Daily Headlines: October 7, 2009

* Latin America: Scientists have discovered seven glowing mushroom species in several countries including Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

* Brazil: An arrest warrant has been issued against TV crime reporter Wallace Souza who has been accused of masterminding at least five murders in order to boost ratings.

* Dominican Republic: Dominican officials and the International Monetary Fund reached an agreement in principle on a $1.7 billion loan to the Caribbean country.

* Puerto Rico: According to analysts approximately 80% of murders in Puerto Rico are drug-related.

Image- wired.com (“Mycena luxaeterna (light eternal) was collected in Sao Paulo, Brazil and was found on sticks in an Atlantic forest habitat.”)
Online Sources- National Geographic, forbes.com, MSNBC, The Latin Americanist, LAHT

Brazilian accused in “murder for ratings” scam

Some stories speak for themselves (especially one as allegedly cold and callous as this):

In one murder after another, the Canal Livre TV show had an uncanny knack for being first on the scene, gathering graphic footage of the victim.

Too uncanny, say police, who are investigating the show's host, state legislator Wallace Souza, on suspicion of commissioning at least five of the murders to boost his ratings and prove his claim that Brazil's Amazon region is awash in violent crime.

"The order to execute always came from the legislator and his son, who then alerted the TV crews to get to the scene before the police," state police intelligence chief Thomaz Vasconcelos charged in an interview with The Associated Press…

Souza denied all the criminal allegations and called them absurd, insisting that he and his son are being set up by political enemies and drug dealers sick of his two decades of relentless crime coverage on TV and crusading legislative probes.

Whether Souza is guilty of “murder for ratings” or not one thing is for sure: you have to have a strong stomach to show the charred and still smoldering remains of a lynched body on TV. (Previous video link is very explicit and NOT SAFE FOR WORK).

Image- CBS News (“Amazonas State legislator and television show host Wallace Souza, center, speaks during a news conference in Manaus, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009.”)
Online Sources- MSNBC, YouTube