Mireya Mayor, KT McFarland and David Martosko joined WMAL on Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C  McConnell: Trump Is ‘Not Going To Change The Republican Party’ (Daily Caller) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says that Donald Trump is “not going to change the Republican Party.” Appearing on the Hugh Hewitt Show on Tuesday, McConnell said, “I’m comfortable voting for [Trump], because on the big things that I think have the greatest impact on the future of the country. At the top of the list is the Supreme Court, I think he’ll be just fine.”  Hewitt asked, “[D]oes the Republican Party have an identity crisis, because Donald Trump said he’s going to change the nature of the party, Senator McConnell? And I don’t know much. If I come around to supporting him, it’ll be because of that Supreme Court, and because he’s going to rebuild the military. But I’m not sure he’s bought into the historical limited government theory. Do you?” “Well, whether he has or not, he’s not going to change the Republican Party,” McConnell said. “You know, we’ve had nominees before who were not deeply into Republican politics and philosophy. Think of Eisenhower, for example. But Trump is not going to change the institution. He’s not going to change the basic philosophy of the party.”

5am – D         Adele calls out fan for videotaping concert. (AP) — Adele wants concertgoers to look at her with their own eyes instead of through a camera lens.

A video posted by a fan on Twitter shows the 28-year-old British singer singling out a woman at a concert, asking her: “Could you stop filming me with that video camera? Because I’m really here in real life, you can enjoy it in real life rather than through your camera.” Adele added: “This isn’t a DVD, this is a real show.” She said she’d really like those in the crowd to enjoy it “because there’s lots of people outside that couldn’t come in.” She then rolled her eyes and turned around. ABC News reports the video was taken Sunday night at Adele’s show in Verona, Italy.

5am – E         Bill Kristol looks to recruit conservative writer David French for third-party bid. (CBS News) — Conservative columnist Bill Kristol is working to recruit David French, a writer for National Review, as a third-party presidential candidate, CBS News has confirmed. “A group approached French, he’s considering it seriously and is in contact with lots of serious people,” a source with knowledge of the effort told CBS News. French is an Iraq veteran and a constitutional lawyer, and lives in Columbia, Tenn., with his family. Just last week, he wrote a National Review plea for 2012 nominee Mitt Romney to consider a third-party bid, saying Romney is “the only man who combines the integrity, financial resources, name recognition, and broad public support to make a realistic independent run at the presidency.”

Mitt Romney praises possible independent candidate David French. Mitt Romney embraced David French, the conservative lawyer and National Review staff writer who some are pushing to mount an independent presidential run — but stopped short of an endorsement. “I know David French to be an honorable, intelligent and patriotic person. I look forward to following what he has to say,” the former Republican presidential nominee tweeted late Tuesday. French, who has yet to comment on his potential candidacy, is being urged to run by Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, among others. “To say that he would be a better and a more responsible president than Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump is to state a truth that would become self-evident as more Americans got to know him,” Kristol writes in a recent article touting French’s virtues as a possible independent candidate.

6am – A/B/C Trump’s Wild Media-Bashing Presser: Would You Like To See More Of This If He Becomes President?

6am – D/E     Search For Boy Left In Forest ‘As Punishment’ (Sky News) — The parents of a Japanese boy missing in a forest populated by bears confess they left him for a brief time to teach him a lesson. A seven-year-old boy is missing in a forest after his parents made him get out of the car as punishment, police in Japan have said. More than 150 police and rescue workers have been searching for Yamato Tanooka in a wooded area on Mt Komagatake in Nanae, Hokkaido, the northern-most of Japan’s four main islands, since he went missing on Saturday. Yamato’s parents initially told police that their son had disappeared while they were picking wild vegetables in the area, which is said to be populated by brown bears. However, they later admitted they had made him get out of the car to punish him for throwing rocks while playing at a river earlier in the day. “The parents left the boy in the mountains as a punishment,” a police spokesman said.

7am – A/B/C INTERVIEW — DR. MIREYA MAYOR – Anthropologist, Primatologist. and wildlife correspondent for the National Geographic. She has a PhD in Anthropology, with a specialization in primates – discussed the zoo backlash over the gorilla killing.

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

• NORTH KOREA: North Korea endorses Trump, “wise politician” (Guardian) – State media outlet welcomes Republican candidate’s ‘far-sighted’ policies and suggestion that he will withdraw troops from Seoul. North Korean state media has praised US presidential hopeful Donald Trump, describing him as a “wise politician” and “far-sighted candidate” who could help unify the Korean peninsula.
• Iraqi forces surrounding Falluja have been bogged down by a fierce ISIS counterattack. (NY Times) –NEAR FALLUJA, Iraq — Along the battle line north of Falluja, small units of Shiite fighters are raining mortar shells and rockets down on the city and its Islamic State occupiers. Militia graffiti is scrawled in red paint along a network of low walls cratered by bullets and bombs, and a wailing ambulance siren signals another load of wounded bound for treatment away from the front. The battle for Falluja has become entrenched outside the city itself. Iraqi forces surrounding the area have been bogged down by a fierce Islamic State counterattack. A few civilians managed to escape the city as the fighting closed in, but the status of tens of thousands still trapped there is an urgent question.
• EUROPE: State Dept. extends Europe travel alert through August 31; warns US citizens of potential terror attacks risks. State Department warns Americans about European travel. Washington (CNN)The State Department is warning Americans about the risk of potential terrorist attacks throughout Europe as law enforcement waits on heightened alert for possible ISIS-inspired attacks. The department on Tuesday issued a travel alert for the continent. There isn’t a new, specific threat, but the warning comes ahead of big events this summer with large crowds. Venues in France will host the European Soccer Championship beginning on June 10, and the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day will be held in Krakow, Poland. Both events are expected to draw massive crowds, and concerns are particularly high over the soccer tournament.
• HILLARY: Daily Caller: Lawyer For Cheryl Mills Blocked Questions About Hillary’s Server In Recent Deposition

7am – E         Maryland Congressman’s Daughter Uses Dad’s Car — and Congressional License Plates — to Drive for Lyft. WASHINGTON — (WMAL) A Lyft car that was trimmed with congressional plates that went viral on social media belongs to Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.). A photo submitted to local Washington, D.C., blog Popville last week depicted a black Honda with a pink Lyft driver sticker on its window shield and the words “Maryland U.S. Congress 7-A” on its license plates. Cummings said that his daughter, a recent Howard University graduate, has been using the car to drive for Lyft and earn extra income to pay for school expenses.

Congressman tells daughter to remove congressional car tag. WASHINGTON (AP) — No, Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings isn’t moonlighting as a ride-sharing driver. The congressman said Tuesday that a daughter who recently graduated from college has been using his Honda with a congressional plate while working part time for a ride-sharing company to make extra money for school expenses. The company, Lyft, gave her a sticker to put on the windshield. A photo of the car was submitted to the local blog Popville showing the sticker and the license plate, which carries parking privileges. Cummings says he contacted his daughter, Adia, and she removed the tags. The congressman says he’s told her she can continue to use his car without the tag while she pursues full-time employment.

8am – A         2016 News:

• Bill Weld: ‘I’m Not Buying’ That Clinton Will Be Indicted, Not Enough Evidence. On MSNBC Tuesday afternoon, former Governor Bill Weld, who is now the vice presidential Libertarian candidate, said he didn’t buy the rumors that Clinton would be indicted. In fact, he said he doesn’t think there is enough evidence to hold her criminally responsible. “I will give you one news tip,” he said. “All this stuff about Secretary Clinton’s use of email accounts and the report that came out,  how she might get indicted, I’m not buying it. I used to be head of the criminal division of the Justice Department of the United States.” Weld served in that position from 1986 to 1988 and he also served as the United State Attorney in Massachusetts. Weld, a Republican before his affiliation with the Libertarian party, was promoted by President Reagan to the DOJ’s Criminal Division. Todd pressed Weld on why he wasn’t buying the rumors. “I’m not buying it, you can’t indict somebody if there is no evidence of intent, and I don’t see it, I don’t see any evidence of criminal intent,” Weld said.
• AUDIO HIGHLIGHTS: Trump’s Wild Media-Bashing Presser: Would You Like To See More Of This If He Becomes President?
• USA TODAY VP Power Rankings: Tim Kaine tops the list for Clinton’s running mate. Our panel of experts thinks her most likely vice presidential pick is Tim Kaine, the moderate Virginia senator and former governor who is the consummate party insider, having once served as Democratic National Committee chairman. Our experts — the same folks who provided our weekly GOP Power Rankings in the fall and winter — offered a variety of candidates who could help Clinton shore up support with minority voters and liberals: New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who is young, African-American and the king of social media; Rep. Xavier Becerra, the only Latino holding a Democratic leadership post in Congress; and Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, a hero of organized labor.  Nevertheless, the runaway favorite among our group of experts is Kaine, a white male who lives a few hours drive from D.C. “Tim Kaine is far and away the best choice — former mayor, governor, Spanish speaking, highly regarded from a swing state.” said Dallas Morning News columnist Carl Leubsdorf. “I expect Hillary Clinton to pick someone clearly qualified to be president, to increase the contrast with Trump.” Former Democratic congressman Dan Maffei said Kaine “helps a little with Obama insiders but could really help win Virginia.”
• Yes, Trump Can Win (Sean Trende/Real Clear Politics) — Throughout this primary season, I’ve had an ongoing fight with a co-worker about whether Donald Trump could win the general election.  I was pretty firmly in the “if the economy collapses, maybe, but he is much more likely to drag the entire Republican field down with him” camp. To resolve this, my co-worker invited me to set up some benchmarks: what we would have to see in order to believe that Trump really could win the election – not just that he had some sort of outside shot in a perfect storm, but that he had a legitimate, realistic chance of winning.  To cover my bases, I tried to set benchmarks that I thought would be really difficult for Trump to meet: He would have to pull within five points of Hillary Clinton in the RCP Average within a month of wrapping up the GOP race (this was back when he was down by 10), and then he would have to prove that he could lead her in a polling average (rather than in the occasional outlying poll) by the end of the Republican convention.
• Billy Joel Says Donald Trump’s Campaign Is ‘Very Entertaining.’ While some rockers, like Neil Young, have been disgusted by Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, others, like Ted Nugent, have given the real estate mogul/reality television star their full endorsement. But Billy Joel appears to be taking a bemused and detached approach. He recently said Trump’s rise in politics “has been very entertaining.” Time reports that, at his show at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Friday (May 27), Joel, as he’s been doing for several months, dedicated his 1974 hit “The Entertainer” to Trump. Although Joel didn’t specify whether he was being genuine or sarcastic, when word got back to Trump, he assumed the former and responded by tweeting, “Thank you @BillyJoel many friends just told me you gave a very kind shoutout at MSG. Appreciate it- love your music!”

8am – B         Entertainment News:

• Couric takes blame for ‘misleading’ pause in gun documentary
• Trump: Katie Couric ‘should be ashamed’
• Elton John tells Russians he still wants to meet Putin to talk gay rights
• Mary Poppins sequel confirmed for Christmas 2018 with Emily Blunt and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda to star

8am – C         D.C.’s food scene gets a prestigious boost: Michelin inspection (and stars). Michelin Guide to rank DC’s restaurants.  WASHINGTON — The prestigious Michelin Guide is coming to the District. The Michelin Guide is world-renowned for its excellent reviews, and its exclusive Michelin stars are highly desired in the restaurant industry. A single Michelin star means the restaurant is very good, three stars mean it is superb. “Washington is, of course, an exciting dining destination,” said Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin Guide. “I think the fact that we are here today means that Washington can hold its own against any city in the United States.” The announcement, which was made Tuesday morning, means that D.C. becomes the fourth American city in the world to have Michelin guides and joins New York, Chicago and San Francisco. The D.C. guide will be released Oct. 13.

8am – D         INTERVIEW — DAVID MARTOSKO — U.S. Political Editor for The Daily Mail

• Trump unleashes fury on ‘sleazes and losers’ in political media for ‘unfair’ questions about $5.6 million he raised for veterans (even though some checks were cut AFTER questions were asked). (David Martosko, Us Political Editor For Dailymail.com In New York) — Donald Trump summoned the nation’s political press corps to his New York City skyscraper on Tuesday so he could give it a collective paddling over his treatment following a January veterans fundraising exercise whose results he announced after months of waiting. He called out reporters by name, blasting an ABC News journalist as ‘a sleaze’ and hitting a CNN correspondent sarcastically as ‘a real beauty.’ Trump was upset over what he called ‘attacks’ from ‘losers’ in the media who questioned whether a $6 million windfall he promised in January would ever materialize. He said Tuesday that ‘it’ll probably be over that, when all is said and done, but as of now it’s $5.6 million.’

8am – E         DECISION REVERSED: Native American student wins appeal, allowed to wear moccasins at graduation. (Fox 5) — LA PLATA, Md. – Charles County Public Schools has reversed a high school principal’s decision and will allow a student to wear moccasins at her graduation to honor her Native American heritage. On Monday, FOX 5 reported that Dylan McCabe gained approval to wear a ceremonial Navajo dress during graduation, but her request to wear the moccasins was denied because it violated North Point High School’s graduation dress code. “He only approved the dress because it was not visible, but he didn’t approve the leggings and moccasins because they showed,” McCabe said. The soon-to-be-graduate said the footwear and leggings have special significance to her as they were the same ones she wore during a four-day coming-of-age ritual when she was 11 years old. McCabe and her mother won their appeal to wear the moccasins after meeting with the assistant superintendent of Charles County Public Schools on Tuesday. “We have graduation dress requirements, but however, we make exceptions based on religious or other legitimate reasons,” said Charles County Public Schools spokesperson Katie O’Malley-Simpson. “The assistant superintendent felt in her meeting with Dylan that she had strong religious and cultural beliefs. And based on that meeting, she decided that an exception was appropriate.”