<?php
$categories = array('economy','the-constitution','monetary-policy','liberty');
foreach($categories as $category) {
$args = array(
'posts_per_page' => 1,
'category_name' => $category,
'tax_query' => array(
array(
'taxonomy' => 'highlight',
'field' => 'slug',
'terms' => array( 'lead','featured' ),
'operator' => 'NOT IN'
)
)
);
$wpse42358_query = new WP_Query( $args );
while( $wpse42358_query->have_posts() ) : $wpse42358_query->the_post();
// write post stuff here
wp_reset_postdata();
}
?>
I opted to use WP_Query because you have more control on taxonomy queries.