Gabriel Malor, Trevor Matich and Sen. Dan Coats joined WMAL on Friday!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, November 13, 2015

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C             DRIVE AT FIVE INTERVIEW – GABRIEL MALOR — legal analyst

• Utah judge orders same-sex couple to give up foster child, says baby would be better off with heterosexual parents. A married Carbon County couple says they plan to fight a judge’s order that would force them to give up their infant foster daughter simply because they are lesbians. “We love her and she loves us, and we haven’t done anything wrong,” Beckie Peirce said Wednesday. “And the law, as I understand it, reads that any legally married couple can foster and adopt.” Peirce, 34, and her wife, 38-year-old April Hoagland, have had the 9-month-old girl in their home for three months while the state moves toward terminating her biological mother’s parental rights. “The mother has asked us to adopt,” Hoagland said. So the pair — who married in October 2014 and were licensed as foster parents earlier this year — were caught off guard Tuesday when 7th District Court Juvenile Judge Scott Johansen ordered the child removed from their care. “He said he has research to back that children do better in heterosexual homes,” Hoagland said.

5am – D         Obama on Trump’s immigration plan: ‘That’s not who we are as Americans.’ Washington (CNN) President Barack Obama on Thursday dismissed Donald Trump’s plan to enlist a “deportation force” to rid the country of undocumented immigrants, saying it was infeasible, bad optics and contrary to U.S. values. “Imagine the images on the screen flashed around the world as we were dragging parents away from their children, and putting them in detention centers, and then systematically sending them out,” Obama said during an interview with ABC News. “Nobody thinks that that is realistic,” he added. “But more importantly, that’s not who we are as Americans.” Trump has pointed to a more than m half-century-old deportation plan as the model for his proposal, the so-called “Operation Wetback” instituted under President Dwight Eisenhower to move immigrants back across the Mexican border. “Wetback” is considered a derogatory slur for Mexicans living in the United States.

5am – E         University of Missouri names black president to defuse race row. Missouri enlists former protester to lead university system. Washington (AFP) – The University of Missouri named a black interim president on Thursday after the incumbent was forced out amid an escalating race row, as a wave of protests spread to half a dozen US campuses. President Tim Wolfe resigned this week as protests mounted over his handling of racial slurs aimed at black students, including claims a swastika was drawn with human feces on a dormitory wall. The events at the Missouri school — nicknamed Mizzou — have spawned a wave of student solidarity, with thousands sharing grievances and organizing protests under the hashtags #BlackOnCampus and #IStandwithMizzou.

6am – A/B/C Trump Slams Ben Carson Repeatedly. Is Trump Helping or Hurting Himself? Donald Trump Asks Iowans: ‘How Stupid’ Are They to Believe Ben Carson? (NY Times) — Donald J. Trump unleashed a torrent of insults on Thursday against his main rival, Ben Carson, comparing him to a child molester in a television interview and suggesting that the people of Iowa are “stupid” if they believe Mr. Carson’s claim that he tried to stab a close relative during his childhood. The twin tirades came two days after the fourth Republican presidential debate, and as Mr. Carson has moved ahead of Mr. Trump in recent polls of Republican voters in Iowa, and in some national polls as well. In an appearance in Fort Dodge, Iowa, Mr. Trump repeatedly laced into Mr. Carson and ranted that he was the lone seer who could solve what was wrong in the country.

6am – D         Md. comptroller plans to examine daily fantasy sports betting. ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) – Comptroller Peter Franchot wants to make sure daily fantasy sports betting like FanDuel and DraftKings are operating legally in Maryland. Andrew Friedson, a spokesman for Franchot, said Thursday that the comptroller wants to ensure taxes are being properly collected and Maryland consumers are protected from any potentially damaging industry practices. Friedson says the comptroller will convene state officials in the coming months to discuss the issues and ensure that taxpayer interests are protected. In 2012, Maryland enacted a law legalizing such games. But it was largely tailored to apply to small social groups that play all season long, not the new industry created in recent months.

6am – E         FBI expands probe of Clinton emails, launches independent classification review. (Fox News) — The FBI has expanded its probe of Hillary Clinton’s emails, with agents exploring whether multiple statements violate a federal false statements statute, according to intelligence sources familiar with the ongoing case. Fox News is told agents are looking at U.S. Code 18, Section 1001, which pertains to “materially false” statements given either in writing, orally or through a third party. Violations also include pressuring a third party to conspire in a cover-up. Each felony violation is subject to five years in prison. This phase represents an expansion of the FBI probe, which is also exploring potential violations of an Espionage Act provision relating to “gross negligence” in the handling of national defense information. “The agents involved are under a lot of pressure and are busting a–,” an intelligence source, who was not authorized to speak on the record, told Fox News.

7am – A         University of Missouri names black president to defuse race row. Missouri enlists former protester to lead university system. Washington (AFP) – The University of Missouri named a black interim president on Thursday after the incumbent was forced out amid an escalating race row, as a wave of protests spread to half a dozen US campuses.

Don Lemon to Mizzou Students: If You Want a Safe Space, ‘Don’t Leave the House’ (Mediaite) — Two days after praising the University of Missouri football team for forcing out its president, CNN host Don Lemon returned to the issue to reproach Mizzou students for clashing with reporters and setting up “safe spaces” to avoid difficult conversations.

“…[T]he only issue I have with what happened at the University of Missouri is their vigorous effort to squash freedom of speech and freedom of the press,” Lemon said on The Tom Joyner Morning Show. “That is a very dangerous road that no one should want to go down.”

7am – B        ISIS NEWS:

• ‘Jihadi John’: US air strike targets Islamic State militant in Syria. (BBC) – US forces have carried out a drone strike in Syria against the Islamic State group militant “Jihadi John”. A US military source said there was a “high degree of certainty” he had been killed in Thursday’s attack near Raqqa. PM David Cameron said although it was not yet certain whether the strike had been successful, targeting Mohammed Emwazi was “the right thing to do”. The Kuwaiti-born British militant appeared in videos of the beheadings of Western hostages.
• CBS News Poll: Americans’ views of U.S. fight against ISIS hit new low. Americans’ evaluations of how the U.S. fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria is going are now at their worst level since the question was first asked in this poll about one year ago. Seventy-two percent now say that fight is going badly, up from 64 percent in August. Only 21 percent of Americans say it is going well, down from 28 percent. Just over a year ago, views were negative but still more optimistic than they are now: then, 33 percent said things were going well. The poll was conducted before the current U.S. offensive against ISIS in Iraq. Democrats (31 percent) are more positive than Republicans (11 percent) or independents (19 percent) about U.S. progress against ISIS, but by two to one they still say the fight against ISIS is going badly.
• Kurds sever critical Islamic State supply line in northern Iraq. (USA Today) — Kurdish fighters backed by U.S. airstrikes and advisers severed a critical Islamic State supply line between Iraq and Syria on Thursday, achieving one of the biggest military victories against the radical group since it swept into the region in 2014. The offensive by 7,500 Kurdish forces to reclaim Sinjar in northern Iraq seized control of a large stretch of a major road that connects Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria, with Islamic State-occupied Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city. The militants have used Highway 47 as an essential lifeline to move supplies and fighters between the two countries. The U.S.-led coalition has conducted 36 airstrikes in support of the operation, the Pentagon said. The Kurdish government said some airstrikes targeted militant car bombs.

7am – C        Dr. Gridlock: Metrobus and streetcar collide on H Street. (Washington Post) — A Metrobus traveling along H street struck an eastbound D.C. streetcar Thursday after the bus driver made an evasive maneuver to avoid hitting another vehicle, Metro said. Metro spokeswoman Sherri Ly said the bus was traveling in the left lane when a vehicle suddenly stopped in front of it. The driver, Ly said, “took evasive action” to avoid rear-ending the vehicle. As a result, the accordion portion of the articulated bus struck the mirror of the streetcar in the right lane, Ly said. Ly said there were no injuries and the incident caused minor damage. The crash occurred about 12:16 p.m., between 7th and 8th streets Northeast. It appeared the bus involved was an eastbound X2. Inquiries about resulting Metrobus delays or traffic congestion were not immediately answered. DDOT spokesman Terry Owens said the streetcar was running simulated service with only an operator on board. Owens said the incident was minor, but added that assessing the cost of damage would take some time. The collision caused minor damage to both vehicles, he said.
7am – D         INTERVIEW – TREVOR MATICH — Redskins elite long snapper and WMAL’s Redskins analyst

• PREVIEW: Washington Redskins vs New Orleans Saints, Sunday, November 15, 1:00 PM on FOX, FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
• Redskins coach Jay Gruden: ‘I’ve seen enough to have confidence’

7am – E         Entertainment News:

• Jennifer Lawrence was raised Republican, but she definitely isn’t one now. Jennifer Lawrence on Republicans: “I…can’t imagine supporting a party that doesn’t support women’s basic rights.” Jennifer Lawrence isn’t about to hold her tongue, even if it means scaring off half her fan base. In an interview that appears in the December issue of Vogue, the “Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2” star, 25, addresses one of those issues you’re never supposed to talk about at the dinner table: politics. “I was raised a Republican,” she told the magazine, “but I just can’t imagine supporting a party that doesn’t support women’s basic rights. It’s 2015 and gay people can get married and we think that we’ve come so far, so, yay! But have we? I don’t want to stay quiet about that stuff.”
• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 / Release date: November 20, 2015
• Jennifer Lawrence: “I Am Lonely Every Saturday Night, Guys Are So Mean to Me” – Jennifer Lawrence opened up about her single life to Vogue magazine; “I am lonely every Saturday night,” she said. Lonely Lawrence. Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence may be one of the biggest A-listers in Hollywood, but even she has trouble finding a date. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 star opened up to Vogue magazine about being single, and how she usually stays in on the weekends. “No one ever asks me out. I am lonely every Saturday night. Guys are so mean to me,” Lawrence, 25, said. “I know where it’s coming from, I know they’re trying to establish dominance, but it hurts my feelings. I’m just a girl who wants you to be nice to me. I am straight as an arrow.”
• Christie Brinkley: I’d ‘never make it’ today. (USA Today) — Can you believe Christie Brinkley is 61? The supermodel sure has aged well since her days of ruling the magazine covers of the 80s. But when Brinkley stopped by The Wendy Williams Show, she admitted she felt she modeled at the right time for her body type. “No doubt these girls are drop-dead gorgeous, this is what our industry considers sporty, voluptuous, full body and Victoria Secret models used to be much fuller,” says Brinkley. “In my opinion, I mean they’re gorgeous, yes, but they’re thin. Our industry is getting sort of thinner and thinner. If I tried to be a model today, there’s no way. I would never make it in the industry.”
• David Hasselhoff changes his name to…David Hoff. (NY Daily News) — Call him the artist formerly known as David Hasselhoff. The 63-year-old actor took to Twitter Thursday to announce that he has officially changed his name to David Hoff. “I’ve been wanting to drop the hassle from my life for years,” quipped the newly minted David Hoff in a YouTube video announcing the change. “Now it’s official.” A rep for the former soap star later clarified that he hadn’t seriously changed his name, Us Weekly reports. “It’s an excerpt from an ad campaign that launches in Australia this weekend,” the rep said. “David is just having some fun and more will be revealed in the next 24 hours.”

8am – A/B/C Precious Snowflake vs Neil Cavuto: Student Protestor Has No Idea How She Will Pay for Socialist Wish List. (Free Beacon) — Fox Business host Neil Cavuto engaged a scholar in earnest Socratic dialogue Thursday. Keely Mullen is a national organizer for #MillionStudentMarch, a movement that demands “tuition-free public college, cancellation of all student debt, and a $15 minimum wage for all campus workers” in response to the crisis caused by rapacious corporate education. “#MillionStudentMarch is a movement for a more equitable and fair system of education as opposed to the really corporate model we have right now,” Mullen said. Mullen is a graduate of the prestigious Francis W. Parker School and political science student at Northeastern University, according to her LinkedIn profile. Cavuto asked how this agenda would be financed. “Great question, I mean, you know, so—I’m not sure if you’re talking about a national level or per school?” Mullen said. When pressed, Mullen said that the top one percent of earners needed to pay tax rates upwards of 90 percent, a rate 10 percentage points higher than that proposed by socialist Thomas Piketty. Mullen said it was worth it.

8am – D         INTERVIEW — SENATOR DAN COATS (R-INDIANA), a member of the Senate Finance Committee

• Coats: IRS Must Address All Problems with Social Security Number Theft. INDIANAPOLIS – Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, today issued the following statement regarding a new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) policy to assist identity-theft victims in getting copies of bogus tax returns filed in their name: “This announcement is good news for individuals who are victims of tax fraud. However, it fails to address another major IRS problem – employment-related identity theft. The IRS currently allows illegal immigrants to submit tax returns with W-2 earnings statements containing false Social Security numbers stolen from American citizens. Because the perpetrator used the stolen identity to get a job illegally rather than commit tax fraud, the IRS treats this as a routine tax return.”
• YESTERDAY: Bob Segall, investigative reporter for WTHR Indianapolis told WMAL about IRS Policy Labels Illegal-Alien ID Thieves as “Borrowers”
• Senator “outraged” by IRS investigation, pledges action. INDIANAPOLIS – (WTHR) — Calling it “one of the biggest pieces of abuse and fraud” he’s seen during his two decades in Congress, Sen. Dan Coats (R-Indiana) called on the Internal Revenue Service to better protect millions of taxpayers whose identities are vulnerable because of a secret IRS policy exposed last week by 13 Investigates. The senator is referring to an Eyewitness News investigation that shows how the IRS allows illegal immigrants to “borrow” other people’s Social Security numbers to get employment – despite federal law that prohibits undocumented workers from obtaining their own Social Security numbers.

8am – E         Food and Drink News:

• Cheers! Study says drinking 1 to 3 glasses of champagne a week can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Drinking one to three glasses of champagne a week can help prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study. A compound found in the black grapes used to make a bottle of bubbly is said to prevent the onset of the brain diseases. “These exciting results illustrate for the first time that the moderate consumption of champagne has the potential to influence cognitive functioning, such as memory,” Professor Jeremy Spencer said in a press release.
• France won’t dine without wine, cancels dinner with Iran over menu dispute. (Washington Times) — French officials have reportedly canceled plans for a formal dinner with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Paris next week following a dispute over the menu. Mr. Rouhani was set to dine with French President François Hollande during a landmark trip to Europe, but the Iranian, according to France’s RTL radio, insisted on an alcohol-free meal with halal meat, according to traditional Islamic customs. But a meal without wine is akin to blasphemy in France, where citizens hold secular ideals sacred. The French reportedly counter-offered with a presumably alcohol-free breakfast, but the Iranians rejected the idea because it appeared too “cheap,” according to RTL. Mr. Rouhani and Mr. Hollande will now meet for a face-to-face chat sans refreshments Tuesday.

• KFC testing fried chicken delivery. (AP) — NEW YORK — Colonel Sanders wants to come to your home: KFC said it will start delivering its buckets of fried chicken to customers in two U.S. cities. It will be the first time the chicken chain has delivered in the United States. Starting Thursday, people in Los Angeles and San Francisco will be able to have food delivered. KFC said it expects to expand the delivery service into Houston by the end of this year. More cities may come later. KFC is working with online delivery company DoorDash to deliver its chicken, biscuits and coleslaw. Customers will have to make orders through DoorDash’s app or website. The chicken won’t come cheap: There’s a delivery fee between $4.99 and $6.99, depending on a customer’s location, and prices of some items will be higher than those in the restaurants.