Mornings on the Mall
Friday, January 27, 2017
Hosts: Brian Wilson and Mary Walter
Executive Producer: Heather Hunter
5am – A Theresa May to meet Donald Trump to discuss new trade deal and defence. Theresa May will hold face-to-face talks with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office later today. The pair will spend about an hour together in the first visit by a foreign leader to the White House since Mr Trump was sworn in last week. The meeting came after Mrs May told US Republicans the UK and US could not return to “failed” military interventions “to remake the world in our own image”.
How Donald Trump, Theresa May are the 2017 version of ’80s power couple Reagan-Thatcher. (USA Today) — LONDON — He was a skilled communicator and a celebrity. She was strong-willed and shared his disdain for big government. They were the power political couple of the 1980s: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Now a similar pairing is emerging three decades later in President Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May, who meet at the White House on Friday. May arrives in Washington as the first foreign leader to meet Trump as president. Before their sitdown, she had the rare privilege of addressing congressional Republicans in Philadelphia on Thursday. On Friday, the two leaders discussed trade, the British withdrawal from the European Union, and the future of the NATO military alliance. Trade between the two countries is worth about $187 billion, and the United States is the largest single investor in the U.K.
5am – B Trump News:
- President Trump Refuses To Wave While Boarding Air Force One For First Time. Donald Trump still has a LOT to learn about being president. For example: when you board Air Force One, you wave! The new leader of the free world headed straight into the famous plane on Jan. 26 without so much as a glance back at the crowd before his first flight.
- Trump Strategist Stephen Bannon Says Media Should ‘Keep Its Mouth Shut’ — President Donald Trump’s chief strategist has escalated the administration’s war with the media, labeling it “the opposition party” and suggesting that it “keep its mouth shut.” “The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for awhile,” Steve Bannon said during a rare interview with The New York Times on Wednesday. “I want you to quote this,” Bannon told the Times. “The media here is the opposition party. They don’t understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president of the United States.”
- Trump is set to hold his first news conference as President. Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump will hold his first news conference as commander in chief Friday, joining British counterpart Theresa May for a Q&A with the press at the White House. Joint news conferences with a foreign leader are typically part of the schedule when a foreign leader visits, though it is unclear how many questions Trump will take on Friday. Trump will field questions at a time when his foreign policy vision and tone is being heavily scrutinized, particularly after a high-profile fight with Mexico on Thursday that resulted in the Mexican president canceling his planned visit to the White House.
- Trump pressured Park Service to find proof for his claims about inauguration crowd. (Washington Post) – Trump pressured Park Service to find proof for his claims about inauguration crowd. On the morning after Donald Trump’s inauguration, acting National Park Service director Michael T. Reynolds received an extraordinary summons: The new president wanted to talk to him. In a Saturday phone call, Trump personally ordered Reynolds to produce additional photographs of the previous day’s crowds on the Mall, according to three individuals who have knowledge of the conversation. The president believed that the photos might prove that the media had lied in reporting that attendance had been no better than average. Trump also expressed anger over a retweet sent from the agency’s account, in which side-by-side photographs showed far fewer people at his swearing-in than had shown up to see Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009.
5am – C Critter News: Zoos Duke It Out on Twitter Over Who Has the Cutest Animals, and It’s Glorious. (ABC News) — It turns out zoos across the country are quite competitive, especially when it comes to who has the cutest animals. Zoos and aquariums from Washington, D.C., to San Diego and Seattle are duking it out on Twitter with their fuzziest, fluffiest, cuddliest animal photos, using the hashtag #CuteAnimalTweetOff, and the internet can’t get enough. The paw-sitively paw-dorable competition began after the Smithsonian’s National Zoo tweeted this precious photo of its newborn seal to announce its birth.
National Zoo @NationalZoo: We welcomed a gray seal pup Jan. 21. The pup appears to be nursing, moving & bonding well w/ mom. #Squee
9:06 AM – 25 Jan 2017
Without missing a beat, Sarah Hill, a radio host from Norfolk, Virginia, tweeted to her beloved Virginia Aquarium that the ball was in its court to up the ante on the cuteness factor, thus instigating the Twitter battle.
Sarah Hill @SarahJanetHill
Your move @VAAquarium
9:39 AM – 25 Jan 2017
The aquarium boldly accepted.
Sarah Hill @SarahJanetHill
Your move @VAAquarium
Virginia Aquarium @VAAquarium
@SarahJanetHill #challengeaccepted We see @NationalZoo ‘s seal pup, and raise an otter/osprey combo.
10:03 AM – 25 Jan 2017
The competition between the two was fierce and fast.
5am – D TRUMP NEWS:
- Trump says meeting with Mexican president would have been ‘fruitless.’ President Trump cast the cancellation of a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto as a mutual decision Thursday, saying the summit would have been “fruitless” unless Mexico demonstrated it would “treat the United States fairly” and “with respect.” The scheduled summit had been billed as a chance for Trump and Peña Nieto to start discussions on the North American Free Trade Agreement and immigration, both Trump priorities. But it was Trump’s continued insistence that Mexico reimburse the U.S. for construction of a new border wall that prompted Peña Nieto to skip the visit. Trump said that he and Peña Nieto had agreed to cancel the meeting, but Peña Nieto tweeted that Mexican officials had informed the White House that he would not be attending. “Unless Mexico is going to treat the United States fairly, with respect, such a meeting would be fruitless,” Trump said. “And I want to go a different route.”
- U.S. considering 20% tax on imports to pay for border wall, White House says. (LA Times) — The Trump administration said Thursday that it would seek to impose a tax on imports, at least from countries with which the U.S. runs a trade deficit, as a way to pay for the wall on the border with Mexico that is one of President Trump’s central campaign promises. Although Trump repeatedly has said that Mexico would pay for the wall, the tax that White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer described to reporters actually would fall on U.S. consumers, not on Mexicans. “Right now, our country’s policy is to tax exports and let imports flow freely in, which is ridiculous,” Spicer told reporters traveling with Trump back to Washington after a speech in Philadelphia. By reversing that and taxing imports, “we can do $10 billion a year, and easily pay for the wall just through that mechanism alone. That’s really going to provide the funding,” Spicer said.
5am – E Preview March For Life Rally:
- 44th Annual March for Life Rally: Prohibited Items that will be screened for are listed below. Surrendered items will not be returned, will not be available for pick-up. Aerosols, Ammunition, Animals other than service/guide animals, Backpacks, Bags and signs exceeding size restrictions, Bicycles, Balloons, Coolers, Drones and other unmanned aircraft systems, Explosives, Firearms, Glass, thermal, or metal containers, Laser pointers, Mace / Pepper spray, Packages, Selfie Sticks, Explosives, Weapons
- Schedule:
- 11:45 a.m. Musical Opening with Transform DJs
- 12:00 p.m. Rally Program
- 1:00 p.m. March up Constitution Avenue to Supreme Court and Capitol Building
- 3:00 p.m. Silent No More testimonies outside U.S. Supreme Court
- 3:30 p.m. Visit your Representative or Senator to advocate for life
- Vice President Pence to address ‘March For Life’ anti-abortion rally in DC. (AP) – WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence has agreed to speak at Friday’s March for Life, the annual anti-abortion demonstration in Washington. In a statement, the March for Life says neither a president nor a vice president has ever spoken at the event, now in its 44th year. One of President Donald Trump’s top advisers, Kellyanne Conway, is also on the list of speakers.
6am – A Ben’s Chili Bowl mural that featured Cosby, Obama has been painted over. You vote for what comes next: (Fox 5 DC) — WASHINGTON – The mural outside Ben’s Chili Bowl that used to feature Bill Cosby is no more. Popville was the first to report Thursday morning that the mural had been wiped clean, and it appeared to have happened overnight. It was originally painted on the side of the restaurant’s U Street location in 2012, and also featured former President Barack Obama, Chuck Brown and Donnie Simpson. On their website, Ben’s wrote that they are ready to “refresh and repaint.” The mural has been the subject of much debate, amid sexual allegations against Cosby. But what will replace it? That will be up to the people. The restaurant is asking patrons to vote in an online poll for the person (or people) they think should be painted on the wall next. The poll is on their website, and only one entry is permitted per email address. Patrons asked to pick the top six nominees they would like to see included in the mural, and there’s also a section to pick groups of people who could be featured on the wall together. It’s a long list, and includes people such as Anthony Bordain, Barack Obama, Chuck Brown, Dave Chappelle, Duke Ellington, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Ellen Degeneres, Marion Barry, Sr., Michael Jackson, Michelle Obama, Oprah, Prince, Stevie Wonder, and many, many more.
6am – B Redskins News:
- Bruce Allen: Redskins aim to keep Kirk Cousins long term; QB says he wants to stay. MOBILE, Ala. — The negotiations between Washington Redskins executives and Mike McCartney, the agent for quarterback Kirk Cousins, will feature careful calculations, skill, a degree of posturing and a lot of patience. But as they gear up for a process that could last months, high-ranking team officials see no point in keeping their plans for the quarterback a secret. In a span of two days, head coach Jay Gruden and team president Bruce Allen each expressed confidence that Cousins – who is coming off of another franchise-record-setting campaign and on Sunday will play in his first Pro Bowl – will remain with the team in 2017. Allen on Wednesday took it a step further and said that the Redskins aim to reach an agreement that will both satisfy Cousins and his agent, and still leave the team with enough financial resources to continue upgrading the roster in other areas. “The goal is to get long-term,” Allen said after watching Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Ala., to evaluate draft prospects.
- Fox Sports Ranks 1991 Redskins As The Greatest Super Bowl Team Ever. A quarter century later, Redskins’ fans are still salivating over their team’s resounding 37-24 win over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI. With Super Bowl LI a little less than two weeks away, Chris Chase over at Fox Sports decided to rank all 50 Super Bowl champions – in his words – “from best to worst,” and it won’t take you long to scroll down and see who the No. 1 team on the list is: the 1991 Washington Redskins. Chase called the 1991 Redskins “the most underrated team in NFL history,” and went on to explain why. “You can throw out any number of stats to prove the point (the playoff margin of victory – 102-27 in competitive, non-garbage time play – is a good one) but the most telling is the 43 sack ratio,” Chase said. “(Redskins quarterback Mark) Rypien was sacked seven times in the season and it wasn’t like Gibbs was running the quick-drop, West Coast offense.” Each of the 50 Super Bowl champions had rosters chock full of talent; otherwise they wouldn’t have reached the pinnacle of professional football success, which is hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season. Naturally, some teams had players who are more well known than others, but it doesn’t make someone like Rypien — the Super Bowl XXVI MVP — any less regarded than Joe Montana, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. all of whom Chase mentioned as he continued on in his defense of the 1991 Redskins.
6am – C New Jersey to be first US state to offer new parents baby boxes. (Fox News) — New parents in New Jersey will not only bring their bundles of joy home from the hospital, they’ll also get a baby box. The boxes, which promote safe sleeping, are part of an effort to improve infant mortality rates. The United States has a high infant mortality rate— 6.5 infant deaths per 1,000 births, ranking it 23rd in the world. In 2016, 93 percent of deaths due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) were associated with sleep complications, Philly Voice reported. With the program’s launch on Thursday, New Jersey becomes the first state to offer a universal baby box program for residents. The program is a partnership of The Baby Box Company, and the state’s Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board. Baby boxes are durable cardboard boxes fitted with mattresses to function as a bassinet for the first couple of months of a baby’s life. The boxes will come filled with newborn essentials such as diapers, a onesie, baby wipes and breast pads, Philly Voice reported.
6am – D/E/F Sanctuary Cities vs Trump:
- DC Could Lose at Least $1 Billion Under Trump Sanctuary City Crackdown. D.C. is looking at the possibility of suing. (NBC Washington) — President Donald Trump’s executive order on sanctuary cities that protect immigrants could cut federal funding for Washington, D.C. public schools and the city departments that serve homeless people, domestic violence victims and people with HIV. At least $1 billion in federal grants that D.C. receives is vulnerable under the executive order Trump signed Wednesday to punish locales that “willfully violate federal law in an attempt to shield aliens from removal from the United States.” There’s no question that D.C. is a sanctuary city. The District issues provisional driver’s licenses to illegal residents, police do not ask about residency status, and earlier this month Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the creation of a legal defense fund to help immigrants. D.C. is reliant upon the federal government for a total of $3.5 billion in federal grants in financial year 2017.
- @RealDonaldTrump: iami-Dade Mayor drops sanctuary policy. Right decision. Strong!
- Miami-Dade mayor orders jails to comply with Trump crackdown on ‘sanctuary’ counties. Fearing a loss of millions of dollars for defying immigration authorities, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez on Thursday ordered county jails to comply with federal immigration detention requests — effectively gutting the county’s position as a “sanctuary” for immigrants in the country illegally. Gimenez cited an executive order signed Wednesday by President Donald Trump that threatened to cut federal grants for any counties or cities that don’t cooperate fully with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Since 2013, Miami-Dade has refused to indefinitely detain inmates who are in the country illegally and wanted by ICE — not based on principle, but because the federal government doesn’t fully reimburse the county for the expense.
7am – A INTERVIEW — ANN MCELHINNEY and PHELIM MCALEER — filmmakers and investigative journalists, and authors of NEW BOOK “Gosnell: The Untold Story of America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer”
- Ann and Phelim spent three years uncovering the real story behind Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia serial killer who was tried for the mass murder of women and children and sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2013. This goes beyond the debate between pro-life and pro-choice—this is about the severe media malpractice when it came to covering Gosnell’s trial.
- Ann and Phelim also completed a major motion picture on Gosnell (starring DEAN CAIN known for his SUPERMAN TV show), but Hollywood is blackballing the Gosnell movie because of their blatant pro-choice bias—clearly Hollywood has lost touch with American values.
7am – B ‘DIE!’ Teacher goes berserk, fires toy gun at Trump. DIE!” the teacher shrieked as she pulled the trigger of her toy water gun, firing at least eight shots at an image of President Donald Trump displayed on a projector screen in front of her class. Meet Payal Modi, a fine arts teacher at W.H. Adamson High School in Dallas, Texas, who was hired in August 2014 and earns approximately $51,000 a year. She has been placed on administrative leave while the Dallas Independent School District investigates her Inauguration Day stunt. Someone in the room filmed Modi’s outburst, and Modi reportedly posted the video on Instagram on Jan. 20 with the caption: “payalemmWatching the #inauguration in my classroom like….#no #stop #denial #squirtgun #hypocrisy #powerless #saveusall #teachthembetter #atleastitsfriday.” The Dallas Independent School District considers possession of a toy gun to be a Level I Offense, according to Page 21 of its Student Code of Conduct handbook. The Secret Service has said it is “aware” of the video, according to The Gateway Pundit. According to the Dallas Morning News: Dallas ISD spokeswoman Robyn Harris confirmed that the person in the video was a district employee and an art teacher at Adamson, but added that DISD would not comment at this time, as it investigates the incident. No one has been placed on administrative leave as of Thursday morning, Harris said. Dallas ISD has placed Payal Modi, an art teacher at Adamson, on administrative leave Thursday afternoon.
7am – C STUDY: Dogs Happiest Listening To Reggae, Soft Rock… If a chewing treat or rubber toy isn’t getting the job done when it comes to exciting your pooch, turning on the radio just might do the trick. Just be careful as to which station you put on, as a new study finds dogs can be particular when it comes to the type of music they prefer. Researchers out of the University of Glasgow in Scotland, along with folks at the Scottish SPCA, found that reggae and soft rock topped the canine charts, though certain dogs do seem to have various tastes. “We were keen to explore the effect playing different genres of music had, and it was clear that the physiological and behavioural changes observed were maintained during the trial when the dogs were exposed to a variety of music,” said PhD student Amy Bowman. The musical experimentation took place at the SPCA in Dumbarton, Scotland, where researchers studied how dogs there responded to different styles of music. “Overall, the response to different genres was mixed highlighting the possibility that like humans, our canine friends have their own individual music preferences,” said Professor Neil Evans. “That being said, reggae music and soft rock showed the highest positive changes in behaviour.”
7am – D INTERVIEW – MATTHEW ELLIOTT – CEO, Vote Leave – discussed Theresa May meeting with Donald Trump and the latest news on Brexit.
7am – E Possible Career Moves:
- Report: Hillary Clinton Wants To Launch A Television Talk Show. (Daily Caller) – According to Ed Klein — an author who has been openly critical of the Clinton family — the former presidential candidate is figuring out her next move. “She’s been talking very seriously about the idea of having her own television show,” Klein said a source told him. “As a TV host, she’d discuss the issues of the day from a progressive point of view, have top guests, interview world leaders and progressive thinkers.” “It would have to be a show that she and her people completely controlled,” Klein said the source added. “She’s convinced she’d get fabulous ratings in a political climate where there’s so much anger in Democratic circles over Donald Trump’s election.” “She’s utterly determined not to fade into the background. She intends to stay in the limelight and keep fighting the good fight. She knows Obama is going to be out there fighting too. But frankly, she doesn’t think he’s a great leader or a great fighter, which leaves an opening for her to be the acknowledged leader-in-exile of her party.”
- Callista Gingrich being considered for Vatican ambassadorship. Callista Gingrich, wife of former Speaker Newt Gingrich, may be in line to become the next ambassador to the Vatican, the New York Times reported Thursday. According to the report, Newt Gingrich confirmed his wife was being considered but divulge any other details. The Gingriches have been friends with Trump for years and Newt Gingrich consulted Trump during the presidential campaign. He took himself out of being considered for a Cabinet post in favor of being more of a big picture consultant. The Times reported a friend of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, William Simon, Jr., is also being considered.
8am – A INTERVIEW — Montgomery County Executive ISIAH “IKE” LEGGETT
- Leggett vetoes $15 minimum wage in Montgomery County. Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett on Monday vetoed legislation that would have made the wealthy county the first jurisdiction in Maryland to require a $15 minimum wage. Leggett (D) said boosting the wage to the level embraced by national progressive activists, including former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), would harm Montgomery’s economy and its ability to compete for jobs in the Washington region. The only locality that has adopted a $15 minimum is the District of Columbia, which will require employers to pay that wage by 2020. “I remain concerned . . . about the competitive disadvantage [the bill] would put the County in compared to our neighboring jurisdictions,” Leggett said in a letter to Council President Roger Berliner (D-Potomac-Bethesda).
8am – B INTERVIEW — Jeanne Mancini, President of March for Life – previewed March for Life.
8am – C Night Owls are smarter than those who go to bed and wake up early. Can’t sleep? It could be a sign of intelligence… (Daily Mail) — If you find yourself awake until all hours of the morning, don’t fret. It could be a sign of intelligence. British researchers have found a link between people who enjoy a ‘nocturnal’ lifestyle and how smart they are. And it all goes back to evolution. The study, titled Why Night Owls Are More Intelligent, found that those who stayed up later were more likely to be smarter than those who enjoyed an early night. It also found children who stay up later are more likely to grow into intelligent adults. The results were based on the concept that people who are intelligent are more likely to adopt evolutionary values, such as staying up late.
8am – D INTERVIEW _ JESSE WATTERS – O’Reilly Factor Correspondent on Fox News Channel and host of new FOX NEWS show WATTERS’ WORLD – Saturdays at 8 PM ET – discussed the first week of Trump and his upcoming show this weekend.
8am – E Trump News:
- President Trump Refuses To Wave While Boarding Air Force One For First Time. Donald Trump still has a LOT to learn about being president. For example: when you board Air Force One, you wave! The new leader of the free world headed straight into the famous plane on Jan. 26 without so much as a glance back at the crowd before his first flight.
- Trump Strategist Stephen Bannon Says Media Should ‘Keep Its Mouth Shut’ — President Donald Trump’s chief strategist has escalated the administration’s war with the media, labeling it “the opposition party” and suggesting that it “keep its mouth shut.” “The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for awhile,” Steve Bannon said during a rare interview with The New York Times on Wednesday. “I want you to quote this,” Bannon told the Times. “The media here is the opposition party. They don’t understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president of the United States.”
- Trump is set to hold his first news conference as President. Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump will hold his first news conference as commander in chief Friday, joining British counterpart Theresa May for a Q&A with the press at the White House. Joint news conferences with a foreign leader are typically part of the schedule when a foreign leader visits, though it is unclear how many questions Trump will take on Friday. Trump will field questions at a time when his foreign policy vision and tone is being heavily scrutinized, particularly after a high-profile fight with Mexico on Thursday that resulted in the Mexican president canceling his planned visit to the White House.
