Man seen with missing Pittsburgh student ‘ready to go home and go back to my life’

Man seen with missing Pittsburgh student ‘ready to go home and go back to my life’
Man seen with missing Pittsburgh student ‘ready to go home and go back to my life’
ABC News

(PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic) — Joshua Riibe, the Minnesota college student who was with University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki the night she went missing on a spring break trip to the Dominican Republic, said in court that he’s “ready to go home and go back to my life.”

The 22-year-old Iowa native — who has not been charged with a crime — said Konanki’s family hugged him and thanked him.

“Her mother gave me a hug and said, ‘Thank you for saving my daughter the first time,”‘ Riibe said in court Tuesday. “It was really tough.”

Riibe’s court appearance was for a habeas corpus hearing that was requested by his lawyers, who believe the 22-year-old is being detained illegally.

Prosecutors claimed in court that Riibe is a witness and is not detained.

Authorities have confiscated Riibe’s passport, and Riibe said in court that police have followed him to meals and watched him eat. Riibe’s attorneys asked to get his passport returned and to get the ability to leave the hotel without surveillance.

“I can’t go anywhere. And I really want to be able to go home, talk to my family, give them hugs, tell them I miss them,” Riibe said. “I understand I’m here to help, but it’s been 10 days and I can’t leave.”

Riibe’s father traveled to the Dominican Republic to support him. When asked by reporters if he would be able to take his son home, he replied, “I don’t even know where he’s at right now.”

“I’m just doing what I can, and at this point there’s nothing more I can do,” Riibe said during his appearance in court.

Following the court appearance on Tuesday, it was determined that Riibe will no longer be under police surveillance. However, Dominican Republic officials are not yet returning his passport.

The judge is expected to rule on the habeas corpus request on March 28.

Authorities have said they believe 20-year-old Konanki died by drowning in Punta Cana early on March 6, officials told ABC News. Her missing persons case is being treated as an accident, sources said.

Riibe — who met Konanki that night — told prosecutors the two went swimming and kissed in the ocean. He said they were then hit by a wave and pulled into the ocean by the tide, according to a transcript provided to ABC News from two Dominican Republic sources.

Riibe said he held Konanki and tried to get them out of the water.

“I was trying to make sure that she could breathe the entire time — that prevented me from breathing the entire time and I took in a lot of water,” he said.

“When I finally touched the sand, I put her in front of me. Then she got up to go get her stuff since the ocean had moved us,” Riibe told the prosecutor. “She was not out of the water since it was up to her knee. She was walking at an angle in the water.”

“The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was OK. I didn’t hear her response because I began to vomit with all the water I had swallowed,” he said. “After vomiting, I looked around and I didn’t see anyone. I thought she had taken her things and left.”

Riibe said he passed out on a beach chair and woke up hours later and returned to his hotel room.

Konanki’s family has sent a formal request to Dominican police requesting they declare their daughter dead, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation. The parents noted Riibe was cooperating with the investigation and they acknowledged there was no evidence of foul play, the sources said.

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Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil calls himself a ‘political prisoner’ in new letter

Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil calls himself a ‘political prisoner’ in new letter
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil calls himself a ‘political prisoner’ in new letter
Scott Olson/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil called himself a “political prisoner” in a new letter dictated from the Louisiana detention center where he remains held following his arrest on Columbia University’s campus.

“I am writing to you from a detention facility in Louisiana where I wake to cold mornings and spend long days bearing witness to the quiet injustices underway against a great many people precluded from the protections of the law,” Khalil stated in the letter, which was dictated over the phone to his family and obtained by ABC News from his legal team on Tuesday.

Khalil, a leader of the encampment protests at Columbia last spring, was detained on March 8. He was taken from his student apartment building to 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan, and then to an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, according to his legal team.
Officials from President Donald Trump’s administration have said Khalil was detained for his purported support of Hamas — a claim his legal team has rejected.

Khalil’s lawyers said that during his detainment, plain-clothed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents said his student visa had been revoked — even though Khalil is in the U.S. on a green card. He has not been charged with a crime.

A federal judge has blocked Khalil’s removal from the U.S. while weighing a petition challenging his arrest.

He is set to appear before an immigration judge on March 27.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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SpaceX Dragon successfully splashes down, returning NASA astronauts back to Earth

SpaceX Dragon successfully splashes down, returning NASA astronauts back to Earth
SpaceX Dragon successfully splashes down, returning NASA astronauts back to Earth
Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via Getty Images

(CAPE CANAVERAL, FL) — The two NASA astronauts whose return to Earth was delayed for months have just splashed down to Earth.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission, carrying astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, successfully landed off the coast of Florida after undocking from the International Space Station and traveling approximately 17 hours on its return mission to Earth, according to SpaceX.

The splashdown occurred at approximately 5:57 p.m. ET off the Tallahassee, Florida, coast.

When the spacecraft entered the atmosphere, its heat shield generated temperatures that reached more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, according to SpaceX.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were also onboard the craft as it undocked at about 1:05 a.m. ET.

Williams and Wilmore had in June 2024 performed the first astronaut-crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule. What was expected to be a weeklong trip to the ISS instead turned into a nine-month stay. The Boeing Starliner that was expected to carry them home after about 10 days experienced issues, leaving the pair at the station for months.

Their return spacecraft early on Tuesday maneuvered in space, moving above and behind the station, before firing a series of departure burns that sent it back toward Earth.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News’ Matthew Glasser and Mary Kekatos contributed to this report.

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New York woman pleads guilty to mailing drug-soaked documents to prisons

New York woman pleads guilty to mailing drug-soaked documents to prisons
New York woman pleads guilty to mailing drug-soaked documents to prisons
J. David Ake/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — An Albany woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to mailing drug-soaked documents to inmates in correctional facilities in New York, according to federal prosecutors.

Authorities said Maya McIntosh, 33, sold the illicit documents on social media — and disguised them as legal paperwork when she sent them.

McIntosh, 33, pleaded guilty to “conspiracies to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and controlled substance analogue, distribution and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and controlled substance analogue, and unlawful possession and use of a means of identification,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York said in a press release on Tuesday.

Officials said McIntosh ordered chemicals used to create MDMB-4en-PINACA, a synthetic cannabinoid, in liquid form and then “sprayed and soaked the liquid onto copy paper and business envelopes,” the attorney’s office said.

The documents were placed in U.S. Priority Mail Express envelopes and addressed to inmates at various correctional facilities in New York, prosecutors said.

McIntosh disguised the envelopes as legal mail by “stamping the names of actual attorneys in the return address portion of the envelopes” without the lawyers’ knowledge or permission, according to prosecutors.

This method allowed for the drug-soaked documents to appear as if they were sent by lawyers and “contained legitimate legal paperwork instead of a controlled substance,” the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Officials said McIntosh used social media to sell the sheets and envelopes, with customers paying her to mail the documents to inmates at correctional facilities, the prosecutors said.

McIntosh is believed to have sent the drug-soaked papers between January 2023 through July 2024, prosecutors said.

McIntosh faces up to 20 years of imprisonment in each count, a maximum fine of $1 million on the drug counts, a fine of $250,000 on the remaining counts and a term of supervised release of at least three years and up to life, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

The United States Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations are continuing to investigate the case.

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‘Many’ alleged gang members deported by Trump didn’t have criminal records in the US: ICE

‘Many’ alleged gang members deported by Trump didn’t have criminal records in the US: ICE
‘Many’ alleged gang members deported by Trump didn’t have criminal records in the US: ICE
Karl Merton Ferron/The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Many of the noncitizens who were deported pursuant to the Alien Enemies Act on Saturday did not have criminal records, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official said in a sworn filing overnight.

In a sworn declaration, ICE Acting Field Office Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations Robert Cerna argued that “the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose” and “demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile.”

The declaration was included in the Trump administration’s recent motion to vacate Judge James Boasberg’s temporary restraining order blocking deportations pursuant to the AEA.

“While it is true that many of the [Tren de Aragua gang] members removed under the AEA do not have criminal records in the United States, that is because they have only been in the United States for a short period of time. The lack of a criminal record does not indicate they pose a limited threat,” Cerna said.

The admission that many of the men lacked criminal records – and were deported on the assumption that they might be terrorists – comes as top Trump administration officials insist that the men were violent criminals, with President Donald Trump labeling them “monsters.”

Cerna wrote that some of the men have been convicted or arrested for crimes including murder, assault, harassment, and drug offenses, writing that ICE personnel “carefully vetted each individual alien to ensure they were in fact members of TdA.”

To determine whether a noncitizen was a “member of TdA,” he said law enforcement allegedly used victim testimony, financial transactions, computer checks, and other “investigative techniques.”

“ICE did not simply rely on social media posts, photographs of the alien displaying gang-related hand gestures, or tattoos alone,” Cerna said.

According to Cerna, a review of ICE databases suggested that “numerous individuals removed” had been arrested or convicted outside of the U.S. At least five of the men were subject to INTERPOL notices for alleged crimes including rape, kidnapping, child, abduction, corruption, and possession of illegal firearms.

Cerna also noted that some of the men were arrested or encountered during federal law enforcement raids while they were in the U.S., though the declaration did not note if the men were ever charged or convicted for any crimes.

The identities and status of the deported men have not been disclosed by the Trump administration, making it unknown what portion of the over 200 noncitizens had criminal records in the U.S. or abroad.

Department of Justice lawyers said the judge’s temporary restraining orders “are an affront to the President’s broad constitutional and statutory authority to protect the United States from dangerous aliens who pose grave threats to the American people.

Judge Boasberg on Tuesday ordered the government to file under seal to the court by Wednesday at noon details regarding two aircraft that the administration did not return to the U.S. following the judge’s verbal order last week.

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FBI arrests alleged MS-13 leader with help of Mexican government

FBI arrests alleged MS-13 leader with help of Mexican government
FBI arrests alleged MS-13 leader with help of Mexican government
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

(MEXICO) — The FBI extradited an alleged senior leader of the MS-13 gang who was on the agency’s “10 most wanted” list with the help of the Mexican government, FBI Director Kash Patel said Tuesday.

Patel said Mexican authorities arrested Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales — who Patel said is believed to be a “key senior leader” of the gang. Roman-Bardales is being extradited to the United States, Patel added.

Patel touted the arrest as a “major victory.”

“He was arrested in Mexico and is being transported within the U.S. as we speak, where he will face American justice,” Patel wrote in a post on X. “This is a major victory both for our law enforcement partners and for a safer America.”

Roman-Bardales, 47, has been charged with several offenses for “his alleged role in ordering numerous acts of violence against civilians and rival gang members, as well as his role in drug distribution and extortion schemes in the United States and El Salvador,” the FBI said.

A federal arrest warrant was issued for Roman-Bardales in a New York court in 2022 after he was charged with conspiracy to provide and conceal material support and resources to terrorists; narco-terrorism conspiracy; racketeering conspiracy; and alien smuggling conspiracy.

Mexican authorities got intelligence that Roman-Bardales was in Baxtla, Mexico. Mexican law enforcement was deployed to the area, where Roman-Bardales was identified and arrested, the FBI said.

Patel thanked Mexican partners for their help in bringing Roman-Bardales to the U.S.

“This crucial step enhances the safety of communities across America,” Patel said.

The arrest comes as President Donald Trump and his administration target gangs such as MS-13.

He discussed his efforts during his address to a joint session of Congress last month, mentioning the deaths of Jocelyn Nungaray — who was killed by two undocumented men from Venezuela — and Laken Riley — who was killed by an undocumented immigrant.

“All three savages charged with Jocelyn and Laken’s murders were members of the Venezuelan prison gang — the toughest gang, they say, in the world — known as Tren de Aragua. Two weeks ago, I officially designated this gang, along with MS-13 and the bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations. They are now officially in the same category as ISIS, and that’s not good for them,” Trump said in his joint address to Congress.

Also, Trump’s administration is working to deport gang members from the U.S. Over the weekend, the Trump administration handed over more than 200 alleged gang members — including two top members of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang — to El Salvadoran authorities. The move has raised questions as to whether the deportations could be in violation of a federal judge’s order temporarily blocking the removal of Venezuelans pursuant to the administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act.

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13-year-old boy arrested for murder in fatal hit-and-run of bicyclist: Police

13-year-old boy arrested for murder in fatal hit-and-run of bicyclist: Police
13-year-old boy arrested for murder in fatal hit-and-run of bicyclist: Police
Getty/Andrew Brookes

(ALBUQUERQUE) — A 13-year-old boy has been arrested for murder after police said he and two other juveniles intentionally ran down a bicyclist in New Mexico last year in a fatal hit-and-run that was filmed from inside the vehicle.

Police said they are still searching for the two other children — a 15-year-old boy who also faces a murder charge and a 12-year-old boy — in connection with the incident.

The victim, 63-year-old Scott Habermehl, was riding in a bike lane the morning of May 29, 2024, while commuting to work when he was struck in a hit-and-run, police said.

Police said there were no witnesses who saw the vehicle flee, and investigators were unable to find any surveillance footage of the incident.

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said the case likely would have gone unsolved — until video taken from inside the vehicle of the incident was posted on social media.

The video, which police released on Tuesday, is “extremely disturbing,” Medina said.

“You hear the discussion of, they see the guy on the bike, and they make the decision that they’re going to strike him, they’re just going to bump him, and they murdered this individual,” Medina said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

“We’ve all looked at it, and it is just horrific that this could be done to another human being,” he said.

Police got a new lead on the case in February, after two juveniles reported the video, one to a parent and the other to a middle school official in Albuquerque, according to Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock with the Albuquerque Police Department’s criminal investigation division.

“The video had been posted to Instagram showing three individuals in a car purposely running over a cyclist,” Hartsock said during the press briefing.

Officers determined the video was from the May 29, 2024, hit-and-run, and were able to identify the three individuals in the car, which is believed to have been stolen, police said. They were “literally laughing about what they had just done as they fled,” Hartsock said.

In the video, someone can be heard asking, “Are you guys recording it?”

The back passenger, who police said is believed to be the 15-year-old, says to “just bump him, brah” after the car accelerates.

“Like bump him?” the driver responds.

“Yeah, just bump him. Go like 15, 20,” the back passenger says.

The video released by police ends just before the collision.

The three juveniles are believed to be friends, Medina said. Authorities believe the 13-year-old was driving the car at the time.

Police obtained murder arrest warrants for the two teenagers late last week, Hartsock said.

The 13-year-old was taken into custody on Monday and booked into a juvenile detention center, police said. He had been on juvenile probation following an arrest by Albuquerque police last year, police said. He was arrested on an open count of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily harm or death and unlawful possession of a handgun by a person, police said.

Police are asking for the public’s help in locating the two other juveniles. Hartsock urged the 15-year-old, who faces the same charges as the other teen, to turn himself in.

The 12-year-old is a missing person out of Torrance County and is listed as a runaway, police said. He is too young to be charged and booked into a correctional facility, police said.

“We hope that the rest of the system is able to deal with this individual and make sure there’s consequences for what they have done, and make sure that they’re rehabilitated if it’s possible,” Medina said.

The 12-year-old was seen holding a firearm in the video, according to police. Medina said it is unclear what happened to the weapon.

The boy was 11 at the time of the incident, Medina said, calling the young age “surprising.”

“All of us that have kids in here, think of your 11-year-old out doing this. It is just mind-boggling,” Medina said.

The chief said they believe they have tracked down the vehicle involved in the incident.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller called the incident “unimaginable.”

“It’s something that, on the one hand, is incredibly heartbreaking because of their age and how they’re caught up in the cycle of violence,” he said at the briefing. “On the other hand, this is absolutely terrifying.”

The juveniles are not believed to have known the victim, Medina said, noting, “It seems random.”

Habermehl worked at Sandia National Labs and is survived by his wife and two sons, according to his obituary.

“Scott took great joy in sharing his hobbies with his sons, whether it was playing baseball in the yard, biking through the Bosque, hiking in his beloved Rocky Mountains, or skiing with them in the backcountry,” the obituary stated.

Medina asked for privacy for the family at this time.

“They, in a way, suffered the first time, feeling that this individual was the victim of a motor vehicle death,” he said. “Now, with the new information that’s come out, I’m sure it ripped open new wounds.”

Keller remembered Habermehl as a “stand-up member of the Sandia Labs community” who was “well-accomplished and loved by folks in his community out in Corrales.”

The mayor commended the police department on its investigation.

“Now we know what happened, we can at least tell the truth about what happened to Scott,” Keller said. “That truth involves a truth we all have to hold ourselves accountable to, which is we each have a role to play. And in this case, there are dozens and dozens of ways, dozens of cracks that this child, these children, fell through. But that is never an excuse.”

“We have to commit to do more and all of us have an answer of what we think would improve this criminal justice system, and for us, we know that our first step is actually to catch these remaining two individuals,” he continued.

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Several planets found orbiting star less than 6 light-years away

Several planets found orbiting star less than 6 light-years away
Several planets found orbiting star less than 6 light-years away
Michael Orso/Getty Images, FILE

(NEW YORK) — Astronomers have confirmed the existence of four planets orbiting a star less than 6 light-years away with help from some of the world’s most powerful telescopes.

Research published in October 2024 revealed that one planet was rotating around Barnard’s Star, the second-closest single star system to Earth. But a combination of telescopes all over the world confirmed the presence of four small exoplanets, according to a study published last week in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The Gemini Telescope in Hawaii and the Very Large Telescope in Chile were used to detect the additional rocky planets, the astronomers said.

“It’s signaling a breakthrough with the precision of these new instruments from previous generations,” said Ritvik Basant, Ph.D student at the University of Chicago and lead author of the paper, in a statement.

The first planet was detected using a 27-foot diameter telescope at the European Space Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile and a spectrograph that could quickly detect changes in the star’s velocity, according to the 2024 paper, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Barnard’s Star, a low-mass red dwarf, was discovered in 1916. Since then, astronomers have discovered that at least 70% of all stars in the Milky Way are this type of star, which is why researchers want to know about the types of planets that orbit them, according to the University of Chicago.

“It’s a really exciting find — Barnard’s Star is our cosmic neighbor, and yet we know so little about it,” Basant said.

The planets are 20% to 30% the mass of Earth and make a full orbit around the sun in days, according to the paper. They are likely rocky planets, rather than gas.

Since they are so close to Barnard’s Star, they are likely too hot to sustain life. The researchers ruled out the existence of other planets within the habitable zone of Barnard’s Star.

The planets are difficult to detect because their stars shine so brightly next to them, the researchers said.

Scientists from the Gemini Observatory, National Science Foundation NOIRLab, Heidelberg University and the University of Amsterdam calibrated and analyzed data taken during 112 different nights over three years, where they found “solid evidence” to the existence of the additional planets orbiting Barnard’s Star, according to the paper.

“We observed at different times of night on different days,” Basant said. “They’re in Chile; we’re in Hawaii. Our teams didn’t coordinate with each other at all.”

He added, “That gives us a lot of assurance that these aren’t phantoms in the data.”

 

 

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Woman’s 1979 cold case rape, murder solved with genetic genealogy; 82-year-old suspect arrested

Woman’s 1979 cold case rape, murder solved with genetic genealogy; 82-year-old suspect arrested
Woman’s 1979 cold case rape, murder solved with genetic genealogy; 82-year-old suspect arrested
Prince George’s County Police Department

(NEW YORK) — A man has been arrested in a woman’s 1979 cold case murder after investigators used genetic genealogy to zero in on his identity, police in Maryland announced.

On March 3, 1979, the body of 31-year-old secretary Kathryn Donohue was discovered in a parking lot in Glenarden, Maryland, the Prince George’s County Police Department said.

The Arlington, Virginia, resident was beaten, raped and killed in a “brutal murder,” Bill DelBagno, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, said during a news conference on Tuesday.

No suspects were identified and the case went unsolved for decades, leaving Donohue’s family waiting for answers, authorities said.

But police said DNA was left on her body.

In 2024, police said they identified a relative of the suspect through genetic genealogy, an investigative tool in which the unknown DNA from the crime scene is identified by comparing it to family members who voluntarily submit DNA samples to a database.

“Additional investigation ultimately led” police to identify the suspect as Rodger Zodas Brown, who lived in Prince George’s County at the time of the murder, police said.

Brown, now 82, was arrested last week at his home in Pinehurst, North Carolina, police said. He was “solemn,” “cold” and showed “no reaction” when he was arrested, police said.

There’s no apparent connection between Donohue and Brown, police said.

Brown was charged with first-degree murder, rape and related charges. He’s in custody in North Carolina awaiting extradition to Maryland, police said. It wasn’t immediately clear if Brown had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

In a statement released by police, Donohue’s family thanked the investigators, saying their “relentless pursuit of the truth” “has finally given us a sense of closure that we never thought possible after all this time.”

“This case serves as a reminder that we will never give up seeking the truth no matter how much time has passed,” Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz said.

The investigation remains active. Police asked anyone with information to call the department at 301-516-2512.

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Texas measles outbreak grows to 279 cases, approaching nationwide total for 2024

Texas measles outbreak grows to 279 cases, approaching nationwide total for 2024
Texas measles outbreak grows to 279 cases, approaching nationwide total for 2024
Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images

(LUBBOCK, Texas) — The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow with 20 additional cases confirmed, bringing the total to 279 cases, according to new state data published Tuesday.

Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Just two cases are among fully vaccinated individuals. At least 36 people have been hospitalized so far, the state said.

In the Texas outbreak, children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases, at 120, followed by children ages 4 and under making up 88 cases, the DSHS data shows.

“Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities,” the DSHS said in its update.

The number of measles cases in Texas is close to the number confirmed for the entirety of last year in the U.S., which saw 285 cases nationwide, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Two likely measles deaths have been reported so far in the U.S. this year. The first reported death was in Texas, according to the DSHS. The child did not have any known underlying conditions, according to the department.

The death was the first U.S. measles death recorded in a decade, according to data from the CDC.

A possible second measles death was recorded after an unvaccinated New Mexico resident tested positive for the virus following their death. The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) said the official cause of death is still under investigation.

New Mexico has reported a total of 33 measles cases so far this year, according to the NMDOH. Many of the cases have been confirmed in Lea County, which borders western Texas.

Health officials suspect there may be a connection between the Texas and New Mexico cases, but a link has not yet been confirmed.

The CDC has confirmed 301 measles cases in at least 14 states so far this year, including Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Washington, according to new data published Friday.

The majority of nationally confirmed cases are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, the CDC said. Of those cases, 3% are among those who received just one dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) inoculation and 2% are among those who received the required two doses, according to the CDC.

The CDC recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second dose between ages 4 and 6 years old.

One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective, the CDC says. Most vaccinated adults don’t need a booster, per the health agency.

In the face of the growing measles outbreak, the federal health agency issued an alert on March 7 saying parents in the outbreak area should consider getting their children an early third dose of the MMR vaccine. Texas health officials have also recommended early vaccination for infants living in outbreak areas.

ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud and Sony Salzman contributed to this report.

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