Congress, President's Approval Rating Plummeting

Americans are not feeling much optimism about the new year.

An AP-Times Square New Year's Eve poll shows that only 34 percent of Americans think the nation is headed in the right direction.

President Obama's approval rating ended the year in negative territory for the first time in his presidency. Forty-six percent of Americans approve of the president's job performance while 50 percent disapprove.

Eighty-two percent of Americans disapprove of the way Congress handled its job this year.  Disapproval of Congress topped 80 percent among both Democrats (83 percent) and Republicans (87 percent).

Only 33 percent of Americans think the economic situation will improve in 2014.