Today’s Headlines and Commentary

Reuters quotes Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov, who stated that Russia would interpret further expansion of NATO forces near the country's borders as a "demonstration of hostile intentions" and would take "political and military measures" to ensure its security.

The Guardian reports that a Russian court convicted two Chechens of murdering journalist Anna Politkovskaya in an apparent contract killing, and sentenced them to life imprisonment this weekend.

The British Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, apparently leaked a briefing---which was subsequently published in the Times of London---suggesting that the Department of the Home Secretary has been too soft on Islamic fundamentalists who have allegedly been plotting to infiltrate and take over schools in Birmingham. The NY Times reports on the political fallout.

Bloomberg says that about 20 women have been abducted from a nomadic settlement in Chibok, Nigeria, where Boko Haram kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls two months ago.

The Associated Press reports that former military chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was sworn in as Egypt's President on Sunday.

The Chinese foreign ministry has issued a statement accusing Vietnam of more than 1,400 illegal raids on Chinese ships. That's the latest from BBC on the South China Sea territorial conflict.

On the domestic front:

Under the Obama administration, war weapons---including M-16 rifles, grenade launchers, camouflage, silencers, aircraft and armored combat vehicles---have been quietly appearing in local police departments with minimal public notice. That's the unsettling Times report this morning.

The Bergdahl firestorm continues. The Post cites U.S. officials who say Sgt. Bergdahl has reported being tortured by his Taliban kidnappers and kept in a cage for long periods of time. Secretary of State John Kerry continues to defend the swap, calling "baloney" on those who argue that the prisoner swap of Sgt. Bowe for five Taliban detainees will put U.S. troops at risk. So says Politico. And ABC says that deals to transfer about 78 detainees already cleared for transfer to other countries are being stalled in the wake of the controversy following the Bergdahl prisoner swap. Check out CNN's blow-by-blow of Bergdahl-related developments. The Obama administration will follow up last week's closed-door Senate briefing with a classified briefing from the White House today, a briefing before members of the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow, and a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday during which Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will testify.

Two police officers were shot at point-blank range in Las Vegas on Sunday by two suspected white supremacists who then stole the officers' weapons, ammunition, and badges and killed a third person at a Wal-Mart. The Post writes that during the resulting shootout with police, the female suspect killed her male companion, thought to be her husband, and then herself.

Yesterday the Hill reported that the battle over NSA reform is heating up in the Senate in the wake of the apparent failure of Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner's reform bill in the House.

Politico says California-based companies SpaceX and Palantir have been shut out of the defense game, in a drama that reflects the "striking culture clash" between "Silicon Valley startup mentality" and "Washington's inside game." Apparently both companies are on the outs for violating the cardinal rule of selling to government: "Don’t sue your customer."

More companies are buying insurance policies to protect themselves against data breaches. Unfortunately, they have no idea how much coverage they need. Here's the Times report.

Paperplane drones? In a brief piece on the PowerUp 3.0, the Wall Street Journal reminds us that you can add a guidance-and-propulsion system to just about anything.