Poll shows Obama’s approval rating up

Poll shows Obama’s approval rating up

WASHINGTON

As many in the U.S. hold their noses in the search for the next president, they’re increasingly warming to the president they already have.

Buoyed by some good economic news and a surge of goodwill from his base of supporters, President Barack Obama is seeing his approval rating rise. That puts Obama, who leaves office in January, in a position to remain a force in the political debate at a point in his final term when some others faded into the background.

For the first time since 2013, half of those questioned approve of the job Obama is doing in office, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll.

Kerry presses Afghan leaders on unity

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday committed to pushing reforms after his picks for attorney general and interior minister won long-sought Cabinet confirmation, while U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pleaded with the government’s power-sharing leaders to bury their “factional divisions” for the good of the country.

Yet Ghani could not cite progress toward ending a bitter feud with Afghanistan’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, that has hobbled the Kabul government for 18 months.

The unwieldy arrangement, which Kerry helped to forge, has left interim ministers in critical positions while the U.S. ally struggles to confront lawlessness, corruption and the Taliban’s resilient and perhaps expanding insurgency.

Official: Ex-FBI agent was gunman at base

DALLAS

A former FBI agent who later enlisted in the U.S. Air Force was identified Saturday as the man who killed his commander at an air base in San Antonio before turning the gun on himself.

A statement from the Air Force identified the two men as Tech. Sgt. Steven D. Bellino and Lt. Col. William A. Schroeder. The statement did not name the gunman, but a federal official close to the investigation said Bellino opened fire Friday at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person isn’t authorized to speak publicly about the case.

More than 70 killed in fire in temple

NEW DELHI

More than 70 people were killed in a massive fire that broke out in a temple in the southern Indian state of Kerala early Sunday, a top official said.

Another 200 people have been injured in the fire that was started by firecrackers, said State Home Minister Ramesh Chennitala.

The temple was crowded as people were celebrating a festival during which the fireworks display was a major attraction.

Electronic outage slowed purchases, Home Depot says

WASHINGTON

Home Depot reported an internal outage with its system for processing payment cards Saturday, slowing purchases at stores across the U.S.

A spokesman for the home-improvement chain said the issue appears to be resolved and that customers’ information was not at risk “at any time.” Stores still were able to accept card payments during the outage, he added, though some customers paid with cash.

In 2014, the Atlanta-based retailer reported a massive, months-long breach that affected 56 million debit and credit cards.

The company said that hackers had accessed the company’s network using a third-party vendor’s username and password.

Associated Press