With the Olympics coming to a close Sunday evening, Russian president Vladimir Putin is faced with responding to the turmoil in Urkaine, a country he has named vital to Russia. Backing the groups in Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula could start an unfortunate chain of events in Europe, but ignoring the pleas for help could destroy Putin’s image of a tough ruler looking to stand up to the West.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel proposed Monday to shrinking the Army to its smallest size in 74 years. Hagel suggested closing military bases and making other savings as a way to reshape after more than a decade at war. He outlined his plan in a speech at the Pentagon, and next week President Obama is to submit 2015 budget plans to Congress.

In a study released Monday, research shows that removing healthy ovaries is one of the best protective steps women can take if they carry a cancer gene. Some women may benefit most from surgery at the age of 35. It has shown that women who inherit one of a pair of defective BRCA genes are at a much higher risk of developing both breast and ovarian cancer than other women.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed an anti-gay bill Monday that calls for sentences of up to life in prison for same-sex acts. The president said this bill is necessary because the West is promoting homosexuality in Africa. This law went into effect immediately, but U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay warned that the law would institutionalize discrimination and encourage violence against gays.

Contact Taylor Williams at [email protected].