James Carafano, Trevor Matich, Rep. Don Beyer, Robert Costa and guest hosts Rick Fowler and Mary Walter joined WMAL on Monday morning!

Mornings on the Mall

Monday, December 19, 2016

Hosts: Rick Fowler and Mary Walter

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C   Michelle Obama’s suggestion Trump is end of ‘hope’ for America gets pushback. (Fox News) – President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday was gracious to first lady Michelle Obama, yet he countered her suggestion that the United States has lost “hope” since Trump’s November victory, saying Obama must have been talking “about the past.” “Michelle Obama says there is no hope,” Trump said at a rally in Alabama. “I assume she was talking about the past not the future. I honestly believe she meant that statement differently than the way it came out.”  Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker was even more blunt during his opening remarks for Trump, speaking directly to Obama: “Yes, Michelle, we have hope again.”  Obama said in an excerpt of her final White House interview, conducted by Oprah Winfrey: “We feel the difference now. … Now we’re feeling like what not having hope feels like. … What do you do if you don’t have hope, Oprah?” The full interview is scheduled to air Monday on CBS-TV.  President Obama was a first-term Illinois Democratic senator when he won the White House race in 2008 with a captivating message of hope and change and became the country’s first black president.  “Barack didn’t just talk about hope because he thought it was a nice slogan to get votes,” the first lady said in the CBS interview. “He and I and so many believe: What else do you have if you don’t have hope?”

5am – D         The Electoral College Meets Monday. Here’s What to Expect. (NY Times) — WASHINGTON — On Monday, 538 people will meet to determine who will be the next president. These meetings of the Electoral College, convened in every state and the District of Columbia just shy of six weeks after Election Day, have long been little more than a formality. But the victory of President-elect Donald J. Trump, who lost the popular vote but is projected to win the most electoral votes, has thrust the Electoral College into the spotlight once more. The conclusion of American intelligence agencies that Russia tried to intervene in the election to harm Hillary Clinton’s campaign has only intensified the focus in recent days. President Obama on Friday described the Electoral College — originally a compromise between those who wanted Congress to choose the president and those who favored a popular vote — as a “ vestige.” As electors gather in state capitols across the country, here is a rundown of what comes next. Who are the electors? In short, the electors are people chosen by their state political parties to cast votes for president and vice president. Electors can be state party leaders or elected officials; sometimes they are individuals with a personal connection to a presidential candidate. Bill Clinton, for instance, is a New York elector this year. The number of electors each state has is equal to its number of representatives and senators in Congress — 538 in total, with those extra three electors coming from the District of Columbia.  What happens on Monday? Electors will meet in their states, typically at the capitol, where they will cast two votes: one for president and one for vice president. They will then prepare what is called a “certificate of vote” with the results, which is then mailed or delivered via courier to the National Archives, where it becomes part of the nation’s official records, and to Congress.

5am – E         Trump: US should let China keep seized drone. (Fox News) – President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to say that the United States should let China keep the U.S. Navy’s unmanned underwater glider that it seized in the South China Sea. “We should tell China that we don’t want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it!” Trump tweeted shortly after the U.S. military announced an understanding had been reached with China for the Navy glider’s return. Officials at the Pentagon said the drone was seized Thursday while collecting unclassified scientific data in the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety. China said the reason its military seized the glider was because they wanted to ensure the safe navigation of passing ships. China has said they would give the glider back to the U.S. The U.S. has called the incident an “unlawful seizure” in international waters.

Pentagon: China agrees to return U.S. drone seized in South China Sea. (USA Today) – China’s Defense Ministry says it will return the U.S. Navy underwater drone it captured operating in international waters in the South China Sea, after it seized the device to ensure the “safe navigation of passing ships.” Yang Yujun, a ministry spokesman, issued a statement late Saturday saying a Chinese navy lifeboat discovered the unknown device in the South China Sea on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. China’s Defense Ministry said that, after verifying that the device was an American unmanned device, “China decided to transfer it to the U.S. through appropriate means.” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook confirmed that “through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the UUV to the United States,” he said in a statement using an acronym for the unmanned underwater vehicle.

6am – A/B/C Wealthy Parents Give Teachers INSANE Gifts This Christmas Season. (Daily Caller) — Teachers in New York are getting some incredibly expensive gifts from their most wealthy students this Christmas season, including jewelry and cash tips. The nation’s wealthiest families are bringing teacher appreciation and holiday cheer to an entirely new level this year. Parents feel compelled to give better, more pricey gifts in order to possibly give their child an edge in the classroom. New York City mothers report buying scarfs from Hermes (which range from $400 to $1,000), Rolex watches (which go for $4,500 to $12,000, or more), and other expensive gifts for their child’s teacher, the New York Post reports. It may seem ridiculous parents are shelling out this much after paying up to $30,000 a year for tuition, but parents say that some teachers remember who gave what and who did not. If you fail to give a gift, “they’ll treat a parent differently, colder,” says Sarah, a teacher in the wealthy North Shore neighborhood of Long Island, according to the New York Post. One mother of a preschool student even recalls getting emails from her child’s teacher asking for cash. A plastic surgeon in Manhattan says that he has gift receipts from recent years for up to $5,000 in plastic surgery for teachers, the Post reports.

6am – C         Lynch says she regrets tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Sunday that the fallout from her tarmac meeting with former President Bill Clinton was “painful” for her. “I do regret sitting down and having a conversation with him, because it did give people concern. And as I said, my greatest concern has always been making sure that people understand that the Department of Justice works in a way that is independent and looks at everybody equally,” Lynch said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”  “And when you do something that gives people a reason to think differently, that’s a problem. It was a problem for me. It was painful for me, and so I felt it was important to clarify it as quickly and as clearly and as cleanly as possible.” Some have criticized the meeting, which came as the FBI was investigating Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of State.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – JAMES CARAFANO – – Vice President for the Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation

• Trump: US should let China keep seized drone.
• Pentagon: China agrees to return U.S. drone seized in South China Sea.
• Obama says he told Putin to ‘cut it out’ on Russia hacking.
• UN Security Council to vote on resolution on Syria’s Aleppo.

6am – E         Frederick Co. Public Schools: Student data may have been stolen from state agency. WASHINGTON — After announcing Dec. 13 that a data breach had affected 1,000 former students, Frederick County Public Schools officials on Sunday shared more about what the investigation into the breach had revealed.  The investigation, which was completed in December, found that the students’ information, including names, social security numbers and dates of birth, may have been obtained from the Maryland State Department of Education’s database, FCPS said in a news release Sunday. The data breach occurred before 2010 but was only discovered in September 2016, the news release said. “It appears that [ …] personal information was being sold on foreign websites and that someone noticed that, saw that data for sale on a foreign website and alerted us,” FCPS spokesman Michael Doerrer told WTOP Sunday. Shortly after, the school system began working with government agencies to investigate the incident, Doerrer said.

 7am – A         INTERVIEW — TREVOR MATICH — Redskins elite long snapper, WMAL’s Redskins analyst and Comcast SportsNet co-host – previewed Carolina Panthers  vs  Washington Redskins game tonight.

7am – B         There’s Now A Trump-Themed Dating Website. (Daily Caller) – There’s now a dating website dubbed TrumpSingles.com, which specifically caters to fans of President-elect Donald Trump. TrumpSingles claims to have 12,000 people on the site with a goal of “Making Dating Great Again.” The site screens users to ensure they are not trolls, but true believers in Trump. “I thought it was actually a nice idea because I’ve heard so many stories of people going on dates and everything is going fun and the political talk starts and kills any chance of a relationship happening,” David Goss, the site’s creator, said in a press statement. “It doesn’t matter your sexual preference, religion, anybody is allow to come and be on the site as long they are for the right reasons.” The website allows users to search for same or opposite sex partners. Many other conventional dating sites such as Match.com and OKCupid have numerous users who explicitly reject any Trump supporters.

7am – C         ‘Rogue One’ soars to second-best December debut with $155 million.

•  “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” soared to the top of the weekend box office as expected, scoring the second-best December opening ever with $155 million in estimated ticket sales. After the biggest Thursday night debut of the year, the intergalactic adventure blasted past industry expectations for a $130 million weekend, according Sunday’s studio estimates. “Rogue One” opened at No. 1 in all markets globally, though it has yet to bow in China and Korea.”We’re in uncharted territory for December,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box office tracker comScore. “It’s going to be really hard for any movie to catch up to this movie. … This is only the second time a movie has opened this big in December.” The record-setter was “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the space saga’s seventh installment, which debuted to $247.9 million in the U.S. and Canada last December.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – CONGRESSMAN DON BEYER — (D-VA)

• Virginia congressman calls for delay in electoral college vote. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) is calling on fellow members of Congress to delay a Dec. 19 electoral college vote because of reports about foreign interference in the presidential election aimed at helping elect Republican Donald Trump. “Recent, credible intelligence reports suggest a concerted effort by a foreign power to interfere in the outcome” of the election, Beyer, a liberal Democrat, said in a statement posted to Twitter at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. “I believe that Electors should be given all information relevant to this interference before they make their decisions and before they cast their votes,” he tweeted.

7am – E         RIP ZSA ZSA GABOR

• Zsa Zsa Gabor (ZHAH-zhah GAH-bor; born Sári Gábor; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian-American actress and socialite. Her sisters were actresses Eva and Magda Gabor. Gabor began her stage career in Vienna and was crowned Miss Hungary in 1936. She emigrated to the United States in 1941 and became a sought-after actress with “European flair and style”, with a personality that “exuded charm and grace”. Her first film role was a supporting role in Lovely to Look At. She later acted in We’re Not Married! and played one of her few leading roles in Moulin Rouge (1952), directed by John Huston who described her as a “creditable” actress.  Outside of her acting career, Gabor was best known for her extravagant Hollywood lifestyle, glamorous personality, and her many marriages, having had nine husbands, including hotel magnate Conrad Hilton and actor George Sanders.
• “I’m an excellent housekeeper. Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house.” Oh, Zsa Zsa. Zsa Zsa Gabor, who died Sunday at age 99, was a pageant winner and actress. However, the Hollywood icon was more famous for being famous than for any of her acting roles. Her nine marriages and hilarious one-liners caught people’s attention.   Here are seven of her best quotes about men and marriage:

• “I’m an excellent housekeeper. Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house.”
• “There is nothing wrong with a woman encouraging a man’s advances, as long as they are in cash.”
• “I know nothing about sex, because I was always married.”

8am – A         INTERVIEW — ROBERT “BOB” COSTA – national political reporter at The Washington Post – discuss the latest Trump transition news

• The Washington Post announces 2017 Congress and federal government team. We are pleased to announce an expanded and reorganized Congress/PowerPost team that will give The Post a larger and more versatile presence on Capitol Hill at the start of the next administration than it has ever had before. Bob Costa’s instincts and deep sourcing inside Trump world landed us scoop after scoop over the course of this dramatic presidential campaign. Those talents will serve him well as he heads back to the Hill, where he will retain his title as national political reporter, focusing on the Ryan-Trump-McConnell relationship, collaborating regularly with our White House team and traveling the country to connect the politics of Washington with the rest of America.
• Costa was covering the Trump campaign this year, what does he think of how the transition and cabinet is coming together?

8am – B         Icy Weather Accidents This Weekend:

• Three killed as winter storm wreaks havoc across region; I-95 tanker crash part of 67-vehicle pileup in city. (The Baltimore Sun) — Icy conditions caused a deadly, 67-vehicle pileup and a fiery explosion along Interstate 95 in Baltimore on Saturday as the first significant winter storm of the season wreaked havoc across the region. The fatal crash — captured in part by another motorist in a dramatic cellphone video — was one of hundreds of accidents in the icy weather system that grounded flights, cut power to thousands of homes and snarled traffic on one of the busiest weekends for holiday shopping of the year. Officials reopened all lanes of I-95 late Saturday, but state police extended a travel advisory throughout the region into Sunday. The accident on northbound I-95 between Caton Avenue and Washington Boulevard — in which a tanker carrying gasoline fell from a bridge and exploded on CSX Transportation railroad tracks below at about 5 a.m. — left two dead and nearly two dozen others injured, according to Maryland Transportation Authority Police and local hospital officials. As of 10:30 a.m. Sunday, the University of Maryland Medical Center reported seven patients under care at Shock Trauma. Two patients were in critical condition, two in serious condition and three in fair condition, though no patients remain in the emergency department from the crash, officials said on Twitter.
• Car hits father and son after sled enters Md. Road. WASHINGTON — A Baltimore man and his young son were struck by a vehicle after their sled went into a road Saturday morning, resulting in serious injuries, police said. Adam French, 35, and his 4-year-old son were sledding down a driveway in the 3200 block of Lineboro Road in Carroll County, Maryland, where they were visiting relatives, according to a news release from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. Their sled entered Lineboro Road, where it was hit by a 2004 Jeep Cherokee driving south.

8am – C         School’s ‘Christmas Carol’ Play Dropped After Parents Object to Tiny Tim. (Fox News) – Two parents at a Pennsylvania elementary school reportedly objected to a famous line in Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’, leading the principal to cancel its Christmas play. The officials at Centerville Elementary School in East Hempfield Township said they dropped the play from their schedule because it takes too much time out of teaching academics. But, the unnamed parents objected to Tiny Tim’s famous “God Bless us, everyone” phrase in the 19th Century classic.

8am – D/E     Michelle Obama’s suggestion Trump is end of ‘hope’ for America gets pushback. (Fox News) – President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday was gracious to first lady Michelle Obama, yet he countered her suggestion that the United States has lost “hope” since Trump’s November victory, saying Obama must have been talking “about the past.” “Michelle Obama says there is no hope,” Trump said at a rally in Alabama. “I assume she was talking about the past not the future. I honestly believe she meant that statement differently than the way it came out.”