Cal Thomas, Bruce Klingner, Drug Czar Richard Baum and Michael Auslin joined WMAL on Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

5am – A/B/C   US intelligence has concluded North Korea is making missile-ready nuclear warheads, Washington Post reports. A confidential assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency says that North Korea has already developed a miniaturized nuclear weapon that can fit on top of an ICBM. (The Washington Post) North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, crossing a key threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power, U.S. intelligence officials have concluded in a confidential assessment.

Trump says North Korea threat ‘will be met with fire, fury and, frankly, power the likes of which this world has never seen before’

5am – D/E     Trump administration switches sides, backs Ohio over voter purges.  (Reuters) – The Trump administration has reversed an Obama administration stance and will support Ohio in its bid at the U.S. Supreme Court to revive a state policy of purging people from voter-registration lists if they do not regularly cast ballots. The Justice Department filed legal papers with the high court on Monday staking out the new position in the voting rights case, backing the Republican-led state’s policy to purge inactive voters. Former President Barack Obama’s Justice Department had argued in a lower court that Ohio’s policy violated the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, which Congress passed to make it easier for Americans to register to vote. Civil liberties advocates who challenged Ohio’s policy have said it illegally erased thousands of voters from registration rolls and can disproportionately impact minorities and poor people who tend to back Democratic candidates.

6am – A/B/C Google’s firing of memo writer strikes nerve in Silicon Valley. SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A Silicon Valley culture war pitting liberal-leaning tech firms against a small conservative cohort took on new intensity on Tuesday after Google fired a male engineer for a memo that decried the company’s commitment to hiring women. Memo author James Damore, 28, received jeers, cheers and a couple of job offers, while the debate raged on social media and some tech firms took steps to prevent similar episodes from embroiling their companies. Damore confirmed his dismissal from Alphabet Inc’s Google on Monday, after he wrote a 10-page memo that said the company was hostile to conservative viewpoints and that women on average have more neuroticism.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – CAL THOMAS – Syndicated Columnist

• US intelligence has concluded North Korea is making missile-ready nuclear warheads, Washington Post reports. A confidential assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency says that North Korea has already developed a miniaturized nuclear weapon that can fit on top of an ICBM. (The Washington Post) North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, crossing a key threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power, U.S. intelligence officials have concluded in a confidential assessment.
• Trump says North Korea threat ‘will be met with fire, fury and, frankly, power the likes of which this world has never seen before’
• Glen Campbell, iconic country singer-guitarist, is dead at age 81. He had been battling Alzheimer’s disease
• Glen Campbell, “Rhinestone Cowboy” singer, dead at 81. NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Glen Campbell, the grinning, high-pitched entertainer whose dozens of hit singles included “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Wichita Lineman” and whose appeal spanned country, pop, television and movies, died Tuesday, his family said. He was 81. Campbell’s family said the singer died Tuesday morning in Nashville and publicist Sandy Brokaw confirmed the news. No cause was immediately given. Campbell announced in June 2011 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and that it was in its early stages at that time.

6am – E         Trump says he’ll beat opioid epidemic with law-and-order approach. President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed his administration would beat the opioid epidemic by beefing up law enforcement and strengthening security on the southern border to stop illegal drugs from entering the country. Trump, joined in Bedminster, New Jersey, by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and other administration officials, emphasized a tough law-and-order approach, rather than new treatment or social programs, as the White House’s primary strategy for halting an epidemic that kills 142 Americans every day, according to federal statistics. “Strong law enforcement is absolutely vital to having a drug-free society,” Trump said. “I’m confident that by working with our health care and law enforcement experts we will fight this deadly epidemic and the United States will win.” The remarks echoed similar comments made by Attorney General Jeff Sessions earlier this summer.

6am – F         Arizona man picked up newborn fawn, took it to local bar, officials say. (Fox News) — An Arizona man got a little too close to nature during the weekend, after officials said he found a newborn fawn Saturday and brought it along to a local bar to show his friends. The Arizona Game and Fish Department said in a news release Monday that the little baby deer was born late last week — but his life forever changed when a stranger thought he was doing the right thing. The unknown man stopped off at a local bar to show the fawn off and see if anyone wanted to take it home, before the agency was contacted. The newborn can now no longer live in the wild, officials said. “Who would take a deer fawn out of the wild and into the bar? I would say that is a new one, we hear a lot of things, but that definitely isn’t one that’s normal,” Kellie Tharp, Chief of Education at AZGFD, told FOX 10 Phoenix.  Officials say the fawn needs constant care now in order to survive, with feedings “every three to four hours.”  “Now that the fawn’s been in our care, you see that it was being bottle fed, it’s being imprinted,” Tharp said. “It’s relying on humans, it doesn’t have a fear of humans so this fawn is non-releasable.”

7am – A         INTERVIEW — BRUCE KLINGNER – former CIA’s deputy division chief for Korea and a senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at The Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center

• North Korea now making missile-ready nuclear weapons, U.S. analysts say
• Trump: North Korea Threats Will Be Met With ‘Fire & Fury’

7am – B         A suicidal man asked an Uber driver to take him to a bridge. The Uber driver prayed with him and saved his life. ST. PETERSBURG — Uber driver Chad Farley suspected something was wrong Monday night when a passenger asked to be dropped off in the middle of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. There’s no walkway for pedestrians along the iconic span, nowhere even to step safely at the top.  Walking on the Skyway 200 feet above the water is something people do when they’re contemplating a jump to their death, from the place that holds the grim distinction as Florida’s top spot for suicide. So instead, Farley, an Uber driver for the past year, chatted up the passenger, learned he had brain cancer, prayed with the man, held his hand — even snapped a photo of them smiling together before dropping him off near the bridge approach at the fishing pier to the north of it. Farley, 41, of Gulfport, told the man, who held up a peace sign, he just wanted to remember what he looked like. What he really wanted was something to show authorities once he called 911. Farley’s suspicions proved correct. His call brought state troopers who ended up rescuing the 28-year-old St. Petersburg man after he entered the water near the pier. “He was getting out, but before he did, I told him how much God loves him,” Farley told the Tampa Bay Times. “I just held out my hand, and when he gave me his hand it was shaking like an uneven wheel on a car going down the highway, it was shaking so badly.”

7am – C         College Park Council postpones vote until Sept. 12 on non-US citizen voting proposal. COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The College Park City Council is considering allowing non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections, but according to the city’s mayor, threats have been made over the proposal. At a council meeting Tuesday night, a vote on the controversial issue was postponed and the council has decided to discuss the topic on Sept. 5. They will then decide on whether to vote on the proposal or to put the issue on the ballot to let College Park voters have the final say on Sept. 12.

7am – D         INTERVIEW — RICHARD BAUM, Acting Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy

• Trump says he’ll beat opioid epidemic with law-and-order approach. President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed his administration would beat the opioid epidemic by beefing up law enforcement and strengthening security on the southern border to stop illegal drugs from entering the country.

7am – E         Georgetown Law will drop requirement for LSAT scores. No LSAT? No problem. Georgetown Law School is expanding its admissions procedures to accept candidates’ scores from the Graduate Record Examination, also known as the GRE, to recruit a more diverse class of students. Up until this point, the school only accepted results from the Law School Admissions Test, which focuses on analytical reasoning, logical reasoning, and reading comprehension related to studying and practicing law. The GRE was created for general graduate students and assesses things like verbal, math, and writing skills. Georgetown’s dean of admissions Andy Cornblatt announced in a release on Monday that candidates can submit scores from the LSAT, GRE, or both exams for the fall of 2018. “While the LSAT remains an important admissions tool, we also believe that it is well past time that the legal profession open wide the doors to an even more diverse population that better reflects American society as a whole,” Cornblatt said. “We think that allowing the use of the GRE will help us to accomplish that goal.”

8am – A         INTERVIEW – MICHAEL AUSLIN – Research Fellow in Contemporary Asia, Hoover Institution and author of “The End of the Asian Century: War, Stagnation, and the Risks to the World’s Most Dynamic Region”

• Biography: Michael Auslin is the Williams-Griffis Fellow in Contemporary Asia at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He specializes in global risk analysis, U.S. security and foreign policy strategy, and security and political relations in Asia.
• US intelligence has concluded North Korea is making missile-ready nuclear warheads, Washington Post reports. A confidential assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency says that North Korea has already developed a miniaturized nuclear weapon that can fit on top of an ICBM. (The Washington Post) North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, crossing a key threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power, U.S. intelligence officials have concluded in a confidential assessment.
• Trump says North Korea threat ‘will be met with fire, fury and, frankly, power the likes of which this world has never seen before’

8am – B/C     Calls on North Korea

8am – D         Entertainment News:

• Glen Campbell, iconic country singer-guitarist, is dead at age 81. He had been battling Alzheimer’s disease. NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Glen Campbell, the grinning, high-pitched entertainer whose dozens of hit singles included “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Wichita Lineman” and whose appeal spanned country, pop, television and movies, died Tuesday, his family said. He was 81. Campbell’s family said the singer died Tuesday morning in Nashville and publicist Sandy Brokaw confirmed the news. No cause was immediately given. Campbell announced in June 2011 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and that it was in its early stages at that time. Campbell was considered country’s first crossover star, but he told Anthony Mason on CBS’ “Sunday Morning” that he never thought of himself as a country singer.  “No, I’m a singer, and I really like good songs,” he said. Campbell was one of the biggest stars of the late 1960s and 1970s. He sold more than 45 million records and had 12 gold albums and 75 chart hits. One of 12 children of an Arkansas sharecropper, Campbell first picked up a guitar at age 4.
• David Letterman is returning to television. Netflix has picked up a new show from him, with longform interviews & field pieces. 2018 debut. David Letterman Returning to TV With Netflix Talk Show. (Hollywood Reporter) —  The six-episode untitled series will feature in-depth interviews as well as topics outside of the studio. Two years after signing off CBS’ The Late Show, David Letterman is returning to the small screen. The longest-serving host in U.S. late-night TV history is set to topline a new talk show for Netflix. The untitled six-episode series will premiere in 2018. Unlike The Late Show, each hourlong episode of the Netflix series will be prerecorded and feature Letterman conducting longform conversations with a singular guest as well as exploring topics on his own — outside of the studio. A guest list has not yet been revealed.
• Protest to be held outside of NFL headquarters in support of Colin Kaepernick. WASHINGTON (ABC7) — A protest will take place outside of the NFL headquarters in New York City in support of free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Initial reports stated that acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee was the organizer of the rally, but Lee clarified on Twitter that he is not behind the event and maintained his support for Kaepernick. Lee tweeted Tuesday “I did not organize and set up this protest. However, I still support my brother (Kaepernick) and his stance on the injustices in the USA.” The “United We Stand Rally for Colin Kaepernick” will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 23 at the league’s headquarters on Park Avenue.
• Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Sequel’ bombs at the box office, ranks in 15th place. (Fox News) — Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” failed to resonate with many viewers. The Washington Times reported Monday that the film, which is a follow-up to the 2006 Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” reached the 15th spot at the box office in its first weekend since being released on July 28. The publication added the movie, which focuses on climate change, earned about $1 million. “An Inconvenient Truth” made nearly $50 million at the box office.  Washington Monthly writer D.R. Tucker wrote that Paramount’s move to release the film in a few cities, as opposed to nation-wide, caused poor ticket sales and essentially sabotaged the film. “Back in June, Paramount abandoned plans to give ‘An Inconvenient Sequel’ a wide release on July 28, choosing instead to release the film in only four screens in New York and Los Angeles on July 28 and only 180 screens nationwide a week later,” he claimed. “However, considering the fact that this is arguably the first major anti-Trump documentary to hit theatres — and considering the public outrage over Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement — Paramount should have stuck to its original plan.”
• HBO hackers demand millions in ransom money, or else. (NY Post) — Hackers are demanding multi-million ransom from the HBO to prevent further leaks of other sensitive data and more “Game of Thrones” scripts, according to reports Tuesday. HBO said that it is continuing to work with police and cybersecurity experts in order to learn the scope of the online breach, CBS News reported. On Monday, the network said it did not believe its email system in its entirety had been compromised. The group of hackers previously stole 1.5 terabytes of data from the network and leaked a script for an episode of the hit “Game of Thrones,” series as well as episodes of the shows “Ballers” and “Room 104.” In a five-minute ransom video from “Mr. Smith” to HBO CEO Richard Plepler, the hackers gave the message that the network has three days to pay up as the group dumped a fresh batch of stolen HBO files online Monday, CBS News reported. The hackers threatened to leak confidential corporate data and to upload entire TV shows online. To stop the leaks, the hackers demanded “our 6-month salary in Bitcoin,” which was implied to be at least $6 million.

8am – E         Google Firing Update:

• Google’s firing of memo writer strikes nerve in Silicon Valley. SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A Silicon Valley culture war pitting liberal-leaning tech firms against a small conservative cohort took on new intensity on Tuesday after Google fired a male engineer for a memo that decried the company’s commitment to hiring women. Memo author James Damore, 28, received jeers, cheers and a couple of job offers, while the debate raged on social media and some tech firms took steps to prevent similar episodes from embroiling their companies.
• Julian Assange wants to hire the Google engineer who got fired for writing the anti-diversity manifesto.  On Monday Google fired an engineer who wrote a now infamous memo against diversity that went viral within the company, was published by the press and has been the cause of non-stop talk ever since. But the engineer, James Damore, needn’t worry about a job if he needs one. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has publicly offered to bring him on board:   Julian Assange 🔹 @JulianAssange: 1/ Censorship is for losers. @WikiLeaks is offering a job to fired Google engineer James Damore. https://wikileaks.org/google-is-not-what-it-seems/ …
• GOOGLE MEMO: Female Employees Skipped Work, Upset About Memo. NPR reports: “Another software engineer who used to work for Google, Kelly Ellis, says some women who still work at the company stayed home Monday because the memo made them “uncomfortable going back to work.”