Rep. Jim Jordan, Montgomery County Councilmember Roger Berliner, KT McFarland, Tom Bevan and DC Councilmember Charles Allen joined WMAL on Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C INTERVIEW – CONGRESSMAN JIM JORDAN — R-Ohio, member of the Benghazi Committee

• Benghazi panel goes to war with Pentagon
• Emails From Hillary Clinton’s IT Director at State Department Appear to Be Missing.

5am – B/C     More Benghazi and Email News:

• Government won’t seek death penalty in Benghazi case. WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Justice Department said Tuesday it won’t seek the death penalty for Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the Libyan militia leader accused of helping to carry out the attacks on the U.S. diplomatic and CIA facilities in Benghazi in 2012. Federal prosecutors made the notification in a filing with federal court in Washington, where Khatallah faces trial related to the attacks that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. He was captured in a raid by U.S. commandos in Libya in 2014 and brought to United States on a U.S. Navy ship that allowed for an FBI-led team of interrogators to question him. He has pleaded not guilty.
• Clinton aide Cheryl Mills leaves FBI interview briefly after being asked about emails. Near the beginning of a recent interview, an FBI investigator broached a topic with longtime Hillary Clinton aide Cheryl Mills that her lawyer and the Justice Department had agreed would be off limits, according to several people familiar with the matter. Mills and her lawyer left the room — though both returned a short time later — and prosecutors were somewhat taken aback that their FBI colleague had ventured beyond what was anticipated, the people said. Investigators consider Mills — who served as chief of staff while Clinton was secretary of state — to be a cooperative witness.

5am – D         Montgomery Council To Consider $400K Bus Line For A Tiny Village. ROCKVILLE – (WMAL) The Montgomery County Council says the remote, low-income community of Tobytown, a cluster of modest housing in the midst of stately Potomac mansions, is being held back by its lack of public transportation.  The nearest Ride On bus stop is three miles away, with most residents too poor to own a car. Tuesday, the Council takes up a proposal to bring a bus line to the community that would connect them to schools, libraries and a Metro station. “There are times when you have to make choices between being fiscally responsible and being socially responsible, and I think this is one of those times where being socially responsible is our highest priority,” Transportation Committee chairman Roger Berliner told WMAL. “It’s not inexpensive, but it does seem appropriate.” The County projects the shuttle bus line would see about 45 riders per day, and recover less than four percent of its $400,000 annual cost in fares, but Berliner said Tobytown residents deserve the same opportunities as the rest of the county.

5am – E         2016 News:

• Sanders Wins in West Virginia Democratic Primary; Trump Cruises. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has won the West Virginia Democratic primary, NBC News projects, a victory that will add yet more fuel to his argument that he should remain in the race despite badly trailing front runner Hillary Clinton in the overall delegate count.
• YESTERDAY: Ted Cruz leaves the door open to restarting his campaign if he wins Nebraska. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who ended his bid for presidential nomination May 3, said Tuesday on Glenn Beck’s radio show he would “respond accordingly” if he won Nebraska’s primary tonight and saw a path to victory.
• POLL: Clinton, Trump ‘dead even’ in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. (USA Today) — A new poll shows Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in a dead heat in three key swing states: Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released Tuesday has Clinton up by a single point in both Florida (43%-42%) and Pennsylvania (43%-42%), while Trump leads Clinton in Ohio by 43%-to-39%  “Six months from Election Day, the presidential races between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in the three most crucial states, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, are too close to call,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll. Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, by the way, has narrow leads over Trump in all three pivotal states.

6am – A/B/C  Obama will be first U.S. president to visit Hiroshima — but he’ll make no apologies. President Obama will visit Hiroshima, Japan, to pay somber tribute to the ghastly cost of war while standing firmly by President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs that ended World War II, the White House said Tuesday, announcing the first visit to the city by a sitting U.S. president since the attacks seven decades ago. Obama’s stop was tacked on to a long-planned tour of Vietnam and Japan later this month. The schedule change reflects internal White House wrestling over how to pull off the trip, certain to reawaken complaints that Obama’s foreign policy is based on an attitude of apology for the use of American might. Despite an itinerary that includes two former war zones, aides insisted, Obama is not looking backward to old grievances, either inflicted by the U.S. or adversaries. He is not seeking an apology for the attack on Pearl Harbor, the bombing that ushered the U.S. into the war that ended only when Truman dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as fighting with Japan raged on past the end of war in Europe. Nor will he offer apologies, lest he insult the generation that counts its sacrifices of World War II among the most significant contributions made to humanity.

6am – D         Budweiser Renames Its Beer “America.” Until the November election, Budweiser is swapping out everything on its can—including its own name—to be as patriotic as possible. With the backdrop of the Olympics and a comically botched election, this summer is bound to be what Ricardo Marques, a vice president from Budweiser, calls “maybe the most American summer ever.” So Budweiser is going to potentially ingenious, potentially absurd branding extremes. The company has kept the same can you already know, but when you look closely, you’ll realize that it has swapped out its own name, “Budweiser,” for “America.” That’s right, Budweiser has renamed its beer America for the summer.

6am – E         Rosen: State Dept Removed My Iran Questions from Briefing. Questions are arising this morning about why a video of a 2013 State Department briefing was edited and a chunk of video apparently removed. The video that mysteriously disappeared features then-spokesperson Jen Psaki suggesting that the media needed to be manipulated at times so the administration could accomplish its goals. The video in question – which was cut and replaced by a white flash – featured Psaki and Fox News correspondent James Rosen.

7am – A         INTERVIEW — MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCILMEMBER ROGER BERLINER — representing Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, Kensington, Poolesville. Berliner is Chair of the Transportation and Environment Committee

• Montgomery Council To Consider $400K Bus Line For A Tiny Village. ROCKVILLE – (WMAL) The Montgomery County Council says the remote, low-income community of Tobytown, a cluster of modest housing in the midst of stately Potomac mansions, is being held back by its lack of public transportation.  The nearest Ride On bus stop is three miles away, with most residents too poor to own a car. Tuesday, the Council takes up a proposal to bring a bus line to the community that would connect them to schools, libraries and a Metro station. “There are times when you have to make choices between being fiscally responsible and being socially responsible, and I think this is one of those times where being socially responsible is our highest priority,” Transportation Committee chairman Roger Berliner told WMAL. “It’s not inexpensive, but it does seem appropriate.”

7am – B         DOT secretary warns he could shut down DC subway system. WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Tuesday he seriously considered ordering a shutdown of the entire Washington Metro subway system last week and may still do that if local officials don’t follow Transportation Department safety directives. “We have the ability to withhold (federal) funds from Metro. We have the ability to shut Metro down, and we’re not afraid to use the authority we have,” Foxx said told reporters. “This is serious business.” Local officials have yet to identify the root cause of incidents involving electrical arcing, smoke and fire, and so have no plan for how to fix the problem, he said. It is clear to DOT officials who watched a video of one recent incident that there is too much electrical power flowing through the subway system, Foxx said. In the video, recorded at the Federal Center Southwest station, there is a bright flash of electrical arcing followed by billowing smoke in the same place where moments before a train had passed through. Foxx called the video “scary.” The Federal Transit Administration, which is part of the department, issued a series of emergency safety directives to Metro officials on Saturday that included steps to reduce power throughout the rail system. One recommendation is to cut the number of railcars per train from eight to six. That would make trains far more crowded at peak hours. The subway system is used by about 700,000 riders a day.

7am – C         Penguins edge Capitals 4-3 in OT to win series in 6 games. PITTSBURGH (AP) — A three-goal lead gone — and his team’s momentum right along with it — Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan provided a reminder heading to overtime of Game 6 of a relentlessly entertaining playoff series against the Washington Capitals. Keep skating. Play fast. Be confident. In the span of a dozen frantic seconds early in the extra period on Tuesday night, Carl Hagelin, Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino did all three, sending their resilient club to the Eastern Conference final in the process. Bonino tapped in a rebound of Hagelin’s shot by Braden Holtby 6:32 into overtime to give the Penguins a 4-3 win to wrap up the series in six games and set up a showdown with Tampa Bay for the right to play for the Stanley Cup.

7am – D         INTERVIEW — KT MCFARLAND – Fox News National Security Analyst

• Obama will be first U.S. president to visit Hiroshima — but he’ll make no apologies
• Government won’t seek death penalty in Benghazi case.  The Justice Department said Tuesday it won’t seek the death penalty for Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the Libyan militia leader accused of helping to carry out the attacks on the U.S. diplomatic and CIA facilities in Benghazi in 2012.
• Weighed in on Ben Rhodes spinning the Iran deal
• Benghazi panel goes to war with Pentagon. Republicans on the House Select Committee on Benghazi accused the Pentagon on Friday of wading into politics by making false claims about its work and undermining the integrity of the military. In a blistering letter on Friday, Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) accused the Defense Department of “wast[ing] taxpayer dollars” by coordinating with Democrats to write “partisan, factually deficient” complaints to his committee.

7am – E         Senator Demands Answers From Facebook on Claims of ‘Trending’ List Bias. WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee demanded on Tuesday that Facebook explain how it handles news articles in its “trending” list, responding to a report that staff members had intentionally suppressed articles from conservative sources. In a letter, the chairman, Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, asked Facebook to describe the steps it was taking to investigate the claims and to provide any records about articles that its news curators had excluded or added. Mr. Thune also asked directly whether the curators had “in fact manipulated the content,” something Facebook denied in a statement on Monday. “If there’s any level of subjectivity associated with it, or if, as reports have suggested that there might have been, an attempt to suppress conservative stories or keep them from trending and get other stories out there, I think it’s important for people to know that,” Mr. Thune told reporters on Tuesday. “That’s just a matter of transparency and honesty, and there shouldn’t be any attempt to mislead the American public.”

8am – A         INTERVIEW – TOM BEVAN – Co-founder and publisher of Real Clear Politics

• Sanders Wins in West Virginia Democratic Primary; Trump Cruises. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has won the West Virginia Democratic primary, NBC News projects, a victory that will add yet more fuel to his argument that he should remain in the race despite badly trailing front runner Hillary Clinton in the overall delegate count.

• YESTERDAY: Ted Cruz leaves the door open to restarting his campaign if he wins Nebraska. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who ended his bid for presidential nomination May 3, said Tuesday on Glenn Beck’s radio show he would “respond accordingly” if he won Nebraska’s primary tonight and saw a path to victory.
• POLL: Clinton, Trump ‘dead even’ in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. (USA Today) — A new poll shows Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in a dead heat in three key swing states: Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released Tuesday has Clinton up by a single point in both Florida (43%-42%) and Pennsylvania (43%-42%), while Trump leads Clinton in Ohio by 43%-to-39%  “Six months from Election Day, the presidential races between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in the three most crucial states, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, are too close to call,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll. Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, by the way, has narrow leads over Trump in all three pivotal states.

8am – B         Entertainment News:

• Meghan Trainor pulls video altered to make her thinner.  (CNN) When Meghan Trainor first started seeing screen grabs from her new music video, “Me Too,” she thought fans were fooling around with Photoshop to alter the images and make her waist look smaller. But it was no laughing matter. “I saw fans posting it and was like, ‘Why are fans ruining my waist? Are you kidding?’ ” the Grammy-winning artist told USA Today. “Then I went to the video and was like, ‘Oh my god.’ I texted the editors like, ‘I never asked you to touch my waist. I want my waist back.’
• Panama Papers: Emma Watson named in latest offshore data release. Emma Watson, the Harry Potter actress, is said to be a beneficiary in an offshore company based in the British Virgin Islands. Emma Watson used an offshore company leaked by the Panama Papers to​ purchase  a multi-million pound property​. ​The actress, currently taking a break from acting to campaign for feminism, bought a London home in 2013 a month after setting up an entity called Falling Leaves in the British Virgin Islands. ​But Watson denied any suggestion of tax avoidance, saying the account was set up for the sole purpose of “protecting her anonymity and safety”.
• ‘Hamilton’ the musical coming to Kennedy Center. WASHINGTON — It’s nominated for a record 16 Tony nominations, but until now, the high demand, expensive ticket prices and sheer geographic distance have kept many D.C. residents from traveling to Broadway to see it. Never fear — the national tour is here. The smash hit musical “Hamilton” will be coming to the Kennedy Center as part of its national tour during the 2017-2018 season. Specific show dates will be announced at a later time. The best way to guarantee tickets to “Hamilton” is to purchase a subscription for the 2016-2017 theater season. New or renewing subscribers of the 2016–2017 theater season will be first in line.
• Search warrant executed for Prince’s medical records, identifies doctor who treated him. Prince saw a Minneapolis-area doctor the day before he died, and that doctor was at Prince’s Paisley Park compound to deliver test results on the morning the musician was found dead, according to court records obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

8am – C         Screen on the Green discontinued. WASHINGTON — Screen on the Green, a D.C. tradition which saw thousands of people bring a blanket to the National Mall on Monday nights and watch classic movies on a gigantic screen, has been canceled. “Today we share some sad news: HBO and Comcast have decided to discontinue hosting Screen on the Green in DC, effective this summer,” said Jesse B. Rauch, president of Friends of Screen on the Green, in a letter. “HBO is very proud of our 17 years of Screen on the Green on the Mall,” HBO says in a statement. “Unfortunately, this year we have decided to move on and place our resources elsewhere. We thank everyone that has assisted and attended for their many years of support.”

8am – D/E     INTERVIEW — DC COUNCILMEMBER CHARLES ALLEN — member of the Council of the District of Columbia representing Ward 6

• Councilmember Charles Allen Commends WMATA For Urgency of SafeTrack Draft Plan; Has Concerns About Station Shutdown Timing. ALLEN: “I recognize these repairs are needed and dramatic actions are being proposed, but I must ask WMATA to adjust its proposed schedule – perhaps moving these repairs sooner – to avoid a harmful conflict with the need for students and families to get to school.”
• DC Metro GM met with managers yesterday
• DOT secretary warns he could shut down DC subway system/ WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Tuesday he seriously considered ordering a shutdown of the entire Washington Metro subway system last week and may still do that if local officials don’t follow Transportation Department safety directives. “We have the ability to withhold (federal) funds from Metro. We have the ability to shut Metro down, and we’re not afraid to use the authority we have,” Foxx said told reporters. “This is serious business.” Local officials have yet to identify the root cause of incidents involving electrical arcing, smoke and fire, and so have no plan for how to fix the problem, he said.
• Transportation Secretary Says He Almost Ordered Metro Shutdown Last Week. The nation’s top transportation official says he almost ordered a shutdown of the D.C. region’s subway system after inspectors were denied access to the tracks following an explosion last Thursday at Federal Center Southwest. Security camera footage captured the blast and blinding flash of light involving a third-rail insulator. In a safety directive issued Saturday by the Federal Transit Administration, officials said Metro’s rail operations control center denied inspectors access to the tracks and instead put passenger safety at risk by allowing trains to service the station for hours afterward. “It is hard to help somebody who is keeping inspectors off the track for hours at a time. Frankly, the more we see of that type of activity, the more inclined we are to take swift and abrupt action to shut them down,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in remarks to reporters at DOT headquarters on Tuesday.