David Magee

Standard & Poor's downgrading in the U.S. continued Monday, as the ratings agency lowered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee roughly half of all mortgages in America.

U.S. markets shed as much as two percent at the open Monday, on news of the S&P's U.S. debt rating downgrade and subsequent plummets in global markets overnight.

McDonald's same-store sales rose 5.1 percent in July, the company says, beating internal forecasts. The company continues to outperform competitors globally after the recession.

The U.S. credit rating downgrade could have easily been avoided, but political power struggles in Washington got in the way. Now, markets are reeling and damage has been done. But it's not too late to fix the problem, so that Moody's and other ratings agencies keep the U.S. with a AAA rating.

Moody's says a future downgrade of the U.S. credit rating from AAA is possible. Also, global markets reacted harshly overnight to S&P's U.S. credit rating downgrade announced late Friday.

Global markets plummeted overnight night as news of the U.S. downgrade. Monday is the first day of trading in the U.S. and futures pointed sharply lower early by 6:30 a.m.

The Tea Party arrived in Washington after mid-term elections with talk of change in Washington. So far, Tea Party leaders have only been a distraction. To create change in Washington, they need to bring forth a plan and build consensus.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes rules the movie world this week -- the film debuted at number one at the box office, raking in $54 million.

A San Diego police officer shot in the head late Saturday afternoon in an unprovoked attack is in "extremely critical condition" Sunday. The suspect in the shooting was shot and killed by other police officers.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has not yet officially announced his candidacy for president. But on Saturday in Houston, at a prayer event he organized, Perry made it clear he's already in the race to become America's next president.

Texas Governor Rick Perry called a prayer meeting in Houston on Saturday. He attended, and prayed for President Barack Obama. Perry is expected to soon announce his bid as a Republican presidential candidate.

America is broken. Here are five ways to fix the nation's health.

The group Anonymous says it has hacked as many as 70 law U.S. law enforcement websites.

Standard & Poor's has downgraded the U.S. debt rating, in a stunning move. More telling is why the agency downgraded the U.S. for the first time ever. S&P cited America's "less stable" political system as a reason for the downgrade.

The United States Postal Service is bleeding cash and nearing default. The post office is asking Congress for help.

Five New Orleans police officers were convicted Friday in post Katrina shootings.

Priceline's stock surged in trading Friday, up more than 10 percent, after the company raised its third-quarter guidance on Thursday.

U.S. stocks rebounded Friday afternoon on news that the European Central Bank is ready to provide support to Italian and Spanish bonds if those countries commit to specific reforms.

The U.S. Post Office is warning it could default on payments to the federal government if Congress does not step in with help.

America's unemployment rate improved slightly in July, but the high figure is weighing heavily against President Barack Obama in his re-election bid.

Solid July job gains calmed U.S. markets on Friday, but Wall Street remained nervous among talk that the nation may be falling into a double-dip recession.

Markets remained jittery Friday even as Dow futures rose ahead of a jobs report that was slightly better than expected.

President Barack Obama turned 50 on Thursday. But the celebration was muted by a big decline on Wall Street. Some economists are suggesting the U.S. is just "one shock" away from another recession, and questions are being peppered to Obama about his plans for turning around the U.S. economy.

The U.S. is just one-shock away from a double-dip recession, one economist says.

Chrysler is recalling nearly 300,000 minivans.

The Dow is plunging, as stocks are coming back to the woes that Main Street has grappled with since the recession. Stocks had soared this year while Main Street America grappled with slow growth and high unemployment.

U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy isn't giving former number one golfer Tiger Woods good odds of winning in his PGA Return at the Bridgestone Invitational. But Woods said earlier in the week he's "good to go."

Southwest Airlines said Thursday it will freeze or reduce capacity in 2012 due to rising fuel costs, which likely means U.S. airline passengers will pay more for tickets.

The debt deal cleared a hurdle, but now Washington needs to address the real problem.