• A convicted war criminal committed suicide via poison Wednesday in the Hague when his 20-year prison sentence was upheld by the Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal.  Slobodan Praljak had participated in ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1994. [NPR; the UN]
  • Senior administration officials stated that the White House plans to force out Secretary of State Rex Tillerson within the next few weeks.  Rumors indicate that he will be replaced with the hawkish head of the CIA, Mike Pompeo. [New York Times]
  • Congress is scrambling to avert a government shutdown before a new Christmas deadline.  The GOP will need to convert eight Senate Democrats to overcome a filibuster and pass the upper chamber. [Politico]
  • More celebrities fell to accusations of sexual misconduct this week, including both the Today Show’s Matt Lauer and longtime host of A Prairie Home Companion Garrison Keillor.  [The Cut; Washington Post]
  • Videos recently surfaced bringing to light modern slave trading in Libya.  According to reports, refugees in overcrowded and unsupervised detention centers have become hotbeds of torture, rape and forced labor. [Al Jazeera]

FACT OF THE WEEK: Al Roker and Lenny Kravitz are first cousins once removed. [Us Weekly]