The VICE Morning Bulletin
Mike Pompeo sworn in as CIA Director Jan 23, 2017 in Washington, DC. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

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The VICE Morning Bulletin

Mike Pompeo becomes CIA director, Trump signals intentions with three presidential memoranda, British Parliament has to weigh in on Brexit, and more.

Everything you need to know about the world this morning, curated by VICE.

US News

Mike Pompeo Becomes CIA Director
Mike Pompeo was confirmed as the new director of the CIA by the United States Senate on Monday. Previously a Republican congressman, Pompeo has been a firm supporter of expanding the government's capacity to gather US citizens' communications. Democrats had delayed proceedings for three days, arguing the appointment needed more scrutiny, but Pompeo was confirmed by a vote of 66–32.—NBC News

Trump Signals Intentions with Three Presidential Memoranda
President Donald Trump signed three memoranda on his first full day in the Oval Office. The president called for the withdrawal of the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and ordered a freeze on the hiring of new federal workers, exempting the military. He also moved to strengthen a law banning the federal funding of foreign organizations that promote abortions, as most Republican presidents do.—ABC News

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EPA Puts Grants Program on Hold
The Environmental Protection Agency has reportedly asked staff not to fund any new projects while the agency's grants program is placed on hold. It is unclear whether the freeze on grants, given to research, education, and environmental monitoring projects, will be temporary or part of major budget cuts at the agency.—The Huffington Post

Trump Declares January 20, 2017, 'Patriotic Devotion' Day
President Trump has declared the day of his inauguration a "National Day of Patriotic Devotion." A decree uploaded to the Federal Register states the day was designed to "strengthen our bonds to each other and to our country—and to renew the duties of Government to the people."—The Washington Post

International News

Major Powers Push for Renewed Ceasefire Deal in Syria
Russia, Turkey, and Iran—the major powers involved in Syrian peace talks in Kazakhstan—are trying to finalize a communique that might strengthen a ceasefire in the war-torn country. "We noticed a real understanding on the part of the Russians," said Yahya al-Aridi, a spokesman for the rebel opposition.—Reuters

Dutch PM Tells People to Act 'Normally' or Leave
Mark Rutte, the prime minister of the Netherlands, said anyone who does not accept the country's customs should leave. In a full-page newspaper advertisement, Rutte told people to "behave normally, or go away," widely seen as an attempt to win back voters from Geert Wilders's anti-immigration Freedom Party ahead of March 15 elections.—The Guardian

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Female Suicide Bombers Using Babies, Nigeria Warns
Nigerian officials are warning of a "dangerous" trend of female suicide bombers carrying babies. A bombing attack in Madagali earlier in January, believed to be organized by the Boko Haram militant group, was apparently conducted by two women who carried babies past a checkpoint before detonating their bombs. They killed themselves, the two babies, and four more people.—BBC News

UK Government Must Get Parliamentary Approval for Brexit
The UK's Supreme Court has ruled that the British government must get the approval of parliament to actually trigger the country's exit from the European Union. The 8-3 ruling by judges means PM Theresa May might now have to delay plans to invoke Article 50 to trigger formal Brexit negotiations by the end of March.—AP

Everything Else

Stephen Colbert to Host 2017 Emmys
Stephen Colbert will host the Emmys later this year, CBS has announced. Mocking the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, Colbert said, "This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period. Both in person and around the globe."—TIME

$20 Million Found Hidden in Box-Spring Bed
The US attorney's office in Boston has released a photo of $20 million police found inside a box spring bed in a Massachusetts apartment. Officials said the money is connected to an investigation into an alleged pyramid scheme involving TelexFree.—CBS News

Sean Spicer Once Called Daft Punk 'Daft Funk'
White House press secretary Sean Spicer's old tweets have revealed his interest in Daft Punk's career, despite getting the group's name wrong. Apparently Tweeting about the 2014 Grammys, Spicer said, "Daft Funk -- this is your 10 seconds in the spotlight - u r blowing it."—Noisey

Hacker Claims DDoS Attack on British Bank
A hacker has claimed responsibility for a reported distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against the UK bank Lloyds earlier this month. The hacker also claims he attempted to extort from $93,000 from the bank—in bitcoin, of course.—Motherboard

Canadian Student Is Doing a PhD (Partly) on Drake
Amara Pope, a 22-year-old student from the University of Western Ontario, is embarking on a PhD on the cultural, religious, and ethnic identity of Drake, along with Rihanna and Jay-Z. Pope said she will "focus on the part of [Drake's] career that catapulted him to success."—VICE