Economy -- The Metastasizing Recession: Policymakers in Washington face the growing challenge of tracking the shifting contours of the nation's economic slowdown as they attempt to design legislative and administrative responses to it. "The economic downturn is seeping into new parts of the country that seemed insulated only months ago." Times. Graphs.

• Unemployment Claims at Four-Year High:The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance rose last week and the total number on benefit rolls reached the highest since August 2004. Bloomberg
• Food Aid Spending Urged: Aid groups are asking Congress for a 70 percent increase in supplemental funding this year to ensure that historically high commodity prices to avoid gaps in food donations and help those hardest hit by skyrocketing prices for staples like bread and milk. Post