Montgomery County YR’s Dan McHugh, Heritage’s James Carafano, legal analyst Joe diGenova, AEI’s Dalibor Rohac and MD attorney Andrew Jezic joined WMAL on Monday!

Mornings on the Mall

Monday, May 8, 2017

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Mary Walter

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C It’s Time to Shame Bad Parents. (By Derek Hunter/TownHall) – “I learned a new term this week: lunch shaming. What is lunch shaming? It’s when parents don’t pay their children’s lunch bills at school so the schools make them eat food I lived a large portion of my life surviving off of. We really are out of problems if this is an issue worthy concern for society. The New York Times had a big story on how children were made to eat cheese sandwiches because their parents had paid off their school lunch debt.  Now, it’s been a while since I was in school, but I do remember school lunches costing a couple of bucks. And I remember I was allowed to buy a school lunch one day per week because that was all my parents could afford. Free lunch was not an option. While we might have qualified – I honestly have no idea how much my father made but I know it wasn’t a lot – the government teat was not an option. My family had pride and my parents provided for me and my siblings, undoubtedly at their own expense.  The idea of parental sacrifice for the good of their children is now dead. “The school will feed them” is the new way of life. But it shouldn’t be.  One of the students mentioned in the Times piece said, “I was so embarrassed,” about being denied the school food she wanted and given lesser “cheese sandwich” level food…for free.  According to the paper, the family qualified for free lunches but “a paperwork mix-up” caused confusion and led to the denial. No, bad and lazy parenting led to the denial.”

5am – D         CRITTER NEWS:

• Sea Lion Spotted Wandering the Streets of San Diego After Getting Washed Ashore During Storm. A little sea lion was captured waddling around San Diego, California, on Sunday after a major storm. A local NBC reporter captured the little sea lion waddling around in a video, explaining the adorable animal was wandering after storms had washed it ashore. “Poor little guy! Baby sea lion washed ashore in this storm & is now wandering San Diego streets. @SeaWorld enroute to rescue it! #NBC7,” Liberty Zabala posted on her Twitter account.
• Family dog wakes up owners during home fire in Minnesota. (FOX 9 Mineapolis) — RED WING, Minn. –  A Red Wing family was evacuated from their burning home Saturday morning, after their dog woke them up. At 1:56 a.m., the Red Wing Fire Department responded to a call about a garage fire on the 1900 block of Burton Street. Paramedics responded within five minutes, only to find the garage fully engulfed in flames. Flames and smoke extended into the house, damaging the second floor and attic. Everybody in the house was evacuated safely, including a cat who was administered oxygen before being returned to the family.
• Always Dreaming wins Kentucky Derby on sloppy track. (USA TODAY Sports) – LOUISVILLE — In big money race after big money race, the combination of trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez has been powerful across the country for nearly two decades. Now, their partnership has claimed the ultimate prize. Always Dreaming, who didn’t break his maiden until Jan. 25 but showed his talent in Florida this spring with a series of stunning performances, delivered a powerful victory in the 143rd Kentucky Derby on Saturday, splashing through the Churchill Downs stretch 2 3/4 lengths in front  of 33-to-1 longshot Lookin At Lee. Though it was the second Derby victory for both Pletcher and Velazquez, winning it as a team was a long time coming.
• Derby winner Always Dreaming scheduled to arrive Tuesday for May 20 Preakness. (Baltimore Sun) — Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming will arrive at Pimlico Race Course on Tuesday morning to get an early start on preparations for the May 20 Preakness. It’s a strategic move for trainer Todd Pletcher, who endured several tense moments as he tried to settle Always Dreaming in the runup to the Derby.
• BEES! KC Royals Stadium was invaded by bees.  The Royals were about to play their final game in a series against the Cleveland Indians when a group of bees gathered on first row of the upper deck in the Kaufmann Stadium. The bees were attempting to make a hive right above the Indians’ dugout.
• Do you give your dog a birthday? Three in four owners celebrate with half also throwing a party. (Daily Mail) — 75 per cent of dog owners celebrate their pooch’s brithday with 58 per cent even singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to their doted upon hounds.   More than half of owners prepare birthday meal for their canine companion. Lily’s Kitchen have created a nutritious dog equivalent to a birthday cake. Three quarters of dog owners celebrate their pet’s birthdays, new research reveals. With many owners considering their dogs part of the family – and 14 per cent saying their dog is like their child – animal birthday parties are becoming more lavish. Some 75 per cent of pet owners celebrate their dog’s birthday with 58 per cent even singing the famous ‘Happy Birthday’ song.

5am – E         LEGAL NEWS:

• Texas governor signs into law bill to punish ‘sanctuary cities’ (Reuters) — Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed into law on Sunday a measure to punish “sanctuary cities,” despite a plea from police chiefs of the state’s biggest cities to halt the bill they said would hinder their ability to fight crime. The Texas measure comes as Republican U.S. President Donald Trump has made combating illegal immigration a priority. Texas, which has an estimated 1.5 million illegal immigrants and the longest border with Mexico of any U.S. state, has been at the forefront of the immigration debate. “As governor, my top priority is public safety, and this bill furthers that objective by keeping dangerous criminals off our streets,” Abbott said in a statement. The law will take effect on Sept. 1. The Republican-dominated legislature passed the bill on party-line votes and sent the measure to Abbott earlier this month. It would punish local authorities who do not abide by requests to cooperate with federal immigration agents.
• Court Rules Trump State Dept Must Release Clinton Emails of Obama Response to Benghazi. (CNSNews.com) — Despite legal pleadings from the Trump State Department, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for D.C., has ordered the department to release eight paragraphs from emails sent by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sept. 12, 2012 “regarding phone calls made by President Barack Obama to Egyptian and Libyan leaders immediately following the terrrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi,” reported Judicial Watch.  In the Sept. 11, 2012 Benghazi attack by Islamic radicals, 4 American personnel were murdered, including our ambassador, Chris Stevens. In addition, for weeks following the attack, the Obama administration and Secretary Clinton falsely claimed the assault was caused by an anti-Muslim video posted on YouTube.  The eight paragraphs in question were redacted in previous Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by Judicial Watch.  The unredacted emails requested “had the subject line ‘Quick Summary of POTUS Calls to Presidents of Libya and Egypt,’ and were among emails stored on Clinton’s unofficial email server,” said Judicial Watch. “Judge Jackson reviewed the documents directly and rejected the government’s contention that the records had been properly withheld under” a FOIA “deliberative process” exemption. The emails may reveal what Secretary Clinton and President Obama knew about the Benghazi attack the day after it happened.  Judicial Watch argues that there is a “deliberate effort by the State Department to protect Clinton and the agency by avoiding identifying emails on Clinton’s unofficial, non-secure email server as classified.”  “Does President Trump know his State and Justice Departments are still trying to provide cover for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama?” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

6am – A         INTERVIEW – DAN MCHUGH of The Montgomery County Young Republicans

• Rape charges dropped against teens in Rockville High case. (Fox 5 DC) — ROCKVILLE, Md. – Prosecutors have dropped rape charges filed against two Rockville High School students accused of raping a fellow 14-year-old student in a school bathroom. The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office came to the decision to drop the charges against Jose Montano, 17, and Henry Sanchez-Milian, 18, after reviewing security video from the school, talking to witnesses and text messages exchanged between the girl and the defendants. “We have concluded that the facts in this case do not support the original charges filed in this matter,” said Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

6am – B         HEALTH CARE NEWS:

• As some Republicans rush to defend House health bill, Senate GOP warily pauses. (Washington Post) — Several Republican leaders have formed a political barricade around the health-care bill that narrowly passed the House last week, defending how the legislation would change insurance coverage for people with preexisting illness or injury. But while House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Trump administration officials on Sunday rallied around the House legislation after intense criticism from Democrats, who say the bill would strip protections, moderate Senate Republicans were outright dismissive.
• Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said on ABC’s “This Week”: “The House bill is not going to come before us… the Senate would be “starting from scratch.”
• Obama urges ‘political courage’ to save Affordable Care Act. (Politico) — ‘It takes great courage to champion the vulnerable and the sick and the infirm.’ BOSTON — Barack Obama on Sunday night called on members of Congress to exercise the “political courage” to not repeal Obamacare — his first public comments about the law since the House voted to repeal it on Thursday, and a rare entry into the current political debate since leaving office. “I hope they understand that courage means not simply doing what’s politically expedient, but doing what, deep in our hearts, we know is right,” Obama said, in a speech here at the John F. Kennedy Library accepting the Profiles in Courage award in honor of what would have been Kennedy’s 100th birthday. “I expect to be busy, if not with a second career, at least a second act,” Obama said, promising more involvement.

6am – C         THANK YOU to our listeners who came out to WMAL’s Free Speech Forum at the Birchmere!

6am – D         INTERVIEW – JAMES “JIM” CARAFANO – Vice President for the Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation – discussed the French election and what it means for Europe and national security abroad.

6am – E         WEATHER – CHILLY SPRING WORKWEEK AHEAD!

• Workweek weather: Cool, dry conditions roll in for week ahead. WASHINGTON — The storm system that brought the rain and thunderstorms at the end of last week — followed by lingering showers Saturday and Sunday — were all the result of a blocked-up weather pattern that was establishing itself called an Omega Block. It gets its name from the shape of the jet stream winds, resembling the capital Greek letter Omega (Ω). It’s definitely a bit jargon-y, but it’s worth mentioning because they’re fairly common in the spring and they can last for days and days, if not weeks.
• Today|Sunny to partly cloudy. High 64F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
• Tonight|Some passing clouds. Low near 45F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
• Tomorrow|Sunny skies. High 66F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
• Tomorrow night|Partly cloudy skies. Low around 50F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
• Wednesday|Mostly sunny. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the mid 50s.
• Thursday|Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the mid 50s.
• Friday|Showers possible in the afternoon. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 50s.
• Saturday|Mainly cloudy and rainy. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the low 50s.

6am – F         Kathleen Matthews chosen to lead Md. Democratic party.  (Baltimore Sun) — Maryland Democrats chose Montgomery County businesswoman Kathleen Matthews, who had the support of party leaders, on Saturday to lead their party through the 2018 election. Matthews, who had been acting chairman since March 1, defeated party activist Tony Puca, 471-33, in a vote of the party’s state central committee in Greenbelt. She succeeded D. Bruce Poole of Washington County, a former House majority leader who had served as chairman since shortly after the Democrats lost the governorship in the 2014 election. Matthews, a former television journalist, came in third place last year in the Democratic primary to replace Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who would be elected to the U.S. Senate. State Sen. Jamie Raskin of Montgomery won that contest. The new chairman promised to capitalize on the heightened activism among Democrats resulting from the election of Republican President Donald J. Trump. Matthews, 63, is the wife of Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC’s “Hardball” news program.

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

• Texas governor signs into law bill to punish ‘sanctuary cities’
• Court Rules Trump State Dept Must Release Clinton Emails of Obama Response to Benghazi.
• Rape charges dropped against teens in Rockville High case.

7am – B/C     Calls on the Rockville High case developments.

7am – D         ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

• Emma Watson wins first gender-neutral acting prize at revamped MTV movie awards. (The Guardian) — Actor recognised for her role in the live-action Beauty and the Beast, as MTV abolishes gender categories in its film and TV awards ceremony. Emma Watson was among the winners at the MTV movie and TV awards, the first major film and TV awards ceremony to adopt gender-neutral categories. Watson’s performance in Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast won her the gong for best actor in a movie, a category that featured both male and female nominees. The British actor beat male performers including Hugh Jackman and James McAvoy to the award, which was presented by gender-neutral nonbinary actor Asia Kate Dillon. In her acceptance speech, Watson described the award as “very meaningful”.
• Piers Morgan blasts Emma Watson over gender-neutral MTV Awards. Piers Morgan has slammed Emma Watson for accepting the non-gender award for ‘Best Actor’ at last night’s MTV Movie and TV Awards, sarcastically blasting the Beauty and the Beast star as “a worthy recipient” of the new prize. However, Morgan has criticised MTV’s decision to introduce the new categories, and reserved particular ire for Watson for accepting the honour. Speaking on today’s episode of Good Morning Britain, Morgan ranted: “Gender neutral awards, just what the world was craving. I can’t think of a better recipient than Emma Watson, a great flag bearer of all things gender neutral… Women will now win a lot less awards because they’ve made them gender neutral and there are more male actors so actually in trying to get equality you end up with more inequality,” he continued. “It’s a masterpiece.”
• “SNL” mocks “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski’s “naughty” relationship (Washington Examiner) — This week “Saturday Night Live” returned with a spoof of MSNBC’s weekday morning talk show “Morning Joe.” The cold opening featured sexual tension between hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, portrayed by SNL’s Alex Moffat and Kate McKinnon. Just this week it was announced that the two are engaged following speculation that they shared an off-air romance. The skit focused on their reporting on the Republican healthcare bill, which would partially repeal and replace Obamacare. But much to their panelists’ horror, the two repeatedly got caught up on words that were taken as having suggestive meanings. “Oh Mikaaaa,” Moffat said in reaction to one of McKinnon’s rants on the legislation, which she said might take away healthcare from 24 million Americans. “That’s enough. You’re being sickety because you know it pushes my buttons,” he said, ending with emphasis. “Does it, push your buttons,” she said as she got close and began playing with Moffat’s hair.
• Box Office: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Rockets to No. 1 With $145 Million. And just like that, Star-Lord and his band of super buddies are back on top of the box office. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” blasted into domestic theaters this weekend to kick off the summer box office to the tune of $145 million at 4,347 locations. The latest from Disney and Marvel was expected to make $140 million, but possibly more by some analysts considering the studio’s track record and enthusiasm that the first go-around generated.
• Rob Schneider: S. Needs ‘Restraining Order’ Against Hillary Clinton. (Daily Caller) — Actor Rob Schneider continues to hammer Hillary Clinton, this time tweeting that she needs to be served a restraining order. “At this point, I believe a judge should grant America a restraining order against Hillary Clinton for stalking,” he wrote. Rob Schneider @RobSchneider: “At this point, I believe a judge should grant America a restraining order against Hillary Clinton for stalking.”

7am – E         SPORTS NEWS:

• The Washington Capitals avoided elimination by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 in Game 5 on Saturday night. WASHINGTON (AP) — Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin scored 27 seconds apart in the third period as the Washington Capitals avoided elimination by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 in Game 5 on Saturday night.
• WIZARDS TIE UP THE SERIES! Wizards beat Celtics 121-102 in Game 4. Bradley Beal scored 29 points and Washington Wizards used a 26-0 third-quarter run to beat the Boston Celtics 121-102 on Sunday night to tie the second-round series at two games apiece. John Wall added 27 points and 12 assists for Washington. Wall had seven points, three assists and two steals during the third-quarter spree that featured eight Celtics turnovers. Otto Porter scored four of his 18 points in the dominant six-minute span that also included five points from Markieff Morris. Trailing 53-48 before the run, Washington led 74-53 on Porter’s layup with 5 minutes left in the third. The Wizards led by as many as 26 and outscored the Celtics (237-191) in the two games in D.C. Isaiah Thomas had 19 points for Boston, but scored 17 in the first 15 minutes and was held to 1-of-6 shooting after. Game 5 is Wednesday in Boston. The series winner will face Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – DALIBOR ROHAC – research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies European political and economic trends

• TOPIC: Macron Decisively Defeats Le Pen in French Presidential Race.
• Discuss the French election and what it means for Europe and abroad

8am – B         HEALTH CARE NEWS:

• As some Republicans rush to defend House health bill, Senate GOP warily pauses.
• Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said on ABC’s “This Week”: “The House bill is not going to come before us… the Senate would be “starting from scratch.”
• Obama urges ‘political courage’ to save Affordable Care Act

8am – C         THANK YOU to our listeners who came out to WMAL’s Free Speech Forum at the Birchmere!

8am – D         INTERVIEW — ANDREW JEZIC — Maryland Criminal Lawyer and the attorney for 18-year-old Henry Sanchez-Milian, who was accused in a rape of a 14-year-old girl at Rockville High School

• Rape charges dropped against teens in Rockville High case. ROCKVILLE, Md. – Prosecutors have dropped rape charges filed against two Rockville High School students accused of raping a fellow 14-year-old student in a school bathroom. The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office came to the decision to drop the charges against Jose Montano, 17, and Henry Sanchez-Milian, 18, after reviewing security video from the school, talking to witnesses and text messages exchanged between the girl and the defendants. “We have concluded that the facts in this case do not support the original charges filed in this matter,” said Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

8am – E         Fans fall for hoax advertising new season of classic 90s show Friends.

For one golden (albeit fake) moment on Saturday, 90s sitcom Friends was coming back for a 11th season.  A post on facebook by “David Schwimer” suggesting the entire original cast were reuniting for a new season looked so legitimate  – to some – it had fans of the show flipping out.  “It has just been made official!” the post said. “All 6 cast members have signed on and we’re back for ONE more season!! #Theonewheretheycomeback #Friends2018” Except the real star of Friends is David Schwimmer and he played Ross Geller, not Ross Gheler as the fake account spelled it.  Despite being an obvious hoax, the post had more than 200,000 likes and 330,000 shares.  Friends ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.  In 2016, most of the cast reunited for a 2 hour special celebrating the show. It was panel event, not a scripted show. Matthew Perry, who played fan favourite Chandler Bing, did not attend.  In April Lisa Kudrow poured cold water on the idea that there would ever be a Friends reunion saying it was hard enough to get them all together for dinner let alone a TV show.  “It’s six people – how easy it is for you to get six of your friends together?”