DC Metro Union’s Esker Bilger, economist Steve Moore, Rep. Scott Taylor and Sharyl Attkisson joined WMAL on Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Mary Walter

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C Trump pushes ‘Buy American, Hire American’ policy in Wisconsin. Kenosha, Wisconsin (CNN)President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday directing federal agencies to implement the “Buy American, Hire American” rhetoric of his campaign.

5am – D         FOOD NEWS:

• Montgomery Co. passes healthy vending machine measure. WASHINGTON — The Montgomery County Council unanimously voted Tuesday on a measure that would require all vending machines on county property to offer healthy snacks and beverages alongside the regular fare. Under the measure, 50 percent of the items for sale in county vending machines will have to meet American Heart Association nutrition standards for sugar, salt, fat and other measures over the next two years. After that, the healthful content would be required to reach 65 percent. In addition, every vending machine that dispenses beverages would be required to offer bottled water. “Studies have shown that children who drink one or more sugary beverages a day are 60 percent more likely to become obese,” said Shawn McIntosh, executive director of Sugar Free Kids Maryland, an advocacy group that lobbies for healthy vending machine laws. Akil Patterson, deputy director of Sugar Free Kids Maryland, said of the vote, “We’re excited about it!”

• Soda tax DOES work in America: First tax on sugary drinks cuts sales by 10% – far beyond expectations, first figures reveal. (Daily Mail) — America’s first tax on sugary soft drinks has cut sales beyond expectations, new data reveal. Figures reveal demand for soda in Berkeley, California, plummeted 10 percent after the city become the first in the country to impose a one percent tax on sugar-sweetened drinks. The figures have been celebrated in the medical community as a clear sign that the move could help in the fight against obesity. It comes amid a national push to bring similar taxes across the US – after Mexico saw a similar drop in soda consumption thanks to a sugar tax.   Now, many countries are considering or already implementing taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in an effort to curb the global obesity epidemic. Barry Popkin of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Lynn Silver from the Public Health Institute in California conducted a before and after study of the prices, sales of beverages and consumer spending on fizzy pop in Berkeley, California.

5am – E         FACEBOOK KILLER UPDATE: McDonald’s employee recognized Facebook shooting suspect Steve Stephens as he was ordering at drive-thru. An alert McDonald’s employee led Pennsylvania police to the suspect in a Cleveland slaying that was recorded and posted on Facebook. Henry Sayers, the Erie restaurant’s manager, tells reporters that Steve Stephens pulled up to the drive-thru Tuesday morning and ordered a 20-piece Chicken McNuggets and french fries.  He says the employee recognized Stephens and called 911. Workers tried to “buy some time for the cops” and told Stephens his order of fries was delayed. But Stephens replied he had no time to wait and drove away. Police found him moments later, and he committed suicide.

6am – A         The D.C. mayor is on ‘personal travel’ and her office won’t say to where. (Washington Post) — D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser is traveling for six days and her office will only say that she is on personal travel. It is at least the third time since taking office in 2015 that Bowser (D) has left the District for several days and her public schedule has not reflected her absence. Balancing personal privacy and public responsibility is a fraught topic for elected leaders. But the travel of D.C. leaders has been an especially sensitive topic since former mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) traveled to China and the United Arab Emirates on trips announced as personal travel that city officials later disclosed were paid for by foreign governments. In a statement Monday, Bowser spokesman Kevin Harris said that the mayor was paying her own way, but not where she was. Asked whether a security detail or any other city employee was accompanying Bowser at taxpayer expense, Harris said no. The mayor’s taxpayer funded salary is $200,000. “The Mayor is on personal travel and will resume a public schedule on Thursday,” Harris wrote in an email. “ She remains in regular contact and communications with city leadership.”

6am – B         Entertainment News:

• ‘Survivor’s’ Jeff Varner fired after outing trans contestant. (USA Today) – After Survivor: Game Changers contestant Jeff Varner outed fellow castaway Zeke Smith as transgender, Varner faced public backlash. Now, he’s dealing with professional repercussions. Varner tells Entertainment Tonight that he was fired from his North Carolina real estate job in “an ugly, knee-jerk reaction kind of way.” “I was devastated (and not) given the chance to explain or right the wrong,” he said about being let go from Allen Tate Real Estate. “I didn’t even find out from my company. Suddenly, my real estate license was inactive and my current clients (were) left in the dark. It took hours after my press junket (for Survivor) to get anyone with the company on the phone to tell me personally, and even longer to calm my clients. … My former boss told me that I was in a news story they wanted nothing to do with.” In a statement, Allen Tate Companies CEO Pat Riley confirmed that Varner, a recent hire, was fired because of his controversial outing of another contestant at a “tribal council,” which wasn’t in line with the agency’s “values of honesty, integrity and respect.”
• Richard Simmons hospitalized in California, battling severe indigestion. (ABC News) – Fitness icon Richard Simmons is doing better after being hospitalized on Monday for “severe indigestion,” his rep exclusively told ABC News. “Richard Simmons was hospitalized on Monday at an undisclosed location in California,” his spokesman Michael Catalano said. “After a few days of battling severe indigestion and discomfort while eating, we agreed it was best for him to seek treatment.”   He continued, “He’s already feeling better and is expected to make a full recovery.” Simmons, 68, who over the past few years has vanished from the public eye, signed a business deal for “merchandising, endorsements and licensing opportunities,” Catalano announced earlier this month. Catalano told ABC News on April 6 that Simmons pursued the deal. The new venture comes on the heels of questions about Simmons’ health in recent years, including a viral podcast on his disappearance from public view, titled “Missing Richard Simmons.”

6am – C          Tillerson: Iran complying with nuclear deal, but still sponsoring terrorism.(CNN) Iran is sticking to the terms of its nuclear deal made with the Obama administration, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has concluded, but he questions whether sanctions should keep being lifted, given Iran’s continued support for terrorism. In a statement released by the State Department, Tillerson said Iran is making good on its commitment under the agreement, but added that President Donald Trump has ordered a review of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

6am – D         DHS Speech:

• DHS Secretary Tells Lawmakers to Change the Law or Shut Up. (Free Beacon) – Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly said Tuesday at George Washington University that lawmakers should either change the law or “shut up” and allow DHS employees to do their job. During his talk, Kelly discussed employee morale at his department. He said that DHS employees have been used as political pawns. “For too long, the men and women of my department have been political pawns,” the retired Marine general said. “They’ve been asked to do more with less and less and less. In many ways similar to the treatment suffered by our law enforcement over the past few years, they are often ridiculed and insulted by public officials and frequently convicted in the court of public opinion on unfounded allegations testified to by street lawyers and street spokes-persons.” When Kelly met with Democratic lawmakers in March, he told lawmakers that if they don’t like what his department is doing in regards to immigration then they should change the law. Democrats left the meeting upset and angry at Sec. Kelly, but he repeated the message on Tuesday. “If lawmakers do not like the laws that we enforce, that we are charged to enforce, that we are sworn to enforce, then they should have the courage and the skill to change those laws. Otherwise, they should shut up and support the men and
• FBI Investigating Radical Terrorists in All 50 States as Threats Hit Peak. (Washington Free Beacon) – Federal authorities have open investigations into radical Islamic terrorists in all 50 states, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which is warning that the threat of terrorism in the United States has reached an all time high with radicalized individuals in the country plotting to strike “each and every single day.” The FBI has “open terrorist investigations in all 50 states,” according to DHS Secretary John Kelly, who disclosed on Tuesday that there have been at least 37 “ISIS-linked plots to attack our country” since 2013, a number that shows no signs of diminishing.

6am – E         What to eat for breakfast if you want to have a productive day. (NY Post)  The saying goes that breakfast is the most important meal of the day – but apparently only if you eat the right thing. Those hoping to hear the full English is the way forward will be sorely disappointed too. According to William Cole, who specializes in nutrition, what we should be eating first thing is a little more unusual. He told Mind, Body, Green that a breakfast crammed with fat is the key to maintaining energy levels throughout the day, and eating this way will make you more productive. So what does that mean food wise? William’s best breakfast is an avocado, salmon and two poached eggs served on a sweet potato. Yep, sorry to report there is no bread, beans or sausage involved. He does advise toasting the potato though. The science behind this choice is all to do with stopping your body having sugar highs and lows. On top of that, the brain is actually made up for 60 percent fat. When we don’t have enough good fat (this is not an excuse to munch chocolate) in our diet, the brain can’t function optimally.

6am – F         Father of 2 dies after tree falls on him near Rayburn House building on Capitol Hill. WASHINGTON (ABC7) — A man has died after a large tree collapsed and fell on him near the Rayburn House office building on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning. The man was identified as Matthew McClanahan, a pipefitter for the Architect of the Capitol and the father of two young children.  Speaker Paul Ryan issued this statement regarding McClanahan’s death on Tuesday: @SpeakerRyan: This morning, a tragic accident on Capitol grounds took the life of Matthew McClanahan, a pipefitter for the Architect of the Capitol. 1/3  2:00 PM – 18 Apr 2017

7am – A         INTERVIEW – ESKER BILGER – Treasurer, DC metro union ATU LOCAL 689

• ATU’s proposals to improve the metro
• Union was participating in metro card giveaway yesterday

7am – B/C     INTERVIEW — STEVE MOORE – Economist at The Heritage Foundation

• Trump pushes ‘Buy American, Hire American’ policy in Wisconsin. Kenosha, Wisconsin (CNN)President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday directing federal agencies to implement the “Buy American, Hire American” rhetoric of his campaign.
• Trump Signs Order That Could Lead to Curbs on Foreign Workers. KENOSHA, Wis. — President Trump, hammering his “America First” campaign theme, signed an order on Tuesday that he said would favor American companies for federal contracts and reform the visa program for foreign technical workers. After recent policy reversals that have angered his populist base, Mr. Trump described the visa program as an initiative gone awry that has driven down wages for Americans. The order was a means to end the “theft of American prosperity,” which he said had been brought on by low-wage immigrant labor. Yet the order calls for a series of relatively modest steps, like a multiagency report on changes needed for the H-1B program, under which the government admits 85,000 foreign workers annually, many of them in the high-tech, industrial, medical and science fields. Collectively, the efforts outlined in the order could take years to carry out.

7am – D/E     Listener Calls: Trump pushes ‘Buy American, Hire American’ policy in Wisconsin

8am – A         INTERVIEW – CONGRESSMAN SCOTT TAYLOR – represents Virginia’s 2nd congressional district and former Navy SEAL

• BIO: Warrior Diplomat, U.S. Congressman VA-02, former Virginia House of Delegates. Author of Trust Betrayed, Navy SEAL, Iraq war.
• DISTRICT: Virginia’s 2nd congressional district: Virginia’s second congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It encompasses all of Accomack and Northampton Counties and the City of Virginia Beach and parts of the cities of Norfolk and Hampton.
• ROLL CALL listed REP. SCOTT TAYLOR as one of the four members of Congress to WATCH in 2017.
• ‘The sword stands ready’: Pence warns North Korea. (Fox News) — Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday warned North Korea not to test the resolve of the U.S. military, promising it would make an “overwhelming and effective” response to any use of conventional or nuclear weapons. Pence, who was aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, said that President Trump’s administration would continue to “work diligently” with allies like Japan, China and other global powers to apply economic and diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang. But he told the sailors, “as all of you know, readiness is the key.” “The United States of America will always seek peace but under President Trump, the shield stands guard and the sword stands ready,” Pence told 2,500 sailors wearing blue fatigues and Naval baseball caps on a sunny, windy morning aboard the carrier at the U.S. Yokosuka naval base in Tokyo Bay.
• Tillerson: Iran complying with nuclear deal, but still sponsoring terrorism.(CNN) Iran is sticking to the terms of its nuclear deal made with the Obama administration, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has concluded, but he questions whether sanctions should keep being lifted, given Iran’s continued support for terrorism. In a statement released by the State Department, Tillerson said Iran is making good on its commitment under the agreement, but added that President Donald Trump has ordered a review of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

8am – B         Georgia congressional race: Democrat Ossoff, Republican Handel will go to run-off. (Fox News) — A special election in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District failed to produce an outright winner Tuesday, forcing a June 20 runoff between upstart Democrat Jon Ossoff and former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel. Ossoff garnered 48 percent of the vote, falling just short of the majority threshold required in the so-called “jungle primary.”  Handel was the top GOP vote-getter at 20 percent, finishing comfortably ahead of technology executive Bob Gray, who received 11 percent of the vote, and former State Senators Judson Hill and Dan Moody, who each received 9 percent of the vote. The winner of the runoff between Handel and Ossoff will succeed Tom Price, who resigned to become Trump’s health and human services secretary. Ossoff, a 30-year-old documentary filmmaker and former congressional aide, had sought to parlay opposition to President Donald Trump into an outright victory that would have emboldened Democrats ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. His run attracted more than $8 million in donations, which largely came from outside the state.

8am – C         Intruder inside Drake’s home only raided rapper’s fridge. LOS ANGELES –  Authorities say an intruder was arrested at Drake’s Southern California house, but the woman apparently did nothing but drink the rapper’s water and soda pop. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says deputies from its Malibu/Lost Hills Station arrested 24-year-old Mesha Collins inside the home of Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham. Deputies called to the house found Collins inside a locked room surrounded by opened water and soda bottles from the house. There was no evidence she took anything else or did any damage.

8am – D         INTERVIEW — SHARYL ATTKISSON – Host of Sinclair’s Sunday TV program “Full Measure” and author of upcoming book “The Smear, How Fake News and Shady Political Operatives Control What You See What You Think and How You Vote.”

• Timeline cross-referencing Obama-era surveillance of whistleblowers, journalists and other U.S. citizens with Russia surveillance allegations.

8am – E         Clinton: ‘Who gives a f— about Chris Van Hollen?‘ (The Hill) – Hillary Clinton reacted angrily to then-Senate candidate Chris Van Hollen’s attempt to not help black voters to the polls at Maryland’s primary, according to a new book. The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Sidewire’s Jonathan Allen report in “Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign” that Van Hollen’s campaign urged its union allies to not aggressively push black voters to the ballot box, fearing that they would support Van Hollen’s primary opponent, then-Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.). Clinton, who was facing the Maryland’s Democratic presidential primary on the same day, bitterly dismissed Van Hollen’s plan when she heard about it. “Who gives a f— about Chris Van Hollen?” Clinton asked one of her aides following a campaign event in Baltimore, the book said. “What the f— are we going to do to fix this?” Clinton’s aide promised to relay the message to the unions, to persuade them to ignore Van Hollen’s calls: “Do you want another friend in the Senate or do you want one in the White House?” Van Hollen’s office contacted The Hill and categorically denied the charge. “He spent heavily on African American radio and on voter contact in Baltimore to help drive turnout on Election Day,” an aide in Van Hollen’s Senate office said.