13 of the biggest stories you may have missed this week

There's been no shortage of major stories to break this week. 

From China's president amassing unseen levels of power since Mao to the Syrian government's ongoing Russia-backed offensive, the news has kept on coming. 

With that in mind, we've put together some of this week's most important stories that you may have missed:

• A Chinese defector who went missing in California after his brother's arrest in China revealed some closely guarded secrets of the Chinese military. 
• Based off of the FBI's tracking of violent crimes, Business Insider assembled a list of the most violent city in each state. 
• The Pentagon unveiled some of the weapons and research it wants to pursue with its upcoming 2017 budget. 
• The DEA broke down which powerful Mexican cartels are operating throughout the US. 
• The F-35, the most expensive weapons program in history, is expected to miss a key deadline.

• The Assad regime, with significant Russian backing, is poised to accomplish a potentially devastating blow against the rebels.

• Russia said there are numerous signs that Turkey could be preparing to enter Syria too.
• According to a defense think tank, Russia could force NATO out of the Baltics in 36 hours.

• The US is preparing to sell Saudi Arabia $1 billion worth of arms. 
• Iraq's economy could be on the verge of falling off of a fiscal cliff with dire results.
• Hundreds of thousands of Chinese are waiting in and around mass transit stations to get home in time for Chinese New Year. 
• Stratfor released their chilling predictions for the next decade. 
• South Korean special forces go through this insane knife training to prepare for duty.