1. “Obama approval hits new high”

2. President Barack Obama's approval rating stands at 55% in a new poll released Thursday, the highest mark of his second term, and matching his best at any time since his first year in office. The new rating outpaces his previous second-term high -- reached just after a Democratic convention (2012) that celebrated the successes of his presidency. The new poll continues a streak in which Obama's approval rating has been at 50% or higher in polls since February, a seven month run that is his longest since And taken together, Obama's approval ratings in 2016 average 51% so far in polls, his best mark since that first year in office. The improvement in his numbers has come across age groups and gender lines, and from all geographic regions. Both Clinton and Reagan saw their numbers rise above 60% after their successor had been elected and the transition had begun. The CNN/ORC Poll was conducted by telephone September 28 through October 2 among a random national sample of 1,501 adults. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

3. In Other News
Authorities say a fugitive's sweet tooth helped police capture a wanted New Mexico man after he tried to take a doughnut without paying for it. The Hobbs News-Sun reports that Gregory Mendoza was arrested Monday outside a bakery after police received a report he stole a doughnut. Police then discovered the 35-year-old Mendoza was wanted on a number of charges, including cruelty to animals and traffic violations. New Mexico court records show Mendoza has 10 pending charges out of Carlsbad Magistrate Court from July. Mendoza also has charges pending in Las Vegas Magistrate Court, including aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer.
One of Italy's most-wanted fugitive mob bosses was arrested after five years on the loose, Wednesday when police found him hiding in a home bunker built between the bathroom and his son's bedroom. Antonio Pelle, 54, crawled out of his hiding place on his stomach to the top of an armoire that had shielded the bunker at his home in southern Italy. Video of his surrender showed at least two dozen police surrounding the wardrobe waiting for him to emerge. Pelle, who was on the Interior Ministry's list of most dangerous mob fugitives.