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Mornings on the Mall

Monday July 3, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

5am – A/B/C Does Trump’s tweet cross the line? In tweeted video, Trump knocks down, beats up ‘CNN’ US President Donald Trump launched a fresh attack on the news media Sunday by tweeting a video — bizarre even by his standards — showing him knocking down and beating a professional wrestling “villain” whose face had been replaced by a CNN logo. The 10-year-old video, hailing back to Trump’s days as a guest celebrity at pro-wrestling events, came after a week in which his unrestrained Twitter attacks on two MSNBC talk show hosts drew widespread condemnation from members of both political parties. The latest tweet was immediately condemned by journalists, who said Trump seemed to be promoting physical violence against the media, while a Republican lawmaker said the president was trying to “weaponize distrust” through his postings. But administration officials insisted Trump has a right to respond to critical coverage.

5am – D  Trumps Spend $5 Million Less Than Obamas On White House Salaries (Daily Caller) An analysis of White House salary data reveals that President Donald Trump’s administration is spending $5 million less of taxpayer money on his staff than his predecessor. Trump employs 377 people at the White House, with a total of $35.8 million, while former President Barack Obama paid $40.9 million for 476 employees in 2015, according to data analyzed by Open The Books.  Another key difference between the Obama and Trump White House is the first lady’s staff. Michelle Obama retained 24 staffers in the first year of the Obama White House. Melania Trump currently employs four — a chief of staff who is also listed as advisor to the president, a deputy chief of staff, a communications director, and a scheduler.” Projected four-year savings on the White House payroll could top $22 million,”  Adam Andrzejewski, CEO of Open The Books, writes for Forbes. Those projected savings include Trump’s promise to accept one dollar in salary and give the remainder back to the U.S. Treasury. Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, both advisors to the president, are not accepting any salary. Most top White House staff, including Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Omarosa Manigault, Reince Priebus, Sean Spicer, and 17 others make $179,000 annually.

5am- E Where to see July 4th fireworks in DC, Maryland and Virginia (FOX 5 DC)

6am – A/B/C Virginia law will give drug addicts clean needles (Fox 5 DC) A new law in Virginia will permit health departments to provide clean needles to drug addicts in order to help decrease the spread of disease. he new legislation, signed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, D-Va., is meant to prevent drug addicts from spreadinginfections and disease by sharing needles with other people, according to Laura Kornegay, the health director at Central Shenandoah Health District.

6am – D Pence’s “polite distance” from Trump (Axios) The most awkward waiting game in Washington is being endured by Vice President Mike Pence, who can’t look like he’s distancing himself from his boss, but has to protect his own viability amid the chaos at 1600. s part of navigating this volatile White House, look for Pence to spend even more time outside Washington, including an upcoming foreign trip. Changes for him are ones that also apply broadly to the White House,” an adviser said. “Both of them need to go out and sell more. … When they don’t, they respond all day to handful of journalists and politicians out to kill them.” raveling gives the V.P. physical and psychological distance from a West Wing where presidential aides privately speculate about a President Pence. The dilemma is similar to that facing every White House #2 who wants a political future — but is more acute because of the swarm of investigations.

6am – E Beyonce and JAY-Z reveal twins’ names in trademark request (Yahoo) Beyonce and JAY-Z have reportedly filed legal documents in a bid to trademark their new twins’ names. The superstars are recently said to have welcomed boy and girl siblings for their five-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, and although they have yet to announce the names of their infants publicly, it appears fresh court papers have revealed what the babies are called.TMZ reports Beyonce and JAY-Z, real name Shawn Carter, have made formal trademark rights requests for ‘Rumi’ and ‘Sir Carter’, suggesting these are their youngest children’s names. The musicians are still trying to secure the commercial rights to Blue Ivy Carter in an effort to prevent others from cashing in on their eldest kid’s unique moniker, and it seems they are now eager to lock down Rumi and Sir Carter, too, as part of their branding empire.

6am – F Five Washington Nationals named to NL roster for 2017 MLB All-Star Game: Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, Daniel Murphy, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg (Federal Baseball) Major League Baseball announced the American and National League rosters for the 2017 MLB All-Star Game tonight and five Washington Nationals’ players are on the NL roster. Ryan Zimmerman is starting at first base. Daniel Murphy is the starting second baseman. Bryce Harper is part of the NL’s starting outfield.Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg are added as pitchers for the National League. As of last Monday, in the latest update on the voting for the 2017 NL All-Star roster, Ryan Zimmerman, Daniel Murphy, and Bryce Harper led at their respective positions.

7am – A INTERVIEW – JOE DIGENOVA – Legal Analyst & Fmr. U.S. Attorney to the District of Columbia

Topic: Susan Rice to Testify Before House Intelligence Committee

• Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice will be interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee in late July as part of the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
• Rice, a top official in the Obama administration, had requested on several occasions the identities of “masked” U.S. persons in intelligence reports linked to President Donald Trump’s transition and campaign, according to press reports.
• Rice has vehemently denied doing anything wrong. But she has yet to answer questions from lawmakers, including declining a request to appear before a Senate judiciary subcommittee in May. And now, she has agreed to appear in a closed-door session that is expected to take place before the House departs for its August recess.

7am – B New Study: Generation Z Votes Republican (The Daily Caller) A new study by political scientist Jeff Brauer finds that the generation after Millennials, Generation Z, is expected to lean Republican. Sometimes referred to as the iGeneration, Gen Z’s were born between 1996 and 2010. They grew up amidst 9-11, global terrorism, school shootings, the 2008 Financial Crisis, and high unemployment numbers, with smartphones, technology, and social media already at their tiny fingertips re-wiring them into marketing machines. Having grown up in unstable society, Gen Z’s distrust government and consolidated power. They will also be the last majority-white generation in America.

“They are not as impressed with fame — celebrities, athletes, politicians — as are their predecessors, since fame in their lifetime has become rather easy to obtain with social media and reality TV,” says Brauer.“Politically, Generation Z is liberal-moderate with social issues, like support for marriage equality and civil rights, and moderate-conservative with fiscal and security issues.”

7am – C Ben Sasse: Skip August Recess And Work Full Time To Repeal Obamacare Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse on Sunday clarified his suggestion that lawmakers “repeal and then replace” Obamacare, saying if Republicans can’t agree on a replacement plan in the next week or so, they should repeal the law “with a delay” and then agree on a replacement plan later.

7am – D INTERVIEW – MIKE LITTERST – Chief of Communications of National Park Service

Topic : 4th of July Safety 

• While authorities insist there have been no specific threats, security has become a pressing concern in U.S. cities this holiday weekend after recent terror attacks overseas on so-called “soft targets” — events and facilities where large numbers of people gather.
• Washington, D.C., authorities also are making vehicle-related attacks a priority in security planning for July Fourth events such as the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival and A Capitol Fourth Show on the National Mall.
• The National Parks Service and U.S. Park Police, which oversee security operations for National Mall events, plan to place large fences around the Mall on Monday.

7am – E Movies to see on July 4th

8am – A INTERVIEW : SHARYL ATTKISSON – host of SINCLAIR’s Sunday TV program Full Measure and author of new book The Smear

Topic : Political smears and Fake news 

• “If you ask people to identify a coming of age for the modern-day smear, it’s amazing how many political insiders—both Democrats and Republicans—consider it to be the Clinton era. It’s impossible for any outsiders to know exactly how the Clintons became adept at engineering smears to deflect from their controversies”
• “n the distorted world of the smear artist, things are very different. Up becomes down and down is up. It’s Alice in Wonderland and somewhere down the rabbit hole there’s a tea-sipping Mad Hatter stirring the pot. “There was certainly a coordinated effort against me back in the 1992 campaign,” Gerth tells me, with the benefit of hindsight. “There was a whole department aimed at me and other reporters who were looking at the Clintons, the women, the Rose Law Firm.” Rose Law Firm is the Arkansas company where Hillary Clinton was a partner.”

8am – B/C  In tweeted video, Trump knocks down, beats up ‘CNN’ US President Donald Trump launched a fresh attack on the news media Sunday by tweeting a video — bizarre even by his standards — showing him knocking down and beating a professional wrestling “villain” whose face had been replaced by a CNN logo. The 10-year-old video, hailing back to Trump’s days as a guest celebrity at pro-wrestling events, came after a week in which his unrestrained Twitter attacks on two MSNBC talk show hosts drew widespread condemnation from members of both political parties. The latest tweet was immediately condemned by journalists, who said Trump seemed to be promoting physical violence against the media, while a Republican lawmaker said the president was trying to “weaponize distrust” through his postings. But administration officials insisted Trump has a right to respond to critical coverage.

8am – D Disney Plans PC Makeover For Pirates Of The Caribbean Ride (LA Times) The park plans to revamp a section of the popular Pirates of the Caribbean attraction that depicts a parade of women being put on the auction block — under a decidedly un-PC banner that reads “Auction, Take a wench for a bride.” The auction will be replaced next year by a less offensive scene of pirates forcing the local townsfolk to give up their valuables. Another scene that got pitched overboard showed a pirate holding up women’s lingerie while a frightened woman, apparently naked, hides in a nearby barrel. “At Disney, their specialty is scrubbing everything to be squeaky clean and palatable,” said Rick Rothschild, a ride designer for Disney from 1978 until 2009. “That’s the Disney way.”

8am – E  Injured bald eagle rescued in Washington, D.C. (ABC) They’re calling the rescue of a bald eagle, a Fourth of July miracle. The eagle was rescued Saturday in Washington, D.C.A report came in that the eagle was spotted in Southeast DC visibly injured. He was unable to fly and was having trouble breathing. Teams from the Humane Rescue Alliance were able to capture the eagle, and transport him to a veterinary hospital.
So far, attending veterinarians say the bird’s prognosis is good. There is no word on how the bird was injured in the first place.