Byron York, Charlie James, Phillip Stucky and HUD Secretary Ben Carson joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

5am – A/B/C   AMERICANS MORE DIVIDED THAN EVER: The findings help explain why political divisions are now especially hard to bridge. People who identify with either party increasingly disagree not just on policy; they inhabit separate worlds of differing social and cultural values and even see their economic outlook through a partisan lens. The wide gulf is visible in an array of issues and attitudes: Democrats are twice as likely to say they never go to church as are Republicans, and they are eight times as likely to favor action on climate change. One-third of Republicans say they support the National Rifle Association, while just 4% of Democrats do. More than three-quarters of Democrats, but less than one-third of Republicans, said they felt comfortable with societal changes that have made the U.S. more diverse. The survey says we agree we’re divided but disagree on why.

5am – D         DACA NEWS:

• ‘Modern Family’ producer’s vulgar attack on Christians over DACA starts with an ‘F-You’. The executive producer of one of the least Christian shows on television is preaching about what Christianity means. And he is cussing at Christians who support President Donald Trump to do it. Danny Zuker, the executive producer of ABC’s “Modern Family” gave Christians that support the president’s decision to end DACA a straight “F**k you” in a Twitter tirade after the decision was announced. “Dear Christian, if you support @realdonaldtrump’s decision to end DACA then your Christianity is bulls–. But on the other hand, f- you,” he wrote.
• STEVE KING SAYS THEY CAN LIVE IN THE SHADOWS OR BE DEPORTED. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, a conservative firebrand with a history of making incendiary remarks about immigrants and culture, said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s decision to wind down DACA will give undocumented immigrants a choice to either “live in the shadows” or face deportation. “They came here to live in the shadows and we’re not denying them that opportunity to live in the shadows,” King told NBC News when asked about where immigrants would go after their authorizations under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program expire.
• 15 STATES & DC SUE: Fifteen states and the District of Columbia filed a joint lawsuit on Wednesday challenging the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which grants temporary work permits to thousands of young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. The lawsuit, which the group filed in the Eastern District of New York, contends that the Trump administration’s move to end the Obama-era program is unconstitutional and violates federal statute. 

5am – E         RUSSIA NEWS: DOSSIER / DON JR AND RICE on the hill

• Susan Rice interviewed with House Intel Committee in Trump-Russia probe on Wednesday. Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice appeared on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for a meeting with the House Intelligence Committee, presumably as it relates to the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, specifically the issue of the “unmasking” of Trump associates during the presidential transition.  Rice was seen entering the Capitol by CBS News early Wednesday morning as she was expected to face questions from lawmakers in a closed-session of interviews.
• Donald Trump Jr. to face Thursday grilling before Senate Judiciary panel. Trump Jr. to speak with Senate judiciary committee in a closed-door meeting tomorrow, sources say. Washington (CNN)Donald Trump Jr. is headed for a staff-level interview with the Senate judiciary committee Thursday and will have to appear publicly or will be subpoenaed, a top senator told CNN. In addition to Trump Jr., former national security adviser Susan Rice will speak with lawmakers in Congress Wednesday morning, a source with direct knowledge told CNN. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, told CNN her panel “will have a public hearing with Mr. Trump at an appropriate time.”
• So Rep Nunes now threatening to hold AG Sessions & FBI Director in *contempt* if they don’t turn over dossier docs. Nunes vents anger at Sessions over subpoena, threatens to hold AG, FBI chief in contempt.  (CNN)House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes lashed out at Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week in a letter where he threatened Sessions with a public grilling if he doesn’t produce documents about the Russia dossier to the House intelligence committee. Nunes, who despite stepping aside from directing the House Russia investigation has been leading his own separate investigation, accused Sessions and the FBI of stonewalling him repeatedly in a September 1 letter obtained by CNN. In the letter, he threatened to drag Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray before the committee for a public grilling and hold them in contempt of Congress — a jailable offense — if they don’t hand over the documents. The House intelligence committee issued a pair of subpoenas last month seeking documentation of whether the FBI or Justice Department used material from the dossier compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele as part of the federal investigation into possible collusion between the campaign of President Donald Trump and the Kremlin. Nunes also writes that he subpoenaed to discover whether information from the Russia dossier was used in the crafting of applications to conduct surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. In the letter, which was signed only by Nunes and no other members of the House intelligence committee, Nunes explained that he was extending the deadline for responding to the subpoenas to September 14. But he capped it off with a sharp threat.
• FBI & DOJ SUBPEONAED: FBI and Justice Department are handed subpoenas for what they know on notorious Trump ‘golden showers’ dossier.  The U.S. House Intelligence Committee has issued subpoenas to the Justice Department and FBI for documents related to a dossier that alleged Russia collected compromising material on Donald Trump, the panel’s top Democrat said on Tuesday. Representative Adam Schiff told MSNBC in an interview that he and other Democrats on the committee objected to the subpoenas, which he said Republicans issued in an attempt to discredit its author, former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. Republicans have said it is important to understand the genesis of the dossier and whether it was created to sabotage Trump during his successful campaign for president.
• VESELNITSKAYA SAYS NO ONE HAS CONTACTED HER: (NBC News) – But one person who has not reached out to her is the man investigating any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, Special Counsel Robert Mueller — or anybody working for him, she told NBC News in an exclusive interview. In fact, no U.S. officials have asked to speak with her, she said. “I haven’t received [any such requests],” she said in a telephone interview from Moscow. “The more I analyze the situation I find myself in, the more I am beginning to feel as if I were in some show, a movie. I play the lead, but no one has discussed with me or shown me the script.”

6am – A/B/C Trump cuts deal with Schumer, Pelosi, agrees to raise debt limit. President Donald Trump sided with Democrats on adding a three-month extension of the U.S. debt limit and government spending to a hurricane-relief bill over the arguments of fellow Republicans, who pressed for a longer debt extension, said several people with knowledge of the discussions.

6am – D         HURRICANE IRMA:

• IRMA: At least nine dead in Caribbean, 16 million more lives in its path. (WMAL) –  Hurricane Irma hammered a string of northeast Caribbean islands, thrashing them with rain and winds of up to 180 mph, and leaving at least nine people dead. The hurricane battered several islands, including Barbuda, St. Martin and the British Virgin Islands. Its howling winds tore leaves from palm trees, ripped off roofs and windows from buildings, and slammed tall waves into hotels. The eye of one of the strongest storms recorded in the Atlantic is making its way toward a possibly devastating hit on Florida over the weekend. The National Hurricane Center described Irma as “extremely dangerous.
• Hurricane Irma: 90% of buildings on Caribbean island Barbuda destroyed by storm. (independent) – Prime Minister Gaston Browne said tiny island nation left ‘barely habitable’. The tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda has been devastated by Hurricane Irma, the most powerful Atlantic Ocean storm recorded in history. Around 90% of the nation’s structures and vehicles have been destroyed, killing at least one person, Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said. Irma passed over Barbuda early on Wednesday as a Category 5 hurricane. The storm has left a trail of destruction across the eastern Caribbean, leaving at least eight people dead in total.
• Irma lashes at Puerto Rico, leaves tiny Barbuda devastated: SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Irma lashed Puerto Rico with heavy rain and powerful winds Wednesday, leaving more than 600,000 people without power as authorities struggled to get aid to small Caribbean islands already devastated by the historic storm. Nearly every building on the island of Barbuda was damaged when the eye of the storm passed almost directly overhead early Wednesday and about 60 percent of the island’s roughly 1,400 people were left homeless, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne told The Associated Press. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Irma lashed Puerto Rico with heavy rain and powerful winds Wednesday, leaving more than 600,000 people without power as authorities struggled to get aid to small Caribbean islands already devastated by the historic storm. Florida rushed to prepare for a possible direct hit on the Miami area by the Category 5 storm with potentially catastrophic 185 mph winds. Nearly every building on the island of Barbuda was damaged when the eye of the storm passed almost directly overhead early Wednesday and about 60 percent of the island’s roughly 1,400 people were left homeless, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne told The Associated Press. “Either they were totally demolished or they would have lost their roof,” Browne said after returning to Antigua from a plane trip to the neighboring island. “It is just really a horrendous situation.”
• PUERTO RICO: (ABC News) –  Irma, which is approximately 450 miles wide, has had sustained winds of at least 180 mph for a longer period of time than any other Atlantic storm on record. As of 2 a.m. ET on Thursday, Irma was about 140 miles north-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico and moving west-northwest at about 16 mph. The hurricane is forecast to move north of U.S. territory this evening, unleashing strong winds and heavy rain. The Puerto Rican Electrical Energy Authority said about 950,000 customers were without power as of 9 p.m. ET Wednesday. The highest recorded wind gust in San Juan was 63 mph, but persistent heavy rain from Irma is expected to continue for hours and flash flood warnings have been issued across northeastern Puerto Rico, including San Juan. Flash flooding was occurring in Puerto Rico as of 8 p.m.
• PATH: Irma’s projected path goes through the Bahamas Friday into Saturday morning and the storm is expected to curve north toward Florida by late Saturday afternoon.  On Sunday morning, Irma is expected to approach just south of Miami as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 145 mph. Forecasts show Irma weakening to a Category 3 hurricane near Daytona Beach on Monday morning as it creeps up the east coast. The storm is expected to then move up the Florida coast as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 125 mph.
• Amtrak says it will temporarily suspend service in Florida due to Hurricane Irma.
• JetBlue, American, Delta cap ticket prices out of Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma. (Yahoo) –  JetBlue (JBLU) is capping its ticket prices in every city in Florida where the airline operates so people can evacuate as Hurricane Irma barrels through the Caribbean. JetBlue will charge a maximum of $99 up to the last available seat for direct flights and a maximum of $159 up to the last available seat for connecting flights, a JetBlue representative told Yahoo Finance. That includes government taxes. The airline has also added flights to its schedule out of select cities where they have aircraft available. For existing reservations, JetBlue is waiving cancellation fees as well as waiving change fees and differences in air fare for rebooking. “Given that many Floridians are struggling to get out of harm’s way, this is welcome news,” Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) said in an emailed statement sent by a spokesman. “I hope more airlines do the right thing and follow suit.” Other airlines followed JetBlue’s lead. On Wednesday afternoon, American Airlines (AAL) said it would also cap its airfares.

6am – E         HURRICANE HARVEY UPDATE:

• Janet Jackson Promises Houston Fans She’s ‘Doing Something Special’ for Hurricane Harvey Victims (People) – Janet Jackson is taking her tour to Houston and has a special surprise for fans who were affected by Hurricane Harvey. The star took to Twitter on Wednesday to confirm the news that she would be performing in Houston despite the devastation left in the area by the hurricane and the storm that followed. “We’re going to roll in early because we wanted to visit some of the shelters,” she said. “And not just visit some of the shelters, we also want to do something special. So, we’ll see you Friday!”
• Beyonce, Streisand to headline Harvey relief telethon. NEW YORK (AP) — Beyonce, Blake Shelton, Barbra Streisand and Oprah Winfrey will headline a one-hour telethon to benefit Hurricane Harvey victims that will be simulcast next week on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CMT. The event will be telecast live at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 12, and on tape delay at 8 p.m. on the West Coast, and streamed live on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Houston rap artist Bun B and Scooter Braun, a Hollywood talent manager and founder of SB Projects, are the organizers. Bun B, a Houston native and lecturer at Rice University, said he was trying to organize a local event through his contacts and recognized that Harvey was a broader tragedy.
• House passes $7.9 billion aid bill for Hurricane Harvey. The House overwhelmingly approved a $7.85 billion measure this afternoon for response to Hurricane Harvey, with the goal of landing the legislation on President Donald Trump’s desk by week’s end. The aid bill now heads to the Senate, where GOP leaders plan to link it to a separate effort to raise the debt ceiling. But an offer this morning from Democratic leaders has complicated that calculus.
• Texas is invaded by millions of MOSQUITOES after Harvey. Texas is invaded by millions of MOSQUITOES after Harvey: Shocking video shows man covered in the bugs as officials warn flooding will cause the population to keep growing.  Houston is expecting an ‘explosion’ of mosquitoes due to standing water after Hurricane Harvey. (Daily Mail) – Hurricane Harvey has already displaced thousands of people, devastated cities, and taken at least 60 lives.  Now the storm is responsible for an explosion in Texas’ mosquito population. The stagnant flood water provides new breeding ground for potentially millions of mosquitoes, bringing new threats of disease with them. Flooding may wash away some of the breeding pools, but the mosquito population is only expected to grow. Tyler Bennett and a coworker captured cell phone footage of thousands of mosquitoes swarming them in Refugio, Texas.

6am – F         LOCAL UNIVERSITIES REACTING TO DACA:

• American University president rejects call to become a sanctuary campus. (Washington Examiner) –  The president of American University on Tuesday rejected calls to become a “sanctuary” campus, but offered her support to students who could be affected by the Trump administration’s decision to rescind President Obama’s immigration initiative known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. “While some presidents have declared their campuses as ‘sanctuaries,’ we agree with the findings of many other universities and respected immigration attorneys that asserting such a status would have no basis in the law,” American University President and former Health and Human Services Secretary under President Obama, Sylvia Burwell, said in e-mail to students obtained by the Washington Examiner Tuesday. “The institution does not have the authority to exempt itself from federal immigration law. I share the concerns of others that claiming such status could be counterproductive, and could lead to greater risk for our students,” Burwell added.
• Maryland universities vow to defend ‘dreamers’ on campus. (Baltimore Sun) – Since President Donald Trump announced an end to protections for immigrants brought to the United States as children on Tuesday, several Maryland universities have begun pushing back and pledging to explore ways to protect “dreamers” on their campuses. That includes not only advocacy for a legal fix in Washington, but also legal, financial and mental health resources for students so they may continue their educations. “We stand firm in our support for undocumented students’ access to public education, particularly our own ‘dreamers,’ students of diverse backgrounds earning degrees at UMBC through provisions of the Maryland Dream Act,” wrote Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and other school officials in a letter to students and faculty. The Maryland Dream Act is a 2012 law that offers in-state public tuition rates to certain undocumented immigrants. It was passed after former President Barack Obama created the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, with a memo the same year.

7am – A         INTERVIEW: BYRON YORK – chief political correspondent for the Washington Examiner

• TRUMP DOSSIER: FBI and Justice Department are handed subpoenas for what they know on notorious Trump ‘golden showers’ dossier
• DEBT CEILING DEAL: Trump cuts deal with Schumer, Pelosi, agrees to raise debt limit

7am – B/C     INTERVIEW – CHARLIE JAMES – a radio host from WTMA in Charleston SC – who is currently on vacation in Puerto Rico

• Irma lashes at Puerto Rico, leaves tiny Barbuda devastated: SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Irma lashed Puerto Rico with heavy rain and powerful winds Wednesday, leaving more than 600,000 people without power as authorities struggled to get aid to small Caribbean islands already devastated by the historic storm. Nearly every building on the island of Barbuda was damaged when the eye of the storm passed almost directly overhead early Wednesday and about 60 percent of the island’s roughly 1,400 people were left homeless, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne told The Associated Press. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Irma lashed Puerto Rico with heavy rain and powerful winds Wednesday, leaving more than 600,000 people without power as authorities struggled to get aid to small Caribbean islands already devastated by the historic storm. Florida rushed to prepare for a possible direct hit on the Miami area by the Category 5 storm with potentially catastrophic 185 mph winds. Nearly every building on the island of Barbuda was damaged when the eye of the storm passed almost directly overhead early Wednesday and about 60 percent of the island’s roughly 1,400 people were left homeless, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne told The Associated Press. “Either they were totally demolished or they would have lost their roof,” Browne said after returning to Antigua from a plane trip to the neighboring island. “It is just really a horrendous situation.”
• PUERTO RICO: (ABC News) –  Irma, which is approximately 450 miles wide, has had sustained winds of at least 180 mph for a longer period of time than any other Atlantic storm on record. As of 2 a.m. ET on Thursday, Irma was about 140 miles north-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico and moving west-northwest at about 16 mph. The hurricane is forecast to move north of U.S. territory this evening, unleashing strong winds and heavy rain. The Puerto Rican Electrical Energy Authority said about 950,000 customers were without power as of 9 p.m. ET Wednesday. The highest recorded wind gust in San Juan was 63 mph, but persistent heavy rain from Irma is expected to continue for hours and flash flood warnings have been issued across northeastern Puerto Rico, including San Juan. Flash flooding was occurring in Puerto Rico as of 8 p.m.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – PHILLIP STUCKY – Daily Caller News Foundation reporter who covered the Charlottesville marchers coming into D.C. yesterday.

7am – E         MENENDEZ TRIAL

• U.S. District Court Judge William H. Walls told a lawyer for Sen. Robert Menendez to “shut up for a moment” as the two engaged in a heated argument during the first moments of the New Jersey Democrat’s corruption trial. (Politico) – Shortly after court proceedings began, defense attorney Raymond Brown criticized Judge William H. Walls for a line in his opinion on Friday that rejected Menendez’s request that the trial be recessed on days where the Senate is taking “critical” votes, so that the senator can be in Washington.
• Opening Arguments in Menendez Trial Focus on the Meaning of Friendship. (NY Times) — NEWARK — Senator Robert Menendez spent seven years enjoying a “life of luxury he could not afford” in return for acting as a personal senator to a wealthy ophthalmologist in Florida, federal prosecutors told jurors here on Wednesday during the opening chapter of a case whose outcome could reverberate far beyond New Jersey. But a defense lawyer argued that those actions were rooted in a friendship — “that one word, friendship, that the evidence will show is the true nature of that relationship. And acting out of friendship is not improper, it is not corrupt, it is not illegal.”
• Fake news: NBC News corrects AP story identifying Bob Menendez as a Republican. (Newsbusters) — On Wednesday, NBCNews.com published an Associated Press dispatch on the bribery trial of Democratic Senator Bob Menendez (N.J.), but there was one huge problem in that Menendez was labeled a Republican. Translation? NBC News saw no reason to engage in basic proofreading or got caught red-handed in the act of liberal bias. The unauthored post sat for well over two hours before being changed. NBCNews.com offered a correction at the bottom of the story: “CORRECTION (Sept. 6, 2017, 5:35 p.m.): An earlier version of this article misstated the party affiliation of Menendez. He is a Democrat, not a Republican.

8am – A         CLINTON’S WHINY BOOK:

• Sen. Bernie Sanders on Hillary Clinton’s criticism: “Look forward and not backward”
• Former Speaker Newt Gingrich: “Every time you listen to Hillary Clinton you know why she lost… 4 years of Hillary whining would’ve been an awful lot.”
• Hillary Clinton says her concession call with Trump was “without a doubt one of the strangest moments of my life”
• Trump hits new low in public opinion — but he’s still beating Hillary Clinton
• Clinton Slams Biden in Memoir for ‘Remarkable’ Criticism About Campaign Failing to Address Middle Class
• Clinton’s score-settling frustrates Democrats (The Hill) — Clinton is settling old scores in a campaign tell-all book — and angering some Democrats in the process. Excerpts from “What Happened,” the Clinton campaign memoir scheduled to be released next week, find her letting loose on the Democratic Party’s most popular figures and venting frustration with a process that culminated in her shocking election defeat by Donald Trump. Not everyone was so charitable. Even some of Clinton’s allies have grown weary of her insistence on re-litigating the 2016 campaign at a time when the Democratic Party is looking to forge a new identity in the age of Trump. “The best thing she could do is disappear,” said one former Clinton fundraiser and surrogate who played an active role at the convention. “She’s doing harm to all of us because of her own selfishness. Honestly, I wish she’d just shut the f— up and go away.”

8am – B         DEBT CEILING / IVANKA DROP BY:

• Trump cuts deal with Schumer, Pelosi, agrees to raise debt limit. President Donald Trump sided with Democrats on adding a three-month extension of the U.S. debt limit and government spending to a hurricane-relief bill over the arguments of fellow Republicans, who pressed for a longer debt extension, said several people with knowledge of the discussions.
• GOP leaders “visibly annoyed” when Ivanka Trump interrupted Oval Office meeting: reports.  Republican leaders on the Hill were “visibly annoyed” that Ivanka Trump joined an Oval Office meeting to “say hello” during their Wednesday meeting with President Trump on a must-pass spending bill, according to reporters who spoke with an aide.
• Ivanka Trump showed up at Trump’s mtg /Hill Ds & Rs to pitch child tax credit, @DanaBashCNN reports,but GOP “shell shocked” by his deal w/Ds
• Speaker Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong pushes back at reporting that GOP “annoyed” by Ivanka Trump showing up at WH mtg:”That’s not true”

8am – C         Kelly trades West Wing neophytes for Washington insiders

Trump’s chief of staff is ushering out top aides who came from Trump Tower and Breitbart News while courting people with Washington experience. (Politico) — President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly, is tightening his grip on the West Wing, thinning staff he considers extraneous while bringing in new blood to professionalize a White House that has suffered from internal turmoil. For the new hires, the retired general is looking to seasoned political hands rather than the neophytes who made up the first wave of aides brought in by Trump, many of whom never had clear portfolios, according to eight current and former White House officials. Mercedes Schlapp, wife of American Conservative Union chairman Matthew Schlapp, is expected to be Kelly’s first high-profile addition. She’s in talks to join the White House in a senior role in the communications department, according to three White House officials with knowledge of the situation. It’s the latest sign of Kelly’s transformation of the West Wing from a drama-filled social hub into a more buttoned-down workplace that resembles previous administrations, at least in structure and process.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – DR. BEN CARSON -Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

• Harvey Recovery Will Take Time, HUD Secretary Ben Carson Says. Dr. Ben Carson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, will talk about recovery efforts and his department’s role in assisting Texas and Louisiana property owners affected by flooding — and now Florida.
• His efforts to reform HUD
• President Trump to host entire cabinet at Camp David this weekend
• Ben Carson performed historic conjoined twin separation surgery 30 years ago YESTERDAY. On Sept. 6, 1987, Dr. Ben Carson completed a 22-hour pioneering operation that separated 7-month-old West German Siamese twins, who were joined at the back of the head. Carson led a 70-person team as director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and used a first-of-its-kind strategy that involved dropping the twins’ temperatures down to 68 degrees to stop their hearts and bloodflow. The twins, named Patrick and Benjamin Binder, were considered critical but stable after the surgery, and given a 50-50 chance of survival, according to a United Press International article from 1987.

8am – E         Civil rights group wants Kid Rock’s concerts in Detroit canceled, cites his comments about Colin Kaepernick. (AP News) – DETROIT (AP) — The choice of Kid Rock as the opening act for a new sports arena in mostly black Detroit has injected the musician into the national debate over race and culture because of his embrace of the Confederate flag, an expletive-laced criticism of NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and unabashed support for President Donald Trump. Olympia Entertainment selected Kid Rock to open the new Little Caesars Arena with concerts next week. Kid Rock, who is white, has been lauded for his philanthropy and support of Detroit, but his recent criticism of Kaepernick has prompted one civil rights organization in Detroit to plan a protest and call for the concerts to be canceled. Kaepernick, who is black, refused to stand during the national anthem while with the San Francisco 49ers last year in protest of police violence and social injustice. During a concert last month in Iowa, Kid Rock told fans that “football’s about ready to start,” then went on to say, “You know what? (expletive) Colin Kaepernick,” the Des Moines Register reported. Kid Rock, who is from the Detroit suburbs and proudly claims the city as his home, has six concerts scheduled at the $860 million, 20,000-seat arena, starting Tuesday — a move that Peter Hammer, director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Detroit’s Wayne State University, called “incredibly tone deaf.”