Hans Von Spakovsky, KT McFarland, Trevor Matich and Eric Trump joined WMAL on Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C DRIVE AT FIVE INTERVIEW – HANS VON SPAKOVSKY – A former counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department, former commissioner for the Federal Election Commission from 2006 to 2007 and senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation discussed the hacker breach election systems in Illinois, Arizona.

• Homeland eyes special declaration to take charge of elections. (By Paul Bedard/Washington Examiner) — Even before the FBI identified new cyber attacks on two separate state election boards, the Department of Homeland Security began considering declaring the election a “critical infrastructure,” giving it the same control over security it has over Wall Street and and the electric power grid. The latest admissions of attacks could speed up that effort possibly including the upcoming presidential election, according to officials. “We should carefully consider whether our election system, our election process, is critical infrastructure like the financial sector, like the power grid,” Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said. “There’s a vital national interest in our election process, so I do think we need to consider whether it should be considered by my department and others critical infrastructure,” he said at media conference earlier this month hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. DHS has a vital security role in 16 areas of critical infrastructure and they provide a model for what the department and Johnson could have in mind for the election.

5am – D Food News:

• Hepatitis A outbreak linked to smoothies spans 5 states; 51 sick. More than 50 people in five states are confirmed with Hepatitis A infections in an outbreak associated with frozen strawberries from Egypt that were served at Tropical Smoothie Café locations in Virginia. The vast majority of the infected people — 44 — are Virginia residents, according to the Virginia Department of Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are also four confirmed victims in Maryland and one each in North Carolina, Oregon and Wisconsin, a CDC spokeswoman said Tuesday. CDC, FDA and several states are currently investigating an outbreak of foodborne Hepatitis A linked to frozen strawberries in smoothies served in restaurants,” the CDC spokeswoman said. “While Tropical Smoothie Café has removed the frozen strawberries from their restaurants and switched to another supplier, we may still see more illnesses due to the long incubation period for Hepatitis A before people start experiencing symptoms. At this time, we do not have information to suggest that there is an ongoing risk of hepatitis A virus infection at Tropical Smoothie Cafés.” That long incubation period, which ranges from 15 to 50 days, is one of the factors that make Hepatitis A outbreaks difficult to investigate according to state and federal public health officials. Virginia health officials report illness onset dates for the current outbreak range from May through the end of August, but they were not able to connect the dots of their outbreak investigation until early August. Virginia officials notified the Tropical Smoothie Café chain at that point, but did not alert the public for another two weeks.
• Free Chipotle for kids on Sundays in September. All month long Chipotle will be giving kids free meals on Sundays with any purchase of a burrito, salad, taco or regular menu item. The children’s meal will include a kid-sized meal and a fun coloring page! Though this option is only for children ages 12 and under we think pets, stuffed animals and people who have the heart of a child (aka everyone) should get free meals too…but we’ll work on it!
• Science Says You Should Be Eating More Pizza at Work. (Mediaite) — You now have an excellent reason to start demanding pizza Fridays. Science says that pizza may increase productivity at work. David Ariely‘s new book Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes our Motivations examines the notion that even more so than money, pizza could be the thing that makes workers want to try harder and accomplish more. In a study, Ariely looked at workers who made computer chips in Israel to find out what incentivizes them more: food, money, or praise. At the beginning of the week, participants in the study were sent one of three messages, each with a reward for hitting daily targets. The first group was promised pizza, the second was promised a cash bonus equivalent to £20, and the third group was to receive a text message from the boss complimenting them on their hard work. A fourth control group was sent no message. The pizza group increased productivity by 6.7 percent over the control group. The group getting compliments increased productivity by 6.6 percent, a close second. The group getting cash, however, increased by 4.9 percent. Ultimately, the group with the cash bonus actually decreased productivity by 6.5, while both the praise group and the pizza group did better than the control group. It’s interesting because theoretically, the cash bonus could have bought the study participants pizza and then some. It goes to show that money is not our sole motivator. Bosses everywhere, if you’re reading this, get your employees some pizza.

5am – E Clinton News:

• FBI to release report on Hillary Clinton email investigation. (CNN) The FBI expects to publicly release in the coming days the report the bureau sent to the Justice Department in July recommending no charges in the Hillary Clinton email server investigation, according to multiple law enforcement officials. The release is in response to numerous FOIA requests including from CNN. Also to be released is Hillary Clinton’s 302, the FBI agent notes from Clinton’s voluntary interview at FBI headquarters. The report is about 30 pages, and the 302 is about a dozen pages according to the officials. ot yet being released are additional notes from interviews If Clinton aides or other investigative materials that were sent to Congress.
• FBI recovered 30 new Clinton emails related to Benghazi, State Department says. FBI to release documents related to Clinton email probe. The State Department says about 30 emails that may be related to the 2012 attack on U.S. compounds in Benghazi, Libya, are among the thousands of Hillary Clinton emails recovered during the FBI’s recently closed investigation into her use of a private server. Government lawyers told U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta Tuesday that an undetermined number of the emails among the 30 were not included in the 55,000 pages previously provided by Clinton. The State Department’s lawyer said it would need until the end of September to review the emails and redact potentially classified information before they are released.

• Clinton support drops in third national poll: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton leads Republican rival Donald Trump by 6 points nationally, according to a new NBC News/SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking Poll. Clinton is favored by 48 percent of registered voters and Trump is backed by 42 percent, according to the poll. The Democratic nominee’s lead is down slightly from last week, when she led Trump by 8 points.

6am – A/B/C Donald Trump announces surprise meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. (CNN) Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that he will meet Wednesday with the President of Mexico just hours before he is set to deliver a speech focused on immigration policy. “I have accepted the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto, of Mexico, and look very much forward to meeting him tomorrow,” Trump tweeted as reports swirled that Trump was mulling a last-minute trip to Mexico.

I have accepted the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto, of Mexico, and look very much forward to meeting him tomorrow.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2016

6am – D/E Your dog understands what you say and how you say it. (CNET) — Thought you could trick your dog by saying mean things in a nice tone? Think again. If you like to insult your pup using a sweet voice (you monster), chances are you’re probably just confusing the poor canine, according to new research. A team of scientists from Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest used functional magnetic resonance imaging to discover how dogs process both language and intonation, and found it’s not dissimilar to how humans do. “We trained dogs to lie motionless in an MRI scanner awake and unrestrained for several minutes. We let them listen to their trainer’s speech and at the same time we measured their brain activities,” explained study leader Attila Andics. They tried speaking praise in both a neutral and praising tone, and neutral words in both a neutral and praising tone. The fMRI data revealed that dogs do actually process vocabulary and can recognise individual words using the left hemisphere of the brain, the same as humans. The team also monitored the brain’s reward centre, and found that the dogs responded best to praise words in a praising tone.

7am – A FLORIDA AND ARIZONA PRIMARIES:

• FLORIDA
• Marco Rubio easily wins Senate primary in Florida. After waging an unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Sen. Marco Rubio sought — at the last minute — reelection to his Florida seat. And on Tuesday he staved off a primary challenge from wealthy developer Carlos Beruff to advance into a November battle with Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy, where Rubio is certain to face questions surrounding his endorsement of Donald Trump. Trump also endorsed Rubio in his reelection bid, despite a bitter presidential primary — rife with personal insults — in which the two sparred on, among other things, immigration.
• Grayson’s wife loses primary for his seat. (The Hill) – Dena Grayson is projected to lose the Democratic primary for her husband’s seat in the House. State Sen. Darren Soto won a crowded primary in Florida’s 9th District, beating out Grayson, a biomedical researcher and wife of Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.). With 91 percent of the vote counted, Soto had 36 percent, according to the Associated Press. Grayson and Susannah Randolph were tied for second with 28 percent. Alan Grayson vacated his seat to run for Senate. Dena Grayson was using her maiden name when she first entered the race. The couple got married in late May and she quickly took his name, boosting her name recognition. The seat is considered safe for Democrats.
• Murphy defeats Grayson in Democratic Senate race. Congressman to challenge Rubio for seat in November election. PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Patrick Murphy was the runaway winner in Tuesday’s Democratic U.S. Senate race, defeating fellow congressman Alan Grayson. Murphy was the favorite in the Democratic Senate race, receiving the endorsements of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Obama has appeared in numerous television commercials encouraging voters to elect Murphy. Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine endorses U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Florida, in the U.S. Senate race. Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine endorses Patrick Murphy for Senate. Grayson, who hails from the Orlando area, was elected to Congress in 2008, but he was defeated two years later by Republican Daniel Webster in the general election.
• Wasserman Schultz wins primary against Sanders-backed challenger. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the embattled former Democratic National Committee chairwoman, defeated a primary challenger who was hoping for a boost from the presidential campaign and support of Bernie Sanders. Wasserman Schultz dispatched a challenge from law professor Tim Canova who sought to capitalize on the controversies surrounding her tenure at the DNC and ride on the popularity of Sanders. With 81 percent of the vote counted, Wasserman Schultz had 57 percent to Canova’s 42 percent, the Associated Press reported.
• Francis Rooney defeats Chauncey Goss, Dan Bongino in CD 19. Francis Rooney is one step closer to being called congressman. The Naples Republican came out on top in Florida’s 19th Congressional District, defeating Sanibel Island Republican Chauncey Goss and Palm City Republican Dan Bongino. According to preliminary election results, Rooney received 53 percent of the vote. Goss came in second with 30 percent, followed by Bongino with 17 percent of the vote. The race to replace Rep. Curt Clawson in Florida’s 19th Congressional District was more like a sprint, than a marathon. Clawson, a Bonita Springs Republican first elected in special election in 2014, announced in May he wasn’t running for re-election. Rooney, a prominent Republican donor and a former ambassador to the Holy See, gave his campaign an estimated $3.9 million and spent heavily on TV advertisements. He racked up several big-name endorsements, including Gov. Rick Scott, who cut an advertisement and attended several fundraisers for Rooney. Goss — a well-known Lee County Republican and son of former CIA Director Porter Goss.
• ARIZONA PRIMARY:
• John McCain defeats Kelli Ward in Republican Senate primary
• Phoenix Sheriff Arpaio wins easily in primary

7am – B Entertainment News:

• “The Millennial Whoop”: The same annoying whooping sound is showing up in every popular song. Just try to get the Millennial Whoop out of your head. Once you hear it, you can’t un-hear it. It will be forever with you. Just a warning. It’s not a secret that a lot of popular music is unoriginal. In fact, science has proven it: The combinations of notes in pop songs have been losing diversity consistently over the last 50 years. Popular songwriters, producers, and record labels found a formula people like, and the result is many hit songs sound the same.
• Chris Brown arrested after hours-long police standoff at his house. Los Angeles police said they arrested singer Chris Brown on Tuesday evening on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon. The felony charge stems from an early-morning incident, when a woman called 911 from outside Brown’s residence, saying that she needed help, LAPD spokesman Tony Im said. Brown was arrested without incident at his house about 5 p.m., Im said. He said he could not confirm the weapon Brown allegedly used. He has not been booked in jail. The singer’s arrest came after an hours-long standoff with police, who were awaiting a judge’s approval for a search warrant.
• Nick Young to neighbor Chris Brown: ‘Man, you gotta move.’

7am – C Donald Trump Set to Give ‘Major’ Immigration Speech. Donald Trump is going to be back out on the campaign trail today with his long-awaited speech that is slated to unveil the newest version of his immigration plan. Trump will also meet with Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto today. Doors will open at 3 p.m. and he is scheduled to take the stage around 6 p.m. Arizona time

Donald Trump announces surprise meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. (CNN) Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that he will meet Wednesday with the President of Mexico just hours before he is set to deliver a speech focused on immigration policy. “I have accepted the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto, of Mexico, and look very much forward to meeting him tomorrow,” Trump tweeted as reports swirled that Trump was mulling a last-minute trip to Mexico.

7am – D INTERVIEW — KT MCFARLAND – Fox News National Security Analyst @KTMCFARLAND

• Thoughts on Trump meeting with Mexican president: Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that he will meet Wednesday with the President of Mexico just hours before he is set to deliver a speech focused on immigration policy. “I have accepted the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto, of Mexico, and look very much forward to meeting him tomorrow,” Trump tweeted as reports swirled that Trump was mulling a last-minute trip to Mexico.
• Islamic State propaganda chief killed in Syria.
• George Washington University hires former Al Qaeda terrorist as homeland security expert.
• Kerry: ‘Media Would Do Us All a Service If They Didn’t Cover’ Terrorism as Much
• Homeland eyes special declaration to take charge of elections

7am – E TRANSPORTATION NEWS:

• Maryland will study building another bridge across the Chesapeake Bay. (Washington Post) — Maryland transportation officials are about to begin a four-year study examining where to build another crossing to relieve future traffic congestion on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Tuesday. The study, which will start this fall and cost $5 million, also will explore ways the state could pay for another bridge, Hogan said. While the Bay Bridge can be safely maintained through 2065, Hogan said, studies show that, by 2040, westbound summer traffic on Sunday evenings could back up 14 miles. The bridge already has heavy congestion, particularly on summer weekends when Washington-area residents use it to head to and from Eastern Shore beach communities. It is also a daily commuting necessity for many Eastern Shore residents reaching jobs in Washington and Baltimore.
• If it feels like morning traffic suddenly got much worse, you’re right. (Washington Post) — If it suddenly feels like traffic, especially on your morning commute, is growing more maddening by the day, you’re right — and the hard numbers that prove your misery show that it’s going to get even worse. Yes, traffic analysts say, the summer fun is over. What the experts call “September shock” is as real as your fading beach tan. If past comparisons of August and September are any guide, the amount of time you spend stuck in traffic each morning has already started to jump by 15 percent to 45 percent. That’s just an average for the Washington region. Some particularly bad bottlenecks — parts of I-66, I-270, I-95, U.S. 29 and other major commuter corridors — have started to see delays nearly double, according to a new analysis by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG). COG analysts say September shock actually starts the third week of August and ramps up gradually. Motorists feel the impacts long before the dreaded — and, experts say, overblown — “terrible traffic Tuesday” following Labor Day.
• The new ‘Maryland Proud’ license plate will be available on Sept. 26: ANNAPOLIS, MD. (WUSA9) – Maryland drivers will soon get the option of showing off their state pride on their vehicles with a new license plate. Gov, Larry Hogan made the announcement Tuesday. The new license plate will feature the Maryland flag front and center. The new plates will be available starting September 26 for all passenger cars, SUVs, trucks, motorcycles, and multipurpose vehicles. “You would be hard pressed to find another state that has more pride than our great state of Maryland,” Hogan said. “Earlier this year we launched our newly redesigned, state-of-the-art, Maryland-themed driver’s licenses, using our beautiful flag for inspiration. Now, Marylanders will have yet another way to show their state pride, with our new ‘Maryland Proud’ standard-issue license plate.” It’ll replace the War of 1812 plate, but customers who want to keep their current plate don’t need to get a new one. The new plate costs $20.

8am – A INTERVIEW — TREVOR MATICH — Redskins elite long snapper, WMAL’s Redskins analyst and Comcast SportsNet co-host

>> Preview the Redskins last preseason game tonight at Tampa Bay. The Redskins end the preseason Wednesday at Tampa Bay (8 p.m., CSN, NBC) with the grim reality that some players’ time is up.

>> Redskins Make Moves To Get Active Roster To 75 Players

8am – B/C INTERVIEW — ERIC TRUMP — a businessman and son of Donald Trump.

• Thoughts on his dad’s immigration plan. Donald Trump Set to Give ‘Major’ Immigration Speech
• Progress on the DC Trump hotel: It’s planned to open in September.
• What is Trump’s path to victory in Virginia now that Hillary has Sen. Kaine on her ticket?

8am – D/E Homeland eyes special declaration to take charge of elections. (By Paul Bedard/Washington Examiner) — Even before the FBI identified new cyber attacks on two separate state election boards, the Department of Homeland Security began considering declaring the election a “critical infrastructure,” giving it the same control over security it has over Wall Street and and the electric power grid. The latest admissions of attacks could speed up that effort possibly including the upcoming presidential election, according to officials.