Isaias Medina, Susan Ferrechio, Mercedes Schlapp, James Carafano, Diamond & Silk and Mark Krikorian joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C TRUMP DELAYS STATE OF THE UNION: President Trump announced on Twitter late Wednesday that he will not give a State of the Union address until after the partial government shutdown is over … The president’s announcement was the culmination of a tense day of political chess between Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The San Francisco Democrat told Trump that the House would not approve a resolution allowing him to address Congress in the House Chamber until after the government reopens. White House officials explored other possible venues for Trump to give the State of the Union address. Ultimately, the president decided to delay the address. “I am not looking for an alternative venue for the SOTU address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber,” the president tweeted. “I look forward to giving a “great” State of the Union Address in the near future!” Pelosi responded to Trump’s announcement with a tweet of her own. She said she hopes that “the near future” means that he is willing to support the “House-passed package” to end the shutdown that is affecting about 800,000 federal workers.

• Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump  6h6 hours ago: As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative – I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over. I am not looking for an….
• Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump  6h6 hours ago: ….alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber. I look forward to giving a “great” State of the Union Address in the near future!

5am – D         NEW REVELATIONS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICAN ACTIVIST: Nathan Phillips, the Native American activist who became the focal point of a viral confrontation with students from a Kentucky Catholic high school over the weekend, may not enjoy the scrutiny his new fame has invited … Though several outlets described Phillips as a Vietnam War veteran, the Marine Corps on Wednesday confirmed he never served in the Vietnam War and wasn’t deployed overseas. Phillips, then known as Nathaniel R. Stanard, served in the Marine Corps Reserve for four years before leaving in 1976 with the rank of private. During his time in the Marine Reserve, he was a refrigerator technician and anti-tank missile man. In addition, officials at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., confirmed earlier reports that Phillips led several dozen people in an attempt to enter the shrine and disrupt Saturday evening mass, hours after his encounter with the Covington teens.

5am – E         Cohen postponing testimony due to “threats” against family by Trump

6am – A/B/C TRUMP DELAYS STATE OF THE UNION: President Trump announced on Twitter late Wednesday that he will not give a State of the Union address until after the partial government shutdown is over … The president’s announcement was the culmination of a tense day of political chess between Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – ISAIAS MEDINA – an international lawyer and former Venezuelan UN Diplomat

• BIO: Isaias Medina III, Edward S. Mason fellow MPA/MLD candidate at Harvard University, is an international lawyer, humanitarian activist, counter-terrorism expert, former Venezuelan UN Diplomat at the Security Council. He publicly resigned to protest Human Rights violations and denounced more than 20 top officials including Maduro to the ICC, serving as a witness to the OAS. He is a strong advocate of the International Anticorruption Court
• CHAOS IN VENEZUELA: Venezuela is facing an uncertain, potentially volatile, political future after President Trump on Wednesday announced the United States officially recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaidó, as the country’s interim president … Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro responded by cutting off relations with the U.S. and giving American diplomats 72 hours to exit the country. Violence flared up during big anti-government demonstrations across Venezuela, and at least seven protesters were reported killed in the escalating confrontation with Maduro, who has been condemned as a dictator by the U.S., Canada and many other Latin American countries. In a speech today, Maduro accused the U.S. of orchestrating a coup against him and said American diplomatic staff have 72 hours to leave Venezuela.
• Trump declares Maduro no longer the president of Venezuela
• Venezuela’s Maduro orders US diplomats to leave country after Trump recognizes opposition leader

6am – E         BuzzFeed Set to Lay Off 15% of Its Employees. (Variety) — BuzzFeed is slashing its workforce by 15% in a move to boost the internet-media company’s profitability and “focus on content that is working,” according to a memo from CEO Jonah Peretti sent to staffers Wednesday. The cuts will be made next week, according to Peretti’s memo. BuzzFeed has about 1,450 employees worldwide, so around 218 will be getting laid off. BuzzFeed, along with other digital-media players, has struggled to make ends meet as it tries to expand its business. The company relies on advertising for most of its revenue, and even though BuzzFeed boosted 2018 sales by “double digits,” according to Peretti, it hasn’t been able to swing into the black. “Over the past few months, we’ve done extensive work examining the trends in our business and the evolving economics of the digital platforms. We’ve developed a good understanding of where we can consolidate our teams, focus in on the content that is working, and achieve the right cost structure to support our multi-revenue model,” Peretti wrote in the memo. “We are confident the changes we are making will put us on a firm foundation and allow us to invest and grow sustainably for years to come.”

6am – F         DEMS LAUNCHING INVESTIGATIONS:

• DEMS LAUNCHING INVESTIGATION IN TO SECURITY CLEARANCES W/IN TRUMP ADMIN: Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., announced the plans to launch an “in-depth” investigation of the process, seeking information about reports of security clearance issues involving multiple current and former Trump administration officials.
• Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ro Khanna, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib — all members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — have been named to the House Oversight Committee
• DEMS LAUNCH INVESTIGATION IN TO DEUTSCHE BANK & TRUMP: House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff and Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters have begun discussions about how to coordinate oversight of the bank, which is also facing questions about its role in money laundering schemes.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – SUSAN FERRECHIO –  chief congressional correspondent for the Washington Examiner

• Trump says he won’t give State of the Union during shutdown after being disinvited by Pelosi
• Pelosi tells Trump: No State of the Union address in the House until government is reopened
• DEAD END FOR SHUTDOWN PROPOSALS? – Amid the fallout from the Pelosi-Trump squabble over the State of the Union address, the Senate on Thursday is expected to vote on competing bills to end the partial government shutdown … However, both are likely the fail because lawmakers are sharply divided on President Trump’s proposed border wall – meaning neither bill will likely attract the 60 votes needed to pass. The GOP bill is modeled after Trump’s proposal from last weekend, in which he offered Democrats a three-year extension of protections for 700,000 DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients, in exchange for the $5.7 billion he has been seeking for a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats reject the funding for the wall outright. Their bill would re-open the government through Feb. 8, with no wall money, giving bargainers time to further negotiate.

7am – B         CREEPY NURSE ARRESTED:

• Nurse arrested in rape of woman in vegetative state who gave birth at care facility. (Fox News) — A licensed practical nurse who was supposed to care for a woman in a vegetative state at a long-term Arizona nursing facility was arrested and charged with raping her after she gave birth to a baby last month, officials announced Wednesday. Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said at a news conference that 36-year-old Nathan Sutherland was arrested and will be charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of vulnerable adult abuse for the incident at the Hacienda Healthcare facility in Phoenix. “We have worked virtually nonstop every day, every night to resolve this case,” Williams told reporters, adding that the crime was “beyond reproach.” Sutherland invoked his Fifth Amendment rights after his arrest and did not give an interview to authorities regarding the case, according to police. The chief said that officers used “good old-fashioned police work” in addition to DNA tests on the baby to find a match and made the arrest. Sutherland had worked at the facility since 2011, officials added. “We owed this arrest for the victim, we owed this arrest for the newest member of our community, that innocent baby,” Williams said. The 29-year-old victim has been in long-term care since the age of 3 and gave birth to a boy at the facility on Dec. 29. Employees at the time said they had no idea she was pregnant. Court records said her last known physical was in April. As her guardian, the woman’s mother was required to submit an annual report to the court that included results of a medical exam.

7am – C         POMPEO FIRES BACK AT KERRY FOR SUGGESTING TRUMP SHOULD RESIGN. (Daily Caller) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized his predecessor John Kerry in an exclusive interview on “The Story With Martha MacCallum” Wednesday night after Kerry recently said that President Donald Trump should resign. On Tuesday, CNBC’s Tania Bryer asked Kerry during a World Economic Forum panel in Davos, Switzerland what message he would tell the president if given the opportunity. He answered, “I can’t play that … because he doesn’t take any of this seriously. He doesn’t have an ability to have that kind of conversation.” When Bryer pushed, Kerry responded that he’d tell Trump he should “resign.” MacCallum said on her show, “So John Kerry, former secretary of state, was in Davos. He was asked what advice he would give to President Trump,” and then she aired the clip of Kerry. “I must tell you we don’t pay much attention to the advice that Secretary Kerry is providing to our administration. We’re doing our best to clean up the failures that occurred on his watch,” Pompeo responded.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – MERCEDES SCHLAPP – White House Director of Strategic Communications @mercedesschlapp – discussed the latest news on the shutdown negotiations.

7am – E         Sheila Jackson Lee Leaves 2 Posts After Aide Says She Was Fired for Reporting Sexual Assault. WASHINGTON — Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, facing fallout from a lawsuit that claims she fired an aide who said she was sexually assaulted by a supervisor at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, resigned on Wednesday as the foundation’s chairwoman. At the same time, Ms. Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat in her 13th term, also elected to step aside temporarily from an important House Judiciary subcommittee chairmanship. The congresswoman made the decision to step aside from both roles as pressure was growing within her own party to account for the claims in a Jan. 11 lawsuit brought by a woman who worked in her congressional office and who said she was sexually assaulted by a Black Caucus Foundation supervisor. Ms. Jackson Lee has adamantly denied that she fired the woman for retribution after the woman indicated she wanted to pursue legal action. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s board had given Ms. Jackson Lee an ultimatum late last week after the claims became public: step down as chairwoman or face a vote of removal as soon as this week, according to an official familiar with the conversations who was not authorized to discuss them.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – JAMES CARAFANO – vice president of foreign and defense policy studies at The Heritage Foundation @JJCarafano – discussed the crisis in Venezuela and his thoughts on the shutdown negotiations.

• CHAOS IN VENEZUELA: Venezuela is facing an uncertain, potentially volatile, political future after President Trump on Wednesday announced the United States officially recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaidó, as the country’s interim president … Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro responded by cutting off relations with the U.S. and giving American diplomats 72 hours to exit the country. Violence flared up during big anti-government demonstrations across Venezuela, and at least seven protesters were reported killed in the escalating confrontation with Maduro, who has been condemned as a dictator by the U.S., Canada and many other Latin American countries. In a speech today, Maduro accused the U.S. of orchestrating a coup against him and said American diplomatic staff have 72 hours to leave Venezuela.
• Venezuela has entered an uncertain new phase, with Trump and Trudeau joining 7 South American countries in endorsing regime change
• America’s progressives are so busy extolling virtues of socialism that they want you to ignore THIS. (By James Jay Carafano | Fox News) — According to the left, the Trump administration cares nothing about human rights. That’s a bad rap. Exhibit A: Venezuela. Venezuela is in deep trouble: hyperinflation, food shortages, scarce medical supplies, and soaring violence born of desperation. It’s all the doing of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, his successor Nicolás Maduro, and their fellow kleptocrats. Though America didn’t cause Venezuela’s problems, the Trump administration is trying to be part of the solution. Its primary motive: to ease the intolerable suffering caused by the socialist regime and its destabilizing effects on the entire region. Nearly three-quarters of a century ago, Winston Churchill described socialism as “the equal sharing of misery.” Venezuela under Maduro shows that description holds true today. How miserable is it? Since Maduro came to power, more than 3 million Venezuelans have fled the country. Most remain in Latin America, but nearly 400,000 have come to the U.S. With the exception of a corrupt and privileged elite, almost everyone remaining in Venezuela is now destitute.
• Carafano: “Amnesty Should Not Be Part of Any Border Security Deal” / James Carafano, vice president of The Heritage Foundation’s Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, released the following response Saturday to Pres. Trump’s proposed immigration deal: “The United States is facing a humanitarian and security crisis on our border and it’s time for action. The Trump administration should be applauded for its attempts to both secure our border and end the government shutdown.   “However, including amnesty in the new proposal is not the way to do it. Amnesty encourages further illegal immigration, incentivizes the tragedy of human trafficking, and undermines our citizens’ confidence in the rule of law. Amnesty should not be part of any border security deal, especially given that many who today oppose a wall have publicly supported and even voted for physical barriers in the recent past.   “Unlike many in Washington, President Trump has shown himself to be serious about securing the border and fixing our broken immigration system. For this he is to be commended. However, the proposed compromise is not the best way forward.”

8am – B/C     INTERVIEW – DIAMOND AND SILK — hosts of a new weekly “Fox Nation” series – shared their thoughts on the fallout of the Covington Catholic MAGA hats kids.  @DiamondandSilk

• Diamond and Silk’s CHIT CHAT TOUR is coming to DC in February… can get tickets on DiamondandSilk.com

8am – D     INTERVIEW – MARK KRIKORIAN – nationally recognized expert on immigration issues, and is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) – discussed his meeting at The White House and his thoughts on the shutdown negotiations.

• Krikorian: What to Watch out for in Any Immigration Deal (National Review) — “Who would’ve thought President Trump would be the adult in the room? But the immigration proposal he announced Saturday was a responsible compromise to end the partial government shutdown. The border-security part of the package (which includes more than walls) is one that could easily have been offered by Obama or Clinton, back before Democrats decided that borders are immoral.  And his offer to trade this for what amounts to an extension of the expiration dates for a total of about 1 million DACA and TPS illegal aliens with ostensibly temporary work permits is not what many immigration hawks had feared — a new, from-scratch amnesty encompassing illegal aliens who had not already been granted work permits under prior administrations. Both programs should be abolished, of course, but enabling already-amnestied illegals to keep their work permits a little longer as a sweetener for Democrats isn’t unreasonable, despite the objections of many of my fellow immigration hawks.”
• DEAD END FOR SHUTDOWN PROPOSALS? – Amid the fallout from the Pelosi-Trump squabble over the State of the Union address, the Senate on Thursday is expected to vote on competing bills to end the partial government shutdown … However, both are likely the fail because lawmakers are sharply divided on President Trump’s proposed border wall – meaning neither bill will likely attract the 60 votes needed to pass. The GOP bill is modeled after Trump’s proposal from last weekend, in which he offered Democrats a three-year extension of protections for 700,000 DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients, in exchange for the $5.7 billion he has been seeking for a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats reject the funding for the wall outright. Their bill would re-open the government through Feb. 8, with no wall money, giving bargainers time to further negotiate.

8am – E         AOC ON CLIMATE CHANGE:

• OCASIO-CORTEZ SAYS SHE DOESN’T WANT TO BAN PRIVATE JETS. (Daily Caller/Kerry Picket) — WASHINGTON — Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cautioned that “the world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change,” but previously denied she had any interest in banning private jets. “I think that the part of it that is generational is that millennials and people, in Gen Z, and all these folks that come after us are looking up and we’re like, the world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change,” Ocasio-Cortez said Monday during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event at Riverside Church in New York City. “And your biggest issue is, your biggest issue is how are we going to pay for it? — and like this is the war, this is our World War II.”  However, The Daily Caller asked Ocasio-Cortez in early January if her New Green Deal would include banning private jets, heavy aircrafts with high rates of carbon emissions. The New York Democrat simply answered “no,” as she walked away and a staffer blocked access to any further questions.
• AOC on millennials and social media: “We’re, like, the world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change…”
• AOC: climate change is her generation’s World War II
• Nearly 1,500 private jets to land at climate change-focused Davos summit. As the number of extremely wealthy people worldwide has grown, so too has the market for private flights. Despite global warming being one of the major issues discussed at Davos every year, some 1,500 private jets are expected this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, according to an estimate from Air Charter Service, up from 1,300 last year. “We have had bookings from as far as our operations in Hong Kong, India and the US,” Andy Christie, private jets director at ACS, said in a statement. “No other event has the same global appeal.” “There appears to be a trend towards larger aircraft, with expensive heavy jets the aircraft of choice,” Christie said. “This is at least in part due to some of the long distances traveled, but also possibly due to business rivals not wanting to be seen to be outdone by one another.” Over the past five years, most private jets have come from or are going to Germany, France, the UK, the US, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, he added. PrivateFly.com, a private jet service, expects between 1,200 and 1,500 private jets in and out of local airports around Davos, double the average daily volume of flight traffic to the area. “The primary airport used by private jet customers flying to Davos is Zurich Airport. This is 91 miles away, or 1 hour 45 minutes by road. So some visitors will also charter a helicopter for a faster transfer time,” the company said.