Bush administration accepts some of demands

WASHINGTON — Scrambling for a quick accord on the $700 billion bailout, the Bush administration and leading lawmakers have agreed to include mortgage aid and strong congressional oversight along with unprecedented help for failing financial institutions, a key lawmaker said Monday.

Unimpressed, investors sent stocks plummeting anew, pushed oil up $16 a barrel and propelled gold prices ever higher as they searched for a safe place to park their money.

Oil prices make biggest single-day price jump

NEW YORK — Oil prices briefly spiked more than $25 a barrel Monday, shattering the record for the biggest one-day gain as unease about the government’s $700 billion bailout plan pummeled the dollar and spurred investors to buy safe-haven assets. An expiring crude contract added fuel to the frenzied rally.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery jumped as much as $25.45 to $130 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before falling back to settle at $120.92, up $16.37. The contract expired at the end of the day, adding to the volatility as traders rushed to cover positions; the October price began accelerating sharply in the last hour of regular trading, a common occurrence when a contract is about to go off the board.

Copters reportedly forced back

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — U.S. helicopters flew into Pakistan’s militant-infested border region, but returned to Afghanistan after troops and tribesmen opened fire, intelligence officials said Monday. Washington denied the account.

The alleged incident late Sunday threatened new rifts between the United States and its key ally against terrorism days after a truck bomb struck a luxury hotel in Islamabad, killing 53 people.

McCain calls for greater oversight of bailout

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — Republican John McCain on Monday called for greater oversight of the Bush administration’s proposed bailout of U.S. financial markets, saying the massive $700 billion plan being crafted by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson needed broader supervision.

“Never before in the history of our nation has so much power and money been concentrated in the hands of one person. This arrangement makes me deeply uncomfortable,” the presidential candidate said at a rally here. “We will not solve a problem caused by poor oversight with a plan that has no oversight.”

FBI agents search home of lawmaker’s son

WASHINGTON — The FBI searched the residence of the son of a Democratic state lawmaker in Tennessee over the weekend looking for evidence linking the young man to the hacking of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s personal e-mail account, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press on Monday.

David Kernell, 20, has not returned repeated phone calls or e-mails from the AP since last week. His lawyer said Monday the family is going through a difficult period.

Owner of dog sentenced to 15 years to life in prison

SAN FRANCISCO — A woman whose dogs viciously attacked and killed her neighbor in the hallway of their apartment building seven years ago was sentenced Monday to 15 years to life in prison.

Marjorie Knoller was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2001 mauling death of Dianne Whipple, but a judge later reduced the charge to involuntary manslaughter and sentenced her in 2002 to a four-year prison term.

But the California Supreme Court last year said the trial judge was wrong and sent the case back. Last month, Superior Court Judge Charlotte Woolard reinstated the murder conviction, for which Knoller was sentenced Monday.

The case is the California’s first murder conviction connected to a dog mauling, prosecutors say.

The case turned into a tabloid sensation because of the viciousness of the attack — the dogs tore all of Whipple’s clothing from her body and left her with more than 70 bites — and the seemingly cavalier attitudes of Knoller and her law partner and husband, Robert Noel, who blamed Whipple for the attack.