The briefing for Saturday, May 23.

The Trump administration announced Friday that foreigners in the United States who want a green card will need to leave the country and apply from their home country, ending a policy that has been in place for over half a century. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said the change applies to nonimmigrants like students, temporary workers, and people on tourist visas, except in "extraordinary circumstances" to be determined by USCIS officers.

The policy reverses longstanding practice that allowed foreign nationals with legal status—including those married to U.S. citizens, work and student visa holders, and refugees and asylum seekers—to complete the entire permanent residence process in the United States. According to Doug Rand, a former senior advisor at USCIS during the Biden administration, about 600,000 people already in the U.S. apply each year for a green card. The agency did not specify when the change takes effect, whether applicants must remain abroad throughout the process, or whether it impacts applications already underway.

Immigration lawyers and aid groups expressed concern that the change could effectively create indefinite family separations, particularly for people from countries where the U.S. has imposed travel bans or paused visa processing. World Relief, a humanitarian organization, noted that if immigrant visas aren't being processed in someone's home country, requiring them to return there creates a "Catch-22." The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, for example, has been closed since August 2021. USCIS defended the move as returning to "the original intent of the law" and closing a "loophole," though critics say it upends decades of established processing procedures.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard resigned Friday, citing her husband's recent bone cancer diagnosis, becoming the fourth Cabinet member to depart the Trump administration. In her resignation letter, Gabbard said her husband Abraham "faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months" and that she could not "in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone" while continuing in the demanding position. President Trump said Gabbard "has done an incredible job" and that her principal deputy, Aaron Lukas, will serve as acting director effective June 30.

Gabbard's departure comes amid apparent tension between her long-held anti-interventionist stance and Trump's military operations overseas, particularly the war with Iran. During a congressional hearing in March, she carefully avoided endorsing the Iran conflict and dodged questions about whether the White House had been warned of potential fallout. Her measured comments were notable for their non-endorsement of the war, repeatedly stating it was Trump's decision as commander-in-chief to determine what constitutes an imminent threat, not the intelligence community's responsibility.

The resignation followed the March departure of Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, who left over the Iran war saying he could not "in good conscience" back it. Gabbard, a military veteran who served in Iraq and represented Hawaii in Congress as a Democrat from 2013 to 2021, was the first Hindu to serve in the House. She left the Democratic Party in 2022, initially registered as an independent, and later joined the Republican Party before endorsing Trump's 2024 campaign. Despite citing personal reasons, the timing highlights the challenges her anti-war principles faced within an administration pursuing active military operations.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced Thursday that the province will hold a referendum on October 19 asking whether Alberta should remain part of Canada or whether the government should begin the legal process required to hold a binding referendum on separation. The vote comes after a citizen-led petition calling for separation gathered more than 300,000 signatures—enough to trigger a vote—though a court ruling earlier this month halted the verification process after First Nations groups successfully argued they were not properly consulted.

Smith said she disagrees with the court decision and believes Albertans deserve a say in the matter, vowing that "Alberta's future will be decided by Albertans, not the courts." The premier said she will vote in favor of Alberta remaining part of Canada and will campaign for the pro-Canada side throughout the summer. Her government is appealing the court ruling, which she characterized as "a legal mistake by a single judge" that should not "silence the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans."

Prime Minister Mark Carney responded Friday by calling Alberta "essential" to Canada and praising the province's "huge contributions," while his government works to improve the country with Alberta at the center. Opinion polls suggest the majority of Albertans oppose independence, with about 25% supporting it, and a pro-unity petition gathered some 400,000 signatures earlier this year. However, Smith's decision to hold a referendum on whether to hold a future referendum has drawn criticism from multiple sides, with some separatist leaders saying they feel "duped" and opposition leader Naheed Nenshi calling the vote "needless." If Alberta's "leave" side succeeds in October, a long path would follow under Canada's Clarity Act, including negotiations on separation terms with the federal government.

The World Health Organization upgraded its assessment of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo from "high" to "very high" on Friday, with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reporting the disease is spreading rapidly. While 82 cases have been confirmed with seven confirmed deaths, Tedros said the outbreak is believed to be "much larger," with almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths. The risk of global spread remains low, but the situation in conflict-ridden Ituri province is hampered by lack of medical resources and local anger over response measures.

The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which has no proven vaccine and kills around a third of those infected. UK scientists at Oxford University are developing a vaccine that could be ready for clinical trials within two to three months, using the same ChAdOx1 technology developed during the Covid pandemic. However, there are no guarantees the vaccine will prove effective, and it will require animal research and human trials before deployment. Another experimental Bundibugyo vaccine is also in development but is expected to take six to nine months to be ready for testing.

The response has been complicated by armed conflict, with over 920,000 internally displaced people in Ituri Province, and by clashes with local customs. On Thursday, an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara was set on fire by youths angered when they were blocked from retrieving a friend's body—bodies of Ebola victims can be highly contagious. Local aid groups report that misinformation is spreading easily in communities affected by years of conflict, with some churches telling congregations the outbreak is fake and divine protection makes medical care unnecessary. The United Nations released $60 million in emergency funding, and the U.S. pledged $23 million to establish up to 50 Ebola treatment clinics, though frontline medical staff continue to lack basic protective equipment.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reported "slight progress" in talks with Iran on Friday, though he cautioned against exaggerating the movement, as Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir traveled to Tehran for a third round of mediation efforts. The diplomatic push comes days after President Trump said he was holding off on military strikes against Iran because "serious negotiations" were underway, though he has previously set and then backed off from deadlines or launched strikes shortly after indicating he would let talks play out.

Pakistan's top army officer arrived in Tehran for meetings with Iranian leaders, joined by Pakistan's interior minister who has already met with Iranian officials twice this week. Qatar also sent a delegation to Tehran working in coordination with Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, according to a regional official. At a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden, Rubio discussed plans for policing the Strait of Hormuz once the war ends, saying there needs to be a "plan B" if Washington and Tehran fail to reach a deal and insisting "someone's going to have to do something" about reopening the strait.

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil shipments, while the U.S. blockades Iranian ports. U.S. Central Command said it has redirected 94 commercial vessels and disabled four others since mid-April. Meanwhile, Iran published a map claiming expanded military control over more than 22,000 square kilometers around the strait, extending into territorial waters of Oman and the UAE. The UAE rejected Iran's claims as "fragments of dreams," while the U.S. has told ships not to comply with Iran's rules. The American military has not found or destroyed any explosive mines in the strait so far, despite Trump ordering mine-clearing efforts last month, and no ships have been struck by mines even as some commercial traffic continues at reduced volumes.

SpaceX launched its biggest and most powerful Starship yet on Friday, with the upgraded V3 mega-rocket making its debut two days after CEO Elon Musk announced plans to take the company public. The 407-foot rocket blasted off from Starbase in southern Texas on its 12th test flight, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites that were released midway through the hourlong spaceflight that stretched halfway around the world. The spacecraft reached its final destination in the Indian Ocean before erupting in flames upon impact, which SpaceX said was expected.

While the liftoff went well, not all systems performed nominally during the flight. The booster experienced engine failures during its attempted controlled return, with not all engines firing as planned. The spacecraft also had to compensate for an engine malfunction, forcing a slightly longer burn from the remaining five engines. SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot said the spacecraft traveled along a trajectory that was "within bounds" but acknowledged "I wouldn't call it nominal orbital insertion." Despite these issues, the mission achieved most of its major objectives, including the successful release of payload satellites and two camera-equipped Starlinks that provided brief views of the spacecraft in flight.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who flew in for the launch, said Starship is now one step closer to the moon as part of NASA's Artemis program. The space agency is paying SpaceX billions of dollars to provide lunar landers for astronaut missions, with a moon landing potentially occurring as soon as 2028. The upgraded V3 model features fewer but bigger grid fins, a larger fuel transfer line, and enhanced cameras and navigation systems, as well as docking cones for future moon missions. Musk called it "an epic" launch and landing, telling his team "You scored a goal for humanity." The successful test comes as SpaceX prepares for what could be the largest IPO in Wall Street history, potentially making Musk the first trillionaire based on his ownership stake in the company valued at $1.25 trillion.