Julian Sanchez, Stuart Varney, Katie Frates and Jake Tapper joined WMAL on Thursday.

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C Apple opposes judge’s order to hack San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone. (CNN) Apple is opposing a judge’s order to help the FBI break into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino, California, shooters, calling the directive “an overreach by the U.S. government.” A public letter, signed by Apple CEO Tim Cook and published Tuesday, warns that complying with the order would entail building “a backdoor to the iPhone” — “something we consider too dangerous to create.” “The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers — including tens of millions of American citizens — from sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals,” the letter said.

5am – D         D.C. Council hears outgoing medical director’s complaints of fire department. WASHINGTON — After D.C.’s outgoing medical director described its Fire and Emergency Medical Response Department as a “toxic” culture that needs changes from the top down, D.C. Council heard from her and other cities on what can be done to improve the department. “Clearly there is a problem. You knew that when you arrived here,” said council member and Judiciary Committee Chair Kenyan McDuffie to outgoing EMS Medical Director Juliette Saussy. She testified voluntarily to the committee, which asked her to clarify her reasons for resigning in a biting letter to the mayor that went public. “During my seven months watching the four or five instances that occurred that seemed to be repetitions of similar instances and yet … their sense of urgency and mine are very different,” Saussy said of what she called the failings of the department. Council members Mary Cheh, Elissa Silverman and Anita Bonds asked questions of Saussy and her counterparts who flew in from Fort Worth, Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The medical directors discussed how D.C.’s department compares to others around the country.

5am – E         Clinton email chain discussed Afghan national’s CIA ties, official says. (Catherine Herridge, Pamela K. Browne / FoxNews.com) – EXCLUSIVE: One of the classified email chains discovered on Hillary Clinton’s personal unsecured server discussed an Afghan national’s ties to the CIA and a report that he was on the agency’s payroll, a U.S. government official with knowledge of the document told Fox News. The discussion of a foreign national working with the U.S. government raises security implications – an executive order signed by President Obama said such unauthorized disclosures are “presumed to cause damage to the national security.” The U.S. government official said the Clinton email exchange, which referred to a New York Times report, was among 29 classified emails recently provided to congressional committees with specific clearances to review them. In that batch were 22 “top secret” exchanges deemed too damaging to national security to release.

6am – A/B/C Obama planning historic trip to Cuba to cement warmer ties. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will pay a historic visit to Cuba in the coming weeks, senior Obama administration officials said Wednesday, becoming the first president to set foot on the island in nearly seven decades. The brief visit in mid-March will mark a watershed moment for relations between the U.S. and Cuba, a communist nation estranged from the U.S. for half a century until Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro moved to re-launch more than a year ago. Since then, the nations have reopened embassies in Washington and Havana and moved to restore commercial air travel, with a presidential visit seen as a key next step toward bridging the divide. Obama’s stop in Cuba will part of a broader trip to Latin America that the president will take next month, said the officials, who requested anonymity because the trip hasn’t been officially announced. The White House planned to unveil Obama’s travel plans Thursday.

6am – D         Chrys Kefalas – running for U.S. Senate in Maryland wrote on Facebook: With the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia this weekend, many mourn one of the most consequential jurists in American history. Replacing him will be no easy task—not just because of the influence and strength of the late Justice—but also because Senate Republicans have taken the stance that no Obama nominee will receive their assent. Yet, there is one option that should be acceptable to both: Theodore Olson. Ted Olson, 76, is one of the most respected attorneys in our nation—having received the American Bar Association’s highest honor. Moreover, in recent years, Ted Olson has proven himself a forward-thinking legal mind. In Perry v. Schwarzenegger, he joined with his former opponent in Bush v. Gore, David Boies, to advance marriage equality, while also preserving religious freedom.

6am – E         Firm with Saudi ties works on Air Force One, other VIP jets. (USA Today) — WASHINGTON — A company owned by a Saudi investor works on Air Force One and other VIP aircraft that fly Cabinet secretaries and other dignitaries around the world, USA TODAY has learned. GDC Technics has been servicing President Obama’s jet as a contractor for Boeing, according to the Air Force. This is the first time the Pentagon has acknowledged that a contractor from a business with foreign ties has worked on Air Force One. The company was bought in 2013 by MAZ Aviation, which is owned by Saudi businessman Mohammed Alzeer. It also has operations in Fort Worth, Texas, and in Germany. The Air Force considers the security of Air Force One a top priority, said Lt. Col. Chris Karns, a spokesman. The White House declined to comment.

 

7am – A/B/C INTERVIEW — JULIAN SANCHEZ – senior fellow at the Cato Institute and studies issues at the busy intersection of technology, privacy, and civil liberties, with a particular focus on national security and intelligence surveillance.

• Apple opposes judge’s order to hack San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone. (CNN) Apple is opposing a judge’s order to help the FBI break into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino, California, shooters, calling the directive “an overreach by the U.S. government.” A public letter, signed by Apple CEO Tim Cook and published Tuesday, warns that complying with the order would entail building “a backdoor to the iPhone” — “something we consider too dangerous to create.” “The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers — including tens of millions of American citizens — from sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals,” the letter said.

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

• Has the Trump tide turned? The NBC/WSJ poll shows Cruz has a slim lead….
• Obama visits Cuba next month, but he won’t attend Scalia’s funeral on Saturday. Today he meets with Black Lives Matter leaders…
• The War on Cash…..Larry Summers wants to get rid of the $100 bill…..the govt. hates cash: they can’t track it…
• Apple opposes judge’s order to hack San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone

7am – E         2016 News:

• Ted Cruz erases Donald Trump’s lead in new national poll. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has erased Donald J. Trump’s lead in a new national poll that could signal a significant shift in the race for the Republican nomination with primary election season in full swing. According to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Wednesday, 28 percent of Republican primary voters support Mr. Cruz, while 26 percent back Mr. Trump. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points, leaving the candidates in a virtual tie.
• Nikki Haley endorses Marco Rubio. Washington (CNN) South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is endorsing Marco Rubio, giving the Florida senator a huge boost just days before the state’s crucial Saturday primary. Haley’s endorsement came at a 6 p.m. Wednesday event in Chapin. “If we elect Marco Rubio, every day will be a great day in America,” Haley said, riffing on her signature phrase.
• Jeb Bush flip-flops on eyewear, looks great doing so. Notice anything? Bush ditched his eyewear — yes, after expressly stating last fall that he was “not going to take off (his) stinking glasses.” Changing your position on that issue, Governor? Bush, who publicly scoffed at advisers last October who suggested he ditch his eyewear, now sports contact lenses. It’s a dramatic and marked shift for the Republican presidential candidate, one that rival campaigns have yet to seize on.    “I’ve been trying to do this for like three months and um, I’ve started doing TV interviews, remote TV interviews where I can just stare at a camera you know a blind camera, and people said, ‘Wow, you look 20 years younger. Wow this, wow that,'” he told (NBC’s) Peter Alexander.
• CNN, MSNBC REPUBLICAN TOWN HALLS ON THURSDAY: On Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, CNN will host the first of two televised town halls with the six remaining Republican candidates in South Carolina. Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, along with retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, will appear in the forum on Wednesday. On Thursday, the network will host Donald Trump, Ohio Governor John Kasich and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. The Republican primary in South Carolina is set for Saturday. The state is significant because it is the “first-in-the-South” primary for both parties.Then, in a two-hour town hall on Thursday, MSNBC and Telemundo will host former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in Nevada, where Democratic caucuses will take place Saturday.

8am – A/B/C INTERVIEW — KATIE FRATES — Associate Editor, The Daily Caller News Foundation

• Marine Allegedly Assaulted Mid-Burger At McDonald’s, As Gang Yelled ‘Do You Believe Black Lives Matter?’ (Steve Birr/Daily Caller News Foundation) – A former Marine became the target of an alleged assault in a McDonald’s Friday night, as a crowd of youths cornered him and demanded he answer the question, “do you believe black lives matter?” Before knocking him unconscious and robbing him. Christopher Marquez, a veteran of Iraq and recipient of the Bronze Star for valor, said he was dining at a McDonald’s in northwest D.C. when a group of black teenagers came up to him and allegedly began harassing him about the black lives matter movement. Marquez ignored them which prompted calls and shouts that he was a racist. Marquez left the establishment after eating, but allegedly sustained a sudden blow to the back of his head outside the McDonald’s, which knocked him unconscious. When he woke up, his pants were ripped and wallet gone, which contained $400 in cash, three credit cards, his VA medical card, school identification, metro card and driver’s license.
• Black Lives Matter to meet with President Obama at civil rights meeting Thursday. WASHINGTON — Seeking to bridge the generations of civil rights activists, President Barack Obama on Thursday will meet with a group of leaders before a Black History Month reception — including Aislinn Pulley, the co-founder and lead organizer with Black Lives Matter Chicago. The White House is billing this as a “first of its kind” because of the intergenerational approach. When he was running for office in 2007, Obama delivered a speech in Selma, Alabama, where he talked about the civil rights leaders on whose shoulders he stood.

8am – D         INTERVIEW — JAKE TAPPER – Anchor, “The Lead” and host of CNN’s “State of the Union” – previewed the upcoming South Carolina primary.

8am – E         Critter News:

• Amtrak will allow pets on almost all of its trains now, even Acela. WASHINGTON — Amtrak will allow pets on almost all of its trains now, even Acela, after a pilot program along the Northeast Corridor found that passengers wanted to travel with their animal companions. The pet-friendly policy kicks in immediately but comes with a few caveats. The dog or cat must weigh 20 pounds or less, including the weight of the pet carrier. And pets will be allowed on Acela only during weekend trips. Bringing pets along on an Amtrak trip will also set back travelers $25 each way. However, service animals are allowed at no charge. Amtrak also will limit the number of pets per train to a total of five, and advanced reservations are required. The only exception to the pet travel policy, in addition to the weekends-only rule on Acela, is the Amtrak Auto Train, which runs from Lorton, Virginia, to Sanford, Florida. No pets will be allowed on those trains. Amtrak plans to test out allowing pets on Acela trains as part of a pilot program beginning Saturday, Feb. 20 and running through June 12. Amtrak says, depending on demand, it may become permanent.