How would you interpret the verb “slump” here? The newspapers slump under the weight of their end-of-the-world headlines. ALGER HISS VERDICT: SPY AND LIAR. Larger type even than used for V-J Day; evidently the new enemies are worse than the Japanese. Phony liberals who sell their souls along with the secrets that safeguard our nation. Stalinist tuning forks. Slobbering on the shoes of their Muscovite masters. Henry Wallace is under fire now too, testifying before the Un-American Committee. Henry Wallace, vice president under Roosevelt, the Liberal Democrat candidate in the last election, now faces Trial by Headline. WALLACE DENIES SENDING URANIUM TO RUSSIANS. May God protect him, today he lashed out against the press: “King Solomon should add to his list of things beyond the wisdom of men: why the newspapers print what they do!” How would you interpret the verb “slump” in the first sentece? Thanks. And this excerpt is taken from The Lacuna by Kingsolver.