"Ex-French president Sarkozy detained in corruption probe"

"Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was detained Tuesday and reportedly questioned by financial investigators in a corruption probe that could cloud his chances of a political comeback."

The detention — a very unusual move for such a high-level figure — dominated French news broadcasts. The investigation is the latest in a string of probes to target the former leader.

French media reports say Sarkozy is being questioned in an investigation linked to financing for his 2007 presidential campaign, notably allegations that late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi gave Sarkozy millions of euros in illegal campaign donations.

'We hope you will, please, pursue this... Check it out. Challenge us.'

"The Citizens Commission on Benghazi, a self-selected group of former top military officers, CIA insiders and think-tankers, declared Tuesday in Washington that a seven-month review of the deadly 2012 terrorist attack has determined that it could have been prevented – if the U.S. hadn't been helping to arm al-Qaeda militias throughout Libya a year earlier."

'The United States switched sides in the war on terror with what we did in Libya, knowingly facilitating the provision of weapons to known al-Qaeda militias and figures,' Clare Lopez, a member of the commission and a former CIA officer, told MailOnline.

She blamed the Obama administration for failing to stop half of a $1 billion United Arab Emirates arms shipment from reaching al-Qaeda-linked militants.

'Remember, these weapons that came into Benghazi were permitted to enter by our armed forces who were blockading the approaches from air and sea,' Lopez claimed. 'They were permitted to come in. ... [They] knew these weapons were coming in, and that was allowed..

'The intelligence community was part of that, the Department of State was part of that, and certainly that means that the top leadership of the United States, our national security leadership, and potentially Congress – if they were briefed on this – also knew about this.' (read more)

Equal Time?

Charlie Rose interviewed Syrian President Bashar Assad at the presidential palace in Damascus on Sunday morning.

The interview, Assad's first with an American television network in nearly two years, will air on PBS's "Charlie Rose" show on Monday, the same day that President Obama sits down with six television networks for recorded interviews.

A look back...