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President Donald Trump‘s administration is expanding its travel ban to include five more countries and impose new limits on others.
This move Tuesday is part of ongoing efforts to tighten U.S. entry standards for travel and immigration. The decision follows the arrest of an Afghan national suspect in the shooting of two National Guard troops over Thanksgiving weekend.
The Republican administration announced it was expanding the list of countries whose citizens are banned from entering the U.S. to include Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. The administration also fully restricted travel on people with Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents.
People who already have visas, are lawful permanent residents of the U.S. or have certain visa categories such as diplomats or athletes, or whose entry into the country is believed to serve the U.S. interest, are all exempt from the restrictions. The proclamation said the changes go into effect on Jan. 1.
Other news we’re following:
White House chief of staff critiques Cabinet: In a series of interviews published by Vanity Fair, Susan Wiles criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, called Vice President JD Vance a “conspiracy theorist” and said Trump has “an alcoholic’s personality,” all while broadly defended the president’s aggressive administration. Wiles took to social media to decry the profile as “a disingenuously framed hit piece” but did not deny the quotations.US military says strikes on 3 boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean kill 8 people: The U.S. military said Monday that it attacked three boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean as scrutiny over the boat strikes is intensifying in Congress. The military said in a statement on social media that the strikes targeted “designated terrorist organizations.” Trump further ramped up the pressure late Tuesday by announcing a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers into Venezuela, which has long relied on oil revenue as the lifeblood of its economy. Trump sues BBC for $10 billion: Trump filed a lawsuit Monday seeking $10 billion in damages from the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices. The 33-page lawsuit accuses the BBC of broadcasting a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump,” calling it “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 U.S. presidential election.