March for Life’s Jeanne Mancini, Rep. Don Beyer, Lila Rose, Steve Moore and Bret Baier joined WMAL on Friday!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, January 19, 2018

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C   AXIOS: The TSA is testing ways to keep laptops and liquids in bags. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is in the process of testing computer tomography (CT) technology, which, if successful, could means airport “passengers at some point won’t have to take out their liquids or laptops” during screening, the TSA Administrator David Pekoske told Axios. What this means: CT technology can detect much lower weights of explosive devices than the current technology can handle now. CT tech can also provide TSA officers a 3-dimensional image of bags’ contents as they move across the X-ray conveyor belt. Part of the impetus for upgrading to CT tech is to scan for a broader range of weights on explosive devices, including homemade explosive devices, Pekoske said.

5am – D         Latest on the looming GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN:

• Congress hurtles toward shutdown. The House passed a bill to keep the government funded for another four weeks, but prospects in the Senate look dim. (Politico) — Congress is careening toward the first shutdown in more than four years, with Republicans and Democrats at a seemingly intractable impasse over government funding and the fates of young immigrants facing deportation. Though House Republicans voted Thursday night to keep the government open, the real drama is in the closely divided Senate, where it’s unclear what, if anything, can clear the chamber’s supermajority threshold.  The Senate couldn’t even agree on holding a vote on Thursday night, adjourning after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spurned Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s request to hold a vote and, assuming it failed, restart bipartisan negotiations on immigration and government spending levels. Senators said they expected a vote on Friday, but had little idea what would come next.

5am – E         MARCH FOR LIFE PREVIEW:

• President Trump is First Commander-in-Chief Scheduled to Address Anti-Abortion ‘March for Life’ / President Donald Trump will headline this year’s lineup of pro-life leaders speaking at the March for Life, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), Pam Tebow, Matt and Adrianna Birk, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Bishop Vincent Matthews Jr., and Sister Bethany Madonna.
• Senate set to take up Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The Senate is likely to vote this month on a bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks of gestation, sources familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner.

6am – A         EMAIL FROM AN ARLINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS PARENT: “I am myself trying to figure out how I want to respond to this message”

• PARENT EMAIL TO WMAL: “Not sure if this message has any value to you but it is pulsating with subjectivity and liberal persuasion. As my husband and I go back and forth with leaving Arlington, this is one of the main reasons; as we still have 2 more kiddos to get through the system and hoping they can come through with the same strong convictions as their older brother. However, it gets increasingly more difficult as we are the ones considered hateful and intolerant for simply wanting to ensure all people follow the laws of our country and keep our children safe. My husband is a police officer in Arlington and what the left continue to fail to report is how old these DACA “kids” (many over the age of 20) actually are allowed to be that are sitting in our high schools and unable to integrate because they do not even have the mechanism, skills, language, or family support to do so, therefore, they turn to crime and gangs because it is the only thing they have ever known. I am myself trying to figure out how I want to respond to this message as a taxpayer in Arlington who DID have to provide birth certificate, address, etc in order to enroll my children in Arlington county and who believes in following the Federal laws.”
• ARLINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS EMAIL: APS School Talk – Statement from the School Board. The first two weeks of the 2018 New Year have been filled with a wide array of conversations about immigration, diversity and respect.  These conversations have been, at times, disturbing and disheartening to us.  As School Board members, we know that our APS staff, students, families and community members also have been saddened by the tone and, at times, malice that has been voiced in many of these conversations.

At the end of 2017 and early this year, we have witnessed the #MeToo movement which has unveiled the continued problems of gender equality and harassment. Sadly, other statements and conversations in the news have illustrated some disheartening examples of intolerance for people from certain nations, most recently including El Salvadoran, Haitian and African immigrants.  We also have been discouraged by the lack of progress that has been made by our executive and legislative leaders to protect our young Dreamers – those young students who were offered protection from deportation and eligibility for work permits under DACA, the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.

In contrast, this week we are celebrating the life, work and aspirations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  His message of tolerance, justice, unity and equality were inspiring and uplifting.  We were reminded about the importance of not measuring individuals or groups of people by their color, gender, religion or nationality but instead by the content of their character.

Because many of these conversations in our nation and community have been troubling by the hurtful words used and disrespectful sentiments expressed, as school leaders, we believe it is important to reiterate and reaffirm the beliefs and values as articulated in the Arlington Public Schools mission, vision and core values.

As School Board members, educators and school leaders, we welcome all students, regardless of their country of origin, native language, religious, ethnic, social or sexual identity. We value and appreciate Arlington’s diversity for the varied perspectives, history and culture that our immigrant and native families bring to APS. We welcome every student who lives in Arlington, and we are committed to doing our best to ensure that all children achieve their best and are prepared to thrive in our multicultural and global world.

As educational leaders, we are committed to supporting the emotional well-being of our students and strive to ensure that they feel safe and supported at school.

*As we have shared in the past, APS does not require any information about the legal status for ANY of our students. Not only is this required by federal law, but we believe that, morally and ethically, our mission is to serve ALL children in our community.

* We also do not share any confidential student information with outside groups without parental consent.

* We encourage ALL students to continue to come to school every day.

As elected leaders, we will continue to urge our national and state leaders to support legislation to protect the rights of our DACA students and immigrant families. All APS administrators and school staff, including our principals, teachers, counselors, classroom assistants, social workers and other members of our APS team, are here to support EVERY student or family who needs help.

We believe that America’s diversity is a major strength and a key component of what makes our nation great. We are grateful for the privilege of serving the Arlington community and we value your continued care and support.

6am – D         INTERVIEW –  JEANNE MANCINI – President, March for Life Education and Defense Fund @JeanneMFL marchforlife.org/  — gave a preview of the March for Life.

• President Trump is First Commander-in-Chief Scheduled to Address Anti-Abortion ‘March for Life.’   / President Donald Trump will headline this year’s lineup of pro-life leaders speaking at the March for Life, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), Pam Tebow, Matt and Adrianna Birk, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Bishop Vincent Matthews Jr., and Sister Bethany Madonna.
• Senate set to take up Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The Senate is likely to vote this month on a bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks of gestation, sources familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner.
• Trump to protect US health workers who oppose abortion. Washington (AFP) – US officials on Thursday announced the creation of a new office to protect the religious rights of medical providers who refuse to perform procedures they say are against their beliefs, such as abortion. The office, part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Civil Rights division, is also aimed at supporting health care professionals who oppose procedures such as gender reassignment operations. President Donald Trump “promised the American people that his administration would vigorously uphold the rights of conscience and religious freedom. That promise is being kept today,” said acting HHS Secretary Eric Hargan, as he announced the new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division. Groups that support abortion and the rights of sexual minorities fear this could result in discrimination in access to medical treatment.

6am – E         Beyer Blasts Bill Renaming Gravelly Point Park for Nancy Reagan. (ARLNow) — Rep. Don Beyer (D) criticized a bill that would rename Gravelly Point Park for former First Lady Nancy Reagan as it passed a U.S. House of Representatives committee earlier today. The bill failed once in the House Natural Resources Committee, but then was brought up again and passed 18-16 on a party-line vote. It now heads to the House floor for debate and a final vote, with similar actions required by the U.S. Senate before it can be signed into law by President Donald Trump. But Beyer, a committee member whose district includes Arlington County, took exception to the efforts to rename the park near Reagan National Airport’s main runway as Nancy Reagan Memorial Park. The bill, H.R. 553, is sponsored by Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) and has 51 Republican co-sponsors. In remarks to the committee today (Wednesday), Beyer criticized the bill for not taking sufficient public input from residents of Arlington and Alexandria, the communities closest to Gravelly Point. “[This] bill is the equivalent of someone coming in and changing the furniture in your house without asking you,” he said. “First, you would have liked them to ask you, and even if you do like the furniture, you probably would have wanted input since it’s your house…Gravelly Point is not a national tourist attraction, it’s where local families go to have a picnic, throw a ball around, put a blanket down and watch the planes coming in and out, and it’s also where almost every Northern Virginia Uber driver sits to wait for a pickup.” Beyer also called the bill a “pet project” by conservative advocacy group Americans For Tax Reform, which looks to minimize “the government’s power to control one’s life.”

6am – F         Mortal Again: Christie Blocked at VIP Entrance to Newark Airport. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie denied VIP entry at Newark Airport. Now he’s one of us. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie learned the drawbacks of ordinary life Thursday morning when he tried to bypass the TSA line and was denied entry to a special entrance at Newark Liberty International Airport, normally reserved for VIP guests, dignitaries and elected officials, according to a source familiar with the matter. When Christie arrived at Terminal C in the airport with his New Jersey State Police detail and was taken to the entrance, which is located near the exit of the restricted area of the terminal, a Port Authority officer refused to let Christie use the special entrance, informing the former governor that he is no longer allowed to use it. The source said that Christie had used the entrance recently, just before his eight-year term as governor ended earlier this week. He’s been a private citizen for three days. The Port Authority officer escorted Christie to the regular entrance. A Port Authority spokesperson said Christie did not make a scene and complied with the officer’s request. In a pair of tweets Thursday evening, Christie called the idea that he was turned away from the special access entry point “pure fiction.”

7am – A         INTERVIEW – CONGRESSMAN DON BEYER – D-VA — Representative for Virginia’s 8th congressional district since 2015

• Congress hurtles toward shutdown. The House passed a bill to keep the government funded for another four weeks, but prospects in the Senate look dim. Senators said they expected a vote on Friday, but had little idea what would come next.
• Beyer and Wittman Introduce Bill To Protect Federal Workers’ Pay As Threat of Government. Virginia Reps. Don Beyer (D) and Rob Wittman (R) introduced a bill Thursday that would guarantee back pay for federal workers affected by a possible furlough in the event of a government shutdown. In a press release Thursday afternoon, the two lawmakers announced a bill with 40 bipartisan co-sponsors that would guarantee no federal worker loses pay as a result of a possible government shutdown.
• Northern VA listed on Amazon’s short list for a 2nd headquarters: DC, Md. and Va.  Make Amazon’s List for 2nd Headquarters. The D.C. metro area is one step closer to potentially being home to Amazon’s second U.S. headquarters. Washington, D.C.; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Northern Virginia were among the 20 metropolitan areas the online retailer chose to move to the next phase of the company’s search.  Amazon said in the coming months, it will work with each city “to dive deeper into their proposals, request additional information and evaluate the feasibility of a future partnership that can accommodate the company’s hiring plans as well as benefit its employees and the local community.”
• Beyer Blasts Bill Renaming Gravelly Point Park for Nancy Reagan. Rep. Don Beyer (D) criticized a bill that would rename Gravelly Point Park for former First Lady Nancy Reagan as it passed a U.S. House of Representatives committee earlier today. The bill failed once in the House Natural Resources Committee, but then was brought up again and passed 18-16 on a party-line vote.  “[This] bill is the equivalent of someone coming in and changing the furniture in your house without asking you,” Beyer said

7am – B/C     Graham: Trump Is ‘Absolutely Not’ A Racist (Daily Caller) — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham baited a CNN reporter into asking him if Trump is a racist, only to soundly reject the notion. During an exclusive inteiew, CNN’s Dana Bash asked Graham if he could confirm that the president referred to Haiti and African countries as “shithole countries.” “You can keep asking me all day long and I’ll say the same thing,” Graham responded. “Why don’t you ask me, ‘is he a racist?’” “That was my next question,” Bash admitted. “Okay well why don’t you ask me?” Graham said coolly. Bash followed Graham’s instructions and asked if the president is racist, only for Graham to respond, “absolutely not.” “Let me tell you what, you can be dark as charcoal and lily white — it doesn’t matter as long as you’re nice to him,” Graham explained. “You could be the pope and criticize him — it doesn’t matter, he’ll go after the pope. “He’s a street fighter,” Graham concluded. “It’s not the color of your skin that matters, it’s not the content of your character, it’s whether or not you show him respect or like him.”

7am – D/E     INTERVIEW – LILA ROSE – Pro-Life activist and the founder of Live Action – IN PERSON IN STUDIO – discussed the March for Life.

• This week’s March for Life continues to attract the millennial generation, as young people brought up in the Internet Age can see for themselves the science of the developing child inside the womb and that the “clump of cells” argument from the abortion industry is a lie. The growing numbers of millennial pro-lifers is a trend that the abortion industry is very concerned about.
• Live Action is focused on reaching millennials through the largest online following in the pro-life movement (over three million followers) as well as Lila’s many public appearances. This week, she’ll be the keynote speaker at the largest collegiate pro-life conference in the nation (the Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life), and she’ll also be speaking at the Students for Life National Conference.
• Live Action just released this short video yesterday in the lead-up to the March for Life. In the first 24 hours, it has over 300,000 views and is getting amazing positive feedback… and lots of tears. This powerful story reminds us all that no child deserves the death sentence for the crimes of his or her father.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – STEVE MOORE – Economist at The Heritage Foundation

• STOCKS: ON Wednesday, Dow jumps 323 points, closes above 26,000 for first time in its 121-year
• APPLE: Apple announces plans to repatriate billions in overseas cash, says it will contribute $350 billion to the US economy over the next 5 years. Apple celebrates Trump’s tax cut with $2,500 bonuses for all employees.
• AMAZON: DC, Md. and Va. Make Amazon’s List for 2nd Headquarters
• UNEMPLOYMENT: U.S. first-time unemployment claims crash to 45-year low in early 2018
• TRUMP IN PA: Trump in Pennsylvania: I come back to show people that America is back. that we are opening our factories again and making our own product again. The US is bigger, stronger and better than ever

8am – B         Proposed bill would fine Virginia drivers who don’t clear snow off cars $100. (Fox 5 DC) — RICHMOND, Va. – A bill proposed by a Virginia lawmaker would target drivers who don’t clear snow and ice off their vehicles before hitting the road. House Bill 207, introduced by Delegate Mike Mullin of Newport News, Virginia, would make it a $100 fine to not clean snow and ice off your car before driving on the highway. “It is unlawful for any person to operate on the highways in the Commonwealth a moving motor vehicle with any amount of accumulated snow or ice on the exposed surfaces of such vehicle where, if dislodged from such vehicle, such accumulated snow or ice could interfere with the operation of another moving motor vehicle or cause injury to persons or property. A violation of this subsection is a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of $100,” the bill states. The measure features a provision that says the law would not apply to a moving vehicle that accumulated snow while traveling. It also would exclude emergency vehicles and vehicles used for snow or ice removal.

8am – C         GOP lawmakers demand that ‘alarming’ memo on FISA abuses be made public. (Fox News) — A four-page memo circulating in Congress that reveals alleged United States government surveillance abuses is being described by lawmakers as “shocking,” “troubling” and “alarming,” with one congressman likening the details to KGB activity in Russia. Speaking with Fox News, the lawmakers said they could not yet discuss the contents of the memo they reviewed on Thursday after it was released to members by the House Intelligence Committee. But they say the memo should be immediately made public. “It is so alarming the American people have to see this,” Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan said. “It’s troubling. It is shocking,” North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows said. “Part of me wishes that I didn’t read it because I don’t want to believe that those kinds of things could be happening in this country that I call home and love so much.” Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said he believed people could lose their jobs after the memo is released. “I believe the consequence of its release will be major changes in people currently working at the FBI and the Department of Justice,” he said, referencing DOJ officials Rod Rosenstein and Bruce Ohr.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – BRET BAIER – Anchor, Special Report for Fox News Channel – discussed the latest on the shutdown and GOP lawmakers demanding that ‘alarming’ memo on FISA abuses be made public.

8am – E         PELOSI NEWS:

• Nancy Pelosi to Guest-Judge RuPaul’s ‘Drag Race All-Stars’ to Stand Against Trump
• Pelosi compares GOP proposal on CHIP to “doggie doo” with a cherry on top.