QUICK HITS

1 Iran discovers oil field:

Iran has discovered a new oil field in the country’s south with more than 50 billion barrels of crude, its president said Sunday, a find that could boost the country’s proven reserves by a third as it struggles to sell energy abroad over U.S. sanctions. The announcement by Hassan Rouhani comes as Iran faces crushing American sanctions after the U.S. pulled out of its nuclear deal.

2 Pope intends to go to South Sudan:

Pope Francis called for South Sudan politicians to salvage a tenuous peace deal and to bring a definitive end to conflicts to the African nation, which he announced he intends to visit in the coming year. Francis also urged South Sudan’s leaders to find “consensus” for the good of the country.

3 Man who slashes ‘baby Trump’ says he’d do it again:

A man who slashed open a giant “Baby Trump” balloon with a knife during the president’s trip Saturday to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the Alabama-Louisiana State football game was free on bond Sunday, saying in a video that he’d “do it again if given the opportunity.”

4 Mercury to cross sun for last time until 2032:

Mercury is set to make a transit across the sun this morning for the last time until 2032. A pinprick of darkness will puncture a small hole in the sunlight as Mercury traverses the solar disk during a 5.5-hour stretch, starting at 7:35 a.m. EST.

5 Oracle going ahead with lawsuit:

Oracle is pressing forward with a long-running legal challenge to the Pentagon’s massive cloud computing contract, its third such attempt to upend the procurement since the project was announced 18 months ago. In an appeal filed recently in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the company accused the Defense Department of improperly limiting competition when it set the terms of the procurement.