This week’s agenda: U.S. credit rating, Obama bus tour, Verizon strike

Credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s  downgraded the U.S.’s credit rating for the first time in history on Friday, causing jaws to drop across the country, and raising the blood-pressures of leaders worldwide as many held emergency meetings to fend off any backlash this news might create. President Obama will be preparing this week for his upcoming bus tour to reconnect with voters in the Midwest. Meanwhile, News Corp. will release their fourth quarter results on Wednesday, the PGA Championship kicks off on Thursday, and Dennis Rodman will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday. Charlie Herman, economics and business editor for  The Takeaway  and WNYC, looks at what lawmakers need do this week, as well as how much this downgrade will likely end up affecting consumer competence. Callie Crossley, host of The Callie Crossley Show  on WGBH in Boston, talks about what the president needs to do this week before he heads out on this tour.