Legal analyst Joe diGenova, Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes and Washington Examiner’s Sarah Westwood joined WMAL on Monday!

Mornings on the Mall

Monday April 3, 2017

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Mary Walter

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C   JERRY JONES URGES NFL TO END POT TESTING… NFL held an owners-only meeting in Arizona. Every league meeting includes a variety of sessions attended by a variety of people. Last week in Arizona, one specific session included only the owners. Unusual but not unprecedented, the owners-only meeting (technically an executive session of the Finance and Compensation Committees) focused in part on discussions regarding Commissioner Roger Goodell’s next contract and succession planning, based on a potential transition that would be initiated by Goodell after the next labor deal and TV contracts are finalized. The owners-only meeting also included an opportunity for any and all owners to speak about any and all topics they chose. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke extensively during the meeting, per a source with direct knowledge of the session. Jones also raised the question of the NFL’s position on marijuana. Jones, per a source who heard the comments, wants the league to drop its prohibition on marijuana use. Jones was reminded that the issue falls under the umbrella of collective bargaining, which would require the players to make one or more concessions in exchange for significant changes to the marijuana prohibition.

5am – D         MILLENNIALS EMBRACING TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES. (TIME) — A new study from the University of Maryland has found that young people are less supportive of power-sharing between the genders than they were 20 years ago, at least on the home front.  The study found an increase in those who believed that families were better off if the men were “the achievers outside the home” and the women handled most of the family and domestic duties. In 1994, only 42% of high school seniors agreed with that statement. Twenty years later, that was the majority view at 58%.  What do you think is the reason for this?

5am – E         UNMASKING NEWS:

• Bombshell report: Fox News says Congress knows ID of ‘senior’ intel source unmasking US citizens to embarrass Trump.  Fox News senior correspondent Adam Housley, who is reporting that the unmasking of private U.S. citizens began before Trump was the GOP nominee and was done for political purposes that have nothing to do with national security. “The main issue in this case, is not only the unmasking of these names of private citizens, but the spreading of these names for political purposes that have nothing to do with national security or an investigation into Russia’s interference in the U.S. election,” a congressional source close to the investigation told Fox News. Housley said his sources have grown “frustrated with the politicalization of our intelligence agencies,” stressing that these individuals are “not Trump people.”
• Susan Rice Requested Unmasking of Incoming Trump Administration Officials. Susan Rice, who served as the National Security Adviser under President Obama, has been identified as the official who requested unmasking of incoming Trump officials, Cernovich Media can exclusively report. The White House Counsel’s office identified Rice as the person responsible for the unmasking after examining Rice’s document log requests. The reports Rice requested to see are kept under tightly-controlled conditions. Each person must log her name before being granted access to them.

6am – A/B/C DO CHILD CARE WORKERS NEED COLLEGE DEGREES?

• The Washington Post reported yesterday that D.C. is “among the first in the nation” to require child care workers to get college degrees. By 2020, directors of child care centers will need to have a bachelor’s degree, and child care teachers an associate’s degree.  Do you need a college degree to be able to care for children?
• D.C.’s College Mandate For Child Care Workers Is Something To Cry About. (Washington Post) – The D.C. government already has plenty of fires to put out. It should reverse this conflagration of its own making. Ask many young, middle-class people about the biggest economic problems facing them, and it’s a good bet that both student debt and the cost of child care will come up. Yet the District of Columbia is on a regulatory campaign to exacerbate both. The Washington Post reported yesterday that D.C. is “among the first in the nation” to require child care workers to get college degrees. By 2020, directors of child care centers will need to have a bachelor’s degree, and child care teachers an associate’s degree. This is a nonsensical policy that will have no winners save colleges that get to charge child care workers thousands of dollars to churn out those credentials. First, the policy is burdensome for child care workers, who must put their lives on hold to get credentialed. The Post report tells the story of one woman who must rise at 4:15 a.m. every day, take the Metro across town, put in a full day’s work at the child care center, cross town on Metro again, and take classes until 9:15 p.m. before finally heading home. With routines like this, is it any wonder that older and part-time college students are more likely than not to drop out?

6am – D         Burglar News:

• Suspect Shot By Homeowner In Germantown Burglary: Police. During the burglary, the homeowner shot a 19-year-old male suspect who remains in serious condition with life-threatening injuries. GERMANTOWN, MD — Detectives with the Montgomery County Police are investigating the burglary of a Germantown residence that occurred early Sunday morning. During the burglary, the homeowner shot a 19-year-old male suspect who remains in serious condition with life-threatening injuries at a local hospital, police said. At approximately 2:11 a.m. Saturday, officers from the 5th District responded to a burglary in progress at a home in the 11700 block of Tall Pines Drive in Germantown. Officers located a suspect in the backyard suffering from an apparent gunshot wound and they began life-saving measures while Fire and Rescue services was called, police said. The preliminary investigation has revealed that the homeowner heard noises in the basement and believed his home was being burglarized. He armed himself with a handgun and went to investigate, police said. The man encountered two unknown suspects in the basement of his home.
• Family Of Dead Burglar Complains About Homeowner’s Son Using AR-15. (Daily Caller) – The grandfather of a dead teenage robber criticized an Oklahoma man for using an AR-15 to defend himself against the group of burglars Friday. Leroy Schumacher, the grandfather, said there was no reason his grandson had to die over the attempted robbery, reports KTUL. “What these three boys did was stupid,” Schumacher told KTUL. “They knew they could be punished for it but they did not deserve to die.” Jacob Redfearn, his grandson, and two other teens, Maxwell Cook and Jake Woodruff , were fatally shot by Zach Peters when they tried to break into Peters’ home on March 27. Armed with an AR-15, Peters shot all three of the would-be robbers. Wagoner County Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene to find all three teenagers dead. Police recovered a knife and brass knuckles on the bodies. Schumacher said it was unfair for Peters to shoot at the robbers because they only had brass knuckles on them. “Brass knuckles against an AR-15, come on, who was afraid for their life,” Schumacher went on.

6am – E         CHINA NEWS:

• President Xi Jinping of China is poised to arrive in Florida on Thursday for two days of meetings with President Trump.
• Trump: US will deal with North Korea with or without China. (The Hill) — President Donald Trump said he will deal with the increasingly aggressive North Korean state with or without the help of the Chinese government. “China has great influence over North Korea. And China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they won’t,” Trump told the Financial Times in an exclusive Sunday interview.  “Well if China is not going to solve North Korea, we will. That is all I am telling you,” Trump said it would be mutually beneficial for China to help stop North Korea. “If they do, that will be very good for China, and if they don’t, it won’t be good for anyone,” he added.
• Ash Carter: A U.S. pre-emptive strike on North Korea could lead to ‘invasion’ of South Korea.  Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter says a U.S. preemptive strike against North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program could prompt the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, to try to invade South Korea. Carter, who served as defense secretary in the Obama administration, told ABC News’ Martha Raddatz on “This Week” Sunday that if the U.S. preemptively strikes North Korea, “It’s quite possible that they would as a consequence of that launch … attempt an invasion of South Korea.”  “I’m confident of the outcome of that war, which would be the defeat of North Korea,” Carter said. “But, Martha, I need to caution you, this is a war [with] … an intensity of violence associated with it that we haven’t seen since the last Korean War.”
• Report claims China is using Kushner, not State Dept., to influence Trump. Jared Kushner has been essential in the planning President Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to the New York Times. Kushner and China’s ambassador to the U.S., Cui Tiankai, have reportedly both been busy picking the site for the meeting and deciding on a joint statement to release after it takes place.

6am – F         ‘Who hasn’t wanted to punch Chandler?’ Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau challenges Matthew Perry to a rematch after the Friends star fought him on the playground in fifth grade. (Daily Mail) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau challenged Matthew Perry to a fight over Twitter on Saturday.  Before anyone gets upset that the handsome leader to the north has lost it, the proposition came after he was reminded of a school yard brawl between the two of them that happened when the Friends star was in fifth grade. ‘I’ve been giving it some thought, and you know what, who hasn’t wanted to punch Chandler?’ Trudeau tweeted on April Fools’ Day. ‘How about a rematch?’ Perry recounted a story of how he and classmate Chris Murray ‘beat up’ Trudeau when they were all three in elementary school together in Canada, while appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 15.

 

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

• SCOTUS / GORSUCH: Senate panel expected to approve Trump’s Supreme Court pick, set up Senate showdown. Schumer: It doesn’t appear Gorsuch will reach 60 vote.
• Bombshell report: Fox News says Congress knows ID of ‘senior’ intel source unmasking US citizens to embarrass Trump.
• Susan Rice Requested Unmasking of Incoming Trump Administration Officials.

7am – B         Jared and Ivanka News:

• Queer Dance Party protest gathers at Ivanka Trump’s house. Protesters disrupt neighborhood with ‘Queer Dance Party’ in front of Ivanka Trump’s house. (Washington Examiner) — Protesters held a “Queer Dance Party for Climate Justice” in front of Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner’s house in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. Video posted to social media by Ashley Rae Goldenberg of MRCTV shows participants gathered in front of the Kalorama neighborhood house chanting, “Ivanka Trump, come dance!” The group also gathered in front of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s home nearby. The rally caused such a racket that at least one neighbor confronted protesters. Video shows the man saying he’s an 82-year-old man who lives in the neighborhood before telling one person in attendance to “get the fuck out of here.” Earlier in the evening while marching to Kalorama the participants yelled “fuck Trump” and clapped along to Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” A similar rally was held back in January at Vice President Mike Pence’s house before he moved to the official VP’s residence.
• Kushner traveling in Iraq with Joint Chiefs chairman. (The Hill) — Senior Trump adviser Jared Kushner – who is also Trump’s son-in-law – is traveling in Iraq with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, according to multiple reports. Senior admin official confirms WH adviser/Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner is in Iraq, traveling with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dunford.    — Jim Acosta (@Acosta) April 3, 2017

Jared Kushner is in Iraq right now, a senior administration official confirms.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) April 3, 2017

Last week, the White House announced that creation of the Office of American Innovation. It will be led by Kushner and will focus on some of the goals Trump pledged to accomplish during his campaign, such as working to improve veteran care and fight opioid addiction.

7am – C         FOOD NEWS:

• April is National Grill Cheese month. April is National Grilled Cheese Month — no Fool’s Day joke here — and Cheeses of France has unveiled samples for choosey cheese fans to coincide with other special days throughout the fourth month, as April 11 is National Fondue Day and April 12 is National Grilled Sandwich Day.
• The cup of coffee that could cause heart palpitations. (CNN)The “world’s strongest coffee” is now available in the US, but just one cup could spill you over the daily caffeine limit. As a coffee aficionado, Kristafor created the company after retiring from a corporate job. He found a top coffee roaster online and created Black Insomnia last June, first selling locally to cafes in Cape Town, South Africa. Retailing at $19 a pound, the company’s online business sold three tons more than the other local shops in August, he said. By October, they had customers in 22 countries. And by March, they were listed on Amazon in the US. Now, the company says it sells five to six tons of coffee a month. With a sweet nutty taste, Black Insomnia’s strength comes from the type of bean, robusta, and the way they are roasted. To prove their “world’s strongest” title, Kristafor had his beans tested chemically against competitors. At 58.5 mg per fl. oz., Black Insomnia is more than twice as strong as Starbucks’ dark roast, at around 21.25 mg per fl. oz. This all depends on how you brew the coffee, of course.

7am – D         Local Virginia Lawmaker Under Fire For Remarks About Immigrants. CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) – The chairwoman of the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors is under fire for comments she made about immigrant students and non-native English speakers in county schools. Media outlets report Dorothy Jaeckle made the comments during a budget work session earlier this month.  Jaeckle said, in part, that parents want their children to “be in a classroom that’s more English-speaking.” She also referred to the recent nationwide protest, “A Day Without Immigrants,” saying “teachers said it was so nice to have a whole class that understood English.” The comments appeared in a March 18 Richmond Times-Dispatch article. Chesterfield County is just south of Richmond.

7am – E         Trump social media director urges primary defeat of Rep. Justin Amash. A senior adviser to President Donald Trump on Saturday urged a primary challenge against a House Freedom Caucus member, prompting charges that he may have violated federal law against using his official position to sway an election campaign.  Dan Scavino Jr., director of social media and senior White House adviser, tweeted that Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) is a “big liability” for his state and encouraged a GOP primary opponent to oust him in 2018.

Trump aide accused of Hatch Act violation after urging Amash primary challenge. But that tweet, sent from Scavino’s personal Twitter account, immediately landed him in controversy as ethics lawyers called out Scavino for possibly violating the Hatch Act, a Depression-era law that regulates campaigning by government officials. “Look at the official photo on this page. Read the Hatch Act and fire this man NOW. Someone call OSC,” Richard Painter, a former ethics attorney in the George W. Bush White House, wrote on Twitter, referring to the Office of Special Counsel, the independent agency charged with monitoring and enforcing the law. White House press office officials and Scavino did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – CHELSEA JANES – Nationals beat reporter for the Washington Post — previewed Opening Season and what to expect from the Nats this year.

• GAME: Miami Marlins @ Washington Nationals, TODAY at 1:05 PM on MASN, FSFL, Nationals Park, Washington, D.C., District of Columbia

8am – B         Are smartphones to blame for an “unprecedented” spike in US pedestrian deaths cited in a new report?  Smartphones may be to blame for unprecedented spike in pedestrian deaths. (CNN) — It’s a dangerous world for pedestrians, and smartphones aren’t helping. A new report estimates that in 2016, the United States saw its largest annual increase in pedestrian fatalities since such record keeping began 40 years ago. “This is unprecedented and, quite honestly, shocking,” Richard Retting, the report’s author, told CNNTech. “I’ve been in the highway safety field 35 years, we just don’t see record increases, let alone consecutive years of record increases.” The Governors Highway Safety Association estimated there were 6,000 pedestrian deaths in 2016, the highest number in more than 20 years. Since 2010, pedestrian fatalities have grown at four times the rate of overall traffic deaths.

8am – C         Country Music Awards Highlights:

• Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley pay tribute to Chuck Berry at the #ACMs
• Another #Envelopegate? ACM Awards Spoof Oscars Best Picture Fail. The Academy of Country Music Awards tossed a little mockery in the direction of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences during Sunday night’s ceremony, poking fun at the Oscars’ now-infamous best picture fail earlier this year. While presenting song of the year, David Copperfield and Nancy O’Dell spoofed what happened at the end of February’s Oscars, announcing La La Land star Emma Stone as the winner of the award — and even showing her name on the winners’ card.
• Florida Georgia Line went full boy band with Backstreet Boys at ACMs. After tonight, we’re pretty sure Florida Georgia Line are comfortable in their own skins, and aren’t interested in changing the minds of their critics. Why? Well, the country duo just sang the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody”  with the boy band on stage at the ACM Awards — complete with choreography.

8am – D         INTERVIEW — SARAH WESTWOOD – White House Correspondent for the Washington Examiner

• Russia intrigue blots out the sun during White House briefings.
• White House releases dozens of financial disclosure forms.
• White House releases Steve Bannon’s financial disclosure.
• Top Democrat on House Intelligence Committee headed to White House to review surveillance reports.
• Bombshell report: Fox News says Congress knows ID of ‘senior’ intel source unmasking US citizens to embarrass Trump.  Susan Rice Requested Unmasking of Incoming Trump Administration Officials.

8am – E         GORSUCH / SCOTUS VOTE:

• Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is scheduled to get his first vote Monday from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• Senate panel expected to approve Trump’s Supreme Court pick, set up Senate showdown
• McConnell vows Gorsuch will be confirmed this week, Schumer predicts he won’t get 60 votes
• CNN’s whip count as of Sunday morning showed Democrats nearing a critical mass to maintain a filibuster. But Sen. Joe Donnelly, an Indiana Democrat, announced midday Sunday he would support Gorsuch, bringing the total number of Democrats in favor of the nomination to three.McConnell announced last week that, regardless of Schumer’s filibuster threat, the Senate would vote on Gorsuch this Friday before lawmakers leave Washington for a two-week recess.
• Trump presses Senate to confirm Gorsuch: ‘It’s about preserving our republic’