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Mornings on the Mall

Friday, November 24, 2017

Host: Dan Mandis

5am – A    Stephanie Ruhle and MSNBC Panel Hit Trump Over ‘Scripted’ Call to Troops: ‘Didn’t Seem…Very Authentic’ (Mediate) President Donald Trump took time, earlier on this holiday morning, to give thanks to the troops in a video conference call. It was a nice gesture, without question, and Stephanie Ruhle and her MSNBC guests Thursday said as much. But they also took exception to a few things about the call. For starters, panelist Robert Traynham — a former staffer to GOP Sen. Rick Santorum — noted the fact that Trump was reading prepared remarks, rather than speaking from the hear. Retired Lt. Gen.: Trump’s Boastful Thanksgiving Message to Troops ‘Somewhat Insulting’ (Mediate) Retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling appeared on CNN Thursday to discuss President Donald Trump’s Thanksgiving call to U.S. service members — and called the president’s remarks “somewhat insulting” and “off-kilter.” Hertling, a CNN military analyst, first noted that he was “thankful for the fact that [Trump] did address the soldiers,” but that “the message that I heard and some of the things he said would have not rung very well with me had I been a deployed soldier.”

5am – B/C Is Black Friday dead? (RT) Despite favorable economic conditions, including the lowest unemployment rate in 17 years, cheap and easy-to-get loans, the annual sales fest doesn’t expect a traditional avalanche of shoppers, standing in endless lines outside stores and then shopping until they drop. According to the latest survey by the National Retail Federation, 59 percent of consumers are planning to shop online instead of going to brick and mortar shops. That’s reportedly the first year when buying online is the most popular choice for shoppers.“The holiday season is always important, but this year is more important than ever. Department stores are struggling to prove they are still relevant,” said Robert Schulz, the chief credit analyst for the retail sector for Standard & Poors, as quoted by CNN Money.

5am – D  Al Franken apologizes for making ‘some women feel badly’ amid groping allegations (CNN) Sen. Al Franken released a statement Thursday addressing recent allegations of sexual harassment. Franken, a Democrat, said that he feels terrible that he “made some women feel badly.” “I’ve met tens of thousands of people and taken thousands of photographs, often in crowded and chaotic situations,” the statement said. “I’m a warm person; I hug people. I’ve learned from recent stories that in some of those encounters, I crossed a line for some women — and I know that any number is too many.” Franken’s statement came just days after a woman said he grabbed her buttocks while taking a photo with her at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010. She was the first person to allege that Franken engaged in improper touching while he was in office.

5am – E TN veteran sues VA for cutting off pain med prescription (NBC local) A Veterans Affair initiative to curb addiction by cutting back on opioid prescriptions is backfiring, according to some Tennessee veterans. East Tennessee Marine veteran Robert Rose Jr. has filed a $350 million lawsuit that names several employees of the Mountain Home Veterans’ Affairs Medical Canter and U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, R-TN. Rose said he has chronic pain in his back, spine and legs as a result of severe injuries while in the service. He said he has been tormented since last November, when he was forced off pain medication. According to the VA, more than 221,000 veterans have been weaned off opioids since fall of 2013.

6am – A Uma Thurman breaks silence on Harvey Weinstein: ‘I’m glad it’s going slowly – you don’t deserve a bullet’ (Telegraph) Uma Thurman has said Harvey Weinstein does not “deserve a bullet” and suggested she has been a victim of sexual harassment. The actress, who earlier this month said she was too angry to share her thoughts on the slew of allegations that have rocked Hollywood, broke her silence in an emotional Thanksgiving post on Instagram – saying: “I’m glad it’s going slowly – you don’t deserve a bullet”.

 6am – B Cam Newton posted mug shot on Instagram as reminder of ‘biggest scar’ (USA Today) Calling it his “biggest scar” and “Resurrection Day,” Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton explained how the nine-year anniversary of his nearly career-ending arrest prompted him to post his Nov. 21, 2008 police mug shot on Instagram on Tuesday alongside a message of deep gratitude.  “I’ve always been contemplating how to tell (my life story),” Newton told reporters on Wednesday of his decision to figuratively re-open that scar to the public and his social media followers.”I just said, ‘You know what? Screw it.’ “I wasn’t just in the holding cell. If you really look into that picture you see green and white (the colors of his jumpsuit). That wasn’t a polo sweater. That day it got as real as it’s ever gotten in my life. To realize if I ever want what I want in life, this is the determining factor.” Newton was arrested on that date for stealing a $1,700 laptop and tossing it out of his dormitory window.  He was the backup quarterback at the University of Florida at the time. He was charged with felony counts of burglary, larceny and obstructing justice.

6am – C/D Is Black Friday dead? (RT) Despite favorable economic conditions, including the lowest unemployment rate in 17 years, cheap and easy-to-get loans, the annual sales fest doesn’t expect a traditional avalanche of shoppers, standing in endless lines outside stores and then shopping until they drop. According to the latest survey by the National Retail Federation, 59 percent of consumers are planning to shop online instead of going to brick and mortar shops. That’s reportedly the first year when buying online is the most popular choice for shoppers.“The holiday season is always important, but this year is more important than ever. Department stores are struggling to prove they are still relevant,” said Robert Schulz, the chief credit analyst for the retail sector for Standard & Poors, as quoted by CNN Money.

 6am – E/F New Jersey Woman Raises More Than $200K for Homeless Man Who Bought Her Gasoline (Breitbart) A New Jersey woman has raised more than $200,000 for a homeless man in Philadelphia who previously bought her gasoline when she unexpectedly ran out. Kate McClure, a 27-year-old from New Jersey, told the Inquirer that as she was traveling to Philadelphia to visit a friend, her car suddenly ran out of gasoline. McClure said she was nervous and scared, as the neighborhood where her car stopped was sketchy. “My heart was beating out of my chest,” McClure said. “I didn’t know what the heck to do.” After calling her boyfriend, 38-year-old Mark D’Amico, who promised to come get her, McClure said a homeless man named Johnny approached her car to help. According to McClure, Johnny — who takes care of two other men under a bridge in the area — told her to lock her car doors and that he would return. Johnny told her to sit tight and that he would spend his last $20 to buy gas a few blocks away. “He said, ‘I’ll be back. Trust me,’” McClure told the Inquirer. Ten minutes after speaking with McClure, Johnny returned with a gallon of gas that he had bought with his last $20. “She called me and said the guy brought her gas,” said D’Amico. Though McClure and D’Amico continued passing through to see Johnny in Philadelphia, they still felt they could do more. That is when they decided to fundraise to help change Johnny’s life, setting up a GoFundMe page that has far exceeded the $10,000 goal the couple originally set. Johnny told McClure that he is interested in working at the Robbinsville, New Jersey, Amazon warehouse so he can get health benefits and make a decent living.

7am – A Stephanie Ruhle and MSNBC Panel Hit Trump Over ‘Scripted’ Call to Troops: ‘Didn’t Seem…Very Authentic’ (Mediate) President Donald Trump took time, earlier on this holiday morning, to give thanks to the troops in a video conference call. It was a nice gesture, without question, and Stephanie Ruhle and her MSNBC guests Thursday said as much. But they also took exception to a few things about the call.For starters, panelist Robert Traynham — a former staffer to GOP Sen. Rick Santorum — noted the fact that Trump was reading prepared remarks, rather than speaking from the hear. Retired Lt. Gen.: Trump’s Boastful Thanksgiving Message to Troops ‘Somewhat Insulting’ (Mediate) Retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling appeared on CNN Thursday to discuss President Donald Trump’s Thanksgiving call to U.S. service members — and called the president’s remarks “somewhat insulting” and “off-kilter.” Hertling, a CNN military analyst, first noted that he was “thankful for the fact that [Trump] did address the soldiers,” but that “the message that I heard and some of the things he said would have not rung very well with me had I been a deployed soldier.”

 7am – B/C Al Franken apologizes for making ‘some women feel badly’ amid groping allegations (CNN) Sen. Al Franken released a statement Thursday addressing recent allegations of sexual harassment. Franken, a Democrat, said that he feels terrible that he “made some women feel badly.” “I’ve met tens of thousands of people and taken thousands of photographs, often in crowded and chaotic situations,” the statement said. “I’m a warm person; I hug people. I’ve learned from recent stories that in some of those encounters, I crossed a line for some women — and I know that any number is too many.”

Franken’s statement came just days after a woman said he grabbed her buttocks while taking a photo with her at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010. She was the first person to allege that Franken engaged in improper touching while he was in office.

 7am – D  Trump tweets response to post on how he treats African-Americans like LaVar Ball (CBS) President Trump on Thanksgiving morning did not help ease the tension in his ongoing public spat with the father of a UCLA basketball player when he responded to a tweet in which a Washington Post opinion writer described how Mr. Trump’s treatment of LaVar Ball is a part of a larger trend in how he treats prominent African-Americans. “New post: Trump’s rage-tweets about LaVar Ball are a part of a pattern,” Greg Sargent wrote on Twitter Wednesday, along with a link to his opinion piece. “Trump regularly attacks high-profile African Americans to feed his supporters’ belief that the system is rigged for minorities.”

 7am – E Actor Billy Baldwin says President Trump hit on his wife during party at upscale Manhattan hotel (Daily News) Actor Billy Baldwin claims President Trump hit on his wife during a ritzy hotel party in Manhattan over two decades ago, blasting the commander-in-chief as a “black belt” sexual harasser. Baldwin fired off the accusation on Thanksgiving morning in response to a tweet from Donald Trump Jr. about the latest sexual harassment allegations against beleaguered Democratic Sen. Al Franken. “Your Dad is a 5th degree black belt when it comes to sexual impropriety allegations,” Baldwin tweeted at Trump Jr. “In fact…I once had a party at the Plaza Hotel… your father showed up uninvited & hit on my wife… invited her on his helicopter to Atlantic City.”

8am – A Is Black Friday dead? (RT) Despite favorable economic conditions, including the lowest unemployment rate in 17 years, cheap and easy-to-get loans, the annual sales fest doesn’t expect a traditional avalanche of shoppers, standing in endless lines outside stores and then shopping until they drop. According to the latest survey by the National Retail Federation, 59 percent of consumers are planning to shop online instead of going to brick and mortar shops. That’s reportedly the first year when buying online is the most popular choice for shoppers.“The holiday season is always important, but this year is more important than ever. Department stores are struggling to prove they are still relevant,” said Robert Schulz, the chief credit analyst for the retail sector for Standard & Poors, as quoted by CNN Money.

8am – B/C Al Franken apologizes for making ‘some women feel badly’ amid groping allegations (CNN) Sen. Al Franken released a statement Thursday addressing recent allegations of sexual harassment. Franken, a Democrat, said that he feels terrible that he “made some women feel badly.” “I’ve met tens of thousands of people and taken thousands of photographs, often in crowded and chaotic situations,” the statement said. “I’m a warm person; I hug people. I’ve learned from recent stories that in some of those encounters, I crossed a line for some women — and I know that any number is too many.” Franken’s statement came just days after a woman said he grabbed her buttocks while taking a photo with her at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010. She was the first person to allege that Franken engaged in improper touching while he was in office.

8am – D/E Stephanie Ruhle and MSNBC Panel Hit Trump Over ‘Scripted’ Call to Troops: ‘Didn’t Seem…Very Authentic’ (Mediate) President Donald Trump took time, earlier on this holiday morning, to give thanks to the troops in a video conference call. It was a nice gesture, without question, and Stephanie Ruhle and her MSNBC guests Thursday said as much. But they also took exception to a few things about the call. For starters, panelist Robert Traynham — a former staffer to GOP Sen. Rick Santorum — noted the fact that Trump was reading prepared remarks, rather than speaking from the hear. Retired Lt. Gen.: Trump’s Boastful Thanksgiving Message to Troops ‘Somewhat Insulting’ (Mediate) Retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling appeared on CNN Thursday to discuss President Donald Trump’s Thanksgiving call to U.S. service members — and called the president’s remarks “somewhat insulting” and “off-kilter.” Hertling, a CNN military analyst, first noted that he was “thankful for the fact that [Trump] did address the soldiers,” but that “the message that I heard and some of the things he said would have not rung very well with me had I been a deployed soldier.”