Mark Krikorian, Navy SEAL Rob O’Neill, Byron York, Dr. Jeff Gardere and DC Assistant Police Chief Jeff Carroll joined WMAL On Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Mary Walter

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C   Trump backs down on border wall funding. Donald Trump has indicated he will scrap plans to find cash for his border wall in this week’s spending bill. The president’s close adviser, Kellyanne Conway, said funding for the wall would be left out of a budget measure that must pass by Friday. Building the wall, paid for by Mexico, was a key campaign promise. Democrats had threatened to block the bill if money was earmarked for the wall, so its omission may now avert a government shutdown. But the president insisted on Twitter that he still supported the wall and that it would be built.

Congressional Republicans offer Democrats government funding deal that does not include new funds for border wall.  Congressional Republicans have offered Democrats a government funding deal that does not include new funds for the construction of a border wall, according to congressional aides familiar with the offer. The move from GOP leaders comes as Capitol Hill scrambles to pass a government funding measure by midnight Friday to avert a shutdown on President Donald Trump’s 100th day in office. The latest proposal doesn’t include funding for construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, but would allocate money to other border security initiatives, such as surveillance technology. News of the offer was first reported by The Washington Post. “I think sometimes we get hung up on the semantics rather than really looking at what a really good system should include,” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, pointing to border security elements that have bipartisan support like technology and personnel.

5am – D         Federal judge blocks Trump’s executive order that would defund sanctuary cities: A federal judge in San Francisco is blocking President Trump’s executive order on sanctuary cities. The executive order sought to block federal funding to sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration agencies. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has warned that sanctuary cities are harboring illegal immigrants who are criminals while city attorney Dennis Herrerra called the executive order a “bully tactic.”

5am – E         ‘Full-scale terror attack drill’ will take place Wednesday across DC region. (Fox 5 DC) — WASHINGTON – Law enforcement officials, emergency managers and first responders will take part in a “full-scale exercise” Wednesday to help them prepare for possible terror attacks in the DC region. The planned drill will take place at six undisclosed locations around suburban Maryland, Northern Virginia and the District, though officials are not releasing specific details about where or exactly what will take place. The drill was announced by the Metropolitan Council of Governments on Tuesday. It’s scheduled to start between 7:30 am and 8:30 am. In a news release, the organization said the exercise is meant to “help protect residents by preparing for an attack involving multiple target locations and teams of perpetrators.” It will include hundreds of police, fire crews, and emergency medical service personnel, as well as volunteer actors. Residents in neighborhoods where the exercises will take place were being notified in advance to expect activity. The locations include neighborhoods in northeast and southeast DC, Prince George’s County, Arlington and Fairfax counties.

6am – A/B/C Maryland couple’s YouTube videos of their children spark outrage. Parents in Frederick County, Maryland ran a YouTube channel “DaddyOFive” showing how the parents recorded pranks they did on their kids. The page had more than 763,000 subscribers and had nearly 300 videos — many of which garnered over 100,000 views. Viewers started to accuse the parents of being abusive to their kids.  Parents insist their kids were aware of the pranks and were in on them. Now the parents have removed the videos and posted an apology video. They hired a crisis management expert.  Baltimore County police said they were reviewing the videos to see whether any were criminal and occurred under their jurisdiction. The police said they first received a referral from another police agency about the videos. Montgomery County police said they received several calls about the family’s videos as well.

6am – D/E     INTERVIEW – Mark Krikorian, Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies

• IMMIGRATION NEWS / BORDER WALL / JUDGE RULING:
• Trump backs down on border wall funding. Donald Trump has indicated he will scrap plans to find cash for his border wall in this week’s spending bill. The president’s close adviser, Kellyanne Conway, said funding for the wall would be left out of a budget measure that must pass by Friday. Building the wall, paid for by Mexico, was a key campaign promise. Democrats had threatened to block the bill if money was earmarked for the wall, so its omission may now avert a government shutdown. But the president insisted on Twitter that he still supported the wall and that it would be built.
• Congressional Republicans offer Democrats government funding deal that does not include new funds for border wall.  Congressional Republicans have offered Democrats a government funding deal that does not include new funds for the construction of a border wall, according to congressional aides familiar with the offer. The move from GOP leaders comes as Capitol Hill scrambles to pass a government funding measure by midnight Friday to avert a shutdown on President Donald Trump’s 100th day in office. The latest proposal doesn’t include funding for construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, but would allocate money to other border security initiatives, such as surveillance technology. News of the offer was first reported by The Washington Post. “I think sometimes we get hung up on the semantics rather than really looking at what a really good system should include,” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, pointing to border security elements that have bipartisan support like technology and personnel.
• Federal judge blocks Trump’s executive order that would defund sanctuary cities: A federal judge in San Francisco is blocking President Trump’s executive order on sanctuary cities. The executive order sought to block federal funding to sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration agencies. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has warned that sanctuary cities are harboring illegal immigrants who are criminals while city attorney Dennis Herrerra called the executive order a “bully tactic.”

6am – F         BEST LOCAL SCHOOLS:

• Fairfax Co. school earns top 10 spot on ‘best high schools’ list. WASHINGTON — A science-and-math-focused high school in Fairfax County, Virginia, has once again cracked the top 10 of a list of the best high schools in the country. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County came in as the No. 6 top-performing public high school in the U.S., according to updated rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News and World Report. The school also earned the No. 2 spot nationwide among science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, high schools.The school rankings were compiled by U.S. News after reviewing data on more than 22,000 high schools nationwide. The rankings aim to identify the top-performing schools based on graduation rates, performance on state proficiency exams, the performance of disadvantaged students and other measures.
• Maryland high schools rank as the best in the country, U.S. News says. Maryland high schools are the best in the nation, with four ranking among the top 150 in the country, according to a new list from U.S. News & World Report. The list, published Tuesday morning, ranks more than 2,600 high schools across the country based on state high school proficiency tests, disadvantaged students’ performance on those tests, graduation rate, and then Advanced Placement test data. On a state-by-state level, U.S. News said Maryland schools performed best by their measures, with 5.9 percent of the public schools achieving “Gold Medal” status and 21.6 percent achieving “Silver Medal” status. After Maryland, rounding out the top five were Florida, California, Connecticut and Massachusetts. When broken down by individual schools, the state only placed four inside the top 150, all from Montgomery County: Winston Churchill High School (75), Thomas S. Wootton High School (106), Poolesville High (108) and Walter Johnson High School (149).

7am – A         INTERVIEW – Navy SEAL ROB O’NEILL, the man who killed bin Laden AND author of new book “The Operator”

• Navy SEAL Robert O’Neill’s memoir The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior  will relate these stories and much more. An intimate and absorbing journey into the hearts, minds, and experiences of America’s most elite fighting unit, The Operator dramatically recounts O’Neill’s remarkable 400-mission career, from the extreme SEAL training he endured through the perilous missions in which he participated, including the rescues of Captain Richard Phillips and extracting “Lone Survivor” SEAL Marcus Luttrell from behind enemy lines in Afghanistan. Riveting in the new glimpses it offers into a decade of intense Special Forces missions, The Operator vividly places readers alongside O’Neill as he enters mazelike buildings under the cloak of night, encounters predators attacking from false walls, and makes swift, life-saving decisions.

7am – B         ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

• Rob Lowe takes on role as KFC’s new Colonel Sanders. (CBS) — Svelte actor Rob Lowe might not be the obvious choice for KFC’s spokesperson, but the “Parks and Rec” actor is suiting up to be the fast food chain’s latest Colonel Sanders.  Several actors have played Colonel Sanders in commercials in recent years, like Norm MacDonald, Darrell Hammond and Jim Gaffigan, and now, Rob Lowe will play “Mission Commander Colonel Sanders.” This iteration of Colonel Sanders is part of KFC’s campaign to launch a new chicken sandwich into space in June. KFC tweeted, “Introducing Mission Commander Colonel Sanders. He’s got the face of an angel and the chicken-sandwich salesmanship of a Colonel Sanders.” Rob Lowe tweeted a photo of himself in the costume and wrote, “There is work to be done. And @KFC has called upon me to be the next Colonel Sanders and literally launch a chicken sandwich into space.”
• Lena Dunham Plans Feminist Tour to Connect with Women in Middle America. (AP) – Now that HBO’s “Girls” has wrapped its six-year run, the women behind the series are focusing on their other female-centered project: turning their digital newsletter, Lenny, into a real-life experience. Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner are bringing LennyLetter.com to life as a variety show. The co-founders of the digital newsletter announced Tuesday that they’ll take the “Lenny: America IRL” tour to six cities, beginning May 31 in St. Louis. Dunham said she was inspired to create opportunities for women to gather and share ideas after the contentious presidential election. “We really wanted to try to be a part of, in our own small way, healing the very big divide that exists in our country right now,” Dunham said in an interview Monday. “We’re trying to look beyond the coastal states and really think about connecting to women, to people, in the middle of the country.” The tour, which will feature music, comedy and spoken word performances, includes stops in Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, Minnesota; Des Moines, Iowa; and Lexington, Kentucky. Tickets go on sale Friday.
• Pamela Anderson publishes bizarre poem boasting about her ‘special relationship’ with WikiLeaks fugitive Julian Assange and advising the US, UK and France to have a ‘threesome’ (Daily Mail) — Pamela Anderson has boasted about her ‘special relationship’ with exiled WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and advised the US, UK and France to have a ‘threesome’.  The ex-Baywatch star is rumoured to be dating Assange, who has been hiding at London’s Ecuadorian Embassy for five years to avoid a rape allegation in Sweden.  In her latest bizarre poem, Anderson declared that Assange – who she has visited at least nine times in six months – was just ‘trying to help’ and should not be ‘illegally detained’.  The former Playboy model also compared the US to a ‘freakish lover or stalker’ who spied on the UK and inexplicably concluded that she wanted to ‘bring sexy back’.

7am – C         Hello? Justice Stephen Breyer’s cellphone rings in court. WASHINGTON (AP) — Even Supreme Court justices forget to turn off their cellphones. A high court argument Tuesday was interrupted by the familiar sound of a ring chime, and Justice Stephen Breyer was the culprit. A mildly embarrassed Breyer quickly appeared to reach down to turn it off as a majority of his colleagues on the bench broke into smiles. Justice Samuel Alito struggled to suppress a laugh. Cellphones and other electronic devices are strictly forbidden in the ornate courtroom — a rule that includes observers and lawyers arguing before the court, but apparently not the justices themselves. Breyer and fellow Justice Clarence Thomas shared a quick laugh about the incident. But it didn’t fluster lawyer Neal Katyal, who was in the middle of answering a question.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – BYRON YORK – Chief political correspondent, Washington Examiner

• Byron York: Trump’s 100 days: An executive success

7am – E         Metro Workers Threatening ‘Sick Out’ This Weekend. (NBC Washington) — Metro workers are threatening a “sick out” for this weekend. Sources tell News4 that Metro employees have been telling their supervisors they will not be going to work Friday.  Metro management and its largest union, ATU Local 689, are in a tense and ugly contract dispute. A union spokesman told News4 that members are “outraged” at the negotiations over the contract. According to their contract, however, union members are not permitted to strike. “Given the climate the [general manager] has set at WMATA, the union is looking at every possible legal tactic to get his attention,” union spokesman David Stephen told News4.  However, union leaders said they do not support a sick out and don’t believe that one will occur. Nonetheless, supervisors are being told to be ready for 12-hour shifts. “Due to the threat of a sick out for [ATU Local] 689 employees[,] all supervisors are required to work 12 hour shifts starting Friday April 28, 2017-April 30, 2017,” according to an email sent to Metro supervisors Tuesday. A Metro spokesperson said there has been an “unusually” high number of absence requests for this weekend.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – DR. JEFF GARDERE  — Psychologist

• BIO: Dr. Jeff Gardere – America’s Psychologist — Dr. Jeff is one of the most widely sought-after experts in the field of mental health. In addition to having a private practice in Manhattan, he is an Assistant Professor and Course Director of Behavioral Medicine at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York City. Dr. Jeff Gardere, better known as “America’s Psychologist”, is also a prolific author of four books and a contributing author of a half-dozen books including the brand-new text, “The Causes of Autism”. In addition to being a respected academician, Dr. Jeff has been a contributor to the FOX network, the Today Show, MSNBC, and CNN. Dr Jeff was the host of VH1’s Dad Camp, and recently was the psychologist on The Housewives of Atlanta. This season he is the principle psychologist on: another Housewives show (a secret until air time), For My Man on TV one, Celebrity Damage Control and They Got Away With It on the Reelz Channel. He is also the aftercare coordinator and psychologist for Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court.
• Maryland couple’s YouTube videos of their children spark outrage. Parents in Frederick County, Maryland ran a YouTube channel “DaddyOFive” showing how the parents recorded pranks they did on their kids. The page had more than 763,000 subscribers and had nearly 300 videos — many of which garnered over 100,000 views. Viewers started to accuse the parents of being abusive to their kids.  Parents insist their kids were aware of the pranks and were in on them. Now the parents have removed the videos and posted an apology video. They hired a crisis management expert.

8am – B         IMMIGRATION NEWS / BORDER WALL / JUDGE RULING:

• Trump backs down on border wall funding. Donald Trump has indicated he will scrap plans to find cash for his border wall in this week’s spending bill. The president’s close adviser, Kellyanne Conway, said funding for the wall would be left out of a budget measure that must pass by Friday. Building the wall, paid for by Mexico, was a key campaign promise. Democrats had threatened to block the bill if money was earmarked for the wall, so its omission may now avert a government shutdown. But the president insisted on Twitter that he still supported the wall and that it would be built.
• Congressional Republicans offer Democrats government funding deal that does not include new funds for border wall.  Congressional Republicans have offered Democrats a government funding deal that does not include new funds for the construction of a border wall, according to congressional aides familiar with the offer. The move from GOP leaders comes as Capitol Hill scrambles to pass a government funding measure by midnight Friday to avert a shutdown on President Donald Trump’s 100th day in office. The latest proposal doesn’t include funding for construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, but would allocate money to other border security initiatives, such as surveillance technology. News of the offer was first reported by The Washington Post. “I think sometimes we get hung up on the semantics rather than really looking at what a really good system should include,” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, pointing to border security elements that have bipartisan support like technology and personnel.
• Federal judge blocks Trump’s executive order that would defund sanctuary cities: A federal judge in San Francisco is blocking President Trump’s executive order on sanctuary cities. The executive order sought to block federal funding to sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration agencies. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has warned that sanctuary cities are harboring illegal immigrants who are criminals while city attorney Dennis Herrerra called the executive order a “bully tactic.”
• Build it and be banned: Lawmakers move to block state contracts for any builders of Trump’s border wall. (LA Tiems) — California legislators took the first step Tuesday to ban state government contracts for any company that helps build President Trump’s promised wall along the Mexico border, with the author of the plan urging colleagues “to be on the right side of history.” The bill by state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) would prohibit any company from receiving a new or extended contract with the state of California if it participates in a future effort to build a new wall along the 2,000-mile international border. “The wall is another attempt to separate and divide us,” Lara said in testimony to the Senate Governmental Organization Committee. “It sends a message that we are better off in a homogenous society.” California contractors would have to choose between building a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico or continuing to do business with the state under a legislative proposal that advanced in the state legislature. The measure would blacklist any company that helps build the wall and require the state to drop any pension investments in any company involved with the border wall project.
• DHS To Open Office That Will Provide Reports On Effects Of Illegal Immigrant Crime. (Daily Caller) — The Department of Homeland Security will officially announce Wednesday the opening of an office that will provide quarterly reports studying the effects of illegal immigrant crime. President Donald Trump called for the establishment of the Victims of Illegal Immigrant Crime Engagement Office (VOICE) in a January executive order pertaining to illegal immigration. The office’s main stated purpose is to serve as a liaison between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and victims and the family of victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants.
• Cruz: Use money seized from drug lords to fund border wall. (The Hill) — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is introducing a bill to allow assets seized from drug lords, like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, to fund President Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Cruz’s bill, the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order Act, also known as the “El Chapo Act,” is a reference to the Mexican drug kingpin from the Sinaloa cartel. The U.S. government is seeking $14 billion from the drug lord as part of its prosecution of Guzman. “Fourteen billion dollars will go a long way toward building a wall that will keep Americans safe and hinder the illegal flow of drugs, weapons and individuals across our southern border,” Cruz said Tuesday, according to Axios.

8am – C         No Parking: Reagan National Airport perk for lawmakers ending June 30. (Fox News) — One of the most popular perks for Washington D.C.’s power players is coming to in end, Fox News has learned. After June 30, members of Congress, Supreme Court justices and certain diplomats will no longer be able to park in the special lot set aside for them at Reagan National Airport, just across the Potomac River from the Capitol.  The coming change has left some lawmakers and their schedulers apoplectic.  The special lot has long enabled lawmakers to shave minutes off their trip to Capitol Hill for a crucial roll call vote — or to get a head start on their flights home for every congressional recess. “When minutes count …” one scheduler complained to Fox News Tuesday.   Lawmakers’ special access to Reagan National was a key argument for keeping the airport open after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, when some argued it should be closed because of its close proximity to the nation’s capital.  The airport is closing the lot as part of a $1 billion expansion project aimed at streamlining the movement of passengers through its terminals.

8am – D         INTERVIEW -Assistant Chief JEFF CARROLL of the DC Metropolitan Police Department’s Homeland Security Bureau

• Area first responders prepare for a ‘complex’ terror attack. “Full-scale” terror attack drill planned for DC area on Wednesday
• Hundreds of first responders to take part in ‘full-scale terror attack drill’ Wednesday at 6 locations in DC, MD, VA

8am – E         ENTERTAINMENT:

• ‘Dirty Jobs’ host Mike Rowe takes issue with Nordstrom’s $425 ‘muddy’ jeans.  The fashion industry’s “war on work” has hit a nerve with TV host Mike Rowe of the Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs.” What’s elicited such a strong reaction from the alpha male? A $425 pair of men’s heavily-distressed, straight-leg blue denim jeans sold at Nordstrom, which according to the retailer’s website, has “seen some hard-working action with a crackled, caked-on muddy coating that shows you’re not afraid to get down and dirty.” But not being afraid to get down and dirty and actually getting down and dirty are two vastly different things. After all, Rowe is the real deal, which is why he takes issue with the jeans’s concept. On his show he performs difficult, disgusting and downright dirty occupational duties alongside the regular folks who hold such jobs. He’s actually “seen some hard-working action.”
• NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. announces he will retire from racing at the end of this season. CONCORD, N.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced his retirement from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after the 2017 season on Tuesday, saying that he wanted to leave stock-car racing competition on his own terms. A third-generation racer, Earnhardt turns 43 in October, is newly married and has said he wants to start a family. He has lately become a vocal advocate for research into sports-related brain injuries, and the hit he took last June led to months of rehabilitation that gave him a new perspective on his life. His wife, Amy, posted on Twitter shortly after the announcement: “I’m so proud of Dale for working so hard to get back and even prouder for his courage & self awareness to make the decision to retire. I’m sure God has many other great plans for him and us!”