Salena Zito, Susan Ferrechio, Saagar Enjeti and NSC’s Victoria Coates joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C 1 In 4 Couples Sleep Apart For Better Rest (CBS Minnoesota) — MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Snoring, sleep talking or hogging the blankets can make sleeping with another person impossible. The National Sleep Foundation found some married couples choose to get a better night’s rest by sleeping apart. “Sometimes it’s so loud you just laugh, you know that’s all you can do,” said Nancy Scott. Scott tries to keep a sense of humor when it comes to her husband’s snoring. “I tried a new set of ear plugs last night. Well, they fell out,” she said. After too many restless nights, the Bloomington couple decided it was time to sleep in separate rooms. Scott is far from alone. A survey from the National Sleep Foundation finds that almost one in four married couples sleep in separate beds or separate rooms.

5am – D         Trump welcomes 3 American detainees released from North Korea: President Trump congratulated the three Americans who were released from captivity in North Korea upon their arrival at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington early Thursday morning. The three men, Kim Dong-chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song, were brought back to the U.S. by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo following a whirlwind trip to Pyongyang, his second in the last month, to set the table for Trump’s much-anticipated summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. “This is a special night for these three really great people,” Trump told reporters, while standing next to the three former detainees at around 3 a.m. “And congratulations on being in this country.” Trump praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the release of the three men, but would not say whether he had spoken with Kim ahead of high-stakes talks between the two countries about denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

5am – E         COHEN / AVENATTI:

• Avenatti Accuses The Wrong Michael Cohens Of Making ‘Fraudulent’ Payments
• Treasury inspector general launches probe into possible leak of Michael Cohen’s banking records
  

6am – A/B/C HASPEL HEARING RECAP:

• Sen. Cotton points out that Senate Democrats voted to confirm CIA Dir. Brennan who also had ties to interrogation program
• Gina Haspel Leaves Jack Reed Speechless. Haspel Shuts Down Reed: There’s No Comparison Between CIA Operatives Following the Law and Lawless Terrorists
• Gina Haspel: Lawyers for the federal government “were very consistent that there was no legal requirement to preserve the tapes because of the written record.”
• Sen. Susan Collins: If the President gave you a direct order to waterboard a terrorism suspect, what would you do? Gina Haspel: “I do not believe the President would ask me to do that”

6am – D/E     INTERVIEW – SALENA ZITO – co-author of new book ”The Great Revolt” — discussed her new book “The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics.”

• ABOUT BOOK: Standout syndicated columnist and CNN contributor Salena Zito, with veteran Republican strategist Brad Todd, reports across five swing states and over 27,000 miles to answer the pressing question: Was Donald Trump’s election a fluke or did it represent a fundamental shift in the electorate that will have repercussions–for Republicans and Democrats–for years to come.

6am – F         DISASTERS:

• Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano could be ready to blow, scientists say
• Chocolate Spills, and Brown Goo Closes a Polish Highway

7am – A         INTERVIEW – SUSAN FERRECHIO – the chief congressional correspondent for the Washington Examiner – recapped the Haspel hearing.

7am – B         NORTH KOREA

• Trump welcomes 3 American detainees released from North Korea: President Trump congratulated the three Americans who were released from captivity in North Korea upon their arrival at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington early Thursday morning. The three men, Kim Dong-chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song, were brought back to the U.S. by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo following a whirlwind trip to Pyongyang, his second in the last month, to set the table for Trump’s much-anticipated summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. “This is a special night for these three really great people,” Trump told reporters, while standing next to the three former detainees at around 3 a.m. “And congratulations on being in this country.” Trump praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the release of the three men, but would not say whether he had spoken with Kim ahead of high-stakes talks between the two countries about denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
• Trump: Summit with Kim won’t be held at Korean DMZ (Politico) — Trump says the date and location will be released within the next three days. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will not be in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, the location he expressed a preference for last week. Trump told reporters at the White House that the date and location of his meeting with Kim, which he has previously said has already been decided, will be released within the next three days. “We’re just working arrangements,” the president said. At a press conference last week, Trump suggested that the heavily fortified border that separates the Korean peninsula would be an especially symbolic location for his planned meeting with Kim, which, if it happens, would be the first known meeting of a sitting U.S. president and North Korean leader. Singapore is also under consideration as a meeting place for Trump and Kim, the president said last week.

7am – C         California Takes Big Step to Require Solar on New Homes.  State would be first in U.S. to mandate solar arrays on most residences, starting in 2020.

California just sent the clearest signal yet that rooftop power is moving beyond a niche market and becoming the norm. On Wednesday, the Golden State became the first in the U.S. to require solar panels on almost all new homes.  Most new units built after Jan. 1, 2020, will be required to include solar systems as part of the standards adopted by the California Energy Commission. While that’s a boost for the solar industry, critics warned that it will also drive up the cost of buying a house by almost $10,000. Solar shares surged on the decision. Homebuilders fell.

7am – D         McCain Confirms He Gave Trump Dossier to Comey: ‘Duty Demanded I Do’ It.  (Daily Beast) — The senator describes that fateful decision in his upcoming book, ‘The Restless Wave.’ In his new book, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) confirms that he gave a controversial dossier about President Trump to former FBI chief James Comey. “I agreed to receive a copy of what is now referred to as ‘the dossier,’” McCain writes in the upcoming book, titled The Restless Wave, referencing information compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. “I reviewed its contents. The allegations were disturbing, but I had no idea which if any were true. I could not independently verify any of it, and so I did what any American who cares about our nation’s security should have done.” The Daily Beast obtained an advance copy of the book, due out May 22.

7am – E         Top Hillary Crony To Don Jr: Your Wife Fantasized About The Manly Gang Member She Used To Date While In Bed With You

• Vanessa Trump’s High School Sweetheart Was in a Violent Gang, Alleges She Helped Him Deliver Weed (People) — A former member of the violent street gang the Latin Kings claims in a bombshell interview that he was Vanessa Trump‘s “first love” in high school — and that she allegedly helped him deliver marijuana, drove him to gang meetings, and visited him in prison before eventually leaving him for Leonardo DiCaprio. Valentin Rivera opened up about his rough and rocky past with Vanessa in a new interview with the New York Post‘s Page Six amid the former model’s highly publicized split from President Trump‘s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. Rivera alleged to the outlet that while Vanessa (then Vanessa Haydon) was in high school at the elite Upper West Side Dwight prep school, she drove her then-boyfriend to gang meetings on the weekends and helped him deliver weed to friends in her stepfather’s convertible — which allegedly had an illegal gun in the trunk.
• Philippe Reines @PhilippeReines: .@DonaldJTrumpJr – Vaness being with a Latin King must’ve driven you insanely jealous. The machismo, the passion. Tough act to follow. Did you wonder if she fantasized about Valentin Rivera when intimate with you? She did. Every time.
• SAAGAR: .@PhilippeReines passes on the following statement re: his tweet about @DonaldJTrumpJr: “The Tweet speaks for itself. For Trumpflakes who spew vitriol but can’t handle it: yes, I bet his wife… fantasized about ex-boyfriends. Or anyone not named Don Jr.”

 

8am – A         INTERVIEW – SAARGAR ENJETI – White House reporter, The Daily Caller – discussed the latest White House news: Trump welcomes 3 American detainees released from North Korea.

8am – B/C     Swearing and nose-picking are two of the top activities D.C.-area drivers do behind the wheel while stuck in traffic, according to Cars.com.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – VICTORIA COATES – Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Negotiations at White House’s National Security Council — discussed what’s next for dealing with Iran after withdrawing from the Iran deal and North Korea released 3 American hostages.

• Trump welcomes 3 American detainees released from North Korea:
• Trump: Summit with Kim won’t be held at Korean DMZ
• On returning from North Korea, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will pursue talks with allies on Iran – U.S. officials
• Trump warns of ‘very severe consequence’ if Iran restarts nuclear program
• Israel says it attacked targets in Syria after Iranian rocket fire

8am – E         MUELLER NEWS:

• The ‘Russian Collusion’ Trial Is On — It Might Be Bad For Mueller (Daily Caller) — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lawyers for Russian company Concord Management and Consulting, LLC, formally entered a “not guilty” plea in federal court Monday in a case special counsel Robert Mueller probably never thought would happen. Mueller, weathering significant criticism that his Russian collusion case was thin, unveiled a grandiose indictment Feb. 16 against 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies. The 13 Russians in question were charged with waging “information warfare” in the United States, interfering with the 2016 presidential election, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Mueller generated headlines with the February indictment, safe in the knowledge the 13 Russians were beyond U.S. jurisdiction. Therefore, there would be no trial — only sensational Russian collusion accusations. Mueller may now have to try the case, and Concord’s lawyers have put the special counsel on notice. The Russian company’s lawyers intend to invoke “discovery” to obtain U.S. intelligence about what they knew of Russian activities. “I guess Mueller thought it was a freebie, for sure,” former federal prosecutor Andrew C. McCarthy told The Daily Caller News Foundation after the court proceeding. “He thought it could make this association (of Russian collusion) and it would never be challenged in court,” McCarthy, also a National Review contributing editor, said.

• Justice Department invites Devin Nunes, Trey Gowdy to view classified Russia investigation info. The Treasury Department’s inspector general is investigating whether confidential banking information involving a company controlled by President Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen was leaked, a spokesman said. Detailed claims about the company’s banking history were made public Tuesday by Michael Avenatti, an attorney for Stormy Daniels, the adult-film star who was paid $130,000 by Cohen’s company shortly before the 2016 election to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump.