It's the close of another week and there were many things we didn't get to write about. Here were just a few of them:
• John Bennett reports in The Hill that DoD could give lawmakers a sneak peak of its fiscal 13 budget late this year or early next to get defense lawmakers ready for the all the many deep spending reductions it will contain.
• Worth its own bullet point: Per Bennett, the only new start program in the budget request will be the Air Force's long-awaited new bomber.
• The Wall Street Journal's Julian Barnes and Adam Entous reported that U.S. officials say Pakistan cleared the NATO air strike that ended up killing 24 Pakistani soldiers.
• The WaPo has a cool story and graphic about China's nuclear weapons program.
• Stars and Stripes' Chris Carroll reports that DoD is going to begin to train Afghans in "high-tech mineral prospecting," in hopes of spurring new mining across the country.
• New Hampshire's Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte can't wait for Secretary Panetta's timetable on a full audit of the Defense Department -- she wants one by 2014.
