The House Armed Services Committee has scheduled a hearing this week on potential military options in Iran, at the same time a third round of nuclear talks with Iran are concluding.

The hearing, titled “Addressing the Iranian Nuclear Challenge: Understanding the Military Options,” was announced Monday morning, though it does not yet have a list of witnesses.

Reports from Moscow were not optimistic that there would be progress in the third round of nuclear negotiations

A U.K. marine insurer has dropped coverage for a Russian vessel believed to be carrying attack helicopters and munitions to Syria, CNN is reporting.

The Standard Club has stopped coverage for Russian operator Femco's cargo ship, MV Alaed, following Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's allegations that Russia is providing helicopters to the government of Bashar al-Assad. Russia says the helicopters were part of an earlier order and were merely being refurbished in Russia.

President Obama will meet with Russian President Vladmir Putin on Monday for the first time since Putin was reelected as president, as the two countries continue to disagree about the way forward in the Syrian crisis. 

The bilateral meeting between Obama and Putin at the Group of 20 Summit in Mexico gives the leaders an opportunity to find common ground on Syria. Officials from the two sides have been engaged in a battle of words this past week.

The United States has pressed Russia to stop backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as Russia and China have blocked United Nations Security Council action against the Assad regime.

David Plouffe said Republicans were using the leaks to damage Obama and promised cooperation with a DOJ investigation.

As lawmakers craft new laws to crack down on leaks, they say they aren’t targeting journalists who published leaked information.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reached out to the head of Egypt's ruling military council days after the group dissolved the country's Parliament, casting further doubt on the stability of Egypt's burgeoning democracy.

During his conversation with Mohamed Hussein Field Marshal Tantawi, Panetta "highlighted the need to move forward expeditiously with Egypt's political transition," according to a Defense Department statement issued late Friday.

Tantawi, who heads Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), told Panetta the council remained committed to its plan to hand power over to the country's democratically-elected president on July 1.

Panetta and Tantawi also agreed to pursue additional efforts to strengthen military ties between Washington and Cairo.

However, Panetta emphasized the only way that a security relationship can develop between the U.S. and Egypt is "to ensure a full and peaceful transition to democracy," according to the DOD statement.

Obama and Biden expressed condolences to the Saudi royal family on the passing of Crown Prince Nayif Saturday.

The White House is challenging Congress to prevent the automatic spending cuts that are looming for the Pentagon.