Storm (Chelsea) Durham, MD Del. Kathy Szeliga, Matt Schlapp, Justin Danhof, Byron York, and Larry Kudlow joined WMAL on Tuesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, March 13, 2018

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

5am – A/B/C Stormy Daniels Scandal: WaPo’s Michael Gerson: Evangelicals Who Support Trump Are ‘Slimy Political Operatives, Not Moral Leaders’ (Breitbart) — Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson said evangelicals who supported President Donald Trump were “slimy political operatives, not moral leaders.”

5am – D         House Republicans move to wrap up Russia probe, find no evidence of collusion. (ABC News) — The House Intelligence Committee has released findings from its upcoming report on the Trump-Russia affair — and its main conclusion is that it has discovered no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. “We have found no evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians,” the committee said in a one-page summary of its findings released Monday afternoon. In addition, the committee took issue with the intelligence community assessment of Russian motivations in the 2016 election. The committee agrees with the assessment that the Russians did, in fact, try to interfere — the findings cite “Russian cyberattacks on U.S. political institutions in 2015-2016 and their use of social media to sow discord.” But the committee disagrees with the intelligence community judgment that Russian President Vladimir Putin specifically tried to help President Trump win the election.

5am – E         PA Special Election News:

• PA-18 GOES TO POLLS TODAY… Saccone Trails Lamb In Monmouth Poll…
• PREVIOUSLY: Conor Lamb, citing need for new leadership, will not support Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader
• Don Jr. Rips ‘Pretend Conservative’ Dem in PA Election: He’ll ‘Start Working for Chuck and Nancy’
• PA-18 will be split in four come November. Here’s why Tuesday’s special election still matters.
• Poll: Democrat Lamb leads in Pa. special election

6am – A/B/C How do you feel about Hillary Clinton saying that married women are pressured into voting for who their husbands, bosses, and sons want?

• Clinton Blames Her Loss on White Women Listening to Their Husbands (Free Beacon) — Hillary Clinton on Saturday partly blamed her 2016 presidential loss on white women and said that they voted for Donald Trump because their husbands told them to vote that way. Clinton spoke at the India Today Conclave in Mumbai, India over the weekend, where a journalist introduced her as the “woman who should have been the president of the United States of America.” The event’s host, India Today Editor Aroon Purie, asked Clinton how 52 percent of white women could vote for Trump after the “Access Hollywood” tape was released in the final weeks of the campaign, which featured Clinton making crude sexual remarks about women. “Democrats, going back to my husband and even before, but just in recent times going back to Bill and our candidates and then President Obama, have been losing the vote, including white women. We do not do well with white men and we don’t do well with married white women,” Clinton said. She went on to say that white women face an “ongoing pressure to vote the way that your husband, your boss, your son, whoever, believes you should.”

• What is it with Hillary and stairs? Clinton slips twice during trip to India – five months after she broke her toe in a London hotel (Daily Mail) — Hillary Clinton again slipped on stairs during a visit to India on Monday. She is there promoting her book explaining her 2016 presidential loss. Blamed voters who ‘didn’t like black people getting rights’ in her remarks. Follows her October 2017 spill in a London hotel that left her with broken toe. Clinton’s September 2016 collapse at the 9/11 memorial raised health concerns. Hillary Clinton has slipped on a set of stairs yet again, just five months after breaking her toe in London. Cameras were rolling in Mandu, India on Monday as Clinton descended a set of stone stairs at the Jahaj Maha palace and slipped not once but twice even as aides held her by the arms.

6am – D/E     INTERVIEW – STORM (CHELSEA) DURHAM – Virginia social worker claims she was fired from job for simply having a concealed carry permit – discussed her firing, how she was treated by her former employer, and how she plans to go forward with this controversy

• Former Social Services employee whose claims went viral intends to sue Roanoke.

6am – F         Pence calls for ABC News star Joy Behar to apologize for ‘slander’ against Christians (Fox News) — Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday that ABC News star Joy Behar called him to apologize for mocking his Christian faith — and he urged her to apologize to “tens of millions of Americans who were equally offended” during the conversation. Pence spoke on a range of topics including Behar’s recent comments — which have led the Media Research Center to launch a campaign to hold Behar accountable for spewing “anti-Christian bigotry” after she said that communicating with Jesus is a “mental illness” during a Feb. 13 episode of “The View.” “I give Joy Behar a lot of credit. She picked up the phone. She called me. She was very sincere, and she apologized and one of the things my faith teaches me is grace; forgive as you’ve been forgiven,” Pence told Hannity. Hannity told Pence that his faith also taught him to forgive but added, “I’m not as good at it as you.” While Pence forgave Behar, he encouraged her to publically apologize. “I’m still encouraging her, to use the forum of that program or some other public forum, to apologize to tens of millions of Americans who were equally offended,” Pence said. “You and I know that criticism comes with public life,” Pence added. “But, I felt it was important that I defend the faith of tens of millions of Americans against that kind of slander.” The vice president concluded his answer by saying that he hoped Behar “and others on the airwaves will come to appreciate the meaning and, if I could say it, the joy that comes from faith and respect that.” Behar’s call to Pence was undisclosed until Disney CEO Bob Iger was asked about the controversy during last week’s meeting with investors.

7am – A   INTERVIEW – MD DELEGATE KATHY SZELIGA – member of the Maryland House of Delegates since 2011 and has been Minority Whip since 2013 – discussed her proposed bill to prevent Maryland from becoming a sanctuary state and her bill that would allow churchgoers to arm themselves

• Her bill to stop Maryland from becoming a Sanctuary State will be heard on Tuesday: HB 1308 – Keep Our Communities Safe Act of 2018. House Bill 1308 (sponsored by Delegate Kathy Szeliga and co-sponsored by Delegate Mary Beth Carozza) which would require that state or local correctional facilities with custody of an undocumented immigrant serving a sentence for conviction of a crime shall transfer the individual to the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security at the request of the DHS.
• Maryland bills would allow for arming of teachers, churchgoers (WBAL) — ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Dozens of gun bills are being heard in Annapolis on topics ranging from arming teachers and school employees to arming church-goers. “Allow local school boards to have the opportunity to decide whether or not to have certain school personnel be armed and protect our children,” said Delegate Rick Impallaria, R-Harford County. The bill opens the door for Baltimore City to allow its school resource officers to carry guns, but it’s teachers packing pistols that has educators concerned. Another measure would enable religious congregations to arm church or synagoguegoers. “This is not a bill that lets every person sitting in the congregation have a firearm strapped to their hip,” House Minority Whip Kathy Szeliga said. The bill would establish a pilot program for Harford County only. The proposal is backed by Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler. “(It’s) something that just enables the congregations, the places of worship to, if they so choose, put whatever rules, regulations, training requirements in place,” Gahler said.

7am – B         TRUMP HEADS TO CA:

• Pres. Trump is heading to California Tuesday to see the prototypes for his long-promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
• Trump Heads to California, Economic Engine and Hub of Resistance
• Border Wall Would Pay For Itself By Cutting Welfare Use By Illegal Immigrants
• California governor invites Trump to visit high-speed rail

7am – C         Cherry blossom peak bloom dates pushed back. It’s a whole 10 days later than originally predicted. (WUSA 9) — We’ll have to wait a little longer for this year’s cherry blossoms. The peak bloom days have been pushed back to March 27 through March 31, the National Park Service said Monday. That’s a whole 10 days later than originally predicted. NPS said it was necessary to push back the peak period because of a combination of how the blooms are progressing and cooler temperatures forecasted this week in D.C. The peak bloom delay could mean great news for the thousands of people who come to the District every spring for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. This year, it kicks off on Saturday, March 24. This means the peak period will take place during the festival, which wasn’t going to be the case with the original peak bloom days of March 17 to March 20. Peak bloom occurs when 70 percent of the Yoshino cherry trees around the Tidal Basin are in bloom. Once peak bloom is reached, the blossoms can remain on the trees from four to 10 days.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – MATT SCHLAPP – chairman of the American Conservative Union (ACU) – discussed the Pennsylvania special election and the consequences for either side depending on the outcome

7am – E         MARCH MADNESS:

• Virginia, Villanova, Kansas and Xavier top seeds in NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (Fox News) —  ACC champions Virginia received the No. 1 overall seed in the 68-team NCAA men’s basketball tournament Sunday night, cementing the Cavaliers as favorites to reach their first Final Four in 34 years. Virginia, who defeated North Carolina 71-63 Saturday to win the ACC Tournament and run their record to 31-2, was joined on the one line by Big East tournament champions Villanova; Big 12 regular season and tournament champions Kansas; and Big East regular season champions Xavier.

• Maryland selected as No. 5 seed for the NCAA women’s basketball tournament (Washington Post) — For the first time in more than a decade, Maryland will not open an NCAA tournament appearance at home in College Park. But that didn’t stop Coach Brenda Frese and her players from leaping out of their seats with joy at the team’s selection show watch party in a suite above Xfinity Center on Monday.

• NCAA March Madness betting to top $10B, group says (Fox Business) — The vast majority of the billions of dollars bet on the 2018 NCAA “March Madness” men’s basketball tournament will be wagered illegally, according to estimates from a leading industry group. The total gambling tally on this year’s event, which features the country’s top 68 college basketball teams, is expected to exceed $10 billion, the American Gaming Association said Monday. Of that total, 97% will be bet via illegal sportsbooks and other illicit methods, compared to just $300 million through legal sportsbooks in Nevada. Some 24 million people participated in NCAA pools alone last year, filling out roughly 60 million entries and posting more than $2.6 billion in entry fees, according to the findings of a survey conducted by the Mellman Group. Of 1,501 respondents, 62% said they were unsure of pools were legal.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – JUSTIN DANHOF – is the General Counsel for the National Center for Public Policy Research, as well as Director of the Center’s Free Enterprise Project – discussed his attempts to get Disney and Bob Iger to take action after Joy Behar’s incendiary comments about Christians and how conservatives should focus their efforts to get major companies to make changes

• Pence calls for ABC News star Joy Behar to apologize for ‘slander’ against Christians (Fox News) — Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday that ABC News star Joy Behar called him to apologize for mocking his Christian faith — and he urged her to apologize to “tens of millions of Americans who were equally offended” during the conversation. Pence spoke on a range of topics including Behar’s recent comments — which have led the Media Research Center to launch a campaign to hold Behar accountable for spewing “anti-Christian bigotry” after she said that communicating with Jesus is a “mental illness” during a Feb. 13 episode of “The View.” “I give Joy Behar a lot of credit. She picked up the phone. She called me. She was very sincere, and she apologized and one of the things my faith teaches me is grace; forgive as you’ve been forgiven,” Pence told Hannity. Hannity told Pence that his faith also taught him to forgive but added, “I’m not as good at it as you.” While Pence forgave Behar, he encouraged her to publically apologize.

8am – B/C     INTERVIEW – BYRON YORK – the chief political correspondent for the Washington Examiner – discussed his new piece about the House Intelligence Committee’s decision to end the Russian collusion probe

• House Republicans move to wrap up Russia probe, find no evidence of collusion. (Washington Examiner) — The House Intelligence Committee has released findings from its upcoming report on the Trump-Russia affair — and its main conclusion is that it has discovered no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. “We have found no evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians,” the committee said in a one-page summary of its findings released Monday afternoon. In addition, the committee took issue with the intelligence community assessment of Russian motivations in the 2016 election. The committee agrees with the assessment that the Russians did, in fact, try to interfere — the findings cite “Russian cyberattacks on U.S. political institutions in 2015-2016 and their use of social media to sow discord.” But the committee disagrees with the intelligence community judgment that Russian President Vladimir Putin specifically tried to help President Trump win the election.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – LARRY KUDLOW –  – CNBC Senior Contributor and host of The Larry Kudlow Show on WMAL Saturdays at 7 pm and author of “JFK and the Reagan Revolution: A Secret History of American Prosperity” @larry_kudlow – discussed the talk that he is a leading contender to replace Gary Cohn as President Trump’s Chief Economic Advisor, the economic impact of the building of a border wall, and the economic impact of illegal immigration

• Larry Kudlow is a leading contender to replace Gary Cohn

8am – E         Trump ousts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, will replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo (Washington Post) — President Trump has ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replaced him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, orchestrating a major change to his national security team amid delicate negotiations with North Korea, White House officials said Tuesday. Trump last Friday asked Tillerson to step aside, and the embattled top diplomat cut short his trip to Africa on Monday to return to Washington. Pompeo will replace him at the State Department, and Gina Hapsel — the deputy director at the CIA — will succeed him at the CIA, becoming the first woman to run the spy agency, if confirmed. In a statement issued to The Washington Post, Trump praised both Pompeo and Haspel. “I am proud to nominate the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Mike Pompeo, to be our new Secretary of State,” Trump said. “Mike graduated first in his class at West Point, served with distinction in the U.S. Army, and graduated with Honors from Harvard Law School. He went on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives with a proven record of working across the aisle.