AAA-rmageddon: S&P downgrade knocks off US credit crown

The United States' prized top AAA credit rating has been cut for the first time ever. Standard & Poor's has dropped America's ranking to AA+. The destructive force is the crippling debt which Congress has struggled to agree on how to tackle, with only an 11th-hour deal to raise the amount allowed. S&P says that's not enough - and falls far short of what's needed to stabilize the government's runaway borrowing. But the Obama administration says the analysis is way off, and will damage any recovery.