolis Police Chief Edward Jackson said at a news conference Wednesday.
A warrant had been out for Harrod for absconding home detection and authorities had been looking for him, Jackson said.
Harrod was identified as a suspect in the Cummings case after police reviewed videos and photos from the crime scene, according to the chief.
“The minute we knew he was wanted … we were looking for him and we just happened to find him on June 30,” Jackson said.
Cummings was not the intended target of the shooting, police said. The shots were fired on Pleasant Street and traveled a short distance, hitting Cummings, police said.
Charges filed Wednesday against Harrod include first-degree murder, second-degree murder and attempted murder.
The attempted murder charges are because the suspect allegedly attempted “to murder two other citizens that night on Pleasant Street,” the chief said.
Harrod is being held without bond, Jackson added.
Cummings and her husband were in Annapolis at the time of her slaying to bring their son, Midshipman Candidate Leonard Cummings III, to the U.S. Naval Academy. Their son, who goes by Trey, is an incoming freshman for the Naval Academy Class of 2025, the Academy said.
Jackson said he was desperate to solve this case.
“Some nights I couldn’t sleep. I felt rage,” he said.
Jackson said he called Cummings’ husband Wednesday morning with the news. Jackson said her husband “paused,” and then said, “Thank you, chief.”
Naval Academy Superintendent Sean Buck said at the news conference, “When Trey is ready … we will welcome him back with open arms.”
(FORT HOOD, Texas) — A woman accused of helping Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen’s suspected killer dismember and dispose of Guillen’s body last year has been indicted by a grand jury.
Cecily Ann Aguilar was indicted Tuesday on 11 federal charges including accessory after the fact, destruction of records in a federal case, conspiracy to tamper with documents, tampering with documents and issuing false statements in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
The charges come one month after a Texas judge denied a motion from Aguilar asking her confession in the crime be thrown out.
Guillen was a Fort Hood Army specialist who disappeared in April 2020. Her remains were found along the Leon River in late June that year.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Texas said Guillen was bludgeoned to death with a hammer by fellow soldier Aaron David Robinson in the arms room of the Killeen, Texas, military base, according to the criminal complaint. He later died by suicide in July when confronted by police after Guillen’s remains were found.
Aguilar was his girlfriend at the time, according to the criminal complaint, and was taken into custody. In July 2020, she was charged with one federal count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence.
The Tuesday indictment stated Aguilar “did unlawfully and knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with another person to corruptly alter, destroy, mutilate, and conceal any record, document and other object,” such as Guillen’s body, “with the intent to impair its integrity and availability for use in an official proceeding.”
The documents stated she and Robinson dismembered Guillen’s body, destroyed some of it and concealed what was left of her remains. They further said she made false statements “to prevent” Robinson and herself “from being charged with and prosecuted for any crime.”
Lawyers for Aguilar did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Natalie Khawam, the attorney for Guillen’s family, told ABC News they are hoping for a “maximum sentence” for Aguilar.
“My clients, the Guillen family, and I believe that Cecily Aguilar is guilty. When the U.S. Attorney called me yesterday to tell us the news, we felt some relief knowing that justice is underway,” Khawam said. “We pray that this trial does not drag on but rather is put on a speedy trial calendar so that justice is not delayed. Vanessa was brutally murdered, in a way no one should ever be taken from this Earth.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration will begin evacuation flights in late July for Afghans who have aided the U.S. military and diplomatic missions, according to a senior administration official.
President Joe Biden earlier this month said all U.S. combat forces will be out of Afghanistan by Aug. 31 and defended his decision to leave the country in the face of Taliban gains in the area.
The top U.S. general in Afghanistan, Scott Miller, returned from Afghanistan to Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday after he handed over his command at a ceremony in Kabul on Monday.
The evacuation effort, dubbed Operation Allies Refuge, will relocate Afghans who have applied for a U.S. Special Immigrant Visa and their families to a safe third country, but it is still unclear how many of these translators, guides and other contractors will be moved and to where exactly.
The administration also has not specified when flights will depart, citing security concerns, but the senior administration official told ABC News that they will meet Biden’s commitment to begin flights by late July.
“Our message to those women and men is clear: There is a home for you in the United States if you so choose, and we will stand with you just as you stood with us,” Biden said in an address on Afghanistan on Thursday.
Earlier this month, a U.S. official told ABC News that Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan — Afghanistan’s neighbors to the north — have all been under consideration, while a second official said the list includes the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, both of which are home to U.S. military facilities where Afghans could be brought.
This week, the president’s Homeland Security Adviser Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall and Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad are leading a delegation to Uzbekistan to discuss security and economic development opportunities for Afghanistan and other countries in the region, the White House announced Wednesday.
There are approximately 18,000 Afghans who have applied for Special Immigrant Visas, with many of them now fearing for their lives as the Taliban gain more districts in a summer offensive against the Afghan government. Within that group, 9,000 still have to complete their applications while the other half are having their cases adjudicated now, according to a State Department spokesperson.
Ty O’Neil/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — The already devastating wildfire conditions in the West are expected to worsen Wednesday as the region sees an increase of gusty, dry winds — which is fuel for fire.
More than 60 wildfires are burning across the West. Red flag warnings and heat advisories have been issued in Northern California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
Wildfire season has only just begun, but there are already 14,000 firefighters on the front lines.
In the Pacific Northwest, the Wednesday forecast shows winds gusting up to 35 mph, temperatures soaring near 105 degrees and relative humidity falling to 7%.
The Bootleg Fire in Klamath County, Oregon, is currently the nation’s largest wildfire, clocking in at over 200,000 acres, ABC Portland affiliate KATU reported.
In Nespelem, Washington, all residents were evacuated as a wildfire caused by lightning raced across town, The Spokesman-Review reported.
In Madera County, California, local authorities have declared a state of emergency as the River Fire ravages the area. The blaze has covered 9,500 acres and is 15% contained, according to Cal Fire.
“The extreme heat and winds have proven to be challenging for not only fire personnel, but those working to support those efforts,” Sheriff Tyson Pogue said Tuesday. “This proclamation will provide much needed resources to support our community.”
The massive fires have sent smoke halfway across the country, reaching as far as the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes. Air quality alerts have been issued from Colorado to Minnesota.
(PRETORIA, South Africa) — At least 72 people have been killed in ongoing riots across South Africa, despite the efforts of heavily outnumbered authorities to quell the violent unrest sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.
The South African Police Service said in a statement Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 27 in Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal and to 45 in the economic hub of Gauteng province, with many of the fatalities occurring in “stampedes” as scores of people looted food, liquor, clothes and electrical appliances from shops in poor areas. Other deaths were caused by explosions when people tried to break into ATM machines as well as shootings, according to police.
At least one police officer was killed in an attack on law enforcement, while seven others were injured while responding to the riots, police said.
So far, 1,234 people have been arrested, according to police, but the chaos has continued. Looters were seen ransacking warehouses and supermarkets in the port city of Durban on Tuesday, while rioters set fire to a chemical plant near the town of Umhlanga, just north of Durban.
The South African Police Service has recalled officers from leave and rest days, while the South African National Defence Forces has deployed thousands of soldiers to assist the overstretched law enforcement agencies on the ground.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to “restore calm and order,” describing the unrest as the worst the country has witnessed since the 1990s, before the end of the apartheid regime,
“Over the past few days and nights, there have been acts of public violence of a kind rarely seen in the history of our democracy,” Ramaphosa said in a televised address to the nation on Monday evening. “Let me be clear: We will take action to protect every person in this country against the threat of violence, intimidation, theft and looting. We will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those who perpetrate these actions and will ensure that they face the full might of our law.”
The lawlessness has disrupted South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination program, which Ramaphosa warned will have “lasting effects on our ability to consolidate some of the progress we were already witnessing in our economic recovery.” Vaccine shots are urgently needed in the country, which — along with other nations in Africa — is fighting a new wave of COVID-19 infections. The South African government recently reimposed and extended tight restrictions, including a nightly nationwide curfew, school closures, a ban on gatherings and limits on alcohol sales.
Violence and unrest has gripped parts of South Africa since Zuma turned himself in to police on July 7 to begin his 15-month jail term for contempt of court. South Africa’s highest court handed down the sentence after Zuma failed to appear before an inquiry examining corruption during the nine years that he served as president. Zuma has maintained his innocence, saying he is the victim of a politically motivated witch hunt, and his supporters took to the streets last week. But the protests appear to have reawakened deep-seated grievances over persistent poverty, unemployment and inequality, some 27 years after apartheid ended.
Following job layoffs and an economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic, South Africa’s unemployment rate stands at a record high of 32.6% and is even higher among the youth, at 46.3%, according to official numbers released in June by the national statistical service. Meanwhile, more than half of the country’s 60 million people were living in poverty last year, according to data collected by the World Bank Group.
“There is no grievance, nor any political cause, that can justify the violence and destruction that we have seen in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng,” Ramaphosa said. “The path of violence, of looting and anarchy, leads only to more violence and devastation. It leads to more poverty, more unemployment, and more loss of innocent life. This is not who we are as a people.”
(NEW YORK) — Millions of parents across the country will start receiving money from the federal government as soon as Thursday, July 15.
Under the Child Tax Credit expansion put forth in under President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, some households will start receiving monthly payments, instead of a lump sum payment in the past, and in most cases will receive more money than they have previously.
“One of the big ideas is to align this with the expenses you have with raising a child. You have to buy diapers every month. You have to buy food every month,” said Erica York, an economist with Tax Foundation’s Center for Federal Tax Policy. “So the idea is to provide the child tax credit aligned with those expenses to help with them rather than waiting and getting one lump sum payment once a year.”
York, a mother of a 2-year-old daughter, answered six burning questions about the new child tax credit to help provide answers for parents:
1. What is changing about the child tax credit?
There are three big changes, according to York.
First, the child tax credit has been increased from $2,000 to $3,000 for children over 6, and to $3,600 for children under 6. It also expands the ages of children eligible, raising the age limit from 16 to 17.
Second, the child tax credit no longer phases in with income, but instead is fully refundable. This means that low-income families and families that don’t file taxes — those that make less than the standard deduction of $24,800 — can now receive the full amount of the credit.
Third, Congress directed the IRS to pay half of the new credit amount in advance monthly payments that will start hitting people’s bank accounts on July 15. The maximum monthly payments that people could receive would be $300 or $250, depending on a child’s age, according to York.
2. Do parents need to do anything to get the increased child tax credit?
Most households will not need to do anything, according to York, adding that households eligible for the payments should have already received letters from the IRS explaining the changes.
“The IRS is going to estimate the payments that people are due based on their most recently filed tax return,” she said. “If someone has already filed their 2020 taxes, the IRS will use the information on that tax return for income levels, the number of eligible children and where to send the payment. If a person hasn’t filed their 2020 tax return, the IRS will use their 2019 tax return.”
For people who have not previously filed taxes, the IRS has created a new online tool that allows non-filers to report their information.
In certain cases, like if you’ve had an income change since your 2020 tax return or if you take turns claiming the child tax credit with a former partner, you will need to notify the IRS of those changes, according to York.
3. How long will the child tax credit increase last?
The monthly payments will be made through December of this year, according to York.
And as the law currently stands, the increased child tax credit is only in effect for 2021 and would revert back down to its $2,000 level next year.
Biden has proposed extending the program through 2025, but that proposal has not made it through Congress.
4. Are any parents not eligible for the increased child tax credit?
The extra amounts of the credit — the $1,600 and $1,000 increases above the normal $2,000 amount – do start phasing out above certain income levels, according to York.
For married couples, the increased tax credit starts phasing out at a household income of $150,000.
For single parents who use the head of household filing status, it starts phasing out at an income of $112,500.
So, families making above $150,000 a year and single parents making above $112,500 will still be eligible for the same credit amount they would have received without Biden’s changes, but not eligible for the full increased amount.
Families making less than $150,000 a year and single parents making less than $112,500 are now eligible for a credit of up to $3,600 per child.
The biggest beneficiaries of the changes to the child tax credit will be low-income families and non-filers, according to York.
5. Will I still get a child tax credit payment when I file my taxes?
The new monthly advance payments rolling out now will come with a tradeoff at tax time, explained York.
“Each dollar of payment that you get now reduces how much child tax credit you get when you file your taxes,” she said. “If people don’t change their tax withholding from their paychecks, that could mean that they see a smaller tax refund at tax time or even a balance due because instead of getting the full child tax credit when you file your taxes next year, you’ve already got some of it now.”
Taxpayers can opt-out of the monthly payments though ahead of a certain deadline each month.
The next deadline to opt-out of the monthly payments is Aug. 2, and opting out once will un-enroll you for all payments, so it’s not something you have to do each month.
Taxpayers can manage their payments on the IRS website.
Next January, before the start of tax filing season, the IRS will send out letters to eligible households that show the amount they received in advanced payments.
“That’s something that taxpayers will want to save and use when they file their taxes,” said York.
6. Where do I get more information?
The IRS has an entire section of its website devoted to information on the advance child tax credit payments.
The Biden administration also launched a website with details about the tax credit.
This calculator from ABC News’ data journalism team tells you how much you may receive from the Child Tax Credit program using the guidelines spelled out in the bill based on your most recent tax form.
(SURFSIDE, Fla.) — A series of construction permit records, letters and other documents from more than two decades ago show that Champlain Towers South was in need of waterproofing and structural repairs in the parking garage just 15 years after the original construction of the building.
The documents released by the Town of Surfside, Florida, on Tuesday show that the pool deck of the Surfside condo building that collapsed last month and the ceiling of the underground parking garage beneath it had needed repairs as early as 1996.
“The scope of work will be concrete structural repair in the parking garage,” wrote Rob Sommer, sales manager for Western Waterproofing Company of America to the Surfside Building Department in March 1996. “This type of repair entails removing loose concrete overhead, treating steel rebar with rust inhibitive coating and patching back with repair mortar. Also included in the garage will be urethane foam injection in ceiling cracks.”
Tong Le, the project engineer contracted for the repair work, estimated the project to cost roughly $156,600.
Later in November 1997, Le wrote to Surfside’s Building Department that the deck was waterproofed and that approximately 20 square-foot of spalls in the ceiling of the garage had been repaired. Le wrote that the “repair of the spallings has been done in compliance with the approved” regulations.
Le did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
ABC News previously reported that a 2018 Structural Field Survey report released by the city of Surfside found “major structural damage” to concrete structural slabs on the pool deck and failed waterproofing in parts of the tower.
In his report, engineer Frank Morabito said previous repair work in the garage had been “ineffective.”
Allyn Kilsheimer, an engineer hired by the Town of Surfside to investigate the collapse of the building, cautioned against directly linking the repair work from 1996 and the deficiencies cited in Morabito’s report, telling ABC News that it’s not yet known if they were referring to the same specific areas.
Engineering experts offered differing views on how concerning the repair work from 1996 was and how it could have contributed to the building collapse.
“It is not normal,” said Joel Figueroa-Vallines, an Orlando-based forensic structural engineer and president of SEP Engineers, of the documents. “Generally, the life of a structure is much longer than that. Life cycles of concrete structures can be over 50 years, so this is very concerning.”
Figueroa-Vallines told ABC News that cracking can reveal structural issues and added that whenever there is cracking on concrete, “there is stress where it shouldn’t be.”
“..The fact that there were a lot of cracks on a structural slab, that tells me that something was going on in that pool area,” said Figueroa-Vallines. “On top of the fact that the pool area is the highest loaded area of the whole building.”
Meanwhile, Kilsheimer said the damages and repairs described in the 1996 permit documents are “normal” and “expected,” especially in Surfside’s environment, where buildings are prone to heavier corrosion from the adjacent seawater.
Shankar Nair, a Chicago-based engineering expert, told ABC News that the deficiencies and repair work cited in the 1996 permit documents are “not common” but also “not extremely rare.”
“This type of concrete deterioration does not usually lead to sudden catastrophic collapse, but there is a lot about this collapse that is unusual, if not unique.”
Crews are continuing their recovery efforts after the remaining parts of the partially collapsed building were demolished last week.
So far there are at least 95 confirmed deaths from the collapse. As of Tuesday morning, 85 of those 95 victims have been identified. There are still 14 people potentially unaccounted for, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Cava said at a press conference Tuesday.
(HIGH POINT, N.C.) — A teenage boy was shot and killed in North Carolina on Tuesday after the alleged shooter thought the victim was “tampering” with his car, police said.
The fatal shooting occurred at approximately 2:15 a.m. local time in High Point, about 17 miles southwest of Greensboro. Officers responded to a report of shots being fired in a residential neighborhood and canvassed the area for several minutes before they found a 15-year-old boy lying beside a home who was suffering from two gunshot wounds to the chest and one gunshot wound to the arm, according to a statement from the High Point Police Department.
Officers attempted to perform life-saving measures on the unnamed victim until medics arrived on scene and transported him to a local hospital, where he later died, police said.
Police said that detectives from the Violent Crimes Unit responded to the scene to investigate the homicide and that three other juveniles related to the incident were subsequently transported to the police department for questioning. However, investigators said they received “no cooperation or detailed account of the events that led to the homicide.”
Detectives ultimately identified a person of interest in the shooting and obtained a search warrant for a residence close to the scene of the crime. Several pieces of evidence were then seized from the location and, as a result of the search, 25-year-old Davonte T. Strickland of High Point, North Carolina, was arrested, according to police.
Detectives believe Strickland shot the boy in “reaction to individuals on his property tampering with a vehicle in the driveway,” police said. He faces charges of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to police.
It was unclear if Strickland had obtained legal representation who could speak on his behalf.
The shooting remains under investigation and anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of High Point at 336-889-4000.
“High Point Police detectives are still conducting an active investigation into this incident,” the police department said in the statement Tuesday. “During this investigative process, detectives will continue to conduct interviews of potential witnesses and involved parties, conduct searches of any people, vehicles, or places that may contain evidence of the crime, and collect any other relevant materials that may aid in investigation or prosecution.”
