Brazil's president pledges to hold dialogue with protesters

By Brian Winter and Jeferson Ribeiro

SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff promised on Friday to hold a dialogue with members of a protest movement sweeping the country, but also said she would do whatever is necessary to maintain order in the wake of widespread vandalism and looting.

"We cannot live with this violence that shames Brazil," she said in a nationally televised address. "All institutions and public security forces should prevent, within the limits of the law, every form of violence and vandalism."

Rousseff spoke even as new demonstrations broke out on Friday, including one that for several hours blocked most passengers from entering or leaving the country's busiest international airport, outside Sao Paulo.

The protests have come out of seemingly nowhere over the past week. More than 1 million people took to the streets on Thursday in the biggest demonstrations in Brazil in 20 years.

The nameless, leaderless movement - composed largely of students and the middle class - has pulled together a wide range of grievances including bad public transport and healthcare, corruption, and the billions of dollars that the government is spending to host next year's World Cup.

Rousseff, a former guerrilla who herself protested a military rule during the 1960s, praised the peaceful majority of protesters and said she would listen to their demands.

Speaking calmly but firmly, she said Brazil has a "historic opportunity" to harness the energy from the protests and make improvements. But she warned the movement could be ruined by violence like that seen on Thursday, when protesters smashed buildings, looted stores and set fires in a dozen cities.

Rousseff said it was her "obligation to listen to the voice of the streets, as well as dialogue with all segments" of society peacefully protesting.

The president, who is not known for initiating talks, did not specify what such a process would look like.

After her speech, the hashtag #calabocadilma - "Shut up, Dilma" in Portuguese began trending on Twitter accompanied by withering comments attacking her government.

Friday's protests were much smaller than those on Thursday. There were signs of a backlash against the movement on Friday, and one prominent leftist group said it would stop organizing marches for now because of discord and violence.

Unlike other recent protest movements such as the Arab Spring, Brazil's demonstrators are not targeting individual politician and Rousseff remains relatively popular.

Many are part of the middle class, which benefited from a recent economic boom. But they are upset about paying European-level taxes for what some describe as African-level public services.

Rousseff made a specific appeal for calm during a warm-up event underway for the World Cup. Clashes between protesters and police have occurred outside stadiums, terrifying many fans and tourists.

OPTIONS LIMITED

A recent economic slowdown and rising inflation has crimped the government's budget, meaning it probably cannot offer a major public investment plan without making painful spending cuts elsewhere - unlikely with an election looming next year.

Rousseff in her speech cited plans such as setting aside future oil royalties for education and importing doctors from abroad. She has previously made these proposals and they have faced resistance in Congress and elsewhere.

Mayors of several cities tried to yield to one of the protesters' main demands this week by rolling back a recent hike in bus and subway fares, but the demonstrations only grew.

The festive atmosphere that had attracted many students and even their parents to demonstrations over the past week took a big and possibly lasting hit on Thursday night.

TV images showed masked youths looting stores, setting fires and defacing buildings including the foreign ministry in Brasilia, which had its windows smashed. The violence was widespread, occurring in at least a dozen cities, and appeared to be fueled by fringe movements and common criminals taking advantage of the disorder.

Two people died as a result of the protests, local media reported, including one death caused by a car plowing into a crowd. More than 60 were injured in Rio de Janeiro alone.

BACKLASH

Radio, TV, Twitter and other social media crackled on Friday with condemnations of the violence, while the unity that had prevailed among protesters at the heart of the movement also showed signs of breaking down.

The Free Fare Movement in Sao Paulo, an activist group that was instrumental in the rise of the protests, said it would stop organizing new demonstrations for now after street fights broke out among protesters with different objectives on Thursday.

Douglas Belome, a bank teller and member of the Free Fare group, said things turned ugly when some protesters sought to prevent left-wing political parties from waving their flags.

"At least for now, there are no new demonstrations scheduled," he told Reuters, expressing regret for the violence.

World soccer body FIFA on Friday condemned the recent violence but said it had not considered cancelling either the warmup tournament, known as the Confederations Cup, or the big event next year.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli told reporters that his team was banned from leaving the hotel because of the unrest.

Polls have shown that a large majority of Brazilians support the protesters and their aims. But the demonstrators' primary tactic of blocking main roads has begun to wear on some people.

"I support these (protests), but I think it's out of control," said Nilson Chabat, a 31-year-old gas station attendant on his way to work on Friday in Sao Paulo. "Many of us are angry but you can't just go make a mess every day."

(Additional reporting by Silvio Cascione and Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Todd Benson and Xavier Briand)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/brazils-president-pledges-hold-dialogue-protesters-012739241.html

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Frequent Fires? New Tool Reveals Climate Impact by ZIP Code (Op-Ed)

Frances Beinecke is the president of NRDC, served on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, and holds a leadership role in several environmental organizations. She contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

The fires burning around Colorado Springs, Colo., in the past week have been called the worst in the state's history. Nearly 40,000 people were forced to evacuate their houses and two people lost their lives in the flames.

Resident Tim MacDonald told the Los Angeles Times that his wife had just 10 minutes to flee their home when she saw a curtain of black smoke swing toward them. She grabbed her son and her dogs and left as fast as she could. The MacDonalds later learned their house was one of 485 burned to the ground. In some areas, Sheriff Terry Maketa said it "looks like a nuclear bomb went off."

The West is no stranger to wildfires, but in recent years, climate change has packed many fires with greater intensity. Warmer temperatures and drier conditions are contributing to longer fire seasons and bigger blazes. Those trends mean more evacuations, more destroyed homes, and more deadly risks for residents and firefighters.

[The 7 Hottest Climate Change Stories of 2012 ]

What does climate change mean in your community?

You may have witnessed strange weather in recent years, but aren't sure how it is tied to larger patterns or record-breaking events. NRDC has released a new mapping tool that allows you to enter your ZIP code and learn what climate disruption is doing to your hometown.

Maybe you live in the Northeast like I do, and have see homes and businesses flooded by severe downpours in 2010, Hurricane Irene in 2011, and Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Maybe you live in one of the more than 2,500 counties declared a disaster area in 2012 because of the worst drought since the Dust Bowl.

Maybe you live in one of the cities stretching between Brownsville and Baltimore that wilted in last summer's heat wave. July was the hottest month on record for the contiguous United States and more than 120 deaths were directly tied to high temperatures.

No matter where we live, climate change is making its presence known. For even if your community hasn't been hit by a severe storm or drought yet, you still pay a price: The government spent nearly $100 billion to respond to last year's extreme weather events. That's more than $1,100 per average U.S. taxpayer.

Our communities ? and our budgets ? cannot continue to bear the burden of unchecked climate change.

We must become more resilient in the face of climate disruption. Tracking new weather patterns can help residents, businesses, and government officials better prepare. I recently spoke at a conference hosted by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), where we discussed how some Rhode Island towns are already buying out buildings in floodplains and assessing what sea-level rise will mean for public infrastructure such as ferry terminals. Local officials around the country are taking similar steps.

But, even as we plan for extreme events, we must also tackle the root causes of climate change. President Barack Obama got us moving down this road when he issued new fuel economy standards that will cut carbon emissions from new cars in half by 2025. Now it's time for a national push to curb global warming pollution.

Six months ago, Obama said at his second Inauguration, "We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that failure to do so would betray our children and future generations." He echoed those words in his State of the Union address in February. Public reports are now indicating that the president will make an announcement on climate change sometime in the next few weeks. The NRDC is looking forward to hearing his plan, which needs to include cutting carbon pollution from new and existing power plants.

Americans are looking to Obama for leadership. Last week, five senators from the states most affected by Superstorm Sandy called on the president to reduce carbon pollution from new and existing power plants. Those senators represent people who felt the destructive power of extreme weather firsthand. They want to ensure the United States is using the weapons they have to fight the threat of climate change.

Research has shown that cutting carbon pollution from power plants and reducing our society's dependence on dirty fuels can help shield our communities from the worst of this kind of destruction. Waiting to put these solutions in place is like waiting to flee a fire. The time to act is now.

NRDC has set up a site for the public to send a message to President Obama to issue a clear and effective climate action plan.

Read Beinecke's most recent Op-Ed: Why the Bering Strait Is Under Siege.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This article was originally published on LiveScience.com .

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/frequent-fires-tool-reveals-climate-impact-zip-code-213427565.html

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Wilfire smoke over Alaska

Public release date: 21-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michael Carlowicz
Michael.j.carlowicz@nasa.gov
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

On June 19, 2013, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of smoke from wildfires burning in western Alaska. The smoke was moving west over Norton Sound. (The center of the image is roughly 163 West and 62 North.) Red outlines indicate hot spots where MODIS detected unusually warm surface temperatures associated with fire.

According to an advisory released by the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center, record heat and dry fuels have produced record-setting fire potential across boreal spruce forests and tundra landscapes. The heat wave is the product of an intense ridge of high pressure over the state.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/nsfc-wso062113.php

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Virgin Mobile USA adds iPhone 5 on June 28

You've been able to get an iPhone 4 through Virgin Mobile USA for a while, and the company announced Friday that starting next week, you'll be able to get the iPhone 5 too. It's priced starting at $549.99, and Virgin's offering a discount that nets you voice and data for as little as $30 per month.

Virgin Mobile USA is a subsidiary of Sprint. The company focuses on pre-paid voice, messaging and mobile broadband services in the United States. It was almost exactly one year ago that Virgin began selling the iPhone 4 and 4S. The 4 and 4S remain available as 8 and 16GB models, for $297.49 and $382.49 respectively.

The iPhone 5 provides access to Virgin Mobile USA's LTE data network. The company is offering its "Beyond Talk" plans, which include 2.5 GB/month of full speed data. The plan starts at $35 per month for 300 minutes. Like all of Virgin's services, there's no contract, so if you sign up for automatic monthly payments, they'll cut the price down to $30 per month.

The 16GB iPhone 5 will be available in black or white for $549.99. The 32GB and 64GB models will also be available - online only - for $649.99 and $749.99, respectively.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/olaM2WLEeug/story01.htm

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Will 'The Voice' winner stick with country music?

TV

Ree Hines TODAY contributor

17 minutes ago

She beat out rock and pop performers and even her fellow country crooners on "The Voice," and now it's time for Danielle Bradbery to decide which style of music she's going to go with for her first album.

Will she stick with what led to her win or branch out? Bradbery revealed her choice during a Friday morning visit to TODAY.

"I've been thinking about it," she said. "I love country, and I would want to be more pop-country. Yeah. I love all genres, but I think pop-country."

She's even landed a record deal with the same label as pop-country princess Taylor Swift. And she has a pal who's done well with the same genre -- Hunter Hayes, who performed alongside Bradbery on "The Voice" finale and happened to be on TODAY Friday for a performance of his own.

Before belting out his hits, Hayes gave Bradbery a new guitar. After that, he gave the 16-year-old some advice about what lies ahead for her.

"Enjoy every minute of it," he said. "It's a fast-paced thing, but it's a beautiful thing. The music is wonderful to be a part of. Do your thing. Make sure it's your own music; it's your fingerprint, your soul, your heart."

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/will-voice-winner-danielle-bradbery-stick-country-music-6C10409826

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Insight: Losses loom for investors enmeshed in mortgage chaos

By Michelle Conlin

(Reuters) - Since the financial crash, banks have been accused of wrongfully foreclosing on homeowners because they failed to create and maintain proper mortgage paperwork. Now, there are signs that chaotic document management is harming investors in mortgage bonds, too.

A review of loan documents, property records and the monthly reports made available to investors show that mortgage servicers are reporting individual houses are still in foreclosure long after they have been sold to new buyers or the underlying mortgages have been paid off.

These delays enable banks and other mortgage servicers to continue to charge monthly fees to investors in these mortgage-backed securities, the banks' investor reports show. It means that investors are buying mortgage bonds that may have billions of dollars of undisclosed losses that will become apparent only at a later stage. It could also lead to a new round of litigation for banks just when some appeared to have been putting their mortgage problems behind them.

The review, conducted by foreclosure investigator Lisa Epstein, found hundreds of instances across the United States where information about the status of individual home loans was incorrect. The information about the mortgages is sent from the mortgage servicer, which handles tasks such as collecting monthly mortgage payments and handling foreclosures, to the trustee of the mortgage bonds, which administers monthly reports and makes sure investors get paid.

In 2009, Epstein helped uncover the robo signing scandal, in which she discovered that banks had hired low-level workers to pose as executives, signing hundreds of legal affidavits a day without verifying a single word, as is required by law. The reporting lag issues she identified in mortgage bonds involved many of the same mortgage servicers who engaged in robo signing.

"This is all part and parcel of having servicers who are unable to keep the documentation straight," said Linda Allen, a banking professor at Baruch College, who specializes in mortgage servicing. She said Epstein's methodology was sound.

Mortgage experts estimate these reporting delays could mean that billions of dollars in losses may still be hidden in these bonds. Mortgage servicers may have also been charging late fees, property inspection fees, legal fees and other penalties against these loans long after they have been paid off, inflating the losses, they said.

"The losses are building up inside these deals, and this is going to happen all over the place," said William Frey, founder of Greenwich Financial Services, which specializes in securitization.

Frey said his team analyzed about 500 mortgage-backed securities originated by every major bank and that he has yet to find a single bond where the accounting adds up as it should.

In one case, Reuters found that Bank of America Corp had been collecting a monthly servicing fee of $50.73 from investors on a loan that had been paid off nearly two years ago, investor reports show.

Bank of America filed a document at a local county office on July 22, 2011 showing that the $162,400 loan on a cream-colored duplex in Greenacres, Florida, owned by a drywall hanger named Roman Pino, had been satisfied and "cancelled." But investors in Pino's loan and more than 6,700 other similar mortgages that are bundled together in a subprime mortgage bond still have not been informed that the loan no longer exists, according to the last investor report in May.

Bank of America spokesman Lawrence Grayson said reporting lags are not typical, and can occur because a sale or mortgage insurance proceeds may not be finalized. Loans can sometimes be subject to litigation, which could explain the ongoing charging of fees, he said.

The bank declined to comment on the specifics of Pino's loan. According to Fitch Ratings, the loan did not have mortgage insurance.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp, the trustee, said that in keeping with industry practice, it relies on the information provided by the mortgage servicer.

Some of these latent losses are beginning to surface. Earlier this month, for example, investors learned of $1 billion in losses on dozens of subprime bonds, containing more than 75,000 home loans that were created during the housing boom. Many of the losses were not reported for a year or more.

"For whatever reason, these losses were basically pending out there for a while, and the reporting mechanism finally caught up and hit the bonds in the trust," said Roger Ashworth, an analyst with mortgage advisory firm Amherst Securities.

The bonds' trustee, Wells Fargo & Co, said that it relied upon the servicer, Ocwen Financial Corp, for the reclassification.

Ocwen said it stands by its monthly reporting. It added that it has helped tens of thousands of struggling families save their homes from foreclosure and significantly lowered investor losses, benefiting investors in mortgage bonds.

SIDE DEALS

Latent losses could play a role in some of the settlements that investors have already reached with banks over other mortgage misrepresentations.

For example, many of the mortgage bonds with reporting lags that Epstein identified are the same securities that are at issue in ongoing litigation between Bank of America and investors in those securities.

Bank of America settled with 22 large investors, including two of the biggest - Pacific Investment Management Co and Blackrock Inc - agreeing to pay $8.5 billion to end legal liability for more than one million Countrywide Financial mortgages whose borrower histories and credit quality were allegedly misrepresented by the bank.

Some other investors in the bonds, including American International Group Inc and Grand Rapids Police and Fire Retirement System, have objected to the settlement. They project the losses to be more than $100 billion.

An AIG spokesman said no one had reviewed the individual loans to analyze the merits of the settlement, which was originally over what the bank had told investors about the quality of the loans.

If opponents to the settlement prevail, the reporting lag issues could crop up in the discovery phase of the case.

BlackRock and Bank of America declined to comment on the case. PIMCO did not respond to a request for comment.

Estimates of latent losses in mortgage bonds vary. In a report on Monday, Fitch Ratings said that it had talked to major servicers and more such losses were possible, though it was unable to quantify the amount.

In June last year, independent credit rating agency R&R Consulting analyzed $1.4 trillion worth of residential mortgage-backed securities that were not guaranteed by a government-sponsored entity like Fannie Mae.

It found an estimated $300 billion in total expected future losses, meaning borrowers who were either in foreclosure, bankruptcy or 90 days delinquent. But of those, the firm says there are $175 billion that investors haven't learned about.

"There is such a thing as gravity, and sooner or later you have to do something with these numbers," said R&R founder Ann Rutledge.

(Reporting by Michelle Conlin in New York; Editing by Paritosh Bansal, Martin Howell and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insight-losses-loom-investors-enmeshed-mortgage-chaos-052549994.html

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