Cherry Blossom Festival’s Diana Mayhew, Steve Moore, DC Police Chief Peter Newsham, Fox’s Bret Baier and guest co-host Hans Von Spakovsky joined WMAL on Friday morning!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, March 23, 2018

Hosts: Mary Walter and guest host Hans Von Spakovsky

5am – A/B/C   OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL:

• Senate passes $1.3 trillion spending bill to avoid Saturday shutdown (Washington Examiner) — The Senate voted early Friday morning to pass a $1.3 trillion measure that would fund the government for the next six months, clearing the bill for President Trump’s signature ahead of a Friday midnight deadline and avoiding a partial government shutdown. The 65-32 vote came after Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., lifted his threat to delay the bill. Paul complained he did not have time to read the 2,232-page legislation, which he said would raise the deficit to $1 trillion this year.
• Democratic leaders spiked the football Thursday after the House passed the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending package and argued they have been able to accomplish more despite not holding the White House or either congressional chamber. After rolling through a litany of Democratic wins in the spending package, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., declared Democrats were big winners in the bipartisan bill despite their standing in Congress. Specifically, he touted funding for the Gateway tunnel project and increased spending for the National Institutes of Health, along with other programs. “It’s a funny thing. In a certain sense, we’re able to accomplish more in the minority than we were when we had the presidency or even were in the majority,” Schumer said when asked at one point about the wildfire-related funding that was included in the bill.
• Mark Meadows @RepMarkMeadows Mar 21

– Record spending levels

– No wall/border security

– Obamacare intact

– Funds Planned Parenthood

– Sanctuary Cities funded

– Barely 24 hours to read a 2,300 page bill

This Omnibus is so far from what the forgotten men and women of America voted for. I will oppose it.

5am – D         BOLTON / MCMASTER NEWS:

• John Bolton to replace H.R. McMaster as White House national security adviser, Trump says (FOX NEWS) – President Donald Trump announced Thursday that former United Nations Amb. John Bolton will replace Gen. H.R. McMaster as his national security adviser effective April 9 — the latest in a growing list of White House staff shakeups over the past year. “I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9,” Trump tweeted. The presidEnt’s announcement came after months of speculation over whether McMaster would resign or be fired.
• Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 10h10 hours ago: I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9.

5am – E         STORMY DANIELS NEWS:

• 60 Minutes interview with Stormy Daniels to be broadcast Sunday.  The adult-film star and director describes the affair she says she had with Donald Trump in her first television interview about the alleged relationship. The 60 Minutes interview with Stormy Daniels, the adult-film star and director who says she had an affair with Donald Trump, will be broadcast on Sunday, March 25 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Daniels talks to Anderson Cooper about the relationship she says she had with Mr. Trump in 2006 and 2007, revealing details that bring her story up to the present. It is the first and only television interview in which she speaks about the alleged relationship.
• Stormy Daniels lawyer plans to subpoena Trump Org and bank records: report. An attorney representing the former adult film star suing President Trump over a nondisclosure agreement covering their alleged affair filed requests to the Trump Organization and two banks on Thursday to preserve all records pertaining to a nondisclosure payment to the actress.
• Friends of Stormy Daniels: She’s exhausted from this nightmare. Friends of former adult film star Stormy Daniels describe her newfound political prominence and media fame as a “nightmare” and “exhausting.”
• Stormy Daniels Has a ‘Monica Lewinsky Dress’ from Alleged Donald Trump Affair, Will Test It for DNA. In a Wednesday afternoon e-mail to The Miami Herald, Avenatti & Associates, the law firm representing Daniels said, “There is no auction, let alone any dress being auctioned off as the story and press release claim. This story is completely bogus and should be taken down.” As The Herald and Miami New Times reported earlier, the strip club was advertising a Friday and Saturday auction of a dress allegedly worn by Daniels during the affair she claimed to have had with the President. “Stormy no longer wishes to remain silent and, in association with Solid Gold, will be auctioning off the alleged dress live on stage worn during their supposed encounter,” Solid Gold’s Facebook post read.

6am – A/B/C BIDEN VS TRUMP:

• Trump, Biden trade fighting words. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are in a rhetorical smackdown over who could clean the other’s clock in a brawl. Trump, reacting to comments Biden made about him earlier in the week at an anti-sexual assault rally, tweeted Thursday: “Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesn’t know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Don’t threaten people Joe!” At the University of Miami on Tuesday, Biden cited lewd comments the Republican president made in a 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape about grabbing women without their permission. “If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him,” said Biden, a Democrat. He also said any man who disrespected women was “usually the fattest, ugliest S.O.B. in the room.”

6am – D         TRUMP LEGAL TEAM SHAKEUP:

• John Dowd, the lead lawyer for President Donald Trump in the Russia investigation, has resigned.
• Dowd has also voiced his opposition to the idea that the President would agree to be interviewed by Special Council Robert Mueller.
• Trump said Thursday he wants to testify before Mueller. “Yes. I would like to,” Trump told reporters.
• Joe diGenova, whom Trump announced this week was joining his legal team, is expected to play a key role in discussions with Mueller’s office about a presidential interview, these people said.
• Dowd was unhappy about the addition of diGenova and perceived his addition as eclipsing his role and legal advice, people familiar with the matter said. He had been wary of Trump testifying before Mueller out of concern that he might unintentionally perjure himself. The elevated role of diGenova, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia who has accused the Mueller investigation of bias, and preparations for a possible presidential interview underscore Trump’s desire to take a more aggressive approach to investigators and suggest he’s moving toward a sit-down with Mueller.

6am – E         Trump slaps China with tariffs on up to $60 billion in imports: ‘This is the first of many.’ (CNBC) – President Donald Trump targets China with up to $60 billion in Chinese imports. The Trump administration says China’s trade practices involve stealing American companies’ intellectual property. China recently argued that it should not be punished if it doesn’t want to buy what the U.S. is selling.  President Donald Trump signed an executive memorandum on Thursday that would impose retaliatory tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese imports. “This is the first of many” trade actions, Trump said as he signed the memo. The new measures are designed to penalize China for trade practices that the Trump administration says involve stealing American companies’ intellectual property. They will primarily target certain products in the technology sector where China holds an advantage over the U.S. The new measures follow a so-called 301 investigation led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer into China’s potentially unfair trade practices with the U.S. Lighthizer’s office will publish a list of targeted products in 15 days, and there will be a 30-day period for public comment, according to senior administration officials

6am – F         OBAMA AND GEORGE CLOONEY SENT LETTERS TO PARKLAND STUDENTS:

• Obamas send handwritten note to Parkland students: ‘We will be there for you’ (The Hill) — Former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama sent a handwritten letter to students at the Florida high school where a mass shooting left 17 dead last month. The Obamas thanked the survivors for speaking out against gun violence and helping to “awaken the conscience of our nation.” The former president and first lady closed by telling the students, “We will be there for you.” The letter, dated March 10, was obtained by Mic on Wednesday. “We wanted to let you know how inspired we have been by the resilience, resolve and solidarity that you have all shown in the wake of unspeakable tragedy,” the Obamas wrote.
• George Clooney to Parkland students: ‘You make me proud of my country again’ When student journalists from the Parkland high school newspaper requested an interview with George and Amal Clooney, this is what he wrote back. “Dear Emma, Lauren and Rebecca, Thank you for your note and congratulations on the incredible work you and all of your fellow students are doing to make the country a safer place. It’s terrific that you’re editing the Guardian. It’s a stellar newspaper and they must feel honored to be working with you. Amal and I are 100% behind you and will be marching in DC on the 24th, but we both feel very strongly that this is your march. Your moment. Young people are taking it to the adults and that has been your most effective tool. The fact that no adults will speak on the stage in DC is a powerful message to the world that if we can’t do something about gun violence then you will. The issue is going to be this, anyone you ask would feel proud to be interviewed by you but it’s so much more effective if it’s young people. You could talk to a dozen kids like the young kids from Chicago and LA that Emma met with. You could take over the Guardian and make it tell the stories of children by children. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to point to this moment and say it belongs to you. You certainly should do what you want but that would be my hope for you. Amal and I stand behind you, in support of you, in gratitude to you. You make me proud of my country again. Thank you. All the best, George”

7am – A   INTERVIEW – DIANA MAYHEW – Cherry Blossom Festival — previewed the Cherry Blossom Festival and upcoming events.

• An overview of the festival schedule — what the plans are for the opening ceremony, what’s happening next week, when the parade will happen… mainly the highlights of what Washingtonians should plan to put on their calendar.
• The opening ceremony kicks off the four-week festival and marks the official beginning of tourism season. Other festival events are scheduled to be held throughout the week and thousands of visitors are expected to be in town to view the blooming cherry trees at the Tidal Basin.

7am – B/C     John Bolton to replace H.R. McMaster as White House national security adviser, Trump says (FOX NEWS) – President Donald Trump announced Thursday that former United Nations Amb. John Bolton will replace Gen. H.R. McMaster as his national security adviser effective April 9 — the latest in a growing list of White House staff shakeups over the past year. “I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9,” Trump tweeted. The presidEnt’s announcement came after months of speculation over whether McMaster would resign or be fired.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – STEVE MOORE – economist, Heritage Foundation – discussed President Trump’s China tariffs and the spending bill.

7am – E         Citi sets restrictions on gun sales by retail clients. (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc (C.N) added restrictions on firearms sales for new retail-sector clients, the Wall Street bank said on Thursday, the strongest move to date by a major U.S. lender following last month’s high school shooting in Florida.  In an emailed statement Citi said it will require those clients only sell firearms to customers who have passed a background check, restrict firearms sales for buyers under 21, and not sell so-called “bump stocks” or high-capacity magazines. The new rules could be seen as somewhat symbolic since they are unlikely to directly affect a large share of business at the bank, which had total assets of $1.8 trillion at Dec. 31. They come weeks after a shooting at a Florida high school that killed 17 people, the second-deadliest shooting at a public school in U.S. history.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – DC POLICE CHIEF PETER NEWSHAM – previewed the preparations of March for Our Lives

• March For Our Lives: More than 500,000 activists are preparing to descend upon the District for the March For Our Lives on Saturday
• D.C. is ready for March for Our Lives protesters, mayor and police chief say
• Several young organizers spearheading the march have received threats of violence since they began speaking out in public. D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said he wanted to assure those students they are “coming to one of the safest cities in the country.” Newsham said no formal counterprotests have been planned.

8am – B         Discussed the Omnibus spending bill

8am – C         Men use spaghetti sauce to try to start fire after burglary, deputies say. Deputies find sauce burning on victim’s stove with washcloth on burner. DeLAND, Fla. – Two men are accused of breaking into the home of a man they both dated, stealing several items, then leaving spaghetti sauce boiling on the stove with a washcloth placed near the burner in an attempt to start a fire, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. The victim called 911 about 7 a.m. Tuesday because the security cameras in his home on Evergreen Terrace in DeLand detected motion and he believed someone was breaking in because a towel had been placed over one of the cameras, the report said. Deputies went to the residence and saw a red Lincoln Navigator attempting to leave the area. A stop was conducted and the driver, 28-year-old John Silva, and passenger, Derrick Irving, told the deputy that they had just picked up some clothes from the victim’s home, according to the affidavit. The victim told News 6 that Irving was wearing a bull costume. The deputy said she could see a marijuana grinder in the center console and a vacuum, window A/C unit, flat-screen television and heater in the back seat. An empty jar of Ragu spaghetti sauce was also on the passenger’s seat, the report said.  Deputies said both men initially denied burglarizing the victim’s home, instead saying that Irving told Silva he lived at the home and needed a ride there to retrieve some clothes and other items.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – BRET BAIER – Anchor, Special Report, Fox News Channel – discussed the Omnibus spending bill and Amb. John Bolton’s hire for the White House.

8am – E         What’s in a name: Gender-neutral baby names are on the rise. NEW YORK (AP) — Whether Royal, Charlie or Salem, Skyler, Justice or Oakley, unisex names for babies are on the rise among parents more willing than ever to embrace the possibility of gender fluidity in their children and attempt to head off sexism on their behalf. “We’re definitely seeing more conversation today around the distinction of a truly gender-neutral name,” said Linda Murray, global editor-in-chief of BabyCenter.com . “This generation is truly interested in gender neutral names.” The Social Security Administration puts out a top 10 list of popular baby names every year based on its registrations, but it also keeps track of names on the rise in its top 1,000.  Name-watchers said crossovers and more neutral names haven’t overtaken the top spots but are more heavily represented in the broader ranking, especially among millennial parents. Pop culture and honoring family or religious history are important in baby naming, as is the cool factor. But more names are being used for either sex regardless of which gender they were originally associated with, and neutral naming has become a flashpoint for debate. “We chose a gender-neutral name, Riley, for my daughter,” said Lori Kinkler, a psychologist in San Antonio, Texas. “We knew her sex, but gender is fluid and yet to be determined. Of all the difficulties faced by those who live beyond, or across, the binary, we didn’t want name-changing to be one of them. … I like that she feels she has options and knows she’ll be accepted by us no matter what.” Riley is 3.