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Obama's job approval below 50 percent

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Barack Obama's job approval rating has dipped below 50 percent for the first time since he was inaugurated as U.S. president, a poll released Friday said.

The Gallup Organization said Obama ranks fourth among post-war presidents in the speed in which they sank to minority approval after Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, who, like Obama, was in his 10th month. All recovered and Clinton and Reagan went on to win second terms.

The most recent Gallup poll found that 49 percent of the U.S. public approve of the way Obama is doing his job. Most of the decline in Obama's popularity came during the summer, Gallup said, fueled by the long and contentious debate on healthcare and the continued economic slump.

Recent daily tracking polls have shown his approval rating at right around 50 percent.

Gallup surveyed 1,533 people by telephone between Nov. 17 and Nov. 19 as part of its daily tracking. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percent either way.

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Nelson says he'll vote to move health bill

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Sen. Bob Nelson, D-Neb., a centrist, said Friday he will side with his party this weekend in a procedural vote to take up healthcare reform floor debate.

Nelson's declaration left only two questions marks for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada in his effort to get 60 votes when he tries to advance the bill Saturday, The Hill reported.

Two Democrats -- Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas -- haven't stated their positions, but in recent days indicated they were leaning toward supporting the vote, the Washington publication said.

"This weekend, I will vote for the motion to proceed to bring that debate onto the Senate floor," Nelson said in a statement. "The Senate should start trying to fix a healthcare system that costs too much and delivers too little for Nebraskans."

Nelson also said he, as some other Democrats of various stripes, isn't ready to endorse the bill as written.

"Throughout my Senate career I have consistently rejected efforts to obstruct. That's what the vote on the motion to proceed is all about," Nelson said. "It is not for or against the new Senate healthcare bill released Wednesday."

Among other things, Nelson has been critical of provisions blocking federal dollars from funding abortion as inadequate and has stated opposition to the creation of a government-run public option insurance program.

He also dangled the possibility of joining a Republican filibuster of the bill when it actually comes up for passage.

"In my first reading, I support parts of the bill and oppose others I will work to fix," he said. "If that's not possible, I will oppose the second cloture motion -- needing 60 votes -- to end debate, and oppose the final bill."

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Flu tests: H1N1 may have peaked in Oct.

MADISON, N.J., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Data from a laboratory testing company suggests the H1N1 flu may have peaked in October in the United States, company officials said.

A report by Quest Diagnostics Inc., a leading provider of diagnostic testing services, released Friday said the rates of infection by the H1N1 influenza virus may have peaked in late October, but the pandemic flu virus continues to be a potential source of illness in all age groups, including the elderly.

Officials at Quest Diagnostics analyzed results of more than 142,000 de-identified patient specimens tested for the H1N1 influenza virus between May 11 and Nov. 10 in the United States. Other report findings include:

-- In the weeks following Oct. 27, H1N1 test demand declined after several weeks of strong growth.

-- About 99 percent of positive influenza A specimens tested were positive for H1N1 influenza.

-- The number of specimens that tested positive for H1N1 influenza dropped in all age groups since late October, with the exception of those age 65 and older. In this age group, rates of positivity have tripled since late August, and are now at about 14 percent.

-- Rates of positive test results for the pandemic have declined in recent weeks in most regions, with the exception of the Northeast, where rates have more than doubled during the two weeks ending Nov. 10.

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Burris admonished by Senate ethics panel

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The Senate ethics committee Friday admonished Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., for his comments about his appointment to the Senate last December.

In its three-page "public letter of qualified admonition," the committee reprimanded Burris for statements he made in which he denied trying to raise campaign funds for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich for his political committees. Blagojevich was impeached, removed from office, and is under indictment on accusations he tried to sell President Barack Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder. Blagojevich appointed Burris after being indicted.

"You gave multiple and at times contradictory explanations for failing to disclose off your contacts with the governor's associates, which individually and collectively gave the appearance that you were being less than candid," the letter said.

In the time between making the statements and being sworn in, Burris amended his testimony to say that he had discussed trying to raise money for Blagojevich.

"You should have known that you were providing incorrect, inconsistent, misleading or incomplete information to the public, the Senate, and those conducting legitimate inquiries into your appointment to the Senate," the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, comprised of three Democrats and three Republicans, said in its unanimous opinion.

A letter of admonition is the mildest form of rebuke that the ethics committee can deliver.

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Charges dropped over Wales sleep slaying

SWANSEA, Wales, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- All charges were withdrawn Friday against a 59-year-old man in Wales who strangled his wife in his sleep because of a rare behavioral state, a judge said.

Swansea Crown Court Justice Nigel Davis said Brian Thomas was not responsible for the death of his 57-year-old wife, Christine, who Thomas strangled in his sleep in July 2008 while the couple was vacationing in west Wales, The Times of London said.

Crown Prosecution Service officials said Thomas committed the killing while in a state of automatism, a state whose existence has been documented less than 50 times worldwide.

Thomas told authorities he woke up next to his dead wife after dreaming he had been fighting off a boy who had broken into their van.

Iwan Jenkins, chief prosecutor for CPS Dyfed Powys, said prosecutors initially sought to have Thomas placed in a mental hospital.

"Following expert evidence from a psychiatrist it was suggested no useful purpose would be served by Mr. Thomas being detained and treated in a psychiatric hospital, which would be the consequence of a special verdict in this case," Jenkins said.