And it now looks like they won't even finish their main task.

NPR: Congress Unlikely to Complete Budget Duties

Chelsea now face a huge task at Old Trafford to rescue the tie and keep their main hope of silverware alive this season, as well as easing pressure on Ancelotti.

BBC: Chelsea 0-1 Man Utd

For Palestinian politicians, the task of fleshing out the reconciliation deal agreed on in principle last month between their two main factions, the Islamist Hamas and the more secular Fatah, rapidly returned to the fore.

ECONOMIST: Israel and Palestine

Contrary to what the critics of speculation suppose, the main task of futures markets has been to signal these fundamentals to firms and households, speeding up their adjustment to the changing balance of supply and demand for physical commodities.

ECONOMIST: The real lesson from volatile commodity prices