Bloomberg View’s Eli Lake, University of Mary Washington’s Stephen Farnsworth and Larry Kudlow joined WMAL on Tuesday morning.

Listen here to Tuesday’s show!

INTERVIEW – ELI LAKE – Columnist, Bloomberg View

  INTERVIEW — STEPHEN FARNSWORTH – Professor of Political Science & International Affairs at University of Mary Washington, focusing on the mass media, the presidency and US & VA politics @drsfarnsworth – previewed primary day in Virginia.

 INTERVIEW: LARRY KUDLOW – CNBC Senior Contributor and host of The Larry Kudlow Show on WMAL Saturdays at 7 pm

Mornings on the Mall

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Smith

5am – A/B/C Researchers Say They’ve Cracked The Code To Being Happy. NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Are you happy? Do you know how to be happy? Now, after decades of research and a dozen clinical trials, researchers at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, say they’ve actually cracked the code to being happy, and published it in a handbook. Dr. Amit Sood led the research and says the first and foremost way to be happy is to focus our attention. “You can choose to live focusing on what is not right in your life,” Dr. Sood said. Experts say the human mind is instinctively restless, wandering from good thoughts to sad thoughts, scary thoughts and everything in between. But if we learn to command our thoughts, shifting perspective away from the negative, and embrace the positive, we will be happier, experts say. “Resiliency has everything to do with happiness,” Dr. Sood said. The Mayo Clinic’s research also shows the degree of happiness people enjoy has to do with how resilient they are to life’s many curve balls. Happy people are very good at compartmentalizing and creating boundaries. “So for example, if you’ve had a difficult day, when you get back home, for the first three minutes, forget about it, park it, and meet your family as if they’re long lost friends,” Dr. Sood added. And perhaps one of the biggest hindrances to being happy is too much thinking about one’s self, research shows. “Complainers are never going to be happy,” Ketchian said. “Happiness is a decision.” So why did the Mayo Clinic decide to study happiness? Studies show happier people are healthier people.

5am – D         Obama: No ‘complete strategy’ yet on training Iraqis. Telfs-Buchen, Austria (CNN)President Barack Obama said Monday his top national security advisers were still working to solidify training plans for Iraqi defense forces battling ISIS in their own country. “We don’t yet have a complete strategy because it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis,” Obama said during concluding remarks at the G7 conference in Germany, citing recruitment as a key stumbling block facing the central government in Iraq. Critics of the administration’s strategy in Iraq seized upon the President’s comments Monday, claiming they indicated a policy failure and referencing similar comments Obama made in August. “What has President Obama been doing for the last 10 months?” the Republican National Committee wrote Monday. House Speaker John Boehner took the attack another step, responding to Obama with a tweet of a popular emoticon of a person shrugging as a shorter summary of Obama’s strategy.

5am – E         Virginia primary election primer. (WTOP) — WASHINGTON – Virginia voters will select nominees Tuesday in key races across the commonwealth. And while the focus in November’s general election will be on which party controls the state Senate, the focus on June 9 will be on local races and some unusual contests for General Assembly seats. Local races include challenges to the incumbent mayor in Alexandria, several county supervisors, and the race for two democratic nominations to the Arlington County Board. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Absentee voting ends Saturday, June 6. Virginia law requires voters to show photo identification at the polls. Virginia voters do not register by party so all are eligible to vote in the primaries unless they have promised as part of a party convention or other process that they will not do so. Races not on the primary ballot were either not contested or were decided by party conventions or canvasses. The Republicans will meet Thursday for a party canvas to choose nominees for several races.

6am – A/B/C Kids who watch ‘Sesame Street’ do better in school. Kids who watch “Sesame Street” do better in elementary school, according to a new study by two economics professors. Spending an hour a day with Big Bird, Elmo and Count von Count is especially beneficial for boys, African-American youth and children from low-income families, the study found. They get the biggest academic boost. “Our analysis suggests that ‘Sesame Street’ may be the biggest and most affordable early childhood intervention out there, at a cost of just a few dollars per child per year,” says Phillip Levine, an economist at Wellesley College who co-authored the research paper with University of Maryland economist Melissa Kearney. “Sesame Street” began on November 10, 1969, making it one of America’s longest-running TV shows. It was a big hit when it started. Estimates suggest that nearly 40% of pre-school aged kids watching the show by 1971. Beloved characters like Cookie Monster and Elmo have become American icons, and many adults can still recite famous lines from the show such as “brought to you by the letter….” When Sesame Street first went on air, TV technology was undergoing some big changes. The program was broadcast via both VHF (very high frequency) channels and weaker UHF (ultra-high frequency) channels. Families living in areas that received only UHF channels had poor reception and thus were less likely to see the show. The study compares school performance of kids from families that lived in areas with a stronger “Sesame Street” signal versus those living in places with a weaker signal. They found that children in areas with better reception were more likely to perform at grade level in elementary school.

6am – D         TSA Fails to ID 73 Airport Employees With Links to Terrorism. A new Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report found that the Transportation Security Administration failed to identify 73 aviation employees with active clearance badges with links to terrorism. The people, who were employed by major airlines, airport vendors and other employers, were not identified because TSA is not authorized to receive all terrorism-related information under current inter-agency policies, the report said. The agency’s “multi-layered process to vet aviation workers for potential links to terrorism was generally effective. In addition to initially vetting every application for new credentials, TSA recurrently vetted aviation workers with access to secured areas of commercial airports every time the Consolidated Terrorist Watchlist was updated,” the report found. “However, our testing showed that TSA did not identify 73 individuals with terrorism-related category codes because TSA is not authorized to receive all terrorism-related information under current interagency watchlisting policy.” Further, the thousands of records used to vet employees contained such incomplete or inaccurate data as lacking a full first name or missing social security numbers. TSA ran into particular problems in the vetting process when potential aviation employees has not committed crimes and were legal resident or citizens.

6am – E         NTSB recommends immediate fix to Metro electrical system. (AP) – NTSB makes another critical recommendation for Metro. WASHINGTON — Federal transportation safety officials say Metro must immediately repair and install sleeves that are designed to protect electrical components, which power the rail system, from water and other contaminants. The National Transportation Safety Board issued its recommendation Monday. The NTSB discovered the problem while investigating the January smoke that filled the L’Enfant Plaza Station and killed a rider from Alexandria, Virginia. Electrical connections that provide power to the high-voltage third rail were “improperly constructed and installed.” If moisture were able to get into the electrical components, the components could short-circuit, generating fire and smoke, according to the NTSB.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – ELI LAKE – Columnist, Bloomberg View

• Obama: No ‘complete strategy’ yet on training Iraqis
• Obama lambasts Putin: you’re wrecking Russia to recreate Soviet empire

7am – B        2016 News:

• O’Malley, a charmer in ’84 w/ guitar in Iowa: “…the farm wives, who loved hearing him sing in their kitchens.” Cadre of 1984 Hart campaign veterans critical for O’Malley’s long-shot bid. (Washington Post) – Hart, now 78, says he will back O’Malley’s candidacy, both because he believes the country would benefit from fresh leadership and, “if nothing else, because he supported me.” Asked O’Malley’s odds of winning, Hart replied: “At this stage, very unlikely. But it was for me, too.” Hart remembers the guitar the younger man toted around Iowa, an O’Malley trademark that endured through seven years as Baltimore’s mayor and two terms as Maryland’s governor. “What I recall is how much affection there was for him personally, more so than for me,” Hart said. “Particularly from the farm wives, who loved hearing him sing in their kitchens.”
• Jeb Bush to Call Out Putin in Europe. (Daily Beast) — Former Governor Jeb Bush will call for a more assertive and united front against Russia and President Vladimir Putin when he arrives Tuesday in Germany, the first stop of Bush’s three-country tour of Europe. His task on the trip is to articulate a vision of the U.S.-Europe relationship that is distinct from both the Obama and the George W. Bush administrations, both of which are unpopular there. “Seventy years after America and Western Europe began to build the post-war architecture of security, that alliance is as relevant as the day it was founded,” Bush is to say at the conference of Germany’s Christian Democratic Party in Berlin, according to excerpts of the speech. “Who will say otherwise, as we watch the fate of Ukraine slowly unfold in tragedy? Ukraine, a sovereign European nation, must be permitted to choose its own path.” Bush has a clear but challenging aim for this trip, which will also take him to Poland and Estonia. He arrives in Europe a day after President Barack Obama led a meeting of the Group of 7 countries in Krun, Germany. Obama threatened new sanctions against Russia if Putin doesn’t stop his aggression in Ukraine and abide by the Minsk agreement signed in March. Bush is expected to distance himself from Obama but be light on specifics about what he would do differently.
• Hillary Clinton heading to D.C. for LGBT fundraiser. WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton will be in Washington, D.C., on Monday night for a fundraiser hosted by and attended by predominantly lesbian supporters. About 120 people are expected to attend the event, which is being billed as “an intimate fundraiser” at the Woman’s National Democratic Club. The cost to attend is $2,700 per person. For the more generous, those willing to bundle $27,000 ahead of the event also get to attend a special reception with Clinton. The event is being hosted by Claire Lucas and her partner, Judy Dlugacz, who founded a travel company called Olivia, which sells cruises targeting the lesbian community. Lucas told The Huffington Post that she and Dlugacz decided a couple of weeks ago that they wanted to do something to support Clinton’s presidential run, so they started reaching out to their network of contacts to gauge interest. The result is Monday’s event, which Lucas estimates will be about 75 percent lesbian attendees from around the country. That’s atypical for an LGBT political fundraiser, which are by and large organized and attended by gay men. “We had such a big group of people wanting to attend,” said Lucas, who acknowledged it is “unusual” that the event will have such a strong lesbian presence.

7am – C       Pac-Man turns 35: Six facts on the video game legend. On May 22, 1980, a video game icon made his debut in Japanese arcades. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the arrival of Pac-Man, arguably the most recognizable character and franchise the video game industry boasts. Although Pac-Man wasn’t the first video game created, the character is certainly responsible for the medium’s growing popularity during its run in arcades in the ’80s.

Starbucks’ 6 New Frappuccino Flavors: Starbucks is debuting six new Frappuccinos this June, the latest in a slew of announcements for the popular cold beverage as it marks its 20th anniversary this year. The new flavors from the coffee giant, which are debuting today, are: Caramel Cocoa Cluster, Cinnamon Roll, Cotton Candy, Cupcake, Lemon Bar, Red Velvet Cake. Renee Jones, marketing director at Starbucks, said the new flavors represent “a few of the most popular recipes” that have been tinkered with over the years by enthusiastic customers. Starbucks has established a reputation for testing new flavor concoctions for its drinks. The Frappuccino in particular generates a lot of media attention, including two notable stories this year.

7am – D         Arlington/Alexandria are 2nd best places to retire. WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — Americans near retirement should head to the D.C. suburbs. Arlington and Alexandria, Va. are second on the top 10 best cities to retire, according to a Bankrate.com survey out Monday. Phoenix, Ariz. was the only place to beat the Northern Virginia cities. Arizona cities showed up three times in the top 10 due to its weather and low property taxes. Florida only had one city in the top 10, largely because of the rain, humidity and cost of living in places such as Miami.

7am – E         Obama: Supreme Court wrong to take up ObamaCare challenge. The Supreme Court should not have taken up the lawsuit challenging ObamaCare subsidies, President Obama said on Monday. “This should be an easy case, frankly it shouldn’t have even been taken up,” Obama said during a news conference at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit of leading industrial nations in Germany. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision this month in the King v. Burwell case, which threatens to eliminate subsidies for millions of Americans who receive their health insurance from federal exchanges. Obama rejected the basis for the challenge and said it is “well documented” that the authors of the Affordable Care Act “never intended” to block people on federal exchanges from obtaining the subsidies.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — STEPHEN FARNSWORTH – Professor of Political Science & International Affairs at University of Mary Washington, focusing on the mass media, the presidency and US & VA politics @drsfarnsworth – previewed primary day in Virginia.

8am – B         German Chancellor Merkel says G-7 leaders call for ending fossil fuel use by end of century: (AP) — Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies are searching for a common stance on climate change on the second and final day of their summit in southeastern Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany is seeking agreement on eventually moving away from the use of carbon-based fossil fuels and an endorsement of goals to limit the long-term rise in global temperatures and provide financing to help countries deal with the impact of climate change. Her idea is to forge a united front going into a conference on climate change in Paris later this year.

8am – C         Caitlyn Jenner sued again after deadly car crash. Los Angeles (AFP) – Olympic champion turned transgender reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner has been sued again in connection with a February car crash in Malibu in which a 69-year-old woman died. Talent agent Jessica Marie Steindorff filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking unspecified damages related to the four-car crash on the Pacific Coast Highway in the Los Angeles metro area. Jenner, 65, walked away from the accident uninjured, but in addition to the woman who died, four others were injured, including Steindorff. The former Olympic decathlete then still known as Bruce Jenner was driving a large SUV that collided with a smaller white car that then swerved into oncoming traffic. The stepchildren of the dead woman, Kim Howe, also have filed suit seeking unspecified compensation over the crash. She died on impact when her car was struck. Jenner was pictured at the scene in sunglasses and a baseball cap standing upright with no obvious injuries and was driven away in a police cruiser following the accident.

8am – D         INTERVIEW: LARRY KUDLOW – CNBC Senior Contributor and host of The Larry Kudlow Show on WMAL Saturdays at 7 pm

• Is King Dollar saving the economy?
• Obama: No ‘complete strategy’ yet on training Iraqis
• White House denies Obama said strong dollar a problem. (Reuters) A senior U.S. official denied on Monday a news wire report that President Barack Obama had told a Group of Seven industrial nations’ summit that the strong dollar was a problem. Bloomberg News earlier quoted a French official as saying Obama had made the comment. “The President did not state that the strong dollar was a problem,” the U.S. official said.
• Rubio and Ted Cruz are invoking JFK on campaign trail (Kudlow writing book on JFk tax cuts)