Newt Gingrich, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, Dr. Bob Moffit, Weather Channel’s Ray Stagich, MDSHA’s Charlie Gischler, VDOT and Fox 5’s Tucker Barnes joined WMAL on Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Mary Walter

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C MADDOW’S BIG REVEAL OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S TAXES WAS A FLOP:

• NEWS ALERT: (AP) – MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow says the network has obtained Donald Trump tax documents from 2005
• Donald Trump 2005 federal tax information revealed on ‘The Rachel Maddow Show.’ The White House said in a statement Tuesday that President Donald Trump had paid $38 million in taxes on income of more than $150 million for 2005. That revelation came in response to Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter David Cay Johnston reportedly obtaining documents from Trump’s 2005 federal tax returns, and exclusively sharing those findings Tuesday evening with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. Maddow’s show echoed the White House statement, saying that Trump had paid $38 million in taxes that year, and that he had taken a large write-down of $103 million. In total, Trump made more than $150 million in income that year, according to the show. Notably, those documents indicate that Trump’s effective income tax rate was about 25 percent — much higher than former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s much-pilloried 14 percent. Still, Trump would have paid much less for 2005 if not for the alternative minimum tax, which he has vowed to abolish.

5am – D         INTERVIEW – RAY STAGICH – Radio Meteorologist for The Weather Channel

5am – E         More Weather Delays And DC Teachers Whine About Working On Snow Day.

6am – A         INTERVIEW – CHARLIE GISCHLER – Spokesperson, Maryland State Highway Administration

6am – B         If you lost your phone, how many numbers would you remember?  Is the death of the phone number around the corner?

• The death of phone numbers. The idea is that your email and social media profiles can replace phone numbers as a point of contact. OPINION: When I was growing up, my home phone number was three-digits long.  Those digits still form part of my parents’ number and it is one of only two phone numbers that I can remember (the other one is my wife’s). How many phone numbers can you remember? Or do you, like most people, rely on your phone to keep track of them?

6am – C         Cousins says he didn’t demand a trade. The Washington Times – Reports surfaced last week that Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins was so dissatisfied with the team that he personally inquired about being traded but Cousins says that’s not quite how it went down. During an interview Tuesday on ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter’s podcast, Cousins explained that he didn’t demand the Redskins shop him elsewhere, but said he did call team owner Dan Snyder and President Bruce Allen to ask if they were considering moving him. “I’m not sure how it got out, but I did just inquire as to Mr. Snyder and to Bruce Allen if there was any interest in trading me just to get an understanding of their perspective,” Cousins said. “And the answer I got back was Mr. Snyder communicated his belief in me and his desire for me to remain a Redskin and his desire to help me by surrounding the quarterback position with all the players and coaches that you need to succeed, and that’s the kind of message you want to hear from the owner of your team.”

6am – D         INTERVIEW –  Spokesperson, Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)

6am – E         U. Minnesota drops homecoming ‘King and Queen’ — replaces with genderless ‘Royals.’ The University of Minnesota has become the latest university to do away with the traditional Homecoming King and Queen titles and replace them with the gender-neutral “Royals” term. Taking it one step further, University of Minnesota officials also point out that the winners don’t even have to be one biological male and one biological female, stating on its website: “‘Royals’ … can be any combination of any gender identity.” Campus officials called the change a move “toward gender inclusivity” that promotes “a spirit of inclusion at the University of Minnesota.” “This change allows the University to select the best student representatives for the U of M based on campus and community involvement — regardless of gender,” the website states.

6am – F         BBC viral video family on how their children gatecrashed the interview: ‘She was in a hippity-hoppity mood that day.’ The professor whose BBC interview became a viral sensation after his children gatecrashed the discussion has spoken for the first time, lifting the lid on what really happened in his South Korea flat. Robert Kelly, an expert on East Asian politics, was preparing to speak about the impeachment of South Korea’s president, Park Geun-hye, from his home in Busan – South Korea’s second city. His wife Kim Jung-A was at home with their children – Marion, four, and eight-month-old James. They were sitting in a living room, watching the television and recording the screen for Mr Kelly to watch later, while he was conducting his Skype interview from the home office. But Mr Kelly had made a fatal mistake. He forgot to lock his study door. Midway through the interview, Marion, noticing that her father was on television and still at home, decided to pay him a visit.

7am – A         INTERVIEW — DR. ROBERT “BOB” MOFFIT – Senior Fellow, Heritage Foundation, former deputy assistant secretary for legislation at HHS, author of best seller “Why ObamaCare is Wrong for America”

• latest on GOP’s healthcare bill:
• Spicer: White House is working on amending healthcare bill
• Spicer: “CBO coverage estimates are consistently wrong.”
• Donald Trump Signals ‘Big Fat Beautiful Negotiation’ on House Healthcare Bill. President Donald Trump told reporters that a “big fat beautiful negotiation” was underway on the proposed house health care bill, after a growing number of conservatives have voiced dissent with the effort. “We’re negotiating with everybody,” Trump said. “It’s a big fat beautiful negotiation and hopefully we’ll come up with something that’s going to be really terrific.” Trump made his remarks during a meeting with his cabinet at the White House — although four of them have yet to be confirmed by the Senate.

7am – B/C     INTERVIEW — DC MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER

• Discuss How the City Did In Handling The Snow Storm. 
• President Trump met with Mayor Bowser and Metro GM Wiedefeld ahead of the snow storm.  How did that come about? What was the meeting like? What was discussed?
• What does she think about the DC Teachers Union complaining about having to go in on Tuesday? Washington Teachers’ Union president Elizabeth A. Davis offered sharp criticism of the decision to open schools on Tuesday.  “Over 2,000 of our teachers live outside of the District, primarily because their salaries do not allow them buy or rent homes in DC,” she said in a statement.  “It’s unfair to ask them to travel from places like Fairfax, Gaithersburg, Waldorf and other towns and cities outside of DC to make it to work on a day like today.

7am – D         MADDOW’S BIG REVEAL OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S TAXES WAS A FLOP:

• NEWS ALERT: (AP) – MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow says the network has obtained Donald Trump tax documents from 2005
• Donald Trump 2005 federal tax information revealed on ‘The Rachel Maddow Show.’ The White House said in a statement Tuesday that President Donald Trump had paid $38 million in taxes on income of more than $150 million for 2005. That revelation came in response to Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter David Cay Johnston reportedly obtaining documents from Trump’s 2005 federal tax returns, and exclusively sharing those findings Tuesday evening with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. Maddow’s show echoed the White House statement, saying that Trump had paid $38 million in taxes that year, and that he had taken a large write-down of $103 million. In total, Trump made more than $150 million in income that year, according to the show. Notably, those documents indicate that Trump’s effective income tax rate was about 25 percent — much higher than former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s much-pilloried 14 percent. Still, Trump would have paid much less for 2005 if not for the alternative minimum tax, which he has vowed to abolish.

7am – E         INTERVIEW — TUCKER BARNES — Morning weather anchor of Fox 5 News in DC – shared the latest update on DC area weather.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – NEWT GINGRICH – former Speaker of the House, 2012 presidential candidate and author of the new book “Treason” – discussed the CBO score on the GOP health care bill and his reaction to MSNBC touting Trump’s tax returns.

8am – B         D.C. cancels after-school activities, capping frustrating day for parents. Washington Teachers’ Union president Elizabeth A. Davis offered sharp criticism of the decision to open schools on Tuesday. “Over 2,000 of our teachers live outside of the District, primarily because their salaries do not allow them buy or rent homes in DC,” she said in a statement.  “It’s unfair to ask them to travel from places like Fairfax, Gaithersburg, Waldorf and other towns and cities outside of DC to make it to work on a day like today.”

8am – C         US State Department warns college students against spring break travel to Mexico. (Fox News) — The U.S. State Department is warning college students across the country not to spend spring break in certain parts of Mexico, where rampant crime has made travel dangerous for Americans. The warning comes as students are finishing up midterm exams and heading out in search of warmer climes, salty margaritas and wild parties. But Mexico, once among the most popular spring break destinations, is plagued with endemic levels of violence, according to the government. “U.S. citizens have been the victims of violent crimes, including homicide, kidnapping, carjacking and robbery in various Mexican States,” the State department travel warning stated. The warning, which replaces one issued last April, specifically cautions travelers of the dangers in 14 of Mexico’s 31 states, including the popular spring break destinations of Baja California Sur, Guerrero and Nayarit.

8am – D         INTERVIEW — MARYLAND ATTORNEY GENERAL BRIAN FROSH

• Maryland joins lawsuit against revised travel ban. ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland’s attorney general has joined 13 other states in supporting President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban. Brian Frosh said in a news release that on Monday he filed an amicus brief in the District Court for Hawaii. Hawaii has asked for a temporary restraining order blocking the enforcement of the president’s revised travel ban. Frosh says the proposed ban will hurt Maryland’s universities and economy. Frosh is using a new authority granted by the state legislature.  Fearful of Trump’s policies, the Maryland General Assembly empowered Frosh, a Democrat, to sue the federal government without permission from the state’s Republican governor.

8am – E         Entertainment News:

• Ice-T on Snoop Dogg video: ‘You can’t point a gun at the president.’ Ice-T says Snoop Dogg’s new music video showing him pretending to shoot a parody version of President Trump might have crossed the line. “The part where you point the gun at the president — that’s against the law. You know, you gotta know that,” Ice-T told TMZ in a joint interview with rapper Treach. “You can’t kill the president. But I think he pushed the line.”
• Marco Rubio Slams Snoop Dogg Video That Shows President Trump Clown at Gunpoint. Sen. Marco Rubio has slammed a new music video from Snoop Dogg that which features a clown look-a-like of President Donald Trump – and warned it could inspire violence against the president. In the expletive-laden video for “Lavender (Nightfall Remix),” the faux Trump is held at gunpoint by Snoop, who then fires the weapon and causes a flag to pop out reading “Bang.” “Snoop shouldn’t have done that – you know, we’ve had presidents assassinated before in this country so anything like that is really something you should be very careful about,” the Florida senator told TMZ at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
• Ben Affleck Reveals He Completed Rehab for Alcohol Addiction: ‘I’m Lucky to Have the Love of My Family.’ Ben Affleck has completed treatment for alcohol addiction. The actor, 44, made the announcement in a Facebook post Tuesday. “I have completed treatment for alcohol addiction; something I’ve dealt with in the past and will continue to confront,” he wrote. “I want to live life to the fullest and be the best father I can be. I want my kids to know there is no shame in getting help when you need it, and to be a source of strength for anyone out there who needs help but is afraid to take the first step. I’m lucky to have the love of my family and friends, including my co-parent, Jen, who has supported me and cared for our kids as I’ve done the work I set out to do. This was the first of many steps being taken towards a positive recovery.”