News Buzz: Bush Appeals for Accord on $700 Billion Rescue Plan

Bush pleads anew for Congress to act on bailout: In very brief televised remarks this morning, President Bush urged lawmakers to come to an agreement quickly on the $700 billion plan to bolster the financial system, even as the negotiations were stymied in large part by members of the president's own party. The plan has been at least temporarily derailed by a dramatically different draft produced by House conservatives, sparking political infighting and making a positive result by the weekend less likely.

WaMu becomes biggest bank to fail in U.S. history: As lawmakers continue to argue over a multibillion-dollar bailout, one of the country's biggest banks became another casualty of mortgage-related losses. The largest bank to fail in American history, Washington Mutual Inc. was seized late Thursday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Most of it was sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $1.9 billion. JPMorgan Chase is now the second-largest bank in the United States.

Pakistan warns U.S. troops after exchange of fire: Shooting between Pakistani and U.S. forces—the first serious clash between the allies acknowledged by the United States—led to Pakistan urging that American forces not violate its territory. Pakistan declared that two U.S. helicopters strayed over the border from Afghanistan Thursday, leading to an exchange of fire. The incident is the latest in a series of alleged border incursions into Pakistan, including a September 3 U.S. raid into Pakistan's tribal areas that left at least 15 people dead.