The national unemployment rate cracked 10 percent for the first time in 26 years, as noted in Slog's patented Morning News. But it's really a lot worse than that. When you count people who have given up looking for jobs or have settled for part time jobs, the rate jumps to 17.5 percent, the worst since the government began tracking the broader numbers in 1994. The New York Times has an interesting couple of interactive diagrams of the statistics.

In "glimmer of hope" unemployment news, President Obama signed a bill granting a federal extension for as much as 20 further weeks of unemployment benefits this morning, boosting the maximum benefits possible to just over two years.