Job applicant with resume (Narisara Nami/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. economy lost jobs in February, marking a major reversal of fortunes for the labor market and nearly erasing all of the job gains delivered a month earlier, government data on Friday showed. The reading came in well below economists’ expectations.
The U.S. lost 92,000 jobs in February, according to the report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which marked a significant dropoff from 130,000 jobs added in the previous month.
The unemployment rate ticked up from 4.3% in January to 4.4% in February, the BLS said. Unemployment remains low by historical standards.
The new jobs report arrived as markets roil and gasoline prices surge in response to the war with Iran. The Middle East conflict cast fresh uncertainty over the economic outlook.
A hiring cooldown last year prompted interest rate cuts at the Federal Reserve and concern among some observers about the nation’s economic prospects. The U.S. added an average of about 15,000 jobs per month in 2025, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed.
Sluggish hiring has coincided with elevated inflation, threatening a period of “stagflation.”
Those economic headwinds helped set the conditions before the outbreak of war with Iran, which spiked oil prices and risked price increases for a host of diesel-fuel transported goods.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 785 points on Thursday as U.S. crude prices rose to their highest level since June.
Still, the overall economic picture remains mixed.
A government report in February on gross domestic product (GDP) showed the economy grew at a tepid annualized pace of 1.4% over the final three months of 2025. That reading indicated a dramatic cooldown from the strong annualized growth of 4.4% recorded in the previous quarter, U.S. Commerce Department data showed.
Price increases, meanwhile, have softened. In January, inflation fell to 2.4%, its lowest level in nine months. It remains slightly higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.
The Iran war threatens to slow U.S. economic growth since oil-driven price increases could weigh on consumers and businesses, analysts previously told ABC News.
The potential combination of higher inflation and slower growth could also pose a challenge for the Fed, putting pressure on both sides of its dual mandate to manage prices and maintain maximum employment.
If the Fed opts to lower borrowing costs, it could spur growth but risk higher inflation. On the other hand, the choice to raise interest rates may slow price increases but risks a cooldown of economic performance.
The central bank held interest rates steady at its most recent meeting in January, ending a string of three consecutive quarter-point rate cuts. Policymakers will make their next interest-rate decision on March 18.
A billboard in Times Square calls for the release of the Epstein Files on July 23, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice on Thursday released three previously withheld FBI interview reports from 2019 related to a woman who made uncorroborated allegations that she was abused by Donald Trump in the 1980s, when she was a minor.
In a statement on social media, the Department of Justice said the interview summaries — known as FBI 302 reports — were initially withheld from the January release of millions of pages of DOJ documents related to Jeffrey Epstein because they were believed to be duplicative of other documents.
“What we found through extensive review is that a published 302 — additionally disclosed in a published spreadsheet — had subsequent 302s that were coded as ‘duplicative.’ After this was brought to our attention, we reviewed the entire batch with the similar coding and discovered 15 documents were incorrectly coded as duplicative,” the DOJ account said.
The statement did not appear to explain why, beyond possible human error, the records were marked as duplicative. As of Thursday evening, the DOJ database still does not include the handwritten notes from the interviews themselves.
According to the reports, the FBI interviewed the woman four times between July and October 2019. During each of the interviews with the woman, whose identity is redacted, she made allegations of abuse against Epstein.
In her second interview with federal investigators, she claimed that Epstein once took her to either New York or New Jersey where he introduced to Trump when she was between the ages of 13 and 15 years old. According to the report, she claimed Trump abused her during that trip.
In the fourth interview in October 2019, the woman declined to provide additional details about the alleged interaction with Trump when asked by agents, according to the summary of that interview.
Her statements to the federal agents allege that the incident with Trump took place in the early-to-mid 1980s — a period when Epstein and Trump did not appear to be in contact.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing related to his relationship with Epstein or any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity.
In her initial interview with the FBI, the woman claims she was sexually abused by Epstein after being hired for what she thought was a babysitting job, but she said there were no children present. Similar abuse occurred, she said, on several more occasions, according to the summary of the first report, which was released by the DOJ in January.
The witness said multiple alleged incidents with Epstein took place in South Carolina, a location not known to have been frequented by Epstein. The timing of the allegations would place them two decades before law enforcement in Florida began investigating Epstein for sexual exploitation of minors.
Before the additional records were released Thursday, Congressional Democrats had accused the Justice Department of illegally withholding the documents to protect the president.
“It is unconscionable, it is illegal, and [Attorney General] Pam Bondi and the president need to answer where those files are,” California Democrat Robert Garcia, D-Calif. said last week.
In a statement in January, the Department of Justice said that some investigative files in the massive tranche released would include unsubstantiated claims about Trump.
“Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” the statement said.
Rev. Jesse Jackson has a word with Sen. Barrack Obama, after a Congressional Black Caucus ceremony at the Library of Congress, in which members where sworn into the CBC for the109th Congress, Jan. 4, 2005. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
(CHICAGO) — Three former American presidents and a former vice president are set to honor the late Rev. Jesse Jackson at a memorial service in Chicago on Friday morning – a “Celebration of Hope” that is being held by the family of the pioneering civil rights leader, who died on Feb. 17 at the age of 86.
Former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to deliver remarks at the homegoing services on Friday, according to the Jackson family. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former first lady Jill Biden are also expected to attend the services, the family said.
ABC News reached out to representatives for Clinton, Obama, Biden and Harris for further comment.
“Jesse Jackson, Sr. marched beside Martin Luther King, Jr. for civil rights for all people. He traveled the world fighting economic and gender inequity. Until his last days, he fought for better healthcare, education, and peace in Chicago, Illinois, the United States, and beyond,” the Jackson family said in a statement on Wednesday. “I hope everyone who joins us to honor his legacy will also continue to champion these causes. That would be the best possible tribute and celebration they could offer.”
Friday’s public homegoing service will take place at the House of Hope event center. A private service will take place on Saturday morning in Chicago.
The services come after thousands paid their respects to Jackson as he lay in honor at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in Chicago last week. He was also honored in his birth state of South Carolina on Monday, where he laid in state at the state house in Columbia.
“Jesse Jackson, Sr. changed the United States — and the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement. “We are deeply honored to know there are people from every walk of life who want to join us to pay their respects.”
Other scheduled speakers at the service on Friday include Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Ill., and Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts. Singer and actress Jennifer Hudson and gospel legends Bebe Winans and Pastor Marvin Winans are also expected to perform on Friday. Stevie Wonder is set to perform at the private service on Saturday.
Jackson died after experiencing health issues over the past several years, including a battle with Parkinson’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare neurological disorder.
Jackson’s children honored their father’s legacy at a press conference last month, reflecting on his 1984 and 1988 presidential runs and how he dedicated his career to advancing economic justice and building political power for Black Americans.
Jackson’s son, Jesse Jackson, Jr., called for unity in the Feb. 18 press conference ahead of his father’s funeral services.
“Do not bring your politics out of respect to Rev. Jesse Jackson and the life that he lived to these home going services,” he said. “Come respectful and come to say thank you, but these homegoing services are welcome to all Democrat, Republican, liberal and conservative, right wing, left wing, because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American.”
Printed documents available at Epstein Library on the U.S. Department of Justice website are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on February 6, 2026. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Department of Justice on Thursday released three previously withheld FBI interview reports from 2019 related to a woman who made uncorroborated allegations that she was abused by Donald Trump in the 1980s, when she was a minor.
In a statement on social media, the Department of Justice said the interview summaries — known as FBI 302 reports — were initially withheld from the January release of millions of pages of DOJ documents related to Jeffrey Epstein because they were believed to be duplicative of other documents.
“What we found through extensive review is that a published 302 — additionally disclosed in a published spreadsheet — had subsequent 302s that were coded as ‘duplicative.’ After this was brought to our attention, we reviewed the entire batch with the similar coding and discovered 15 documents were incorrectly coded as duplicative,” the DOJ account said.
The statement did not appear to explain why, beyond possible human error, the records were marked as duplicative. As of Thursday evening, the DOJ database still does not include the handwritten notes from the interviews themselves.
According to the reports, the FBI interviewed the woman four times between July and October 2019. During each of the interviews with the woman, whose identity is redacted, she made allegations of abuse against Epstein.
In her second interview with federal investigators, she claimed that Epstein once took her to either New York or New Jersey where he introduced to Trump when she was between the ages of 13 and 15 years old. According to the report, she claimed Trump abused her during that trip.
In the fourth interview in October 2019, the woman declined to provide additional details about the alleged interaction with Trump when asked by agents, according to the summary of that interview.
Her statements to the federal agents allege that the incident with Trump took place in the early-to-mid 1980s — a period when Epstein and Trump did not appear to be in contact.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing related to his relationship with Epstein or any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity.
In her initial interview with the FBI, the woman claims she was sexually abused by Epstein after being hired for what she thought was a babysitting job, but she said there were no children present. Similar abuse occurred, she said, on several more occasions, according to the summary of the first report, which was released by the DOJ in January.
The witness said multiple alleged incidents with Epstein took place in South Carolina, a location not known to have been frequented by Epstein. The timing of the allegations would place them two decades before law enforcement in Florida began investigating Epstein for sexual exploitation of minors.
Before the additional records were released Thursday, Congressional Democrats had accused the Justice Department of illegally withholding the documents to protect the president.
“It is unconscionable, it is illegal, and [Attorney General] Pam Bondi and the president need to answer where those files are,” California Democrat Robert Garcia, D-Calif. said last week.
In a statement in January, the Department of Justice said that some investigative files in the massive tranche released would include unsubstantiated claims about Trump.
“Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” the statement said.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, makes his way to House votes in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales announced Thursday evening that he will no longer seek reelection in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, following calls from House Republican leadership to drop out of the race after the congressman admitted to having a relationship with a staffer.
“After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek re-election while serving out the rest of this Congress with the same commitment I’ve always had to my district,” Gonzales wrote in a statement on X. “Through the rest of my term, I will continue fighting for my constituents, for whom I am eternally grateful.”
Gonzales’ statement touted various accomplishments from his three terms in Congress, with an emphasis on his “absolute dedication” to the U.S.
“My philosophy has never changed: do as much as you can, and always fight for the greater good,” he wrote.
Gonzales’ announcement came the same day House Republican leadership on Thursday asked Gonzales to drop out of the race.
“The Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Congressman Tony Gonzales’s conduct, and we urge them to act expeditiously,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Republican Whip Tom Emmer and Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain said in a joint statement.
“Congressman Gonzales has said he will fully cooperate with the investigation. We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues. In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election,” they added.
Johnson told reporters later that the GOP’s call for Gonzales to drop his reelection bid — rather than resign from Congress — amounts to “a death penalty” for Gonzales.
“Leadership put out a statement. It speaks for itself. We’ve encouraged him to drop out of the race for reelection,” Johnson said. “Politically, that’s a death penalty.”
Gonzales on Tuesday night advanced to a runoff primary election on May 26 against conservative activist Brandon Herrera.
The next day, Gonzales spoke with talk show host Joe “Pags” Pagliarulo who asked if he had a relationship with his district director, Regina Santos-Aviles, who later died by suicide.
“Was there a relationship with this young lady, um, who was working in your office?” Pagliarulo asked Gonzales at the outset of the interview on Wednesday.
“I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales answered. “Since then, I’ve reconciled with my wife Angel. I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has. And my faith is as strong as ever. When you make mistakes like this, you know, it’s never easy. It humbles you.”
Gonzales said he looks forward to the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into the allegations.
The panel said it has established an investigative subcommittee to examine allegations that Gonzales “may have: (1) engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his congressional office; and/or (2) discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.”
“I appreciate the opportunity to be able to provide all the facts and all the details that lead to exactly what occurred in the entire situation,” said Gonzales, who has declined to withdraw from his reelection bid.
The congressman had previously denied the relationship with Santos-Aviles.
Despite now admitting his relationship with her, Gonzales distanced himself from her death, claiming that he had not spoken with her since June of 2024, before she ultimately died the following year.
“You know, the facts are, I hadn’t spoken with Ms. Santos since June of 2024. She passed September of 2025. That was over a year ago. So, this is what I think is important as well — is this whole notion that I had anything to do with her death. I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing. And in fact, I was shocked just as much as everyone else,” Gonzales said.
Congressional payroll records show that Santos-Aviles was still employed in Gonzales’ office on the date of her death, Sept. 14, 2025.
Gonzales insisted that Santos-Aviles was treated well in his office and showed no signs of distress leading up to her death, claiming that she was “thriving at work.”
“I’ve always highlighted the great work that she had done for our office and the community,” Gonzales said, before pinning blame on the media coverage of the matter.
ABC News previously obtained explicit text messages from May of 2024 appearing to show Gonzales repeatedly request photos and ask Santos-Aviles about her sexual preferences.
Asked by Pagliarulo about the text messages, Gonzales insisted that there is “a lot more to the story that isn’t out there,” without commenting further on the content of any other communications with Santos-Aviles.
Asked if he understands the issues surrounding a boss having a relationship with his subordinate, Gonzales acknowledged that it’s an “important” and “serious issue that we have to talk about,” before again emphasizing the need for “all the facts.”
ABC News has obtained the Uvalde police report on Santos-Aviles death through a records request, but the report has not been posted publicly.
During Wednesday’s interview, Gonzales brushed off concerns from fellow House Republicans that have called for his resignation, saying, “you’re always going to have political enemies.”
“I don’t speak with those two on a regular basis, that we operate in different … groups, if you will,” Gonzales said, referring to Republican Reps. Nancy Mace and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who have voiced concerns over the allegations against him. “But what I will say is you can never let those people slow you down in any form or fashion.”
Gonzales, who maintains President Donald Trump’s endorsement despite the allegations and ethics inquiry, said he has not spoken directly with Trump about the matter.
“I appreciate the president’s support,” Gonzales said.
“I was just actually in Corpus [Christi] when he came down to Texas. That was an incredible event. Everybody was energized,” Gonzales added, referring to the president’s trip last week where Trump gave the congressman a shoutout and congratulated him before the crowd.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to members of the media during a news conference on Capitol Hill on March 4, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The House failed to adopt a war powers resolution that attempted to curtail President Donald Trump’s military actions in Iran.
It failed by a vote of 212-219. Republican Reps. Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson bucked GOP leaders by voting in favor; four Democrats voted against the resolution, including Reps. Greg Landsman, Henry Cuellar and Jared Golden.
The resolution, which only expresses the sentiment of Congress, called on the president to terminate the use of U.S. armed forces in hostilities against Iran or any part of the Iranian government or military unless a declaration of war or authorization to use military force is enacted.
The measure was non-binding and not subject to the president’s signature or veto.
Speaker Mike Johnson argued Wednesday that the United States is “not at war” but only engaged in a “defensive operation” in Iran.
“We’re not at war right now,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol. “We’re in — four days into a very specific, clear mission and operation.”
Later on Wednesday, Trump contradicted Johnson, repeatedly referring to the conflict in Iran as a “war” hours after Johnson said it wasn’t.
Sitting next to Johnson during a roundtable on energy prices, Trump said “we’re doing very well on — on the war front, to put it mildly.”
Johnson had said that the “passage of a war powers resolution right now would be a terrible, dangerous idea.”
“It would empower our enemies. It would kneecap our own forces, and it would take the ability of the U.S. military and the commander in chief away from completing this critical mission to keep everybody safe,” he said Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Senate Democrats failed to meet a 51-vote threshold on an alternate Iran war powers resolution sponsored by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine and Republican Sen. Rand Paul. The resolution failed behind a 47-53 tally.
A woman and child walk by a damaged building, struck days earlier, during the U.S.Israeli military campaign on March 4, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — As the U.S.-Israeli military escalation with Iran continues, children may be experiencing devastating consequences of being caught in a conflict zone. Dozens of children and adolescents have been killed, many of whom were attending school at the time, according to the Iranian education ministry.
Doctors and humanitarian aid workers told ABC News that millions of children in the region are at risk of physical and mental health repercussions.
They add that it’s important children have as much structure as possible to keep a sense of stability in their lives.
“Every war is a war on children,” Ahmad Alhendawi, regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe at Save the Children, told ABC News. “They are not the reason why the war started, but they are the ones who pay the highest prices. Their childhood simply gets disrupted.”
Mental health effects
Dr. Zaher Sahloul, president and co-founder of the humanitarian organization MedGlobal, told ABC News that the mental and emotional toll on children in conflict zones is a “huge problem.”
“Children are some of the most vulnerable sectors of the community because they need to feel that they are supported, they need it to feel that there is safety and shelter and supporting communities and they need normalcy,” he said.
Sahloul said that when children are caught in conflict zones, a sense of stability and routine is essential.
This includes going to school consistently, having playgrounds available so they can play, regular family meals and a place to sleep at night.
When any of these are disrupted, it can affect children’s mental health, causing anxiety, hyperactivity, withdrawal or feelings of sadness, according to Sahloul.
He added, “The trauma that [children] incur from violence and from what they see on TV, and of course the direct witnessing of bombs and missiles and its impact on their communities and neighbors and families, all of this will cause a lot of mental health trauma that manifests itself based on the age of the child.”
Studies of past conflicts have shown the effects of living in war-torn areas.
At least 10% of those who experience traumatic events in armed conflict will have serious mental health problems and another 10% “will develop behavior that will hinder their ability to function effectively,” according to the World Health Organization in a review of research findings.
Mental health impacts can be exacerbated when locales that are supposed to be safe spaces come under attack, Sahloul said.
Over the weekend, Shajare Tayyiba Elementary School, an all-girls elementary school in Minab located in southern Iran was hit by airstrikes, according to Iranian officials.
Iran has blamed the U.S. and Israel for the strike on the school, but Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have denied any connection. Top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have insisted the U.S. does not target civilian infrastructure.
“That adds, of course, to the trauma,” Sahloul said. “These are areas that should be considered safe and when people die in school or in a hospital or in the market, I think that adds to the trauma.”
Physical effects on children
There are physical risks for children that come with living in conflict zones, such as breathing in smoke and ash from fires and blasts that can affect the nose and lungs.
Children may also be seriously injured during air strikes, resulting in disability such as the loss of limb, sight or cognitive capacity.
“The physical impact on children is much more significant because there are fears for their development,” Alhendawi said.
Sahloul added that because children’s bodies are often smaller, shorter and thinner than those of adults, they are more likely to be hurt by projectiles such as bullets or shrapnel.
In children, severe bleeding can lead to shock, he said. Children are also more prone to amputation because of the smaller size of their limbs and they’re more prone to burns because their skin is thinner than adults’ skin.
Sahloul said that mental health trauma in children can have effects on their physical health. Research has shown a significant association between physical health problems and clinical mental health symptoms.
“So [mental health symptoms] can lead to depressed immunity to fight infection,” he said. “It can lead to malnutrition. It can lead to stunted growth.”
Health experts noted adults may also experience similar physical and mental health effects in conflict zones and may benefit from similar interventions.
How to help
Experts told ABC News it’s important to make sure that children are provided structure as much as possible while living in war zones to help with their development and well-being. Additionally, when possible, they said it important to create child-friendly spaces that allow children to learn, play and receive psychosocial support.
Alhendawi said Save the Children is not currently operating in Iran but is stationed in nine surrounding countries and is prepared to provide full shelter and basic services for a population that may be displaced.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on February 25, 2026 in Washington. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Thursday said Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin will replace Kristi Noem as Department of Homeland Security secretary.
Trump made the announcement on social media Thursday afternoon saying he was “pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31, 2026.”
“The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida. I thank Kristi for her service at ‘Homeland,'” Trump said in the post.
The news that the Oklahoma senator would take over Noem’s job came after several sources told ABC News that Trump had called Republicans and top allies asking if he should fire her.
The president had privately expressed deep frustration over Noem’s testimony during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, those sources with direct knowledge of the conversations said.
The sources said the president was upset with a particular moment during the hearing when Republican Sen. John Kennedy questioned Noem about a taxpayer-funded $220 million ad campaign. Noem repeatedly suggested the president was aware of the campaign and signed off on it.
A senior administration officials tells ABC News that the president did not sign off on a $220 million ad campaign.
“Absolutely not,” the senior administration official said.
Kennedy told reporters Thursday that Trump even called him about it.
“I’m not going to speak for him. You folks know him. You can ask him yourselves, but his, I want to put it this way, his recollection and her recollection are different,” Kennedy said.
Tuesday’s hearing was just the latest in several incidents that have sparked concern among Trump administration officials and some Republicans on Capitol Hill, sources tell ABC News.
Just days ago, Noem and her top adviser Corey Lewandowski made the decision to temporarily suspend TSA Precheck amid the partial government shutdown — which later had to be reversed after the White House stepped in, according to sources.
Noem has faced criticism in recent weeks over her handling of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Minneapolis after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal law enforcement. She was removed from leading operations in the state following the scrutiny, and Border Czar Tom Homan was sent in to take over.
During a Cabinet meeting in January, the president did not call on Noem to speak.
(CLEVELAND) — A 28-year-old woman has been arrested days after the bodies of two girls were found in suitcases in a field in Cleveland, police announced Thursday.
The Cleveland Division of Police did not say what charges the suspect was arrested on in connection with the suspected homicides, noting that the woman is expected to be formally charged later Thursday. Her name will be released at that point, police said.
Detectives began investigating the deaths on Monday, following the “horrific” discovery, according to Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd.
An individual spotted one of the bodies inside a suitcase while walking a dog in a residential neighborhood on Monday evening and reported it to police, according to Todd.
Responding officers located a second body in another suitcase nearby, Todd said. Both suitcases were in a shallow grave in a field near a school, she said.
One of the girls is suspected to have been between the ages of 8 1/2 and 13, and the second between 10 1/2 and 14, Todd said. They have been determined to be half-siblings, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday.
It was unclear how long the girls had been at the location, just that “it was some time,” and that there were no clear indicators of the cause of death, Todd told reporters Tuesday.
“This is a traumatic event for our officers, for the community,” Todd said.
The cause and manner of death have not yet been determined, and the medical examiner’s office is continuing to work to officially identify the children, police said Thursday.
The investigation led detectives to execute a search warrant at a residence located within a block of the field on Wednesday, where they “recovered substantial evidence related to the case,” the Cleveland Division of Police said.
A person of interest was detained on Wednesday, with Cleveland Police Sgt. Wilfredo Diaz telling reporters it was a “significant break” in the case.
Todd said in a statement Thursday that “careful and methodical work” in the case “allowed our detectives to develop the evidence needed to make quick identification of a person of interest, ultimately resulting in an arrest.”
A child located inside the searched home has been taken into custody by the county’s Department of Children and Family Services, police said. The child appeared to be in good health, police said.
In this June 25, 2018, file photo, an entrance to Fort Bliss is shown, in Fort Bliss, Texas. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images, FILE)
(El PASO, Texas) — The contract for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement tent facility in El Paso, Texas, is under review, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed in a statement.
Camp East Montana, a detention center on the grounds of Fort Bliss, was opened in August by the Trump administration. The facility has faced criticism from immigrant advocates following the deaths of three detainees and a current measles outbreak.
“ICE is always looking at ways to improve our detention facilities to ensure we are providing the best care to illegal aliens in our custody,” Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “The contract for Camp East Montana was inherited from the Department of War. DHS undergoes rigorous audits and inspections of our facilities to ensure they are meeting our high standards.”
“DHS is reviewing this facility and contract,” Bis added. “No decisions have been made related to contract extension, termination, or award.”
Last year, Acquisition Logistics LLC, a Virginia-based company, was awarded $1.2 billion to build the 5,000 bed, short-term detention facility with an estimated date of completion of Sept. 30, 2027, according to a Department of Defense notice.
Acquisition Logistics did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
While DHS has not provided a reason for the review, a current measles outbreak has renewed calls from legal advocates who say detainees are not getting proper medical care.
DHS confirmed to ABC News that there are currently 14 active measles cases at the facility. In a statement, Bis claimed medical staff were quarantining all detainees that may have come into contact with those infected.
“This is the best healthcare than many aliens have received in their entire lives,” Bis claimed, contradicting repeated claims of medical neglect and abuse at the facility made by the ACLU in December and by attorneys with clients being detained there.
Crystal Sandoval, an accredited representative with Las Americas Advocacy Center, who attempted to meet with a potential client on Tuesday, says she was denied entry into the facility because of the outbreak. Sandoval says she was the first person who was granted access into the facility in August 2025 and has been sounding the alarm about what she calls widespread medical neglect.
“I’ve had people be like, ‘I want to be deported because I’m not getting my diabetic medication and if I continue like that, I’m going to have a diabetic coma,'” she told ABC News.
Lawmakers have also increasingly called on DHS to provide more transparency about who they’re contracting with it, and to shut down the facility.
“For months, we have sounded the alarm on the horrific conditions at this facility—from the tragic and preventable deaths of three individuals to the current measles outbreak that has put hundreds at risk,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., on Wednesday. “This $1.2 billion contract was awarded to a company with zero experience in detention management, and the results were as predictable as they were disastrous.”
