Good morning. A growing Ebola outbreak overseas is triggering new American travel restrictions, another bizarre chapter emerges from the legal wars surrounding President Trump, and a Democratic Party fracture erupted in Colorado.
America Tightens Travel Restrictions as Ebola Outbreak Expands in Africa
The Department of Homeland Security announced sweeping new travel restrictions Wednesday as an escalating Ebola outbreak in Central and East Africa continues spreading across the region and alarming global health officials.
Under the new policy, all civilian flights carrying passengers who have recently traveled through the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan must now land at Washington Dulles International Airport for enhanced medical screening before travelers are allowed to continue into the United States.
The restrictions apply to passengers who have been in those countries within the previous 21 days and took effect late Wednesday night.
Federal officials say the decision is designed to contain any potential imported cases before they reach broader American transportation networks.
The outbreak itself is growing rapidly.
According to the World Health Organization, there are now nearly 600 suspected Ebola cases connected to the outbreak and at least 139 suspected deaths. More than 50 cases have already been formally confirmed.
The epicenter remains eastern Congo, where infections have spread into several densely populated urban areas including Goma and Bunia. Uganda has also reported confirmed infections, including cases in the capital city of Kampala.
South Sudan has not yet confirmed infections, but American officials labeled the country high-risk because of extensive cross-border movement and weak healthcare infrastructure.
The World Health Organization officially declared the outbreak an international public health emergency Sunday — just below its highest pandemic-level designation.
Health authorities believe the virus may have circulated undetected for months before officials formally identified it in May.
Complicating the response further is the specific strain involved.
The outbreak is being driven by the rare Bundibugyo variant of Ebola, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or targeted treatments. Previous outbreaks involving the strain have produced fatality rates as high as 50%.
Even so, health officials continue emphasizing that the immediate risk to the American public remains low.
The CDC has already activated emergency response operations, deployed specialists into affected regions, and tightened entry requirements earlier this week by barring many non-American travelers who recently visited affected countries.
Still, several developments have heightened public anxiety — including reports that an American doctor working in Congo contracted Ebola and was transferred to Germany for treatment, as well as an Air France flight diversion involving a passenger from Congo who reportedly boarded a Detroit-bound flight “in error.”
Former DOJ Prosecutor Indicted Over Hidden Jack Smith Files
A former federal prosecutor has been indicted after allegedly stealing and concealing sensitive files connected to former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Trump — including allegedly disguising documents under names like “Chocolate_Cake_Recipe.pdf.”
The strange and politically explosive case adds yet another layer to the years-long legal saga surrounding Smith’s prosecutions of Trump.
Federal prosecutors charged former Justice Department official Carmen Lineberger, 62, with four criminal counts tied to allegedly transferring restricted government records from DOJ systems to her personal email accounts.
According to the indictment, Lineberger — who previously served as a senior federal prosecutor in Florida — received access to a confidential volume of Smith’s still-unreleased report concerning Trump’s classified documents case.
Prosecutors allege she then forwarded portions of the report and internal DOJ communications to personal Gmail and Hotmail accounts while disguising the files.
The indictment does not accuse Lineberger of publicly leaking the documents or explain why she allegedly moved the files.
But the case is already fueling fresh scrutiny over how sensitive materials tied to the Trump investigations were handled inside the Justice Department.
Jack Smith’s investigations became some of the most politically consequential prosecutions in modern American history.
Appointed in 2022, Smith spearheaded both the classified documents case tied to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and the federal election interference prosecution connected to Trump’s challenges to the 2020 election results.
Trump repeatedly argued Smith’s investigations were politically motivated efforts to weaponize federal law enforcement against a political opponent.
The classified documents prosecution later suffered major setbacks after Judge Aileen Cannon ruled Smith’s appointment violated constitutional requirements, throwing portions of the case into uncertainty and blocking public release of parts of the report involved in the current indictment.
Now, the allegations involving hidden “cake recipe” filenames have transformed what was already a deeply polarizing legal battle into an even stranger and more damaging controversy for the Justice Department.
If convicted, Lineberger could face up to 25 years in prison.
Colorado Democrats Revolt Against Gov. Polis Over Tina Peters Clemency
Colorado Democrats formally censured Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday after he granted clemency to former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters — a dramatic and highly unusual rebuke that exposed growing divisions inside the Democratic Party.
Peters became one of the most recognizable figures in the national election integrity movement after prosecutors accused her of participating in efforts to access and distribute voting system data following the 2020 election.
She was convicted in 2024 on multiple charges, including offenses tied to breaches involving Mesa County voting systems, and received a nine-year prison sentence.
Last week, Polis stunned many Democrats by announcing Peters would receive clemency and be released June 1.
The decision followed sustained pressure from President Trump, who had publicly championed Peters as a political prisoner and said she was being punished for pursuing honest elections.
Polis argued Peters’ punishment had become excessive and disproportionate.
But the backlash inside his own party was immediate and fierce.
On Wednesday, Colorado Democrats overwhelmingly voted to censure the governor, accusing him of undermining election integrity and weakening accountability.
“This is not a small policy disagreement,” Democrat Zane Schichtel said during the debate. “I think it is a direct rebuke of the principles of accountability and election integrity that uphold our democracy.”
The conflict represents a rare public rupture between a Democratic governor and his party apparatus.
The political optics are especially complicated because Trump himself previously announced he was granting Peters a “full pardon” despite presidents lacking authority to pardon state convictions.
The controversy now leaves Polis navigating criticism from Democratic activists and officials furious.
The dispute also highlights how battles over election legitimacy and prosecutions tied to the 2020 election remain politically radioactive nearly six years later.
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