US President Barack Obama’s job approval rating slumped to a personal low of 40 percent in a public opinion survey out Friday, a possible reflection of the political war over US debt.

The respected Gallup polling organization said Obama had previously slipped to 41 percent several times since taking office in January 2009, but noted his approval rating was 50 percent as recently as June 7.

JOPLIN, Mo. — From heroism, to disbelief to shock. Those were some of the stories being told by survivors of the Joplin twister. Below are some of those initial reactions to the tragedy.
‘Felt like the building was breathing’
Rod Pace, Med Flight manager at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, watched the tornado form to the southwest like so many before.

Carrie Dann writes:With tens of thousands of public sector workers jamming the halls of the Wisconsin statehouse – and similar labor battles brewing in Ohio and Michigan – Republican governors and Americans around the country are contemplating the state of the unions.

The fracas in Madison has emphasized the divide between those who view unions favorably and those who don’t – a gulf that has also deepened as union membership has declined.

Per a new survey from the Pew Center for People and the Press, Americans’ positive perceptions of unions are languishing at the lowest levels in the last quarter century.

(CNN) — A pipeline that sends natural gas to Jordan was set on fire in the Egyptian Sinai town of El Arish on Saturday, and the suspected act of sabotage has forced its temporary closing, officials said.

Ghaleb Al Maabreh, head of Jordan’s national electricity company, confirmed the closing. He said at least one week will be needed to fix it and the cost for the repair will be covered by Jordan.

London, England (CNN) — A solar-powered aircraft, which a team hopes will one day circle the globe, completed a 26-hour test flight in Switzerland at 9 a.m. (3 a.m. ET) Thursday.

Solar Impulse took off shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday from an airfield in Payerne, 80 miles northeast of Geneva.

The plane was piloted by Andre Borschberg, who flew to a height of nearly 28,000 feet (8,500 meters).

“I’ve been a pilot for 40 years now, but this flight has been the most incredible one of my flying career,” Borschberg said, according to the New York Times.

Tijuana, Mexico (CNN) — On Tijuana’s Avenue de la Revolucion, street vendor and sidewalk philosopher Juan Ramon Rocha leaned on his coin and jewelry cart and waited.

But the tourists from across the border never rushed into the streets of T.J., as it’s often called.

Rocha made one sale, to a local resident, in an hour.

“The business, you can see for yourself, it went down 95 percent,” he said. “Please tell them, the Americans, it’s safe to come here. We are all Americanos, North Americanos. Do you see any problems here?”

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida (CNN) — In a tightly controlled televised statement, golfer Tiger Woods gave an apology Friday for his “irresponsible and selfish” behavior, which he said included infidelity.

“I know I have bitterly disappointed all of you,” said the golfer, dressed in a blue shirt and a blazer. “For all that I have done, I am so sorry. …

“I had affairs, I cheated. What I did was not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame.”

Read the text and watch the full apology

(CNN) — The mid-Atlantic region continued digging out Monday from the weekend’s record blizzard, but snow-weary residents learned of a new winter storm due in the area on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning, with predictions of another 10 to 20 inches of snow, for northern Virginia and eastern Maryland, including the District of Columbia, beginning Tuesday afternoon and continuing through Wednesday.

Washington (CNN) — When the father of suspected terrorist Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab visited the U.S. embassy in Nigeria in November, he told officials he believed his son was under the influence of religious extremists and had traveled from London, England, to Yemen, a senior administration official said Monday.

Revealing new details, the official also denied the father told officials his son might be on a suicide mission:

“There was no suggestion he was about to carry out a terrorist act,” the official said.

(CNN) — Hurricane Ida moved into the southern Gulf of Mexico Sunday, prompting a declaration of emergency in Louisiana and concern along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The storm regained hurricane intensity overnight Saturday, becoming a Category 2 hurricane, but forecasters said it is expected to weaken as it moves north. Ida drenched Nicaragua after making landfall last week as a Category 1 hurricane, then weakened to a tropical storm before resuming strength.

In El Salvador, at least 91 people died in flooding and mudslides, according to the government, but a low-pressure system out of the Pacific — not Hurricane Ida — triggered the disaster, forecaster Robby Berg of the National Hurricane Center said Sunday.