Joe diGenova, Christian Toto and Katrina Pierson joined WMAL on Monday!

Mornings on the Mall

Monday, January 8, 2018

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B   BANNON SORTA SORRY: Steve Bannon expresses regret for critical comments about Trump family.

5am – C         WMAL STORM CENTER:

• PUBLIC SCHOOLS – VIRGINIA:
  • Fairfax County Schools – Closed
  • Falls Church City Schools – Closing early Monday – CLICK HERE for details
  • Fauquier County Schools – Closed
  • Fredericksburg City Schools – 2-hour delay
  • Loudoun County Schools – Closed
  • Prince William County Schools – Closing 3 hours early
  • Spotsylvania County Schools – Closed
  • Stafford County Public Schools – 2-hour delay
• PUBLIC SCHOOLS – MARYLAND
  • Anne Arundel County Schools – Closing 3 hours early
  • Charles County Schools – ONLY Barnhart Elementary School closed – water repairs
  • Carroll County Schools – Closing 3 hours early
  • Frederick County Schools – Closing 3 hours early
  • Howard County Schools – Closing 3 hours early
  • Prince George’s County Schools  – ONLY Marlton and Pointer Ridge Elementary School closed – heat problems
• PRIVATE SCHOOLS
  • Fairfax Christian School – Closed
  • DeMatha High School – closes at 12:50 pm
• COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES: Howard University – closes at 2 pm
• LOCAL/OTHER GOVERNMENT: Fairfax County Government – Open, unscheduled leave

5am – D         Trump has put Schumer in a no-win situation on DACA. (American Thinker) — How do Democrats explain to themselves the way they keep getting outsmarted by a man they claim is a moron?  President Trump has Democrats exactly where he wants them on the issue of DACA. Even PBS gets it:  With a new deadline fast approaching, Democrats in Congress are struggling to adopt a unified strategy to protect hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation. Their inaction has enraged liberal activists across the country, who have shifted their anger in recent days from Republicans who control Congress to Democrats seeking to balance their commitment to a progressive priority with their desire to avoid an explosive government shutdown heading into the 2018 midterm elections. The “young immigrants” in question re the so-called “Dreamers,” that group of illegal immigrants purportedly brought to this country by their parents, one quarter of whom are functionally illiterate and half of whom have not bothered to learn English.  The Democrats correctly see them as future voters, and hope that chain migration triples or quadruples the 800,000 into millions of new Democrats if they are allowed to gain permanent residence and citizenship.

5am – E         Trump, Defending His Mental Fitness, Says He’s a ‘Very Stable Genius’

• Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump: Now that Russian collusion, after one year of intense study, has proven to be a total hoax on the American public, the Democrats and their lapdogs, the Fake News Mainstream Media, are taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence…..
• Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump ….Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star….. 7:27 AM – Jan 6, 2018
• Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump ….to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius….and a very stable genius at that! 7:30 AM – Jan 6, 2018

6am – A/B/C STEPHEN MILLER’S CONTROVERSIAL INTERVIEW:

• White House aide Stephen Miller escorted off Jake Tapper’s CNN set after bashing Steve Bannon.  White House senior adviser Stephen Miller was booted from the set of CNN’s “State of the Union” when he refused to leave after his fiery interview with Jake Tapper ended. Miller spent the tense Sunday morning segment bashing former mentor Steve Bannon while defending President Trump as a “political genius” in the heated interview. Tapper brought the interview to an abrupt stop after the pair got into a heated argument with both cutting each other off and launching personal attacks. The confrontation continued after the segment when Miller refused to leave the set, despite repeated requests to leave, a CNN source said.
• Pelosi Team’s Twitter Account Smears Stephen Miller As ‘White Supremacist’ Who ‘Must Be Removed’
• President Trump took a new shot at “Fake News CNN” on Sunday after anchor Jake Tapper suddenly ended an ultra-tense interview with White House policy adviser and Trump loyalist Stephen Miller.  Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Jake Tapper of Fake News CNN just got destroyed in his interview with Stephen Miller of the Trump Administration. Watch the hatred and unfairness of this CNN flunky! 10:15 AM – Jan 7, 2018

6am – D/E/F  GOLDEN GLOBES RECAP:

• Seth Meyers takes aim at Spacey, Weinstein and gender inequality in his Golden Globes monologue
• Seth Meyers opens the GoldenGlobes: “It’s 2018, marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn’t.”
• Seth Meyers: “In 2011, I told some jokes about our current president at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Jokes about how he was unqualified to be president. Some have said that night convinced him to run. So if that’s true, I just want to say: Oprah, you will never be president! You do not have what it takes!”
• REESE WITHERSPOON: Oprah’s Hugs Ends Wars: Reese Witherspoon couldn’t help but fangirl over Oprah Winfrey at the Golden Globes on Sunday night. During the show, the actress had the great honor of presenting her A Wrinkle in Time costar with the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Aside from gushing about how Oprah’s amazing hugs could end wars, she also took a moment to thank her for being such an icon and an inspiration to women everywhere. “Thank you for your powerful contributions to the world of film and television,” she said. “You’ve changed our lives.” See the rest of her sweet introduction above.
• Oprah Winfrey electrifies the GoldenGlobes while accepting a lifetime achievement award.
• Asked Meryl Streep what she thought of Oprah’s speech. Her answer: “She launched a rocket tonight. I want her to run for president. I don’t think she had any intention [of declaring]. But now she doesn’t have a choice.”
• NBC Tweets Support For Oprah 2020 During Globes: ‘OUR Future President’: “Nothing but respect for OUR future president,” NBC tweeted on the night of the Golden Globes.

7am – A/B     INTERVIEW — JOE DIGENOVA – legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney to the District of Columbia – discussed the accusations about President Trump’s mental instability, claims about Trump Tower meeting being treasonous and Operation Condor – How NSA Director Mike Rogers Saved The U.S. From a Massive Constitutional Crisis…

7am – C         METRO NEWS:

• Reminder: Metro will no longer allow negative balances on SmarTrip cards. (Washington Post) — Metro riders in the red — and approaching it — will want to load up their SmarTrip cards ahead of Monday’s commute. Starting Monday, riders will no longer be permitted to enter or exit the system with a negative SmarTrip balance. Riders could previously take one trip resulting in a negative balance up to $1.50, but Metro warns that beginning Monday, the faregates won’t open for those who don’t have enough on their cards to cover their trip. That includes rail riders who don’t have the $2.25 peak, and $1.75 off-peak minimum fares loaded to their SmarTrip cards. Meanwhile, customers who meet the minimum fare but whose trips costs exceed their balance will be directed to exit fare machines, which only accept cash and coins. The agency said, however, that station managers will be at the ready to walk customers around to credit and debit card-accessible machines if needed.
• No pants, no problem: No Pants Metro Ride DC happening Sunday despite cold. WASHINGTON (WUSA9) – If you find yourself standing next to pants-less Metro rider on Sunday, don’t look twice: it’s the 10th annual No Pants Metro Ride. On Sunday, January 7, members of Capitol Improv and anyone else willing to brave the ride without bottoms, will be riding the metro in just their underwear. The stunt begins at 3 p.m. and calls for the pants-less riders to simply go about their ride as if there’s nothing out of the ordinary. According to the event’s Facebook page, participants will be meeting at Hancock Park (near the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station) at 3 p.m. and will begin riding the metro in both directions towards L’Enfant Plaza, Gallery Place and Metro Center. The rules are simple: wear clean and appropriate underwear (this is advertised as a family-friendly event), bring a pair of pants for later, and act like you are, in fact, wearing pants. The Facebook page says that Transit Police is aware of the stunt, but asks participants to abide by their direction if they’re asked to put their pants back on. And despite the freezing temperatures, the stunt will still go on. Temperature highs on Sunday are expected to be 20-25 degrees Fahrenheit. Luckily, there will be a (pants optional) after-party at The Front Page in Dupont at 5 p.m.

7am – D         MEDIA NEWS:

• Trump postpones his “Fake News Awards” (Washington Examiner) — President Trump announced his “Fake News Awards” will be held later on in January instead of Monday, when he will attend the college football national championship game in Atlanta. Trump has promised to hold a mock awards show to slam the mainstream media for their coverage of his administration. He originally planned for the awards show to be held on Monday afternoon but announced Sunday he’ll delay it until Jan. 17. “The Fake News Awards, those going to the most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media, will be presented to the losers on Wednesday, January 17th, rather than this coming Monday. The interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated!” Trump tweeted. Trump plans to attend Monday’s college football national championship game between the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama.
• ABC star George Stephanopoulos faces increased pressure with Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose off morning show map. (Fox News) — Clinton crony George Stephanopoulos is facing increased pressure at ABC now that morning-show competitors Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose have been kicked to the curb over sexual misconduct allegations, and his eight-figure salary is sticking out like a sore thumb as NBC rolls out a fun-loving and far less expensive team during the first two hours of arch-rival “Today.” The former top aide to the Clintons and close friend of Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is believed to earn roughly $15 million dollars a year at ABC, according to Business Insider, even though his role on “Good Morning America” is limited largely to political and hard-news stories and the show favors lighter stories more suited for ebullient co-hosts Robin Roberts, Michael Strahan and Lara Spencer.   At the same time, the icy anchor’s cachet has diminished significantly with Hillary Clinton’s failure to win the White House and his cadre of Democratic friends on the outs in Washington with the end of the Obama administration. “He doesn’t bring much to the table anymore,” said an ABC insider, who noted that “’GMA’ covers barely any news. It’s not clear why he’s sitting there.”

7am – E         Greenbelt might lower voting age to 16! Will 16 and 17-year-olds be allowed to vote in Greenbelt? (WTOP) – WASHINGTON — Greenbelt, Maryland, might lower the voting age in city elections to 16, following the lead of neighboring Takoma Park and Hyattsville. The Greenbelt City Council is scheduled to vote to amend the city’s charter to lower the voting age from 18 on Monday. Ema Smith, chair of the city’s Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), said they’ve been working for several years to get the voting age lowered. In August, the Greenbelt City council voted down the measure. Some members said they wanted Greenbelt residents to weigh in on the issue. During the November election, Greenbelt residents approved a nonbinding referendum to lower the voting age to 16-years-old by a 53-47 vote.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – CHRISTIAN TOTO – Film Critic, HollywoodInToto.com and Host of “The Hollywood in Toto” podcast  (available on iTunes) – recapped the Golden Globes.

8am – B         AUDIO HIGHLIGHTS: Recap Golden Globes

8am – C         Fire official briefs on small fire on roof of Trump Tower: fire was not inside the building; two minor injuries reported.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – KATRINA PIERSON – Spokeswoman for America First Action, the primary super PAC in support of the Trump administration – shared her thoughts on the Steve Bannon comments in the Michael Wolff book and questions about President Trump’s mental fitness.

8am – E         A strange odor during Wizards game leaves fans with concerns and questions. (Washington Post) — Some fans attending the Washington Wizards’ 110-103 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night at Capital One Arena experienced strong physical reactions from an unknown scent. Late in the game, people seated around section 104 smelled a strange, smoky odor and recall feeling a sensation that caused coughing, sneezing and, for some, throat irritation. Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns Capital One Arena, released a statement saying that security conducted an investigation and found that the source of the odor “was not determined.” A group of fans in rows P through U of section 104 voluntarily evacuated the area, according to several witnesses. In the arena’s configuration for Wizards and Georgetown basketball games, section 104 stretches from rows A through U, and an exit separates the remaining four rows (V to Y). Darryl Watkins, who watched the game from row P, said he began to notice something unusual during a stoppage of play with 3:01 remaining in the game. “Once the T-shirt toss ended, the air just smelled different,” the Fort Washington resident said. “Something happened, and I just started to cough. I felt that I was getting sick and I didn’t think nothing of it at first but I couldn’t stop coughing and my throat started feeling odd, like real scratchy.”