Wang Lijun, former police chief, was sentenced to 15 years for defection, abuse of power, taking bribes and bending the law for personal gain. Wang brought a scandal that shock China’s political structure last year when he fled to the American Consulate and revealed that Gu Kailai, the wife of a senior party chief, had killed a British businessman. Gu was recently sentenced to death with a two-year suspension and her husband is being investigated. In his trial, Wang was accused of helping to cover up the murder, and taking bribes—a charge which his lawyer disputed.

The Sept. 11 attack at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi wasn’t just a tragic blow to American life, but it was a disaster for U.S. intelligence. Among the two dozen evacuated from Libya since the attack were about 12 CIA operatives who were crucial to monitoring militant groups around the city. “We got our eyes poked out,” one intelligence official said. The U.S. is watching several crosscurrents in eastern Libya, including a reaction by the public against armed militias in response to the killing of American ambassador Christopher Stephens, and a fierce debate among the Salafi population over what amount of political integration they can support.

A Libyan general says that Ansar al-Sharia, the radical Islamist group thought to have a hand in the killing of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, has disbanded. “It’s individual members may remain. but it is finished as a force, God willing,” said Brig. Gen. Hamed Belkhair on Sunday. Belkhair ordered his troops to protect, rather than stop, civilian protesters who were marching on the bases of Ansar and other groups Friday. But the decision led to fighting as militias were driven from their hideaways. Both Ansar al-Sharia and the Martyrs of Abu Salim have since announced that they are disbanding in Benghazi.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that his country would not agree to adjust its 1979 peace deal with Egypt. Israel and Egypt have agreed to temporarily waive troop limits while Egypt tries to restore order to the Sinai Peninsula, but Egypt claims that the troop limits infringe on national sovereignty, and many have called for more permanent adjustments to the deal. That’s not going to happen, Lieberman told Israel Radio on Sunday. “There is no chance that Israel will agree to any kind of change,” Lieberman said. “The Egyptians shouldn’t try to delude themselves or delude others, and they should not rely on this demand.”

A gathering of 16 Syrian groups opposed to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad convened Sunday to demand that the ruler step down. In a rare meeting in Damascus, the opposition groups spoke under the banner of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria and sided with the armed rebels fighting Assad’s regime. The group said it backs the rebels’ goal of toppling Assad, 18 months into a civil war that has killed tens of thousands. The organization, which said it opposes violent action as well as military intervention from foreign countries, is advocating for a peaceful settlement and has called for an immediate ceasefire.

Speculation for the 2016 presidential race went into overdrive on Sunday when former President Bill Clinton said he had "no earthly idea" whether Hillary would throw her hat in the ring. “I think she’s done a fabulous job," Clinton told Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation. "But she wants to take some time off, kind of regroup." He also said that his wife would have his full support no matter what she decided. Already, Republicans have been talking about their potential 2016 candidates, including Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Chris Christie.

The Jimmy Kimmel-hosted 64th Emmy Awards were a mix of eye rolls and upsets: Modern Family took home the award for Best Comedy Series, while Homeland snagged Best Drama Series. Best Actor Drama went to Homeland's Damian Lewis, a major coup for the Showtime drama. The night's first awards went out to Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet for Best Supporting Actor in a comedy, while the show also raked in Supporting Actress in a comedy for Julie Bowen and Best Comedy Direction. In the upsets column, Louie C.K. beat Lena Dunham for Best Comedy Writing and Julia Louis Dreyfus knocked out Amy Poehler in the Best Actress in a Comedy category.

After months of super-PAC spending and pundits hyperventilating about conservative groups like Crossroads GPS outraising liberal ones, the presidential race remains close with President Obama ahead by a slight lead. One Democratic strategist said, “Given the volume of money they’ve spent, they don’t seem to have a whole lot to show for it.” But Republicans think such talk is premature. A spokesman for Crossroads said, “This assumes advertising takes place in a vacuum, without any pushback from the other team—and one could just as easily make the case that Obama’s $173 million of ads over the summer to define Romney failed because the race remained tied.”

Grab onto something cute and cuddly. The long-awaited and hoped-for panda cub at the National Zoo, which was born Sept. 16, has died. The cause of death has not yet been determined. The baby panda had been the first panda cub to be born at the zoo since 2005. Experts had believed that there was a less than 10 percent chance that Mei Xiang, the panda’s mother, would become pregnant this year. But she surprised panda watchers Sept. 16 when she gave birth. Tragically, the panda only lived about a week, but hopefully the cub found a place in panda heaven.

The Governator admitted that he had fathered a love child during couple’s counseling as his wife, Maria Shriver, looked on, according to his book, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story. According to the New York Daily News, Schwarzenegger writes that that child was conceived with his housekeeper in his guesthouse in 1996 while his family was on vacation. Though he initially denied the child was his, Schwarzenegger began supporting the housekeeper and her family while he was governor of California. But the day after he his term as governor ended, Shriver confronted him in couple’s counseling. When the therapist asked if he had cheated, Schwarzenegger reportedly replied, “It’s true.”

Now that Mitt Romney finally released his much-asked-about tax return, the question remains, why now? Prior to releasing his 2011 return Friday, Romney had refused to reveal his tax rate, and said he had never paid less than 13 percent (whereas his 2011 return shows he paid 14.1 percent). A source close to the Romney campaign told Politico that strategists simply decided there would constantly be requests for Romney’s personal financial records and wanted to put an end to speculation. Aides close to Romney also tell Politico the release was strategically timed so that discussions over Romney’s taxes would be over by the time he faces Obama in the first debate. Another GOP strategist speculated that the move was an attempt to make Romney seem more transparent and accessible amid criticism for his recent “47 percent” remarks.

Better luck next time. The United States has denied visas to 20 Iranian government officials who had planned to attend the U.N. General Assembly. No reason was given for the denials, but some Iranian officials face travel bans due to sanctions regarding Iran’s nuclear program. The Iranian delegation requested 160 visas, and at least two unnamed government ministers were among those turned down. The U.S. has a policy of issuing visas for members of delegations to the U.N., but it has been known to deny entry to officials from Iran in the past. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to give his final speech to the U.N. on Wednesday.

A police officer in Houston shot and killed a wheelchair-bound man Saturday; the double amputee only had one arm and one leg. Police say the man threatened the officer with a metal object that turned out to be a pen. A spokesman explained that Matthew Jacob Marin discharged his weapon after the man cornered him. Police did not release the name of the man who was killed, but the owner of the group home where he lived said he had a history of mental illness. Marin also fatally shot a suspect in 2009.

Apple has asked to be awarded an additional $535 million in its patent case against Samsung. Apple sued Samsung in April 2011, suggesting that the company had copied its smartphones, and a jury in August found that Samsung infringed six of Apple’s phone patents. At the time, Apple was awarded more than $1.05 billion against Samsung. But now Apple has requested an additional $135 million under the Patent Act and $400 million under the Lanham Act, compared with $268 million under both statutes. Apple has also requested a permanent injunction against sales of the infringing products.

Insurgent-controlled areas of Syria are under continued aerial attack Saturday, as Syria’s main rebel group announced it will be moving its command center from Turkey to either Aleppo or Damascus. The anti-Assad group, known as the Free Syrian Army, also claimed to have brought down a key government fighter jet Saturday as aerial bombings pounded rebel strongholds. FSA leaders say the transition of their group’s headquarters from Turkey to Syria over the next two weeks will help prepare forces for an offensive push against government troops in Damascus. Activists estimate that more than 27,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed over the last 18 months as a result of fighting in Syria.

Nine climbers are believed to have died after an avalanche on Mount Manaslu, the eighth-highest mountain in the world. The avalanche hit a base camp at 22,960 feet on Saturday, fairly close to the summit. Officials have recovered two bodies, and seven more have been spotted. Six other climbers are still missing. Ten people survived the avalanche, and they were airlifted to hospitals by rescue helicopters, but weather conditions halted air searches for additional survivors Sunday.

Financial wizard is just a figure of speech, former president Bill Clinton reminded voters in an appearance on Face the Nation on Sunday. Clinton argued that no administration could have “fully healed” the lame economy Barack Obama was handed, saying it’s a fantasy that any other White House could have “magically” brought back full employment. Clinton dismissed what he called Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s “militant antigovernment approach” and said that Obama’s strategy offers a way forward. “That’s why we have to keep working at it,” Clinton said. The 42nd president has been an important proxy for Obama this election season, especially since his keystone speech at the Democratic National Convention.

A spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister denounced a government minister’s bounty for the killing of the maker of the now infamous video Innocence of Muslims. Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour had offered $100,000 to “whoever kills the makers of this video.” But spokesman Shafqat Jalil said that the government “absolutely disassociated” itself from the remarks and the reward. Jalil said the comments were a personal statement, and added, “He is not a member of the [ruling] PPP [Pakistan Peoples Party], he is an ANP politician, and therefore the prime minister will speak to the head of the ANP to decide the next step. They are not ruling out action against him, but say he will stay in his post for now.”

CNN used information obtained from the personal journal of Ambassador Chris Stevens against the wishes of his family, according to the State Department. In a broadcast Wednesday, Anderson Cooper reported that Stevens feared for his safety and thought he was on an al Qaeda hit list. But family members and State Department officials said that CNN had agreed to hold off on reporting from the journal until the family had been given a chance to review it. CNN claimed it took newsworthy tips and “corroborated them with other sources.” But a State Department spokesman called the organization’s conduct “disgusting” and said, “When the senior-most levels of CNN were finally reached, they needed to be convinced to do the right thing.”

Despite having an image of being environmentally friendly, many tech companies waste large amounts of power and routinely violate clean-air regulations, according to a yearlong investigation by The New York Times. Digital warehouses that hold servers for online companies use more than 30 billion watts of electricity, and in some cases these centers waste up to 90 percent of the electricity they purchase. The Times also found that many of these companies use backup generators that rely on diesel fuel in case there is a power outage and are on California’s list of top diesel polluters.