From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.Against the backdrop of a construction company in Phoenix, President Obama is outlining a plan to overhaul the way mortgages are guaranteed in the United States.NPR's Ari Shapiro reports this would involve winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.In the speech, President Obama is effectively throwing his way behind a bipartisan senate proposal to partially but not entirely pull the government out of the mortgage business.Right now most 30-year fixed rate mortgages are backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.This plan would put private companies on the front lines.Michael Calhoun is President of Center for Responsible Lending.He is endorsing the basic concept that the government should require private capital to be at risk, but the government should make an explicit backup guarantee and charge fee to the lenders for that guarantee.House Republicans prefer a plan that gets the government entirely out of the mortgage insurance business.Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.This comes as the Justice Department announces it's suing Bank of America and certain affiliates including Merrill Lynch and Pierce for alleged mortgage-backed securities fraud amounting to $850 million.The long awaited trial surrounding the 2009 mass shooting at an army base in Texas has begun.The prosecution told the jury Major Nidal Hasan wanted to kill as many soldiers as possible at Fort Hood.NPR's Martin Kaste says Hasan who is representing himself,
