An unvaccinated, school-aged child in Texas has died of the measles amid an ongoing outbreak in the state that has so far infected at least 124 people, mostly children, sending at least 18 to the hospital. Additionally, nine measles cases have been confirmed across the border in New Mexico.

On Wednesday morning, the Lubbock health officials and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) confirmed the death, which occurred within the last 24 hours.

It is the first death in the mushrooming outbreak in Texas, and it marks the first measles death in the country since 2015, when a woman with underlying health conditions in Washington state died amid an outbreak. The death highlighted the importance of maintaining high community vaccination rates to prevent the spread of the extremely infectious disease to vulnerable people. Prior to that, the US hadn't recorded a measles death since 2003.

Read full article

Comments

• Alan Ritchson plays the titular character in Prime Video's "Reacher" series.
• The actor is known for his sculpted muscular look in the show.
• He told Business Insider that corned beef and pushps are key to his physique.

Watching Alan Ritchson in "Reacher," it's hard not to notice that he is extremely ripped.

In the show that just launched its third season on Prime Video, Ritchson plays a former military investigator whose intimidating size and strength are handy for fighting off hordes of bad guys.

When Business Insider asked Ritchson how he built his hulking physique, and his arms in particular, he said, half-joking: "you gotta eat constantly. You have to eat every five to 10 minutes. A lot of pizza, a lot of cookies, and millions of pushups."

Maria Sten, who plays Frances Neagley in "Reacher," added: "A lot of canned beef!"

"That's right!" Ritchson said. "The corned beef and hash! She knows, she's got the secret. That's the juice. Corned beef and hash and eggs, baby. Puts a little hair on your chest. And some pull-ups."

Last year, the actor told Men's Health that he aims to eat 4,000 calories a day and do five 30-minute workouts a week, usually involving cable exercises that focus on his upper body.

Here's how to apply Ritchson's recommendations if you also want to be shredded.

You need extra calories to build muscle

Eating cookies to get ripped may sound counterintuitive, but a calorie surplus, or eating more energy than you burn, is optimal for building muscle.

But the more you eat, the more fat you're likely to gain. That's why bodybuilders typically "bulk" — or gain mass — for a few months, before "shredding" or "cutting" to lose fat and reveal the muscle.

It's notoriously hard to lose fat and build muscle at the same time because they have opposing calorie requirements. Plus, it's easier to do when you're new to lifting.

To build muscle while gaining as little fat as possible, personal trainers and sports dietitians generally recommend eating around or just over your maintenance calories.

And while pizza and cookies provide a lot of energy from fats and carbs, corned beef hash with eggs will be more satisfying — and help you hit your nutritional goals without eating lots of calories — because it's high in protein.

"You can do all the weight training you want, but if you don't give your body the right building blocks to build new muscle, your results will be suboptimal," sports nutritionist Mike Molloy previously told BI. "With that in mind, I would recommend consuming somewhere between 1.6 and 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight."

Protein is essential for building muscle, but most dietitians agree it's also important to eat a balanced diet with carbs and fats for energy.

Lift progressively heavier weights to gain muscle

As for Ritchson's recommendation of push-ups for Reacher-size arms, they can certainly be part of the puzzle. Push-ups, and pull-ups, work the core. Push-ups and pull-ups also work the chest and back, respectively. Rows, lateral raises, bicep curls, and tricep extensions will also help you sculpt your arms, bodybuilding coach Cliff Wilson previously told BI.

Overall, you need to train hard to build muscle. Lift heavy weights that you find challenging (mostly in sets of eight to 12 reps). Try to gradually increase the reps and/or weight, a process called progressive overload.

Building muscle also requires enough rest and recovery time: It's between training sessions that your muscles repair and rebuild stronger — and bigger.

• "Reacher" season three sees Jack Reacher go undercover in a criminal organization.
• Author Lee Child told Business Insider he wants to adapt the "Reacher" book about the opioid crisis.
• Alan Ritchson told BI he would be open to telling a "more modern story."

"Reacher" fans have come to expect fast-paced storylines and intense action from the Alan Ritchson-led show, but the ratio of punches to emotional drama is not exactly balanced.

So viewers may be surprised that Lee Child, the author of the "Jack Reacher" books, told Business Insider that he wants the show to tackle the opioid crisis.

Before "Reacher" season three premiered Thursday on Prime Video, BI asked Child which of his books he would like to see adapted next.

Child said: "The book that I am proudest of is 'The Midnight Line,' which is about the opioid crisis, written from a very sympathetic point of view, from the addict's point of view. I was very happy with that as a book. And I do not know how that would play on TV, but that would be one that I'd be interested to see."

This may mean viewers will get to see another side to Reacher. Child added: "He has to be sympathetic for something he would never do, something he probably has no basic sympathy for. But he's considerate of somebody who suffers from it."

The opioid epidemic is one of the most serious public health crises the US has faced in recent years. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, deaths involving opioids increased from 5,000 people a year in 1999 to around 17,000 in 2017, before decreasing to 14,000 in 2022.

The book sees Reacher find a class ring from the West Point military academy in a pawn shop and deduces that it was stolen. He then finds himself untangling a dangerous criminal network that deals opioids.

Each season of the show has presented a unique challenge for Reacher. In season one, he had to prove his innocence in a small town. In season two, he had to be a team player with his old unit. And in season three, he goes undercover and has to fight a 7-foot henchman.

In a separate interview, Ritchson told BI he would be interested in exploring "The Midnight Line," and praised Child's work.

Ritchson said: "I do like that book. It's fun watching the content of the books evolve. He started writing these in the '90s. Some of the concepts that he tackles… He's very progressive in these books and to watch the conversation change over time is a lot of fun. It'd be fun to tackle a more modern story."

Child, who is 70, retired from writing "Jack Reacher" novels in 2020, and passed over the reins to his brother, Andrew Child. Ritchson wants him to keep writing more adventures.

"I want to do all of them, you know. I hope that Andrew writes another 10 and we could just do 40 years of this."

• Alan Ritchson said bodybuilder Olivier Richters accidentally punched him on the set of "Reacher" season three.
• The pair were filming a fight scene between Jack Reacher and Richters' new character, Paulie.
• Ritchson told Business Insider: "I don't think I would want to get in a fight with this guy in real life."

Alan Ritchson told Business Insider he took a punch from the 7-foot bodybuilder Olivier Richters while filming a fight scene for "Reacher" season three.

The third season sees Jack Reacher (Ritchson) infiltrating a criminal organization and crossing paths with Paulie (Richters), a henchman who is immediately suspicious of him.

Paulie's strength and size makes him a formidable opponent for Reacher, who isn't used to being the weaker one in a fight.

Ahead of the show premiering on Prime Video this Thursday, Ritchson recalled how one fight scene became too real: "I took a punch accidentally one time, and I was like, 'I don't think I would want to get in a fight with this guy in real life.'"

Richters is 7 foot 2 inches tall, which makes him the tallest bodybuilder in the world, while Ritchson stands at 6 foot 3 inches.

Lee Child, the author of the "Jack Reacher" books, told BI in a separate interview that he was "stunned" by how Richters made Ritchson "look tiny."

Ritchson went on to praise his new costar's dedication.

"He's pretty tough. He's a monster, man, and he worked really hard to come in and be ready for the 'Reacher' world. He trained for like four months before we got to set together and hopefully it shows," he said.

"Reacher" season three is based on Child's seventh book, "Persuader," which was released in 2003. Ritchson is confident that fans will enjoy the adaptation.

"I think audiences are gonna get to see something they've never seen before. In the book, if you're a reader of the books and 'Persuader,' you get the sense that Reacher's gonna die fighting this guy and there's no way he can figure out a way to win," he said.

But like previous seasons, there is a heavy focus on Reacher's fights and stunts, which the team took painstaking care over.

Ritchson added: "Filming those kind of fights, the amount of time we spent invested in that, three weeks for one fight in particular, hopefully, we give TV audiences the same kind of feeling.

"It was fun and I definitely haven't experienced anything like that in the prior two seasons of 'Reacher.'"