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Mornings on the Mall

Monday July 17, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

5am – A Trump slams Washington Post-ABC News poll for past inaccuracies after low approval rating (Washington Examiner) President Trump attempted to discredit a new poll that found his approval rating sits at 36 percent, the lowest six-month approval rating of any past president in polls going back decades. “The ABC/Washington Post Poll, even though almost 40% is not bad at this time, was just about the most inaccurate poll around election time!” Trump tweeted.

5am – B/C/D Sekulow defends Donald Trump, Jr.’s meeting with Russian lawyer (Fox News) SEKULOW: Well, now, but, look, this was — here’s what happened. First of all, nothing happened. There’d be no exchange of information. But in and of itself, that meeting, the relevancy of the differential that you just put forward, the relevancy of whether it was a Russian lawyer or other individuals that Donald Trump, Jr., knew, the fact is what took place during that meeting, even on the basis of the emails as Donald Trump, Jr., laid them out, were not violations of the statutes.

Trump slams ‘fake news’ for treating son unfairly and ‘distorting democracy’ (Twitter) “HillaryClinton can illegally get the questions to the Debate & delete 33,000 emails but my son Don is being scorned by the Fake News Media?” the president said in a series of posts.

“With all of its phony unnamed sources & highly slanted & even fraudulent reporting, #Fake News is DISTORTING DEMOCRACY in our country!”

Secret Service: Trump, Jr. not under protection during meeting with Russian lawyer (Politico) The U.S. Secret Service on Sunday said Donald Trump Jr. was not under protection during his meeting with a Russian attorney in June 2016, adding that they would not have screened any of his meetings. “Donald Trump, Jr. was not a protectee of the USSS in June, 2016. Thus we would not have screened anyone he was meeting with at that time,” Secret Service spokesman Mason Brayman said in a statement to Reuters. On Sunday morning, Jay Sekulow, a member of Trump’s legal team, questioned on ABC News’ “This Week” why the Secret Service allowed Trump Jr. to meet Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. “Well, I wonder why the Secret Service, if this was nefarious, why the Secret Service allowed these people in. The president had Secret Service protection at that point, and that raised a question with me,” he said.

5am- E Ann Coulter continues online attacks on Delta until 4AM (The Daily Beast) The rightwing firebrand continued tweeting until 4am EST Monday morning, accusing the airline of being ‘fascist’ and trying to control her free speech after it attacked her ‘slanderous’ comments. Coulter has plenty of critics, but supporters and detractors alike have usually assumed her to be in possession of a thick skin. Delta said in a statement that Coulter had originally booked a window seat in an exit row, but changed it to one in the aisle less than 24 hours before. The airline said it “inadvertently” moved Coulter during boarding, to another window seat in the same row “when working to accommodate several passengers with seating requests.” The airline said that while there was some confusion over seating assignments initially, all passengers complied with a flight attendant’s request to move to the seats listed on their ticket. It was only when Coulter began tweeting on Saturday that Delta became aware of the issue, the airline said. Many commentators on social media were quick to draw a contrast between Coulter’s frequent complaints about the ‘victim mentality’ of liberals and minorities and her own sense of outrage at what could reasonably be construed as a minor inconvenience.

6am – A/B/C Veteran working at Home Depot says he was fired because he confronted shoplifters. If you were him, would you realistically stop shoplifters? (Fox News) A 70-year-old veteran says he’s out of a job after he tried to stop some thieves from leaving the Home Depot store where he worked. It appears what he saw as doing the right thing was against company policy. Recently, Tinney said he saw three men carrying tool sets worth thousands of dollars to the checkout area at Home Depot. He said they seemed nervous. Tinney said without thinking, he tossed the paint roller extension he was holding, and ran to stop one of the men. The men ended up getting away. Tinney said he thought it was over, until two weeks later, when he was fired. He said he never imagined his actions would get him fired. Tinney admitted he learned during training at the store not to confront shoplifters, but he said his decision to act was a reflex. A spokesman for Home Depot said in a statement: “We have a strict policy that only our trained security personnel can pursue and engage shoplifters. We’ve had deaths and serious injury over the years, and no amount of merchandise is more important than the safety of our associates and customers.” Tinney said he’s having trouble finding a new job. It’s been a tough lesson for a man who’s been around the world, serving his country. He said serving the company he worked for might mean holding off on what seems like a good deed.

6am – D Healthcare vote update On Fox News Sunday, SEN. RAND PAUL: “I still think the entire 52 of us could get together on a more narrow, clean repeal and i think it still can be done.” On CNN Face the Nation, SEN. SUSAN COLLINS: “This bill will have deep cuts to Medicaid.” ON ABC, This Week, JONATHAN KARL asks SEN. SUSAN COLLINS if it can get passed: COLLINS: “I don’t know. I think it would be extremely close. There are many of us who have concerned about the bill, particularly the cuts in the Medicaid program, but there are other problems with the bill, as well. It could lead to insurance plans that really are barely insurance at all. It would cause premiums to increase for some very vulnerable individuals, including those with pre-existing conditions, depending on what states decide to do, so — there are a lot of us who have concerns about the bill. On the Senate side, I would estimate that there are about eight to ten Republican senators who have deep concerns, but how this would all trance late out, I’m not certain. I never underestimate Leader McConnell’s skills.”

6am – E INFIDELMO! Afghanistan’s Sesame Street gets new Muppet who will teach boys to respect girls (The Daily Caller) Afghanistan’s version of “Sesame Street” introduced a new Muppet aimed at teaching Afghan boys how important it is to respect girls. The Muppet, a 6-year-old boy named Zeerak, joins his sister Zari to promote gender equality in education and life on the show “Sesame Garden,” the Associated Press reported Saturday. “In a male-dominant country like Afghanistan, I think you have to do some lessons for the males to respect the females. So by bringing a male character to the show who respects a female character, you teach the Afghan men that you have to respect your sister the same way as you do your brother,” Massood Sanjer, the head of the channel that broadcasts the program, explained.

Bill Nye gets Emmy nomination for ‘Sexual Spectrum’ episode (The Daily Caller) Comedian Bill Nye received an Emmy Award nomination Thursday for his Netflix show’s “Sexual Spectrum” episode. The Television Academy Awards nominated writers on “Bill Nye Saves The World” for a musical number suggesting that sexuality exists on a spectrum. The episode raised concern from conservatives and YouTube denizens alike, many of whom mocked the show for awkwardly associating social sciences with physical sciences. “It’s been a record-breaking year for television, continuing its explosive growth,” Television Academy Chairman Hayma Washington said in a press statement announcing this year’s Emmy nominations. “We are thrilled to once again honor the very best that television has to offer.” The nominated episode features the music video, “My Sex Junk,” which was published on YouTube and aired in April on Netflix, features actress Rachel Bloom singing a song about transgenders, gay sex and how sexuality is a fluid concept. Bloom’s song appears to lament the fact that humans are relegated to living lives as male or females.

“The Thirteenth Doctor is on her way”: Jodie Whittaker becomes first female “Dr. Who” in the series’ 54 years (WTOP) British actress Jodie Whittaker was announced Sunday as the next star of the long-running science fiction series “Doctor Who” — the first woman to take a role that has been played by a dozen men over six decades. Whittaker, best known for playing the mother of a murdered boy in detective drama “Broadchurch,” will replace Scottish actor Peter Capaldi at the end of the year, the BBC said. Whittaker is the 13th official incarnation of the Doctor, a galaxy-hopping Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels in the Tardis, a time machine shaped like an old-fashioned British police telephone booth. In a testament to the place “Doctor Who” holds in Britain’s cultural life, the revelation was made on live television after the Wimbledon men’s tennis final. A film clip showed a mysterious hooded figure — revealed to be Whittaker — walking through the woods. “Doctor Who” ran from 1963 to 1989, and was revived to acclaim in 2005. Its longevity is partly due to its flexible premise. The central character, known only as the Doctor, can travel across space and time and can regenerate into new bodies — allowing for endless recasting of the role. Speculation had been mounting that a woman would get the role, generating excitement from some fans and opposition from others who feel that the character has been established as male.

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

TOPIC: Legal issues with Donald Trump, Jr.; WH moving to fill judicial seats

• Trump slams ‘fake news’ for treating son unfairly and ‘distorting democracy’
• Sekulow defends Donald Trump, Jr.’s meeting with Russian lawyer
• Secret Service: Trump, Jr. not under protection during time of meeting with Russian lawyer
• There are currently 137 vacancies, giving President Trump a chance to move the judiciary sharply to the right

7am – B Game of Thrones new season aired last night; are there shows or movies you wait to watch with your spouse? Have you ever cheated and watched anyway? Game of Thrones has returned for its seventh season – and the critics are generally quite happy about it. “It was a thrill to have the show back and it looked more stunning than ever,” wrote The Independent’s reviewer. “By the end of the episode it is clear that the stage is now set for a war of truly epic proportions,” wrote Jess Kelham-Hohler of the Evening Standard. Yet Digital Spy’s Alex Mullane did feel the episode – entitled Dragonstone – was “a little underwhelming in places”. The first episode of the show’s seventh series was broadcast in the US on Sunday evening and in the early hours of Monday morning in the UK. Only one more season of the epic fantasy saga, inspired by the works of author George RR Martin, is planned after this one.

7am – C Distraught Hillary Clinton supporter uses unused election night confetti for art installation (Breitbart) A Hillary Clinton supporter left distraught by Donald Trump’s election night win has created an art installation with unused confetti from Clinton’s election party. This was the night on which Clinton hoped to break through the “glass ceiling,” a report from CNN has revealed. Bunny Burson, who was present at the Javits Center, where Clinton planned her victory speech, on the night of the election, noticed the “overwhelming emptiness” of the evening and sought to channel it into something positive. “Hillary Clinton has been a beacon for me really as a woman,” Burson told CNN. “That’s really where I thought that this was going, to be the election of all elections to inspire women.” As a result, Burson set herself on a mission to locate the unused confetti from the Javits Centre. When she eventually located the company, she found they had 200 pounds of unused confetti from election night, which had been stationed in cannons for Clinton’s election victory. Burson consequently bought it all and used it for her piece. The installation features confetti floating up and down within a glass snow globe, emblazoned with the words: “And Still I Rise.”

7am – D INTERVIEW – SUSAN FERRECHIO – Chief Congressional Correspondent for the Washington Examiner

TOPIC: Healthcare vote

• Vote is being stalled again due to Sen. McCain’s absence, whose vote Republicans are depending on; already two who oppose
• Congressional Budget office (CBO) analysis will likely influence debate, show how Americans will be impacted
• Important for Republicans that premiums go down; Sen. Cruz’ plan would potentially fence off high-risk individuals who need more care, but allow premiums to go down for some

7am – E Disney wants to build a Westworld for Star Wars fans (The Verge) This weekend at its D23 Expo, Disney offered several new details about its themed expansion land Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. But it was a much briefer announcement, confirming rumors that the company was working on an immersive, themed hotel set in George Lucas’ universe that offered perhaps the most intriguing hint of where the company sees its parks and resorts businesses going. Basically, Disney wants to build a Westworld for Star Wars fans. That sounds like a bit of hyperbole on its face, but as described by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Bob Chapek, the project amounts to almost exactly that. “We are working on our most experiential concept ever,” he told the crowd during a Saturday panel. “It combines a luxury resort with immersion in an authentic environment.”

8am – A INTERVIEW – KEN CUCCINELLI – President of the Senate Conservatives Fund and former Attorney General for Virginia

TOPIC: Obamacare fight in the Senate and Democrats’ obsession with Russia

• Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell delays vote on GOP healthcare bill while Sen. John McCain recuperates from surgery to remove a blood clot
• Sen. Susan Collins to ABC’s This Week: GOP healthcare bill “would make sweeping and deep cuts to the Medicaid program.” Collins, on why she’s a ‘no’: Medicaid, Medicaid, Medicaid
• Sen. Rand Paul: I don’t think McConnell has the votes to pass GOP healthcare bill
• Trump slams ‘fake news’ for treating son unfairly and ‘distorting democracy’
• Sekulow defends Donald Trump, Jr.’s meeting with Russian lawyer
• Secret Service: Trump, Jr. not under protection during time of meeting with Russian lawyer

8am – B Caitlyn Jenner considering run for Senate (Washington Examiner) Reality TV star and transgender activist Caitlyn Jenner is considering running for the Senate. Jenner, a Republican, told radio host John Catsimatidis she “would look for a senatorial run.” “I like the political side of it,” she said in an interview that aired Sunday. “The political side of it has always been very intriguing to me. Over the next six months or so, I gotta find out where I can do a better job. Can I do a better job from the outside? Kind of working the perimeter of the political scene, being open to talking to anybody? Or are you better from the inside, and we are in the process of determining that.” Jenner has been vocal in recent months about the Republican Party’s stance on LGBT issues. She warned President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions in February in a video posted via Twitter she would see them in court in response to his administration’s decision to repeal guidelines on public school bathrooms for transgender students. On Thursday she said during an appearance on “The View” she had a meeting with Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to discuss LGBT issues worldwide.

Are Democrats afraid of Kid Rock’s run? (Boston Herald)

8am – C University of Maryland op-ed claims colleges should only allow speech that doesn’t offend (DBK News) When is something outside the parameters of acceptability? Where does free speech end and offensive rhetoric begin? When is political correctness appropriate, and when is it used to avoid what makes us uncomfortable? These are pressing questions that college campuses around the country are struggling to answer.

8am – D Bride-to-be calls off wedding, invites homeless to her reception (Indianapolis Star) Sarah Cummins and Logan Araujo were supposed to get married this weekend. The two young people had been planning a dream wedding for two years — a $30,000 extravaganza. A week ago, she called it off (she prefers not to say why), and both were left with broken hearts and a nonrefundable contract for a venue and a plated dinner for 170 guests Saturday night at the Ritz Charles in Carmel. “It was really devastating,” said Cummins, a 25-year-old pharmacy student at Purdue University. “I called everyone, canceled, apologized, cried, called vendors, cried some more and then I started feeling really sick about just throwing away all the food I ordered for the reception,” she said. She decided to bring some purpose to the couple’s pain. After discussing it with Araujo, she worked with event planner Maddie LaDow at the Ritz Charles to rearrange the reception area, then started contacting homeless shelters in Indianapolis and Noblesville and inviting residents to her party.

8am – E Make America Great Again bathing suits (Daily Mail) A number of female Trump supporters have been posting images of themselves in the family’s branded-clothing lines over the past few months. These photos have begun to grow in popularity and are now causing a bit of a craze on social media. The most popular outfit choice by far this summer is a one-piece women’s swimsuit in metallic blue that reads: ‘Make America Great Again’. That was designed using Trump’s campaign slogan and retails for $40 online