AP - Firefighters backed by water-dumping helicopters and planes gained ground Sunday on a wildfire that destroyed two homes and forced the evacuation of about 1,200 people in a rugged area 20 miles north of downtown.

AP - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president, bills herself as a fiscal conservative. But her record is mixed: She increased to historic proportions the annual bonus each Alaskan receives from the government yet gained prominence by raising taxes on the oil industry.

AP - Appealing for global unity in a time of crisis, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Sunday that isolationism and protectionism do not offer a way to contain the spreading damage. He expressed concern about the fallout on poor countries.

Reuters - Republican presidential candidate John McCain is considering rolling out a new comprehensive economic package to tackle the U.S. financial crisis, one of his closest supporters said on Sunday.