President-elect Trump announced his nominations for U.S. ambassadors to five countries on Monday, including Austria and Japan.

In a series of Truth Social posts on Monday night, the incoming president detailed his picks for the U.S. ambassadors to Japan, the Dominican Republic, Austria, Luxembourg and Uruguay. Each nominee will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Trump named George Edward Glass, a former U.S. ambassador to Portugal, to serve as the incoming U.S. ambassador to Japan.

“As a former President of an Investment Bank, George will bring his business acumen to the Ambassador’s position,” Trump said of Glass. “George graduated from the University of Oregon, served as Alumni President, and on its Board of Trustees. He will always PUT AMERICA FIRST. Congratulations George!”

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Leah Francis Campos, the sister of “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy and sister-in-law to incoming Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, was also picked to be an ambassador. Trump nominated her to serve as U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic.

“Leah served our Country as a CIA Case Officer before becoming Senior Advisor for the Western Hemisphere on the House Foreign Affairs Committee,” the Republican wrote. “Leah will take her love of Country, and commitment to our National Security and Prosperity, to her post as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. Congratulations Leah!”

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Trump also announced Arthur Graham Fisher, the president of Fisher Realty, as his pick for U.S. ambassador to Austria.

U.S. Ambassador to Portugal George Edward Glass visits MS World Explorer, Mystic Cruises first Expedition Vessel, on occasion of the ship mooring in Lisbon harbor during her maiden voyage on October 03, 2019 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Horacio Villalobos/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

“He has been consistently ranked as a top broker in the area, and the State of North Carolina, representing many of the most astute clients in America,” the incoming president wrote. “Art has been a staunch supporter of America First Policies, and will make us proud in Austria!”

Trump added that Stacey Feinberg and Lou Rinaldi will serve as U.S. ambassadors to Luxembourg and Uruguay, respectively.

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“As a Producer of Broadway musicals, a motivational speaker, and a Board Member of the Women Founders Network, Stacey is committed to supporting women in launching their careers, and scaling their businesses to unprecedented success,” Trump wrote of Feinberg. “Stacy will be GREAT, and make America proud!”

Of Rinaldi, Trump called his nominee a “successful businessman, entrepreneur, and longtime friend,” who grew up in Uruguay.

Stacey Feinberg and Dr. Steve O’Brien attend NINETY YEARS OF GALLAGHERS New York’s iconic steakhouse at Gallaghers Steakhouse on November 14, 2017 in New York City. (Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

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“Lou is a great golfer, and will be in a Country with some terrific courses. Having grown up in Uruguay, he possesses an intimate understanding of the Country’s culture and history,” Trump’s statement read. “His expertise and background make him exceptionally qualified to advance U.S. interests, and strengthen the longstanding partnership between the United States and Uruguay.”

Fox News’ Deirdre Heavy contributed to this report.

Bill Belichick has wasted no time gathering new players for his UNC Tar Heels squad ahead of his inaugural season.

In fact, the biggest question mark regarding Belichick’s surprising jump into college football has been his adjustment to recruiting in this NIL era. 

Well, he’s already delivered a four-star recruit to Chapel Hill in quarterback Bryce Baker, who was introduced at a Tar Heels basketball game on Saturday alongside Belichick.

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During his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Belichick discussed recruiting and how he’s adjusted, which he called an “interesting process” but something he’s seen before. 

“[UNC GM] Mike Lombardi and I were just talking about it — it’s very similar to what we went through with the post-draft process, and right at the beginning of free agency process all combined into one with the transfer portal,” Belichick explained.

 “It’s exciting to put together a team.”

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Belichick added that “a number of players” will be coming through Chapel Hill this week as the open transfer portal creates a whirlwind of moves for programs across the country. So, he, Lombardi and the rest of the program are quickly moving to make sure they take advantage of this time to put together the right time for 2025. 

But, when McAfee asked if Belichick is selling this new program to these players, the legendary coach said it’s a bit of both.

Head Coach Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels poses with Athletic director Bubba Cunningham during a press conference on December 12, 2024 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

“We’re selling the program, but quite honestly, Pat, a lot of players and agents are coming to us saying, ‘We want to be part of the program. Is there a spot for us? Would you take this player, that player?’ and so forth,” Belichick explained. “A lot of the agents are also representing players in the transfer portal that we’ve dealt with in the National Football League. So, a lot of those relationships carry over to college football.”

Belichick is still putting together his coaching staff as well as assessing his current roster. It’s certainly a process and one that needs to be learned on the fly, especially considering other programs with their coaches in place have a bit of a headstart on UNC with Belichick coming in. 

But the 72-year-old already has a top quarterback prospect and more potential key roster pieces on the way. 

North Carolina Tar Heels new head coach Bill Belichick at Loudermilk Center for Excellence. (Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images)

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UNC has seven three-star recruits as commitments for the 2025 season, according to Rivals, with Baker being a verbal commit. 

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A Washington, D.C. committee tasked with investigating bribery allegations against City Councilmember Trayon White Sr. voted on Monday to recommend the lawmaker be expelled for allegedly accepting over $150,000 in bribes.

The committee voted unanimously to recommend White be expelled, after reviewing a report that found “substantial evidence” that the councilman violated the D.C. Code of Conduct while in office.

Following the vote, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson released a statement about the committee’s decision.

“Let’s cut through the legal jargon. Trayon White is accused of taking bribes,” Mendelson said. “The prosecutors have established probable cause, our own independent investigation found substantial evidence that he took bribes, and public servants are prohibited from taking bribes. This is quintessential corruption.

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“There is only one remedy: to remove the corruption from our body,” the councilman later added. “This incident has damaged the public trust necessary for government to function well. Anything less than expulsion will not rectify the situation.”

Over the summer, White was arrested on a federal bribery charge after being accused of accepting over $150,000 from an associate in exchange for extending violence interruption contracts.

In response to the allegations, the ad hoc committee of the council commissioned an independent investigation, which was conducted by the law firm Latham and Watkins LLP.

DC COUNCILMAN STUFFED POCKETS WITH ENVELOPES OF CASH IN ALLEGED BRIBERY SCHEME, FEDS ALLEGE 

D.C. Councilman Trayon White Sr. departs the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse on September 12, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Michael A. McCoy for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The report was provided to the council last week, and it included an in-depth analysis along with 29 supporting exhibits, FOX 5 in DC reported.

After reviewing documents, interviews, emails and texts, investigators found “substantial evidence that Councilmember White violated Council Rules and several provisions of the Code of Official Conduct.”

The investigators specifically said White accepted cash from business owners in exchange for agreeing to meet with and influence government officials who approve their contracts, the station reported.

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Photo of Trayon White Sr. from court documents allegedly shows him putting an envelope containing the $10,000 payment into his jacket pocket.  (U.S. Department of Justice)

The report also claimed White had a ledger detailing the profits he intended to earn, including a kickback of 3% of the grants he helped renew.

Mendelson and White did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter.

The station reported that White spoke before the meeting on Monday, saying, “I do want to say that there has been no clear evidence of nobody in all these interviews saying that I tried to grab them. And so, I’m confident to that.”

The council needed a five-sixths vote to adopt a resolution of expulsion, which is the most severe punishment available. A proceeding on the expulsion is to be held within 45 days, during which time White will be able to defend himself.

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White’s federal bribery charge trial is on the calendar to begin in January 2026. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.

President-elect Donald Trump has indicated that he would withdraw the U.S. from a global climate change agreement when he assumes office — but a second withdrawal could look different from the first.

The Paris Climate Agreement was established at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in 2015 as a legally binding treaty between nearly 195 parties who are committed to international cooperation on climate change. The U.S. officially entered into the agreement under former President Barack Obama in 2016.

Under Article 28 of the treaty, parties are allowed to withdraw from the agreement, but no earlier than three years after they officially entered. Therefore, Trump was barred from immediately leaving the treaty when he first took office and the U.S. was not officially withdrawn until the end of 2020.

President Joe Biden, in one of his first orders as president, reinstated the U.S. to the climate agreement in 2021. Ahead of the presidential election, Trump told Politico that he would be in favor of withdrawing from the treaty a second time, and given that Biden withdrew at the beginning of his term, this could be accomplished at a much quicker pace. 

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“It would be a very different timeline now,” David Waskow, director of the international climate initiative at the World Resources Institute, told Scientific American.

Max Boykoff, professor in the Department of Environmental Studies and a fellow in the Cooperative Institute for Research and Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at CU Boulder, told the university’s paper that re-exiting from the agreement could cause “a loss of trust” among world leaders. 

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Boykoff also suggested that a U.S. withdrawal could encourage other countries to also exit the treaty, as it was recently reported that Argentina’s Libertarian President Javier Milei is considering it.

“The withdrawal may also cause other leaders, who have also expressed resistance to addressing climate policy as a priority in their own countries, to leave the agreement,” Boykoff told CU Boulder Today.

President-elect Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement in 2020. (Kevin Dietsch)

However, those in favor of Trump releasing the U.S. from the agreement tell Fox News Digital that there would be many benefits to a second withdrawal. 

“The benefits of exiting the Paris climate agreement are many, first and foremost reclaiming U.S. sovereignty while respecting the rule of law,” said H. Sterling Burnett, Director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy at the Heartland Institute.

“Paris encourages the U.S. to agree to emission reductions that are both unnecessary from a climate perspective, since we don’t control the climate, but which do place substantial costs on Americans while putting the nation at a competitive and geopolitical disadvantage to China, which emits more than double the U.S. with no firm reduction commitments,” he added.

Burnett also suggested that Trump submit the treaty to the Senate for advice and consent, which would require a two-thirds vote for the U.S. to rejoin the climate agreement — creating a potential hurdle for future administrations seeking to reenter the accord.

Also under consideration is whether the incoming president will withdraw from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a treaty established in 1992 to prevent “dangerous human interference with the climate system.”

Argentinian President Javier Milei speaking at the World Economic Forum.  (Fabrice Coffrini)

Mandy Gunasekara, former EPA chief of staff during Trump’s first term, suggested that the incoming president should not only withdraw from the treaty, but also exit UNFCCC, POLITICO E&E Reported.

Gunasekara said that the administration should get out of UNFCCC “if they’re looking for a more permanent response to getting out of bad deals for the American economy that do little to actually improve the environment.”

Other leaders have suggested that the Paris Agreement itself could suffer in the future if the U.S. is not involved.

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“The Paris Agreement can survive, but people sometimes can lose important organs or lose the legs and survive. But we don’t want a crippled Paris agreement. We want a real Paris agreement,” Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, told the Guardian. “It’s very important that the United States remain in the Paris Agreement, and more than remain in the Paris agreement, that the United States adopts the kind of policies that are necessary to make the 1.5 degrees still a realistic objective.”

The German parliament accepted Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s invitation to withdraw its confidence in him and his government on Monday, clearing the way for an early election on Feb. 23 necessitated by the collapse of his government.

Scholz’s three-party coalition fell apart last month after the pro-market Free Democrats quit in a row over debt, leaving his Social Democrats and the Greens without a parliamentary majority just as Germany faces a deepening economic crisis.

Under rules designed to prevent the instability that facilitated the rise of fascism in the 1930s, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier can only dissolve parliament and call an election if the chancellor calls, and loses, a confidence vote.

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The debate preceding the vote also opened serious campaigning for the election, with party leaders trading ill-tempered barbs.

The chancellor and his conservative challenger, Friedrich Merz, who surveys suggest is likely to replace him, charged each other with incompetence and lack of vision.

Scholz, who will head a caretaker government until a new one can be formed, defended his record as a crisis leader who had dealt with the economic and security emergency triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

If given a second term, he said, he would invest heavily in Germany’s creaking infrastructure rather than making the spending cuts he said the conservatives wanted.

“Shortsightedness might save money in the short term, but the mortgage on our future is unaffordable,” said Scholz, who served four years as finance minister under a previous coalition with the conservatives before becoming chancellor in 2021.

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks on the day of a confidence vote at the lower house of parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, on Dec. 16, 2024 (Axel Schmidt)

Merz told Scholz his spending plans would burden future generations and accused him of failing to deliver on promises of rearmament after the start of the Ukraine war.

“Taking on debt at the cost of the young generation, spending money – and you didn’t say the word ‘competitiveness’ once,” said Merz.

Neither mentioned the constitutional spending cap, a measure designed to ensure fiscal responsibility that many economists blame for the fraying state of Germany’s infrastructure.

Conservatives In Clear Lead In Opinion Polls

The conservatives have a comfortable, albeit narrowing lead of more than 10 points over the SPD in most polls. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is slightly ahead of Scholz’s party, while the Greens are in fourth place.

The mainstream parties have refused to govern with the AfD, but its presence complicates the parliamentary arithmetic, making unwieldy coalitions more likely.

Germany’s Olaf Scholz has lost a confidence vote from the German parliament, paving the way for an early election to replace the chancellor. (Lisi Niesner)

Scholz has outlined a list of measures that could pass with opposition support before the election, including $11 billion in tax cuts and an increase in child benefits already agreed on by former coalition partners.

The conservatives have also hinted they could back measures to better protect the Constitutional Court from the machinations of a future populist or anti-democratic government and to extend a popular subsidized transport ticket.

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Measures to ease unintended burdens on taxpayers could also pass if regional governments agree, but Merz rejected a Green proposal to cut energy prices, saying he wanted a totally new energy policy.

Robert Habeck, the Greens’ chancellor candidate, said that was a worrying sign for German democracy, given the growing likelihood in a fractured political landscape that very different parties would again have to govern together.

“It’s very unlikely the next government will have it easier,” Habeck said.

AfD leader Alice Weidel called for all Syrian refugees in Germany to be sent back following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.