FDD’s Jonathan Schanzer, NRA’s Jennifer Baker, Washington Examiner’s Susan Ferrechio and Bloomberg View’s Eli Lake join WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C AL FRANKEN NEWS:

• Al Franken expected to resign amid sex harassment claims
• More than 30 Democrats turn on Al Franken. Democratic senators to Al Franken: Resign. (CNN) Embattled Sen. Al Franken will make an announcement Thursday, his office told reporters, as calls for the Minnesota Democrat’s resignation — led by female senators and later including party leaders such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — rapidly gained momentum Wednesday. Thirty-two Democratic senators — 13 female and 19 male — called on Franken to resign as allegations of sexual harassment against him continue to mount. Republican Sen. Susan Collins also called on Franken to quit.
• Franken has responded to the report on Twitter, saying no final decision has been made. – Sen. Al Franken‏ @SenFranken: Senator Franken is talking with his family at this time and plans to make an announcement in D.C. tomorrow. Any reports of a final decision are inaccurate. 3:11 PM – 6 Dec 2017
• Chuck Schumer pushes “dear friend” Al Franken toward the door: “He should step down immediately”
• Female lieutenant governor expected to replace Franken if he resigns (Politico) — Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to appoint his lieutenant governor and close ally, Tina Smith, to Al Franken’s seat if the Democratic senator resigns on Thursday, three people familiar with the Democratic governor’s thinking said.
• 7th — Anonymous — Woman Says Al Franken Told Her An Unwanted Kiss Was His ‘Right As An Entertainer’ ….FRANKEN DENIES THIS ONE…
• INSIDE THE TURN: “The next credible story of misconduct in a credible news outlet would prompt them to call for Franken’s resignation.”
• Al Franken will resign, Democratic official says
• 8th Accuser: Al Franken Groped Me ’at a Media Matters Party During the First Obama Inauguration’: Journalist Tina Dupuy became the eighth woman on Wednesday to accuse Al Franken of sexual misconduct, writing in The Atlantic that the embattled Minnesota Senator groped her in 2009 at a Media Matters party during Barack Obama’s inauguration.

5am – D         House rejects Trump impeachment resolution after Dem Rep. Al Green forces vote. (Fox News) — The House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to impeach President Trump after a liberal Texas congressman forced a vote on his effort. Democratic Rep. Al Green, who has repeatedly called for the president’s removal, introduced two articles of impeachment against Trump on Wednesday. But lawmakers immediately voted to effectively kill his resolution, with 364 voting to table it and 58 Democrats voting to move ahead. In a dramatic speech on the floor ahead of the vote, Green called Trump “unfit” for office and accused him of “high misdemeanors.” The symbolic vote had been expected to fail in the Republican-controlled House. It put some lawmakers in competitive districts in a tough spot by forcing them on the record about impeachment.

5am – E         ANIMAL NEWS:

• Python hunter kills monster 17-foot snake in Florida Everglades, sets new record. (Fox News) — A veteran Florida python hunter last weekend snagged a record 17-foot snake, a behemoth so immense he said it could “kill any full-grown man.” The South Florida Water Management District said Monday python hunter Jason Leon broke the agency’s old record with his kill of a Burmese python in southern Miami-Dade County at around 2:45 a.m. Friday. “That snake could pretty much kill any full-grown man,” Leon told NBC6. “If that snake was alive right now it would probably take like three of us to be able to control that snake.” The 17-foot, 1-inch python, weighing 132 pounds, is the longest ever brought in for the agency’s Python Elimination Program. Leon also holds the overall state record with an 18-foot-8-inch python he caught in 2013.
• This Is Why You Shouldn’t Bring Your Dog To See ‘Cats’ On Broadway. If you are planning on seeing Andrew Llyod Webber’s hit musical ‘Cats’ on Broadway, it might be a good idea to leave your dog at home. During a recent show at the Neil Simon Theatre, a service dog got loose and started running toward the stage. According to Page Six, the dog got free from it’s owner and started to go after Bombalurina during the opening number. Luckily, an usher was able to stop the dog before it could reach the stage and “returned the wayward canine to its mortified owner.” A spokesperson for the show said it was the first time that something like this has happened: In the storied history of ‘Cats,’ this is the first time one of the actual cats was involved in an incident with a dog. We’re pleased to report that no animals or humans were harmed in the dust-up, and the performance continued without a hitch.

6am – A         NET NEUTRALITY FIGHT TAKES AIM AT FCC CHAIRMAN:

• Twitter users have post a startling number of hateful Tweets containing death threats against FCC’s Ajit Pai and his family.
• FCC’s Pai, addressing net neutrality rules, calls Twitter biased. WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, accused social media company Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) of being politically biased on Tuesday as he defended his plan to roll back rules intended to ensure a free and open internet. Pai, a Republican named by President Donald Trump to head up the FCC, unveiled plans last week to scrap the 2015 landmark net neutrality rules, moving to give broadband service providers sweeping power over what content consumers can access. “When it comes to an open internet, Twitter is part of the problem,” Pai said. “The company has a viewpoint and uses that viewpoint to discriminate.” He pointed to Twitter’s refusal to let Representative Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, advertise a campaign video with an anti-abortion message. “To say the least, the company appears to have a double standard when it comes to suspending or de-verifying conservative users’ accounts as opposed to those of liberal users,” Pai said. A spokesperson for Twitter said that at no time was Blackburn’s video censored and that her followers would have been able to still see it.
• Google Lashes Out at Amazon by Blocking YouTube. A fight between two of the world’s biggest tech companies, Amazon and Google, just got nastier. It’s unclear who will win in the end, but one thing is clear—consumers will lose. The bad news comes via Variety, which reports that Google is cutting off Amazon’s access to the popular YouTube app on the Echo Show speaker device and, starting in January, on the Amazon Fire Stick as well. For millions of consumers, this means Amazon devices that they bought and that once played YouTube will no longer do so, forcing them to buy another streaming device—such as Roku or Google’s Chromecast—if they want to watch the video service. Google’s decision amounts to the latest in a tit-for-tat war as the companies battle for consumers’ attention. In a statement to Variety, a Google spokesperson lashed out at Amazon for, among other things, not selling Google products.  “We’ve been trying to reach agreement with Amazon to give consumers access to each other’s products and services. But Amazon doesn’t carry Google products like Chromecast and Google Home, doesn’t make Prime Video available for Google Cast users, and last month stopped selling some of [Google-owned] Nest’s latest products,” said the spokesperson. “Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and FireTV. We hope we can reach an agreement to resolve these issues soon.” Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The telecom industry, meanwhile, quickly pounced on the dispute over YouTube as evidence the tech giants were violating the spirit of net neutrality—the principle that distributors of Internet content shouldn’t favor some websites over others.

6am – B         Sia: ethics of fame and Maddie Ziegler ‘a question I have asked myself often’ (The Guardian) – Artist says she checks in weekly with 15-year-old star of her videos and live shows: ‘If she ever wants it to stop, it stops.’ Performing artist Sia Furler has responded to concerns about her use of 15-year-old dancer Maddie Ziegler as a creative partner, saying the use of children in entertainment is “a conversation we should all be having”. On Thursday the enigmatic singer responded to a Guardian column which questioned Sia’s use of Ziegler as an avatar of herself in her live performances and music videos. The column asked whether the spotlight-shy artist was exposing a child to the same fame she sought to avoid, writing that “the grown-up who has seen what fame can do and fears it has, perhaps unwittingly, handed it over to the child instead”. On Twitter, Furler admitted that the article “poses a question I have asked myself often”.

6am – C         GONNA BE A BAAAAD FLU SEASON. (Daily Mail) — America is set to endure one of the most perilous flu seasons in years – with doctors warning it could be similar to the deadly 2014 outbreak.   It is becoming increasingly clear that the US will be hit by a particular strain of influenza called H3N2, the same strain which has just wreaked havoc in Australia, and was responsible for the four most deadly flu seasons in the last 10 years.  Early assessments suggest the current vaccine – which was produced in spring after scientists made an educated guess at what strain to expect – will be just 10 percent effective.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – JONATHAN SCHANZER – Middle East analyst, scholar in Middle Eastern studies, and vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies

• POTUS: “It is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.”
• Trump: “We cannot solve our problems by making the same failed assumptions and repeating the same failed strategies of the past. Old challenges demand new approaches.”
• President Trump urges calm in the wake of his Jerusalem announcement: “Our children should inherit our love, not our conflicts”
• President Trump on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: “The United States would support a two-state solution if agreed to by both sides”

6am – E         GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN:

• Pres. Trump says government shutdown “could happen. The Democrats are really looking at something that is very dangerous to our country.”
• Nancy Pelosi‏ @NancyPelosi: 16h16 hours ago: President Trump is the only person talking about a government shutdown. Democrats are hopeful the President will be open to an agreement to address the urgent needs of the American people and keep government open.
• Trump says a government shutdown “could happen” Saturday, and he is blaming it on Democrats’ stance on immigration.

6am – F         Mentioning guacamole in your dating profile makes you more attractive, according to a new study. Just adding “guacamole” to their dating profiles. According to a new study by Zoosk, mentioning food in your online dating profile can make you more attractive. Mentioning “guacamole” increased the amount of messages received by 144%. “Potatoes” and “chocolate” also proved successful. Millennials have been lambasted for their obsession with avocados, but they might be on to something. A new study by the online dating site Zoosk analyzed 3,733,185 dating profiles and 364,609,566 first messages to find out how mentioning food affects users’ dating lives. The answer is peak millennial: mentioning “guacamole” resulted in a 144% increase in messages received. “Potatoes” were the next most effective food item with a 101% increase, followed by “chocolate” with 100%.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker – will explain the gun bills in Congress

• House approves concealed-carry reciprocity, gun bill faces challenge in Senate.  (Fox News) –  House Republicans on Wednesday voted in favor of making concealed-carry permits valid across state lines, scoring a major victory for gun-rights supporters. But similar Senate legislation still faces an uncertain future, with top Democrats and other gun-control advocates rallying in opposition on Capitol Hill. The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act passed 231-198 in the GOP-controlled House, with six Democrats voting in support.

7am – B/C     INTERVIEW — SUSAN FERRECHIO — Chief Congressional Correspondent, Washington Examiner

• TOPICS: latest Congress news: government shutdown deadline, Franken/Conyers, immigration, tax cuts and impeachment fail
• SHUTDOWN: Trump says a government shutdown “could happen” Saturday, and he is blaming it on Democrats’ stance on immigration. Congress seems set to avert weekend government shutdown.
• Lawmakers Debate Immigration Measures as US Government Shutdown Looms.
• FRANKEN: Democratic senators to Al Franken: Resign. (CNN) Embattled Sen. Al Franken will make an announcement Thursday, his office told reporters, as calls for the Minnesota Democrat’s resignation — led by female senators and later including party leaders such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — rapidly gained momentum Wednesday. Thirty-two Democratic senators — 13 female and 19 male — called on Franken to resign as allegations of sexual harassment against him continue to mount. Republican Sen. Susan Collins also called on Franken to quit.
• Franken has responded to the report on Twitter, saying no final decision has been made.
• Chuck Schumer pushes “dear friend” Al Franken toward the door: “He should step down immediately”  
• Al Franken expected to resign amid sex harassment claims

7am – D         The Weird Campaign to Get Taylor Swift to Denounce Donald Trump. One of the world’s biggest pop stars doesn’t want to talk about politics. Is that OK? (Politico) — Late last month, amid another week of controversies and Twitter-induced firestorms from the president of the United States, one of the world’s most widely read newspapers thundered at … Taylor Swift. “In the year since Donald Trump was elected, the entertainment world has been largely united in its disdain for his presidency,” the Guardian, a left-leaning British paper, wrote in a bizarre, unsigned editorial. “But a notable voice has been missing from the chorus: that of Taylor Swift, the world’s biggest pop star. Her silence is striking, highlighting the parallels between the singer and the president: their adept use of social media to foster a diehard support base; their solipsism; their laser focus on the bottom line; their support among the ‘alt-right.’” The paper went on to detail a raft of complaints about Swift. That her songs “echo Mr Trump’s obsession with petty score-settling in their repeated references to her celebrity feuds, or report in painstaking detail on her failed romantic relationships.” How she has “directed her extraordinary self-promotional skills towards cultivating a dedicated and emotional army of followers.” That her coterie of friends and hangers-on is “largely thin, white and wealthy.” Swift’s suspicious reticence, the editorial concludes, must be “a product of her inward gaze, perhaps, or her pettiness and refusal to concede to critics. Swift seems not simply a product of the age of Trump, but a musical envoy for the president’s values.” Really. And this was hardly the first time a news outlet had called out Swift, a superstar so famous that she has resorted to hiding behind umbrellas, propped up curtains and walking backwards to avoid being photographed. Her most recent album, Reputation, has already sold 1.6 million copies in just 3 weeks. Since last summer, when Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee, the Pennylvania-born and Tennessee-bred singer has been barraged by demands from liberals that she denounce him—despite the fact that she rarely voices a political opinion, let alone one about the world’s most polarizing man.

‘I Was Angry.’ Taylor Swift on What Powered Her Sexual Assault Testimony. Before the Harvey Weinstein allegations broke, and before #MeToo swept the Internet, Taylor Swift testified in court on Aug. 10 about being assaulted in a room full of people.  Swift, who TIME recognized as one of the Silence Breakers who inspired women to speak out about harassment in this year’s Person of the Year issue, granted TIME her first interview since the trial.

Taylor Swift Is No Silence Breaker. Because of her spineless feminism and political passivity, Taylor Swift is hardly the figure of female empowerment that Time magazine is making her out to be. (Daily Beast) – The Time magazine Person of the Year cover looks very good. The image, whether spotted on newsstands or shared and retweeted across timelines, is an arresting one that will make you stop and stare. You’ll pick up the magazine or click on the link, only to find that this victory—ostensibly a blow to Donald Trump—isn’t as strong as it seems… Let’s put Swift’s Time puff piece in perspective. Women like Ashley Judd, one of the first women to come forward against Harvey Weinstein on the record, have had silence imposed upon them. When these women do decide to speak out, they risk mammoth personal and professional repercussions. Meanwhile, Swift consistently offers strongly worded statements only when she has something to gain from them. In this interview alone, it is striking to witness the specificity of Swift’s responses when discussing a movement that’s inextricably tied to politics in the Trump era. Swift is given a platform to show off her “good” opinions, but isn’t questioned on her decision to neither endorse Hillary Clinton nor denounce Donald Trump during the 2016 election.

7am – E         NFL commissioner Roger Goodell signs five-year extension. (ESPN) — Roger Goodell has signed a five-year contract extension to remain the commissioner of the NFL, according to a letter obtained by ESPN. A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the new contract would be worth $200 million over the life of the contract — about $40 million annually — if owners approve all the bonuses and all the incentives are met. The new deal runs through the 2023 season. The base salary of the new contract is in the single-digit millions, a source had told Schefter. Roughly 85 percent of the total potential compensation package is from bonuses, which would be subject to ownership approval and validation. The six members of the NFL compensation committee, which had been granted permission to negotiate the extension, said it supported the signed contract in a letter to NFL owners. “Our Committee unanimously supports the contract and believes that it is fully consistent with ‘market’ compensation and the financial and other parameters outlined to the owners at our May 2017 meeting, as well as in the best interests of ownership,” the letter said. “… We are pleased to report that there is a nearly unanimous consensus among the ownership in favor of signing the contract extension now.” Goodell’s new deal had been a contentious issue throughout 2017. Sources had told ESPN in October that the debate over NFL player protests during the national anthem was one reason for the delay in completing the extension. Goodell has earned $212.5 million since he was elected NFL commissioner in 2006 as Paul Tagliabue’s replacement. The NFL paid Goodell nearly $32 million in fiscal year 2015, the last year for which public records exist. Prior to signing the extension, which was first reported by ProFootballTalk, his contract would have expired after the 2018 season.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — ELI LAKE – Bloomberg View columnist on Jerusalem @EliLake

• ELI LAKE: Trump’s Move Frees Palestinians to Focus on Peace, Not Jerusalem  https://www.bloomberg.com/view/contributors/ASD1bG3hdiI/eli-lake
• British PM May disagrees with US decision to move embassy to Jerusalem
• Pope joins voices warning Trump against Jerusalem decision  
• POTUS: “It is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.”
• Trump: “We cannot solve our problems by making the same failed assumptions and repeating the same failed strategies of the past. Old challenges demand new approaches.”
• President Trump urges calm in the wake of his Jerusalem announcement: “Our children should inherit our love, not our conflicts”
• President Trump on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: “The United States would support a two-state solution if agreed to by both sides”
• Pres. Trump says Vice Pres. Mike Pence will travel to Middle East region “in the coming days” following announcement of changes in U.S. policies
• Pres. Trump initiates process to move U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem: “A new embassy, when completed, will be a magnificent tribute to peace.”

8am – B         CREEPY CONYERS:

• John Conyers III Allegedly Body-Slammed His Girlfriend And Cut Her With A Knife. (Daily Caller) — John Conyers III, son of disgraced former Rep. John Conyers Jr., allegedly body-slammed his girlfriend and then spat on her during a domestic dispute, according to a new report. Conyers Jr., who resigned on Tuesday after a flood of sexual harassment allegations against him, has said that he wants Conyers III to run for his empty seat.Conyers III was arrested on February 15 after allegedly body-slamming his girlfriend, spitting on her and swinging at her with a knife, cutting her arm, according to documents obtained by NBC News. Police found Conyers’ girlfriend with a small stab wound on her lower bicep. Conyers III was not charged as a result of the alleged assault because of a “lack of independent witnesses” and because prosecutors said that it “could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim’s injury was not accidentally sustained.”
• Accuser: Conyers brought up Chandra Levy when I turned down his advances.  (The Hill) — A woman accused who accused former Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) of sexual misconduct said Conyers brought up slain Federal Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy after she rejected advances from him when she was an intern.  Courtney Morse told The Washington Post that Conyers told her one night he was interested in a sexual relationship and held her hand in her lap after driving her home. Morse said when she rejected his advances, Conyers brought up Levy’s case. “He said he had insider information on the case. I don’t know if he meant it to be threatening, but I took it that way,” Morse told the publication.  “I got out of the car and ran,” she continued.  Levy disappeared in 2001. Her remains were found a year later in a Washington, D.C., park.  Morse said the incident caused her to quit the paid summer internship.

8am – C         I-66 TOLLS:

• Va. transportation panel to discuss measure asking for I-66 toll changes. (WTOP) – WASHINGTON — As tolls for solo drivers on the new Interstate 66 express lanes inside the Capital Beltway spiked to as high as $40 in the first few days of operation, a Republican member of a key Virginia transportation panel said he plans to introduce a measure calling for immediate changes to the tolling. The resolution, put together by Loudoun County Supervisor Ron Meyer, is set to be introduced Thursday before the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, which receives the toll revenue. The measure asks the state to immediately lower and cap I-66 tolls and to return to the previous rush-hour period of 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., when High Occupancy Vehicle restrictions were in place. The new toll system is in place from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. In the draft resolution, Meyer contends the Virginia Department of Transportation “never told the public or this commission about this extremely high level of tolling before implementation.” Meyer’s resolution calls for Virginia authorities to “immediately lower, cap, and reconfigure” the I-66 tolls. “Working Virginians cannot afford tolls more than $35, $20, or even $10 each way every day,” the resolution stated.
• Va. transportation sec: No plans to change I-66 toll hours. WASHINGTON — Virginia has no plans for any immediate changes to the tolling algorithm or new hours on Interstate 66 inside the Beltway, and the system is operating as expected, the state’s transportation secretary said. “If we don’t get the tolling right, all we’re going to do is clog up those lanes again, and so that’s why the algorithm is multifaceted. It may change, we’ll study it. But in terms of moving traffic, it looks like it’s doing its job,” Aubrey Layne said. The state expects to review the algorithm that raises and lowers tolls for solo drivers in the rush-hour direction about one month and three months into the tolling that began Monday.

8am – D/E     AL FRANKEN NEWS