Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, March 2, 2020

Hosts: Vince Coglianese and Mary Walter

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

Cal Thomas, Charles Payne, Jack Wilson and Bernie Kerik joined WMAL on Thursday!

5am – A/B/C Schiff drafting legislation to set up 9/11-style commission to review coronavirus response.  Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is drafting legislation that would set up an independent commission that would investigate why the country was unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic.   “After Pearl Harbor and 9/11, we looked at what went wrong to learn from our mistakes,” the House Intelligence Committee chairman said in a tweet. “Once we’ve recovered, we need a nonpartisan commission to review our response and how we can better prepare for the next pandemic.” Schiff did not give specifics regarding when the legislation will be dropped, but suggested it would be after Congress finishes the task at hand: mulling a series of stimulus packages aimed at alleviating the economic impact of the pandemic. Sources familiar with the legislation told NBC News the legislation is “very preliminary.”

• Democratic Members of the House Homeland Security Committee want an independent commission to review the nation’s preparedness and response to COVID-19. The 25-member group would release a public report 18-months after their first meeting, similar to the commission that was convened after the September 11 attacks.
• TWEET: Adam Schiff @RepAdamSchiff: After Pearl Harbor and 9/11, we looked at what went wrong to learn from our mistakes. Once we’ve recovered, we need a nonpartisan commission to review our response and how we can better prepare for the next pandemic. I’m working on a bill to do that.
• TWEET: Adam Schiff @RepAdamSchiff: We lost precious weeks in responding to the coronavirus pandemic. But it’s not too late for us to make the right decisions to slow the spread. A nationwide stay-at-home order. Increasing testing capacity. Investing in vaccine research and development. What we do now matters. https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/1245503612048019459

5am – D         Trump Suggests Iran Is Planning ‘Sneak Attack’ On US Forces In Iraq.     President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that Iran and its proxies are planning sneak attacks on U.S. forces and assets in Iraq.   “Upon information and belief,” he wrote, “Iran or its proxies are planning a sneak attack on U.S. troops and/or assets in Iraq.”  “If this happens, Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed!”

5am – E         CNN avoids majority of White House virus presser, trashes Trump for ‘shameless’ focus on ‘political’ anti-cartel efforts.  The network again chose not to air Trump’s prepared statements at the beginning of the briefing, cut in briefly to hear remarks from Defense Secretary Mark Esper, but cut away again as the president took questions about the apparent attack that Iran was planning against U.S. troops in Iraq because of the briefing’s focus on the administration newly-announced narcotics operations conducted by the military to halt the flow of drugs from coming into the U.S.    “We’re going to continue to monitor this briefing and see if they get back to the issue of the coronavirus,” CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer told viewers. “That’s what we’re primarily interested in right now given the horrible numbers that we’ve been told over the past couple of days maybe 100,000 maybe as many as 240,000 Americans in the coming weeks or months may end up dead as a result of this virus.” […]  “It is remarkable, and some would say shameless,” CNN chief national correspondent John King reacted. “This is a coronavirus task force briefing. The country is in a middle of a pandemic. Americans are afraid. They tune into these briefings to try to get information from the White House. … You could schedule an event at the Pentagon, at the Justice Department, or in the White House briefing room if you think it’s that big of a deal, but call it what it is. Say you have an announcement on the war on drugs. Instead, they walk up into the coronavirus task force briefing and the president is trying to have a bit of a political statement here.”

• ARI FLEISCHER: The demand by some liberal reporters to take Trump’s press conferences off live TV is a continuation of the disease they caught on Election Day 2016 – refusing to accept the results. Resist. Overturn. Boycott. Impeach. Now it’s censor. Beat Trump if you can. Don’t censor him.
• Fox News Channel Sees Highest Viewership Numbers In 2020 Amid Coronavirus Coverage.  Fox News Channel (FNC) delivered its highest-rated week in total viewers of 2020 amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to Nielsen Media Research. FNC saw its highest ratings week in 2020 for the week of March 23 as the novel coronavirus coverage has continued. The network garnered 2.6 million viewers and had 571,000 eyeballs for the 25-54 demographic, which is the highest since 2016’s election week. Primetime received 4.3 million viewers and had 838,000 in the 25-54 age group. This was the network’s highest primetime average all year so far. […]
• Behaving ‘Like The Political Opposition’: White House Reporter Jonathan Karl Blasts CNN’s Jim Acosta In New Book.  “Front Row at the Trump Show,” published March 31 and written by ABC journalist and WHCA president Jonathan Karl, blasts Acosta for sometimes acting like an “opinion journalist.” Karl also wrote that Acosta has played “right into the explicit Trump strategy of portraying the press as the opposition party,” The Free Beacon reported.  “The surest way to undermine the credibility of the White House press corps is to behave like the political opposition,” Karl writes in his new book. “Don’t give speeches from the White House briefing room. … Don’t talk about holding protests against the president in Lafayette Square.”

6am – A         IMMIGRATION NEWS:

• President Trump announced an enhanced counter-narcotics operation against Mexican drug cartels that plan to exploit the U.S. focus on COVID-19. He warned the drug operators about bringing illegal drugs into the country saying the both ships and aircraft are already patrolling the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean for narcotic shipments.
• Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Mark Milley: “Drug cartels will try to take advantage” of coronavirus pandemic  “We’re at war with COVID-19, we’re at war with terrorists and we’re at war with the drug cartels … You will not penetrate this country.”
• ‘Demented’: Tucker Carlson Blasts Chad Wolf, Calls On Trump To End Visa Programs That Will Take American Jobs During Crisis: “Today, on April 1st, the Department of Homeland Security released 20,000 new H-2B Visas for seasonal guest workers to come into America and take jobs in industries like landscaping, food processing and resorts,” Carlson said. “Another 15,000 Visas will become available next month in May.” “Now these are bonus Visas by the way,” the Fox News host continued. “By law, the United States only has to offer 66,000 H-2B Visas a year, but Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf has used his discretionary powers to add 35,000 extra Visas. So that’s a total of 100,000 workers coming to this country to take jobs during the single biggest unemployment crisis in a century. It’s demented.”  Carlson went on to describe that already, tens of thousands of new H-1B Visa lottery “winners” can “begin filling out their full Visa applications for jobs that will begin in October” when “unemployment could be reaching its peak” and coronavirus could be making a comeback. “In practice, the Visas are used to import tens of thousands of tech workers from India so Silicon Valley can profit from a cheaper workforce,” Carlson said. “The big winners in this scheme are companies like Apple, Google and IBM which take in hundreds of H-1B workers every year.”

6am – B/C     ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

• Bette Midler slammed for tone-deaf ‘salute’ of ‘housekeepers’ amid coronavirus pandemic: ‘Are you for real?’ (Fox News) —  Bette Midler came under fire on Tuesday when she publicly praised “housekeepers around the globe” after she got better acquainted with her household appliances during the coronavirus pandemic in which people worldwide have been asked to stay home in a rigorous effort to reduce the spread and flatten the curve. “I never knew my appliances as well as I’m starting to know them. So grateful to #Kenmore and #Maytag,” Midler tweeted to her nearly 2 million followers. “This is no joke. I salute housekeepers around the globe, doing your best to keep your families well, safe and alive.” The Broadway star, who is seemingly holed up in her home like the rest of the world and enjoys a net worth reportedly in the ballpark of $230 million, was immediately lambasted on the social platform after her remarks by many who felt her praise of “housekeepers around the globe” was a bit out of touch with the reality many are facing.
• Lead singer of hit single ‘Stacy’s Mom’ dies from complications related to coronavirus. (Washington Examiner) – The lead singer of the hit single “Stacy’s Mom” died due to complications from the coronavirus. Adam Schlesinger, the lead singer of the band Fountains of Wayne, died this week after contracting COVID-19. “As many of you are aware, Adam had been hospitalized with Covid-19 and although he had been making some small improvements over the last few days, Adam’s condition was critical and he was ultimately unable to recover from Covid-19 complications,” a statement from an attorney to the band read. “He was truly a prolific talent and even more so, a loving and devoted father, son and friend. “We are terribly sorry to convey this loss.” Earlier this week, his family released a statement online that said Schlesinger was hospitalized in order to treat his condition, later thanking fans for their thoughts and support. “He is receiving excellent care, his condition is improving and we are cautiously optimistic. His family appreciates all of the love and support,” the statement read. Schlesinger was most known for his vocal performance of “Stacy’s Mom,” a song released in 2003 that tells a story of a young boy who has a crush on his friend’s mother. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award. Schlesinger was also the recipient of several Tony Award nominations for his work in musicals, such as “Cry Baby.”

6am – D         INTERVIEW – CAL THOMAS – Syndicated columnist and author of new book “America’s Expiration Date: The Fall of Empires and Superpowers . . . and the Future of the United States” 

6am – E         PRISONS AND GUN SALES:

• DAs blast de Blasio as violent offenders set for release from Rikers despite mayor’s promise.   New York City prosecutors blasted Mayor Bill de Blasio after he appeared to go back on a vow that domestic violence and sex offenders would not be included among those released from the Rikers Island correctional facility due to the coronavirus pandemic.  The district attorneys from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island, as well as the city’s special narcotics prosecutor, said that while they agreed to release hundreds of people due to health concerns, they had serious concerns with some of those recommended for release by de Blasio’s administration.   “We were assured that the release would not include those serving time for domestic violence or sex offenses, given the risks to victims,” said the letter to de Blasio and Department of Corrections Commissioner Cynthia Brann, obtained by Fox News. “Unfortunately, we later learned that such individuals were indeed included in the ranks of those to be released.”
• FBI sees record-breaking requests for gun background checks over pandemic
• March Shatters Monthly Gun Sales Record as U.S. Faces Down Threat of Coronavirus.  Gun sales exploded across the United States as the coronavirus pandemic spread, with retailers experiencing the highest sales volume in recorded history.  More than 2.5 million guns were sold in March as fears over the effects of the coronavirus spread, according to an analysis of FBI background check data released Wednesday by Small Arms Analytics and Forecasting (SAAF). The buying craze marked the busiest month on record for gun stores, even as some faced shutdown orders from state and local authorities. The record-setting monthly sales nearly doubled the 1.4 million guns sold in March 2019.   A separate analysis from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the firearms industry’s trade group, reached the same conclusion.”Our adjusted numbers are the largest month on record,” Mark Oliva, a spokesman for the group, told the Washington Free Beacon.

6am – F         DR. FAUCI NEWS:

•  Dr. Anthony Fauci Receives Security Detail Amid Threats.   Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key member of President Donald Trump’s White House coronavirus task force, has reportedly received a security detail.  A source familiar with the situation confirmed to The Hill that Fauci was given the security detail after receiving threats. The nature of the concerns included “threats as well as unwelcome communications from fervent admirers,” The Washington Post reported, citing sources inside the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice.  “Fauci did not directly answer when asked by The Hill at Wednesday’s press briefing if he’d been given additional protection, deferring the question to the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general,” wrote The Hill’s Brett Samuels. “A second person familiar with the situation said the additional security was under discussion last month and was likely implemented in recent days.”  “He doesn’t need security,” Trump told reporters as the topic was being discussed Wednesday. “Everybody loves him. Besides that, they’d be in big trouble if they ever attacked him.”
• From cupcakes to candles, you can now find Dr. Anthony Fauci’s face on everything:
  • Melt-In Your Mouth, a bakery in North Carolina, is now selling cupcakes featuring Fauci’s face — and the treats are helping keep the business afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Donuts Delite, a doughnut shop in Rochester, New York, has also seen a demand for its donuts featuring Fauci’s face.
  • People are now selling: graphic t-shirts, with slogans like “I Heart Dr. Fauci”; Dr. Anthony Fauci fan club buttons; and even Fauci prayer candles.
  • Custom Face Designs, a company that sells customized items like shirts and blankets, has a new best seller: socks with Fauci’s face all over them. “I am making them because I love Dr. Fauci,” Jermaine Cooper, one of Custom Face Designs’ owners, told CNN. “And he is a sign of hope for all of us and a trusted adviser.”

7am – A/B/C BIDEN AND BERNIE NEWS:

• Joe Biden offers to call President Trump to discuss COVID-19 response: report
• Donald Trump ‘Absolutely’ Welcomes Phone Call from Joe Biden on Coronavirus
• NY TIMES: Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday night called for moving the Democratic National Convention from mid-July to August, making him the most prominent member of his party to say the convention must be rescheduled because of the coronavirus outbreak. “I doubt whether the Democratic convention is going to be able to be held in mid-July, early July,” Mr. Biden told Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show.” “I think it’s going to have to move into August.”
• In an interview with MSNBC this week, prospective Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said it’s “hard to imagine” a normal convention July 13-16 in Milwaukee. But the former vice president also noted on “The 11th Hour with Brian Williams” that Democrats “have more time” to figure things out as party officials consider contingencies that could range from delaying the convention to making parts of the proceedings virtual so that not as many people attend. “We were able to do it in the middle of a Civil War all the way through to World War II, have Democratic and Republican conventions and primaries and elections and still have public safety,” Biden said. “We’re able to do both.”
• Party leaders agree with Joe Biden – the Democratic National Convention cannot proceed as originally planned
• Biden allies wants Sanders out, sooner rather than later
• Sen. Bernie Sanders when asked why he’s staying in the race: “Last I heard, people in a democracy have a right to vote, and they have a right to vote for the agenda that they think can work for America.” “We are assessing our campaign,” he adds.
• Bernie Sanders, acknowledging ‘narrow path’ to nomination, continues to push agenda amid pandemic. “There is a path,” Sanders, I-Vt., told Seth Meyers, when asked in an appearance on “Late Night” about his chances to win the Democratic presidential nomination, before continuing. “It is admittedly a narrow path.”

7am – D         INTERVIEW – CHARLES PAYNE – the host of “Making Money with Charles Payne” on Fox Business and author of “Unstoppable Prosperity” — analyzed the economic data amid the coronavirus pandemic.

7am – E         OJ SIMPSON THINKS ‘TIGER KING’ STAR CAROLE BASKIN FED HER HUSBAND TO TIGERS…

8am – A         INTERVIEW – Jack Wilson – Chairman, Republican Party of Virginia

• Strange timing of Gov. Northam’s stay-at-home order around June’s primaries. Virginia Republicans on Tuesday challenged the length of the “stay-at-home” order Gov. Ralph Northam issued, arguing that it will hamper some of the party’s June primaries. Northam’s order, which went into effect Monday, seeks to further restrict public activity amid the COVID-19 pandemic by ordering people to stay home except for essentials. The order will remain in effect through June 10, one day past the state’s June 9 primaries. Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Jack Wilson said in an interview Tuesday that Northam should “be more clear publicly so that voters know they are permitted to go vote on June 9.” In a letter to Northam, Wilson said that the June 10 date was “arbitrary,” and conflicts with the Republican U.S. Senate primary, in which a handful of GOP candidates are vying to take on Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

8am – B/C     SECURITY ISSUES WITH ZOOM: Zoom announces 90-day feature freeze to fix privacy and security issues. Zoom has skyrocketed to 200 million daily users from 10 million in December. (The Verge) — Zoom’s recent growth has put it in the spotlight over a series of privacy and security issues, and the company is now promising to address them over the coming 90 days. In a detailed blog post, Zoom CEO Eric S. Yuan explains how the company has been responding to a massive increase in users. Zoom has never shared user numbers before, but Yuan reveals that back in December the company had a maximum of 10 million daily users. “In March this year, we reached more than 200 million daily meeting participants, both free and paid,” says Yuan. That’s a huge increase that has seen people use Zoom for reasons nobody expected before the coronavirus pandemic. “Our platform was built primarily for enterprise customers,” explains Yuan. “We did not design the product with the foresight that, in a matter of weeks, every person in the world would suddenly be working, studying, and socializing from home. We now have a much broader set of users who are utilizing our product in a myriad of unexpected ways, presenting us with challenges we did not anticipate when the platform was conceived.”

The challenges of supporting 200 million users compared to just 10 million a few months ago are significant enough, but the privacy and security issues that have been uncovered recently present greater challenges for the company. Zoom is now freezing its feature updates and focusing on its security and privacy issues instead. “Over the next 90 days, we are committed to dedicating the resources needed to better identify, address, and fix issues proactively,” explains Yuan. “We are also committed to being transparent throughout this process.”

8am – D         INTERVIEW – BERNIE KERIK – former New York City Police Commissoner and he is a signatory to the Right on Crime Statement of Principles 

• Kerik advocates using risk assessments when deciding whom to release from prison to stop the spread of coronavirus. 
• Prior to becoming Commissioner, Mr. Kerik oversaw the City’s jail at Rikers Island. 
• Coronavirus spread at Rikers is a ‘public health disaster’, says jail’s top doctor. Cases of Covid-19 at the New York jail complex have soared in days as doctor says it’s ‘unlikely’ they will be able to stop growth. He also called for the release of “as many vulnerable people as possible”.

• DOJ Considers Moving Some Inmates From Prison Because of Coronavirus. In the last few weeks, there has been growing discussion throughout Washington about taking a dramatic step toward fighting the spread of coronavirus:  namely, the transfer and release of several inmates of U.S. prisons, considered prime breeding grounds for the spread of COVID-19. On March 26, Attorney General William Barr sent a two-page memorandum to Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director Michael Carvajal directing him to “grant home confinement for inmates seeking transfer in connection with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.” One former law enforcement official who has been particularly outspoken on this issue is former New York City Police Commissoner Bernard Kerik, who himself served a stint in prison. “Elected officials overseeing jails and state prisons must not commit to blanket releases of inmates,” Kerik told us, “And must sensibly protect public health and safety by basing any release decision upon one’s risk to the community. The tools and the knowledge to do this already exist. It’s time to apply them.” Risk assessments, added Kerik, “to identify and individually release those defendants who do not constitute a significant public safety risk are critical. These assessments, would avoid misclassifying low-risk people and prevent the release of high-risk people who ought to be held. Anyone discharged on their own recognizance must be confined to home confinement or electronic monitoring, where appropriate.”
• DAs blast de Blasio as violent offenders set for release from Rikers despite mayor’s promise.  New York City prosecutors blasted Mayor Bill de Blasio after he appeared to go back on a vow that domestic violence and sex offenders would not be included among those released from the Rikers Island correctional facility due to the coronavirus pandemic.  The district attorneys from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island, as well as the city’s special narcotics prosecutor, said that while they agreed to release hundreds of people due to health concerns, they had serious concerns with some of those recommended for release by de Blasio’s administration.

8am – E         Delivery dog offers curbside wine pickup during the coronavirus lockdown. (NY Post) — Maryland is getting the real-life equivalent of the brandy barrel-bearing St. Bernard of Alpine rescue lore — although instead of life-giving spirits, it’s carrying spirit-giving wine. It’s the social-distancing solution of Stone House Urban Winery in Hagerstown, which has introduced a delivery dog to its intrepid staff. His name is Soda Pup, a 75-pound brindle boxer with all the breeding necessary for curbside service, plus horse saddle bags and a vest with two pouches. Soda, the wino dog, helps make curbside no-contact wine deliveries for Stone House Urban Winery in Maryland. Soda the wino dog helps make curbside no-contact wine deliveries for Stone House Urban Winery in Maryland.Stone House Urban Winery. He doesn’t work the streets alone, either. The winery puts someone on “dog patrol,” letting pup-happy customers know not to give Soda snacks other than ice cubes.

• Malaysia calls on women to ‘stop nagging, use makeup’ in coronavirus advice. (Reuters) – Coronavirus lockdown advice issued by Malaysia that urges women to dress up at home and avoid nagging their husbands sparked a sexism row on Tuesday, with critics saying it promotes gender stereotypes. In a series of online posters with the hashtag #WomenPreventCOVID19, Malaysia’s women’s affairs ministry issued advice on how to avoid domestic conflicts during the partial lockdown, which began on March 18. One of the campaign posters depicted a man sitting on a sofa, and asked women to refrain from being “sarcastic” if they need help with household chores. Avoid nagging your husband, another poster said, attempting to inject humour by using a voice similar to the anime character Doraemon – a blue robot cat popular across Asia.  The ministry also urged women to dress up and wear their makeup while working from home.