President-elect Trump reportedly named Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., as the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations. 

“I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement to the New York Post. 

Stefanik, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, confirmed the appointment in a statement of her own to the outlet. 

“I am truly honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” Stefanik told the Post. “During my conversation with President Trump, I shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate. President Trump’s historic landslide election has given hope to the American people and is a reminder that brighter days are ahead — both at home and abroad.” 

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Stefanik, the fourth-highest ranking House Republican, is a frequent figure on television where she advocates for the GOP side on a number of issues, including Israel and what she refers to as the “Biden Crime Family.” 

By contrast, the Biden-Harris administration’s U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, does not seek much press coverage. 

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Trump, running mate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., during the second day of the Republican National Convention on July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Stefanik, who was elected to her sixth term in the House last week, made national headlines for grilling the presidents of Ivy League universities about the rising antisemitism on college campuses in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. joins former President Trump during a campaign rally at the Grappone Convention Center on Jan. 19, 2024 in Concord, New Hampshire.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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“The work ahead is immense as we see antisemitism skyrocketing coupled with four years of catastrophically weak U.S. leadership that significantly weakened our national security and diminished our standing in the eyes of both allies and adversaries,” Stefanik added in her statement to the Post. “I stand ready to advance President Donald J. Trump’s restoration of America First peace through strength leadership on the world stage on Day One at the United Nations. “

Luis Martinez Jr. loves a good bourbon. He also loves helping his fellow veterans.

Martinez served for five years in the U.S. Marine Corps and wanted to do something to unify his love for both.

Earlier this year, encouraged by friends, he founded the nonprofit organization Whiskey Valor Foundation.

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Headquartered in Fredericksburg, Virginia, about 50 miles south of Washington, D.C., the Whiskey Valor Foundation is “a nonprofit where we use the bourbon community to help raise awareness and funds to support veterans and their families,” Martinez told Fox News Digital.

Martinez decided there was a need for an organization like his while he was working with other nonprofits, such as the Pat Tillman Foundation and Travis Manion Foundation.

“I noticed that I was going to these events — we’re doing great work for the community, and after we’re done doing that, we would go have bourbon or beer,” Martinez said. 

“And I’m a big bourbon-whiskey guy. And I was like, ‘Well, what if we just had an organization that was centered on helping veterans and using bourbon to facilitate that and using that as a catalyst?'”

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At the time, it sounded like “a crazy idea that would never work,” Martinez recalled.

“I pitched it to a couple of friends, and maybe I have crazy friends, but they fell in love with the idea, and they encouraged me to move forward,” he said. “And here we are a few months later, slowly growing but growing steadily.”

“Here we are a few months later, slowly growing but growing steadily.”

The organization is made up of Martinez, who works for the U.S. Department of Defense, and eight other volunteers: two active-duty service members and six military veterans.

“Raising a glass for a cause” is the Whiskey Valor Foundation slogan, emblazoned on its social media handles, which Martinez said has started to grow with “400 strong” on Instagram and a little more than 200 followers on LinkedIn.

The Whiskey Valor Foundation was established in 2024. (iStock; Whiskey Valor Foundation)

The Whiskey Valor Foundation is “using barrel picks to raise awareness and funds for individual groups,” Martinez said.

Its first barrel selection is scheduled for January in partnership with Texas A&M University’s VET+MAP (Veteran Evaluation of Talent + Matching Assistance Program), Martinez said.

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“We’ll work with them to highlight their message and the work they’re doing,” said Martinez, who graduated from Texas A&M. 

He said he hopes that “other people will come in and donate money toward their cause. And then we’ll rinse-repeat with other organizations.”

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Several other initiatives are also on the road map for the Whiskey Valor Foundation.

“Unfortunately, there’s a negative stigma toward veterans and drinking, but we want to work towards getting rid of that,” Martinez said.

That includes educating veterans about responsible drinking, and “providing them with mental-health resources and safe-drinking initiatives,” Martinez said.

The Whiskey Valor Foundation isn’t just limited to veterans. It’s open to all active-duty U.S. military members, reservists and their families. (iStock)

“One of the plans we have moving forward is to partner with a ride-share company and be able to provide free rides to veterans and their family if they’re out drinking,” he added.

The Whiskey Valor Foundation isn’t just limited to veterans. It’s open to all active-duty U.S. military members, reservists and their families.

“If you served, we want to build community with you and help you grow as an individual,” Martinez said. “And, again, we’re just using bourbon as a catalyst to help raise the funds to do so.”

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Martinez’s recent drink of choice is Blue Bolt 249, a limited-release bourbon selected by Maldonado’s Whiskey Business, a non-producing distiller. 

Martinez said owner and Army veteran Ivan Maldonado Jr. donated a bottle to the Whiskey Valor Foundation to serve other veterans.

Blue Bolt 249 is a limited-release bottle of bourbon selected by Maldonado’s Whiskey Business. (Luis Martinez Jr.)

Anyone interested in getting involved can help in a few different ways.

“As much as we want to do good in our community, we need money to do so,” Martinez said, noting that contributions can be made online.

As well, “you can donate bottles of bourbon and whiskey, and you get to determine how we use that,” Martinez said. 

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“If you want us to use it for an auction to raffle it off to raise money, or if you just want some veterans to be able to try some bourbon that they’ve never had before and it’s harder to find, we can do that as well.”

The organization’s first in-person event will be held on Thanksgiving.

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“I’m going to open up my home to local veterans and active-duty service members who don’t have a place to go for Thanksgiving,” Martinez said. “And we’re going to invite them over, so they have a place to be so they’re not by themselves, and they’ll have a home-cooked meal.”

“Wherever veterans and their family members are, we want to be able to reach out to them and help them.”

Although the Whiskey Valor Foundation currently operates in the greater Washington, D.C., area, Martinez has hopes of expanding its reach.

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“Ultimately, the goal is to be a nationwide organization and then maybe, eventually, national or international,” Martinez said. 

“Wherever veterans and their family members are, we want to be able to reach out to them and help them. And if they happen to like bourbon, even better.”

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he plans to appoint Thomas Homan as the next ‘border czar.’

Trump made the announcement on his social media platform Truth Social.

“​​I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders. Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin. Congratulations to Tom. I have no doubt he will do a fantastic, and long awaited for, job.”

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Trump added that the “border czar” position isn’t just for monitoring the U.S. southern border with Mexico, but also “the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security. I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders.”

This comes less than a week after Trump secured his second presidency, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, who was dubbed the “border czar” in the Biden administration.

Border security was a strong point of Trump’s first presidency, and it was a stalwart during both his 2020 and 2024 campaigns.

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Former acting ICE director Tom Homan joined “America Reports” on Thursday to discuss the border as well as AOC’s criticism of President Biden. (Fox News)

Illegal border crossings surged under the Biden administration, with nearly 3 million in fiscal year 2024, according to Homeland Security’s website. There have been more than 10.8 million illegal encounters since FY 2021.

Trump vowed during his campaign he would once again take a hard-line approach to securing the border.

“It’s going to be a well-targeted, planned operation conducted by the men of ICE. The men and women of ICE do this daily. They’re good at it,” Homan said during a Fox News interview on Sunday, adding that deportations would be a “humane operation.”

Tom Homan is the pick for Trump’s “border czar” when he takes over the presidency. (Getty Images)

Trump during his campaign referenced illegal migrants as people fleeing countries that didn’t want them. He often said at his rallies that illegal immigrants flooded the U.S. with drugs and gangs, and that they became a hub for smuggling and human trafficking, saying they are “poisoning the blood of our country.”

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“They’re rough people, in many cases from jails, prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums,” Trump said. “You know, insane asylums, that’s ‘Silence of the Lambs’ stuff.”

This is only the beginning of thousands of positions that need to be filled by his presidency. Trump has already announced that Susie Wiles, his co-campaign manager, will be the White House chief of staff.

Young girls in Iraq who are years away from becoming teenagers could be forced to become wives if a new Shia-backed law passes. The new law would lower a girl’s consent from 18 to age 9.

This includes allowing parents to have arranged marriages for their young daughters.

Iraq doesn’t have a male guardianship system that requires a female to have the permission of a husband, father or other male guardian to make crucial life decisions — like marriage. The law would also allow religious authorities to carry out marriages.

The proposed law that’s on its second way through the parliamentary government has been opposed by women in the members of parliament (MP) and activist groups, according to the Guardian.

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“This is a catastrophe for women,” said Raya Faiq, the coordinator for a coalition of groups opposing the law change, which also includes some Iraqi MPs.

“My husband and my family oppose child marriage. But imagine if my daughter gets married and my daughter’s husband wants to marry off my granddaughter as a child. The new law would allow him to do so. I would not be allowed to object. This law legalizes child rape.”

The new law would bring back a Taliban-style of slashing women’s rights. 

Young Iraqi girls who have reached the age of wearing a hijab, are clothed in the head covering worn by many Muslim women for the first time during a ceremony organised at the Basra International Stadium in Iraq’s southern city of Basra on February 21, 2024.  (HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi citizens have protested on the streets of the country’s capital, Baghdad, and other cities around the country. The protests have been met with clashes against local law enforcement.

Although marriage under the age of 18 has been a national law since the 1950s, a survey by Unicef found that 28% of girls in Iraq got married before they turned 18.

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Nadia Mahmood, co-founder of the Iraq-based Aman Women’s Alliance, said the male-dominated MP in Iraq feels threatened by a movement of youth organizations and women.

“Following the mass youth protests which took place in Iraq in 2019, these political players saw that the role of women had begun to strengthen in society,” said, according to a report by the Guardian. “They felt that feminist, gender and women’s organizations, plus civil society and activist movements, posed a threat to their power and status … [and] began to restrict and suppress them.”

Young Iraqi girls who have reached the age of wearing a hijab, are clothed in the head covering worn by many Muslim women for the first time during a ceremony organized at the Basra International Stadium in Iraq’s southern city of Basra on February 21, 2024. (HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images)

There have been 25 female members of Iraq’s government who tried stopping the proposed law from going to a second vote, but they say the strong opposition by their male MP colleagues has made it nearly impossible.

“Unfortunately, male MPs who support this law speak in a masculine way, asking what’s wrong with marrying a minor? Their thinking is narrow-minded. They don’t take into consideration that they are the legislators that determine people’s fate … but rather follow their masculine thinking to authorize all this,” said Alia Nassif, an Iraqi MP.

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Protesters fear that their children could face an even harsher future than their own if the law changes are adopted. 

“I have one daughter, I don’t want her to be forced like me to marry as a child,” said Azhar Jassim, who had to leave school to be married at 16.

Republican Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., has withstood a strong Democratic challenge for a seat Democrats had hoped to flip in one of the most closely watched states in the country, the Associated Press projects.

Arizona’s 1st Congressional District was expected to be a close race after Rep. David Schweikert narrowly won re-election in 2022 by less than 1%. He had secured the Republican nomination earlier this year after outraising his opponents.

Schweikert has served in the House for nearly 15 years and has won re-election in a number of redrawn districts since being elected in 2010. He serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and has emphasized economic policy and fiscal responsibility, including tackling the increasing national debt.

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Shah, a doctor and former state rep, had emerged from a packed Democratic field to secure the nomination to attempt to beat Schweikert. Arizona Central reports that Shah had success with bills getting passed in the GOP-dominated state legislature, and has been compared to outgoing Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

He emphasized border security in the border state, as well as issues like tackling inflation and abortion rights.

Amish Shah and Rep. David Schweikert. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images and Amish for Arizona)

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“Shah, who has already represented key parts of Arizona’s First Congressional District in Maricopa County as a State Representative, has a track record of being an independent voice working across party lines to put Arizona families first,” his website says. “In Congress, he’ll work to lower costs for hardworking Arizonans and protect abortion rights.”

Arizona is a closely watched state this election cycle, with multiple races in the House and Senate as well as the presidential contest all potentially to be decided by thin margins.

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In the state legislature, Republicans hold a thin majority and Democrats are hoping to take both chambers. If so, it would be the first time they took the House since 1966.