jenna: one of the other parts of this story happened just a few moments ago. standard & poors following up with the downgrade of our debt with a downgrade of our mortgage giants fanny mae and freddie mac, not necessarily unexpected but another dynamic to this story. sandra smith is live on wall street with more. sandra tell us a little bit about the market reaction thus far to this news. >> reporter: jenna, jon it's not good. the markets are royaling right now in light of the credit rating being stripped. they had a chance to adjust to it over the weekend. now a new blow to the markets. fanny mae and freddie mac, their aaa rating has been stripped by s&p. the dow has been plunging triple digits. a 360 point drop we've seen in the dow today. the nasdaq, the s&p 500 dropping even more. more than 3% drops across the board and it's not just the stock market, an even weaker sign about not just the economy but the global economy, oil prices are plunging today. we are now looking at low prices for oil in the $83 range. it's now nearly $3. jenna and jon there is so much uncertainty building in the markets and traders fear that there could be more down grades in the future. jenna: let's talk a little bit about that. eric bolling will talk to us about some of the could mod today des. some thought we would see a downgrade of fanny mae and freddie mac. we have it this morning. any other down grades we should watch for? >> reporter: certainly you have to remember that the aaa rating was only stripped of the united states by standard & poors. there are two other rating companies out there, fitch and moody's, they have not yet followed suit. of course if that were to happen that would be a new blow to the market, because as i've talked to traders as they filed onto the trading floor this morning they said that there was no talk of that happening just yet, they felt like it was going to be one out of the three of the companies that were going to downgrade. if we were to get a surprise like that traders say we could continue to see even bigger selling in these markets. jenna: something we'll be watching for. we hear that the president will make some sort of statement today around 1:00pm earn time. we'll see if that has an effect. we don't know what he's speaking about yet. sandra thank you. we want to hear from you. today we're asking if this downgrade has or will make you change your investment strategy? you can log onto foxnews.com to cast your vote by clicking on the you decide tab. so far more than 3,000 of you have weighed in. you can also see how others are voting and leave a comment there about the economy. jon. jon: well, in downgrading america's credit rating standard & poors cited political gridlock in washington. have you ever heard of that? will lawmakers now take seriously their steps to slash the nation's debt? congress has until the end of september to come up with a federal budget and a new bi-partisan committee will have late until november to find $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. potentially setting up another battle with the white house over taxes. mike emanuel is live for us in washington. what are the expectations for this so-called super committee. >> reporter: conventional wisdom is the top for members of congress will pick members who share the same priorities with leadership. the hope is they will act in the best interests of the country. take a listen to john mccain of arizona. >> i think it will be a serious battle, and i think that those of us are worried about this nation's security are going to have to fight hard to preserve a level of defense spending that preserves our national security. >> reporter: nancy pelosi says protecting entitlements, social security, medicare and medicaid is a priority for democrats. if six democrats protect entitlement and six republicans protect defense spending and refuse to raise taxes, you can see the strong possibility of gridlock. jon: the cuts are do by thanksgiving but there is another battle congress has to face. >> reporter: the fiscal year 2012 starts october 1st. congress has been funding the government using continuing resolutions this year. the hope is congress will make the tough choices when they return from recess. here is connecticut senator joe lieberman. >> so, in september when we come back, after the summer break, right away we've got to start dealing with the budget for the federal fiscal year that begins october 1st. and there is a lot of work to do quickly. >> reporter: continuing resolutions just kick the can down the road on making serious budgetary decisions. the hope is congress after recess, perhaps after getting an ear full from constituents will make tough choices and spending priorities moving forward. jon: we'll see what happens there in that building behind you as well as at the other end of pennsylvania avenue. thank you. jenna: that's a big question. for for fallout from the downgrade of our nation's credit rating one of the things we're watching today and sandra mentioned it, oil prices are down. that is a double-edged sword. good for us, the consumer if we're tkroeufg and hitting the roads but a bad sign as far as protection of the health of the economy overall. eric bolling of the fox business network is with us. let's talk a little bit that oil story. this has really been a major factor starting this year seeing higher oil prices, sees them come down back and forth. what do you make of what is happening. >> reporter: last week oil prices were $99 a barrel. there is a $16 drawdown now in the price of oil. you think it's a great thing right? it would be a great thing if it stayed there. the reason it went from 99 to 83 is because international traders are saying the american economy is slowing down. look at the head winds they are putting up, the downgrade in our debt is massive head winds to the economy. if you downgrade the debt it makes it that much more difficult to borrow money, small businesses can't hire. that all kind of stifle else economic growth. two quarters ago we had almost no growth, .4%. last quarter .3%. you'll see somewhere around a negative or a flat growth picture for another quarter and the oil market is saying, if there is no growth in the economy, there is not a lot of demand or at least penitentiary up demand for oil prices. jenna: one of the things when we talk about the slowing economy is consumers aren't spending or shopping that much. could this potentially help get the consumer back in the game a little later this year especially with the christmas season coming. >> reporter: unfortunately this is all bad news. it may cost you a little bit less at the bump or in the grocery aisle going forward, the problem is we really risk, there is not a huge interest rate reaction to it right now but there could be down the road. we risk a lot of bad things happening from this downgrade. we can talk about it later, another time, i'm sure you'll get into it. but the gold market is telling you there is a huge problem. jenna: let's stop there and focus on that a little bit. we saw gold go up more than 40, $50 today. >> reporter: $50 an ounce higher. gold has always been a flight to quality, a flight away from fear, and right now the fear is in all global economies right now. the ecb this morning propped up spain and italy, well you can't put your money there. money tries to find the safest place. jenna: is it just about us or about the world economy? is there weakness around the world. >> reporter: great question. like the first recession when we sneezed the rest of the world gets a cold or worse or gets the flu, this is bad. if we're sneezing right now this will be a global, ripple affect throughout all the economies. jenna: is that real gold on your watch. >> reporter: it's real gold. jenna: that increase ned value in the last couple of hours. eric will be hosting the 5 along with his -- you've got quite a group, every day, every day at 5:00, tune in to see eric then. thank you. >> reporter: thanks, jenna. jon: police in london are searching for more suspects after a second night of explosive riots there. cops arresting more than 160 people with flames from car fires and molotov cocktails lighting up the night sky. all of this chaos comes after a peaceful protest descended into violence on saturday, this after the fatal shooting of a 29-year-old man by police. now caps say looters are simply seizing the opportunity for destruction, and some of the violence may have nothing to do with the man's death. amy kellogg is keeping an eye on it for us live from london. it's really extraordinary, this unrest taking police by storm, really overwhelming then and it seemingly came out of nowhere. most of it is confined to the peripheral neighborhoods in london, but some of it has bled into the shopping areas of the country's capitol. enfield and brixton, the unare rest being called copy-cat. people casing shops in one area, then texting people to move to another, evading police with people into the wee hours of the morning, emptying stores of contents. this followed as you mentioned particular violent rioting on saturday night in a city which does have a problem with gangs and gun crime. the unrest started out with peaceful protest demanding answers from police who shot dead a man in what appears to be a botched arrest. it erupted into violence. the local post office and job center were torched. some people lost their homes as the mob set fire to buses and buildings, this after mark dugan a suspected gang member was shot dead by police on thursday. jon, dozens of policemen have been injured, 160 people arrested, most striking some people are saying is the extent of the damage done to property and people are worried that this could break out again for a third night in a row. that's the latest from london, jon. jon: it seems to be a growing trend in that country unfor the this the lee amy, thank you. jenna: we have many, many big stories ahead for you throughout the next two hours, including new details about a tragedy in afghanistan. a helicopter crash that killed so many members of the elite fighting force of the navy s.e.a.l.es. we'll have the latest on that coming up from the pentagon,. jon: the financial fallout on wall street, the dow down 244 points right now. that is a little better than it was. it's spreading around the world. the s&p's downgrade of the u.s. credit rating a big part of it. what it means for our economy, and for your bottom line. we'll go in depth. 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[ male announcer ] there's more barbeque time jenna: welcome back. world markets reacting after the first ever u.s. credit rating downgrade. and standard & poors is unflinching in its decision. john chambers even suggesting the chance of yet another downgrade in the future. >> if the fiscal position of the united states deteriorates further, or if the political gridlock becomes more entrenched then that could lead to a downgrade. the outlook indicates at least a one in three chance of a downgrade over that period. jenna: one in three. that is -- those are high chances. one of the questions we are asking today, it's the big question, what does this all mean for the future of our country and for our finances as well? bob o'brien is a writer at baron's.com following this story live throughout the weekend. lots of reaction to the downgrade. let's move ahead. what does this really mean, and what is the real effect on just our families out there, and our finances? >> well the effect is you're going to pay more for any kind of a bank transaction. you're going to pay more to be able to borrow for a car loan, for a mortgage loan, for a student loan. jenna: significantly more? >> significantly more, because banks have a tendency over the years, you know, if their costs rises a dime they charge you 20-cents. they will take advantage of the situation and use it -- essentially it's not just an excuse, there is a fundamental under pinning for this. their costs are going to go up, it's just your cost in their favor are going to go up more. jenna: one of the things we've heard over the last couple of weeks is we haven't seen markets like this since 2008, and that's when we were in it when it comes to the financial crisis. at that time we heard a lot of people come out and say this is a great buying opportunity, go shopping for stocks, it's going to come back. what have investors told you about strategies right now? >> well, i think right now it's not a great buying opportunity for stocks. i think you want to wait until you see some catalyst. you know the problem today isn't really so much our debt problem. we could pay our debts, the problem is a growth problem. we've got 9.1% unemployment. we've got a housing market that is in a mess. we've got 1.7% gdp. i'm waiting to see some sign that there is actually growth in the u.s. economy before i'm going to say, i'm bold enough to put my money to work here. jenna: what kind of sign would that look like at this point? >> it would look like an economic indicator that showed that there was some sort of a turn around, that finally the economy is gaining traction. jenna: do you think this is a distraction from really talking about a growth plan? >> it certainly -- look, washington had this all wrong from the jump. washington should have spent the summer talking about how to grow the economy, how to create some jobs, how to stimulate growth. instead it game this piercing ideological battle where polarized sides sat there and debated philosophy irregardless of what was going on with the economy. if there is any bright side to this and -- jenna: you're searching for that, really doing it. >> i'm really searching for it, maybe this is the kind of the kick in the. patti ann: that washington needs to be told, you know what there are real fundamental consequences to what we do. you can't just sit around and argue rhetoric like you're a bunch of college students in a dorm room late at night around a kegger, you have to take some actions. jenna: maybe if they had a kegger. >> it might have been easier. jenna: we're getting a pretty good dose of reality. always nice to have you. barron.com for bob's work. jon: a typhoon hammers china's coast bringing more than flood fears, why people are rushing from one coastal community even as some say the situation is under control. also investigations ongoing after a u.s. helicopter goat down in afghanistan. 30 american troops killed in the single deadliest incident for our forces there. now families honor their loved ones, remembering the fallen as true american heroes. >> michael loves protecting our country. he graduated from north catholic. they were very proud of him. and he succeeded with the seals, he became an e6 in four years, four years, that's how dedicated he was. 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[ jon i wouldn'tut it my table at home, i wouldn't bring it in. my name's jon forsythe, and i sea fd differently. jon: investigators are taking a look at the wreckage of a chinook helicopter in eastern afghanistan after the deadliest single incident for american forces in the history of that war. witnesses say taliban fighters shot down the aircraft carrying 30 american troops, seven afghans and one translator, although the exact events that transpired have not been confirmed by the pentagon. among those troops, 22 members of the elite navy seals unit, including these eight men. now devastated family members are mourning the losses of loved ones. the father of michael strange whom you see here proudly remembered his son as a dedicated and exceptional soldier. jennifer griffin joins us now from the pentagon with more. jennifer. >> reporter: jon we are getting some details about how the chinook was shot down. a spokesman for the pentagon said it looked like it was a rocket grenade, holder held. these are highly inaccurate missiles, they are not stinger missiles that brought down so many soviet helicopters and drove the soviets out of afghanistan. one source is describing this to mow as just a very unfortunate, very lucky shot for the taliban who shot down this chinook that was flying, those special operators, the navy seals who were on stand by as a quick reaction called in by the army rangers who took fire in the tangi valley. jon: tell us about some of the seals killed. >> reporter: you mentioned 22 of them were navy seals. many of them members of the storied six. eric cars on vaughn was a special ops guy. he asked if he could return to combat and went out six weeks bev was killed. his grandmother of union city, tennessee, said he wanted to be a seal since he was a boy. he left for afghanistan two weeks after his twomonth-old daughter chamberlain was born this summer. >> i'm very proud of him. he was such a good boy, and he loved his country enough to put his life on the line. and i talked to him on his birthday, and he said, granniy, he said don't worry about me, i'm not afraid, because i know where i'm going, he was a christian, and he said, when i get home in november i'm coming to your house to hunt. >> reporter: another of those killed has been identified as john brown of arkansas. he was a highly trained air force tech sergeant, a paramedic attached to the seal team. he was not a seal. he wanted to be a doctor his parents said but joined when he saw a video of a special air force tactical unit. here is what his friend john woods had to say about him. >> he was just an all american gi joe, just a great guy that just loved his country. >> reporter: there are 37 other stories like this one. we are told that the bodies will return to dover most likely starting tomorrow. jon: just so much sadness in that terrible event. jennifer griffin at the pentagon for us. thank you. jenna: heartbreaking is the word. and we know so many you have feel probably helpless when you hear some of this news. i know i feel that way absolutely. and one of the questions we want to answer today is what you can do to help the navy seals community. for that we are joined by michael balmer, a board member of the navy seals foundation and a former navy seals. he's here to talk about about what we can do. the navy seal foundation. what exactly does the foundation do? >> jen a, thanks for having me. the navy seal foundation supports and swoops into action for seals who are either injured or killed in combat, or training, and we provide support for those families and for those seals. >> so many of us don't know obviously what that is like to hear that someone has been injured, or someone died serving our country. can you describe some of the things that the foundation will do over the next several days, next several weeks to help the families? >> well, as you can imagine, something like this is overwhelming, so we jump in and fill in gaps where we are needed, things like getting the families together, providing things like lodging, airline tickets, anything that is needed on an emergency basis. jenna: if someone gives we have a couple of ways they can do that on the screen by texting or going online. how soon does their donation get filtered into the system and start being a part of this mission? >> it immediately -- immediately helps and transfers to the families, and i think beyond that it's t