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WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is suspending processing for immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries, a State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday, as part of Washington's intensifying immigration crackdown.

The pause, which will ​impact applicants from Latin American countries including Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay, Balkan countries such as Bosnia and Albania, South Asian countries Pakistan and ‌Bangladesh, and those from many nations in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean, will begin on January 21, the spokesperson said.

"The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ‌ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people," said Tommy Pigott, Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the State Department.

"Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassesses immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits," he added.

The move, which was first reported by Fox News, does not impact U.S. visitor visas, which ⁠have been in the spotlight given the United States ‌is hosting the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

The decision follows a November directive to U.S. diplomats asking them to ensure that visa applicants are financially self-sufficient and do not risk becoming dependent on government subsidies during their stay ‍in the U.S., according to a State Department cable seen by Reuters at the time.

LEGAL IMMIGRATION

Trump has pursued a sweeping immigration crackdown since returning to office in January. His administration has aggressively prioritized immigration enforcement, sending federal agents to major U.S. cities and sparking violent confrontations with both migrants and U.S. citizens.

While he campaigned on stopping illegal ​immigration into the United States, his administration has also made legal immigration more difficult - for example, by imposing new and expensive fees on the ‌applicants of H-1B visas for highly skilled workers.

"This administration has proven itself to have the most anti-legal immigration agenda in American history," David Bier, Cato's Director of Immigration Studies and The Selz Foundation Chair in Immigration Policy, said in a statement.

"This action will ban nearly half of all legal immigrants to the United States, turning away about 315,000 legal immigrants over the next year alone," Bier said.

The State Department has revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump took office, it said on Monday. The administration has also adopted a stricter policy on granting visas, with tightened social media vetting and expanded ⁠screening.

Trump, a Republican, captured the White House saying a tougher stance on immigration was ​needed after years of high levels of illegal immigration under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.

In ​November, Trump had vowed to "permanently pause" migration from all "Third World Countries" following a shooting near the White House by an Afghan national that killed a National Guard member.

FULL LIST OF COUNTRIES

The list of countries that will be impacted by the suspension, ‍according to a U.S. official, are: ⁠Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, ⁠Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, ‌Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Simon ‌Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Costas Pitas, Rosalba O'Brien and Chizu Nomiyama)

Renee Nicole Macklin Goodwas fatally shot on Jan. 7 by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement agentJonathan Ross. The shooting came amid an ICE action in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when the 37-year-old mother of three drove her SUV forward near Ross after being told to exit her vehicle.

Widely seenfootage of the deadly encounter has sharply divided the country. Department of Homeland Security officials say Ross acted properly and that Good was engaged in "domestic terrorism"; top Democrats have called for Ross' arrest. New polling finds most American voters think the shooting wasunjustified.

In statements where they called Good "the beautiful light of our family," the woman's four siblings, parents and their attorneys described the shooting as a result of a chance encounter after dropping her 6-year-old child off at school.

"We want to thank everyone who has reached out in support of Renee and our family. The kind of unending care we've been given during this time is exactly the kind that she gave to everyone," Good's family said in a letter shared with USA TODAY. "Nae was the beautiful light of our family and brought joy to anyone she met. She was relentlessly hopeful and optimistic which was contagious. We all already miss her more than words could ever express."

According to the family and their attorneys, Good and wife Becca Good were driving in their car with their dog after dropping off their child when they came across federal agents in their neighborhood engaged in an immigration action. The couple stopped "to observe, with the intention of supporting and helping their neighbors," family attorneys said.

Becca Good exited the SUV shortly before the deadly encounter. Among Good's last words caught on camera, the woman can be heard telling immigration agents, "I'm not mad at you."

"She was our best friend with a seemingly infinite capacity for love. Nae-Nae gave everything she had to take care of her friends and family, and indeed people she never met," Good's family said. "She was our protector, our shoulder to cry on, and our scintillating source of joy."

June Pierce (C) prays during a vigil at a memorial near the site where Renee Good was killed a week ago on Jan. 14, 2026 in Minneapolis. Good was killed by an immigration enforcement agent during an incident in south Minneapolis on January 7. Attorneys representing the family of Renee Good say they are launching an investigation into the fatal shooting and intend to take legal action against the federal government

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Prayer vigil marks one week since Renee Good was killed by ICE agent

June Pierce (C) prays during a vigil at a memorial near the site where Renee Good was killed a week ago on Jan. 14, 2026 in Minneapolis. Good waskilled by an immigration enforcement agentduring an incident in south Minneapolis on January 7. Attorneys representing the family of Renee Good say they arelaunching an investigationinto the fatal shooting and intend to take legal action against the federal government

The new details come as the family announced a Chicago-based law firm islaunching an investigationinto Good's death. The investigation comes as Justice Department officials say there is "no basis" for an investigation in the case. The firm, Romanucci & Blandin, is the same group that represented the family ofGeorge Floydafter he was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020.

Department of Homeland Security leaders say thecontroversial deploymentof militarized agents to the state is needed to root outfraudagency officials have linked toSomali immigrants.

More:After Renee Good ICE shooting, lawyers for family launch investigation

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Renee Good family reveals new details about the morning she was killed by ICE

The research,published Wednesday in JAMA, is based on a data investigation by NBC News with Stanford University. Mustafa Fattah, medical fellow with NBC News, is lead author on the study.

The researchers analyzed data on medical and nonmedical vaccine exemptions for kindergartners collected from 3,053 U.S. counties and jurisdictions (such as school districts and parishes) across 45 states and the District of Columbia from 2010 to 2024.

In 2010-2011, the median rate for families opting out of vaccination for religious or personal beliefs nationwide was a scant 0.6%. That number rose to 3.1% by the 2023-2024 school year.

In the years following the pandemic, more than 53% of the counties in the study reported an increase of more than 1% in kindergarteners opting out of vaccination for religious or personal reasons.

Dr. Nathan Lo, assistant professor of infectious diseases at Stanford University and an author of the study, said the growth in exemptions is "concerning."

"These may look like small numbers, but they may be enough to be the tipping point for something like measles," Lo said.

All states require certain vaccines for children entering public school. They also allow families to opt out of immunization because of medical conditions. Rates of medical exemptions — a doctor's note that allows children to go to school without the required vaccines — remained stable.

States with the highest post-pandemic rate of nonmedical exemptions include Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Wisconsin and Arizona. In parts of Utah and Idaho, post-pandemic exemption rates topped 20%.

States such as New York, California, Connecticut and Maine thateliminated nonmedical exemptionssaw declines since 2021.

The U.S. is already experiencing the largest outbreaks of measles and whooping cough in years, with most cases among school-age children. In Spartanburg County, South Carolina, an outbreak of measles is escalating. At least 434 cases of measles have been reported since September, with more than half diagnosed in the past week.

Some schools in Spartanburg County have vaccination rates as low as 20%, Dr. Linda Bell, state epidemiologist for the South Carolina Department of Public Health, said during a news briefing Wednesday.

"What's going on in Spartanburg County now is the best example that even small pockets of under-vaccinated people can result in widespread transmission for this highly infectious virus," Bell said.

Dr. Jesse Hackell, a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics said even a small number of vaccine exemptions can contribute to a significant outbreak within a community.

"There are many counties where the vaccine rate is between 90% and 95% and that's low enough to produce a risk for widespread dissemination of a disease," said Hackell, who was not involved in the study.

Dr. Walter Orenstein, professor emeritus at Emory University, said he can't predict whether exemptions will continue to grow. He points to mistrust of doctors, vaccine misinformation spread on social media and disease elimination itself as contributors to the problem.

"Vaccines in a sense, are victims of their own success, because people don't understand what these diseases are," he said. "They don't get to see them, and so they're not afraid of them."

Orenstein believes confusion and hesitancy around vaccines will only grow following Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent move tochange the childhood vaccine schedule.

Under the new schedule, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend all children get vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), pneumococcal disease, HPV and chickenpox.

Other vaccines will be recommended for "high-risk" groups or recommended based on what's called shared clinical decision-making.

"My fear is it's going to take major resurgences of some of these diseases, like polio, before people realize that the benefits of vaccines far, far exceed any risks. And these can be terrible diseases," Orenstein said.

The Sentry (previously the Sentry Tournament of Champions) has traditionally kicked off the professional golf season in the first full week of January, but the signature event was canceled this year due to drought conditions on the island of Maui.

Instead, the season opener is a more muted affair at Waialae Country Club, though 10 of the top 25 players in the Official World Golf Rankings are in the field.

Among them are U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, 2022 Sony Open winner Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and two-time major champion Collin Morikawa, who has familial ties to the islands.

"It all started in Lahaina on Maui. That is where my grandparents were born, that's where my great-grandparents lived, and, you know, pretty much (spent their) entire lives," Morikawa said.

"It's awful to see kind of what has happened over the last, let's call it three years with the fires, seeing the loss of Front Street, obviously us not being there. ... Hopefully we'll be back. The crowd out here, the fans, the culture, I love coming out here. Like I said, it's nice to be back at the Sony Open."

The tour's Hawaiian swing is rumored to be on the chopping block if it contracts the schedule in future seasons, between the situation in Maui and the fact that Sony's title sponsorship of the Honolulu event ends this year.

"It just makes you realize, stay present this week and enjoy it as much as you can and see what kind of memories we can make. Hopefully finally find a way to win on the islands out here," Morikawa said.

Morikawa is just one of a number of big-name golfers trying to start 2026 off on the right foot after disappointing stretches. Jordan Spieth, who hasn't won a tournament in nearly four years, is playing the Sony for the first time since missing the cut in 2023. South Korea's Tom Kim fell out of the top 100 in the world after a poor 2025 season.

The top-ranked players on the property are World No. 5 Russell Henley and No. 6 J.J. Spaun, the reigning U.S. Open champion. Both were on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in September.

Back to defend his title is Nick Taylor of Canada, who forced a playoff with Colombia's Nicolas Echavarria by chipping in for eagle on the final hole of regulation and then winning on the second playoff hole.

Taylor spoke about the conditions at Waialae, a par-70, 7,044-yard track.

"Greens are receptive right now. I feel like that's always kind of early in the week here, and then if we don't get much rain the fairways really firm up," Taylor said. "The greens stay semi-receptive, but the challenge is off the tee, finding fairways. With the doglegs it's easy to chase them through and you just got to be in position.

"The course, again, is quite similar to years past."

--Field Level Media

TheNCAA announcedWednesday it will adjust transfer windows for both men's and women's college basketball to just 15 days immediately following the conclusion of their respective national championship games.

This change, which was proposed by the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Oversight Committees in November, will go into effect in April. Now, the women's basketball notification-of-transfer window will be open from April 6-20. The men's basketball window will be open from April 7-21.

Additionally, a 15-day window to enter the transfer portal will start five days after a school announces a new head coach. If a school hasn't hired a new coach within 30 days of the previous head coach's departure, and the 31st day is after the national championship game, a 15-day window will open, too.

This is now the third change to the transfer portal window since it was first introduced ahead of the 2022-23 academic year. Initially, the NCAA had a 60-day window that started after Selection Sunday of the NCAA tournament. That was cut to 45 days after Selection Sunday in 2023, and then shortened to 30 days starting after the second round of the tournaments in October.

Now, teams will have to wait until each tournament has ended to jump into the portal.

This is one of several changes the NCAA made on Wednesday. Men's wrestling will have a new 30-day transfer window starting April 1 of each year, down from 45 days. Men's ice hockey will have a 15-day window starting after the national championship game. Men's and women's track and field will still have a 30-day window that opens after the selections for the outdoor track and field championships, as well as a fall window.

The men's and women's fields for this season's NCAA tournaments will be revealed on March 15. The men's Final Four is scheduled for April 4 and 6 in Indianapolis, while the women's Final Four is set for April 3 and 5 in Phoenix.

The ticket drawfor the '28 Summer Games -- the first in the United States in 30 years and first in L.A. since 1984 -- began Wednesday morning with the opening of the registration period that runs through March 18, but a number of fans have taken to social media to voice their frustrations over a glitch on the LA28 website that keeps them stuck in an endless holding pattern.

Multiple posts on Twitter indicate that fans have waited their turn in the queue and when it's their turn to register for tickets, the link takes them not to the registration page, but back to the homepage where they're forced to start from the back of the line all over again.

Some fans have indicated that they've gone through this loop multiple times. However, a spokesperson explained to USA TODAY that the date and time of registration would not affect priority.

"It happened on the phone and laptop," @AndreaG114 tweeted on Wednesday morning. "Not cool @LA28."

Waiting in the "waiting room" for@LA28tickets. Opened the link within 10 seconds of 9am, waited 15min."It is your turn to register"- click link-JK you are back to the beginning of the queue and waiting again.Twice already.#la28#Olympicspic.twitter.com/A9hYCcMPAe

— Chris Gannon (@RunCoachG)January 14, 2026

Tried to register for LA Olympics tickets. When I got through the first waiting room, it took me to a homepage. When I clicked register it started the waiting room again. It happened on phone and laptop. Not cool@LA28pic.twitter.com/jggmrsPkUq

— Andrea G. 🤸🏼‍♀️🥥🌴 (@AndreaG114)January 14, 2026

Other social media posts have said they waited for up to an hour before they were able to successfully register for the ticket draw.

"Man registering for the draw for those Olympics tickets was crazy," tweeted sneakerhead account@TheWiseSole.

It only took an hour and a half, BUT NOW I'm registered for LA Olympics 2028 tickets! Rhythmic Gymnastics, here I come! 🤸‍♀️🎀🥇

— Brandon Lim (@TheBrandonLim)January 14, 2026

LA28 was unable to provide how many people successfully registered on Wednesday, but a spokesperson emphasized in a statement obtained by USA TODAY Sports that the ticket draw will be open for two more months and the timing of a fan's registration would not impact their priority.

"We're seeing strong global excitement as fans begin registering for the LA28 Ticket Draw," the statement said. "Registration remains open through March 18 and the draw is random. Anyone who registers between now and March 18 will be included in the draw.

"Currently, there are low to no wait times. If fans do experience wait times, they have the option to wait in the queue or check back anytime by March 18 to register."

How do I get Olympics tickets?

As mentioned above, the registration period is open from Wednesday morning until March 18. From March 31-April 7, registered fans will receive an email notifying them whether they received a timeslot for either the designated drop or the presale, which is open to L.A. and Oklahoma City locals from April 2-6.

The first ticket drop is slated for April 9-19.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:2028 LA Olympics ticket registration sees long wait times, frustration

Before Sebastian Ofner lost in Australian Open qualifying, the 29-year-old Austrian had raised his arms and walked toward the net after taking a 7-1 lead in the decisive tiebreaker against Nishesh Basavareddy.

The chair umpire sent Ofner back to continue playing the super tiebreaker until he got at least 10 points — not seven — and was two points ahead.

Minutes later,Basavareddy completed a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (11) win— after Ofner had two match-point chances — and the 20-year-old American did an apparent choking gesture at the net with both hands on his neck.

"I saw him tense up a little bit,"Basavareddy saidof Ofner's reaction to the score mishap, adding "generally when that happens, you start overthinking like, 'Oh, I thought I already won the match, through to the next round.' So, yeah, that definitely gave me a little bit of hope."

Basavareddy now faces George Loffhagen of Britain for a place in the main draw first round — where the American took the first set off Novak Djokovic one year ago.

The 131st-ranked Ofner has never won a main-draw match at the Australian Open, though he reached the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2023.

AP tennis:https://apnews.com/hub/tennis