Curious about today’s topics on The Larry O’Connor Show? Below are a few stories on the radar. Be sure to listen to The Larry O’Connor Show Monday – Friday 3pm – 6pm on WMAL.
Trump’s approval rating jumps to 45 percent, highest since September (Washington Examiner)
President Trump’s approval rating increased to 45 percent in the first week of December, the highest mark he’s received since September, according to a Morning Consult/Politico poll released Wednesday.
The majority of voters, 51 percent, did not approve of Trump’s job in office. But his approval rating in the Dec. 1-3 survey is the highest since a Sept. 29-Oct. 1 poll in which he was also at 45 percent. He has not been higher than 45 percent since early July. He then dipped in August in the wake of his reaction to violence in Charlottesville, Va.
Three-in-five voters saw Trump as reckless and 54 percent said he is sexist. Another 47 percent of respondents said he is racist, but 39 percent said he is not. [Read More]
Trump to declare Jerusalem capital of Israel: White House officials (ABC)
In a momentous shift of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, President Donald Trump is set to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Wednesday and initiate the process of relocating the U.S. embassy to the city from Tel Aviv, according to senior administration officials.
The president is expected to officially announce the policy changes in remarks at the White House at 1pm on Wednesday.
A U.S. official and a source close to the White House told ABC News that official recognition of Jerusalem as the capital is expected to be intentionally broad and not meant to preclude the possibility that the Palestinians could claim part of the historic city as a capital of a future Palestinian state. The president does not want to “prejudice” the outcome of any future peace negotiations for a two-state solution, one source familiar with the plan told ABC News. [Read More]
Aide accuses Franken of forcibly trying to kiss her, says it was his ‘right’ (Fox News)
Another woman is accusing Sen. Al Franken of forcibly trying to kiss her – this time after a taping of his radio show in 2006.
The woman, who spoke to Politico, claims the Minnesota Democrat pursued her after her boss had left and she was collecting her things. The woman was in her 20s at the time.
The accuser, who was not identified, said Franken tried to kiss her but that she ducked. Franken, a former “Saturday Night Live” performer who was a host on the now-defunct “Air America” radio network at the time, allegedly followed up by telling her it was his “right as an entertainer.”
“He was between me and the door and he was coming at me to kiss me,” she told Politico. “It was very quick and I think my brain had to work really hard to be like ‘Wait, what is happening?’ But I knew whatever was happening was not right and I ducked. [Read More]
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) said Tuesday that his state has done its part for Metro by urging board reforms and pledging to provide dedicated funding, and he called on Maryland and the District to join the effort.
McAuliffe spoke at a news conference marking the official release of a report on fixing Metro prepared by former U.S. transportation secretary Ray LaHood.
The event lost its element of surprise when The Washington Post obtained a copy of the report and published it last month. That didn’t stop McAuliffe from proclaiming that the time for studying Metro was over and that the time for action has arrived.
“We have got enough reports,” McAuliffe said. “We don’t need any more planning. We know what we need to do.”
The outgoing governor said he has completed his final budget, to be released Dec. 18, and it will include guaranteed, long-term funding for Metro as LaHood recommended. He declined to say what form the financing will take but suggested it would not involve a tax increase. [Read More]
Bill would let poor D.C. drivers keep licenses despite unpaid parking tickets
A bill introduced Tuesday in the D.C. Council would prevent the city from suspending low-income residents’ driver’s licenses because they have unpaid parking fines and traffic tickets, a practice some say unfairly punishes the poor.
Driver’s license suspensions have been criticized by anti-poverty advocates since a 2015 federal investigation focused on Ferguson, Mo., showed that law enforcement used fines to raise revenue for state and local governments. One study of five states released in September found that more than 4 million people had lost their licenses for failure to pay court debts.
It’s not clear how many people in the District would be affected by the proposed legislation.
In October testimony before the D.C. Council, Department of Motor Vehicles Director Lucinda M. Babers said the city doesn’t track the number of licenses lost for failure to pay fines because those violators are included in a larger count of licenses suspended for failure to appear in court. She said about 3,800 people had their licenses suspended for failure to appear in fiscal year 2015, while the number last year was 3,300. [Read More]
CALL: 202-432-WMAL (9625) | 888-630-WMAL (9625)
Email The Show
