Joe diGenova, Trevor Matich, Dr. Sebastian Gorka and Chuck Thies joined WMAL Radio on Monday!

Mornings on the Mall

Monday, November 13, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C   ROY MOORE ALLEGATIONS: Should He Drop Out? Why Do So Many in Alabama Still Support Him?

• Poll: Nearly 40 percent of Alabama evangelicals say they’re more likely to vote for Moore after allegations

5am – D         PODESTA PROBLEMS:

• Podesta Group on the verge of shuttering amid ties to Mueller probe. (CNN) – Kimberley Fritts, the chief executive of the Podesta Group, told employees during a Thursday staff meeting that the firm would cease to exist at the end of the year, according to two sources. Employees were asked to clear out their desks and were told they may not be paid beyond November 15, multiple sources said.
• John Podesta Met With Fusion GPS Founder After Trump Dossier Was Published. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta met with the founder of the opposition research firm behind the Trump dossier just after the dirty document was published earlier this year, according to a new report in The New York Times. The revelation is significant because Podesta, a longtime Democratic operative, recently told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he did not know who paid the research firm, Fusion GPS, to produce the dossier, which BuzzFeed published on Jan. 10. An associate of Podesta’s told The Times that he met with Glenn Simpson, the founding partner of Fusion GPS, to compare notes about Russia’s meddling in the election.

5am – E         NFL/GOODELL NEWS:

• NO PROTESTS AT VETERAN’S DAY GAMES: No NFL players protested during the national anthem before early games as the league celebrated Veterans Day weekend by honoring the military. The NFL Players Association had asked all players to observe a two-minute moment of silence before games to honor veterans.
• ROB O’NEILL (the Navy SEAL who killed bin Laden): A lot of @NFL teams are wearing camouflage for Veterans Day like it’s cool. Maybe they should man the fuck up and tell their players to stand for The Anthem.
• GOODELL’S FUTURE WITH THE NFL STILL UNCERTAIN: (ESPN) – The NFL’s Compensation Committee will hold a conference call Monday to discuss and further push ahead the proposed extension for commissioner Roger Goodell, sources confirmed to ESPN.
• NFL’s Goodell wants $50 million per year, lifetime use of private jet. (Axios) — The NFL’s compensation committee is meeting Monday to discuss an extension of Commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract, and he’s seeking $49.5 million per year in addition to lifetime use of a private jet and lifetime health insurance for his family, ESPN reports. The backdrop: Goodell’s ask comes amid reports that NFL ratings are on the decline and after some advertisers stopped airing messages during games due to the controversial protests that have taken place during the national anthem.

6am – A         Did George Takei Admit To Sexual Assault Charges In This Howard Stern Interview? Update: Takei Responds

• George Takei @GeorgeTakei: Friends, I’m writing to respond to the accusations made by Scott R. Bruton. I want to assure you all that I am as shocked and bewildered at these claims as you must feel reading them. /18:01 AM – Nov 11, 2017
• George Takei @GeorgeTakei: The events he describes back in the 1980s simply did not occur, and I do not know why he has claimed them now. I have wracked my brain to ask if I remember Mr. Brunton, and I cannot say I do. /2 8:03 AM – Nov 11, 2017
• A former model and actor is accusing Star Trek icon George Takei of sexual assault in 1981. The accuser, Scott R. Brunton, who was 23 at the time of the alleged incident, claims that Takei took advantage of him when he was most vulnerable.
• Woman accuses Richard Dreyfus, but she can’t remember a lot of the details, sooooo I’m skeptical.

6am – B         TRUMP’S ASIA TRIP:

• Trump mocks Kim Jong Un for being short and fat
• Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Nov 11: Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me “old,” when I would NEVER call him “short and fat?” Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen!
• Trump taunts North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in tweet: `I would NEVER call him short and fat.’ HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — President Donald Trump is exchanging school yard taunts with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. In a response to North Korea calling Trump’s speech in South Korea “reckless remarks by an old lunatic,” Trump tweeted from Hanoi on Sunday morning: “Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me ‘old,’ when I would NEVER call him ‘short and fat?’”
• Trump says he believes Putin’s election meddling denials
• Former U.S. intelligence officials: Trump being ‘played’ by Putin
• McCain: Nothing ‘America First’ about believing Putin on election meddling
• Trump calls critics of his Putin meeting “haters and fools”

6am – C         MTA Replacing ‘Ladies And Gentlemen’ With Gender-Neutral Announcements. NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is doing away with the phrase “ladies and gentlemen” in its announcements on New York City subways and buses. In lieu of “ladies and gentlemen,” the agency will be moving to gender-neutral phrasing like “passengers,” “riders” and “everyone.” Other changes include eliminating prerecorded messages and explaining in real-time the reasons for a delay when one occurs. The gender-neutral announcements are an effort to include all people. “It’s innovative, it’s great,” said rider Craig Clark of the Bronx. “In today’s and age, you are who you are.” Others are concerned about the cost of changing all the recordings. “I feel it’s a ‘nay,’ honestly speaking,” said Natasha Norville of Staten Island. “I feel they can use the money for something else: Improving the tracks, improving the air.” Some straphangers are fed up with the concern over political correctness, Doris reported. “I think that it’s silly and I don’t think it really offends anyone to say ‘ladies and gentlemen,’” another rider told Doris. “Really if they could just get an announcement that I could hear, that would be a first step in the right direction,” a rider said.

6am – D/E/F  CHARGING BAD TIPPERS? Jersey diner taking heat for what they are doing to teenage bad tippers. For better or for worse, teenagers have earned a reputation among the food service industry for not tipping. One New Jersey diner is doing something about it, but it’s also taking heat from parents upset about their kids being charged an extra 18 percent gratuity on top of their dining bill. Wayne Hills Diner, a popular after-school hangout on Hamburg Turnpike in Wayne, New Jersey, according to their menu “reserves the right to add 18% gratuity,” but it’s the people to whom the gratuity is being added that’s getting them in hot water. “My daughter looked down at her bill and realized that there is a charge for a tip, an 18-percent charge per child,” parent Melissa Desch told WABC. Others at Schulyer-Colfax Middle School have been treated similarly, as several student receipts show. “Then on the bottom, it says something about please leave a gratuity and they’ve already charged them a gratuity,” said Desch. “I was angry because I had been there the week before and I had been there with a group of five, some kids and some children, and I was not charged this gratuity.” Could this be a form of age discrimination? Before talking to media, Desch took it up with the owner. “He said that’s policy because the kids run out and he feels that they don’t tip well, and they don’t know how to tip was the explanation,” said Desch. “I said I could understand that, but again, they’re not being given the option, they’re being forced to pay them.” “My daughter looked down at her bill and realized that there is a charge for a tip, an 18-percent charge per child,” parent Melissa Desch told WABC.

7am – A          Interview – JOE DIGENOVA – legal analyst and former US Attorney to the District of Columbia – discussed the Podesta Group and Roy Moore.

• Podesta Group on the verge of shuttering amid ties to Mueller probe.
• John Podesta Met With Fusion GPS Founder After Trump Dossier Was Published.
• Roy Moore allegations – GOP Senate Candidate Roy Moore Threatens to Sue Washington Post. 

7am – B/C     ROY MOORE ALLEGATIONS: Should He Drop Out? Why Do So Many in Alabama Still Support Him?

• Poll: Nearly 40 percent of Alabama evangelicals say they’re more likely to vote for Moore after allegations

7am – D         INTERVIEW — TREVOR MATICH – WMAL’s Redskins Analyst, Comcast SportsNet co-host and former Redskins long snapper – recapped the Redskins loss to The Vikings.

• Minnesota Vikings (7-2)  38  vs Washington Redskins (4-5) 30

7am – E         Residents Concerned About Fairfax County’s Use of AR-15s to Control Deer Population. Police say using AR-15s is the most humane option. (NBC Washington) — Some residents of Fairfax County, Virginia, say they’re concerned about how many deer police are killing and the weapons they’re using to do so. Fairfax County Police Department’s sharp shooting team plans to use AR-15 rifles to kill deer in Loftridge Park and Clermont Park in the Alexandria area of the county from mid November to mid March. “Even though the police say they shoot down as it’s supposed to be safe, we just feel that you can’t ever rule out weapons malfunction or human error,” Alexandria resident Nancy Schoenig told News4. “Would you want somebody firing an AR-15 near your house? I mean think about it.” Schoenig is one of about 200 people who live in homes around the perimeter of the parks where police will kill the deer. Other residents in the area said the deer come into neighboring communities and they are a nuisance.

8am – A         SNL HIGHLIGHTS:

• Snl Mocks Democrats As Being Old And Out Of Touch In Hilarious Skit
• OH ok, NOW sexual assault is funny: SNL ‘jokes’ about Moore (still waiting for the Weinstein skit)
• SNL’s Roy Moore sketch is one big joke about Alabama being backward
• On Saturday Night Live, Taylor Swift took to the stage to perform “Are You Ready for It?”   Taylor Swift Used a Sparkly Snake Mic on ‘SNL’ That Got Social Media Buzzing.

8am – B/C     Interview – DR. SEBASTIAN GORKA – Fox News contributor and former Deputy Assistant to President Trump – discussed the allegations against Roy Moore and analyzed President Trump’s Asia trip.

8am – D         Interview – CHUCK THIES – political strategist and former Mayor Vincent Gray campaign manager and close friend/adviser to Gray – discussed why no one is running against DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.

•  New Poll Seeks To Test Vincent Gray’s Chances Against Muriel Bowser In D.C. Mayoral Race. (WAMU) – Will Vincent Gray challenge Muriel Bowser in D.C.’s 2018 mayoral race? Gray hasn’t yet made the call, but a new poll of D.C. voters may help him decide whether a rematch would be worth it. Chuck Thies, who led Gray’s 2014 re-election campaign, has commissioned a phone poll of likely D.C. voters on what they think of Bowser’s first term in office and asking how she would fare if Gray decided to challenge her. Bowser officially announced last month that she would run for a second term. “It’s no secret that I don’t feel the current mayor has been doing a fantastic job,” said Thies. “She’s not a failure, but she’s also not a gold-ribbon winner either. I also believe that no one should run for re-election uncontested, and when I say uncontested, I mean a legitimate opponent.” Ever since Gray rejoined the Council in 2017 to represent Ward 7, the chatter around City Hall has been that he is laying the groundwork for a rematch against Bowser, who bested him in the 2014 Democratic primary. But what little polling on D.C. politics that has been done this year shows he would face an uphill battle.

 8am – E        Did George Takei Admit To Sexual Assault Charges In This Howard Stern Interview? Update: Takei Responds

• George Takei @GeorgeTakei: Friends, I’m writing to respond to the accusations made by Scott R. Bruton. I want to assure you all that I am as shocked and bewildered at these claims as you must feel reading them. /18:01 AM – Nov 11, 2017
• George Takei @GeorgeTakei: The events he describes back in the 1980s simply did not occur, and I do not know why he has claimed them now. I have wracked my brain to ask if I remember Mr. Brunton, and I cannot say I do. /2 8:03 AM – Nov 11, 2017
• A former model and actor is accusing Star Trek icon George Takei of sexual assault in 1981. The accuser, Scott R. Brunton, who was 23 at the time of the alleged incident, claims that Takei took advantage of him when he was most vulnerable.