Meteorologist Geoff Maurer, Cal Thomas, Mark Krikorian, and Saagar Enjeti joined WMAL on Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

5am – A/B/C   Are You For Having A Military Parade In Washington, D.C.?

• Trump’s ‘marching orders’ to the Pentagon: Plan a grand military parade: (Washington Post) — President Trump’s vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of Washington is moving closer to reality in the Pentagon and White House, where officials say they have begun to plan a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America’s armed forces. Trump has long mused publicly and privately about wanting such a parade, but a Jan. 18 meeting between Trump and top generals in the Pentagon’s tank — a room reserved for top-secret discussions — marked a tipping point, according to two officials briefed on the planning. Surrounded by the military’s highest-ranking officials, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., Trump’s seemingly abstract desire for a parade was suddenly heard as a presidential directive, the officials said. “The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,” said a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the planning discussions are supposed to remain confidential. “This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.”

5am – D         Trump demands fix for immigration loopholes: ‘I’d love to see a shutdown if we don’t see this stuff taken care of’ (Washington Examiner) — President Trump slammed longstanding U.S. immigration policies Tuesday for loopholes by which criminal aliens and illegal immigrants are able to beat the system and avoid deportation, and said he’s willing to entertain another government shutdown in order to fix them. “Not another country in the world has the stupidity of laws that we do when it comes to immigration,” Trump said during a White House roundtable on the MS-13 gang Tuesday afternoon. “We’ll do a shutdown. And it’s worth it for our country. I’d love to see a shutdown if we don’t see this stuff taken care of,” Trump added, in regard to loopholes in laws regarding the admissibility of unaccompanied minors.”The world is laughing at us because they can’t believe these policies … If we have to shut it down because the Democrats don’t want safety, and unrelated but still related, they don’t want to take care of our military, then shut it down.” Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement officials briefed Trump on how the transnational criminal organization recruits and sends Salvadoran boys between 10 and 18 years old to the U.S., where they are able to use the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which gives legal protections to asylum or trafficked victims, to remain in the country.

5am – E         INTERVIEW – GEOFF MAURER – Meteorologist, The Weather Channel – discussed the winter weather conditions this morning

• Potential For Icy Commute Wednesday Morning. WASHINGTON (WMAL) — The National Weather service says a winter weather advisory will be in effect overnight through the morning commute Wednesday for the Washington, D.C. area. Meteorologist Ray Martin says the snow, sleet and freezing rain will move into our area around 3 a.m. Less than a tenth of an inch is expected in the city. However, because of the warmer temperatures today and the forecasted low of 32 degrees tonight, the ice may not stick to the roads in the District. Martin says that in the city “this will probably be a pretty marginal event.” But surrounding counties may not be as lucky. “Especially areas north and west, it will be colder, so we are seeing a higher potential across Fairfax, Montgomery, Loudoun, Frederick and Howard counties. Those areas will have a better chance of seeing an accumulation of ice on roads,” said Martin. The precipitation is expected to turn into plain rain around 10 a.m. when the temperatures rise above freezing.

6am – A         ADAM SCHIFF NEWS:

• DAILY MAIL: Adam Schiff sent his staff to try and collect ‘classified materials for the FBI’ after Russian pranksters told him Putin has NAKED blackmail pictures of Trump
• Tucker Points Out Hypocrisy Of The Russia Narrative With Adam Schiff’s RT Appearance: ‘The Leaders of the Witch Hunt Are Witches’

6am – B         Sen. Joe Manchin wants his Senate colleagues to sign a pledge to not campaign against each other. (CNN) — Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who’s facing a tough re-election bid in West Virginia, urged his colleagues on Tuesday to pledge not to campaign against other sitting senators. “I don’t see anybody in public service that’s willing to put their name on the ballot as my enemy. If you’re willing to serve, then I’m your comrade. I’m willing to work with you,” Manchin said on the floor just before he signed a large, chart-sized pledge. The practice has created a “hostile environment,” Manchin told CNN before his speech, because senators remember which of their colleagues tried to defeat them. “It could be from five or 10 years ago. But they haven’t forgotten.” The practice has created a “hostile environment,” Manchin said before his speech in an interview with CNN, because senators remember which of their colleagues tried to defeat them. “It could be from five or 10 years ago,” he continued. “But they haven’t forgotten.” It’s unclear how senators will respond to the pledge, though Manchin acknowledges it’s unlikely he’ll get droves of support in what he called the current “toxic environment.” “If I get one other person, that’d be a big win,” he said. Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, mentioned Manchin’s pledge on Twitter and appeared to ask the No. 1 Democrat in the Senate, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, for his thoughts.

6am – C         False tsunami warning sent to the East Coast, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. (NBC News) — Some residents along the East Coast received a false tsunami warning on Tuesday morning after a private company sent out an alert following a monthly test by the National Weather Service. A tweet from the National Weather Service (NWS) in Charleston, South Carolina, said the alert was sent around 8:30 a.m. ET. “We have been notified that some users received this test message as an actual Tsunami Warning,” the NWS tweeted, adding that a tsunami warning was “not in effect.” In a statement to NBC News, the NWS said that a routine test was sent out and that the agency is investigating why it was communicated as an actual tsunami. “The test message was released by at least one private sector company as an official Tsunami Warning, resulting in widespread reports of tsunami warnings received via phones and other media across the East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – CAL THOMAS – syndicated columnist – discussed the Democrat memo, certain Eagles players’ decision not to go to the White House, and prison reform

6am – E         Olympics News:

•  NOROVIRUS HITS THE OLYMPICS (USA Today) — Winter Olympics security workers hit with vomiting illness; military personnel called in for backup. The organizing committee for the Pyeongchang Olympics has called in 900 military personnel after more than 1,200 security workers were pulled off duty because of concerns about the spread of the Norovirus, Christophe Dubi, IOC executive director of the Olympic Games said Tuesday. Later Tuesday evening, the organizing committee said 32 cases of Norovirus had been confirmed and those people were quarantined after being treated. Those 32 cases involve 21 private security staff members from the Horeb Youth Center and 11 people from other locations, including three foreigners. In a statement, POCOG said that starting Sunday workers reported headaches, stomach pain and diarrhea. The Gangwon Province Health and Environment Research Center found  41 workers with symptoms that might be related to the virus. The others have been pulled from duty to prevent possible spreading of the illness.
• Ivanka Trump to attend Olympics closing ceremony (CNN) — Ivanka Trump will lead the Presidential delegation to South Korea for the closing ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic winter games, a White House official told CNN Monday. The first daughter and senior adviser was asked to attend the closing ceremony by her father, President Donald Trump, and the United States Olympic Committee, the official said. Vice President Mike Pence is currently en route to Asia, where he will lead the United States delegation to the opening ceremony later this week and attend some events. Trump will also attend some of the sporting events where the US is represented, the official said, adding that additional members of the delegation will be announced in the coming days. Trump, who has a portfolio in the West Wing that includes women’s economic empowerment, workforce development and tax reform, worked with the International Olympic Committee and the city of Los Angeles to bring the summer Olympic Games to Los Angeles in 2028, the first summer Olympics to be hosted in the United States since Atlanta in 1996.

6am – F         First Falcon Heavy blasts off, sends Tesla toward the asteroid belt

(The Verge) — Elon Musk’s Tesla overshot Mars’ orbit and is headed to the asteroid belt. Elon Musk’s Tesla roadster, which launched on top of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy earlier today, is going farther out into the Solar System than originally planned. The car was supposed to be put on a path around the Sun that would take the vehicle out to the distance of Mars’ orbit. But the rocket carrying the car seems to have overshot that trajectory and has put the Tesla in an orbit that extends out into the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. After launch, the Tesla cruised through space for a good six hours — a trip that was also live streamed by SpaceX. This “coast” phase was meant to show off a special orbital maneuver for the US Air Force, before the rocket completed one final engine burn in space and put the car on its final orbit. It looks like that burn might have happened somewhere over southern California, as some people in the area started reporting sightings of the rocket igniting in the night sky after 9:30PM ET.

7am – A          INTERVIEW – MARK KRIKORIAN – a nationally recognized expert on immigration issues, has served as Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) – discussed President Trump’s comments on shutting down the government over immigration and the MS-13 problem

7am – B         FBI lovers’ latest text messages: Obama ‘wants to know everything’

(Fox News) — Newly revealed text messages between FBI paramours Peter Strzok and Lisa Page include an exchange about preparing talking points for then-FBI Director James Comey to give to President Obama, who wanted “to know everything we’re doing.” The message, from Page to Strzok, was among thousands of texts between the lovers reviewed by Fox News. The pair both worked at one point for Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Page wrote to Strzok on Sept. 2, 2016 about prepping Comey because “potus wants to know everything we’re doing.” Senate investigators told Fox News this text raises questions about Obama’s personal involvement in the Clinton email investigation. In texts previously revealed, Strzok and Page have shown their disdain for Republicans in general, as well as Trump, calling him a “f—ing idiot,” among other insults. Among the newly disclosed texts, Strzok also calls Virginians who voted against then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s wife for a state Senate seat “ignorant hillbillys.” (sic) That text came from Strzok to Page on Nov. 4, 2015, the day after Jill McCabe lost a hotly contested Virginia state Senate election. Strzok said of the result, “Disappointing, but look at the district map. Loudon is being gentrified, but it’s still largely ignorant hillbilliys. Good for her for running, but curious if she’s energized or never again.” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., along with majority staff from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is releasing the texts, along with a report titled, “The Clinton Email Scandal and the FBI’s Investigation of it.”

7am – C         Parents lobby for more recess in Virginia schools. (Inside Nova) — Barbara Larrimore started pushing last year to earn more recess for kids in Prince William County schools, only to find that she would need some help in Richmond to make real progress. Now, as the General Assembly’s 2018 session heats up, she may very well have the support she needs to get students more exercise. Larrimore, a mother of three in Lake Ridge, has teamed up with another group of parents in Fairfax County to advocate for more recess time in Virginia schools, and they seem to be making some headway on the matter. Del. Karrie Delaney, D-67th District, and Sen. Chap Petersen, D-34th District, are backing similar bills aimed at giving local school boards the option to expand recess times for elementary schoolers, and both pieces of legislation are picking up steam in the legislative process. Petersen’s bill has unanimously passed the Senate, while a House subcommittee unanimously endorsed Delaney’s bill on Feb. 2 for consideration by the full education committee, with a hearing likely on Feb. 7. To parents like Larrimore, who believes Prince William’s 15 minutes of recess time each day is woefully inadequate for her kids at Lake Ridge Elementary School, the legislative action is quite welcome news.

7am – D/E     Trey Gowdy on Fox:

• Gowdy hints Sidney Blumenthal leaked info to dossier author Steele
• Gowdy:  “If you have enough without the dossier, then why did you include the dossier? If you have enough without the dossier, why did you, in your court filing, lead with the dossier?  Lawyers don’t start with their weakest argument.”
• Gowdy: The media are fascinated by the criminal stuff, but Mueller has a counter intel mission

8am – A         INTERVIEW – SAAGAR ENJETI – White House reporter, Daily Caller – discussed Democrat memo and President Trump’s comments on government shutdown

• DAILY CALLER: REPORT: Dem Memo Peppered With ‘Sources And Methods’ That Need To Be Redacted
• John Roberts @johnrobertsFox: Sources tell @foxnews that the @AdamSchiffCA memo contains information pertaining to “sources and methods” that will likely require redaction.  One source says this was done tactically to force the @realDonaldTrump into making changes  – setting up a contrast with GOP memo
• DAILY CALLER: Trump: ‘I’d Love To See A Shutdown’ If Immigration Deal Can’t Be Struck
• DAILY CALLER: EXCLUSIVE: Here’s The FBI Farewell Flyer Of Comey’s Assistant Saying He’s Going To ‘CNN To Defend’ The FBI

8am – B/C     ADAM SCHIFF NEWS:

• DAILY MAIL: Adam Schiff sent his staff to try and collect ‘classified materials for the FBI’ after Russian pranksters told him Putin has NAKED blackmail pictures of Trump
• Tucker Points Out Hypocrisy Of The Russia Narrative With Adam Schiff’s RT Appearance: ‘The Leaders of the Witch Hunt Are Witches’

8am – D/E     Are You For Having A Military Parade In Washington, D.C.?

• Trump’s ‘marching orders’ to the Pentagon: Plan a grand military parade: (Washington Post) — President Trump’s vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of Washington is moving closer to reality in the Pentagon and White House, where officials say they have begun to plan a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America’s armed forces.