spending slumped. the commerce department says first-quarter g.d.p. came in at 1.8%, that's down from 3.1% at the end of last year. new claims for jobless benefits reversed course this week, rising when a drop was expected. the labor department says new claims rose by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 424,000. a federal judge in wisconsin today struck down a controversial state law that stripped most collective bargaining rights from public workers, but that may not be the final decision as wisconsin's supreme court takes up the issue next month. still ahead, friending your utility company, or how the concept of social networking can help businesses save big money on energy. it's tonight's "planet forward." >> tom: the vice president and a bipartisan group of congressional negotiators met for a little over an hour today. they're working to hammer out an agreement to cut federal spending and raise the nation's debt ceiling. time runs out in early august. lawmakers in the talks say they