Airbus, which lost out in a bitterly contested Air Force contract to rival Boeing, is building a $600 million assembly plant in Alabama. Here’s what it means for the military, and for a saga that won’t end.

Palantir Technologies, the Silicon Valley upstart-turned intelligence community darling, has hired Gavin Hood, formerly a liaison between British and American spy services. More here.

A just-published paper offers new insights and intriguing details about the New York Times’ 2005 blockbuster on government spying. More here.

Why is the government pressing so hard to find leaks of classified information? Because it can. More here.

How a grieving father’s telegram to the President got an answer–nearly 40 years later. More here.

George and Trish Vradenburg are using their political connections, and their considerable fortune, to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease in their lifetime. What motivates them? The fear that Trish, like her mother, may have the disease. More here.

Think tanks and law firms in Washington are targets of pervasive espionage by cyber spies who are stealing sensitive information on business and policy matters and are using their unwitting victims to better understand the intricacies of Washington decision-making. More here.

Here’s the first thing you need to know about a reported “cyber attack” against natural gas pipeline operators that was revealed last week: It wasn’t actually an attack. More here.

There’s much welcome indignation over the twin scandals at the General Services Administration and the Secret Service. Does this signal a new era of accountability? Don’t bet on it. More here.

I joined NPR’s Scott Simon recently for a discussion about unmanned aircraft, and whether we’ll soon  be seeing tiny drones flying around American cities. The full audio is here.