Weather Channel’s Ray Stagich, KURV’s Sergio Sanchez, legal analyst Jonna Spilbor, meteorologist John Trout, divorce attorney Aaron Weaver, former ICE chief Tom Homan and Fox’s Bret Baier joined WMAL on Friday morning!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, January 11, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C President Trump Is Already Anticipating the Retirement of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg missed oral arguments for the first time in her career this week and President Donald Trump noticed. The White House is reportedly reaching out to conservative activist groups in anticipation that Ginsburg may soon retire or worse due to her recent cancer diagnosis and treatment. Politico reported that the White House stirrings came in response to Ginsburg being out of the office.

5am – B/C     Pompeo, at site of Obama’s address to Muslim world, rebukes his legacy: ‘Age of self-inflicted American shame is over’ (Fox News) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday launched an astonishing rebuke of former President Barack Obama’s foreign policy at the site of Obama’s famous speech to the Muslim world — declaring that “the age of self-inflicted American shame is over.” Pompeo delivered his remarks in Cairo, where Obama famously spoke in 2009 and promised a new beginning with Muslim and Arab countries. He was criticized by conservatives for placing too much blame on the U.S. for strife in the region. Pompeo, while not mentioning Obama by name, said that “it was here, in this city, another American stood before you” and “told you that radical Islamist terrorism does not stem from ideology.” “He told you that 9/11 led my country to abandon its ideals, particularly in the Middle East,” he said at the American University in Cairo. “He told you that the United States and the Muslim world needed ‘a new beginning.’ The results of these misjudgments have been dire.” Pompeo said that under Obama, the U.S. abandoned its allies and was “timid” about asserting itself, that the U.S. “grossly underestimated the tenacity and viciousness of radical Islamism,” and kept silent as Iranians tried to rise up against the regime in Tehran.

5am – D         Jeff Bezos’ racy texts to Lauren Sanchez revealed (Page Six) — But the Bezoses were spotted celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in Miami in September, sources say — while the raunchy texts published in the Enquirer date back many months before that. On May 13 last year, he messaged her, “I want to smell you, I want to breathe you in. I want to hold you tight.… I want to kiss your lips…. I love you. I am in love with you,” according to the tabloid. Three weeks later, he sent her a shirtless photo with another romantic declaration. “You know what I want? I want to get a little drunk with you tonight. Not falling down. Just a little drunk. I want to talk to you and plan with you. Listen and laugh,” Bezos wrote with the photo on June 1, according to the Enquirer. “I basically WANT TO BE WITH YOU!!! Then I want to fall asleep with you and wake up tomorrow and read the paper with you and have coffee with you.” The leak of Bezos’ texts comes as Amazon faces questions about the privacy protections of security and prying of its Alexa digital personal assistants and Ring security cameras.

5am – E         INTERVIEW – Ray Stagich – Meteorologist for The Weather Channel – discussed snow coming to the DC area this weekend.

• Accumulating snow is likely in two waves this weekend. The question is how much. (Washington Post) — Snow is likely this weekend, coming in two waves — the first Saturday afternoon and evening, and a second on Sunday into Sunday night. But there are serious questions about the intensity of the snow and how much will ultimately fall. Temperatures, which will go below freezing while snow falls, should allow the snow to stick. However, if the snow remains light and spread out over a long period, it will be slow to pile up and it will be easy to clear and far less disruptive. But moderate to heavy bursts are possible, which could result in snow-covered roads and hazardous driving conditions.

 

6am – A         INTERVIEW – SERGIO SANCHEZ – Radio Host at NEWS TALK 710 KURV in McAllen, Texas @sergiotalk – talked about President Trump’s visit to the border.

6am – B/C     Brother of slain CA police officer Ronil Singh, who was allegedly murdered by an illegal alien, speaks during Pres. Trump’s border visit: “Looking at that five-month-old baby looking for his dad—no one should ever go through that on Christmas day.”

6am – D         INTERVIEW – JONNA SPILBOR – attorney and legal analyst and attorney at Jonna Spilbor Law – shared her legal analysis of the Bezos divorce: no prenup, alleged Bezos affair and billions at stake.

• Donald Trump Weighs In On Jeff Bezos’ Divorce: ‘It’s Going To Be A Beauty’
• Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has no prenup, $67B on the line: report. (Fox News) – Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced that he and his wife of 25 years, MacKenzie, would be divorcing, leaving many to wonder what would happen to the reported $137 billion fortune of the world’s richest man. A new report states that the couple did not have a pre-nuptial agreement and a significant chunk of Bezos’ fortune could be on the line.
• Jeff Bezos’ racy texts to Lauren Sanchez revealed. (Page Six) — The Bezoses were spotted celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in Miami in September, sources say — while the raunchy texts published in the Enquirer date back many months before that.
• Licensed to practice law in three of the nation’s most influential jurisdictions—New York, California, and the District of Columbia—Jonna owns and operates Jonna Spilbor Law, a full-service, extended-hour law firm. The firm’s practice is dedicated primarily to the areas of criminal defense, driving while intoxicated, family law and divorce (including same-sex/marriage equality issues), living-together law, personal injury/accidents, civil rights, and more.

6am – E         SHUTDOWN PROTESTS:

• Friday will be the first payday that roughly 800,000 federal employees will not get their paychecks.
• Angry furloughed federal workers protest shutdown at the White House, around the country. “I have rent to pay,” a demonstrator said. “I have bills I need to pay. I want to go to work.” (NBC News) — Hundreds of furloughed government workers and contractors descended on the White House on Thursday to plead to be allowed to return to work. Holding signs such as “Stop the war on workers” and “We want work, not walls,” the protesters assembled in the bitter cold outside of AFL-CIO union headquarters before making their way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. President Donald Trump wasn’t at the White House, but many of the protesters blamed him for the shutdown, which has now stretched in to its 20th day with no end in sight. Congress and the president have been locked in a stalemate over his demand for $5.7 billion to build a border wall that he’d said Mexico would pay for.
• Sen. Bernie Sanders at union rally protesting government shutdown: “Today we say to this president: Grow up, do your job, end this shutdown.”
• “We want our pay! We want our pay!” Federal workers gather at a union-organized anti-shutdown rally in Washington, DC
• Senate talks to end shutdown fall apart: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocks Senate Democrats move to reopen government.
• POLITICO congressional reporter Burgess Everett ‏@burgessev: On day 20 of the shutdown, Senators are leaving at 2 pm, Thursday for the weekend

6am – F         Breaking Bad star defends playing disabled character. (BBC) — Bryan Cranston has defended playing a disabled character in his latest film, saying his casting as a man with quadriplegia was “a business decision.” In The Upside, the US actor plays a wheelchair-using billionaire who hires a former criminal, played by comedian Kevin Hart, to be his live-in career.  “As actors we’re asked to play other people,” said the Breaking Bad star. Cranston said the subject was “worthy for debate” and there should be “more opportunities” for disabled actors. Yet he maintained he was entitled to play characters whose attributes and abilities differed from his own. “If I, as a straight, older person, and I’m wealthy, I’m very fortunate, does that mean I can’t play a person who is not wealthy, does that mean I can’t play a homosexual?” he mused. “I don’t know, where does the restriction apply, where is the line for that?” he told the Press Association.

 

7am – A         PRICELESS ACOSTA:

• CNN’s Jim Acosta Says There’s No Border Crisis Near Texas Border Wall. CNN’s Jim Acosta traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border in McAllen, Texas, on Thursday to cover the presidential visit to the border town. As Acosta awaited the president, he took a selfie video walking along the border, and inadvertently made a case for the construction of a border wall. In the video, Acosta wanders around steel slats on the border, describing how “tranquil” it is.  “I found some steel slats down on the border. But I don’t see anything resembling a national emergency situation,” Acosta tweeted.

• Sarah Sanders Thanks Acosta For ‘So Clearly Explaining Why Walls Work’: Sarah Sanders @PressSec 4h4 hours ago Sarah Sanders Retweeted Jim Acosta: When I went with President @realDonaldTrump to the border today I never imagined @Acosta would be there doing our job for us and so clearly explaining why WALLS WORK. Thanks Jim!
• TRUMP TROLLS ACOSTA: Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 29m29 minutes ago: Donald J. Trump Retweeted Jim Acosta: Dear Diary…
• CNN requests KUSI for local view on the border, declines our reporter after finding out wall works

7am – B         BETO GOES TO THE DENTIST: Beto ORourke’s Insta story: “I’m here at the dentist, and we’re going to continue our series about people who live along the border. My dental hygenist, Diana, is going to tell us about growing up in El Paso.”

• Beto O’Rourke Mocked for Instagramming Trip to Dentist. Talk about oversharing. While President Trump visited the southern border Thursday, Democratic darling Beto O’Rourke visited the dentist — posting a bizarre video showing him getting a mouth-wide-open cleaning in order to highlight the story of his dental hygienist’s upbringing in El Paso. With dental tools jammed into either side of his mouth, O’Rourke introduced his dental hygienist as part of his Instagram story “series” on “people of the border.” “Um, so I’m here at the dentist and we’re going to continue our series on the people of the border. I’m here with Diana, my dental hygienist,” O’Rourke slurred. “Um, Diana is going to tell us a little bit about growing up in El Paso.” Diana, who was born in El Paso, said her mother was from a small town in Mexico, and her father was a U.S. citizen. “My mom was a permanent resident when she was studying to become a citizen,” Diana said, with a dental mask and goggles covering her face. “The neighborhood really helped her out … so she could learn more English and that way she would be able to pass her citizenship.”

7am – C         Washington-Lee High School in Arlington renamed Washington-Liberty. WASHINGTON — During a fiery board meeting Thursday night, the Arlington School board voted to rename Washington-Lee High School to Washington Liberty High School. ”The committee welcomed community input, and considered all information and opinions submitted,” said school board member Nancy Van Doren. The school was named after first U.S. President George Washington and Confederate General and Virginia native Robert E. Lee. “Lee was a rebel and a traitor, and I don’t think he should be venerated in any part of the United States,” said John Holt, a senior at the school who served on the committee that worked on new names for the school. The decision to rename the school comes after months of discussion and calls to change the school’s name to reflect the diversity of the county.

7am – D         ENTITLED BRAT ON DR. PHIL:

• Actor James Woods ‏ @RealJamesWoods: In a rare television event, we are witness to the actual birth of a Democrat. Let’s take a peek…
• Dr Phil: Beverly Hills teen ‘can’t live off $1000 a month’ – THIS spoiled 15-year-old from Beverly Hills won’t get a job, is furious her pocket money was cut from $5000 a month and “needs” a $231,000 car. WHO do you call when you’re a spoiled 15-year-old whose mum is trying to put the brakes on your $100,000-a-year lifestyle? Nicolette, a girl seemingly more in need of a reality check than another allowance cheque, called US talk show guru and psychologist Dr Phil McGraw. The self-described Beverly Hills brat outlined her plight — and lifestyle — before a live audience episode of the Dr Phil show, after her mother cut her allowance from $US5000 ($A6650) a month to $US1000 ($A1330). In a video on the Dr Phil Facebook page the teen appealed to the host saying: “I can’t deal with this. And that’s why I came to you for help.” Appearing with her mother, Nina, on the show, Nicolette told Dr Phil she wanted him to “get straight with her mum” that she couldn’t live off $A1330 a month. “I grew up on a certain lifestyle. She just can’t take that away from me immediately,” she said. “If someone took that lifestyle away from her, she wouldn’t like that. And I grew up on it, it’s all I’ve ever known.”

7am – E         INTERVIEW – JOHN TROUT – Meteorologist – discussed snow coming to the DC area this weekend.

• Accumulating snow is likely in two waves this weekend. The question is how much. (Washington Post) — Snow is likely this weekend, coming in two waves — the first Saturday afternoon and evening, and a second on Sunday into Sunday night. But there are serious questions about the intensity of the snow and how much will ultimately fall. Temperatures, which will go below freezing while snow falls, should allow the snow to stick. However, if the snow remains light and spread out over a long period, it will be slow to pile up and it will be easy to clear and far less disruptive. But moderate to heavy bursts are possible, which could result in snow-covered roads and hazardous driving conditions.

 

8am – A         INTERVIEW – Aaron Weaver – a divorce attorney at Cordell and Cordell @CordellLaw ‏ (a WMAL advertiser)

• Fairfax divorce attorney Weaver is licensed to practice in Virginia. Mr. Weaver practices law in divorce, child custody/support, spousal support, criminal defense, collections, personal injury, general civil litigation, insurance defense, contract negotiation, employment law, and corporate law. https://cordellcordell.com/attorneys/aaron-j-weaver/
• TOPIC: Legal analysis of Bezos divorce — No prenup, Bezos affair and billions at stake
• Donald Trump Weighs In On Jeff Bezos’ Divorce: ‘It’s Going To Be A Beauty’
• Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has no prenup, $67B on the line: report. (
• How the Bezos divorce could impact Amazon shareholders

8am – B/C     INTERVIEW – THOMAS “TOM” HOMAN – former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – shared his thoughts on President Trump visiting the border and the continued government shutdown over border security funding.

• PENCE: “The president believe he has an absolute right to declare a national emergency under his authority as president of the United States.” He said Trump has not made a decision, but will get this done “one way or another”
• LINDSEY GRAHAM: ““It is time for President Trump to use emergency powers to fund the construction of a border wall/barrier.”
• ACOSTA PROVES WALLS WORK! CNN’s Jim Acosta Says There’s No Border Crisis Near Texas Border Wall
• President Trump Participates in a Roundtable on Immigration and Border Security
• Brother of slain CA police officer Ronil Singh, who was allegedly murdered by an illegal alien, speaks during Pres. Trump’s border visit: “Looking at that five-month-old baby looking for his dad—no one should ever go through that on Christmas day.”
• Pelosi Says Stories Like Ronil Singh’s Are ‘Tragic,’ But Not Enough To Call A ‘Crisis’
• Asked how long he thinks the partial government shutdown will last, President Trump says, “I don’t know — that I can’t tell you.” “All I can tell you is I feel very badly for people that have family members that have been killed,” he adds
• Friday will be the first payday that roughly 800,000 federal employees will not get their paychecks.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – BRET BAIER – anchor of Special Report on Fox News Channel, weekdays at 6 pm – discussed the latest on the President’s visit to the border and the shutdown battle on Capitol Hill.

8am – E         Starbucks exploring adding needle-disposal boxes in bathrooms following petition.  (NBC News) — “Employees risk getting poked, and DO get poked, even when following ‘protocol’ of using gloves and tongs to dispose of used needles,” said an online petition. Starbucks is exploring installing needle-disposal boxes in the bathrooms of certain stores to provide a safe way of throwing out syringes and other drug paraphernalia. The company’s announcement comes after more than 3,000 people signed a petition on Coworker.org calling on the coffee giant to provide a safe way of disposing of needles used for drugs that are left inside bathrooms.“These societal issues affect us all and can sometimes place our partners (employees) in scary situations,” Starbucks said in a statement Thursday. The company announced in May a new policy that allows anyone to sit in their restaurants or use their bathrooms, regardless of whether they make a purchase. The online petition says, “Employees risk getting poked, and DO get poked, even when following ‘protocol’ of using gloves and tongs to dispose of used needles left in bathrooms, tampon disposal boxes, and diaper changing stations.”