The Daily Brief — May 19, 2026
CDC restricts travel from three countries, teens kill three in mosque, another ICE agent charged, and more
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CDC Restricts Travel from Three African Countries
The CDC has imposed a travel ban for people who have visited Ebola-affected areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, and South Sudan in the last three weeks. For the next 30 days, travelers from these areas won’t be allowed entry into the US.
The restrictions do not apply to US citizens or lawful permanent residents returning from those areas. This is only the second time the agency has invoked Title 42, a 1944 law that allows the CDC to suspend entry into the US to protect public health; the first time was during the Covid-19 pandemic.
All three countries included in the ban have reported cases in the current outbreak, with the most severe in the DRC, which has more than 390 suspected cases and at least 100 deaths, according to the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a global health emergency.
Separately, the CDC said that an American doctor in the DRC has tested positive for Ebola. He was working with a Christian medical missionary group and contracted the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus while treating patients. The doctor and six other Americans exposed during the outbreak are being taken to Germany for treatment and monitoring because the country has strong care for viral hemorrhagic fevers — a class of severe illnesses, including Ebola, that can cause internal bleeding and organ failure. CDC officials said the risk to the American public remains low.
There are no approved vaccines or treatments targeting the Bundibugyo strain, which has a fatality rate of 25 to 50 percent.
Teens Kill Three at San Diego Mosque in Potential Hate Crime
Two teenagers killed three men at the Islamic Center of San Diego yesterday and later were found dead in a car nearby, police said. Authorities are investigating the attack as a hate crime.
Police received reports of an active shooter at the mosque shortly before 11:45 a.m. The two shooters, armed with shotguns and dressed in camouflage, opened fire outside the mosque. As officers were responding, dispatchers received calls from a few blocks away reporting more gunfire. A landscaper working two blocks from the mosque was shot but survived after a bullet struck his helmet. The two suspects were then found in a vehicle nearby, dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
The mosque’s security guard was killed confronting the gunmen. The Islamic Center identified him as Amin Abdullah, a father of eight. Police have not publicly identified any of the victims or the shooters, though news reports have named the 17- and 18-year-old suspects.
About two hours before the shooting, the mother of the 17-year-old suspect called police to report that her son was missing along with her vehicle and several firearms. She told officers her son was suicidal and was likely with another teenager, both dressed in camouflage. Her son apparently left a suicide note at his home containing writings about white racial pride.
One of the weapons used in the shooting had a Nazi sticker on it, and ABC News reported that anti-Islamic writings were found in the suspects’ vehicle.
Top Treasury Lawyer Quits After DOJ Creates $1.8 Billion Fund
The Treasury Department’s top lawyer, Brian Morrisey, resigned yesterday, hours after the Justice Department announced settling a $10 billion lawsuit by President Trump and his sons against the IRS (which is part of the Treasury). The settlement created a $1.776 billion fund to pay people who claim they were unfairly targeted by the Biden administration.
Morrissey was confirmed by the Senate seven months ago and previously served at the Justice Department during Trump’s first administration. He has not commented publicly on his resignation.
The Trumps and the Trump Organization sued the IRS, alleging that the agency failed to stop a former contractor from leaking Trump’s tax returns to the press. Trump dropped the lawsuit yesterday in exchange for the Justice Department’s creation of the “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
The fund will be managed by a five-member commission, appointed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, whose members the president can fire at will. Anyone alleging harm from the Biden administration’s “weaponization” of the legal system can apply for a payout through Dec. 1, 2028. The money will come from the Judgment Fund, an open-ended pool of taxpayer money the federal government normally uses to pay court judgments and settlements against the United States.
Newsbreak
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Another ICE Officer Charged in Minneapolis Shooting
An ICE agent has been charged in connection with the shooting of a migrant in Minnesota earlier this year.
The officer, Christian Castro, 52, has been charged with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in the January 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. A nationwide warrant has been issued for Castro’s arrest. Castro had previously been placed on administrative leave in February after Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said two officers appeared to have made “untruthful statements” under oath about the shooting.
Castro is the second federal officer to face felony charges in Minnesota stemming from Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the state. ICE agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. was charged in April with second-degree assault for allegedly pointing his gun at two people in another car while driving illegally on a highway shoulder.
Primaries in Six States Today
Voters in six states head to the polls today for the 2026 midterm primaries, with closely watched contests in Kentucky and Georgia. State and federal primaries are also being held in Alabama, Idaho, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.
The major race is in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, where Republican Rep. Thomas Massie — a libertarian-leaning seven-term incumbent — faces a Trump-backed primary challenge from retired Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein. Trump endorsed Gallrein after Massie repeatedly broke with him on the 2025 federal budget, the release of the Epstein files, and the war with Iran. With more than $25 million in outside spending, the race is now the most expensive US House primary in American history, according to public ad-tracking.
Separately, Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in next week’s Texas Republican Senate runoff, a major blow to Cornyn and Senate GOP leaders, who had spent months pressing Trump to back the four-term senator. The eventual GOP nominee will face Democratic state Rep. James Talarico.
Iran Sends Latest Proposal to End War
President Trump said yesterday he was postponing a military attack on Iran that had been planned for today, after leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates asked him to hold off.
The Iranian proposal, conveyed through mediator Pakistan, calls for an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon; the withdrawal of US forces from areas near Iran; reparations for damage caused by the US-Israeli war; the lifting of US sanctions on Iran; the release of frozen Iranian assets; and an end to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, in place since April 13.
Trump has already rejected several of these conditions but said today that “serious negotiations are now taking place.” Speaking later at the White House, he said the delay of the attack would last “two or three days.”
Sharon, please give more attention to the proposed "slush fund" that Trump is attempting to ram through. You write about it as if it is a done deal when it is obviously illegal and may be able to be stopped if enough people (especially Congress) do something about it before it is allowed to take hold. Of all the terrible things that Trump has done or proposed, this is by far, the worst. If enacted, the repercussions are unimaginable. You have the ability to reach large numbers of people (witness your medical debt payoffs, etc.). Please use your voice to help us find a way to stop this. As individuals we are powerless in the face of such blatant fraud. With your considerable reach, we may be able to accomplish something.
Please correct the terminology regarding the $1776billion fund. Trump has called it a settlement of his suit against the IRS, but legally it is not that at all. The suit was withdrawn without settlement. See Heather Cox Richardson’s post for May 19th.