Dennis Rodman is having a grand time in North Korea. Rats are now reading each other’s minds. Senator Mike Duffy was declared eligible to represent Prince Edward Island. What seemed impossible on Monday is now Friday’s reality.

This morning, we learn that the Senate has reduced its investigation of improper expenses to just three Senators: Duffy, Mac Harb and Patrick Brazeau. Questions remain about a fourth Senator, Pamela Wallin, who’s already repaid an undisclosed amount of money that she’d previously expensed. That leaves just four Senators in the doghouse, and 100 others playing by the rules. But don’t mistake this for some kind of conclusion to recent debates about Senate transparency and accountability. Reporters are sifting through anything they can to root out bad behaviour. Postmedia‘s Mike De Souza, for example, is asking why Senators who live in Montreal don’t take the free train ride offered to them when they travel to and from the nation’s capital. Malice isn’t rampant, necessarily, but these questions are worth asking. And reporters love to ask them. And dig for more questions. And ask them, too. Senators will have to stay on their toes.

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What’s above the fold this morning?

The Globe and Mail leads with an apparent federal proposal to require that major procurement bids include apprenticeship programs. The National Post fronts NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair’s potential struggles to keep his caucus united. The Toronto Star goes just below the fold with Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault’s pending recommendation that elected officials become subject to access-to-information laws. The Ottawa Citizen leads with Ottawa teachers resisting a return to extracurriculars until the government takes a “concrete step” to fix current labour unrest. iPolitics fronts a conversation with Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird that covered Iran Keystone XL, Mali and North Korea. CBC.ca leads with the so-called “sequester” spending cuts in the United States that kick in today. National Newswatch showcases the CBC News report that Senator Mike Duffy is officially eligible to represent Prince Edward Island in the Senate.

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Stories that will be (mostly) missed

1. Toronto 18. The Supreme Court decided against hearing the appeal of three of the infamous Toronto 18 terrorists, each of whom are serving sentences of at least 18 years.	2. African oil. A Canadian oil and gas company signed an oil-exploration deal with the Ethiopian government despite receiving threats from a leading rebel group in the country.
3. Triad. A Vancouver hearing of the Immigration and Refugee Board heard about the various elements of Triad gangs, mostly emanating from Hong Kong, that operate in Canada.	4. Medical isotopes. The feds are giving $25 million to three groups who will develop new technology that would produce medical isotopes and replace the current Chalk River reactor.

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