Hot on the heels of a report from the World Bank saying China is poised to overtake the U.S. as the world's largest economy this year comes the news that China really, really wishes it weren't.

A person involved in preparing the report told the Financial Times that "China wanted to throw this out. They don't want to be seen as number one. They're worried about the political implications with the U.S." They added: "[China] begged and threatened for a whole year... China hates it."

In another surprise, China's state media did not even mention the country's ascension to the No. 1 spot in the World Bank report. One would think that being coronated as the world's largest economy, a title held by the U.S. since the 1880s, would be seen as a crowning achievement after three decades of rapid economic growth. But China's leaders, according to the FT, are concerned that with great power comes great responsibility.

On the basis of economic activity per person, China is still a relatively poor country. This means that it does not want to be asked to do too much on the international stage.

The U.S. — as the world's largest economy — takes a very large role in international security, with its navy patrolling global shipping lanes, for example, and providing by far the largest national contribution of funding for international institutions like the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. With China now on the cusp of being ranked as the world's largest economy, China fears it may be called on to play a bigger role. John Aziz

French United Nations Ambassador Francois Delattre said Sunday the barrage of Syrian government airstrikes that have pounded rebel-held areas of Aleppo since Friday amount to "war crimes" by the Bashar al-Assad regime and cannot be left unpunished.

The "Security Council simply cannot accept such war crimes — yes, war crimes — to repeat again," Delattre argued, proposing "an immediate humanitarian truce in Aleppo and the Ghouta [a region of Syria near Damascus], 20 years after the siege of Sarajevo."

Since Friday, more than 200 strikes have hit Aleppo, killing at least 100 people and leaving 2 million civilians without running water. The U.N. Security Council convened at 11 a.m. Eastern time Sunday to discuss the situation. Complicating matters, the council includes Russia, which is allied with the Assad regime. Bonnie Kristian

Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence promised Sunday his running mate, Donald Trump, will "absolutely" tell the truth while debating Hillary Clinton on Monday because he "always speaks straight from his mind and straight from his heart."

Trump is "going to speak the truth to the American people," Pence said in an interview with CBS' Face the Nation. "That’s why you see the tremendous momentum in this campaign."

The veep candidate also weighed in on Trump's informal style of debate prep — which poses a sharp contrast to Clinton's more studied approach — arguing that Trump "has been preparing for this debate for his entire lifetime." After all, "he's built a great business and he's traveled the country," Pence said, "and particularly in this campaign he's given voice to the frustration and aspirations of the American people like no leader in my lifetime since Ronald Reagan." Bonnie Kristian

Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson said intergalactic travel is part of the long-term plan of dealing with climate change while speaking with ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.

Stephanopoulos played a clip from several years ago in which Johnson argued, "the long-term view is that in billions of years the sun is going to actually grow and encompass the Earth, right? So global warming is in our future." Asked whether that means "we don't do anything about it now," Johnson said that line was a joke but then got serious, arguing his mention of the sun highlights "the fact that we do have to inhabit other planets. I mean, the future of the human race is space exploration."

Still, right now, "we should be prudent with the environment," he added as the interview ended. "We care about the environment. Look, clean air, clean water. I think the EPA exists to protect us against individuals, groups, corporations that would do us harm. Pollution is harm." Bonnie Kristian

Gennifer Flowers, the actress and Penthouse model who claims to have had a 12-year affair with former President Bill Clinton, on Saturday agreed to take a front-row seat at the first debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Monday night. On Sunday, the Trump campaign said she's not invited.

The cold shoulder came from both Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, who said on CNN Flowers was never "formally" invited, and from vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, who told Fox News' Chris Wallace that Flowers will not attend.

The arrangement was originally suggested by Trump himself on Twitter Saturday in response to news that Clinton supporter Mark Cuban said he would sit in the front row. Whether Cuban or Flowers would even be permitted to take those seats is unclear; the candidates do have tickets to distribute as they please, but the Commission on Presidential Debates said it would "frown upon" prominent placement of either person. Bonnie Kristian

An onslaught considered to be the heaviest bombing campaign of the Syrian civil war continues in Aleppo after the aerial attack by government forces began buffeting rebel-held parts of the city with airstrikes on Friday.

More than 200 strikes have pounded Aleppo's eastern neighborhoods since then, killing more than 100 civilians, including children. Rescue workers are still attempting to free people from the rubble of their flattened homes. An estimated 2 million people in Aleppo have no running water after attacks damaged the water station serving rebel-held areas and another water station serving government-controlled parts of the city was turned off in retaliation.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday condemned the assault as the "most sustained and intense bombardment since the start of the Syrian conflict," calling it "appalling" in advance of a U.N. meeting on Syria cease-fire efforts. Bonnie Kristian

The Miami Marlins' star pitcher José Fernández was killed Sunday morning in a boat crash in Miami Beach, Florida. He was 24 years old.

"The Miami Marlins organization is devastated by the tragic loss of José Fernández," the Major Leage Baseball team said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this very difficult time. Today's game against the Atlanta Braves has been cancelled."

Fernández was born in Cuba but defected to the United States in 2007 with his mother. He was National League Rookie of the Year in 2013. Bonnie Kristian

Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump are separated by less than the 4.5 percent margin of error in a Washington Post/ABC News poll released Sunday morning. Clinton has maintained a substantial lead over Trump for most of the campaign, but the gap has increasingly narrowed as Election Day approaches, and this survey sees that trend continue.

Among likely voters Clinton scores 46 percent support to Trump's 44 percent, while Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson takes 5 percent and the Green Party's Jill Stein has 1 percent national support. If Johnson and Stein are removed as options, Clinton leads Trump 49 to 47 percent. Among registered voters, Clinton and Trump are tied at 46 percent in a two-way race and 41 percent in a four-way race.

More than 100 million people are expected to watch Monday's first general election debate between the two candidates, the largest debate audience in U.S. history. Bonnie Kristian