Today, Morning News becomes Morning Reads, because sometimes the articles I read in the morning are not necessarily the news.

• Is Jay-Z signaling a recession?: I don’t need the chairman of the Federal Reserve to tell me about the state of our economy. I just need Jay-Z, the new Alan Greenspan. [more at Chaska Herald]
• Before There Was EVOO …: Sure, we now have an entire network devoted to food and cooking shows, but what about those bygone cooking hosts we watched and loved before the deluge of BAM! and EVOO? [more at Chow]
• Metro to sell land near station: Metro’s board of directors approved on Thursday selling land adjacent to the Takoma rail station to a developer, angering local residents who oppose plans to construct town houses on the site. [more at the Examiner; if it's one thing the D.C. area has a lot of, it's NIMBY-ists]
• Cast Aside Underarm Protection, if You Dare: IN Kurt Vonnegut’s “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater,” there is an imaginary country that is in search of a common enemy, but every disease has already been cured and all wars have stopped. So, the country wages a battle against odor. It is a story that feels prescient, minus the disease and war part. [more at NY Times]

The U.S. Mint announced a redesign of the $5 bill, also known as a “fin,” a “five-spot,” or just a “fiver.” Features including the security thread and the watermark were moved or otherwise enhanced in the redesign to reduce the likelihood of counterfeit bills popping up. The new $5 bills are expected to go into circulation next spring; a redesign of the C-note — the $100 bill — will follow sometime afterward.

Today’s online announcement comes on the heels of the news the U.S. dollar dipped not only to a new low against the euro, but it’s also on par with the Canadian dollar for the first time in almost 31 years.

Our economy is “sigh” inducing.