Compromise

House, Senate and White House staffers worked all night to reach a budget compromise. Yesterday's meetings with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid failed to reach agreement. Still, both sides report progress. President Obama says they're going to keep pounding away at this thing. Deadline pressure is increasing. Without a budget, the government would partially shut down Friday night. That would cause the furlough of nearly a million federal employees. Meanwhile, the Republican-led House moves to pass a very short continuing resolution that also funds the Defense Department for the rest of the fiscal year. Democrats, including the President, resist that idea. Complicating prospects for a final budget: Negotiators have yet to discuss policy riders Republicans want attached to any full-year budget bill.