Who doesn't enjoy a little good news now and then...

CQ editor Mike Riley has been working his team hard lately, but it certainly hasn't gone unnoticed. He took a moment today to thank his staff for their long hours, late nights and stakeouts.

I want to applaud our efforts on the night before last and salute those who were involved. Yes, it is an uncertain and anxious time at CQ, but the fact that these folks were focused fully on doing their work well reinforces the immense value we bring to our readers every day. And for that I am immensely grateful, as are our subscribers.

There's an excerpt; check out his full memo after the jump.

For decades, the dedication of CQ staffers has been legendary, defined by long hours, late nights and stakeouts in Capitol corridors as they chase facts, information and stories. That commitment is a prime reason that readers consider Congressional Quarterly the gold standard of congressional coverage. And this week has only served to underscore that impressive value. At the very real risk of leaving someone out -- and, as we all know, there are often more hands in doing our work than anyone ever realizes -- I want to applaud our efforts on the night before last and salute those who were involved. Yes, it is an uncertain and anxious time at CQ, but the fact that these folks were focused fully on doing their work well reinforces the immense value we bring to our readers every day. And for that I am immensely grateful, as are our subscribers. So here's my understanding of the many outstanding contributors..... From the defense authorization markup, which ended about 2:40 a.m. Wednesday: John Donnelly, Matt Johnson and Joanna Anderson. The markup started at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The story was filed about 2:50 a.m., but no doubt Joanna had to stay even later because she had to record all the votes on amendments. On the CJS approps story: Noella Kertes, Jennifer Scholtes, Keith Perine, Kerry Young. We found out about 8:30 p.m. that House Rules was going into emergency meeting to rewrite rules on the CJS bill because Democrats and Republicans were in disagreement. Jen Scholtes hurried up to the Hill to attend the markup, which really didn't start until after 11 p.m. and ended almost three hours later. Keith stayed with the story until midnight, but then left it to Jen because he knew he had to come in the next day for the followup story. Kerry Young waited until a rule was decided so that Budget Tracker could be up-to-date in the morning. Noella, of course, always stays on with her crew. In addition to the CJS coverage, the House Armed Services Defense Authorization markup also went into the morning last night, covered for Votes by Joanna Anderson and edited by Kathleen Murphy. Kathleen and Noella cleared the defense authorization story to CQ.com at 4:03 a.m. Wednesday and the House Rules story at 4:15 a.m. From the Continuous News Desk, Frank Oliveri signed off around 3 a.m. And Jessica Cuellar was there as the late-night web producer for CQ.com. Thanks to each and all of you. You are absolute pros, and it is a real pleasure working with you. Best, Mike