Good morning.

There's a budget summit of sorts at the White House today, and as we reported earlier there are signs of a deal between Democrats, led by President Obama, and Republicans, led by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).

Paul Campos is professor of law at the University of Colorado.

"The founder of Pakistan's nuclear bomb program asserts that the government of North Korea bribed top military officials in Islamabad to obtain access to sensitive nuclear technology in the late 1990s," according to a Washington Post front-page exclusive this morning.

New York City's West Village is home to a pet shop called Le Petite Puppy. It's within walking distance of several bars. The manager says inebriated bar patrons will stumble in and attempt to buy a puppy without thinking through the responsibilities that entails. So the store's banned puppy sales to drunk customers.

Elizabeth Dickinson is a freelance journalist and former assistant managing editor at Foreign Policy.

MEXICO CITY — On a quiet November day nearly two years ago, Luis Angel Leon Rodriguez called his mother, Araceli, to tell her he would be leaving town for a while. The 24-year-old federal police officer was being sent on a mission to Michoacán, one of Mexico's hottest states for organized crime. He would earn a bit more money in the danger zone, he explained. His mother implored him not to go; Luis Angel brushed off her fears.

Drivers in Moscow stopped in the middle of a 10-lane highway this week to pick up what looked like strewn money. It turns out, the road was not paved with rubles. Just bookmarks printed to look like a 1,000 ruble note.

With President Obama preparing to meet with congressional leaders from both major parties at the White House later this morning, there are a variety of reports about the outlines of what may — and we stress the word may -- be a deal on a multitrillion-dollar deficit-reduction plan.

We'll start with this from NPR's Marilyn Geewax:

The father of Pakistan's nuclear program tells The Washington Post that North Korea paid kickbacks to Pakistani military officials in exchange for sensitive nuclear technology.

Speakers for the 131st annual Fancy Farm picnic have been scheduled and organizers have confirmed candidates seeking statewide office and departing public officials will be in attendance. Time has even been set aside for any GOP presidential nominees running in 2012, but none are on the list—yet.

Minnesota's government has had been shutdown for nearly a week. There continues to be a standoff over taxes and spending between the Democratic governor and the Republicans who control the state's legislature. Hundreds of laid off state workers rallied at the steps of the state Capitol Wednesday.