Libya's rebel leader and wartime prime minister Mahmoud Jibril on Sunday called for a grand coalition government of the 150 political parties as offical election results were due Monday. “In yesterday’s election, there was no winner or loser,” Jibril said. “Whoever wins, Libya is the real winner.” The election, Libya's first free one in 42 years, went ahead without violence. Liberals held a strong lead in and around Tripoli, where most of the country’s population is concentrated. Leaders from the Islamist Justice and Construction Party acknowledged the lead gathered by liberals, but said it was “a tight race of us in the south.”

Six NATO troops—later confirmed to be all Americans—were killed today in Afghanistan, bringing the weekend death count for international troops to eight. The soldiers were slain by an improvised explosive device in eastern Afghanistan, according to the International Security Assistance Force. The attacks happened the same day diplomats from around the world met in Tokyo to discuss the future of Afghanistan, including any assistance the nation might receive. The military coalition did not offer more details, but also reported two more deaths over the weekend, one from “an insurgent attack” and another after “an improvised-explosive attack.”

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday accused the U.S. of “destabilizing” his country by providing political protection to the “gangs.” In an interview with German television, Assad also accused Saudi Arabia and Qatar of arming “terrorists” in Syria—and said Turkey is providing the terrorists with logistical support. Asked if the U.S. is partially responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians in the Syrian government’s brutal crackdown, Assad answered, “Yes, of course.” Assad insisted he still has the support of his citizens. Meanwhile, United Nations special envoy Kofi Annan arrived in Damascus for a third round of talks with Assad after admitting that “the evidence shows that we have not succeeded” in ending the 16-month crackdown.

Don’t bank on sending any important emails tomorrow—you might not have Internet connection. As the FBI has worked to track down cyberthieves over the past few months, it has whittled down the number of possible infected computers to 300,000, and tomorrow it plans to shut these servers down. “Initially some domains will be cached, which will mean Web access will be spotty,” said Sean Sullivan, a security researcher at F-Secure. “People will be confused about why some things work and some do not.” Johannes Ullrich, a researcher with the SANS security institute, expects the impact to be minimal, as many of the infected systems are no longer used or maintained.

Oscar winner Ernest Borgnine has died, his longtime spokesman Harry Flynn confirmed Sunday. Borgnine was 95. Born Ermes Effron Borgnino in 1917 in Hamden, Conn., Borgnine began acting in the Navy during World War II. He made his film debut in 1951’s The Whistle at Eaton Falls and won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in 1955’s Marty. Over his five-decade career, Borgnine’s impressive résumé included The Dirty Dozen, The Wild Bunch, All Quiet on the Western Front, and The Poseidon Adventure, and he starred in the ABC comedy series McHale’s Navy from 1962 to 1966. In 2009 he was nominated for a guest-star Emmy for an appearance on ER, and he even appeared in 2011’s Love’s Christmas Journey.

Britain has been transfixed by a video of a woman being executed in Afghanistan after being accused of adultery. The video shows the woman being shot in the back repeatedly surrounded by a crowd of men in Qol village. “Within one hour they decided that she was guilty and sentenced her to death,” said Parwan provincial spokeswoman Roshna Khalid. Britain’s government has condemned the attack, and Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was “shocked and disgusted.” He condemned the act and called upon Afghan rulers for “better protection of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.”

Guests at special Mitt Romney gatherings with a little extra pocket change paid up to $25,000 to hear him speak over the weekend. A luncheon fundraiser for his wealthy supporters was held at the Long Island home of Ronald O. Perelman, chairman of Revlon cosmetics and a billionaire financier. Expecting to haul in $3 million, the presidential hopeful was also scheduled to attend fundraising events at the Hamptons homes of Clifford Sobel, former U.S. ambassador to Brazil, and billionaire David H. Koch. Romney supporters spoke about the need for a “fresh face” and the evils of President Obama: “He is a socialist. His idea is find a problem that doesn’t exist and get government to intervene,” said Ted Conklin, the owner of the American Hotel in Sag Habor.

Bob Diamond has a friend in Rupert Murdoch. The media mogul took to social media to defend the English banker, saying, “Don't know, but suspect Diamond scapegoat used by old establishment who did not like energetic competitor.” Diamond, 60, quit as CEO of the London-based bank last week after it was fined a record £290 million—that’s $449 million—for trying to rig the interbank offered rate for more than $360 trillion of securities.

Speak no evil, pleads Scientology leader Daniele Lattanzi. In an email to Ray McKay, a “well-known OSA operative,” Lattanzi offers a step-by-step guide to censoring the image of Scientology on the Internet when covering the Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise divorce, claiming the media are skewing the truth of Scientology. “Well, I am not somebody that I am going to simply stand and watch a bunch of uninformed people putting my religion under the carpet,” he wrote. Marty Rathbun, who released the email and was once Tom Cruise’s spiritual mentor, calls this email attempt “like showing up to a nuclear war with a squirt gun.” The church claims it had nothing to do with the email and issued a response: “An email from a Scientologist is no more from the Church of Scientology than an email from a Catholic is from the Vatican.”

With great box-office returns comes great responsibility ... The latest redux of the Marvel comic-book hero, starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, brought in $140 million over its six-day debut. Sony’s $220 million 3-D flick brought in more than $340 million worldwide after two weekends of international release. Although the last three Tobey Maguire installments brought in slightly more each opening week than The Amazing Spider-Man did, its healthy figures will open doors for more successful Spidey sequels in the future. In second place at the box office this weekend was Ted, dropping 40 percent to $32.6 million, followed by Disney-Pixar’s Brave, at just over $20 million.

Ever the diplomat, Mickey Mouse took the stage in North Korea on Friday in a performance staged by citizens for leader Kim Jong-un. Other performers dressed as characters from Disney films danced on a stage at the concert for Kim in what may have been the first public appearance by Disney characters allowed in the authoritarian state. The leader is in his late 20s. State media claimed that Kim has a “grandiose plan to bring about a dramatic turn in the field of literature and arts this year.” Whether the performers had received permission from Disney to use the characters is not yet known.

Donors from around the world pledged $16 billion in development money to Afghanistan on Sunday to show they’re serious about keeping ties with the country. There was one string attached, however, the donors said—the Afghan government had to show that the distribution of the funds was not tainted by corruption. Responding to news of the donations, which came from international donors from more than 70 countries or charitable organizations, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “Afghanistan has made important progress, but the gains are fragile.” Three roadside explosives killed 18 people in Afghanistan on Sunday, including women and children.

While some scientists are discovering the building blocks of the universe, others can’t find a decent job. Recent data show that even as the White House has trumpeted more education in the sciences, openings in academia have been disappearing steadily since the 1970s, leaving hordes of credentialed nerds with nothing to do. At the same time, shrinking opportunities in the private sector—300,000 positions at American drug companies have disappeared in the past decade—have left biologists and chemists with plenty to mull. Only 38 percent of chemists who graduated with Ph.D.s in 2011 are pulling in a steady paycheck, according to data from the American Chemical Society.

Sheldon Adelson may be willing to write million-dollar checks, but some in the corporate world prefer to be more discrete. A new investigation found that two years after the Citizens United decision made it possible to donate unlimited sums to super PACs, corporations may prefer to throw their weight around by giving to nonprofits, tax-exempt entities that are not required to disclose their donor lists. And sometimes, those donations show priorities different from those espoused by the companies in public—such as when Aetna, an insurance company, gave $3 million to a group that attacked Obamacare supporters, even as Aetna’s CEO said he himself was in favor of the health-reform law.

Tom Cruise was reportedly upset about scenes in Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming film The Master, which portrays a cult leader said to bear a striking likeness to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Anderson, who has worked with Cruise in the past, reportedly showed the film to the actor and prominent Scientologist and got a cold response. A source told the New York Daily News that “Tom Cruise’s people are grumbling” about a line in the movie in which one character reportedly says that the cult leader, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, is “making it up as he goes along.” A Church of Scientology spokesman said, “No one in the church has seen the film, and we have no comment.”

Roger Federer and Andy Murray engaged in a dramatic showdown at the Wimbledon final, ending with a Federer win - the 7th Wimbledon title for the tennis star.  Murray got off to a good start, winning the first set 6–4, but Federer won the second. Federer took the third and fourth sets as well, defeating the number four-ranked British Murray. Federer came back after losing two sets to Julien Benneteau last week, and Murray was considered a more challenging opponent leading into today's match. Federer collapsed to the turf in celebration and relief after winning the match.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said he’ll be taking a closer look at the $17.8 billion merger between utility giants Duke Energy and Progress Energy. The exit of Bill Johnson, formerly CEO of Progress, from the top job at the newly formed company only hours after he stepped into his office has ignited a furor among former Progress board members who say they’d never have approved the deal under these conditions. “This significant management change within hours after the merger has put the company on credit watch,” Cooper wrote in an email, “so we need to get to the bottom of this to make sure we protect consumers.”

The “sand is running out of the hourglass” on Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday. “There is no doubt that the opposition is getting more effective in their defense of themselves and in going on the offense,” Clinton said, and also cited the growing number of defections by high-level members of the Assad regime as a sign that the strongman ruler may soon be kaput. Opposition activists said at least 30 people died Sunday as the violence that has been ongoing for 16 months continued within the country.

Maryland officials said Sunday that 13 people have died from heat-related causes since July 2. The 11-day heat wave continued Sunday, as the temperature hit a record 104 degrees. National Weather Service officials said Sunday that relief is coming soon in the brutal heat, and temperatures are expected to fall by the end of the day. Strong storms neared the Washington area early Sunday evening, and there’s a severe-thunderstorm watch for the area through 10 p.m. Sunday night. The relief had already come to the Midwest—where temperatures last week had reached record highs—with Chicago residents enjoying 77-degree temperatures.

Forty-five-year-old John Brigham wasn’t always naked. Once he was an English teacher. The Arizona man, who was arrested for going on an au naturel carjacking spree June 29 while allegedly high on PCP, was a high-school English teacher, then a real-estate executive. A school-district spokesman called Brigham “well regarded” and “an excellent teacher”—qualities that do not seem much in evidence among the allegations of Scottsdale-area drug-fueled antics. Brigham was arrested for allegedly injuring seven people while driving two separate cars June 29.

Mexican voters took to the streets of Mexico City on Saturday to protest the presumed victory of PRI candidate Enrique Peña Nieto in the country’s presidential election. “Peña, how much did it cost to become president?” read some signs as students and other demonstrators—50,000 of them by official estimates—alleged that the 45-year-old Peña Nieto had bought the election through ballot rigging and deception. “The fraud was carried out before [the election], buying votes, tricking the people,” said Gabriel Petatan Garcia, a student. Peña Nieto won 38.21 percent of the vote, which will be finalized in September.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he wants an official probe into floods in a southern region of his country—but for 144 people it’s too little too late. Floodwaters swept through towns in the region of Krasnodar beginning Friday as more than 11 inches of rain fell in one night, causing flash floods. Many people were caught unaware by the rising waters. “The investigative committee will check the actions of all the authorities—how the notice was given ... how it should have been given, and who acted how,” Putin told a Russian news agency. A criminal investigation surrounding the floods was also underway.

It was the most anticipated Supreme Court decision in a decade. And somehow, for almost 10 agonizing minutes, some news outlets—CNN and Fox most prominent among them—could not decide what had happened. The Supreme Court’s own website crashed the day of the ruling, and decisions were not available online June 28 for half an hour after they were first released, making the American public entirely reliant on the credentialed press. Oops. After rapidly scanning paper copies of the court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act, producers and reporters at two of America’s most-watched networks decided that a key part of the legislation, the individual mandate, had been struck down. In a surprisingly riveting tick-tock, SCOTUSblog’s Tom Goldstein recounts nine minutes of misinformation.

The scorching weather that has been blamed in 30 deaths across the United States could break late on Sunday, forecasters say. Some areas could see a dip in the mercury from 100-degree temperatures down into the 90s—a relief in many areas after a heat wave had Americans wiping their brows and cranking up the air conditioning across the country. A wave of cooler weather is expected to move across the eastern part of the country, easing temperatures down in the high 80s in areas like Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., which saw temperatures over 100 degrees Saturday.

The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Public Integrity had asked former Washington Times star John Solomon to join in 2010, and he proposed an ambitious plan to bring the nonprofit into the digital age. Solomon had helped negotiate a merger between the center and the Huffington Post Investigative Fund, the nonprofit wing of the Huffington Post—a deal that had been expected to bring in a surge of Web traffic. But Solomon, who is the former editor of news and investigations at Newsweek and The Daily Beast, fixated on the center’s sourcing on a BBC documentary it had worked on—Solomon insisted the sources had been paid, because a paid consultant appeared in it. The whole debacle has cost the center dearly—it had a $2 million budget gap last year and has shed more than a third of its staff.

The Egyptian president has ordered the country’s dissolved Parliament to return, The Associated Press has reported. The move defies a court order. President Mohamed Morsi took office a week ago Saturday, and has been toeing the line with the military since as he explored legal avenues by which he could restore the country’s lawmaking body. Egypt’s high court ruled in June that parliamentary election practices were unacceptable. The Parliament was finally dissolved by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which governed Egypt between the overthrow of ruler Hosni Mubarak and Morsi’s inauguration. On Sunday, Reuters reported that Egyptian officials said Morsi would accept an invitation to visit the White House in September.