Everything you need to know about the world this morning, curated by VICE.US NEWSOil Executive Set to Become Secretary of State
President-elect Donald Trump has settled on ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his pick for secretary of state. In 2013, Vladimir Putin awarded Tillerson the "Order of Friendship" after he played a key part in various major energy deals in the region.—Politico Oklahoma Wants Anti-Abortion Messages Inside Bathrooms
The State of Oklahoma is moving to require public schools, restaurants, and health facilities, among other places, to post pro-life information in their bathrooms. The provision was placed inside a law passed earlier this year, and will cost businesses and organizations $2.3 million if they're to comply by the January 2018 deadline.—AP Trump Pushes Announcement on Business Interests, Promises No Deals as President
The president-elect has delayed an announcement on how, exactly, he will separate his business interests from his White House duties. Trump had promised such a press conference on December 15, but a transition official said it will now take place in January before the inauguration to give his legal team "ample time to ensure the proper protocols are put in place." Some late-night tweets then suggested he will pull away from cutting deals and leave most of the action to his sons.—VICE News Plane Diverts to JFK Because of Bomb Threat
A Lufthansa flight headed from Houston to Berlin was diverted to JFK airport in New York City when a bomb threat was reported to the airline's HQ in Cologne, Germany. A Port Authority spokesman said nothing suspicious was found after 530 passengers and crew members were evacuated and officials searched the plane.—CBS NewsGas Attack Feared Near Palmyra in Syria
Bombing strikes and a suspected chemical gas attack have killed at least 53 people in territory held by ISIS near Palmyra in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The monitoring group reported cases of suffocation, and a news service connected to ISIS also reported deaths and injuries "as a result of a Russian air attack with sarin gas."—Reuters About 400,000 Children at Risk of Starvation in Yemen, Says UNICEF
A new report by UN children's agency UNICEF has warned that more than 400,000 children are at risk of starvation in Yemen and more than 1.5 million more are in need of medical attention.—Al Jazeera Venezuela Shuts Border with Colombia
Venezuela has shut its border with Colombia in an effort to stop gangs smuggling goods in and out of the country. President Nicolás Maduro said the border would reopen after 72 hours, once the 100 bolivar bill has been removed from circulation, a move he announced on Sunday to combat the black economy of the "mafia."—BBC News Cuba Cuts Deal with Google to Expand Internet Access
The Cuban government has reached a deal with Google to grant internet users speedier access to sites like Gmail and YouTube via new servers installed on the island, where most people typically rely on pricey public WiFi hotspots to get online.—ABC NewsObama Says Trump Will Learn to Love Intel Briefings
Appearing on The Daily Show Monday night, President Obama said his successor, Donald Trump, would learn to value briefings given by intelligence officials. "If you're not getting their perspective, their detailed perspective, you're flying blind," he said.—The Huffington Post US Teenagers Doing Less Drugs
A report released Tuesday by Monitoring the Future shows American teens are drinking less, smoking less, and doing fewer drugs than previous generations. The proportion of 8th graders using marijuana fell from 6.5 percent last year to 5.4 percent in 2016.—USA Today Chance the Rapper Tweets His Bath Time Playlist
Chance the Rapper has released a playlist of his favorite bath-time music, featuring Bon Iver and Solange. The artist tweeted, "I been neglecting myself, not taking care of me. I take a shower everyday. But when is it Bath time? Now."—TIME Fossil Fuel Divestment Doubles in 15 Months
More than 60,000 investors worth $5.2 trillion have now pulled their investments from fossil fuel companies and reinvested a portion in clean energy, according to a report by DivestInvest. It is double the amount that had been divested 15 months ago.—Motherboard Chelsea Manning Petition Passes 100,000 Signatures
More than 100,000 people have signed a petition pleading with the White House to grant Chelsea Manning clemency and commute her sentence to time already served. The threshold means the White House should formally respond to the request within 60 days.—Broadly
President-elect Donald Trump has settled on ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his pick for secretary of state. In 2013, Vladimir Putin awarded Tillerson the "Order of Friendship" after he played a key part in various major energy deals in the region.—Politico Oklahoma Wants Anti-Abortion Messages Inside Bathrooms
The State of Oklahoma is moving to require public schools, restaurants, and health facilities, among other places, to post pro-life information in their bathrooms. The provision was placed inside a law passed earlier this year, and will cost businesses and organizations $2.3 million if they're to comply by the January 2018 deadline.—AP Trump Pushes Announcement on Business Interests, Promises No Deals as President
The president-elect has delayed an announcement on how, exactly, he will separate his business interests from his White House duties. Trump had promised such a press conference on December 15, but a transition official said it will now take place in January before the inauguration to give his legal team "ample time to ensure the proper protocols are put in place." Some late-night tweets then suggested he will pull away from cutting deals and leave most of the action to his sons.—VICE News Plane Diverts to JFK Because of Bomb Threat
A Lufthansa flight headed from Houston to Berlin was diverted to JFK airport in New York City when a bomb threat was reported to the airline's HQ in Cologne, Germany. A Port Authority spokesman said nothing suspicious was found after 530 passengers and crew members were evacuated and officials searched the plane.—CBS News
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Bombing strikes and a suspected chemical gas attack have killed at least 53 people in territory held by ISIS near Palmyra in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The monitoring group reported cases of suffocation, and a news service connected to ISIS also reported deaths and injuries "as a result of a Russian air attack with sarin gas."—Reuters About 400,000 Children at Risk of Starvation in Yemen, Says UNICEF
A new report by UN children's agency UNICEF has warned that more than 400,000 children are at risk of starvation in Yemen and more than 1.5 million more are in need of medical attention.—Al Jazeera Venezuela Shuts Border with Colombia
Venezuela has shut its border with Colombia in an effort to stop gangs smuggling goods in and out of the country. President Nicolás Maduro said the border would reopen after 72 hours, once the 100 bolivar bill has been removed from circulation, a move he announced on Sunday to combat the black economy of the "mafia."—BBC News Cuba Cuts Deal with Google to Expand Internet Access
The Cuban government has reached a deal with Google to grant internet users speedier access to sites like Gmail and YouTube via new servers installed on the island, where most people typically rely on pricey public WiFi hotspots to get online.—ABC News
EVERYTHING ELSE
Appearing on The Daily Show Monday night, President Obama said his successor, Donald Trump, would learn to value briefings given by intelligence officials. "If you're not getting their perspective, their detailed perspective, you're flying blind," he said.—The Huffington Post US Teenagers Doing Less Drugs
A report released Tuesday by Monitoring the Future shows American teens are drinking less, smoking less, and doing fewer drugs than previous generations. The proportion of 8th graders using marijuana fell from 6.5 percent last year to 5.4 percent in 2016.—USA Today Chance the Rapper Tweets His Bath Time Playlist
Chance the Rapper has released a playlist of his favorite bath-time music, featuring Bon Iver and Solange. The artist tweeted, "I been neglecting myself, not taking care of me. I take a shower everyday. But when is it Bath time? Now."—TIME Fossil Fuel Divestment Doubles in 15 Months
More than 60,000 investors worth $5.2 trillion have now pulled their investments from fossil fuel companies and reinvested a portion in clean energy, according to a report by DivestInvest. It is double the amount that had been divested 15 months ago.—Motherboard Chelsea Manning Petition Passes 100,000 Signatures
More than 100,000 people have signed a petition pleading with the White House to grant Chelsea Manning clemency and commute her sentence to time already served. The threshold means the White House should formally respond to the request within 60 days.—Broadly