Tax expert Ryan Ellis, Heritage’s Bruce Klingner, Washington Post’s Laura Vozzella, David Limbaugh, Bret Baier and guest host Vince Coglianese joined WMAL on Friday!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, April 14, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C   SAME JOB FOR ALMOST 60 YEARS: Does anyone stay with one job their whole life anymore?

• News driver retires after 57 years, 5 million deliveries. GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — After nearly six decades and millions of newspapers delivered, Mel Rulison has called it quits. The 87-year-old retired last Sunday as a route driver for The Leader-Herald, a 7,500-circulation daily afternoon paper published in Gloversville, in New York’s Mohawk Valley. The newspaper reports (http://bit.ly/2osp0U3 ) Rulison delivered 220 to 300 newspapers a day, seven days a week for 57 consecutive years. That’s more than 5 million papers delivered during that span. Rulison was working for his uncle’s tannery when he took on newspaper deliveries as an extra job in 1960. After the tannery closed nearly 30 years ago he kept the delivery job, spending three hours a day dropping off papers at homes in a rural area 40 miles northwest of Albany. On Monday, the newspaper threw Rulison a retirement party, thanking him for his 57 years of dedicated service.

5am – D         North Korea news:

• Kim Jong-un unveils 770ft ‘ultra-modern, prestige’ skyscraper complex (with no hot water) in the heart of Pyongyang as dictator orders removal of 600,000 ‘undesirables’ from the city. (Daily Mail) — Kim Jong-un has unveiled a huge new 770ft skyscraper complex hailed by officials as ‘ultra modern’ – despite the most luxurious penthouse apartments having no hot water. Foreign reporters had earlier been warned to expect a ‘big and important’ event in the secretive state today – but it turned out to be a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the housing project. Thousands of cheering North Koreans watched on as the dictator opened the sprawling Ryomyong Street development, which includes 5,000 flats. The tallest of the buildings is 70 stories while North Korean Premier Pak Pong Ju insisted they ‘incorporate the latest architectural science and technology, including solar and geothermal technology, and the greening of roofs and walls’. But reporters shown around showpiece penthouse apartments – finished with ice green wallpaper and purple sofas – found that none of them had hot water supplies. It comes amid reports Kim Jong-un has ordered 600,000 residents out of the city to make way for the country’s elite. But there are some suggestions the move was part of Kim’s preparations for war amid heightened tensions with the West and after the US sent an ‘armada’ of warships to the the Korean Peninsula.
• Satellite photos show North Korean nuclear site ‘primed and ready’  (CNN)North Korean monitoring service 38 North said Wednesday the country’s Punggye-ri nuclear site is “primed and ready” for a sixth nuclear test. “The activity during the past six weeks is suggestive of the final preparations for a test,” 38 North analyst Joseph Bermudez told CNN. Their prediction comes as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday that North Korea may have the capability to deliver missiles equipped with sarin nerve gas. He and other analysts pore over commercial satellite imagery of the testing site, looking for signs of activity similar to that prior to other tests.
• US Air Force sends message to North Korea with display of air power U.S. Air Force officials made it clear to North Korea they were not messing around, launching a surprise military exercise with full combat air power in Japan Wednesday. The jets in the arsenal of the 18th Wing, which conducted the exercise, include HH-60 Pave Hawks, F-15 Eagles, E-3 Sentries and KC-135 Stratotankers. Military officials call it the Air Force’s largest combat-ready wing.
• Trump weighs sanctions, other measures against North Korea. against North Korea . The Trump administration is weighing the possibility of imposing additional sanctions on North Korea if the rogue nation continues to fire missiles or conducts its sixth nuclear test.  “We are exploring a new range of diplomatic, security, and economic measures in response to the North Korean regime’s continued provocations. North Korea must understand that the only path to a secure, economically-prosperous future is to abandon its development of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and other weapons of mass destruction,” an administration official told Fox Business Network. Among the sanctions under consideration reportedly are an oil embargo, a ban on North Korea’s national airline Air Koryo, and a crackdown on companies or individuals who do business with North Korea or lend financial support to its nuclear proliferation program.
• Trump: “North Korea is a problem. The problem will be taken care of.”
• Seth Rogen Warns President Trump: ‘Don’t F**k With North Korea’ Seth Rogen warned “don’t f–k with North Korea” after President Donald Trump tweeted that if China doesn’t help with the “North Korean problem,” America will “solve the problem without them.” In 2014, Rogen and James Franco starred in a comedy called “The Interview” in which tabloid talk show hosts get recruited by the CIA to kill North Korea leader Kim Jong-un.
• China Offers To Defend Kim Jong-un If He Gives Up His Nukes (Daily Caller) – China would be willing to offer the North Korean regime protection if it abandoned its nuclear weapons, a well-known Chinese paper reports. North Korea’s primary reason for developing nuclear weapons is the preservation of the state and the regime through deterrence, yet the U.S. and its allies refuse to accept a nuclear-armed North Korea. Evidence suggests that North Korea may be preparing for another nuclear test this weekend. “This path has no outlet … it doesn’t matter if North Korea tests a few more nuclear bombs or a few more missiles. It will not make any difference,” the Global Times, an outlet affiliated with the state-run People’s Daily, the paper of the ruling Communist Party, wrote Thursday. “Washington does not fear North Korea, and another nuclear test increases the likelihood that the U.S. will use military force.” North Korea’s current course is not sustainable and is putting the survival of the regime in jeopardy. “If North Korea does not end its nuclear activities, this end is inevitable,” the newspaper explained, adding that even if the U.S. does not attack it, sanctions will eventually cripple the North Korean state.
• US could destroy North Korea’s nuclear site this weekend: report (DC Examiner) -The U.S. is well-prepared to respond with military action to any hostile behavior or serious threat from North Korea, including launching missiles at the nation’s nuclear test site, U.S. intelligence officials said on Thursday evening. While North Korea is warning of a “big event” in the near future — possibly by the weekend — Pentagon officials have mobilized resources to hit back at the dictatorship. “Two things are coming together this weekend,” retired Adm. James Stavridis, former commander of NATO told NBC News on Thursday. “One is the distinct possibility of a sixth North Korean nuclear weapons detonation and the other is an American carrier strike group, a great deal of firepower headed right at the Korean Peninsula.”

5am – E         TRUMP DROPS A BOMB ON ISIS:

• The US military has dropped America’s most powerful non-nuclear bomb on ISIS targets in Afghanistan. This was the first time the weapon known as the “mother of all bombs” (MOAB) has been used in battle. Afterward, President Trump declined to say whether he personally signed off on the strike, but noted, “Everybody knows exactly what happens. So, what I do is I authorize our military.”
• U.S. drops ‘Mother of all Bombs’ on ISIS tunnel compound in Afghanistan
• US military drops 21,000-pound non-nuclear bomb — known as the “mother of all bombs” — in Afghanistan
• Donald Trump carries out threat to “bomb the s***” out of ISIS as he drops biggest non-nuclear weapon ever
• FLASHBACK: TRUMP: I will bomb the SH*T out of ISIS. There will be nothing left! (Campaign promise: fulfilled!)

6am – A  Recap the Virginia governor’s debate Thursday night.

• Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie’s Republican rivals on Thursday tried to cast the GOP front-runner as a Washington insider and member of the party establishment as Mr. Gillespie, Corey Stewart, and Frank Wagner squared off at a GOP debate held at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
• Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors
• Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman and adviser to President George W. Bush
• Frank Wagner, a state senator who represents parts of Virginia Beach, has served in the state legislature as a senator and as a member of the House of Delegates for more than 25 years.
• The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2017 will take place on November 7, 2017. Primaries will take place on June 13, 2017. Virginia utilizes an open primary, in which registered voters are allowed to vote in only one party’s primary election.

6am – B         UNITED NEWS:

• David Dao’s lawyer says his client suffered concussion, broken nose when dragged off United flight. The passenger who was violently removed from a United flight this week suffered a concussion, a broken nose and injury to his sinuses, and also lost two of his teeth, his lawyer told a press conference in Chicago on Thursday. Attorneys for Dr. David Dao, the passenger at the center of the drama, said he was discharged from a Chicago hospital Wednesday night but will have to undergo reconstructive surgery. He is currently in a “secure location,” and is asking the press to respect his privacy.

• United passenger’s lawyer says he was more scared being dragged off plane than he was when fleeing Vietnam
• Daughter of Doctor Dragged Off United Flight: ‘We Were Horrified’ by What Happened
• More United Air Problems: Scorpion Falls From Overhead Bin, Stings Passenger on United Flight. United Airlines has had a tough week. A Canadian couple returning from their vacation got quite the scare when they encountered a scorpion on board a United Airlines flight from Houston to Calgary on Sunday. Linda Bell told CNN a scorpion fell from an overhead bin and into her husband Richard Bell’s hair while he was eating lunch in his business class passenger seat. “My husband felt something in his hair. He grabbed it out of his hair, and it fell onto his dinner table,” she told the network. “As he was grabbing it by the tail it stung him.” Port Authority police boss forbids airline passenger removals. A passenger on the plane had stomped on the honey colored scorpion before the airline crew threw it in the toilet, according to the Canadian TV station.

6am – C         HATCHET THROWING & BYOB – WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?

• Bored with bars? Try mixing your alcohol with axes at this BYOB hatchet-throwing facility. (Circa News) — Isn’t it time to try something different for your next night out? At Stumpy’s Hatchet House in Eatontown, New Jersey, you can drink beer while perfecting your axe-throwing technique. We tried it out for ourselves and spoke to co-owners Stuart and Kelly Josberger about how it all began. It all started in a backyard: Stuart and Kelly set up a target in their backyard and began throwing hatchets at it with another couple, Mark and Trish Oliphant. Soon, they started getting pretty serious about hatchet-throwing, inviting friends over and holding competitions. “We’d be out there till all hours of the night,” said Stuart. One evening, the two couples got the idea of turning their hobby into a business, and Stumpy’s Hatchet House was born as the first BYOB hatchet-throwing center in the country.

6am – D/E     Mom furious after daughter implanted with dangerous contraception on school trip. (LifeSiteNews) — An Oklahoma mother allowed her daughter to go on an educational field trip only to have her return with a three-year chemical contraceptive implant inside her arm. Langston Hughes Academy hosts an annual sex-ed class by Youth Services of Tulsa. When Miracle Foster’s daughter wanted to learn more, she allowed her to visit the clinic.   But Youth Services of Tulsa is part of the Tulsa Area Teen Pregnancy Prevention Collaborative, whose PregNOT program began in 2010 with $1.5 million in tax funding from the Obama Health and Human Services’ Office of Adolescent Health. Its stated goal is to reduce pregnancy among poor youth ages 11-19 via “youth-friendly” contraceptives. The government agency surgically implanted the dangerous Norplant chemical birth control device inside Foster’s daughter’s arm, according to Foster. Youth Services of Tulsa argued that they legally do not have to tell a parent when contraceptives are implanted inside schoolchildren.

6am – F         DC high school celebrates 5th consecutive year of 100 percent graduation, college acceptance rate. (Fox 5 DC) — WASHINGTON – When you hear the words, “signing day,” you usually associate them with high school athletes announcing their college of choice based on their skills on the playing field. But for a high school in D.C., the words have taken on a whole new meaning. National Collegiate Preparatory Public Charter High School, in the District’s eighth Ward, is celebrating its fifth consecutive year of having a one-hundred percent graduation rate and college acceptance. Its ‘signing day” is based on pure academic merit. Unique Wilson, one of the graduating seniors, will be attending the University of Pennsylvania later this fall. She is the first student to graduate from National Prep who will be attending an Ivy League school. “Accomplished,” she said of her achievement. “I’m just really proud to show everyone else in the school that it’s possible that we can make it to an Ivy League.”

7am – A         INTERVIEW – RYAN ELLIS – Forbes columnist, tax policy expert and also is an “Enrolled Agent,” which means the IRS has designated him as one of the top tax experts practicing today. He owns a tax preparation service in the Washington, DC area

• TOPIC: Tax Tips for last minute tax filing and what to do to prepare for tax day throughout the year for next year
• Don’t panic: You have until Tuesday, April 18, to file your taxes. Have you been panicking about getting your taxes done by April 15? You know, the day they’re usually due? Well, you just caught a break with a three-day extension, and here’s why: On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill, the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, which ended slavery in the nation’s capital and freed 3,100 slaves. It was nine months before Lincoln signed the broader Emancipation Proclamation, in January 1863. Because the holiday falls on the weekend this year, it will be observed by D.C. employers on April 17 and many city offices will be closed. Therefore, the final deadline for filing your 2016 taxes will be Tuesday, April 18. So that’s your little grace period. Don’t procrastinate though, just get to work and get it done.
• Calling all procrastinators: The deadline for filing and paying your taxes is fast approaching.

7am – B/C     INTERVIEW – BRUCE KLINGNER – Senior Research Fellow, Northeast Asia, Heritage Foundation, specializes in Korean and Japanese affairs – analyzed the situation with North Korea.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – LAURA VOZZELLA – covers Virginia politics for The Washington Post — recapped the Virginia governor’s debate Thursday night.

7am – E         EASTER NEWS:

• Americans will spend a record $18.4 billion on Easter this year. Americans will spend a record $18.4 billion on Easter this year. The National Retail Federation, in its annual Easter forecast, said that number is 6% larger than the $17.3 billion spent in 2016. The organization credits the late Easter for driving spending.
• White House Easter Egg Roll to be smaller event, with fewer commemorative eggs this year. WASHINGTON (ABC7) —  Days before the White House Easter Egg Roll, hundreds of people crowded along a fence near the South Lawn, some hoping to get a glimpse of the preparations. This year’s event will be smaller, with fewer White House guests— and fewer of those treasured commemorative wooden eggs. “We expect more than 21,000 people to attend the Easter Egg Roll,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Thursday. That’s far fewer than last year’s tally of 37,000. So what happened? The New York Times reports the administration got a late start in getting things organized; that the real work didn’t begin until March. “There seem to be some challenges with organizing the Easter Egg Roll,” says Tim Creedon, a visitor from St. Louis. “Maybe they’re not as focused on the traditions, but at the same time, you have to think of the priorities of the nation at this point.” In February, the White House got a Twitter wake-up call from Wells Wood Turning and Finishing, the Maine company that makes the commemorative eggs. “FYI, manufacturing deadlines for the Easter eggs are near,” the post said. “Please reach out!”
• The Winners of the 2017 Peeps Diorama Contest. “The Peeple v. O.J. Simpson” takes first place. Peeps diorama contest winner gives the world ‘The Peeple vs. O.J. Simpson.’ Once again, as Easter approaches, all eyes turn to see what gifted creator will win the coveted annual Peeps diorama contest. And this year, the verdict is in.  We have the Washington City Paper to thank for the winning entry: a detailed recreation of The People vs. O.J. Simpson peep-ed together from sugary marshmallows and punningly titled “The Peeple v. O.J. Simpson.”

8am – A INTERVIEW – DAVID LIMBAUGH – author of new book “The True Jesus: Uncovering the Divinity of Christ in the Gospels”

• In The True Jesus: Uncovering the Divinity of Christ in the Gospels, Limbaugh reveals:
• How Jesus’ boldness in His beliefs is a model for us today
• How the Old Testament prophecies correspond with their fulfillment in the New Testament
• How the different backdrops of Jesus’ life—historical, cultural, and theological—give a deeper understanding of the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus
• How we know that Jesus was both God and man
• The importance of a religious divide brought upon Earth by Jesus

• How Jesus’ life, death, and Resurrection offer salvation to the entire human race
• New York Times Bestselling Author David Limbaugh Defends Faith and Religious Freedom with the Four Gospel Stories… WASHINGTON, D.C. —Christians are painfully aware: our Faith is under attack. Since Donald Trump’s first day in office, the left has doubled-down on its campaign to suppress religious freedom and silence Christians. It’s time we fight back. In his enthralling new book, The True Jesus: Uncovering the Divinity of Christ in the Gospels (Regnery Publishing; Hardcover; April 10, 2017; $28.99), New York Times bestselling author David Limbaugh breaks down the four Gospels into a layman’s guide—and ammunition—to help readers understand the message Jesus brought and emulate His boldness in courageously proclaiming the truth despite the backlash from the culture around Him.

8am – B         ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

• John Mayer is standing by his Asian-inspired music video for single ‘Still Feel Like Your Man.’ (USA Today) — John Mayer is standing by his Asian-inspired music video for single Still Feel Like Your Man, which some critics accused of cultural appropriation after its release last week. “If I were anticipating backlash, I wouldn’t have made the video. Controversy does not inspire me. I wish I could say it did, but controversy does not inspire me. I would never have made something anticipating backlash, I would’ve changed it so I didn’t anticipate backlash.”  John Mayer finally dances, with pandas, in trippy new music video. In Still’s colorful clip, the singer dances with pandas and women in geisha costumes against a bamboo backdrop, on a set he dubbed a “disco dojo” in an interview with the New York Times. He preemptively defended the video’s “fantasy element” and “multiethnic casting” before it debuted online, saying, “I think we were as sensitive as we could be.” He also acknowledged, “Do I think that someone is going to tweet that this is cultural appropriation? Yes.”
• Christian Bale to star as Dick Cheney in biopic: Hollywood’s former “Batman” is gearing up to play former Vice President Dick Cheney. Academy Award-winning actor Christian Bale will re-team with director Adam McKay for a biopic on former President George W. Bush’s right-hand man. The two previously collaborated on “The Big Short,” a film on the U.S. housing-market crash. “In the same way as it was a journey of discovery with ‘The Big Short,’ Adam was able to take a story that most people would go comatose listening to,” Mr. Baletold The Associated Press on Wednesday. “His ability to make it startling and entertaining and intelligent without compromising anything — he’s masterful at doing that.” The director’s project will also star Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney and Steve Carell as former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Actor Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment will produce the movie. Paramount Pictures expects filming to begin in September, AP reported.
• Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck officially file divorce LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck are formally ending their marriage with divorce petitions that seek joint custody of their three children. The actors both filed petitions in Los Angeles on Thursday. The filings were made without attorneys and are virtually identical. Neither lists a date of separation. The couple announced they were separating in June 2015 after 10 years of marriage. At the time, they said they were committed to co-parenting their three children, who range from 5 to 11, and would not comment further on their breakup. Affleck announced last month that he had recently completed treatment for alcohol addiction. The actors met while making 2003’s “Daredevil,” in which they both played superheroes. The filing was first reported by celebrity website TMZ.

8am – C         SPORTS NEWS:

• Capitals playoffs Thursday night – SHOT OF THE YEAR: CAPS WIN in Overtime!! Tom Wilson gave the Capitals a 1-0 series lead thanks to an overtime goal on Thursday night to give the Capitals a 3-2 win.
• Roundup: Wilson plays overtime hero as Capitals top Maple Leafs in opener. For a second night in a row, a young, star-studded team from Canada built an early 2-0 lead only to see a playoff victory get snatched away in overtime. Last night it was the Edmonton Oilers losing to the San Jose Sharks, 3-2. Tonight it was the Toronto Maple Leafs’ turn, losing 3-2 on the road against the Washington Capitals.
• A Hockey Fan Stabbed in Head With Screwdriver Refused Treatment Until Game Ended.  A Penguins fan got stabbed in the head. He refused treatment until after playoff opener. Take the 43-year-old owner of an auto-detail shop in Pittsburgh who was found by police to be bleeding from the scalp on Wednesday night during the Penguins’ playoff opener against Columbus, the result of an altercation with someone else involving a screwdriver. One would think that this person would need immediate medical attention. One would be wrong. “Police said the victim refused treatment for the laceration from paramedics on the scene, stating he would drive himself to UPMC Mercy hospital at the end of the game,” the Guardian’s Bryan Armen Graham reports.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – BRET BAIER – Anchor, Special Report, Fox News Channel – discussed the North Korea, Trump dropping bomb on ISIS and Easter plans.

8am – E         Professor who predicted Trump’s election says he’ll be impeached before 2018 — by Republicans. (Raw Story) — The professor who accurately predicted President Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory — and who now predicts that he will be impeached — said that he doesn’t think Americans will have to wait for a Democratic Congress in 2018 before Trump is forced out of office. Politico spoke to Allan Lichtman about his new book, The Case for Impeachment, and why Lichtman believes that the president’s own party will turn on him, enabling Congress to remove him from the White House. Lichtman — a professor of history at American University — said that Trump and members of his transition team reached out to him after the election, but they only cared about the first part of his prediction, that Trump would take the White House, and ignored the follow-up prediction that he would not be allowed to serve a full term.