Lowering the nation’s rating one-notch below AAA, the credit rating company said “political brinkmanship” in the debate over the debt had made the U.S. government’s ability to manage its finances “less stable, less effective and less predictable.” It said the bi-partisan agreement reached this week to find $2.1 trillion in budget savings “fell short” of what was necessary to tame the nation’s debt over time and predicted that leaders would have no luck achieving more savings later on.

The decision came after a day of furious back-and-forth between the Obama administration and S&P. Government officials fought back hard, arguing that S&P made a flawed analysis of the potential for political agreement and had mathematical errors in its initial analysis, which was submitted to the Treasury earlier in the day. The analysis overstated the U.S. deficit over 10 years by $2 trillion.

I’m talking about our two U.S. senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez. Yesterday they had the unenviable job of telling us that everything we were told about the canceled Access to the Region’s Core tunnel project wasn’t true after all.

What we’d been told was that because of economic and environmental constraints, it was impossible to dig shallow rail tunnels from New Jersey to Penn Station in Manhattan. Therefore, New Jersey would have to tunnel deep under Manhattan to a new train station to be built near the cellar of that famous department store.

After the Sierra Club’s Jeff Tittel labeled this "the tunnel to Macy’s basement," people had a graphic image of just how far the plan had gone off the tracks. Gov. Chris Christie last year employed Tittel’s witticism in explaining his decision to cancel the $8.7 billion project for fear of multibillion-dollar cost overruns.

U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, who announced the new tunnel, cast themselves as the savior of the commuter, reviving a project they said Christie abandoned. With a new deal that would include more federal funding, Christie took credit for saving New Jersey taxpayers what he said might have been billions in cost overruns on the Access to the Regions Core tunnel he nixed.

The agency said it is taking steps to revoke approval of the Menaflex implant, made by ReGen Biologics. The announcement comes a year after the agency first acknowledged that its decision to approve the device was influenced by outside pressure, including lobbying by four lawmakers from the company's home state of New Jersey.

The 2008 decision to approve the implant was made despite protests by FDA scientists that Menaflex — which reinforces damaged knee tissue — provides little, if any, benefit to patients.

The woman's body was discovered early yesterday morning in her apartment at 1034 Clinton St., authorities said. U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez also lives at this complex.

But on Capitol Hill, a 401(k) and health plan are just the beginning. The hundreds of candidates vying for a coveted congressional seat this November will earn more than a chance at shaping the nation's legislative priorities if elected -- they'll tap into a mountain of perks that most Fortune 500 companies couldn't begin to rival.

A little-known benefit drew some attention Wednesday after it was reported that the family of the late West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd will be paid his $193,000 salary next year. That's just the tip of the benefits iceberg that comes with being a venerable member of Congress.

For those entering any of the 535 seats in Congress next year, here's a glance at the world of juicy perks coming their way:

Both issues — the new federal health care reform and rising medical costs — are significant drivers of the increases, according to filings by insurers with state regulators that were reviewed by The Courant.

It remains to be seen how much of the requests will be approved. Many people might not see an increase before Jan. 1, and these proposed changes would largely affect new business, mostly in the individual market.

But the overall price shift is the clearest indicator yet of what customers and employers can expect when health insurers submit proposed 2011 rates in late October and November. The current round of price requests launches a clash between insurers who say the increases are justified and consumer advocates and government officials who say the numbers are wildly inflated.

Aetna asked earlier this summer for an average 24.7 percent increase over last year for small-group HMO plans. State regulators approved an average increase of 18 percent for all of Aetna's small-group plans and 14.2 percent for large-group and middle-market plans, according to Aetna and an initial review of documents provided to The Courant by the state Insurance Department.