looks. all day long the dow headed south until it finally closed down an ugly 266 points. on wall street, 4:00 couldn't come fast enough. we've had eight straight days of losses, the first time that happened since the global financial meltdown? 2008. it is a scary picture, and we're going to walk you through it all in just a moment. but first a look at the other stories we're drilling down on tonight. it's ramadan in syria. instead of peace, more bloodshed. graphic new images of bodies dumb it ped like garbage as the death toll rises. can the world look the other way? and japan's endless disaster. radiation levels at their highest since the earthquake and tsunami in march. you won't believe what they're testing now. then -- with grim news on wall street, everybody is talking about transparency. but these folks did something about it, striptease for social protest. the bears rule in more ways than one. now back to the batd news on wall street. we finally get a debt deal and the market tanks. but at least one fear was alleviated. moody's, one of the leading ratings agencies, decided not to downgrade america's credit. we're still aaa, folks, but not with every credit agency. i'll explain. sean egan is president of egan jones ratings. his company has downgraded the u.s. rating to aa and he says everyone else should get on board. sean egan joins me now. sean, that is troubling. we'll get to that in just a moment. first let's talk about the stock market today. shouldn't the debt deal have helped to pump it up? >> no, it wasn't a panacea because there's some other factors that are weighing on the market. one thing, probably the overriding concern, is growth. growth was supposed to be or should be relatively robust when we're coming out of recession. it's far from that. first quarter growth was 0.4%, which is essentially no growth. then the second quarter is 1.3%, and that might be revised downward. there's some other concerns such as in europe spending was weak. then there's, lastly, the concern about how to fix our problems. i refer to it as a clash of ideologies in terms of whether or not we should cut debt quickly, which is what the tea party is looking to do, versus the neokeynesians which prefer there be some stimulus. >> so two different philosophies. here's the question. what happened today on wall street, is it solely because of the debt deal, or are there other factors at play here? >> could you repeat the question? >> i said, are there other factors at play here? because it's not just, i would imagine, what happened with the debt deal that affected wall street today. there are other things, factors, at play here? >> the major factor is whether or not we're going to get growth going again the debt certainly does weigh on the country. in fact, we're approaching 100% debt to gdp, which in general causes about a 1% decline in the overall growth. but the concern is that the growth isn't going to be sufficient to reduce unemployment and a lot of institutional investors are concerned that they're not going to get the value from the stocks and therefore have pulled back and have been pulling back over the last week and a half. >> i guess what i'm asking you here, sean, we're not just in this alone, the economy -- obviously the american economy is in trouble, but also the global economy as well. does that factor into this equation? >> don, in fact, the eu, which happens to be the biggest buying bloc globally, is in tough shape. you see a lot of the periphery countries, greece, ireland and portugal, having difficulties. now it ae's extending to spain italy whereby their cost of funds has risen to the critical 6% level. both those economies are not growing. when you're having to pay 6%, it's a huge drag on the economy, and both italy and spain are much much, much bigger and much more difficult to bail out than relatively small greece or ireland. >> thanks for that explanation. so let's get to the credit rating now, sean. you're a ratings agency, already downgraded the u.s. to aa from aaa. i want to visualize this. there are only 17 countries now with a aaa rating, among them canada australia and germany. if we are downgraded to a a, we're not in bad company, countries include japan, china and saudi arabia in that group. there are still very sound countries with aa ratings. what does that mean really for people watching this program? people at home? >> from one perspective -- by the way, we put our rating on negative watch as of march 1st. we cut it to aa plus as of july 16. from one perspective it's not a huge deal, it it's only cutting it one notch. it's still relatively high rating. from another perspective, and that is more or less crossing the rub i convi, it it's huge. the united states has had a aaa rating by most agencies by 1916 or so. therefore, the fact that we took the action -- by the way, we are paid solely by institutional investors, not issuers -- is an indication that the credit quality isn't pinnacat the pinn. it it's still very strong. >> you stand by your downgrade. i believe you say it's only a matter of time before everyone else will follow suit. then why should we have stock in the people who rate our credit, if if you are all going to have different ratings? >> institutional investors look to rating firms to assess credit quality. we were fortunately named as one of the top firms warning about the credit crisis, number one by "fortune" magazine, so institutional investors want to allocate their capital, if they see some difficulties, they lighten up on positions, and they use groups like us to help figure out what investment decisions to make. the u.s. remains very strong. what we're much more worried about, actually, is europe because europe doesn't have the so-called fire brigade to address the problems quickly. >> i don't want to get too in the weeds here, but this is a very serious question here and it's just in to cnn. we're getting word that the tokyo stock market just opened down 1.5%. is that of concern to you? what does that say to you? >> it it says that there's a lot of uncertainty globally, that people don't -- they're worried. there isn't any clear path to get out of the problems that they're in. and by the way, japan's debt to gdp it near 200%. this is a highly unusual time when a lot of heretofore fairly strong countries are having difficulty in terms of their credit quality. basically the credit problems of a lot of these countries with their financial institutions was taken over by the governments and now the government's debt to gdp has grown quite a bit and they're not struggling with it but having to deal with it. and it's going to take time to correct the problems. >> sean egan, thank you very much. we appreciate your time tonight. >> thank you. up next -- a democratic congressman who said he'd vote for the debt ceiling bill, that is until he read the fine print. we'll have that story in just a moment. first, one more comment on the debt deal from, of all people, vladimir putin. the russian prime minister says americans are -- get this -- parasites because we don't pay our bills. he says we live beyond our means and the rest of the world suffers for it. as i recall, russia has been known to have an economic crisis or two. but lately things are looking up, their market hit a three-month high today. we'll be right back after this this. well, after weeks of wrangling in washington, president obama today signed a deal to raise the debt ceiling. didn't look too happy about it, though. of course, getting to this deal was not a cakewalk for the president, to say the least. my next guest was a yes vote on the debt deal before, at the 11th hour, he suddenly became a no. and he happens to be the top democrat on the house financial services committee. congressman barney frank. i spoke to him earlier this evening. congressman frank, yesterday morning you endorsed this deal. granted, you weren't 100% on board, but you did endorse it on national television. i want you to listen to this. >> every dollar spent in afghanistan, every dollar spent in iraq is going to come out of highway construction and health care and education and local police and fire. so that i found attractive. more than that, though, there was this sense of, you know, one of my favorite philosophers from the 20th century was the great henney youngman. he had one very great line -- how a how's your wife? compared to what? i think that's the central maxim that is driving people. >> so you go from quoting henney youngman ending on a positive note there. yet when it came time to vote last night, you voted no. why the change of heart, congressman? >> because what you just quoted me as saying turned out to be inaccurate. i had been given bad information. actually, i had heard a description and i should have realized you've got to actually read the bill. i was told that iraq -- in fact, here's the deal. on saturday i enthusiastically voted for harry reid's plan because he said he would save $1 trillion by winding down the wars in iraq and afghanistan. and that money would have been a large part of the savings. when i got to my caucus on monday, my colleague mike p cap rey eun know and dennis kucin h kucinich, i saw the exact language, and it explicitly exempted spending in iraq and afghanistan from any cap. so what i said, namely, under the plan i thought i was going to be voting for, money for iraq and afghanistan would be competing with other -- >> what you thought was there was not there. >> no. it was exactly opposite of what i thought was there. >> so you took the time to read it. nancy pelosi said sunday night she wasn't sure -- she wanted to read the bill before she supported it. she supported it. but do you think your colleagues actually read the bill? >> i think a large number of people this time read, if not the whole thing, the most significant parts of it it. this was a very important issue, and, yes -- let me put it this way. by the time people voted i do not think there were any pieces of it where people were under the misimpression i was under monday. it was not available to me on monday. it was obviously to the leader. and that caucus, it it was a very newsful caucus. joe biden, jack lew head of the budget office, people answered questions. i believe that this bill was frankly better understood when we voted on it than most. >> listen, i have to ask you this. a veteran like barney frank who knows had his way around washington and legislation, why would you endorse something that you hadn't read? >> the answer is this -- as you said on monday, i didn't absolutely say i was for it. i was giving an indication because i try to be open with people of my current thinking. and i was explicit as to what i had in mind. and when i learned later that it wasn't there, i changed my mind. no harm came from my having said that at the time. what happened was -- and at the caucus i specifically said to the members, you know what? i spoke for this on saturday. it was a different bill. i thought it looked good, but it didn't. the answer was, i respond to people who ask me what i'm currently thinking. i made it clear monday morning i hadn't made a definite decision. and once i read the bill, that was the answer. >> let's talk about this committee of 12. what do you think of the idea of a committee to work this out? because people will say, if you konlt work it out, how is a committee going to? >> i don't think much of the idea. i don't like it. i'm in agreement of those who criticize it. i don't think it's the democratic way. again, it's one of the violations. the republicans made all of these -- when they were going to take over about how open we were going to be, we're going to have 72 hours to read the bill. that's part of the confusion over the bill. there was no republican farmist for procedure fairness that remain s unbroken. i think the super committee is a bad idea. >> do you want to be on the committee? would you accept the job? >> no. i think my own responsibilities, frankly, as chairman of the financial services committee, ranking member now, wishful thinking, i have a republican group in the house that's trying to dismantle financial reform, re-deregulate derivatives. that is a major commitment of my time. >> there's a part of the country that's happy with what the republicans have done, especially the tea party members who they believe held washington's feet to the fire when it comes to spending. but there's another part of the country who believes that those people, those same people, brought the country to the brink of default, as you did by voting no and that you're no different than a tea party member. how do you respond to that? >> that is very silly. i voted twice to raise the debt limit. the change here was the people who took something that had been routine, like paying your bills, your mortgage, your credit card, for years from ronald reagan and even before and used it it to hold people hostage. nosh no, i don't think there's an equivalence there. for that matter, we had people that said, we're going to board up the government over this. i reject the notion that once people have threatened to do that, those of us who don't want to see it happen, should vote for anything. that's the logic of that analysis. once these people are going to board it up, you should vote for anything. i think that's a great mistake. >> thank you, congressman. >> you're welcome. breaking news now here on cnn. drama playing out at the white house. just a short time ago, a man breached the white house perimeter, jumping the fence onto the lawn. the man was quickly apprehended by white house security. we're joined by cnn's john king who was anchoring his show just before this incident began. john, i am told that he was approached by secret service officers with guns drawn before taking him into custody. what drama going on there. >> it was high drama, don. we're still in lockdown here at the white house because of the backpack left over. about 44 after the hour of 7:00 here on the east coast. this gentleman jumped the white house fence. he he had a backpack with him. i covered the building for 8 1/2 years. and the secret service as always responded like that. it is very rare you see the secret service on the grounds sometimes with the guns drawn including the long automatic weapons. the man was in custody within seconds. they shouted at him, don't move, hands above your head. he was taken into custody. the interesting part now is they brought out a bomb-sniffing dog to the bag and the dog had a reaction that gave the secret service some pause. so they pulled back and put the building in lockdown. they asked us to leave the public grounds and come inside. a lot of equipment including robotic equipment that can test for bombs. we have no indication that's what it is. i want to be very clear about that. we usually don't give these things any coverage because political stunts can happen, people who want to be on television jump the fence. because we were live on television, we showed it. the secret service responded in a nanosecond. there's no indication of any threat, no indication that the president was at risk. but you did have somebody jump the fence at the white house. there was a swift and dramatic response from the secret service. the backpack is still on the grounds. i'm inside now so i can't see from the outside as to how those tests proceeding. but it's a routine protocol here it at the white house. this happens sometimes. of course it's not routine when you watch it. >> are you in the briefing room now? >> inside the briefing room. we were asked to come had in here. that's the protocol to get everybody out. >> where was the president at the time? do we know? >> i do not know the answer to that question. he was in the building earlier today. i do know that. i have no indication of whether he's out of the billiuilding or. >> are you getting any indication that this was possibly more than a political stunt? because as we look at this, you said there was a backpack thrown over the fence of the north lawn, then of course you guys were on lockdown, secret service approached him with guns drawn. any idea if this is possibly more than just a political -- >> i want to be very careful. again, i covered this building for 8 1/2 years. you would have people from time to time jump the fence. some people do it to streak, some people because their friends have dared them, some for a political statement. some do it to get on live television just like people jump out of the stands on a sporting event. we're always reluctant to show it. because we were broadcasting live here, we obviously -- you could hear the sirens and see people playing it out. so we did cover it. i was here once when a man tried to fly a plane into the building. i was hear once when there was gun shots through the windows here of the briefing room. it's hard to say, in 99 out of 100 cases it turns out to be a stupid stunt. we're trying to get more information from the secret service. again, don, to watch their reaction, should give not only the president a great sense of comfort but anybody in america watching. they reacted in a nanosecond, jumped out. this guy is now being questioned. >> no indication of who this guy is, right? >> nothing at all. it was an african-american gentleman. we saw him being taken into custody. that's all we know. you have the video. our photojournalists did a spectacular job as this played out. you have the video, the video of the backpack and i believe pretty good video of the dog. the dog had a reaction that just gave the handlers enough pause to say, you know what? let's leave this to the next level, which is normally either one of the robots or some other technical equipment to check it out. >> cnn's john king, the video -- exactly what you were talking about is playing out on the video we just had up. again, john, as john said here, we want to reiterate, we don't know what's behind this. sometimes these things happen, and usually it's just a political stunt or maybe a disturbed person and everything is okay. again, a man breaching the perimeter at the white house. john king moved from outside to inside in the briefing room as he was anchoring his show. john king, thank you very much. if something happens, we'll get back to you. just ahead here on cnn in washington again, we're going to go a budget battle you may not have heard of this one. a showdown over faa funding leaves thousands of aviation workers without a job and it's casting taxpayers, you, tens of millions of dollars every single day. we'll tell you why. tv tv is it aur. if you're mad atcongress at how they handled the debt deal, wait until you hear this one. they've now gone on their summer vacations but what they lost behind is thousands of federal employees suddenly out of work. it's yet another congressional standoff. this time over the funding for the faa, some 4,000 aviation workers have been furloughed indefinitely. air traffic controllers remain on duty but all airport construction has stopped, leaving thousands of workers without paychecks and no taxes on airline tickets can be collected now. the cost to the government an estimated $25 million a day. by the time congress reconvenes in september, that total could top $1.2 billion. join being me now from washington with the very latest on this stalemate is a former faa chief of staff michael goldfarb. thank you so much for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> you foe, this standoff already ten days old. why is funding the faa suddenly a partisan issue here? >> well, it has been for the last 20 attempts to get a bill. i mean, they've had 20 short-term resolutions to keep the government going for six weeks or two months or three months. this is really watching the last few days and talking about trilli