Just three weeks after the Detroit Children's Museum abruptly announced it would close due to lack of funding, the museum is once again open -- but only to Detroit Public Schools students.

The school district, which owns the Children's Museum but has not managed it since 2009, severed its contract with the debt-ridden Detroit Science Center, which had been operating the museum since 2010.

Student groups from DPS will now be able to use the museum 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. According to a release from DPS, the district is still working to make the institution available to the public.

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LONDON -- U.S. ratings agency Fitch says it is downgrading the credit ratings for five European nations including leading economic heavyweights Italy and Spain.

The agency on Friday lowered credit ratings for the five nations by one notch and placed a negative outlook on all of them, as well as on Ireland. Those nations downgraded included Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia and Spain.

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DAVOS, Switzerland -- Europe's financial chiefs tried Friday to soothe the fears of global chief executives and other political leaders, insisting they have a handle on the eurozone's troubles.

European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Friday he hopes a Greek debt restructuring deal would be reached "if not today maybe by the weekend."

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When Newt Gingrich boasted that Congress balanced the budget four times when he was House Speaker, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) pounced.

"I went back and looked at the record. The national debt during those four years actually went up about a trillion dollars. What he's talking about is he doesn't count the money he takes out of Social Security," Paul said. "So [neither] Reagan nor you had a truly balanced budget, because the national debt goes up and that's what we pay the interest on."

Gingrich responded: "Under the system that was used, we were $405 billion in balance."

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When Newt Gingrich boasted that Congress balanced the budget four times when he was House Speaker, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) pounced.

"I went back and looked at the record. The national debt during those four years actually went up about a trillion dollars. What he's talking about is he doesn't count the money he takes out of Social Security," Paul said. "So [neither] Reagan nor you had a truly balanced budget, because the national debt goes up and that's what we pay the interest on."

Gingrich responded: "Under the system that was used, we were $405 billion in balance."

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Are the best years of the United States behind us? I don't think so, but the national debt will remain the biggest threat to this glacier of an economy.
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Vice President Joe Biden used an accent to imitate call service employees during a speech on Thursday.

"How many times you get the call, 'I like to talk to you about your credit card?'" Biden said during an outsourcing speech in New Hampshire, employing the accent while imitating what he referred to as employees of "call centers rushed overseas."

"Or that ad on TV, what is it? 'Nancy, this is Nancy, can I talk to a supervisor?'" Biden said, referring to a Discover ad campaign featuring a heavily-accented man who acts as a credit card company's customer service representative under the name "Peggy."

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Despite support from virtually all Republicans, the Senate blocked an attempt to deny President Obama an increase in the debt ceiling, ensuring that the administration has the funds to pay the nation’s bills through the November election.

Greek officials on Thursday were set to resume difficult and complex talks on a debt-swap deal with private investors to avert a catastrophic government default that could unleash fresh turmoil in global financial markets.

By David Adams

MIAMI--He could be the Republican vice presidential candidate from central casting: telegenic, Hispanic and a fiscal conservative who has been embraced by the Tea Party.

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