Dr. Gridlock, VA Lt. Gov.. Northam, Prince George’s Police Chief Hank Stawinski and Larry Kudlow joined WMAL on Tuesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C Is Ben Carson Helping Or Hurting Trump?

• Ben Carson: Even if Trump’s a bad president, it’ll only be 4 years
• Ben Carson to Newsmax: I’m Promised a Spot in Trump Administration
• Ben Carson: Trump Has Two Sides

5am – D         Resignations rock Breitbart over allegations Trump manager assaulted reporter. Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields and Editor-at-Large Ben Shapiro have both resigned from the conservative website amid allegations that Fields was manhandled by Donald Trump’s campaign manager. Additionally, national security correspondent Jordan Schachtel and editor Jarrett Stepman resigned on Monday, according to Politico reporter Hadas Gold. Both Fields and Shapiro told Buzzfeed that they submitted their resignations on Sunday. Since Fields accused Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski of grabbing her arm so hard that it bruised, Breitbart has gone back and forth between backing the reporter’s account of the alleged incident and seemingly backing the Trump campaign’s denial. “Today I informed the management at Breitbart News of my immediate resignation,” Fields said in a statement sent to BuzzFeed News on Sunday. “I do not believe Breitbart News has adequately stood by me during the events of the past week and because of that I believe it is now best for us to part ways.”

5am – E         Police: Maryland officer was accidentally killed by friendly fire during “unprovoked attack.” Police take third brother into custody in shooting of police officer. A Prince George’s County police officer was killed in what police are calling an “unprovoked attack” outside police headquarters in the Palmer Park area of Landover, Maryland. Police have identified the fallen officer as 28-year-old Jacai Colson, a four-year veteran of the Prince George’s County Police Department. Colson was a narcotics officer and would have celebrated his 29th birthday this week.

6am – A/B/C Mitt Romney Campaigns With John Kasich, Telling Ohioans ‘America’s Counting on You.’ GREEN, Ohio — Mitt Romney, in his latest attempt to help stop Donald J. Trump, joined Gov. John Kasich of Ohio on the campaign trail on Monday as Mr. Kasich tries to pull out a victory in his home state. At an air museum between Akron and Canton, where Mr. Kasich’s campaign bus pulled in next to a World War II-era bomber, Mr. Romney highlighted Mr. Kasich’s experience in Congress and as Ohio’s governor. “Unlike the other people running, he has a real track record,” Mr. Romney said in introducing Mr. Kasich at the town hall style event. “He has the kind of record that you want in Washington, and that’s why I’m convinced that you’re going to do the right thing tomorrow.” In remarks lasting under four minutes, Mr. Romney did not mention Mr. Trump, nor did he give an explicit, broad endorsement of Mr. Kasich. But he came close; saying that “America is looking to Ohio to do a job interview,” he told voters that Mr. Kasich was “the guy that Ohio needs to vote for.” “America’s counting on you,” Mr. Romney said.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – ROBERT THOMSON aka Dr. Gridlock at The Washington Post

• Tunnel fire causes damage, disrupts Metro service. (Fox 5) — WASHINGTON – An early-morning cable fire in the tunnel near the McPherson Square station caused service disruptions and major delays on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines on Monday. Metro said the fire was reported at around 4:30 a.m. Monday and caused damage to the rail bed. The fire department cleared the scene at around 6 a.m., but it caused delays between 30 minutes to an hour for passengers during the morning rush. As a result of the damage, all rail service between Foggy Bottom and Federal Triangle has been suspended in both directions for repairs starting at 9 p.m. Monday. Shuttle service is being provided for affected stations. Metro hopes to restore service at these stations by Tuesday morning.

6am – E         ICE: 124 illegal immigrants released from jail later charged in 138 murder cases. (Washington Examiner) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has revealed that 124 illegal immigrant criminals released from jail by the Obama administration since 2010 have been subsequently charged with murder. A Center for Immigration Studies report on the data from ICE to the Senate Judiciary Committee added that the committee is not releasing the names of the murder suspects. “The criminal aliens released by ICE in these years — who had already been convicted of thousands of crimes — are responsible for a significant crime spree in American communities, including 124 new homicides. Inexplicably, ICE is choosing to release some criminal aliens multiple times,” said the report written by CIS’s respected director of policy studies, Jessica M. Vaughan. She added that 75 percent were released due to court orders or because their countries wouldn’t take them back. What’s more, her report said that in 2014, ICE released 30,558 criminal aliens who had been convicted of 92,347 crimes. Only 3 percent have been deported.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – Virginia Lt. Gov. RALPH NORTHAM

• Northam wants U.S. to exempt Virginia from offshore drilling
• Virginia, ground zero in the offshore drilling debate. The Obama administration opened the door to a new generation of offshore drilling along the East Coast in 2015, when it released a draft plan for selling oil and gas leases in 104 million acres of the mid- and south-Atlantic. Now, as the administration prepares to release the next version of its 2017-2022 leasing proposal, the penultimate step before finalizing it later this year, a big question is whether Virginia’s coastline will remain up for grabs. The answer could come as soon as this week.

7am – B        Critter News:

• China building bigger, strong beagles through genetics. CHINA — Scientists in China are engaged in a controversial practice: genetically modifying beagles to be more muscular. They say it’s for medical reasons, but they’ve been accused of animal cruelty. Of the 2,000 beagles at one laboratory in Southern China — two are making headlines. Scientists led by Dr. Lai Liangxue at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health claim they’re the first to successfully alter the genetic makeup of dogs. They doubled the muscle mass of beagles through the process of “gene editing.”
• FDA Says Genetically Engineered Mosquito Is Environmentally Safe. A genetically modified mosquito that’s been developed to help fight the spread of diseases like Zika and dengue has been given an early nod of approval from U.S. health regulators. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreed with an environmental assessment submitted by the biotech company Oxitec, that their genetically modified mosquitoes—which pass a lethal gene onto their offspring, thus eliminating a significant portion of the pests—would not have a significant impact on the environment. The company is currently releasing the mosquitoes in a city in Brazil, and has an application to do a similar project in the Florida Keys. As TIME previously reported, some people remain skeptical that the mosquitoes won’t have unintended consequences. The FDA’s report is preliminary, and available for public comment.
• Florida beachgoers scramble to safety after shark is spotted swimming near shore. Dramatic moment bathers scramble out of sea to safety as shark is spotted swimming just yards away at Florida beach. Frenzied beachgoers scrambled to escape a shark spotted swimming mere yards away from children. Panicked families rushed to safety as the tips of two black fins appeared perilously close to the shore of Hollywood Beach, Florida, USA.

7am – C        To Kick the Habit, Go Cold Turkey, Researchers Say. (Reuters) — People who quit smoking all at once are more likely to be successful than those who cut down on cigarettes gradually, according to a new study. “For many people, the obvious way to quit smoking is to cut down gradually until they stop,” said lead author Nicola Lindson-Hawley, a post-doctoral researcher at Britain’s Oxford University. “However, with smoking, the norm is to advise people to stop all at once and our study found evidence to support that,” Lindson-Hawley told Reuters Health by email. “What we found was that more people managed to quit when they stopped smoking all in one go than when they gradually reduced before quitting.” The researchers randomly assigned almost 700 adult smokers to either an abrupt quitting or gradual reduction group. Each person set a “quit day” of two weeks after they entered the study, and saw a research nurse once a week until then. Half of people preferred to cut down gradually, a third preferred abrupt quitting and the rest had no preference before the study began, but preferences did not affect which group they were sorted into. In the gradual group, the nurse created a reduction schedule for participants to cut back on cigarettes by 75 percent over those two weeks, and provided participants with nicotine patches and a choice of short-acting nicotine replacement gum, lozenges, nasal spray, sublingual tablets, inhalator, or mouth spray during the reduction period.

7am – D         2016 NEWS:

• Donald Trump: There’s No Violence At My Rallies, “It’s A Movement… It’s A Love-Fest.” “The people that are supporters of Donald Trump,” the candidate said. “They want to see America be great again, that’s what it is, it is simple. So rather than fighting in chicago, I did something that was a good move, a good thing to do, because I don’t want to see anybody get hurt. We’ve been given so much credit for that decision, nobody hurt, no problem, went away, but because of that, people ask was there violence. There’s no violence, this is a love fest. Every once in a while, sometimes like you just had, somebody will stand up and say something, and the police –who are great in all cases– But somebody will stand up and say something, a lot of times they are kids and they don’t know what they’re talking about.” “They have the Bernie signs,” he said, “made by a machine. They make the same signs you see, possibly or probably given to them by Bernie’s people. But there’s no violence.”
• Trump dumps Illinois campaign director. CHICAGO — Donald Trump’s Illinois campaign director has been sidelined after the national campaign grew furious over what sources described as a lack of organization in the state in the run-up to Tuesday’s primary. Instead, two others have assumed duties that were held by Springfield-area attorney Kent Gray, who is also running for state representative, a person intimately involved with Trump’s political operation confirmed. Reached late Sunday, Gray said by text message that he had not been removed. When asked if his capacity within the campaign had shifted, he referred questions to a Trump spokeswoman. Spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sources told POLITICO that Gray was sidelined early last week after the Trump camp learned he made few inroads with get-out-the-vote efforts and organizing volunteers.
• Ben Carson: Even if Trump’s a bad president, it’ll only be 4 years
• Ben Carson to Newsmax: I’m Promised a Spot in Trump Administration
• Todd Palin, husband to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is in intensive care. (CNN) —Todd Palin, husband to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, was seriously injured in a snow machine crash in Alaska on Sunday night and is in intensive care, a source close to the Palin family told CNN Monday. Todd Palin is in serious but stable condition, Kevin Kastner, executive director of Iron Dog Inc., told CNN. Kastner said the family seems to be doing “pretty well.”

7am – E         CLINTON NEWS:

• Clinton: ‘We Didn’t Lose a Single Person’ in Libya. During MSNBC’s town hall with Hillary Clinton on Monday, Clinton discussed foreign policy in Libya. She said that Libya isn’t perfect, but is making progress. She added, “Libya was a different kind of calculation, and we didn’t lose a single person.” Clinton seems to have forgotten the September 11, 2012 Benghazi, Libya attacks that left four Americans dead.
• Deputy Coms. Director For Hillary Clinton: Clinton ‘Wasn’t Very Clear’ On Putting Coal Miners Out of Business. Kristina Schake: Clinton ‘Wasn’t Very Clear’ When She Said She Would Put Coal Miners Out of Business. Kristina Schake, deputy communications director for Hillary for America, defended Hillary Clinton’s answer at Sunday night’s CNN town hall that she wanted to put coal miners out of business. “She wasn’t very clear about how she said that. She actually has a plan to help coal miners and their communities transition to clean energy,” Schake said on Monday.
• Hillary Clinton Supporters Have Lower Credit Scores Than Supporters of Any Other Candidate. Americans who support Hillary Clinton are more likely to have bad credit scores than supporters of any other presidential candidate, according to a national survey conducted by Wallet Hub. More than a quarter of Clinton’s supporters have bad credit, putting them just ahead of Bernie Sanders supporters, 22 percent of whom have bad credit, according to the survey. None of the remaining four Republican presidential candidates have a higher percentage of supporters with bad credit than either Clinton or Sanders. Trump supporters came closest, with 20 percent reporting bad credit.

8am – A         White House News:

• Cast of ‘Hamilton’ gets scrappy with White House performance. WASHINGTON (AP) — Eying the multiethnic troupe of 20-somethings rocking out in the East Room to tales of the American Revolution, President Barack Obama wagered a safe guess: The Founding Fathers never dreamed of this. The cast of the Broadway sensation “Hamilton” stormed the White House on Monday for a one-of-a-kind performance rich with symbolism and a touch of irony. With portraits of George and Martha Washington staring down, the singers waxed lyrical about Alexander Hamilton’s unlikely transformation from impoverished immigrant to American historical luminary. Before the soulful singing started, Obama told an audience of invited schoolchildren he hoped the story of the country’s founding would teach them that in America, what’s past is only the beginning. “That’s what makes America so great. You finish the story,” Obama said. “We’re not yet finished. This is a constant work in progress, America. We’re boisterous and we’re diverse. We’re full of energy and perpetually young in spirit. We are the project that never ends.”
• White House appoints first trans person as LGBT liaison. The White House has named Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, a transgender woman, as its primary liaison for LGBT issues. Freedman-Gurspan, who became the first openly transgender White House staff member last year, will be the first out trans person to serve as the White House’s LGBT liaison. In August, Freedman-Gurspan was named outreach and recruitment director in the presidential personnel office. Freedman-Gurspan previously served as a policy adviser for the National Center for Transgender Equality. She led the nonprofit organization’s racial and economic justice initiative, which focuses on low-income and transgender people of color. Leading LGBT advocates cheered Freedman-Gurspan’s appointment.
• Obama praises wife Michelle’s curves as he sits down with prima ballerina Misty Copeland. Obama praises wife Michelle’s curves as he sits down with prima ballerina Misty Copeland for interview about body image and growing up black in America. (Daily Mail) — Obama revealed during the TIME interview that it was the likes of Copeland and wife Michelle that were acting as role models for his daughters as they learn the pressures women face today to ‘look a certain way’. ‘That pressure I think is historically always been harder on African American women than just about any other women,’ he said. ‘But it’s part and parcel of a broader way in which we socialize and press women to constantly doubt themselves or define themselves in terms of a certain appearance.’ ‘And so Michelle and I are always guarding against that. And the fact that they’ve got a tall gorgeous mom who has some curves, and that their father appreciates, I think is helpful,’ he added.

8am – B         INTERVIEW — Prince George’s County Police Chief HANK STAWINKSKI

• Police: Maryland officer was accidentally killed by friendly fire during “unprovoked attack.”
• Police take third brother into custody in shooting of police officer

8am – C         Patients Carry Superbugs on Their Hands, Study Finds. Hospitals may be cracking down on handwashing for doctors, nurses and other staffers, but they’re missing a big source of superbug spread, a new study finds: Patients. Researchers at the University of Michigan found close to a quarter of the patients they tested had some sort of drug-resistant germ on their hands when they were discharged from the hospital to a post-acute care facility such as a nursing home, rehabilitation center or hospice. The finding, publishing in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s JAMA Internal Medicine, supports what many health care experts have been arguing for years: that patients are a major source of the spread of “superbug” infections. About 2 million people get sick every year with antibiotic-resistant infections in the U.S. and about 23,000 die. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says one in 25 U.S. hospital patients has caught an infection while in the hospital.

Fist bump, handshake, high-five: Which spreads the most germs? Fist bumping, a form of greeting popularized by President Obama, spreads significantly fewer germs than the more traditional alternative, according to a new study. A fist bump transmits just one-twentieth the amount of bacteria that a handshake does. It is also a less germy option than a high-five, which still spreads less than half the amount of germs typically spread through a handshake, the new research found. In the study, published in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, researchers wanted to see whether alternative greetings would transmit fewer germs than the traditional handshake. One greeter immersed a sterile-gloved hand into a container of germs.

8am – D         INTERVIEW — LARRY KUDLOW – CNBC Senior Contributor and host of The Larry Kudlow Show on WMAL Saturdays at 7 pm

• Big primary day: Predictions? Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio

8am – E         Entertainment News:

• The Bachelor Finale Recap: Ben Higgins Engaged To Lauren B! Ben Higgins got engaged on “The Bachelor” finale to Lauren B. But before he proposed, Higgins first introduced Lauren B. and JoJo to his parents and went on one last date with each woman. The final episode of this season’s “The Bachelor” began with Higgins confused because he previously told both women he was in love with them. To help him find clarity, Higgins introduced his parents, Amy and David, to Lauren B. and JoJo in Jamaica. After The Bachelor admitted to his folks that he was still in love with two women, his mom said it was “disturbing.”
• LL Cool J retired from music today. JK, he just released a new album. LL Cool J tweeted he’s retiring… KIDDING he has a new album. Today, LL Cool J decided to “have fun” on Twitter. By “have fun,” we mean he tweeted, “Today I officially retired from music. Thank you for the love.” And then he deleted that message (He was kidding, people!), and posted this: So within a few hours on Twitter, he retired, and then got out of retirement and announced a new album. But that wasn’t all. He then made a Kanye-esque (Was the entire rant inspired by Mr. West? Poss.) comment about how popular he is.
• Princess Diaries 3 May Happen After All, According To Garry Marshall. The director says he and Anne Hathaway are planning to make our royal dreams come true. If the original Princess Diaries taught us anything, it’s that miracles happen once in a while, when you believe. (Also, that sorbet is cold and should be eaten in tiny bites.) And so, when Garry Marshall, director of the 2001 flick, says that a third installment of the franchise is happening, we have no choice but to polish off our dusty tiaras and react as such: While speaking to People Magazine, Marshall revealed that he’s indeed planning a new chapter of the series with Anne Hathaway, who starred as Princess Mia Thermopolis in the original film and its 2004 sequel, Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. “I was with Anne Hathaway a couple weeks ago, it looks like we want to do Princess Diaries 3 in Manhattan,” Marshall said. “Anne Hathaway is very pregnant, so we have to wait until she has the baby and then I think we’re going to do it.”