Final tweets from Aleppo residents shock social media

Heartbreaking messages are coming out of Aleppo as civilian deaths keep rising amid Syria's war. Many who believe their lives are about to end are sending posts to social media in a desperate but mostly futile plea for help.

Twitter is also focused on former Texas Gov. Rick Perry becoming President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the Department of Energy.

Social Cues is our guide to what's trending across Facebook and Twitter. Here's what people are talking about on Tuesday:

Aleppo: People trapped in the war-torn city of Aleppo are sending out "final messages" on social media as the Syrian army enters the last areas still held by rebels. One person in the city described it as "doomsday inside Aleppo." The latest fighting there has led to hundreds of casualties, with reports Tuesday morning that dozens of children were trapped in a building under fire. There are more than 617,000 tweets on the trending topic as the devastation increases.

Kanye West: Mr. West is in the building. Kanye West visited Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday, one of his first public appearances after being hospitalized in November. The president-elect and the rapper took photos after emerging from an elevator, with Trump calling West a "good man" and saying the two discussed "life." West's fans don't know what to make of the meeting, even though the rapper said last month he would have voted for Trump if he'd actually voted. Some people are frustrated that his visit to Trump usurped Aleppo to become the top trending topic on Tuesday.

Rick Perry: The former Texas governor will be tapped as Trump's energy secretary, according to sources on the transition team. This would mean that Perry would head the very department that he previously said he wants to eliminate and whose name he forgot in a famous debate flub in 2011. During the debate, Perry failed to name the third government agency he said he wanted to ax. Later he remembered and said, "It was the Department of Energy that I was reaching for before." Perry's memory might not be stellar, but Twitter never forgot the moment.

Super Nintendo World: Ya-hoo! Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom gang are getting a real-world theme park in Japan, in partnership with Universal Studios. The park is expected to cost more than $434 million and open by the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Universal Studios also plans to open Nintendo-themed attractions in Orlando and Hollywood. The future theme park is trending on Facebook with 460,000 people talking about it.

#HappyBirthdayTaylorSwift: I don't know about you, but I'm feeling ... 27? The pop star, who ranks as the highest-paid celebrity of 2016, celebrates her birthday Tuesday with a trending topic on Twitter. There were more than 64,000 tweets wishing Swift a happy birthday.

My President Was Black: The Atlantic's cover story on President Barack Obama's legacy is trending on Twitter. The piece, penned by author Ta-Nehisi Coates, takes a deep dive into Obama's eight years as president and his effect on African Americans. On Twitter, people were reminiscing about some of the moments Coates described, such as cable channel BET's "Love and Happiness" event in October.

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