Rep. Andy Harris, Mary Katharine Ham, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Robert Costa and Jonah Goldberg joined WMAL on Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Mary Walter

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C Should We Have A “Good Shutdown” Now Or Later?

• Conservatives fume over “complete” spending concession to Democrats
• President Trump tweets “our country needs a good ‘shutdown’ in September to fix mess!”
• Trump calls spending bill a “clear win” hours after tweeting his frustration at the bill

5am – D Airline News:

• American Airlines is cutting more legroom in economy class. American Airlines (AAL) is planning to decrease the front-to-back space between some of its economy class seats by another two inches. The airline says it plans to add more seats on its coming Boeing (BA) 737 Max jetliners. To do that, it will shrink the distance between seats, also known as pitch, from 31 inches to 29 inches on three rows of the airplane, and down to 30-inches in the rest of its main economy cabin. American isn’t the only big airline heading in this direction. United Airlines (UAL) is considering a similar move, according to a person briefed on its evaluations. United declined to comment. The move signals a new step in the shrinking of U.S. airline cabins, and comes even as carriers are promising to improve overall customer service. With the change, American will become the first large U.S. carrier to offer legroom with a pitch that’s nearly on par with ultra-low cost carriers Spirit Airlines (SAVE) and Frontier Airlines. Those seats are an industry minimum 28-inches apart.
• Congress threatens action against airlines during heated House hearing. (The Hill) — Lawmakers are threatening to take legislative action against airlines if they don’t improve their customer service policies in the wake of a passenger being violently dragged off a United Airlines flight last month. United, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines were all in the congressional hot seat on Tuesday as members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee grilled executives about their business practices during the first congressional hearing since the United confrontation. “If changes aren’t made by the next hearing, I can assure you, you won’t like the outcome,” said Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.). “If we act, it’s going to be one-size-fits-all.”
• Airline passengers paid about $1 million more a day in baggage fees last year, according to figures released by the Department of Transportation Tuesday. Baggage fees collected across the 25 largest U.S. airlines in 2016 totaled $4.2 billion, up 10% from 2015. Not all fees climbed last year — fees collected for changing a reservation actually fell by 4% to $2.9 billion. Total passenger fares also dipped by a bit more than 1%, falling to $124.2 billion. Lower fares meant that revenue declined even though the number of passenger miles flown grew by 3%. Airlines as a group reported a total of $13.6 billion in profits, down 45% from 2015, despite the fact that fuel costs were lower in 2016. Those savings were mostly eaten up by higher labor costs. The report came the same day as executives from several of the nation’s largest airlines testified before Congress about their industry’s customer service. The hearing was called after a United Airlines passenger was dragged off an overbooked flight a few weeks ago. While much of the hearing focused on overbooking and bumping policies, several of the members of the House Transportation committee complained about airline fees.

5am – E Gluten-free diet can do more harm than good for people without coeliac disease, scientists say. Global sales of gluten-free food rose by 12.6 per cent last year. Avoiding wheat, barley and rye in the belief that a gluten-free diet brings health benefits may do more harm than good, according to a team of US nutrition and medicine experts. For people with coeliac disease, a condition that affects one per cent of the population, gluten triggers a gut reaction that prevents the absorption of nutrients, causing painful symptoms including bloating, diarrhoea and nausea. Gluten-free food has become increasingly popular among people without the disease who perceive it as healthy, with global sales up 12.6 per cent last year, compared to four per cent for packaged foods overall. “Concern has arisen in the medical community and lay public that gluten may increase the risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and cardiovascular risk among healthy people,” they wrote in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). “As a result, diets that limit gluten intake have gained popularity.” In the US, nearly 30 per cent of adults claim to have cut down on or be actively avoiding foods. “Whole grain intake has been found to be inversely associated with coronary heart disease risk and cardiovascular mortality,” wrote the researchers. “These findings underscore the potential that people who severely restrict gluten intake may also significantly limit their intake of whole grains, which may actually be associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes.” They concluded: “The promotion of gluten-free diets for the purpose of coronary heart disease prevention among asymptomatic people without celiac disease should not be recommended.”

6am – A/B/C HILLARY IN DENIAL:

• Clinton: ‘If the election had been on October 27, I would be your president’

• Hillary Clinton: ‘I was on the way to winning’ until Comey probe, Wikileaks
• Clinton: Putin interfered to “hurt me”
• Hillary Clinton says misogyny played role in her election loss, but says “I think other things did as well.”
• Clinton: It ‘Would Have Been a Really Big Deal’ If I’d Won

• Hillary Clinton: “I’m now back to being an activist citizen, and part of the resistance.”

6am – D INTERVIEW — CONGRESSMAN ANDY HARRIS – R-MD (M.D.)

• BIO: Andrew P. “Andy” Harris is an American politician and physician who has been the U.S. Representative for Maryland’s 1st congressional district since 2011. Harris served in the Navy Medical Corps and the U.S. Naval Reserve as a lieutenant commander on active duty during Operation Desert Storm and currently serves as a commander.
• Conservatives fume over “complete” spending concession to Democrats
• President Trump tweets “our country needs a good ‘shutdown’ in September to fix mess!”
• Trump calls spending bill a “clear win” hours after tweeting his frustration at the bill
• Republicans still don’t have the votes to pass health care bill. Washington (CNN)House Speaker Paul Ryan signaled Tuesday that the leadership still does not have the votes to pass the current bill to repeal and replace Obamacare — but Republican leaders and the White House are not giving up and things remain extremely fluid. Ryan told his rank-and-file members in a closed-door conference meeting that when the votes are there, he will put the bill on the floor, in an implicit admission that the majority of 216 votes that he needs to ensure passage is not yet in place, one member inside the meeting told CNN.

6am – E DEMINT OFFICIALLY OUT AT HERITAGE FOUNDATION:

• Top staffers leave Heritage Foundation following DeMint resignation: report. (The Hill) — Top staffers loyal to ousted Heritage Foundation president Jim DeMint have stepped down from organization, according to a new report. The Daily Beast reported Tuesday evening that top staffers — including Executive Vice President Bret Bernhardt, Vice President of Communications Wesley Denton, Vice President of Policy Promotion Ed Corrigan and DeMint’s chief of staff, Camera Seward, have resigned. The Heritage Foundation announced DeMint’s resignation earlier Tuesday, blaming the former leader for “significant and worsening management issues that led to a breakdown of internal communications and cooperation.” DeMint, a former South Carolina senator, took the helm of Heritage in 2013. “Jim DeMint and a handful of his closest advisers failed to resolve these problems,” read a statement from the organization. Heritage’s interim leader Ed Fuelner announced the staffers’ resignation at a staff meeting, according to the report.
• DeMint defends tenure following resignation–full statement here: “I will continue to be part of that great fight for freedom for years to come and I’m excited about the next chapter in my work for the conservative movement. The public statement released earlier is puzzling given that the board of trustees has praised our work for four years and approved performance bonuses for the entire management team each year for a job well done. It also stands in stark contrast to the independent review by the University of Pennsylvania which publicly recognized advances in Heritage’s scholarship, management and integrity over the last 4 years, and improved Heritage’s rankings in virtually every category. In fact, Heritage was recognized as the 13th Best Managed Think Tank in the world in 2016.
• DEMINT OFFICIALLY OUT AT HERITAGE / HERITAGE STATEMENT: “The Heritage Foundation’s Board of Trustees, by a unanimous vote, has asked for and received the resignation of Jim DeMint as president and CEO of the organization. The Board elected Heritage Founder Ed Feulner as president and CEO while we conduct a thorough search for his successor. After a comprehensive and independent review of the entire Heritage organization, the Board determined there were significant and worsening management issues that led to a breakdown of internal communications and cooperation. While the organization has seen many successes, Jim DeMint and a handful of his closest advisers failed to resolve these problems. This was a difficult and necessary decision for the Board to take. As trustees, we have governance and oversight responsibilities for this organization and our 500,000 members. We were compelled to take action.”

6am – F PUTIN NEWS:

• Megyn Kelly will reportedly make NBC debut with Putin interview. (Washington Examiner) – Megyn Kelly will reportedly make her debut on NBC by moderating an international conference that includes Russian President Vladimir Putin in June. Kelly is slated to moderate a session of Russia’s annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which will include an interview with Putin. According to Page Six, NBC President Andy Lack has made frequent trips to Moscow to lay the groundwork for the interview. The former Fox News anchor, who announced her move to NBC in January, officially started at the network Monday, according to reports. She will host two shows for NBC, including a Sunday night newsmagazine show, which starts in June, along with a daily “inspirational talk” show, which will start in the fall.
• Trump speaks to Putin for first time since Syrian missile strikes. (Daily Mail) – Trump and Putin agree to ‘end the violence’ in Syria during a ‘very business-like’ phone call amid strained relations and discuss a potential summer showdown meeting. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed working together to end the violence in Syria on Tuesday in their first phone call since U.S. air strikes in Syria strained U.S.-Russian relations. The White House said the two leaders agreed that ‘all parties must do all they can to end the violence’ in Syria and that Trump and Putin also discussed working together against Islamic militants throughout the Middle East. ‘The conversation was a very good one, and included the discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons,’ a White House statement said.

7am – A INTERVIEW – MARY KATHARINE HAM – senior writer at The Federalist, a CNN Contributor and co-author of “End of Discussion”

• TOPICS: DC Voucher Program, Hillary whines about losing and budget battle in Congress
• DC VOUCHER PROGRAM: Congress expected to reauthorize D.C. school vouchers in sweeping budget deal. (Washington Post) — Congress is expected to extend the D.C. school voucher program as part of a bipartisan budget deal this week, a move that follows the release of a new federal analysis showing that some voucher recipients in private schools trailed their public-school counterparts on standardized tests. The legislation would re­authorize the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which helps 1,100 low-income students attend private schools, through fiscal 2019. The program is the only federally funded effort of its kind.
• BUDGET: Conservatives fume over “complete” spending concession to Democrats
• HILLARY WHINES: Clinton: ‘If the election had been on October 27, I would be your president’

7am – B/C DaddyOFive father, stepmom lose custody of 2 children following YouTube prank video investigation. (Fox 5 DC) — ROCKVILLE, Md. – A father and stepmother who faced backlash for posting controversial online prank videos involving their children have lost custody of two of them to their biological mother. Mike and Heather Martin had been under fire for the extreme videos posted to their DaddyOFive YouTube channel. Videos with titles like “PSYCHO CLOWN ATTACKS FAMILY” and “DAD PUNCHES KID IN THE FACE” show extreme pranks involving the family. Last month, many members of the online community who viewed the videos claimed the children featured were being abused and that child protective services should step in. An online petition was also created in an attempt to get child protective services involved. In a video posted online Monday, Rose Hall, the biological mother of two of the children, said that she had emergency custody of 9-year-old Cody and 12-year-old Emma. “They’re doing good,” Hall said in the video first reported on by The DailyMail. “They’re getting back to their playful selves.” “It was very heartbreaking and disturbing to see my kids being abused,” Hall also said. “Cody had a difficult time when the officer brought him out to the car. He said some things that were disturbing — that he hated me.”

7am – D INTERVIEW – SENATOR CHRIS VAN HOLLEN – (D-MD) – junior United States Senator from Maryland, serving since January 3, 2017. From 2003-17, he served as the U.S. Representative for Maryland’s 8th congressional district.

• Conservatives fume over “complete” spending concession to Democrats
• White House, Democrats claim victory in budget deal. (CNN)The White House and Democrats on Capitol Hill both took a victory lap Monday after congressional negotiators reached a budget deal Sunday night to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. Democrats on Capitol Hill rejoiced, pointing to the lack of funding for Trump’s proposed wall on the Mexican border and increases in domestic spending — rather than the massive cuts Trump had proposed — as a victory for Democrats and a blow to the President. Meanwhile, the White House touted a double-digit, multibillion-dollar increase in military spending and $1.5 billion in border security funding as political wins. “I think it’s great that the Democrats like the bill. That’s fantastic,” OMB Director Mick Mulvaney said. “We thought this was a really good deal for this administration as well. Everything that we got in this deal (Sunday) — last night — lines up perfectly with the President’s priorities.”

7am – E George Washington University resident advisors are voting to unionize on Wednesday. (DCist) — After a two-year organizing effort and a recent National Labor Relations Board ruling in their favor, George Washington University resident advisors are voting to unionize on Wednesday. If successful, they would set a national precedent as the first unionized RAs at a private university. ” GW hires about 110 resident advisors each year to live in the university dorms. They receive free housing (valued at around $12,600) and a stipend of $2,500 in exchange for spending about 20 hours a week on coordinating programming, advising students, and other duties. A group of students filed a petition to unionize two years ago, arguing that the pay scale is unfair and their contracts are too vague, prompted by the addition of new requirements and a series of firings they deemed arbitrary. “The university does not believe that it makes sense to apply a federally regulated system of collective bargaining to students who are participating for a period of time in a program as part of their educational experience,” Dean of Students Peter Konwerski told RAs in a letter. The university echoed that argument before the NLRB, saying that introducing a union would make RAs less effective at serving residents and that the role is primarily part of the RA’s academic life rather than an economic relationship. The National Labor Relations Board rejected the claim. “Plainly, the RAs are not providing these services voluntarily—the RAs unquestionably receive something of value in exchange for their services,” wrote regional director Sean R. Marshall. “I do not doubt that when current and former RAs reflect on the time they spent as RAs, they believe the experience was educational and was instrumental in their future career accomplishments. However, the same can be said for many of one’s life experiences, whether they are educational, social, religious, or occupational. Employment experiences can simultaneously be educational or part of one’s personal development, yet they nonetheless retain an indispensable economic core.”

8am – A INTERVIEW – ROBERT COSTA – National political reporter, Washington Post and Moderator of Washington Week, the weekly news analysis series on PBS – discussed the budget battle.

8am – B/C Should We Have A “Good Shutdown” Now Or Later?

• Conservatives fume over “complete” spending concession to Democrats
• President Trump tweets “our country needs a good ‘shutdown’ in September to fix mess!”
• Trump calls spending bill a “clear win” hours after tweeting his frustration at the bill

8am – D INTERVIEW – JONAH GOLDBERG – columnist, Senior Editor at National Review and a Fellow at AEI – analyzed Hillary Clinton’s comments.

• Clinton: ‘If the election had been on October 27, I would be your president’

• Hillary Clinton: ‘I was on the way to winning’ until Comey probe, Wikileaks
• linton: Putin interfered to “hurt me”
• Hillary Clinton says misogyny played role in her election loss, but says “I think other things did as well.”
• Clinton: It ‘Would Have Been a Really Big Deal’ If I’d Won
• Hillary Clinton: “I’m now back to being an activist citizen, and part of the resistance.”

8am – E Lynda Carter Defends Wonder Woman’s Breasts In Response To UN Controversy. Why People Need To Get Over Wonder Woman’s Breasts, According To Lynda Carter. (ComicBook.com) – Last October, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the DC heroine who has stood for peace, justice and equality, the United Nations declared October 21 officially Wonder Woman Day and appointed the Amazonian princess as the Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls. A special ceremony was held and attended by Lynda Carter, who portrayed the character on the ’70s live-action television series, and Gal Gadot, who portrays Wonder Woman in the DCEU. It was huge step forward for female empowerment and gender equality; however, only two months later, Wonder Woman was stripped of her honorary ambassadorship. Why? Because over forty-thousand people signed a petition, which was presented to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, protesting her appointment. They felt as though “the character’s current iteration is that of a large breasted, white woman of impossible proportions, scantily clad in a shimmery, thigh-baring body suit.” In a recent interview, Carter issued a no-holds-barred response to the controversy. She began by defending the size of Wonder Woman’s breasts. “Well, excuse me, women have breasts!” the 65-year-old actress/jazz singer exclaimed to The Daily Telegraph. “Superman has got a big pouch in his crotch, so does Spider-Man and Green Lantern and their muscles are bulging — no one has a problem with that If they have a problem with a female who is strong, they’re missing the entire point; it’s the ultimate sexism to say because she has big breasts and a costume on, that is what you think represents her and who she is. Women do have breasts and women can defend themselves and fight back. Wonder Woman is about telling the truth.” As for the protesters complaining about Wonder Woman being a “white woman,” Carter pointed out how silly that rationale is: “I’m half Hispanic and [Gal Gadot] is Israeli.”