Bret Baier, Rep. John Delaney, Washington Post’s Emily Heil and Arron Banks joined WMAL on Friday!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, April 29, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C  Former House Speaker Boehner calls Ted Cruz ‘Lucifer.’ US presidential hopeful Ted Cruz has been called “Lucifer in the flesh” by the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner. Mr Boehner, a fellow Republican, has also reportedly said he will not vote for Mr Cruz if he becomes the nominee. Their rift dates back to when Mr Cruz led a group of hard-core conservatives to force a government shutdown in 2013, against his party’s leadership. Meanwhile, Mr Boehner has described Donald Trump as a “texting buddy”.

5am – D         Man’s ‘bomb’ was candy bars wrapped in foil. BALTIMORE (AP) — The Latest on a man shot by police after he walked into a Baltimore TV station dressed in an animal costume and claiming to have a bomb. Authorities say the “bomb” a man claimed to be wearing when he walked into a television station wearing an animal costume was in reality a red flotation device stuffed with chocolate candy bars wrapped in aluminum foil. Baltimore Police Department spokesman T.J. Smith said a police sniper shot the man Thursday after he refused to put his hands up. Smith said that after a robot removed the suspicious garment, the man was taken to a local hospital, where he was in serious but stable condition. Smith says the man walked into the lobby of WBFF-TV on Baltimore’s Television Hill about 1:20 p.m. wearing a panda costume, the red garment, and a surgical mask. He says the man gave a flash drive to a security guard and said he wanted the station to broadcast it. Smith does not know what was on the flash drive.

5am – E         Illegal Immigrant News:

• ICE releases 19,723 criminal illegals, 208 convicted of murder, 900 of sex crimes. (Washington Examiner) — The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in 2015 decided not to deport but release 19,723 criminal illegal immigrants, including 208 convicted of murder, over 900 convicted of sex crimes and 12,307 of drunk driving, according to new government numbers. Overall, those released into virtually every state and territory of America had a total of 64,197 convictions among them, for an average of 3.25 convictions each, according to an analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies. ICE also said that the group were convicted of 8,234 violent crimes. Meanwhile, ICE said that it has also slashed the number of criminals arrested in local communities, according to the Center’s Director of Policy Studies, Jessica M. Vaughan. “In 2015, ICE made 119,772 arrests, or just half the number of arrests made in 2013, 232,287,” she said in her analysis that also included a map of the releases. The reason: Under President Obama’s immigration policy changes, many criminal immigrants are being ignored even though local police and sheriff have urged ICE to take control of criminals in their jails and deport them.

• Vandalism mars protest outside Trump rally in Costa Mesa. Hundreds of protesters, some turning violent and snarling traffic, made their views known against front-running Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s appearance Thursday at the Pacific Amphitheatre at the Orange County fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. While there were some minor scuffles and shouting matches within the fairgrounds property between opposing political viewpoints, nearby there were reports of vandalism against police vehicles, public property and cars that were trapped in the gridlock accumulating where thousands of people had gathered. At one point, a group of young men and women started rocking and jumping onto a car near Fairview Road and Fair Drive, an intersection that was eventually shut down. The driver got out and screamed at the group that a child was onboard. Some of the protesters smashed police cars’ windows and jumped on officers’ vehicles. As police dressed in riot gear tried to control the masses congregating along Fair Drive, near Costa Mesa City Hall and the Police Department headquarters, many people were heard chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets.” Earlier in the day, demonstrators chanted at Trump’s supporters, hundreds of whom lined up throughout the afternoon in an attempt to get inside the amphitheater for Trump’s 7 p.m. rally. Many, however, were turned away because the 8,500-seat venue was at capacity. The protesters’ signs contained various phrases, including “Hate won’t make us great again” and “Make America great, stop the hate.” Some demonstrators were draped in Mexican flags. Another flew a rainbow flag supporting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

6am – A         INTERVIEW — ARRON BANKS — UK Businessman and backer of the “Brexit” effort to extricate the UK from the EU

• Arron Banks, UK businessman who is one of the most prominent voices and financial backers of the “Brexit” effort to extricate the UK from the EU (and head of the largest grassroots movement ever to come out of the UK) is in DC to brief lawmakers on the referendum that decides it all at the end of June.

6am – B         Sports News:

• Capitals win Game 1 on controversial overtime goal. T.J. Oshie was the Game 1 hero for the Washington Capitals on Thursday night recording a hat trick in a 4-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He completed that hat trick in the overtime period when he beat Penguins rookie goalie Matt Murray on a wraparound. And wow was it close. The initial call on the ice was that it was a good goal, and that would turn out to be an important development. The play had to be reviewed to see if it actually crossed the line.
• NFL DRAFT: Redskins (from Texans) – WR Josh Doctson, Texas Christian: It must be assumed the Redskins adhered to their board — and Doctson may indeed emerge as this draft’s best all-around receiver — to take the Horned Frogs standout instead of the linemen GM Scot McCloughan tends to favor. Doctson joins a receiving corps that already includes WRs DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Jamison Crowder, Andre Roberts and TE Jordan Reed, so this offense could be even more explosive in 2016, though questions remain about the running game (not to mention the run defense).
• Cal Ripken Jr., wife Kelly divorced after 29 years. (USA Today) – Cal Ripken Jr.’s divorce from his wife Kelly was finalized on Thursday morning, the Baltimore Sun reported. Ripken, the Baltimore Orioles legend and baseball Hall of Famer, and his wife were married for 29 years, but had been separated for the past year, the Sun reported. Maryland law required couples have a one-year separation before divorce proceedings can commence.

6am – C         DC METRO:

• Foxx, saying ‘no more excuses’ for Metro on safety, replaces 3 board members. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx stepped up his pressure on Metro to improve its safety performance Thursday by replacing three members of the transit agency’s board with experienced transportation safety professionals. The three new board members, who will take office June 1, are Carol Carmody, former vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board; David Strickland, former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; and Robert Lauby, chief safety officer of the Federal Railroad Administration.
• Recent Red Line Problems Prompt Metro Maintenance Surge.  It’s been a frustrating few days for riders of Metro’s Red Line after a train filled with smoke Saturday causing major delays, and an arcing insulator shut down the Friendship Heights station for a period of time during rush hour Wednesday morning. The frustration will continue over the next few days as trains single track between the Van Ness and Medical Center stations for what General Manager Paul Wiedefeld’s calling a “maintenance surge” to fix problems caused by water leaking onto the tracks.
• House lawmakers want big changes to Washington’s metro board. Rep. John Delaney is leading a push in the House to overhaul the board that oversees the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) as the beleaguered transit agency scrambles to address ongoing safety issues. Delaney, a Maryland Democrat, is introducing legislation this week that would require the next three federal appointments to the authority’s board of directors to be either a certified transit, management or financial expert. The standard would apply to both new appointees and those renewing their terms. The board has 16 members, with Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia and the federal government each appointing four of them.

6am – D/E     So, who’s going to be Trump’s VP? (Hot Air/Allahpundit) –The question’s surprisingly hard but we should probably start thinking about it since, unlike Cruz’s pick, this one really might end up a heartbeat away. Even if Trump likes him as a fellow “outsider,” Cruz almost certainly plans to run for president again in the future. Why risk crashing and burning with Trump this fall and then suffering recriminations from grassroots conservatives angry at everyone who enabled Trumpism? There’s nothing in it for Cruz, so he won’t bite. For the same reasons, neither would Marco Rubio or Scott Walker. Same goes for Nikki Haley and Susana Martinez, two governors on everyone’s VP shortlist.

 

7am – A/B/C Congress votes to designate bison as national mammal. (AP) – WASHINGTON –  The bison could soon become the national mammal of the United States. Legislation approved by Congress would elevate the bison to a stature approaching that of the bald eagle, long the national emblem. There has not been an official mammal of the United States. The Senate gave final approval to the bill Thursday, two days after the House approved it. It now goes to the president’s desk. Lawmakers called the bison — North America’s largest land animal — the embodiment of American strength and resilience and said it reflects the nation’s pioneer spirit. “The bison has been an important part of our culture for many generations, especially in New Mexico, across the West and in Indian Country,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M. “Recognition of our new national mammal will bring a new source of pride for Americans — just like the bald eagle” and bring greater attention to ongoing species recovery efforts, he said.

7am – D         INTERVIEW — REP. JOHN DELANEY – (D-MD)

• Foxx, saying ‘no more excuses’ for Metro on safety, replaces 3 board members.
• Recent Red Line Problems Prompt Metro Maintenance Surge.
• Delaney Files Legislation to Improve WMATA Governance, Provide Riders with Better Service and Safety. WASHINGTON – Congressman John K. Delaney (MD-6) has filed legislation to reform the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA, also known as Metro) Board of Directors. Delaney’s legislation – The WMATA Management Reform Act – will require that the next three federal appointees to WMATA’s Board are either: (1) a certified transit expert, (2) a certified management expert, (3) a certified financial expert or (4) a certified safety expert. Under the legislation, a majority of federal representatives on the Board must meet these requirements at all times. In the future, should a new Metro Compact be established, these requirements would apply to all participating jurisdictions.

7am – E         She ditched her $400,000-a-year legal job after her ‘woman’s card’ only held her back. (Washington Post/Petula Dvorak) — That “woman’s card” everyone’s talking about? It didn’t work that well for Kristen Jarvis Johnson. Johnson, 33, climbed the ladder of Big Law until she reached a pretty sweet place, making $400,000 a year at Squire Patton Boggs and slaying legal dragons as a senior associate in its Qatar office. She specialized in international disputes. But when we talked this week, she was still jetlagged after pulling the plug on all of it, putting her family on a plane and jetting home. But more important, she’d had enough of being one of the few women in the upper ranks of her white-shoe law firm. She’d had enough of hitting or exceeding all her targets and being told she didn’t need a bonus. She’d had enough of being told she had to work harder after advising on a case in between contractions as she was in labor. “I encountered blatant gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and a very clear glass ceiling,” Johnson wrote in a Reddit post that started out being about her new idea — creating a boy version of the American Girl dolls, called Boy Story — but quickly became about her experience as a woman in a huge law firm. “Having a baby apparently makes you worth less as a lawyer,” she said.

 

8am – A         INTERVIEW — EMILY HEIL – co-author of the Reliable Source at The Washington Post

• Preview the White House Correspondents Dinner: who’s coming, who is hosting, what to expect, popular parties and significance of this being President Obama’s last WHCD

8am – B         Sports News:

• Capitals win Game 1 on controversial overtime goal.
• NFL DRAFT: Redskins (from Texans) – WR Josh Doctson, Texas Christian
• Cal Ripken Jr., wife Kelly divorced after 29 years.

8am – C         Patti Davis blasts Will Ferrell for ‘comedy’ about Reagan’s Alzheimer’s. (Washington Examiner) — Patti Davis, daughter of President Reagan, lambasted Will Ferrell for his willingness to portray her late father in a comedy movie that focuses on the dementia of his final years. “Perhaps you have managed to retain some ignorance about Alzheimer’s and other versions of dementia. Perhaps if you knew more, you would not find the subject humorous,” Davis wrote in a blog post. Ferrell, known for goofy roles in “Anchorman” and “Saturday Night Live,” will also help produce Mike Rosolio’s “Reagan” film, which shares the story of an intern who must convince the 40th president he is playing a leader for a movie. Davis, 63, said there’s nothing funny about Alzheimer’s or the years in which Reagan suffered from it. “I watched as fear invaded my father’s eyes — this man who was never afraid of anything. I heard his voice tremble as he stood in the living room and said, ‘I don’t know where I am,” Davis added. “I watched helplessly as he reached for memories, for words, that were suddenly out of reach and moving farther away.”

8am – D         INTERVIEW – BRET BAIER – Anchor, Special Report, Fox News Channel, weekdays at 6 pm – discussed the state of play of the election looking ahead to Indiana primary and recapped this week’s top stories of Cruz naming Carly his running mate, Boehner calling Cruz ‘Lucifer’ plus commented on this weekend’s upcoming White House Correspondents Dinner.

8am – E         Suspect Dressed in Hedgehog Onesie Shot and Detained After Posing Bomb Threat at Baltimore News Station. Baltimore police have detained the suspect of a bomb threat at one of the city’s news stations, PEOPLE confirms. At around 1:20 p.m. on Thursday, the suspect – who police only identified as a 25-year-old, white male – entered the Fox 45 station’s lobby area, wearing what police described as a panda onesie [though it appeared to be a hedgehog onesie] with a coat underneath and a surgical mask. In a press conference from Baltimore police department’s Media Relations Director T.J. Smith and Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, it was revealed that the suspect encountered a contracted security guard in the lobby and displayed what appeared to be an explosive device.