Daily Caller’s Saagar Enjeti, Larry Michael and Bret Baier joined WMAL on Friday!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, March 16, 2018

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C What are your customer service horror stories? Mary tells her story.

5am – D         GOP senators call for special counsel to probe FBI over Russia. Senators Grassley, Graham call for second special counsel.

5am – E         WHITE HOUSE SHAKEUPS:

• ‘As Early As Friday’ — Major White House Staff Shakeup Reportedly May Come Soon
• Trump plans to remove McMaster as national security adviser, officials say, in yet another jolt to administration’s top echelon 
• White House denies Trump is giving H.R. McMaster the boot

• Trump eyes “Fox & Friends” personality Pete Hegseth to take over Veterans Affairs

6am – A         BRIDGE COLLAPSE:

• BRIDGE COLLAPSE: It was a horrific scene: A pedestrian bridge being built to keep students safe near a busy street crashed to the ground, killing at least six people. The still-under-construction bridge near Florida International University in Miami fell yesterday afternoon, crushing vehicles and trapping people. One shocked witness said the collapse “sounded like the world was ending.” The rescue mission has now turned into a recovery effort, officials said at a pre-dawn news conference. The bridge’s main span, which weighs 950 tons, was just installed Saturday. Sen. Marco Rubio, who’s an adjunct professor at Florida International, said the bridge’s cables were being tightened when it collapsed.
• Rescue shifts to recovery in Florida bridge collapse that killed 6. (CNN) — A recovery effort was underway early Friday morning in Miami after a pedestrian bridge collapsed onto a road near Florida International University, crushing cars and killing at least six people. After searching through the night for survivors, emergency crews shifted their focus from the initial rescue mission, officials said during a pre-dawn news conference. Their work included the “very slow process” of digging through rubble to preserve evidence and ensure public safety around the unstable bridge remnants, Miami-Dade Police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said. At least nine people were taken to hospitals, authorities said, after the bridge failure Thursday afternoon that one witness said “sounded like the world was ending.” The structure’s 950-ton main span had just been installed Saturday over eight lanes as part of a project aimed at making the area safer for students. It was built using an accelerated construction process and designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. The identities of the six deceased victims were not immediately released as authorities worked to contact family members, Zabaleta said.

6am – B         MSNBC Host Mocks Kudlow’s Reference To ‘God’s Will’ (Daily Caller) – It’s no secret that many members of the press are basically illiterate when it comes to matters of faith. Indeed, national media’s general ignorance in this area is nothing new. But if religious ignorance were an Olympic sport, MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle and co-host Ali Velshi would be taking home gold today. Economist Larry Kudlow was chosen this week to replace Gary Cohn as President Trump’s top economic adviser, the White House announced Tuesday. Kudlow is a Roman Catholic convert. He was baptized in 1997.

On Wednesday, after it became official that he would indeed make the move to the White House, the long-time cable news pundit gave a tearful goodbye to his colleagues at CNBC, where he has been a staple since the channel’s initial launching more than two decades ago.

6am – C         CBS plans to run Stormy Daniels’s ’60 Minutes’ interview March 25, says it has had no legal threat from Trump Organization lawyers.

6am – D/E/F  Study shows dogs are more obedient to women than men. (Southern Living) — Have you ever wondered why dogs always seem to gravitate to the lady of the house? Well, according to researchers in Hungary, it’s because women are simply more “fluent” in dog than men.  Sorry fellas! The results of the experiment, which were published in the journal Royal Society of Open Science in 2017, suggest that women are simply better at understanding dogs than men. And as a result, dogs are often more obedient to women. The study involved playing recordings of dog growls captured in a number of different scenarios — guarding food, playing tug of war, or feeling threatened by a stranger—for 40 people and asking them to identify the context of each growl. Most were good at associating the growls with the correct emotion, but two types of subjects—women and participants with dog experience—consistently scored higher. Why? Researchers theorized that it has to do with the “higher sensitivity of women to emotional stimuli.”

7am – A   INTERVIEW – SAAGAR ENJETI – White House Correspondent, Daily Caller – discussed the latest White House news.

• Mueller subpoenas Trump org
• Rumors about WH shakeups: McMaster (Bolton), Shulkin (Pete Hegseth) … ‘As Early As Friday’ — Major White House Staff Shakeup Reportedly May Come Soon
• Trump diplomat nominees being held up (Grenell)
• Trump Admin imposes sanctions on 19 Russian hackers
• WH on former Russian spy poisoning. PM Theresa May is giving 23 Russian diplomats one week to leave the UK in retaliation for the poisoning of a former spy.

7am – B         WALKOUT NEWS:

• Teacher put on leave for questioning school walkout. A California high school teacher says she was “aghast” to learn she was placed on leave over comments she made about National School Walkout Day. Julianne Benzel, a Rocklin High School teacher, said that administrators’ decision Wednesday followed a debate she held in her history class about the nationwide school protest supporting gun control reform, news station KOVR reported. She said she never discouraged students from participating in the 17-minute walkout on Wednesday, but school administrators told her they disagreed with her remarks.
• Chicago GOP to File Lawsuit Against Chicago Public Schools: Student Walkout ‘Political Indoctrination, Pure and Simple’ (Breitbart News) — The Chicago Republican Party plans to file a lawsuit against the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) over its decision to organize students to participate in Wednesday’s student walkouts that promoted gun control. “It’s appalling that 10 to 14-year-old kids would be coerced, by their teachers, to participate in a political demonstration,” said Chris Cleveland, chairman of the Chicago GOP, in a statement. “A 10-year-old kid isn’t going to have an informed opinion on these political matters, and shouldn’t be expected to have the fortitude to hold a different opinion from everyone else in his or her classroom. This is political indoctrination, pure and simple.”
• Parents Argue School District’s Decision to Allow Student Walkout Breaks Law (Breitbart News) — A group of parents from New Milford, Connecticut has hired an attorney to articulate their concerns about the decision by their school district to allow students to participate in the national student walkout held Wednesday to advocate for gun control. In an email sent to Breitbart News, the parents – who wish to remain anonymous – argue the student walkout might appear to be a fairly innocuous First Amendment event to honor the students killed in the Parkland, Florida, shooting and to advocate for gun control.

7am – C         ST. PATRICK’S DAY NEWS:

• Trump meets Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar ahead of St. Patrick’s Day. (USA Today) – WASHINGTON — St. Patrick’s Day is coming, so it’s time for the prime minister of Ireland to call on the president at the White House. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar made this year’s traditional and largely ceremonial visit, though his talk with President Trump also touched on such serious topics as trade, military assistance, and cyber-security, as well as small talk about golf. “The relationship is outstanding and only getting better,” Trump said as he welcomed the Irish leader to the Oval Office. “A tremendous number of Irish are living in New York, where I grew up and they’re living in the United States. And these are truly wonderful people. We love ‘em.” Trump also indicated he would accept Varadkar’s invitation to visit Ireland, and said the trip might include a tour of the border with Northern Ireland. While St. Patrick’s Day itself is Saturday, both leaders wore shamrocks in their jacket pockets.
• Baltimore has a new GUINNESS brewery to try for St. Patrick’s Day: The five-month-old Guinness Open Gate Brewery, located in Halethorpe, Md., is the Irish beer giant’s first American brewery since the 1950s.
• Paul Ryan jokes that Guinness beer tastes better in Ireland, but ‘this isn’t the year to bring up trade issues.’ During the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon with members of Congress and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, House Speaker Paul Ryan decided to crack a few lighthearted, Irish-themed jokes. One of those jokes seemed to allude to the ongoing international disagreement over President Donald Trump’s recently imposed tariffs. “The Guinness does taste better in Ireland, but I realize this isn’t the year to bring up trade issues,” Ryan said, holding up a pint of the iconic Irish beer.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – LARRY MICHAEL – Voice of the Redskins

• Mr. Smith Goes To Washington: Redskins introduce Alex Smith
• Redskins Sign Quarterback Alex Smith To Contract Extension

7am – E         BYE! Matt Damon Reportedly Moving His Family To Australia Because Of Trump. The New York Post reports: Matt Damon moving family to Australia because of Trump. Matt Damon is moving his family to Australia — in part because the liberal star’s fed up with President Trump. Damon, 47, reportedly has purchased a property in Byron Bay, New South Wales, according to Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph. The home’s next door to a place owned by Chris Hemsworth — with whom Damon recently appeared in “Thor: Ragnarok.” A source exclusively tells Page Six: “Matt’s telling friends and colleagues in Hollywood that he’s moving the family to Australia” because the activist actor disagrees with Trump’s policies. The president’s frequently butted heads with liberal Hollywood A-listers including Meryl Streep. The source added, “Matt’s saying the move will not impact his work — as he will travel to wherever his projects are shooting. He’s also telling friends he wants to have a safe place to raise his kids.” Damon has four children with wife Luciana Barroso.

8am – A         Bridge Collapse Update

8am – B         Latest on the White House Shakeup Rumors

8am – C         March Madness News: Obama and Northam give UVA some love with their NCAA Tournament picks.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – BRET BAIER – Anchor, Special Report, Fox News Channel

• RUSSIA: Trump Admin imposes sanctions on 19 Russian hackers Over Election Meddling and Cyberattacks
• SECOND SPECIAL COUNSEL: Bret had interview with Sen. Grassley and Graham yesterday. GOP senators call for special counsel to probe FBI over Russia. Senators Grassley, Graham call for second special counsel.
• MCCABE: WASHINGTON POST: FBI official Andrew McCabe, hoping to retire, asks Justice Dept. not to fire him.
• Lindsey Graham on Andrew McCabe probe: “The punishment for violating the law should be you lose your job, if he in fact he did authorize FBI agents to talk to the media and lied about it.” #SpecialReport
• WHITE HOUSE SHAKEUPS: Rumors about WH shakeups: McMaster (Bolton), Shulkin (Pete Hegseth) … –  ‘As Early As Friday’ — Major White House Staff Shakeup Reportedly May Come Soon

8am – E         HILLARY NEWS:

• HILLARY HURTS HERSELF AGAIN! (Daily Mail) — Hillary Clinton’s wrist injury is worse than originally thought. The former Secretary of State was forced to cancel her appearances in Jodhpur, India this week when she slipped in a palace bathtub and hurt her wrist. After undergoing a CT Scan and X-ray, it was determined that she had a hairline fracture on her wrist.
• MOOK: Hillary sat in lawn chair ‘wrapped in blanket’ on campaign plane. Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign manager was asked today what his favorite memory was from his time working with the failed candidate. Robby Mook says his favorite story from the campaign involves Clinton sitting in a lawn chair wrapped in a blanket — on the plane. Appearing on “Party People,” Mook was asked for his “favorite Hillary story — at least who she represents in your eyes.” He responded, “I remember on the plane, she had this lawn chair, and so you’re on an airplane, right? It was like these lawn chairs that you fold up and put beer in?” Mook said Hillary would ask him to set up the chair, “And I’d like set up this chair in the middle of (the plane) and she would kind like of wrap herself up in a blanket and we would just like kick it.” He said Hillary would “talk about Netflix and shows.