Cal Thomas, Mark Krikorian, Phil Kerpen, Maura Judkis and Stephen Green joined WMAL on Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

5am – A/B/C    DACA: Trump administration announces end of immigration protection program for ‘dreamers’ President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration will end an Obama-era program that offers some protection to thousands of young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. But he will give lawmakers six months to act first, effectively punting the fate of so-called Dreamers into the hands of Congress.

5am – D         HURRICANE IRMA:

• IRMA STRONGEST HURRICANE EVER IN THE ATLANTIC. Irma spun into a monster storm Tuesday morning with sustained winds topping 180 mph, becoming the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded outside the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, National Hurricane Center forecasters said in their 11 a.m. advisory.
• The eye of Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm packing winds of 185 mph, passes over the Caribbean island of Barbuda.
• Massive lines form at grocery stores and warehouse clubs as residents stock up on supplies ahead of Hurricane Irma
• Florida braces for Hurricane Irma: Florida Keys residents told to evacuate. Residents of the Florida Keys are known for riding out hurricanes, but with Irma’s potentially catastrophic wind and rain set to crash through the low-lying island chain this weekend, not many seem willing to risk it this time. Throughout Florida, officials and residents are making preparations, but forecasts indicate the Keys could take the country’s first blow from the category five storm, which had 185 mph winds early Wednesday as it crossed Barbuda. From Key Largo south to Key West, residents and officials said Irma is a storm that needs to be fled.

5am – E         SCHOOL NEWS:

• RAHM TELLS DREAMERS THEY ARE SAFE IN CHICAGO SCHOOLS. (Chicago Sun) – Mayor Rahm Emanuel wanted to emphasize one thing as he spoke to a group of freshman on the first day of class at Solorio Academy High School on the Southwest Side Tuesday morning. “President Trump has talked about ending the Dreamers program. To all the Dreamers that are here in this room and in the city of Chicago: You are welcome in the city of Chicago. This is your home. And you have nothing to worry about,” Emmanuel said. “Chicago, our schools, our neighborhoods, our city, as it relates to what President Trump said, will be a Trump-free zone. You have nothing to worry about,” Emanuel said.
• CORNELL ENCOURAGING STUDENTS TO REPORT NON-CONFORMERS. (Campus Reform) – Cornell University is encouraging students to file bias reports against classmates who display “negative reactions” to a school-sponsored “Safe Place.” The program is intended to “affirm LGBTQ identities and lives” by providing students with pins and placards declaring that they “won’t tolerate discrimination.” Cornell University is encouraging students to file bias reports against classmates who display “negative reactions” to a school-sponsored “Safe Place.” Flyers have been posted around campus promoting a project called “Safe Place,” which aims to “affirm LGBTQ identities and lives and promote an affirmative and supportive environment” by providing participating students with pins and cards that they can display stating that they don’t discriminate and “won’t tolerate discrimination” that they encounter. While Cornell already has a nondiscrimination policy that covers sexual orientation, the flyer explains that Safe Place “goes beyond the university policies” by helping students to make a “public statement of one’s personal support and affirmation of LGBTQ members.”
• HS FEMALE QUARTERBACK NAILS IT (ABC News) — A 16-year-old high school junior became the first female quarterback from her school, and possibly in the state of Florida, to throw a touchdown pass in a game. Holly Neher, of Hollywood Hills High School in South Florida, threw a 42-yard touchdown pass Thursday in the fourth quarter of her team’s 21-7 loss to Hallandale High School.
• UC Berkeley Cuts Number Of Students Able To Hear Ben Shapiro By Half. (Daily Caller) — The University of California, Berkeley cut the number of students able to hear Ben Shapiro speak September 14 by half, Shapiro’s sponsor announced Tuesday. UC Berkeley will only allow 1,042 out of 1,978 of the venue’s seats to be filled, despite more than 2,500 individuals confirming their interest in attending Shapiro’s lecture, according to Young America’s Foundation (YAF), the speaker’s sponsor. “I’ve never heard of anything like it before,” said Shapiro to The Daily Caller News Foundation. “We paid an extra $15,000 security fee, and now they’re not even issuing tickets and they’re restricting the venue. Berkeley should have stated that everything would proceed as normal — that the event would take place using normal ticket channels, with the venue open as normal, and that they’d provide security necessary to achieve that goal.” “That would put an end to the heckler’s veto. They won’t, and so they’re encouraging Antifa and other violent groups to make it too expensive for Berkeley to do the right thing.” Shapiro also asserted that UC Berkeley would not provide tickets until at least two days before his lecture.

6am – A/B/C It’s Now Easier For Men to “Marry Up” Than It Is For Women, Study Finds. (Washingtonian) — A couple of years ago, Washingtonian wrote about the reason it’s so hard for a DC woman to find a date: they’re just too educated.  And according to a new study published in Demography, the fact that it’s now more likely for women to have a college degree than it is for men may also be changing the marriage market, making it harder for women to “marry up” by marrying someone who is more educated. But before we start patting ourselves on the back for women’s empowerment and education, not too fast: while it’s great that more women are getting college degrees, the study also argues that marriage may now be more likely to financially benefit men than women now. “Ironically, married women’s progress in education and personal earnings has led to greater improvement in the family standard of living for married men than for women themselves,” the abstract for the study reads.

6am – D         INTERVIEW — CAL THOMAS – syndicated columnist

• TOPICS:
• DACA: Trump administration announces end of immigration protection program for ‘dreamers’ President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration will end an Obama-era program that offers some protection to thousands of young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. But he will give lawmakers six months to act first, effectively punting the fate of so-called Dreamers into the hands of Congress.
• NORTH KOREA: North Korea: We’ve Got More “Gift Packages” For The Us. (Hot Air) — The US and its allies demanded more forceful action from the United Nations Security Council after North Korea claimed success in testing a miniaturized hydrogen bomb and the capability of delivering it via ICBM to the US. In response, North Korea’s top diplomat promised that Pyongyang had prepared “more gift packages from my country” for the US: “The recent self-defense measures by my country DPRK are gift package addressed to none other than the U.S.,” North Korea’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Han Tae Song said today. … “The U.S. will receive more gift packages from my country as long as it relies on reckless provocations and futile attempts to put pressure on the DPRK,” Han said today, addressing the U.N. Conference on Disarmament today in Geneva.
• HARVEY AID:  Congress back: Cornyn says Senate will add debt hike to Harvey aid. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) vowed Tuesday to attach legislation raising the debt limit to a Hurricane Harvey relief bill the House is expected to approve on Wednesday, setting up a confrontation among Republicans in Congress. Cornyn said Congress has no choice but to raise the debt ceiling now given the need for help in his home state, the escalating costs and the government’s diminishing coffers. “It’s imperative that we get that supplemental passed,” Cornyn told reporters. He said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had made the decision to tie the debt limit hike to the Harvey bill. “And the leader has made the decision to attach the debt limit to that, and I support that,” Cornyn said.
• Menendez trial starts Wednesday.  Media Won’t Talk About Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez’s Corruption Trial. (The Federalist) — Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez’s upcoming corruption trial has gotten very little attention from members of the media. When they do talk about it, they like to leave out the fact he’s a Democrat. On Sunday, The New York Times published a 1,288-word article about the trial, which begins Wednesday, without once mentioning Menendez’s political party affiliation. The newspaper of record then stealth-edited the piece hours later. The updated version identifies the New Jersey senator once in the fourth paragraph as a Democrat.

6am – E         CLINTON NEWS:

• Clinton book: Huma Abedin burst into tears after learning Wiener’s sexting restarted email probe
• Clinton blames Sanders for “paving the way” for Trump’s “Crooked Hillary” attack in new book

6am – F         CHARLOTTESVILLE:

• March against White Supremacy gets closer to DC. CENTREVILLE, VA (WUSA9) – Singing, chanting and drum beats are the sounds coming from a few hundred people marching from Charlottesville to Washington, D.C.   The group’s eight-mile march this Labor Day concluded around lunchtime when they reached Centreville. They will start up again at 10 a.m. Tuesday and plan to reach Washington, D.C. and the White House on Wednesday.
• Charlottesville Council Votes to Remove Confederate Statue After Tense Hearing. The Charlottesville, Virginia, City Council voted Tuesday night to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson from a local park after a public hearing punctuated by protests and chants of “Let her speak.” By voice vote, the council voted after 11 p.m. ET to ask a design firm to redesign Emancipation Park, where the Jackson statue stands — effectively ordering its removal once all court cases are resolved. The vote would also expedite the relocation of a statue of Robert E. Lee, which was at the center of white nationalist demonstrations in mid-August that led to the death of a woman after a car plowed into a group of anti-protesters. The vote proceeded without incident — a sharp contrast from the public hearing earlier in the evening, when the council cut off a woman who was seeking to speak about the resolution during other business. Much of the first two hours of the meeting was dotted with further interruptions from audience members seeking to return to the topic of the Aug. 12 protests, in which 19 other people were also injured.
• Robert E. Lee ‘descendant’ — and denouncer — quits N.C. pastor post over ‘hurtful’ reaction to VMAs speech. On Monday, Lee announced he would be leaving his church — Bethany United Church of Christ in Winston-Salem, N.C.  In his statement, published on the website of the Auburn Theological Seminary, Lee wrote that while he did have congregants who supported his freedom of speech, many resented the attention the church received after the VMAs. “A faction of church members were concerned about my speech and that I lifted up Black Lives Matter movement, the Women’s March, and Heather Heyer as examples of racial justice work,” he wrote, adding that his “church’s reaction was deeply hurtful.” Lee wrote that he never sought the kind of attention that has followed him since the protests in Charlottesville last month, even while his visibility as a religious leader and staunch opponent of Confederate memorials garnered international recognition, a turn of events no doubt fueled by his namesake. (Technically, he’s an “indirect” rather than a “direct” descendant.)

7am – A         INTERVIEW — MARK KRIKORIAN – Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS)

• DACA: Trump administration announces end of immigration protection program for ‘dreamers’ President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration will end an Obama-era program that offers some protection to thousands of young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. But he will give lawmakers six months to act first, effectively punting the fate of so-called Dreamers into the hands of Congress.

7am – B/C     DACA REACTION:

• CNN’s Acosta questions why Trump didn’t make DACA announcement himself: “Lives are on the line”
• Obama slams Trump for rescinding DACA, calls move ‘cruel’
• Biden: Trump ending DACA is “cruel” http://hill.cm/JWQxuAx
• Gov. Larry Hogan’s spokeswoman on ending DACA: “instead of targeting innocent kids, we should be targeting criminals.”
• Feinstein Admits DACA on Shaky Legal Ground
• Dem Rep Says John Kelly ‘Is A Disgrace To The Uniform He Used To Wear’
• CNN And MSNBC Claim DACA-Recipients Are ‘Children’)
• Trump Wants Congress To Address Immigration And Graham Thinks Amnesty Is The Answer
• MSNBC Ties DACA Debate To Hurricane Harvey

7am – D         INTERVIEW – PHIL KERPEN – President, American Commitment – discussed the MENENDEZ TRIAL.

• Menendez battles bribery charges as trial kicks off. (The Hill) — Sen. Robert Menendez is set to become the first sitting senator in years to face bribery charges in a case that could reshape the Senate. The New Jersey Democrat will head to court Wednesday to battle charges that he used his influence to help Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye doctor, in exchange for gifts and campaign donations.  The trial — which is expected to last up to two months, not including any potential appeals — could have major ramifications for the Senate, where Republicans have a slim 52-seat majority.  Menendez has denied wrongdoing, predicting the bribery and corruption charges against him will be dropped. But Republicans are wasting no time using the incumbent senator’s trial to put a bull’s-eye on Democrats. Republicans plan to target vulnerable Democrats up for reelection in 2018 in states won by President Trump as well as potential 2020 Democratic presidential contenders in an effort to make them go on the record about what happens if Menendez is convicted.

7am – E         TRUMP TWEETS:

• Donald J. Trump Retweeted:  Vice President Pence‏ @VP  15h15 hours ago  .@POTUS is committed to the health & well-being of the US people & we are confident Dr. Jerome Adams will succeed as our new surgeon general
• Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump  43m43 minutes ago:  Hurricane looks like largest ever recorded in the Atlantic!
• Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump  47m47 minutes ago: Watching Hurricane closely. My team, which has done, and is doing, such a good job in Texas, is already in Florida. No rest for the weary!
• Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump  53m53 minutes ago: Will be going to North Dakota today to discuss tax reform and tax cuts. We are the highest taxed nation in the world – that will change.
• Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump  11h11 hours ago: Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can’t, I will revisit this issue!
• Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump  15h15 hours ago: I look forward to working w/ D’s + R’s in Congress to address immigration reform in a way that puts hardworking citizens of our country 1st.
• Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump  23h23 hours ago:  I am allowing Japan & South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — MAURA JUDKIS – (more-ah  judd-kiss) – food reporter for The Washington Post / Maura Judkis covers culture, food, and the arts.

• TOPIC: Pumpkin Spice Latte season is here – what the haters and lovers say about it

• Starbucks News‏ @Starbucksnews 23h23 hours ago: Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte officially returns nationwide
• (Forbes) – The rumors were true. On Friday, Starbucks brought back its perennially popular Pumpkin Spice Latte, barely waiting for September to start.  Word quickly spread on social media that the PSL had made its comeback, although there was no outward sign at many outlets Saturday that PSL was available again. Some baristas grumbled last month that PSL was arriving far too soon. But as they took their first PSL orders from Labor Day weekend customers, there was plenty of pumpkin spice competition, including within Starbucks itself.
• MarketWatch reports that the number of pumpkin spice products sold online has grown 49 percent in the past year. But sales are only up by 21 percent, according to 1010Data.

8am – B         Latest on Hurricane Irma

8am – C         SPICER IS HITTING THE SPEAKER CIRCUIT: Spicer lands post-White House gig. President Donald Trump’s former press secretary will go on the paid speaking circuit. (Politico) — Sean Spicer is cashing in on “candor.” President Donald Trump’s first press secretary — who ceded his high-profile post to Sarah Huckabee Sanders in July but celebrated his official last day in the West Wing on Aug. 31 — has signed with Worldwide Speakers Group, the company confirmed to POLITICO. “Audiences around the world will benefit from the same candor, wit and insight that Spicer brought to the White House briefing room,” Worldwide Speakers Group writes about Spicer in its pitch to potential customers, an early copy of which was reviewed by POLITICO.

8am – D/E     INTERVIEW – STEPHEN GREEN with The People’s Consortium for Human and Civil Rights and a Charlottesville marcher

• About The People’s Consortium for Human and Civil Rights, Inc.: The People’s Consortium for Human and Civil Rights, Inc. is an advocacy organization committed to the spiritual, social, political, and economic liberation for all people through nonviolent action. Founded in January 2017, after the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump,
• March against White Supremacy gets closer to DC.  CENTREVILLE, VA (WUSA9) – Singing, chanting and drum beats are the sounds coming from a few hundred people marching from Charlottesville to Washington, D.C.    The group’s eight-mile march this Labor Day concluded around lunchtime when they reached Centreville. They will start up again at 10 a.m. Tuesday and plan to reach Washington, D.C. and the White House on Wednesday.