Joe diGenova, James Rosen, astronaut Tom Jones and Washington Post’s Robert Costa joined WMAL on Monday!

Mornings on the Mall

Monday, March 6, 2017

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Mary Walter

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C   TRUMP’S WIRETAPPING ALLEGATIONS:

• White House calls on Congress to investigate Trump’s wiretap claims
• FBI Director Comey asked Justice officials to refute Trump’s wiretap claim, but the department has not done so
• Clapper rejects wiretapping allegation
• Mark Levin absolutely destroys Obama over allegations that he wiretapped Trump

5am – D/E     AP-NORC Poll: Political divide over American identity. Surveys Politics United States Associated Press Polls Donald Trump Voters Elections. NEW YORK — Add one more to the list of things dividing left and right in this country: We can’t even agree what it means to be an American. A new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds Republicans are far more likely to cite a culture grounded in Christian beliefs and the traditions of early European immigrants as essential to U.S. identity. Democrats are more apt to point to the country’s history of mixing of people from around the globe and a tradition of offering refuge to the persecuted. While there’s disagreement on what makes up the American identity, 7 in 10 people — regardless of party — say the country is losing that identity. “It’s such stark divisions,” said Lynele Jones, a 65-year-old accountant in Boulder, Colorado. Like many Democrats, Jones pointed to diversity and openness to refugees and other immigrants as central components of being American.

6am – A/B/C TRUMP’S WIRETAPPING ALLEGATIONS:

• White House calls on Congress to investigate Trump’s wiretap claims
• FBI Director Comey asked Justice officials to refute Trump’s wiretap claim, but the department has not done so
• Clapper rejects wiretapping allegation
• Mark Levin absolutely destroys Obama over allegations that he wiretapped Trump

6am – D/E     Cursive writing is returning to schools across the country after years of taking a backseat to keyboarding. Flip the script: Cursive sees revival in school instruction. NEW YORK (AP) — Cursive writing is looping back into style in schools across the country after a generation of students who know only keyboarding, texting and printing out their words longhand. Alabama and Louisiana passed laws in 2016 mandating cursive proficiency in public schools, the latest of 14 states that require cursive. And last fall, the 1.1 million-student New York City schools, the nation’s largest public school system, encouraged the teaching of cursive to students, generally in the third grade. “It’s definitely not necessary but I think it’s, like, cool to have it,” said Emily Ma, a 17-year-old senior at New York City’s academically rigorous Stuyvesant High School who was never taught cursive in school and had to learn it on her own. Penmanship proponents say writing words in an unbroken line of swooshing l’s and three-humped m’s is just a faster, easier way of taking notes. Others say students should be able to understand documents written in cursive, such as, say, a letter from Grandma. And still more say it’s just a good life skill to have, especially when it comes to signing your name.

6am – F         Sports News:

• Jerry Jones, Tony Romo reportedly have an understanding that Redskins are off limits. Romo won’t be in Dallas next season — and he won’t be in Washington, either. Tony Romo won’t be playing for the Redskins in 2017. This may have seemed obvious as recently as a week ago, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has shot down a Friday report that the Cowboys, 49ers and Redskins could swing a three-team trade that would land Romo in Washington. And while Jones would have no say on where Romo signs should the Cowboys release him, the owner thinks his relationship with Romo would prevent it from happening. First, the details, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill. “…[T]he idea of Romo playing in Washington is a non starter for Jones because he wouldn’t trade him to a division rival, and there is an unspoken understanding that Romo wouldn’t sign with the Redskins as a free agent if he was released.”
• Kirk Cousins going to be a dad after adorable announcement from wife. With all the Kirk Cousins talk about getting franchise-tagged a second season, contract negotiations and what his future is with the Washington Redskins, there comes this news: He’s going to be a father. Cousins’ wife, Julie, posted the news on Instagram, via their dog, Bentley: “Baby Cousins is coming in September!!!”
• Alex Ovechkin surprised Capitals fans by delivering pizza to their front door. When Alexander Ovechkin was younger, his dream was to become a pizza maker and delivery man. He finally got a chance to live out his dream. “Pizza’s here,” Ovechkin said at the door with the film crew putting no effort into hiding. “Oh my god,” the customer said. Ovechkin previously starred in a Papa John’s commercial and just shared that his favorite toppings on pizza are ham, pineapple, mushrooms and tomatoes.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – JOE DIGENOVA — legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney to the District of Columbia

• WIRETAPPING:
  • White House calls on Congress to investigate Trump’s wiretap claims
  • FBI Director Comey asked Justice officials to refute Trump’s wiretap claim, but the department has not done so
  • Clapper rejects wiretapping allegation
• EXECUTIVE ORDER: Trump expected to sign new executive order on travel ban on Monday

7am – B/C     INTERVIEW — JAMES ROSEN — Fox News Chief Washington Correspondent; editor of “A TORCH KEPT LIT”

• James Rosen described being investigated and MONITORED by the Obama admin
• Obama spox says Obama never wiretapped a US citizen — immediately receives harsh history lesson. (The Blaze) — A spokesman of former President Barack Obama said Saturday that the Obama administration never “ordered surveillance” on any United States citizen during Obama’s eight years in office — despite facts that say otherwise. “A cardinal rule of the Obama Administration was that no White House official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice,” Obama spokesman Kevin Lewis said in a statement. It’s widely known that Obama’s Justice Department targeted journalists in 2013, most famous Fox News’ James Rosen and his family. The wiretaps were part of an investigation into government officials anonymously leaking information to journalists. The Associated Press was also a target of the surveillance.

7am – D         INTERVIEW — DR. TOM JONES — veteran NASA astronaut and author of new book “Ask the Astronaut.”

• AstronautTomJones.com
• ANALYSIS OF THE BEZOS VS MUSK SPACE RACE
• BEZOS VS MUSK SPACE RACE: Amazon announces plans to ship packages to the MOON by 2020 to help set up a human settlement (and the CEO has already reserved a parking spot). This proposal came just days after Elon Musk said his company would fly two citizens around the moon next year.

7am – E         Pence’s Emails:

• Mike Pence demands an apology from the Associated Press after they published his wife’s private email address. (Daily Mail) — Vice President Mike Pence is asking for the Associated Press to apologize to his wife Karen after the news agency published her private email account. The AP published her email in an article called ‘Pence fought against releasing records as Indiana governor,’ which was published following the Indianapolis Star’s uncovering of Pence’s use of a private email account while serving as Indiana governor. Pence tweeted on Saturday: ‘Last night the AP published my wife’s private email address, violating her privacy and our security.’
• Mike Pence on personal email use: ‘No comparison’ to Clinton. Washington (CNN) Vice President Mike Pence defended his use of a personal email account to conduct state business while he was Indiana’s governor, saying “there’s no comparison” between his situation and the controversy surrounding Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server that rocked the 2016 presidential campaign. “There’s no comparison whatsoever,” Pence said following an event he did with House Speaker Paul Ryan in Janesville, Wisconsin, when asked about whether his situation gave him any sympathy for the Democratic presidential nominee. Pence used a personal email when he discussed issues like the resettling of Syrian refugees and other matters on an AOL account that was hacked in a phishing scam, according to emails released Thursday.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — ROBERT COSTA – national political reporter at The Washington Post. – discussed President Trump’s wiretapping allegations.

8am – B/C     Calls on Trump’s Wiretapping Claims

8am – D         Nancy Pelosi refuses to condemn Dem congressman who made crude sexual joke about Kellyanne Conway. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) refused to condemn one of her own on Sunday when confronted by the comments Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) recently made about White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. Last Wednesday, during a dinner at the Washington Press Club Foundation, Richmond said Conway “really looked kind of familiar in that position,” referencing a photo of Conway on her knees on a couch in the Oval Office taking a picture of President Donald Trump and presidents of historically black colleges. But when confronted with her caucus member’s comment Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Pelosi completely dodged the topic and tried to turn the discussion on Trump. “Shouldn’t the congressman apologize to Kellyanne Conway, and honestly where is the Democratic Party in expressing outrage over this?” host Jake Tapper pressed. “Well, I wasn’t at the dinner. I’m just finding out about this. But the fact is, I’m still in sort of a state of, what is going on here that the person who occupies the White House is a person who was on that Hollywood video that said the crude things he said about women,” Pelosi said.

Rep. Cedric Richmond apologizes to Kellyanne Conway over sofa joke. (Washington Post) — Rep. Cedric L. Richmond on Sunday night apologized for a joke he made at a media dinner about White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, who stirred controversy when a picture showed her kneeling on a sofa in the Oval Office as she took a picture of a group gathered there. Richmond’s joke, delivered at a Wednesday night awards dinner at which lawmakers of both parties delivered funny monologues, was interpreted by many as having sexual overtones, although the Louisiana Democrat insisted on Thursday morning that that wasn’t his meaning.  The clamor kept up on social media, and on Sunday, Richmond publicly apologized to Conway. “After a discussion with people I know and trust I understand the way my remarks have been received by many,” Richmond said in a statement. “I have consistently been a champion for women and women’s issues, and because of that the last thing I would want to ever do is utter words that would hurt or demean them. I apologize to Kellyanne Conway and everyone who has found my comments to be offensive.”

8am – E         Entertainment News:

• Adele Finally Confirms That She’s Married to Simon Konecki: ‘I’ve Found My Next Person’ (people)  —  “Hello” from the married side! Adele confirmed that she and longtime love Simon Konecki have said “I do” during a concert in Brisbane, Australia. “I could see in their eyes as they were listening to it on their headphones that it reminded them of something or someone,” she said while talking about her hit “Someone Like You.” “I was trying to remember how it was I felt at the beginning of the relationship that inspired that record because as bad as a break up can be, as bitter and horrible and messy as it can be, that feeling when you first fall for someone is the best feeling on earth, and I am addicted to that feeling.” The 28-year-old singer continued, “Obviously I can’t go through with those feelings because I’m married now. I’ve found my next person.”
• ‘X-Men’ spinoff ‘Logan’ rakes in whopping $85.3M in opening weekend. ‘Logan’ Shreds $152.5M In Overseas Debut; $238M Global – International Box Office. (AP) — NEW YORK –  The R-rated “X-Men” spinoff “Logan” slashed into the weekend box office, opening with a massive $85.3 million in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday, while best-picture winner “Moonlight” got a significant, if far from superhero-sized, Oscar bump. The debut of 20th Century Fox’s “Logan,” starring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, ranks among the biggest March openings ever and top R-rated debuts. Like last year’s R-rated “Deadpool” (also a Fox release), the better-than-expected opening for “Logan” — a darkly violent, grittily dramatic movie applauded by critics — further proves moviegoers’ hunger for less conventional comic book films. “‘Deadpool,’ was to comedy what ‘Logan’ is to drama. The only common theme is that they’re quote-unquote ‘comic-book movies’ and they’re rated R,” said Fox distribution chief Chris Aronson, who credited director and co-writer James Mangold and Jackman for executing their personal vision for the film. Jackman has said it will be his final performance as Wolverine, whose claws he has worn for 17 years. “Logan,” made for about $100 million, also sold $152.5 million in tickets overseas.
• Beauty and the Beast Director Says ‘Exclusively Gay Moment’ in the Film Was ‘Overblown’ / According to Bill Condon, too much has been made over Beauty and the Beast‘s “exclusively gay moment.” The director first announced Josh Gad’s LeFou would come out of the closet in a recent issue of Attitude magazine, giving Disney its first openly gay character. At the time, he referred to it as “an exclusively gay moment,” but has since downplayed his past remarks during an interview with ScreenCrush. “Oh God. Can I just tell you? It’s all been overblown. Because it’s just this, it’s part of just what we had fun with,” he said. “You saw the movie, yeah? You know what I mean. I feel like the kind of thing has been, I wish it were – I love the way it plays pure when people don’t  know and it comes as a nice surprise.” Wishing “to not make a big deal of it,” he asked, “Why is it a big deal?”

STREISAND: Trump Making Me Gain Weight. Barbra Streisand says Donald Trump is making her gain weight. The singer tweeted on Saturday that news involving the president affects her morning routine. “Donald Trump is making me gain weight. I start the day with liquids, but after the morning news, I eat pancakes smothered in maple syrup!” the singer tweeted on Saturday. Her comments come after Trump recently claimed the Obama administration wiretapped into his Trump Tower phones during the 2016 presidential election. The White House asked Congress to investigate the matter on Sunday. “Trump just accused Obama of tapping his phones. Seriously crazy times,” added Streisand. “Time for more pancakes.” The performer has made it clear in the past that she is not a supporter of Trump. Streisand penned an essay for The Huffington Post titled “Clueless, Reckless, Graceless, Mindless and Heartless: Our President Elect,” where she expressed that Trump is “dangerous and unfit for office.”