Good morning! Today’s edition is 679 words, a 3-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• PGA Championship results

• Maggot therapy

• Courtroom birth

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*Editor’s note: I’ll have limited internet access until May 26, so The Neutral will shift to a shortened 5-day format, with weekday editions resembling Saturday’s edition. Regular 6-day publishing will resume when I’m back. — Adam

Today’s Big Story

WHO Declares Ebola Emergency

• The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday. The outbreak was confirmed on Friday. By Saturday, it had produced 336 suspected cases and 88 deaths, with all cases in Congo except two in Uganda.

• The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, a rare Ebola variant with no approved vaccines or treatments that has only been reported twice before in history. It began in Ituri province, a remote mining area in eastern Congo near the Ugandan border, and has spread across three health zones. Poor roads, armed conflict, and gaps in contact tracing are complicating containment. The strain's proximity to Uganda and South Sudan raises fears of further cross-border spread.

• WHO emergency declarations are meant to spur donor action but have had mixed results. A 2024 mpox declaration did little to speed supplies to affected countries. WHO has released $500,000, and Africa CDC mobilized $2 million, both described as a fraction of what is needed. The US previously provided $11.5 million for Congo Ebola responses, but US global health funding cuts have left its contribution uncertain.

Today’s Quick Hits

• China agreed to buy $17 billion a year in US agricultural products, including beef and poultry, through 2028, the White House announced Sunday. The deal, reached during President Trump's Beijing summit last week, aims to help American farmers who lost access to Chinese markets during the trade war. Beijing has not confirmed the terms. (More)

• Aaron Rai won the PGA Championship on Sunday at Aronimink Golf Club, closing with a 65 to win by three shots and become the first English-born player to claim the Wanamaker Trophy since 1919. The 31-year-old made six birdies over the last 10 holes, including a 70-foot putt on 17, to pull away from a crowded leaderboard. Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley finished tied for second. (More)

• The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for a former Air Force counterintelligence specialist charged with spying for Iran. Monica Witt, indicted in 2019, allegedly defected to Iran in 2013 and passed classified information to the Iranian government, including the identities of undercover US personnel. She remains at large. The FBI said it is renewing its push to find her "during this critical moment in Iran's history."(More)

• The federal government has proposed cutting water allocations to Arizona, California, and Nevada by up to 40% as part of a new 10-year plan for the drought-stricken Colorado River. The Bureau of Reclamation's proposal would reduce water use by up to 3 million acre-feet per year, nearly twice what the three states had offered, to stabilize the severely depleted Lake Mead and Lake Powell. (More)

• Two Navy fighter jets collided midair and crashed during an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho on Sunday, forcing all four crew members to eject. The crew is in stable condition, the base said. The crash happened about two miles from the base during the second day of the Gunfighter Skies Air Show. The incident is under investigation. (More)

• Maggot therapy, which uses lab-raised fly larvae to clean wounds, is gaining attention as a precise, painless alternative to surgery for patients who can't go under the knife. The maggots dissolve dead tissue while leaving healthy flesh intact, something scalpels can't match. A course of treatment costs about $400, cheaper than standard wound-cleaning ointments, but insurance coverage is limited, and many doctors remain skeptical. (More)

Extra Credit

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Woman gives birth ‘on courtroom bench’ during arraignment.