Scottie Nell Hughes, Stuart Varney, Jake Tapper, Bret Baier and guest host Amanda Carpenter joined WMAL on Friday morning!

CLICK HERE to listen to Friday’s show!

INTERVIEW — JAKE TAPPER – host of CNN’s The Lead and State of the Union

INTERVIEW — BRET BAIER – ANCHOR OF SPECIAL REPORT AND CO_HOST OF LAST NIGHT’S FIRST 2016 GOP DEBATE – discussed the GOP debate last night.

INTERVIEW – STUART VARNEY – Host of Varney and Company, Fox Business Network

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, August 7, 2015

Hosts: Brian Wilson and AMANDA CARPENTER – Former Communications Director to Senator Ted Cruz

Executive Producer: Heather Smith

5am – A/B/C Trump won’t rule out third-party bid in lively debate. (USA Today) — CLEVELAND — Donald Trump declined the chance to rule out a third-party presidential bid during a lively debate Thursday dominated by talk about the billionaire-turned-political phenomenon. “I will not make the pledge at this time,” Trump said when a moderator asked all 10 Republican candidates whether they would forgo an independent bid should they lose the GOP nomination. The only one to refuse the request, Trump said he has to “respect the person” who prevails, though he added that he expects to claim the GOP nomination himself. Trump’s rise to front-runner status shadowed a crowded 10-man debate that also touched on contentious issues like immigration, abortion, health care, Social Security and Medicare spending, as well as government surveillance in counterterrorism investigations.

5am – D         Schumer, No. 3 Senate Democrat, to oppose Iran nuclear deal. WASHINGTON (AP) — New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the No. 3 Senate Democrat and next-in-line party leader, said late Thursday that he is breaking with President Barack Obama and will oppose the Iran nuclear deal. “After deep study, careful thought and considerable soul-searching, I have decided I must oppose the agreement and will vote yes on a motion of disapproval,” Schumer said in a statement weeks before he will cast a vote. Schumer, a leading Jewish Democrat, is the first senator of Obama’s party to step forward to oppose the deal. His announcement came just hours after two other Senate Democrats — New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand and New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen — announced their support for the international accord. The deal, struck last month with Tehran and Western powers, would curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from crippling sanctions. Schumer’s decision is a blow to the administration, though it remains to be seen how many other Democratic lawmakers follow the New York senator. Schumer informed the White House of his decision Thursday afternoon. New York Rep. Eliot Engel, who is Jewish and the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement that he too would oppose the deal.

5am – E         Trump Blasts ‘Nasty,’ ‘Unfair’ Debate Questions. (TIME) — Republican front-runner Donald Trump believes he won Thursday’s inaugural Republican presidential debate, but he’s still bristling over the tenor of the questions asked of him by Fox News. “The questions to me were not nice,” Trump told a crowded mass of reporters in “spin alley” after the debate. “I didn’t think they were appropriate.” From the outset, the real estate mogul was pressed on his commitment to the Republican Party, controversial statements about women and immigrants, his business record and shifting positions on issues, resulting in some tense moments on stage. Trump reserved his harshest criticism for Fox News host Megyn Kelly, who pressed him on a history of critical and insulting remarks about women, complaining, “I think Megyn behaved very nasty to me.”

6am – A/B/C INTERVIEW: SCOTTIE HUGHES – Chief Contributor/News Director for the Tea Party News Network – reported from Ohio on what she saw and heard at the GOP debate last night

6am – B/C     Taking Calls on the Debate!

6am – D         Carly Fiorina Wins Buzz After ‘Happy Hour’ Debate. (NBC) — Seven Republicans shared a debate stage derided as “the kiddie table” Thursday night, relegated to a pre-primetime show due to middling poll numbers. But one candidate – former HP head Carly Fiorina – emerged from the relatively low-key contest with significant buzz after taking on not only Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton by name, but even her own party. Fiorina, who polled at just an average of 1.3 percent in FOX’s tally of five recent national surveys, was praised by observers on her fluid delivery of lines on Iran, illegal immigration and Washington gridlock. “We need a nominee who is going to throw every punch, not pull punches, and someone who cannot stumble before he even gets in the ring,” she said. “I am not a member of the political class. I am a conservative.” And she took aim at GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, who reportedly spoke by phone with Bill Clinton shortly before he jumped into the presidential race. “I didn’t get a phone call from Bill Clinton before I jumped in the race,” she said. “Any of you get a phone call from Bill Clinton? I didn’t. Maybe it’s because I haven’t given money to the Foundation or donated to his wife’s Senate campaign.” (Fiorina, however, did participate at a Clinton Foundation event with Bill Clinton in 2014.)

6am – E         Metro spokeswoman says single-tracking *could* continue Friday morning on Blue, Orange lines after derailment. UPDATE 6:30 a.m. 8/7/2015: Metro says that all stations will open as normal, and that single-tracking will continue between McPherson Square and Federal Center SW until about 7 a.m. But there’s a new problem: Service has been suspended on the Silver and Orange Lines between East Falls Church and West Falls Church/McLean. Buses are on the way, Metro says. EARLIER: WASHINGTON — Limited Blue and Orange line service resumed downtown Thursday afternoon after two of three cars were set back onto the tracks following an early morning derailment, Metro announced. As of late Thursday, Blue and Orange line trains were single-tracking between McPherson Square and Federal Center SW stations. A Metro spokeswoman told WTOP single-tracking could continue Friday morning. Stations at Smithsonian and Federal Triangle reopened around 8:30 p.m. “We think single-tracking is one step toward improvement. And we’re working feverishly in a safe manner to try to get the entire system back before tomorrow morning,” says Metro’s acting general manager Jack Requa. “We know this is a great inconvenience for our passengers. We’re working as fast as we can.” Metro maintenance crews were continuing to work Thursday evening to move the third derailed car back onto the tracks.

7am – A/B/C GOP DEBATE: Who Emerged From The Debate?

7am – D         INTERVIEW – STUART VARNEY – Host of Varney and Company, Fox Business Network

• Stuart’s thoughts on the debate: I thought the debate itself was the winner…interesting engaging, funny, contentious….brings people back to politics!
• Schumer, No. 3 Senate Democrat, to oppose Iran nuclear deal. WASHINGTON (AP) — New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the No. 3 Senate Democrat and next-in-line party leader, said late Thursday that he is breaking with President Barack Obama and will oppose the Iran nuclear deal.       “After deep study, careful thought and considerable soul-searching, I have decided I must oppose the agreement and will vote yes on a motion of disapproval,” Schumer said in a statement weeks before he will cast a vote. Schumer, a leading Jewish Democrat, is the first senator of Obama’s party to step forward to oppose the deal. His announcement came just hours after two other Senate Democrats — New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand and New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen — announced their support for the international accord.

7am – E         Russia hacks Pentagon computers: NBC, citing sources. (CNBC) — U.S. officials tell NBC News that Russia launched a “sophisticated cyberattack” against the Pentagon’s Joint Staff unclassified email system, which has been shut down and taken offline for nearly two weeks. According to the officials, the “sophisticated cyber intrusion” occurred sometime around July 25 and affected some 4,000 military and civilian personnel who work for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Sources tell NBC News that it appears the cyberattack relied on some kind of automated system that rapidly gathered massive amounts of data and within a minute distributed all the information to thousands of accounts on the Internet. The officials also report the suspected Russian hackers coordinated the sophisticated cyberassault via encrypted accounts on social media. The officials say its not clear whether the attack was sanctioned by the Russian government or conducted by individuals. But, given the scope of the attack, “It was clearly the work of a state actor,” the officials say. They stressed that no classified information was seized or compromised and that only unclassified accounts and emails were hacked.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — JAKE TAPPER – host of CNN’s The Lead and State of the Union

• Jake shared his thoughts on the GOP debate last night.
• CNN TO HOST FIRST DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY DEBATE OF 2016 PRESIDENTIAL RACE. CNN and the Democratic National Committee announced Thursday that CNN will host the first Democratic presidential debate on October 13, 2015. The debate will feature candidates for the Democratic nomination for President and will take place in Nevada, with exact location details to be released in the coming days. CNN’s first Republican candidates’ debate airs Wednesday, September 16th from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
• O’Malley To Tapper: ‘This Is The Democratic Party Not The World Wrestling Federation.’ Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley compared the Democratic Party to the World Wrestling Federation in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Thursday. O’Malley was blasting away at the DNC’s limited debate schedule saying, “Our party would be much better served by a full schedule of debates.” O’Malley agreed with Tapper’s assessment of the DNC, “Rigging the process and stacking the deck for Hillary Clinton.”

8am – B         Jon Stewart Signs Off From ‘Daily Show’ With Wit and Sincerity. (NY Times) — After 16 years of taking satirical aim at the hypocrisy of politics and the fatuousness of the news media, Jon Stewart said goodbye to “The Daily Show” on Thursday evening with a farewell broadcast that mixed wry parting shots with earnest displays of emotion and with a passionate speech urging his audience not to accept falsehoods and misinformation in their lives. Mr. Stewart, 52, who has presided over this Comedy Central news-parody show since 1999, concluded his final episode with a spirited sermon against what he euphemistically described as “social-contract fertilizer.” (He also used a familiar and much stronger epithet.) Blatant mendacity, Mr. Stewart said, has become ubiquitous and pernicious. “Whenever something’s been titled Freedom Family Fairness Health America, take a good long sniff,” he said. The only way to combat the relentless intrusions of dishonest people, Mr. Stewart said, was through vigilance. “Their work is easily detected, and looking for it is kind of a pleasant way to pass the time,” he said. “So if you smell something, say something,” Mr. Stewart added. And then, for good measure, there was a performance by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The broadcast began with what appeared to be a traditional opening act in which Mr. Stewart poked fun at a current event — in this case, the Republican presidential debates in Cleveland. But this was simply a setup for the many on-air correspondents and contributors who have passed through “The Daily Show” during Mr. Stewart’s time on the show to pay their final tributes.

8am – C         Schumer, No. 3 Senate Democrat, to oppose Iran nuclear deal. WASHINGTON (AP) — New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the No. 3 Senate Democrat and next-in-line party leader, said late Thursday that he is breaking with President Barack Obama and will oppose the Iran nuclear deal. “After deep study, careful thought and considerable soul-searching, I have decided I must oppose the agreement and will vote yes on a motion of disapproval,” Schumer said in a statement weeks before he will cast a vote. Schumer, a leading Jewish Democrat, is the first senator of Obama’s party to step forward to oppose the deal. His announcement came just hours after two other Senate Democrats — New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand and New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen — announced their support for the international accord. The deal, struck last month with Tehran and Western powers, would curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from crippling sanctions.

8am – D         INTERVIEW — BRET BAIER – ANCHOR OF SPECIAL REPORT AND CO_HOST OF LAST NIGHT’S FIRST 2016 GOP DEBATE – discussed the GOP debate last night.

8am – E         Hillary Hung Out With Hollywood Celebrities, Didn’t Watch GOP Debate. As Republicans Duke It Out, Clinton Hangs With Celebs. (NBC) — On the night of the first Republican presidential debate of the 2016 election, the campaign of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton took the unusual step of inviting reporters to their campaign headquarters here as 40 campaign staffers eagerly pored over the debate in another room. TWEET: @KimKardashianL I got my selfie!!! I really loved hearing her speak & hearing her goals for our country! #HillaryForPresident 12:00 AM – 7 Aug 2015 / The former secretary of state herself was not on in the office. She was in Hollywood posing for selfies with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West and raising money from Tom Hanks and Usher at a fundraiser at the home of Justin Beiber’s producer.

Kim Kardashian Met With ‘Our Next President’ Hillary Clinton During GOP Debate. Kardashian’s mother, Kris Jenner, also posed with the presidential hopeful. (TIME) — While millions of Americans watched ten Republican presidential contenders hold forth in Cleveland, Kim Kardashian was hanging out with Hillary Clinton, whose fundraiser she and husband Kanye West attended in Los Angeles on Thursday night. Clinton’s campaign held the event at the home of Scott Braun, the manager to Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. The event occasioned a selfie, which Kardashian posted to her Twitter page. Variety reports that John Travolta, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and longtime Clinton friend Mary Steenburgen were also at the fundraiser, as was Kardashian’s mother, Kris Jenner, who had her own opportunity to pose with Clinton.

Monday: Joe diGenova and Gov. John Sununu