Brian Stelter, John Lott, KT McFarland and Amanda Carpenter joined WMAL on Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C  Have a check-up? Why your doctor might ask you if you own a gun. (Washington Post) — A visit to the doctor’s office often comes with the sort of personal questions not asked anywhere else except, perhaps, the depths of an online dating quiz: How many sexual partners do you have? How much booze do you consume in a typical week? Do you smoke? Do you wear a helmet when you ride a bike? Is there a gun in your house? If that last query feels unusually probing, even for a medical exam, there’s good reason. The question is a bone of contention in states like Florida, where Gov. Rick Scott signed a 2011 law aimed at restricting doctors’ inquires about the firearms in their patients’ lives. Doctors who ask about guns, for their part, may fear finding themselves far afield from their comfort zones. But those factors should not deter physicians from asking about guns, according to a report published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, if they feel that line of questioning is warranted. “Firearm violence is an important health problem, and most physicians agree that they should help prevent that violence,” wrote Garen J. Wintemute, a public health expert at the University of California Davis and co-author of the paper, in an email to The Washington Post. In the literature review, which doubles as a call-to-arms, the authors conclude it is neither illegal nor unreasonable to ask patients about gun safety.

5am – D         Trump and frequent target Megyn Kelly call a truce. NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump and Megyn Kelly appear to have called a truce. The two sat down for a much-ballyhooed interview that was the culmination — at least for now — of the frequent sparring between the now-presumptive Republican presidential nominee and one of the biggest stars on the conservative-leaning Fox News Channel. It was taped last month and aired Tuesday night on the Fox broadcast network. Their fight began last August, in the first GOP debate, when Kelly lobbed several tough questions at Trump, including one about how he has publicly talked about women. Trump escalated the feud over Twitter for months.

5am – E         Stinky situation! US Postal Service employee dumps mail into sewer. WASHINGTON (ABC7) — It appears a US Postal Service employee last week was tired of delivering the mail, and decided to pull up to a D.C. Water catch basin at Anacostia Ave. and Douglas St. NE and dump mail into the sewer system. It may never have been discovered except Gertrude Troyer who lives near there asked her neighbor, a retired D.C. cop Vincent Wright to snake out a clogged drain at a house she owns. Wright says he started pulling up paper and on closer inspection discovered that it was mail. He followed the trail to the catch basin and raked out enough mail to fill a wagon. Items included Pepco bills, and what appeared to be a check to a neighborhood company for $10,800.When ABC7 notified the D.C. office of the US Postal service, the Postmaster Gerald Roane showed up himself with several other employees, who gathered what mail they could would the help of Wright and left vowing to return. Postal Service Spokesman Tom Ouellette later issued the following statement: “This isolated incident has been referred to the USPS Office of Inspector General and a full investigation is underway. The Postal Service takes mail delivery seriously and is committed to discovering the cause of this incident. Rest assured we will make every effort to recover and deliver all mail as promptly as possible. The Postal Service apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused our customers.”

6am – A/B/C This state could become the 1st to ban declawing of cats. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York would be the first state to ban the declawing of cats under a legislative proposal that has divided veterinarians. Several vets — along with a spokescat named Rubio — came to the state Capitol on Tuesday to lobby for the ban. They say the declawing procedure, which involves cutting through bone, tendon and nerves to amputate the first segment of a cat’s toes, is unnecessary and cruel. Australia, Britain and several European countries already ban the practice. It’s also illegal in Los Angeles and some other California cities. “It’s a disfiguring, inhumane and misguided procedure,” said Eileen Jefferson, an Ulster County veterinarian who does not perform the procedure. She said about 25 percent of cats will be declawed. While Jefferson and the other vets discussed the bill at a press conference in the Capitol, Rubio roamed the room, sniffing the reporters and occasionally offering a meow as greeting. The 11-year-old Abyssinian has his claws but chose not to use them on the journalists. The state’s Veterinary Medical Society opposes the legislation, saying the surgical procedure can often save cats with destructive scratching behavior from being euthanized. In a memo of opposition, the society argues that declawing is a decision best left to cat owners and veterinarians and not lawmakers.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – BRIAN STELTER – CNN’s senior media correspondent and host of CNN’s Reliable Sources show

• Trump and frequent target Megyn Kelly call a truce. NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump and Megyn Kelly appear to have called a truce. The two sat down for a much-ballyhooed interview that was the culmination — at least for now — of the frequent sparring between the now-presumptive Republican presidential nominee and one of the biggest stars on the conservative-leaning Fox News Channel. It was taped last month and aired Tuesday night on the Fox broadcast network. Their fight began last August, in the first GOP debate, when Kelly lobbed several tough questions at Trump, including one about how he has publicly talked about women. Trump escalated the feud over Twitter for months.

6am – E         Kentucky and Oregon Primaries Recap:

• Clinton wins Kentucky, Sanders takes Oregon
• Kentucky primary: Clinton 46.8%, Sanders 46.3%
• Oregon primary: Sanders (won) 54.5%, Clinton 45.5%

 

7am – A         INTERVIEW – JOHN LOTT- President, Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), economist and author of the famous book “More Guns, Less Crime”

• U.S. judge strikes down D.C. concealed-carry gun law as probably unconstitutional
• Docs and Glocks: Have a check-up? Why your doctor might ask you if you own a gun.

7am – B         Tracking marijuana and the Prince George’s Co. murder rate. Prince George’s County is tracking marijuana and the murder rate. SUITLAND, Md. (WUSA9) — Veteran investigators in Prince George’s County searching for a cause behind a sharp spike in killings are increasingly talking about marijuana. So far in 2015, the county has tallied at least a dozen murders that investigators believe are linked to the marijuana trade, according to statistics provided by the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s office. When it comes to homicides in 2015, no other drug is even on the radar. Decriminalization on both sides of the D.C. line has meant that possession of small amounts of weed no longer result in a trip to jail. But dealing any amount of marijuana remains a felony, and demand appears to be rising. Investigators speculate the changes have resulted in turf battles, drug debts and robberies that have too often become fatal in the black market for weed.

7am – C         Kristen Stewart: ‘Sometimes I do feel a bit like I have my limbs cut off.’ The lack of freedom afforded to you by being famous feels a bit like “having your limbs cut off”, Kristen Stewart told press at the Cannes film festival. The actor was speaking at the press conference for Olivier Assayas’s supernatural drama, Personal Shopper. “[You] feel so incapable of going to the store. Well, technically you can, but it proves to be logistically not worth it,” she said. “It was fun to play somebody who was so capable. Sometimes I do feel a little bit like I have my limbs cut off. That’s not to say that [fame] is a bad feeling, but it is surreal.”

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

• Donald Trump says he’s open to speaking with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
• GOP reps hammer WH aide Rhodes at hearing; senators seek firing
• Iran seeks money from U.S. over 1953 coup that empowered American-backed shah
• Congressman: Classified details of Iran’s treatment of US sailors will shock nation

7am – E         Taco Bell tests upscale interiors to boost dinner trade. (USA Today) –

Sleek, modern seating, exposed wooden beams and trendy light fixtures will replace the fluorescent lighting and neon purple glow that has long been associated with the chain. It’s an uncharacteristic case of a fast food restaurant asking people to slow down. But it could be necessary if Taco Bell is going to increase its evening sales — and face off against more upscale chains like Chipotle. The upscale look is a departure from the traditional, bare bones fast food experience, which has always emphasized convenience and quick service over ambiance. The revamps come as Taco Bell has steadily grown sales for the past eight quarters, helped in part from the launch of its breakfast menu in 2014.

 

8am – A/B/C Overtime protections to be extended to 4.2 million more Americans: The Department of Labor on Wednesday will finalize a rule extending overtime protections to 4.2 million more Americans currently not eligible under federal law, boosting wages by $12 billion over the next 10 years, the White House said Tuesday evening. The updated rule, which takes effect Dec. 1 and doubles the salary threshold below which workers automatically qualify for time-and-a-half wages to $47,476 from $23,660 a year, or from $455 to $913 a week. Hourly workers are generally guaranteed overtime pay regardless of what they make. “We’re strengthening our overtime pay rules to make sure millions of Americans’ hard work is rewarded,” President Obama said in a statement. “If you work more than 40 hours a week, you should get paid for it or get extra time off to spend with your family and loved ones.”

8am – D         INTERVIEW — AMANDA CARPENTER – Contributing Editor at Conservative Review, former Communications Director to Sen. Ted Cruz, and former Speechwriter to Sen. Jim DeMint. She is also a CNN contributor.

• Clinton wins Kentucky, Sanders takes Oregon
• Kentucky primary: Clinton 46.8%, Sanders 46.3%
• Oregon primary: Sanders (won) 54.5%, Clinton 45.5%
• Trump and frequent target Megyn Kelly call a truce. NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump and Megyn Kelly appear to have called a truce. The two sat down for a much-ballyhooed interview that was the culmination — at least for now — of the frequent sparring between the now-presumptive Republican presidential nominee and one of the biggest stars on the conservative-leaning Fox News Channel.

8am – E         Facebook Meets with Conservatives Today. Conservatives Split Over ‘Bias’ Meeting With Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. In the wake of reports last week alleging that curators of Facebook’s “trending” news bar were actively suppressing certain stories on ideological grounds, conservatives were split regarding the virtues of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s so-called “olive branch” meeting with prominent members of their community. It’s a division that may be reflective of a wider rift among conservatives in the media. News of Zuckerberg’s effort to reach out to conservatives broke when Glenn Beck published a roughly 550-word post on Facebook, saying that he had been contacted by Zuckerberg this week to meet in Menlo Park, California, home to the social media site’s sprawling headquarters. Beck confirmed that he would attend the meeting. Mitt Romney’s former digital director Zac Moffatt, Republican pollster and Washington Examiner columnist Kristen Soltis Anderson, Fox News’ Dana Perino and CNN’s S.E. Cupp will attend the meeting with Beck. Barry Bennett, a senior adviser to Donald Trump’s campaign, will also be there on Wednesday, Facebook confirmed to ABC News.