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Mornings on the Mall
Thursday June 22, 2017
Hosts: Mary Walter and Larry O’Connor

5am – A/B/C Are you changing your life because of terrorism? Gallup Poll: More Americans Less Willing to Attend Big Events, Travel Abroad, Due to Terror Threat (Breitbart) A new Gallup poll released Wednesday finds that an increasing number of Americans are less willing to attend crowded events due to a fear of terrorism — while almost half of those polled are less keen on traveling abroad. The poll found 38 percent of Americans are less willing to attend events where there are “thousands of people,” up from 27 percent in 2011 and the highest level recorded since Gallup started asking the question in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack. The survey, taken between June 7-11, comes after a recent spate of Islamic terror attacks. The U.K. has seen three terror attacks by Islamic radicals — two in London and one in Manchester — since March. On Tuesday an Islamic jihadist attempted to detonate a bomb at a subway station in Brussels, before being shot and killed by authorities, although the poll was conducted before the thwarted attack.

5am – D Rep. Trey Gowdy Grills Jeh Johnson: “No Evidence Of Trump Collusion With Russia” (Real Clear Politics) Rep. Trey Gowdy grills former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson about whether he saw any evidence that President Trump had any ‘connections’ to Russians during the 2016 campaign. Johnson testified about Russia in front of the House Intelligence Committee Wednesday, and Gowdy didn’t let him off the hook for failing to prevent massive election interference. “[Russia is] a career offender when it comes to attacking the foundations of our Republic,” Gowdy asserted. “They have a history of cyber attacks on our country. You warned before the elections that they may attack our voting infrastructure. After the election President Obama took steps to target Russia.”
5am– E Washington Post claims Democrat Ralph Northam has early lead in Virginia governor’s race, poll finds “Democrat Ralph Northam has an early eight-point lead over Republican Ed Gillespie in the Virginia governor’s race, according to a new survey released on Wednesday. The poll by Quinnipiac University found 47 percent of Virginia voters backed Northam, the state’s sitting lieutenant governor, while 39 percent backed Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee. It’s one of the earliest general election polls in what’s expected to be a hard-fought campaign in Virginia, one of just two states with gubernatorial contests in November. The governor’s race is seen as an early test of politics in the era of President Trump, and both national parties have identified it as a priority.”

6am – A/B/C Does not learning English hold immigrants back? Illiteracy Among Hispanic Immigrants Persists Across Generations (Daily Caller) Hispanic immigrants and their children lag far behind other migrant populations in the U.S. when it comes to developing proficiency in English, according to a new analysis from a Washington immigration policy think tank. About two-thirds of Hispanic immigrants who have been in the U.S. for at least 15 years can be considered “functionally illiterate” in English, says independent public policy analyst Jason Richwine. In his report for the Center for Immigration Studies, a conservative-leaning nonprofit that advocates lower levels of immigration, he looked at data from a literacy test administered to more than 8,000 Americans from 2012 and 2014 and discovered some worrying results. Richwine found that 67 percent of first-generation Hispanics scored at the “below basic” level on the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) test of English proficiency. In contrast, just 22 percent of non-Hispanic immigrants who had been in the U.S. for at least 15 years were at the “below basic” level of literacy.
6am – D/E/F Prince William school board approves LGBT protections for students, staff (Washington Post) A divided Prince William County School Board on Wednesday approved anti-discrimination protections for LGBT students and employees, taking a stand on an issue that has roiled districts across the country. Both Roem, a Democrat, and Marshall witnessed Wednesday night’s vote along with hundreds of others, listening as board members weighed the implications of including sexual orientation and gender preference to the school district’s nondiscrimination policy. The change, which the board approved 5 to 3, would offer blanket protections against LGBT discrimination. But it specifically instructs the superintendent not to change the system’s policy on bathroom use, which is for situations to be handled by school principals on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with students’ families and administrators. Marshall — who argues that allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice opens the door for sexual predators — said in an interview before the vote that the new policy would put the district at risk of being sued by students or staff who consider their school’s decision on bathroom use a form of discrimination. He also suggested that teachers and school administrators could get sued if they use the wrong pronouns to refer to transgender individuals. “Unless people have some sign on their forehead indicating what pronoun you want, you’re not going to be able to achieve this,” Marshall said. Roem said in an interview that it is important to include gender identity and sexual orientation in the anti-discrimination policy to guard against bullying that can often lead to violence.

7am – A ALEX PAPPAS – White House Reporter for Washington Examiner
TOPIC : Nancy Pelosi
Chuck Todd: Pelosi Remains a ‘Big Drag’ for Democrats in Some Districts
On today’s MTP Daily, Chuck Todd took a look at a political figure he said may have loomed larger than President Trump in the Georgia special election last night: Nancy Pelosi. As Todd noted, Republicans have successfully used Pelosi as a foil in previous House campaigns, and one of Karen Handel‘s closing arguments before her victory over Jon Ossoff is that voters don’t want “Nancy Pelosi’s guy coming in to try to buy this seat.”“It is Pelosi,” Todd said, “who remains a pretty big drag for Democrats at the polls in certain districts, particularly this one.” He added that Democrats should be thinking about how hard it will be to appeal to voters in a time of change if, on the question of who will lead them, “the answer is still Nancy Pelosi.” (Mediate)

7am-B In Freeing Illegal Alien Gang Member Obama Judge Says U.S. Violated Rights of Due Process, Family Unity (Judicial Watch) An Obama-appointed federal judge in Virginia ordered an illegal immigrant member of a violent street gang released from prison because immigration authorities supposedly violated his rights when he entered the U.S. illegally through Mexico. The Honduran teen crossed the Rio Grande during the influx of illegal alien minors a few years ago and turned himself into the U.S Border Patrol, according to a lengthy mainstreamnewspaper article, after acknowledging his gang history. The feds held him without a hearing in Virginia because he’s also a known drug dealer, but this month he was freed by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon. The judge ruled that, by holding the illegal alien gangbanger without a hearing, the government violated his rights to due process and family unity.

7am-C Men can’t wear shorts to work, so they’re wearing skirts Men across Europe are complaining about what they see as unfair dress codes. With temperatures reaching record highs in the French city of Nantes, bus drivers of the CFDT Semitan union showed up to work wearing skirts, as they are not allowed to wear shorts despite the hot conditions. According to the International Business Times, the drivers called the shorts ban “absurd,” and pointed out that female drivers are allowed to wear skirts, but men are not allowed to wear shorts. “Our uniform is not appropriate for these high temperatures. We envy women at moments like this,” Didier Sauvetre, a driver from the CFDT union, told the local Presse Ocean news site.

7am – D INTERVIEW – JAMES PHILLIPS – Senior Research Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at Heritage Foundation
Topic: Kushner’s trip to the Middle East
Kusher met with Prime Minister Netanyahu soon after his arrival Wednesday. “This is an opportunity to pursue our common goals of security, prosperity, and peace,” Netanyahu told Kushner. “I know of your efforts and the President’s efforts, and I look forward to working with you to achieve these common goals.”
On Wednesday morning, Kushner also met with the family of Hadas Malka, the 23-year-old border police officer who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian attacker near Damascus Gate on Friday.
The Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are questioning why the White House didn’t suspend the security clearances of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and presidential adviser Jared Kushner, after questions arose about their contacts with Russian officials.

7am – E Street artist Sabo shot to fame during the 2016 US election with his politically incorrect approach. Now he’s plastering LA with controversial works (The Guardian) Under cover of darkness, he peppers public spaces in LA with images and slogans targeting liberals, whom he associates with “pot-smoking lazy bums” hostile to western values. He puts the same images and slogans on posters, T-shirts and pins which he sells from his website and at Republican party gatherings across the US.
“I think leftism is a mental disorder,” Sabo, 49, said in an interview at his home. “I truly believe I’m fighting the good fight.” “Republicans are the new punk,” said Sabo, echoing a slogan on his T-shirt also adorned with an image of Trump in a three-piece suit, looking rather rakish, giving the finger. “I’m pretty much the only right-winger doing guerrilla art. I’m like patient zero, the first one doing this on our side.”

8am A/B/C– Trump in Iowa: President calls for barring immigrants from welfare for five years (FOX News) President Trump announced Wednesday night that he will soon ask Congress to pass legislation banning immigrants from accessing public assistance within five years of entering the U.S. “The time has come for new immigration rules that say … those seeking immigration into our country must be able to support themselves financially and should not use welfare for a period of at least five years,” Trump told a campaign-style rally in Grand Rapids, Iowa. Foreigners with non-immigrant visas and those who don’t have legal status are generally prohibited from those benefits altogether.Trump’s proposal would also prevent the admission of people who are likely to become so-called “public charges” within five years of their arrival. The concept of “public charge” has been part of U.S. immigration law for over a century. It allows the government to bar entry to individuals who are likely to seek public assistance. Trump is expected to propose toughening up the rules regarding “public charge” and ensuring that they are enforced.
8am – D PHIL KERPEN – president of American Commitment
Topic: New Healthcare Bill
Senate Republican leaders are set to release details of their legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act after weeks of closed-door negotiations. Republican senators will receive the legislation first in a meeting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday with the first public glimpse at the proposed bill coming shortly afterwards.
Trump calls GOP health care bill ‘mean’ and Democrats pounce, Republicans worry
8am – E Tomi Lahren: ‘Being a Conservative is Harder Than Being a Woman’ months after being fired from The Blaze for daring to suggest that giving women control over their bodies is consistent with the conservative, small-government agenda, known feminist activist (note sarcasm) Tomi Lahren spoke at last week’s Young Women’s Leadership Summit, according to the Dallas Morning News. “There’s no better place to be a woman than the United States of America,” she declared, employing the typical “you could be starving or sex trafficked or denied education in some other country so just suck it up and settle for what you have, in this country” line of reasoning and, of course, ignoring how very soon poor women across the country could lose birth control and health insurance. She continued, “It’s hard to be conservative sometimes,” and added that “one of the hardest things to be is a conservative.”