Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

Ken Cuccinelli, Amber Athey, Carol Maloney and Susan Ferrechio joined WMAL on Thursday!

5am – A/B/C Bernie Sanders, 78, is canceling campaign events until further notice after having heart surgery. (CBS News) – Leading Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is recovering after doctors found a blockage in one artery and inserted two stents. Sanders is canceling his campaign events until further notice, according to his senior adviser Jeff Weaver. “During a campaign event yesterday evening, Sen. Sanders experienced some chest discomfort,” Weaver said in a statement. “Following medical evaluation and testing he was found to have a blockage in one artery and two stents were successfully inserted. Sen. Sanders is conversing and in good spirits. He will be resting up over the next few days. We are canceling his events and appearances until further notice, and we will continue to provide appropriate updates.” Sanders was in Las Vegas for Tuesday for events that were closed.

• Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign is canceling an Iowa TV ad buy that was set to begin this week. Per @Kantar_Media data, the campaign had booked about $400,000 of airtime in Iowa over the next two weeks, part of an ad campaign that was set to total $1.3 million.
• Beto O’Rourket @BetoORourke Wishing @BernieSanders a full and speedy recovery. Our thoughts are with you and your family today—and I look forward to seeing you back out on the campaign trail soon.
• Julián Castro @JulianCastro We want to send our best wishes for a quick recovery to @BernieSanders today. Our whole team has you in their thoughts.
• Cory Booker @CoryBooker Glad to hear my friend @BernieSanders is doing well and in good spirits—wishing him a speedy recovery.
• Pete Buttigieg @PeteButtigieg All of us here at @PeteForAmerica are sending our best wishes for a speedy recovery to Senator @BernieSanders. We’re thinking of him and his family today, and I look forward to seeing him back on the campaign trail very soon.
• Elizabeth Warren @ewarren Bruce, Team Warren, and I are sending all our best wishes for a speedy recovery to @BernieSanders. I hope to see my friend back on the campaign trail very soon.
• Tom Steyer @TomSteyer Wishing @BernieSanders a quick and easy recovery.
• Joe Biden @JoeBiden @DrBiden and I are sending our best wishes to @BernieSanders, Jane, and the whole Sanders family. Anyone who knows Bernie understands what a force he is. We are confident that he will have a full and speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him on the trail soon.

5am – D         Acting homeland security chief frustrated and isolated — even as he delivers what Trump wants at the border (Washington Post) – Nearly six months after taking over the Department of Homeland Security as acting secretary, Kevin McAleenan has guided the United States out of a crisis at the southern border, but he also says he has lost command of the public messaging from his department and lacks some of the authority he was promised when he took the job. Increasingly isolated within the administration and overshadowed by others who are more effusive in their praise for President Trump, McAleenan said he retains “operational” control of DHS — mainly the ability to coordinate work at the border among U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and Citizenship and Immigration Services. But he acknowledged that he is losing the battle to keep DHS, which he views as a neutral law enforcement agency, from being used as a powerful tool for a partisan immigration agenda. “What I don’t have control over is the tone, the message, the public face and approach of the department in an increasingly polarized time,” he said in an interview with The Washington Post. “That’s uncomfortable, as the accountable, senior figure.” McAleenan was referring to recent DHS appointees who won their jobs after advocating aggressively for the president on television: Mark Morgan, the acting head of CBP, and Ken Cuccinelli, the acting USCIS director, who is rumored as a potential replacement for McAleenan.

5am – E         Tlaib: Use only blacks as Detroit’s facial recognition analysts. (The Detroit News) – U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib told Detroit police Chief James Craig he should employ only black people on the department’s facial recognition team because “non-African Americans think African-Americans all look the same.”  The Detroit Democrat made the statement during a tour of the Real Time Crime center, where monitors display live footage from video cameras on traffic lights and in and around businesses. A day after Tlaib made the comment Monday, her spokesman said she was trying to convey the importance of accurately identifying black suspects in a city with an African American population of about 80%. Police officials invited Tlaib to the facility inside Public Safety Headquarters to see how Detroit uses facial recognition software, after she criticized the technology in an Aug. 20 tweet. The congresswoman wrote: “@detroitpolice You should probably rethink this whole facial recognition bull—-.”

6am – A/B/C  NY TIMES: The whistle-blower gave an early account of allegations against President Trump to a House aide who outlined it to Rep. Adam Schiff, who is now leading the impeachment inquiry

• Kellyanne Conway  @KellyannePolls: The Fix Was In. @nytimes: Schiff, House Intel Chairman, Got Early Account of Whistle-Blower’s Accusations. “The original accusation was vague” … “By the time whistleblower filed his complaint, Schiff & his staff knew at least vaguely what it contained”
• Brit Hume @brithume: Schiff defenders are claiming there’s nothing to see here in the revelation that the whistleblower conferred with Schiff staff before filing the complaint. If that’s so, why didn’t Schiff acknowledge the contact when asked about it? I think the answer is obvious. He knew how it would look. So he gave this answer, “We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower.” If by “we” he meant only himself, he’s being slippery. If by “we” he meant himself and his staff, he lied.

6am – D         Police charity event on hold after chief withdraws because Republicans were invited: report. (Fox News) A charity event planned in honor of an officer killed in a 2018 mass shooting at a country music bar in in Southern California has been postponed indefinitely — reportedly because a police chief didn’t want Republicans invited. The Blue Bowl, a charity flag football game, was intended to raise money for the family of fallen Ventura County Sgt. Ron Helus as well as other officers killed in the line of duty, FOX 11 of Los Angeles reported. Helus died last Nov. 7, when a 28-year-old suspect allegedly attacked the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, killing a total of 13 people and wounding about a dozen others. The suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities have said. Thousands of dollars had already been raised for fallen officers’ families, but the money is now being returned to donors because Thousand Oaks Police Chief Tim Hagel reportedly withdrew the police department because Trump supporters would be speaking at the event.

6am – E         State Department IG Called ‘Urgent’ Meeting To Share Months-Old News Stories. (Daily Caller/Amber Athey) – The State Department’s Inspector General shared a packet of months-old news stories and other Ukraine-related documents during an “urgent” briefing with Congressional staffers on Wednesday, sources told the Daily Caller.  Sources familiar with the meeting said the IG handed over a packet containing, among other old materials, news articles written this past spring by The Hill’s John Solomon about Democratic ties to Ukraine. The packet was allegedly given to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in May and was intended to smear the former US ambassador to Ukraine. An administration official noted to the Caller that the packet was properly dealt with at the time, and questioned the “urgent” nature of the briefing. The IG announced the “urgent” meeting after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused House Democrats of trying to “bully” the State Department by requesting impeachment-related interviews with various officials. “The matter is from four months ago. They’ve been sitting on it for four months. The urgent-ness of this seems a little contrived,” the official told the Caller. “This was handled the exact way it should have been. The information was turned over by a senior official to a career lawyer who then gave it to the IG. That was four months ago.” The briefing was a huge blow to Democrats, who were expecting bombshell information regarding the Trump administration’s contact with Ukraine and investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden. In fact, several news outlets reported earlier in the day that the briefing would be about State Department leadership retaliating against career employees who wanted to cooperate with the Democrats’ investigation into Trump. Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, who was in the briefing with the IG, said the meeting “raises more questions than it answers,” but confirmed that it had nothing to do with President Donald Trump.

6am – F         DISNEY ACTOR FIRED FOR MAKING “OK” SIGN IN A PICTURE:  A Universal Orlando actor who dressed as “Gru” from the “Despicable Me” animated movie franchise has been fired after allegedly making a hand gesture associated with white supremacists in a photo with a biracial girl. (Fox News) – A Universal Orlando actor who dressed as “Gru” from the “Despicable Me” animated movie franchise has been fired after allegedly making a hand gesture associated with white supremacists in a photo with a biracial girl. The photo with the girl, now 7, who is autistic, shows her posing with the actor during a character breakfast at Loews Royal Pacific Resort, a Universal hotel, in March. The photo shows the actor making an upside-down “OK” symbol with his hand on the girl’s shoulder. The gesture is widely associated with white supremacy and far-right groups. Universal spokesman Tom Schroder told USA Today the actor, who has not been publicly identified, no longer works for the company. “We never want our guests to experience what this family did. This is not acceptable and we are sorry – and we are taking steps to make sure nothing like this happens again,” he said in a statement. “We can’t discuss specifics about this incident, but we can confirm that the actor no longer works here. We remain in contact with the family and will work with them privately to make this right.” Calls and messages from Fox News to Universal Orlando were not immediately returned.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – KEN CUCCINELLI – acting Director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services – reacted to the suspension of a Fairfax cop working with ICE and his thoughts on the Washington Post interview with McAleenan.

• Suspended Fairfax County police officer to return to work after ICE incident. (Washington Post) A Fairfax County police officer who was suspended for turning a driver involved in a traffic accident over to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has completed remedial training and will return to work Friday, officials said. Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. made the announcement Wednesday as the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and conservative commentators criticized the suspension in statements and tweets, while some immigration advocates applauded Roessler. In a tweet, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services acting director Ken Cuccinelli urged police officers to work with ICE despite the policies of individual departments, while National Fraternal Order of Police President Patrick Yoes said the officer was simply protecting his community.
• Acting homeland security chief frustrated and isolated — even as he delivers what Trump wants at the border (Washington Post) – Nearly six months after taking over the Department of Homeland Security as acting secretary, Kevin McAleenan has guided the United States out of a crisis at the southern border, but he also says he has lost command of the public messaging from his department and lacks some of the authority he was promised when he took the job. Increasingly isolated within the administration and overshadowed by others who are more effusive in their praise for President Trump, McAleenan said he retains “operational” control of DHS — mainly the ability to coordinate work at the border among U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and Citizenship and Immigration Services.

7am – B         Theater chain bluntly warns parents their kids won’t like Joker. (Entertainment Weekly) – One theater chain is getting pretty candid about Joker. Posting a rare critical-sounding assessment of an upcoming film on its docket, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema published a warning to parents about Warner Bros.’ controversial film. The company, which operates 40 theaters coast to coast, told parents the movie is not for kids and has “overall bad vibes” in a Facebook post which was confirmed by an Alamo representative. “Parental warning (this is not a joke),” begins the message. “Joker is Rated R and for good reason. There’s lots of very, very rough language, brutal violence, and overall bad vibes.” Continues the warning: “It’s a gritty, dark, and realistic Taxi Driver-esque depiction of one man’s descent into madness. It’s not for kids, and they won’t like it, anyway.” The warning adds: “There’s no Batman.” It’s an unusually protective move from a theater chain, as most exhibitors typically turn a blind eye to whether kids should see adult content in the hopes of keeping their seats full.

7am – C         Viral singing homeless woman offered record contract: report. (NY Post) – How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Sing in the subway, apparently. A homeless Russian singer who went viral for her incredible performance just scored a major record deal. Emily Zamourka, who captured the hearts of Los Angeles subway riders and internet fans, has been offered a recording contract, TMZ reports. Grammy-nominated music producer Joel Diamond tells TMZ he drafted an offer letter for Zamourka in the hopes of making a “huge classical-EDM crossover hit record for the subway soprano.” Diamond says the first record will be called “Paradise” and released on Silver Blue Records, the record label he founded in 1973. The producer first learned of the now-infamous singer after the Los Angeles Police Department tweeted a video of her singing opera in a subway station. The internet immediately fell in love with the 52-year-old, who became homeless after a run of bad luck. Zamourka moved to the United States more than two decades ago and was teaching violin and piano lessons, but fell ill and wound up homeless when she couldn’t afford medical care.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – Amber Athey – White House correspondent for The Daily Caller – recap Trump’s fiery presser today and the so-called “urgent” IG hearing.

• AMBER ATHEY: State Department IG Called ‘Urgent’ Meeting To Share Months-Old News Stories
• Donald J. Trump Retweeted: Byron York @ByronYork  35m35 minutes ago So State Department inspector general asks for ‘urgent’ briefing on Capitol Hill. Trump and Ukraine! Then admits he’s had ‘urgent’ material since May. After seeing it, Dem lawmaker declares ‘completely irrelevant.’
• President Trump Unloads, Accuses Adam Schiff Of Helping To Write Whistleblower Complaint

7am – E         AMBER GUYGER GETS 10 YEARS:

• Amber Guyger Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Murder of Botham Jean. A Dallas County jury sentenced Wednesday former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, who was convicted of the murder of Botham Jean, to 10 years in prison on an emotional day in court that included an embrace of Guyger by Jean’s younger brother. The jury found Guyger guilty of murder on Tuesday, in a case in which she said she mistook Jean’s apartment for her own. Closing statements concluded Wednesday afternoon, as the jury deliberated for less than two hours before they reached a unanimous decision on her sentence.
• ‘I forgive you’: Botham Jean’s brother, Amber Guyger embrace following witness impact statement. (WFAA) – Botham Jean’s brother Brandt said that he wanted “the best for” Amber Guyger. Then he asked the judge if he could give Guyger a hug. DALLAS — After Amber Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison, victim impact statements took place in the courtroom. Botham Jean’s brother Brandt went first, speaking about his brother. “If you truly are sorry, I know I can speak for myself, I forgive you. I know if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you,” said Brandt Jean. Following his speech, Brandt Jean asked Judge Tammy Kemp if he could give Guyger a hug. They hold each other while audibly crying for about a full minute, hug each other multiple times and share a few words together.   Shortly after they embraced, Judge Tammy Kemp came off the bench to speak to Botham Jean’s family, sharing hugs and quiet words on the side of the courtroom. Kemp then approached Guyger and gave her the gift of a Bible. The judge and Guyger also shared a hug following that moment.
  

8am – A         INTERVIEW – Carol Maloney – host of Carol Maloney Show at 10am-noon on ESPN 630 – previewed the Nationals game tonight.

• Washington Nationals will invade Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California to grapple with the Los Angeles Dodgers in game one of this National League Divisional Series game. The Dodgers won four of the seven games between these teams in the regular season.
• Carol Maloney @carolmaloney4: Ahead of Gm1, #Dodgers President Stan Kasten professes his love for DC and his former team, the #Nats, “I couldn’t be more proud of Mike Rizzo.” Despite experience in baseball & with both clubs, Kasten balks at predictions in postseason.

8am – B         Hillary Clinton compares her decision to not divorce Bill to parenting a transgender child.

8am – C         COCAINE LIFE RAFT: Shipwrecked Colombians clung to cocaine bales (France 24) – Three suspected drug smugglers survived in shark-infested Pacific waters by clinging for hours to floating bales of cocaine, Colombia’s navy said Tuesday. The three Colombians are suspected of smuggling 1.2 tons of cocaine from Tumaco in Colombia when their boat was hit by a wave Saturday and capsized, Captain Jorge Maldonado of Colombia’s Task Force Against Drug Trafficking told AFP. By the time the men were picked up around 30 nautical miles from Tumaco by a Colombian coastguard vessel, they had been in the water for about seven hours, Maldonado said.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – Susan Ferrechio – chief congressional correspondent for the Washington Examiner — discussed the latest on the Schiff/Dem efforts on impeachment and the so-called “urgent” State IG briefing.

8am – E         Hershey’s teams up with Yuengling to make chocolate beer for the first time. Yuengling Releases Hershey’s Chocolate Porter for Fall. (Daily Meal)  — This collaboration is pretty sweet. On Oct. 1, Yuengling announced its first-ever collaboration beer. Pairing with Hershey’s, the 190-year-old brewery released the Yuengling Hershey’s Chocolate Porter. The beer, which has a 4.7% ABV and is brewed with actual Hershey’s chocolate, will be available on tap for a limited time in 14 states at select bars and restaurants, the full list of which can be found on the brewery’s website. The Yuengling Hershey’s Chocolate Porter will also be served at Hersheypark.  To commemorate its 190th birthday, Yuengling wanted to pay homage to one of its first brews, the porter, one of three beers the brewery originally sold at its opening. Hershey’s (founded in 1894) and Yuengling (founded in 1829) decided to combine their over 300 years of experience and mutual Pennsylvania roots to create a seasonal product that would stand out from the usual pumpkin beers you see during the fall. The family-owned brewery is currently run and operated by four Yuengling sisters, Jen, Wendy, Debbie and Sheryl. Jen, who is involved in most of the brewing for Yuengling, worked with a team of laboratories and tasters for approximately a year to perfect the brew, her sister Debbie said during the launch event in New York City.