The U.S. State Department found that the human rights situation in South Africa has "significantly worsened" over the past year, citing reports of "extrajudicial killings" and repression against racial minorities.

The State Department conducts an annual review of the human rights situations in countries across the globe, and it targeted South Africa with new criticism in the 2025 report released Tuesday. The report, scheduled to be sent to Congress on Tuesday, pointed to the U.S. receiving several reports of the South African "government or its agents" carrying out extrajudicial or arbitrary killings, as well as repression of Afrikaner minorities.

"In July the provincial police commissioner confirmed that as of April, police shot and killed at least 40 criminal suspects in shoot-outs. On September 2, police reported six suspects wanted for homicide and extortion were shot and killed by Durban police in a shoot-out. According to Reuters, eight of the police officers involved were placed on administrative leave with full pay pending investigation," the report said.

"Watchdog groups noted deaths in custody often resulted from physical abuse combined with a lack of subsequent medical treatment or neglect," it continued.

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"According to data compiled by Agence France-Presse, there were 447 murders on farms and smallholdings between October 2023 and September 2024. In recent years, extremist political party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) encouraged attacks on Afrikaner farmers, reviving the use of the song "Kill the Boer [Farmer]" at its rallies and otherwise inciting violence," the report added.

The State Department went on to criticize wider repression tactics against Afrikaners, citing The Expropriation Bill of 2024, in particular. The legislation allows the government to seize land without compensation in some circumstances.

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"This act could enable the government to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation, following countless government policies designed to dismantle equal opportunity in employment, education, and business, and extreme rhetoric and government actions fueling disproportionate violence against racially disfavored landowners," the report said.

President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House during a state visit in May.

Trump has claimed that White Afrikaner South African farmers are being slaughtered and forced off their land. The Afrikaners are descendants of mostly Dutch settlers who first arrived in South Africa in 1652.

"Now this is very bad. These are burial sites right here. Burial sites — over a thousand — of White farmers. And those cars are lined up to pay love on a Sunday morning. Each one of those white things you see is a cross. And there is approximately a thousand of them," Trump said at the time. "They're all White farmers. The family of White farmers. And those cars aren't, driving, they are stopped there to pay respects to their family member who was killed. And it's a terrible sight. I've never seen anything like it. On both sides of the road, you have crosses. Those people are all killed."

South Africa denies claims of genocide and harassment, as does its president.

"I'm not going to be repeating what I've been saying," Ramaphosa said at the May visit. "I would say if there was Afrikaner farmer genocide, I can bet you these three gentlemen would not be here, including my Minister of Agriculture. He would not be with me."

Days after Kelly Clarkson’s ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, passed away at the age of 48, the cause of his death was revealed.

On August 11, it was reported that the talent manager died after a private battle with melanoma, a form of skin cancer.

"Brandon Blackstock passed away peacefully at his home in Butte, Montana on August 7 under hospice care surrounded by his family," Silver Bow County Coroner Dan Hollis told Fox News Digital. 

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"It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away. Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years. He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family. We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and ask everyone to respect the family's privacy during this very difficult time."

The singer, who was married to Blackstock for seven years before their divorce in 2022, reportedly "remained protective" of her ex as he battled cancer for three years. 

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the U.S. — with one in five Americans developing the disease by the age of 70.

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Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, expected to take the lives of more than 8,400 people in the U.S. this year, according to the American Cancer Society.

"Melanoma has a significantly higher chance of spreading than basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, the most common types of skin cancer," said Marcus Monroe, MD, surgeon and investigator with the Huntsman Cancer Institute and associate professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine, previously told Fox News Digital. 

The chances of melanoma spreading to other locations increases with each stage of cancer.

"For the earliest stage, this risk is estimated at less than 5%, increasing for patients with stage 2 disease to a wider range, from 5% at the low end up to 40% to 50% for the most advanced stage 2 patients," said Monroe.

In stage 3 patients (those with regional spread either via in-transit metastases or to adjacent lymph nodes), up to 30% to 40% will develop distant metastases, with a 16% to 17% risk of brain metastases, the doctor added.

The brain and lungs are the most common sites of metastasis for melanoma, experts confirmed.

If the patient has lesions that are deep in the skin or involve the lymph nodes, the chance of melanoma spreading is higher — anywhere from 20% to 70%, according to Jose Lutzky, MD, director of cutaneous oncology services at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in South Florida.

Metastatic melanoma was once considered mostly treatment-resistant because it did not respond to traditional chemotherapy and radiation, noted Dr. Joshua Strauss from Advanced Care Oncology and Hematology Associates of the Atlantic Medical Group in Morristown, New Jersey.

"Nowadays, using targeted therapies and immunotherapy survival has been dramatically improved, and there is a possibility of long-term remission with treatment," Strauss previously told Fox News Digital.

Lutzky noted that melanoma is almost always curable by surgical removal when it’s detected early. 

"Because of advances in the treatment of melanoma over the last 10 to 15 years, even very advanced melanoma can be cured in up to 50% of cases with modern immunotherapy treatment," he told Fox News Digital. 

"More recently, cell therapy has been approved to treat those advanced melanomas that do not respond to immunotherapy."

To prevent melanoma, it’s important to reduce exposure to ultraviolet radiation, especially in people with lightly pigmented skin, Strauss advised. 

"Sunscreen and sun-protective clothing are critical," he said.

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The American Academy of Dermatology recommends applying water-resistant sunscreen with broad-spectrum protection against UVA and UVB rays, and SPF 30 or higher, before sun exposure.

"Indoor tanning bed use should be avoided because it is known to be associated with increased melanoma risk," Strauss added.

High-risk individuals should also have yearly skin checks with a dermatologist.  

"This includes individuals with a personal history of skin cancer, family history of melanoma, people who take medications that suppress the immune system, and people who are highly sun-sensitive, such as those with red or blond hair, light skin pigmentation, significant freckling and light eye color," the oncologist said.

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Strauss uses the acronym ABCDE to differentiate between a normal mole and a melanoma. 

"Moles with Asymmetry, irregular Borders, multiple Colors, Diameter larger than a pencil eraser, and Evolving or changing characteristics require further evaluation," he said. 

Fox News’ Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed reporting.