Katie Phang, CEI’s Iain Murray, CNN’s Jake Tapper and guest host Jessie Jane Duff joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Hosts: Larry O’Connor and Jessie Jane Duff

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C  INTERVIEW — JESSIE JANE DUFF – Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps (ret); Senior Fellow, London Center for Policy Research

• New Marine Corps fitness standards for combat weed out men, women alike. New physical standards established so women can compete for combat posts in the Marine Corps have weeded out many of the female hopefuls. But they’re also disqualifying some men, according to data obtained by The Associated Press. In the last five months, six out of seven female recruits — and 40 out of about 1,500 male recruits — failed to pass the new regimen of pullups, ammunition-can lifts, a 3-mile run and combat maneuvers required to move on in training for combat jobs, according to the data. The tests, taken about 45 days into basic training, force recruits who fail into other, less physically demanding Marine jobs. And that, the Marine commandant says, is making the Corps stronger. All Marines to undergo 2-day training as women join combat units

5am – D/E     GOP adjourns House until after July 4 in face of Democratic sit-in with no gun control vote. (USA Today) WASHINGTON — The House adjourned early Thursday despite Democratic lawmakers’ extraordinary 16-hour protest in which they staged a sit-in on the House floor, bringing legislative business to a halt and triggering a chaotic, late-night showdown as they demanded a vote on gun control legislation. Republicans adjourned the House following a 239-171 vote to approve $1.1 billion to combat the Zika virus shortly after 3 a.m. “The House did not adjourn without a message being delivered,” Rep. Sten Hoyer, D-Md., said. “That there is an epidemic of gun violence in America and that we need to pass legislation to make America and Americans safer.”

6am – A/B/C Arlington board wants driver’s licenses for undocumented aliens. Resolution calls on state government to take action, which appears unlikely. Despite concerns raised by one of its members that his colleagues were grandstanding, a majority on the Arlington County Board on June 21 urged state officials to provide driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants. The 4-0 vote, with one abstention, marks the second time in a decade the Arlington board has formally waded into the contentious national debate on immigration. Board members directed County Manager Mark Schwartz to include a proposal on the driver’s-license issue in his draft 2017 General Assembly legislative package. “It’s appropriate and the right thing to do,” said board member Christian Dorsey, who sponsored the measure at the behest of the New Virginia Majority and other advocacy groups. But board member John Vihstadt, who abstained, said board members should wait until the fall, when proposals for the next General Assembly session are normally discussed. “The better place to consider such a proposal is within the normal legislative process,” Vihstadt said.

6am – D         AUDIO HIGHLIGHTS of Trump’s Speech

6am – E         McAuliffe goes on offense in response to clemency critics. (Washington Post) – RICHMOND — One of the best-known anecdotes from Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s colorful memoir has him wrestling an eight-foot-long alligator — intended to show that he never backs away from a fight. That never-give-up, don’t-look-back approach has been on display in recent weeks as he tries to bat away opposition by Republicans — and some Democratic — to a signature achievement of his term: restoring voting rights to more than 200,000 felons. Using polling data, heartwarming stories, fiery speeches and town halls, McAuliffe has launched a robust public relations campaign to answer critics who say the flawed implementation of his clemency order outweighs his good intentions. In the latest offensive, McAuliffe criticized 43 commonwealth’s attorneys who signed a brief supporting a GOP lawsuit seeking to reverse his order. The elected prosecutors — among them five Democrats, three of whom are from Fairfax, Arlington and Prince William counties — worry that once felons’ civil rights are restored, they could serve on juries and more easily win back their gun rights. The state’s attorneys would have to intervene to prevent those things from happening. “This is where some of the commonwealth’s attorneys say, ‘Oh, I have more work to do now,’ ” McAuliffe said in a mocking tone Wednesday during an appearance on WRVA, a Richmond radio station. “It’s not our responsibility,” he said. “It is the sole responsibility of the judicial system whether to return someone’s gun rights. It’s their job. I tell them, ‘Do your job.’ ” Radio host Jimmy Barrett interjected, “They are government workers — I mean, come on.” McAuliffe replied: “Well, I’m sorry. Work a little harder.”

7am – A         INTERVIEW – KATIE PHANG – Fox News legal analyst, trial attorney, former prosecutor and Partner at Berger Singerman, based in Miami, FL.

• Judge to rule on most serious charge in Freddie Gray trials Thursday. (USA Today) — A Baltimore judge on Thursday will announce the fate of police officer Caesar Goodson, tried on second-degree murder and other charges in the case of a young black man whose death sparked riots across the city and Black Lives Matter protests across the nation. Freddie Gray, 25, died while in police custody one week after his turbulent and controversial arrest on a Baltimore street in April 2015. Six officers have been charged, but Goodson faces the most serious count, a form of second-degree murder identified as depraved-heart murder. Goodson could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Gray was arrested by bicycle officers on April 12, 2015, after he caught their eye and ran. He was charged with illegal possession of a switchblade, although prosecutors later said the knife was legal under state law. He was shackled and loaded into a van driven by Goodson but was not secured in a seat belt. Gray suffered a severe spinal injury, apparently en route to the police station, and died one week later.

7am – B/C     Fire Up the Grill for the 24th Annual National Capital Barbecue Battle!

One of the D.C. area’s largest and most unique food and music festivals is back for its 24th year! The award-winning Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle celebrates the art of cooking and the joy of eating. There will also be live music featuring EU with Sugar Bear, Marcus Mitchell, Secret Society, I&I Riddim, Frame Werk, Trouble Funk, Tweed Funk, Be’la Dona, Gospel Brunch and more. And don’t forget about the Nathan’s Hot Dog Competition and the Taste of Giant Sampling Pavilion!

WHAT: Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle

WHEN: Saturday, June 25 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. &

Sunday, June 26 from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Pennsylvania Ave. between 9th & 14 streets in Northwest

7am – D         INTERVIEW – IAIN MURRAY – Competitive Enterprise Institute’s vice president of strategy and co-author of a 2014 Brexit road map — previewed the Brexit vote.

7am – E         Sketchy Voting Issues:

• California’s lengthy vote count stokes theories that Sanders actually won the primary. (Washington Post/David Weigel) — As the long, languid Democratic primary vote count in California continues, a theory has taken hold among some fringe supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders: that he actually won the June 7 vote. Internet sleuths of varying expertise have attempted to prove that the millions of ballots left uncounted on election night contained a Sanders victory over Hillary Clinton, but were prevented from being added to the count. The fact that 2.5 million early and provisional ballots were not yet counted when the networks called the primary has become another reason to doubt that the media can fairly cover the race.
• Montgomery County had primary elections problems, too. (Maryland Reporter) — A decision by Montgomery County to re-scan misplaced absentee ballots and recertify the April 26 primary election results without any public oversight, following advice from state election officials, is now raising concerns about how the process was handled. Voting advocates are concerned that Montgomery changed and then officially recertified election results for the April 26 primary election — without notifying all members of the local board responsible for certifying elections, or going through a public process. Instead, they relied on state officials who suggested retabulating results after incorporating the missing ballots, and said two local board members signing the necessary paperwork would be sufficient. There is even disagreement about which person from the state election office gave the go-ahead, and whether a Senate committee got the full story at a hearing last week. Mary Kiraly, a former member of the Montgomery County Board of Elections, called the situation in Montgomery “unconscionable,” particularly re-scanning 163 misplaced absentee ballots without any outside oversight. County election officials discovered that more than 1,800 absentee voter records went missing after an electronic transmission from the county to the state. Those missing records of individual voter ballots caused a discrepancy in voter history figures so they had to be rescanned, but did not cause any errors in final vote tallies.

 

8am – A/B/C House adjourns with no gun control vote despite Democratic protests.

WASHINGTON — The House adjourned early Thursday despite Democratic lawmakers’ extraordinary 16-hour protest in which they staged a sit-in on the House floor, bringing legislative business to a halt and triggering a chaotic, late-night showdown as they demanded a vote on gun control legislation. Republicans adjourned the House following a 239-171 vote to approve $1.1 billion to combat the Zika virus shortly after 3 a.m.

8am – D         INTERVIEW — JAKE TAPPER – Anchor, The Lead and “State of the Union” on CNN

8am – E         Sports:

• McIlroy opts out of Rio Olympics over Zika concerns. (AP) — Golfer Rory McIlroy became one of the most high-profile sports stars to opt out of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics because of concerns about the Zika virus, saying Wednesday it is “a risk I am unwilling to take.” “After speaking with those closest to me, I’ve come to realize that my health and my family’s health comes before anything else,” the four-time major winner said in a statement released by his management company. The 27-year-old McIlroy said this month that he and his fiancee, Erica Stoll, may consider starting a family “in the next couple of years.” Zika is a mosquito-borne virus which has been linked to severe birth defects and possible neurological problems in adults.

• Former NBA MVP Derrick Rose traded from Bulls to Knicks. NEW YORK (AP) — Derrick Rose was once writing a great NBA story, the hometown kid leading the Chicago Bulls to their greatest heights since Michael Jordan. Then injuries set in, and Rose may never again play at that dazzling level. The player he is now could still be an upgrade for the New York Knicks. The Knicks acquired Rose from the Bulls on Wednesday, hoping the former NBA MVP can be their answer at point guard.
• Mystics handle Fever, 76-62, get back to .500. Ivory Latta let out a sigh of relief at the top of the key as she watched Tayler Hill sink a three-point shot about a minute after Latta had made one of her own. With 5:30 to play, Washington had a 10-point lead and could finally feel comfortable against the Indiana Fever on Wednesday night at Verizon Center. The margin only grew down the stretch as the Mystics pulled away for a 76-62 win, their second in a row at home after starting the season 0-5 on their own floor. The win, against the reigning Eastern Conference champions, evened the Mystics’ record at 7-7 and was their fifth in six games. Washington is .500 for the first time this season with three games left in a five-game homestand. Washington faces Phoenix (4-9) and streaking Minnesota (13-0) in its next two games.
• Dodgers beat Nats 4-3. Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig raced home for the winning run on his own single after center fielder Michael Taylor let the ball skip by him for a three-base error. Puig runs around the bases on crazy play in 9th; Dodgers win. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Yasiel Puig was wearing his “Make Baseball Fun Again” cap after Wednesday night’s game. Did he ever. In a wild finish, Puig raced home for the winning run on his own single after center fielder Michael Taylor let the ball skip by him for a three-base error, and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied to beat the Washington Nationals 4-3.