Obama to Ban Anti-Gay Discrimination by Gov. Contractors, SCOTUS Allows Third-Party Gun Buy Bans, Russia Cuts Off Ukraine's Gas: P.M. Links

• 

  U.S. Army

  The White House announced today President Barack Obama will sign an executive order prohibiting federal government contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Gay activists have been hounding the administration to compose such an order for years.

• The Supreme Court ruled in a close decision, 5-4, that the federal government can ban third-party or "straw" purchases of guns, even if the final recipient of the gun is a legal buyer.
• California lawmakers have passed a $156 billion budget that includes allowing Gov. Jerry Brown to use money from the state's cap-and-trade program to help pay for the $68 billion high-speed rail plan that just will not die.
• Russia has cut off gas to Ukraine over unpaid bills, setting back peace efforts even further.
• The Army has begun its formal probe to determine why Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl left his post in Afghanistan in 2009.
• The Securities and Exchange Commission Monday accused a hedge fund firm of retaliating against an employee who reported inappropriate transactions. Yes, that's right: Officials of the Obama administration are trying to protect whistle-blowers … as long as they're in the private sector.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and don't forget to sign up for Reason's daily updates for more content.