spending cuts in ten years. reid would hike the debt by $2.7 trillion now and mandate an equal amount of cuts. but the congressional budget office says the boehner plan would trim spending by $850 billion, and the reid plan by $2.2 trillion. boehner went back to the board and postponed the vote that was supposed to happen today. reid's plan can't pass the house, and not only is boehner's plan doomed in the senate, a great many house republicans don't like it either. so what happens now? well, time marches on. a never-before-seen default on u.s. debt and obligations could be just six days away, but potentially just as bad would be a downgrade of debt, and a downgrade that would say we are not reliable as we used to be. that could up the cost for borrowing for all of us. here is richard quest on cnn international, and the smart money still says default will be averted, but downgrade, is it inevitable, are foreign investors alarmed? >> no, it's not inevitable. nothing is inevitable. overseas they believe the default will be avoided, and they do believe -- look, the words are bewildered, flabbergasted, all the words that perhaps ordinarily americans would certainly use to describe the process under way, but certainly a scene from across oceans, people are looking at supposedly the most sophisticated political economic system in the world and saying what on earth is going on? how has it got so bad? the really big fear ultimately is that there is some sort of accident. basically, a vote doesn't take place. somebody loses, and somebody doesn't turn up, and ultimately a technical default actually happens. now all the rating agencies have pretty much said we accept if there is default, it will be short lived. this is a case of won't pay, not can't pay. randi, these are delicate times and certainly the global economy is in no fit state for these sort of shaw than begans. >> how significant is it if the rating slips? >> it's significant because it's just like our credit rating on our credit cards. if you are lower down the scale, you have to pay a higher interest rate or you may not get as much credit. if the u.s. loses it's aaa rating, and it's only one of a handful of countries, an kcanadd australia, two of the others that never defaulted, if they lose their aaa rating, then the government has to pay more for its money. i suspect the aaa would come back quickly, but the damage would have been done. it's a bit like you can't be a little bit pregnant, like virginity, once it's gone, it's gone. i need your help. >> okay. >> for my international viewers, i need to speak to ordinary americans and find out and put them on my program. americans, what you think is actually happening? we can do it by broadband or e-mail. can i be shameless and invite your viewers to contact me so we can get ordinary american views on what is happening. >> i think you just did. sure. it's all about you, richard! >> they can send me a twitter@richardquest. shameless, but let's face it, when it comes to default, we learned the tricks from somewhere else. >> it's not shameless. we are all part of the same team, we like to help you out. i have one more question for you. what does the world care, really, if u.s. deficits explode? >> of course they care. as it is, the u.s. is sucking in a vast amount of money to pay this deficit, this multihundred billion dollar deficit. every year money that should go to other countries or investment projects, and take the chinese alone with their trillion dollars of u.s. debt, and their total level of debt -- total level of debt is so much lower than the united states. the u.s. has about 9 to $11 trillion of bounds out there. germany, barely a couple of trillion. the u.s. is like a vacuum cleaner at the moment, just sucking up debt wherever it can. >> richard, great to have you on the show, and a pleasure to speak with you as always. thank you so much. checking other top stories we're following. new video to show you of the terror attacks in norway. watch this. this video shot inside a store as the bomb goes off a block away. the explosion blows out part of the shops wall. moments later, you see people rushing outside. the pictures now were taken outside the shop after the blast. shortly after suspect anders behring breivik set off the bomb, he went on a shooting campaign of teens and adults. breivik is in custody. after 102 years of helping troops, walter reed medical center is closing. walter reed also has treated u.s. presidents and members of the house and senate. it also has had scandal. four years ago investigations revealed substandard conditions for outpatient care, and improvements did follow, but then it is decided to close walter reed and move the fau to another facility. and then an olympic skier has died. peterson said he was going to take his own life in a 911 call. he took part in the olympics in italy. there will be no cancer treatments for the 9/11 cancer victims. it's not enough evidence to say the dust and smoke cloud produced by the smoke cloud has caused cancer. some lawmakers and survivors of the attacks who originally supported the legislation have denounced the explosion of cancer. polygamist leader warren jeffs is on trial in texas for sexually assaulting a child. he is still in control of his sect. how can that be? we'll explain after the break. from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because u.s.a.a.'s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. u.s.a.a. we know what it means to serve. somewhere in america, a city comes to life. it moves effortlessly, breathes easily. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city people want to live and work in. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. attorneys are due in court today to argue a motion to suppress evidence in the sexual assault trial of polygamist sect leader, warren jeffs. there was a 2008 raid on a ranch operated by his church. his followers remain loyal and obedient even though he is behind bars. here is cnn's gary tuckman. >> reporter: el dorado, texas. this tiny town is where warren jeffs is in jail and where he will stand trial. he spent a lot of time on the phone while he has been here. in the past month, how much money has he spent, would you estimate on phone cards to make phone calls? >> roughly $3,000. >> reporter: and a similar pattern when he was in a different texas jail a few miles away. do you know how much he spent on phone cards? >> probably in excess of $10,000. >> reporter: $10,000 in the four months he was here. is that unusual? do inmates usually spend that much money -- >> no, no. >> they monitor what was said. lengthy sermons and instructions to his followers miles away, as well as to his followers in arizona and utah. if that sounds like he is still running the church from jail, he is. inside jurors say he has been ex-communicating those that disagree with him. but what it has not done is stop a growing feud between those that still believe in him and those that now believe he is a child molester. >> i would like all of you -- >> reporter: three years ago, jessop here was one of the most trusted lieutenants. he showed me around the complex that was raided by texas rangers to show me that there was nothing bad taking place. today jessop said warren jeffs has betrayed his church. >> he described himself more than i would care to characterize it. >> reporter: he says he has diaries left by warren jeffs. he is talking about these. pictures showing jeffs embracing and kissing young girls no more than 12 or 13 years old, jessop says. >> his conduct that will ever be sanctioned by me. there is nobody in my church that will agree with what he does. >> reporter: jeffs orchestrated a child trafficking ring from a compound in british columbia, across the border to arizona, utah and texas. >> these are serious allegations where we are dealing with the exploitation of children, young girls, for sexual reasons. >> reporter: hi, how are you? >> good. >> reporter: those that support jeffs like this 18-year-old that we met while selling coffee and juice has no dates what so yvr. >> tell me what warren jeffs means to you? >> i don't know what you mean by that. >> reporter: how important is he to you? >> everything. >> reporter: everything to you? >> uh-huh. >> reporter: how many sister wives would be perfect in your family? >> as many as i get. credit rating agencies, you probably had to deal with them. how do their decisions affect your wallet? llphone rings ] hey. you haven't left yet. no. i'm boarding now... what's up? um...would you mind doing it again? last time. 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[ female announcer ] ...or this huge. new fiber one 80 calories. yes, you can actually love breakfast. credit rating executives are appearing before a house financial services subcommittee today to spell out the global ramifications of possible debt defau default. >> before you can borrow money or get a credit card, banks run a credit check on you. the rating agencies, the big three are s&p, standard & poor's, and moody's and touch, and then they give a debt that affects the borrow wur's ability to pay back the underlying loans. the safest debts are aaa rated. it's been that way for the u.s. debt since 1917 when moody's assigned that aaa rating to the u.s. 18 other countries as well have the aaa ratings. why do these credit rating agencies matter? well, investors around the world listen to them and listen carefully. they look at them to judge where they will get the best return on their investment. for governments the ratings agencies have power over the interest rates they can send in bonds to investors. if you are a government like the u.s. trying to raise money you want to pay the lowest amount of interest to borrow that money. so who pays the agencies? agencies are paid by the borrow wur, or from subscribers that received the ratings and want to know how their potential investments can fair, and standard & poor's tells cnn the sovereign u.s. debt rating is unsolicited it, and the u.s. does not pay for its rating. christine romans, cnn, new york. just about 20 minutes past the hour. here is a look at the top stories this hour. police are using a mini submarine and specially equipped votes off the island. suspect anders behring breivik is in custody and confessed to carrying out the attacks. in libya, the convicted lockerbie bomber attended a progadhafi rally. he is here in the wheelchair wearing a surgical mask. he was released from prison on the claim that he was dying of cancer. and dunkin' donuts is franchised owned. the company opened 200 new franchise stores last year and have plans to open just as many this year. and then a suicide bomber kills leaders in afghanistan. there is a string of killings that are targeting high-ranking officials. to keep in balance after 50, i switched to a complete multivitamin with more. only one a day women's 50+ advantage has ginkgo for memory and concentration, plus support for bone and breast health. a great addition to my routine. 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[ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one, and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitalone.com. what's in your wallet? so, you're a democrat right? today a deadly reminder of how vaolatile and explosive the situation is in kandahar. there was a suicide bomber that kills kandahar mayor. and nic robertson interviewed the mayor just this past december, and the account and telling and prophetic. >> i got a warning that -- >> reporter: just before we reached the street, one of his guards interrupts. >> i want to bring in david who is following the wave of assassinations. the taliban is claiming responsibility for the mayor's murder. what is being said about this? >> reporter: well, ambassador crocker who is on his third day here in afghanistan is said to proceed with caution. he intends to take credit for high profile attacks, and whether or not they are behind it is unclear. two young girls had been inadvertently killed in a road accident. and officials asked if it was a revenge killing by the girls' family members or a taliban attack. crocker said if it was a taliban attack he said it operates a sign of operational weakness. >> i think because of the success of the coalition campaign in the south, including in kandahar, we are seeing a phenomenon that is not dissimilar to what we saw in iraq. i would judge that the taliban is now damaged to the point where they can no longer conduct large-scale operations. they have had to kind of regroup and figure out what they can do, and in some cases, that has been assassination. again, we saw a very similar pattern in iraq. >> now, crocker's comments pretty much underscores some of the dilemma here that many people are facing in terms of trying to find out exactly what this represents. it could be imblah mattic of a realization that how critical this moment really is for all sides involved. randi? >> do you have a sense from other afghan leaders from this wave of executions and assassinations, are they concerned of their own safety and security? >> reporter: being in politics here in afghanistan, there's always a danger. we spoke to a member of parliament, a women that doubles the amount of danger that they endure on a day-to-day basis. but it's clear the series of high profile assassinations created a certain paralysis in the government. so the question really becomes a question of who you can trust x is the location that is supposed to be safest really safe for afghan politicians. >> is anything being done to increase security for them? >> reporter: again, there is not that much they can do. you can rotate your bodyguards, but at the same time, this is afghanistan and it's very unpredictable in terms of who has access to who. there are all kinds of corruption, and that's a major problem here. but in terms of what this represents, and both in terms of the taliban and the assassination attacks and attempts, but the united states and nato and its allies are represented in afghanistan right now as large as they will be. the taliban has been beaten back in many of these areas. as a result we see the high-profile attacks like ambassador crocker mentioned. these are the areas they can strike fear in the lives of anne afghans, and politicians. critical time here. >> thank you. it has been part of american blood, sweat and tears, and today they are symbolically calling it quits. members of the american postal worker's union handle more than 165 billion letters and packages a year. that's about 34 million pounds of mail every day. ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer? millions? tens of millions? hundreds of millions? not a single cent. the united states postal service doesn't run on your tax dollars. it's funded solely by stamps and postage. brought to you by the men and women of the american postal worker's union. something that was drilled in me early on, you know, college is the place for you. it's my number one goal. ♪ students like me, who take these ap math and science classes and have these opportunities, this is where the american dream lies. when i write that book, you know, i plan to dedicate it to my school. ♪ those hopes and dreams that you have, you know, they're within reach. and i'm living proof. unlike fish oil, megared softgels are small and easy to swallow with no fishy smell or aftertaste. try megared today. about half past the hour, and here are some of the stories you may have missed. one week before the united states government could default and entered unchartered economic territory, democrats and republicans remain at a stalemate on how to reach a debt ceiling deal. the budget congressional office claims programs fall short. now a plan from senate majority leader, harry reid falls billions short of its promised savings. deep water and strong currents frustrate search efforts for police in norway. meanwhile, police continue to perform controlled explosions at a farm associated with the bombing and shooting suspect, anders behring breivik. they took bomb-making materials for analysis and detonated the rest for safety. and olympic free style skier killed himself. jaret peterson has killed himself. police say they responded to a 911 call in which peterson said he was going to take his own life. peterson took part in the winter olympics in italy in 2006, and won the silver medal in vancouver in 2010. his signature jump? the hurricane. and then a civil suit against hotel chains for negligence, and privacy issues. walter reed army medical center is closing its doors after serving the military's finest for more than 100 years. a formal ceremony is under way today at the hospital where a flag will be taken down to mark the inactivation of the unit. the medical center will combine services with the center in maryland, and also a hospital in virginia. the new hospital will include 345 beds for medical and surgical patients, and 20 icu beds. and 37,000 copies of her award-winning back to black alum, with the hit song "rehab" sold this week. winehouse was found dead in her london home, you may recall, on saturday. she was 27. he is known as mini darth vader, and he is bring the force to washington. up next, the exclusive coverage of one child's newest mission. maybe he can solve the debt crisis while he is there. talks on a debt ceiling deal to avert a government default next week have been going on pretty much around the clock in washington, but the capitol has a big visitor during the debate. our chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta is here for more. >> i have been following the story of little max for sometime. he is a crazy cute kid. he is a mini darth vader was see there. he says he is taking the force to washington. he was born with a heart condition and required eight operations in six years, and got his car at a children's hospital, and there are only 56 in the country. and he also met kids who need medicaid to help get their care, and they realized along with his parents that some of those things are threatened with all the talks going on in washington, so he went to washington to lobby on behalf of these things, and had a meeting with senator grassly. take a listen. >> can you tell the president this? if he cuts -- if the budget gets cut, he -- he needs to realize that there are some people that might need it. if the budget makes the cut of 75% off, it's going to be really bad for maybe his daughters. >> can you see max making a personal appeal to the president and the presi