Military Judge Col. Denise Lind ruled Tuesday to reduce the potential sentence of Bradley Manning, an Army private accused of releasing classified documents to the infamous WikiLeaks website. Lind's ruling stems from her belief that the former soldier was subjected to "illegal pretrial punishment" during his nine months of confinement. She called Manning's treatment—which consisted of solitary confinement in a windowless cell, often without clothing, for 23 hours a day—"excessive." The 25-year-old is to face 22 charges when his trial begins March 6. Due to Tuesday's ruling, if he is given a prison sentence he will receive 112 days off of whatever it is.

If you found yourself saying it was “hotter than Hades” often last year, well, you were onto something. 2012 was the warmest year on record for the continental United States, breaking the previous index set in 1998 by a long shot. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Tuesday that the average temperature of the year was 55.3 degrees—1 degree above the 1998 record and 3.2 degrees hotter than the 20th-century average. 2012 was also the driest year for the U.S. since 1988 and the second-most-extreme-weather year to date, marked by an historic drought in the Midwest, wildfires, and superstorms.

“Thank you” really doesn’t mean what it used to. After paying back $182 billion in bailout money—and running an ad campaign saying “Thank you America”—insurance company American International Group is considering whether it should sue the government. A.I.G. is mulling the idea of joining a $25 billion shareholder lawsuit. The suit states that the government cheated shareholders of billions of dollars and disregarded the rule that you shouldn’t take private property for “public use, without just compensation” (the Fifth Amendment). How did the government do that? By taking a 92 percent stake in the company and, you know, saving it.

This could be all-out warfare. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is in the midst of negotiating one of the country's toughest gun control laws and is expected to announce it on Wednesday, sources say. The new legislation would include restrictions of assualt weapons, harsher penalties for gun crimes and magazine limits. The details have been negotiated with Senate and Assembly leaders. “It’s a very divisive topic,” Cuomo said this week. “There’s a lot of energy on both sides. Some people are vehemently against’ some people think we’re out of our minds for not passing it.” The plan would be announced at Cuomo's State of the State speech in Albany.

New photos have been released of Robert Levinson, the ex-FBI agent who was kidnapped in 2007 while on a business trip in Iran. The 64-year-old is shown in a mock prison uniform holding a series of signs. One reads "This is the result of 30 years serving for USA. Why you can not help me." His wife, Christine, decided to release the photos after holding them for months, but hope their publicity will raise awareness. "There isn't any pressure on Iran to resolve this," she said. "It's been much too long." Intelligences officials reportedly suspect that the Iranian government's intelligence services are behind the images and 2010 "proof of life" video. There is a $1 million reward for information leading to his safe return.

Post-2014, Afghanistan could find itself without American troops. On Tuesday, the White House announced that despite recommendations to keep upwards of 15,000 troops in Afghanistan, President Obama could decide to remove everyone, like he did in Iraq two years ago. The "zero-option" is one "we would consider," said Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, but the decision will be based off of two factors: denying al Qaeda a safe haven and fully training and equipping Afghan troops. There are currently 66,000 troops in the country, which will be slowly reduced through 2014, when the NATO combat mission ends. Obama is scheduled to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai this week.

Let the protests begin. Venezuela's National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello announced Tuesday that Hugo Chavez won't be able to attend his presidential swearing-in on Thursday. The ailing leader has been recovering from his fourth cancer surgery in 18 months in Cuba, and complications have kept him hospitalized. Opposition leaders say the presidential term ends on January 10 and postponing a swearing-in is unconstitutional, while Vice President Nicolas Maduro says it is merely a "formality" and the constitution is being misinterpreted. Chavez is in "stable condition" and is recovering from a severe respiratory infection.

A Manhattan Federal Court ruled that police are not allowed to make trespassing stops outside of private residential buildings in the Bronx. The “Clean Halls” program—which is only in the Bronx—has led to people suing the city after alleging harassment outside their own place of residence. In the program, officers are allowed to patrol in and around private residential buildings. There will be a hearing on what other relief should be granted.

It’s a lot of money for a place they may only need for 72 days. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have purchased an $11 million mansion in Bel Air. The expectant parents will eventually be bringing their new baby home to the 10,000-square-foot house, which is located in a gated community. Since it will be so cramped for three, the couple has already gutted the interior and will be adding a 4,000-square-foot extension. Their new neighbors will include Jennifer Aniston, Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis, and Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul.

They tried to make her go to rehab, and we wish she had. A second inquiry into singer Amy Winehouse's death found she died of alcohol poisoning while drinking vodka alone in her bedroom and watching YouTube clips of herself. The raspy-voiced singer died from the fatal amount of alcohol in her blood and was found with two empty bottles of vodka next to her bed. She was watching YouTube videos of herself, which she hadn't done in a while, according to her live-in security guard. Winehouse's doctor said she had begun drinking again three days earlier out of boredom but wasn't depressed. “She specifically said she did not want to die,” she said.

The Wall Street Journal presents a reconstruction of the life—and chilling rape and murder—of the young Indian girl who has captured the world’s attention. Before her attack, the girl, only 5 feet 3 and 90 pounds and with new white, gold, and red streaks in her hair, had met with a guy friend at the mall to peruse jackets before going to see Life of Pi. She is described as a hardworking young girl who emceed college dance recitals. While studying physiotherapy, she worked at a call center—she slept only a few hours a night. The story also details how a few misguided men went on a “joy ride” on a bus that one of them drove, picked up the girl and her friend, and brutally attacked them.

David Bowie's new single, “Where Are We Now?,” hit No. 5 on iTunes just 12 hours after it was released. It's been more than 10 years since his last album, but the new single was released to coincide with his 66th birthday. A new album, The Next Day, will follow in March. Bowie has not performed since 2006, and he has rarely appeared in public since then. Danny Boyle asked the reclusive star to appear at the Olympics Opening Ceremony last summer, but he declined.

Major world powers have often been unable to agree on a course of action during the civil war in Syria. But the discovery in November that Syrian troops appeared to be preparing chemical weapons led to unprecedented international cooperation. A public warning from President Obama combined with more sharply worded private messages from Russia, Iraq, Turkey, and possibly Jordan to Bashar al-Assad and his commanders stopped the chemical mixing and bomb preparation within a week. But there are still fears that Assad may resort to using the weapons as he becomes increasingly desperate. One senior defense official recently said, “I think the Russians understood this is the one thing that could get us to intervene in the war. What Assad understood, and whether that understanding changes if he gets cornered in the next few months, that's anyone's guess.”

Authorities in Australia have warned of a “catastrophic” fire threat in the state of New South Wales. More than 130 fires were burning across New South Wales on Tuesday, and more than 40 of those had yet to be brought under control. Temperatures are expected to rise to 109 degrees Fahrenheit, and a total fire ban is in effect. Some areas of the state are experiencing winds of 43 mph, which may further fan the flames. No homes have been destroyed, but authorities warned that the threat will last throughout the night. Prime Minister Julia Gillard warned that it was a “dangerous” day and urged people to “stay focused,” adding “it is very important that people keep themselves safe, that they listen to local authorities and local warnings.”

President Barack Obama's decision to put Chuck Hagel at the helm as U.S. secretary of Defense is making some Israelis nervous. The former Republican senator's positions on Iran's nuclear program, Palestinian relations, and refusal to sign a letter in support of recognizing Hezbollah as a terrorist group, aren't in line with Israel's government. "I support Israel, but my first interest is I take an oath of office to the Constitution of the United States, not to a president, not to a party, not to Israel," he once said. "Because of his statements in the past, and his stance toward Israel, we are worried," said Reuven Rivlin, the speaker of the Israeli parliament. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office refused to comment.

That relationship sure ended … swiftly. Taylor Swift and One Direction singer Harry Styles have reportedly called it quits. The pop stars flew to the British Virgin Islands for a vacation on New Year’s Day but apparently ran into some trouble in paradise. Sources say that after a big fight, Swift jetted back to the U.S. on Jan. 4. Swift began dating Styles soon after ending her brief fling with Connor Kennedy in October.

A man believed to have been an Afghan soldier killed a British soldier in a patrol base in Afghanistan. The shooting occurred at Patrol Base Hazrat in the Nahri Sarraj district of Helmand province. A NATO spokesman said that the shooter fired on both British and Afghan troops. An anonymous Ministry of Defense official said that the attack also wounded six other British soldiers. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the shooting, saying that the shooter escaped the scene but was killed at a checkpoint. It is the first insider attack of 2013. Insider attacks In Afghanistan killed 61 people in 45 separate incidents last year.

Two years after her almost-fatal bullet to the head, it sounds like former Representative Gabrielle Giffords is ready to push for stricter legislation on firearms. After a visit to Newtown, Connecticut, and recent meetings with gun-control advocates, Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly are expected to reveal a fundraising effort and call for specific weapon restrictions during an interview with Diane Sawyer on Tuesday, according to sources. The couple haven't been involved with previous lobby efforts before, but have spoken about gun control on social media and in public. "This time our response must consist of more than regret, sorrow and condolence," Kelly wrote on his Facebook page after the Newtown shooting.

Gay and lesbian veterans discharged from the military under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will now get full separation pay, thanks to a court settlement reached Monday between the federal government and the American Civil Liberties Union. After DADT was repealed and expired in 2011, an unchanged statute forced gay and lesbian service members to receive half the separation pay from the U.S. government. “It makes no sense to continue to penalize service members who were discharged under a statute that has already been repealed,” said a staff attorney general for ACLU in a statement. The settlement covers roughly 181 gay service members who were honorably discharged on or after Nov. 10, 2004.

The Alabama Crimson Tide bested Notre Dame in the BCS title game on Monday night. The No. 2 ranked Crimson Tide destroyed the top-ranked Notre Dame in Miami by a final score of 42–14. The victory gave Alabama back-to-back championship wins and its third crown in four years. Alabama coach Nick Saban said, “People talk about how the most difficult thing is to win your first championship. Really, the most difficult one to win is the next one, because there’s always a feeling of entitlement.”

A new analysis found that the U.S. government could default on its debt as early as Feb. 15, which is half a month earlier than was originally expected. The analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center says that the government will be unable to pay its bills starting sometime between Feb. 15 and March 1. The government technically hit the $16.4 trillion statutory debt limit on Dec. 31, but the Treasury Department is able to attempt certain accounting schemes, known as “extraordinary measures,” that were expected to put off a default through the first two months of the year. But a spokesperson for the Bipartisan Policy Center said, “Our numbers show that we have less time to solve this problem than many realize.”

Tunisian authorities have released the sole suspect in custody for the attack on the U.S. consulate, due to lack of evidence. Ali Harzi was released on Monday night, though he must remain in the greater Tunis area. Harzi, a Tunisian, had been arrested in Turkey wand was extradited to Tunisia in October and Tunisian authorities said he was “strongly suspected” of being involved in the attack. His lawyer has long said that there is no evidence linking Harzi to the attack. The investigation in Libya has also stalled because of the weak power of the central government relative to the powerful militias who may have been involved in the attack.

Scuffles broke out during protests outside of Southern Weekly, a Guangzhou newspaper that has been protesting against government censorship. The fights broke out when supporters of the paper skirmished with a group of leftists who arrived holding portraits of Chairman Mao and signs that described the weekly as “a traitor newspaper.” One pro–press freedom protester said, “These people [leftists] are paid agitators of the government, twisting the truth with propaganda. We had to do something about it.” Police officers intervened, but the protests were allowed to go on. The paper is still scheduled to be published on Thursday, though editors of other Southern Media Group publications may be brought in to take over the issue.

When Urooj Khan emigrated to the U.S. from India in the 1980s, he likely never dreamed he would be able to call himself a millionaire. Then came a winning $1M lottery ticket in June and his world turned upside-down. One month later—a day after the check was issued by the Illinois Comptroller’s Office—the Indian-immigrant was dead. Initially deemed a death of natural causes, a new investigation into his case exposed lethal levels of cyanide in his body. Khan's wife of 12 years says the "kind-hearted family man" ate dinner with his family at home the night of murder, then was rushed to the hospital later when he awoke from his bed "screaming." Chicago police now consider the case a murder, though a suspect has yet to be named.