Pennsylvania reports 6th measles-associated death amid outbreak: Health officials
The measles virus, transmission microscopy view. (BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
A sixth person in Pennsylvania has died of measles, state health officials said Wednesday.
The person was unvaccinated and a resident of Jefferson County, according to the officials.
This brings the nation’s total to seven measles-associated deaths this year, which includes six in Pennsylvania and one in New York.
Pennsylvania has reported 1,467 cases so far this year, becoming the largest outbreak in U.S. recent memory.
The death in Pennsylvania comes just days after New York state reported its first known measles-associated death in the state in over 30 years.
Health officials said a child died in Lewis County amid the ongoing outbreak.
At least 96% of measles cases in the U.S. this year have been among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
Early symptoms include cough, runny nose, fever as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit and red, watery eyes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Two to three days after symptoms start, patients may develop Koplik spots, which are tiny white spots that may appear inside the mouth on the inner cheek.
Three to five days after symptoms start, patients may experience a rash, first appearing on the face at the hairline before moving downwards to the neck, chest, stomach, arms, legs and feet. Fever may spike even higher than 104 F when the rash appears, the CDC says.
Nationally, more than 4,800 measles cases have been confirmed this year in the U.S., with infections reported in almost every state, according to the CDC. It’s the highest number of illnesses from measles since 1991.
The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective in preventing measles infection, and two doses are 97% effective, the CDC says.
Infants aged 6 to 11 months living in or traveling to high-risk outbreak areas may receive an early third dose of the MMR vaccine.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
A job seeker fills out an application during the HIRE360 Diversity Hiring Expo on April 28, 2026, in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The United States economy slowed more than expected as an inflation surge took hold over the early months of the Iran war, a government report on Thursday showed.
The economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.5% over three months ending in June, marking a slight slowdown from 2.1% growth recorded in the previous quarter. The figure came in lower than economists’ expected.
Still, the latest data outperformed 0.5% annualized gross domestic product (GDP) recorded over final three months of 2025.
The period covered by the data release followed a historic global oil shock set off by the Middle East conflict.
The national average price for a gallon of gasoline soared to a price as high as $4.56 a gallon in May, AAA data showed, before easing somewhat after a preliminary peace agreement last month.
Annual inflation has climbed to 3.5%, putting it more than 1 percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.
Still, hiring has proven more resilient than many economists feared, despite elevated costs for businesses and shoppers.
In recent quarters, a burst of investment in artificial intelligence has accounted for a large share of the nation’s economic growth.
A surge of AI spending accounted for roughly two-thirds of gross domestic product growth over the first half of 2025, JPMorgan Asset Management found, outpacing the contribution made by hundreds of millions of U.S. consumers. Many of the nation’s largest companies have poured funds into the chips and data centers necessary to operate AI.
The combination of elevated inflation and a resilient labor market, meanwhile, has raised the chances of an interest rate hike, futures markets show. The prospect of a rate increase poses the risk of a slowdown in economic activity over the coming months as corporations face the prospect of higher borrowing costs.
The benchmark rate stands at a level between 3.5% and 3.75%. That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who took the helm of the central bank this summer, has vowed to dial back inflation.
“Persistently high prices are a burden for the American people,” Warsh told reporters in Washington, D.C., last month. “This committee will deliver price stability.”
The Puerto Rican government is now forcing residents across the island to ration water by cutting off the water supply for 48 hours at a time. (David G. Houser/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday that it’s providing water trailers to Puerto Rico as the island grapples with a water crisis.
The trailers will be distributed for up to 30 days initially, following the Puerto Rican government’s request for federal support, a FEMA spokesperson said.
“This support is intended to assist local efforts as Puerto Rico manages increased demand for potable water distribution in affected communities,” the spokesperson said.
Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon said on Sunday that authorities are working closely with federal agencies as they grapple with a water crisis that has left more than 180,000 households facing 48-hour water supply shuts-off and rationing.
Gonzalez-Colon declared a state of emergency in the U.S. territory on July 31 in response to serious drought and falling levels in water reservoirs. On Friday, authorities began implementing rotating 48-hour water shut-offs in parts of the capital San Juan, as well as neighborhoods in the cities of Carolina, Juncos, Gurabo, Trujillo Alto, Canovanas and Loiza.
The governor told reporters during a press conference on Sunday that an “interagency support plan for municipalities” had been activated to coordinate assistance to the island’s communities.
“Mayors have a direct liaison inside the government of Puerto Rico,” Gonzalez-Colon said. “Each head of agency has the responsibility to maintain communication with that mayor, to understand the needs that arise, to channel urgent situations, to support the distribution of water trucks, and to facilitate coordination with the agencies that need to intervene.”
The island’s Public Housing Administration has begun installing community cisterns in different public housing complexes, the governor said, while portable water is also being distributed directly to residents with support from the fire department.
Puerto Rican authorities are working closely with the federal government in their response to the crisis, Gonzalez-Colon said. “We are combining a climate committee, actually a drought committee, with all the scientific people. The federal government is helping us out as well,” she said in a press conference on Saturday.
“In the case of Puerto Rico, a few weeks ago was the hottest day in San Juan in 100 years,” Gonzalez-Colon said on Saturday, telling CNN that the island was also grappling with almost 1,000 fires across the island.
July was the driest month on record for San Juan in more than 120 years and the fourth hottest on record for the capital. The U.S. Drought Monitor said that as of Aug. 4, almost 25% of Puerto Rico was experiencing a severe drought and another 36% was under a moderate drought.
“This situation is out of our hands,” Gonzalez-Colon said last week, blaming the severe weather for the shortages. “Nothing prevents this from worsening,” the governor added.
Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pablo Jose Hernandez, meanwhile, last week urged Gonzalez-Colon to seek a federal emergency declaration from President Donald Trump. “Faced with the water crisis, Puerto Rico needs an immediate response,” Hernandez wrote in a post to X.
Amid concern over disruption to the island’s vital tourism and hospitality industry, the government-owned Puerto Rico Tourism Company said in a statement that it was “committed to our tourism industry, providing the necessary support to maintain the continuity of operations in our hostels and guarantee services to their guests.”
“Water distribution continues in areas impacted by the scheduled interruption plan, supporting the continuity of services and the care of our visitors,” it added.
ABC News’ Ayanna Martinez and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
An undated photo of 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells, whose body was believed to be recovered after going missing on July 4, 2026. (Courtesy of the Wells Family)
(NEW YORK) — The parents of Nolan Xavier Wells, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, broke their silence on their son’s mysterious death in an interview with “Good Morning America” anchor Michael Strahan on Friday morning.
“We just want honesty and transparency. We want a thorough investigation,” Christine Wonsley said. “We want that same respect that would be given to anybody else, and that’s it. We just want answers.”
The Wonsleys, who were joined by their attorney Ben Crump, called for a “thorough” and independent investigation.
They also expressed the need to shed more light on unanswered questions, including what they allege are deleted messages from their son’s phone, that have led them to become “suspicious” about his death following a July 4 boating trip.
“Nolan was just like this bright light … his smile, his energy was just, just so infectious,” Christine Wonsley said. “He was just a genuinely a good person. Like I always say, all the best parts of me are with him.”
Elmore Wonsley said Wells “was very loving.”
“There was not a friend that he couldn’t make … he’s gonna be really missed,” he said.
Wells, who played football at Southwest Mississippi Community College, went missing during a Fourth of July celebration with high school friends on Horn Island, a popular undeveloped island just south of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, officials said.
The 18-year-old’s body was recovered on Monday. Authorities said they suspect Wells drowned, but are still investigating. An autopsy was conducted but results could take weeks, officials said.
The disappearance
According to Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter, a friend of Wells contacted the Coast Guard around 11 p.m. last Saturday, July 4. Separately, Wells’ mother contacted the sheriff’s office about her son around midnight leading into Sunday, July 5.
The Wonsleys cast doubt on claims by friends that Wells decided to stay behind on the island, while his friends left.
“That we cannot answer,” Christine Wonsley said when asked why Wells would stay behind. “I just, I can’t — I can’t fathom why he would.”
Elmore Wonsley said that would have gone against the advice they gave Wells.
“We always told him, if you go with a group, you stay with a group,” he said.
Ledbetter told ABC News in an interview that aired on “GMA” on Friday that nothing “yet” from the evidence they collected indicates that foul play was involved in Wells’ death, but the investigation will take time and is ongoing, he added.
“We’re working towards the same goal as the family. We want a thorough investigation. We’re trying to find out everything ,” he said. “We are providing a thorough, professional, and accurate investigation. That’s what we’re going to continue to do, until we arrive at the answers that the family deserves.”
Crump, the attorney representing the Wonsleys, told ABC News Live in an interview on Wednesday that Wells could swim, his family is “not accepting that Nolan drowned accidentally.”
Unanswered questions
Christine Wonsley told “GMA” that his family tracked his phone, but when she went to pick it up from Wells’ friends, she said it appears that some texts and SnapChat messages had been deleted. It is unclear which friends Wells’ phone was retrieved from and who could have been in possession of it prior to that.
“When we finally got his phone, me and my sister went through the phone. We went in his Snapchat. He had two accounts. Absolutely nothing,” Christine Wonsley said. “It wasn’t even 24 hours, which is how long videos and pictures stay in Snapchat … even my sister was like ‘Yeah, that’s suspicious.'”
Crump, who joined the Wonsleys on “GMA” Friday, said that the family has questions about a cell phone video of an “argument” that was posted online.
“You can hear an argument going where Nolan is saying, ‘Give me my freaking phone! What are you freaking doing?’ And so then his phone ends up missing,” Crump said.
“No young person leaves their cell phone,” he added. “It’s not adding up, and that is the problem when you think about the history of Mississippi. Yeah, so there are so many questions that need to be answered.”
Ledbetter told GMA on Thursday night that Wells’ phone has not been turned over to investigators yet.
“It may be important, may be a piece that we haven’t got yet,” he said.
Ledbetter noted that the “argument” video will be part of the investigation.
As the family searches for answers, the investigation will continue in Washington, D.C., Crump said, where “we are having an independent autopsy done at behest of his family.”
He noted that former NFL football star Colin Kaepernick helped pay for it.
“We flew his body up from Mississippi to D.C. because they wanted an autopsy done by a person with no interaction with the Mississippi law enforcement because there’s an issue of trust here that is really important,” Crump said.
Ledbetter told “GMA” that the sheriff’s office welcomes the independent investigation.
“By all means, that’s more information looking into the death of Nolan that will be made available and another set of eyes looking at it,” he said.
Ledbetter asked the public for “patience” as investigators look into a “substantial amount” of tips, in addition to reviewing photo and video evidence.
The sheriff’s department stressed Wednesday that the investigation is ongoing and urged anyone who was on or near the northwest tip of Horn Island to come forward with photos or videos, “particularly those depicting alleged altercations or containing images of, or believed to include Nolan Wells.”
ABC News’ Sasha Pezenick, Kirk Cohall and Mark Guarino contributed to this report.
