Mornings on the Mall

Friday, April 17, 2020

Hosts: Vince Coglianese and Mary Walter

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

Reason Magazine’s Christian Britschgi, College Board’s Priscilla Rodriguez, Rep. Louie Gohmert and Bret Baier joined WMAL on Friday.

5am – A/B/C  Trump announces plan for reopening US in phases, rolling back social distancing: ‘The Next front in our war’ (Fox News) — President Trump on Thursday announced his plan for eventually rolling back social distancing measures and reopening the nation’s economy in several phases — depending on location — amid the coronavirus pandemic. The plan calls for three phases of reopening, based on the severity of the outbreak in each individual state or region. “We can begin the next front in our war, which we are calling ‘Opening Up America Again,'” Trump said during a White House news briefing. “To preserve the health of Americans, we must preserve the health of our economy.” The plan, which Trump announced along with the formation of a bipartisan council of lawmakers from both chambers of Congress, outlines “recommendations” for governors to develop their own plans to reopen. It also includes criteria that must be met regarding numbers of infections and hospitalizations before areas can open up.

5am – D         TRUMP DISCUSSED WHO FUNDING WITH G-7 LEADERS;

• In a videoconference with leaders of the G-7, President Trump faced some resistance to his plan to cut U.S. payments to the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. But the Group of Seven leaders also called for a “thorough review and reform process” for the WHO. The White House said the conversation “centered on the lack of transparency and chronic mismanagement of the pandemic by the WHO.”
• GUARDIAN: G7 backing for WHO leaves Trump isolated at virtual summit
• G7 leaders call for ‘thorough review’ of besieged WHO amid questions about coronavirus, pro-China bias. (Fox News) – The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries are calling for a “thorough review and reform process” for the World Health Organization (WHO), the White House said Thursday — two days after President Trump announced he was halting funding to the embattled organization. The announcement came from a readout from the White House after a videoconference meeting between the leaders, chaired by Trump. “The leaders recognized that the G7 nations annually contribute more than a billion dollars to the World Health Organization (WHO), and much of the conversation centered on the lack of transparency and chronic mismanagement of the pandemic by the WHO,” the White House statement said. “The leaders called for a thorough review and reform process.”

5am – E         CRIMINAL JUSTICE NEWS:

• MICHAEL COHEN RELEASED EARLY FROM PRISON: *President Trump’s former lawyer and longtime fixer Michael Cohen will be released from federal prison to serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement amid the coronavirus pandemic. Cohen is locked up at FCI Otisville in New York. He pleaded ‘guilty’ to numerous charges, including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress. He’ll remain under quarantine for 14 days before he is released. Federal statistics show 14 inmates and seven staff members at the prison have tested positive for coronavirus.
• HOUSE DEMS WANT TO PAY STATES TO RELEASE CRIMINALS FROM JAIL: Rep. Jim Jordan Says Democrats Are Considering Coronavirus Legislation That Pays States To Let Criminals Out Of Prison.  Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan on Thursday announced that Democrats are considering coronavirus legislation that would give money to states that let criminals out of prison. According to a Republican Official close to the Judiciary Committee, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and California Rep. Karen Bass proposed the legislation in hopes to pay states for freeing incarcerated criminals out of prison. “We must give states and local governments critical funding assistance to prevent the spread of this disease in these facilities, to test and treat inmates and those working in prisons, and to promote the reduction in the populations of prisons and jails so that fewer people are put at risk. These steps are urgently needed and are the right thing to do,” Nadler said in a March 27 press release.
• ROGER STONE CAN’T CATCH A BREAK: Federal judge denies Roger Stone’s request for a new trial. (NY Post) – WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday denied a request for a new trial made by Trump ally Roger Stone following his conviction on charges related to the Russia investigation. Stone claimed the jury forewoman was biased and petitioned for a new trial; his first such request was denied. It prompted Judge Amy Berman Jackson to call nearly all jurors back for a hearing, a highly unusual move, after Stone’s attorneys also alleged misconduct after some jurors spoke out publicly following the case. During a trial, jurors are not allowed to read news accounts or social media posts about the case or discuss it with anyone until deliberations, but after their verdict is rendered, they are released from duty and can speak publicly if they wish. New trial requests are not uncommon, but this case was surprising in many ways — including a barrage of tweets from President Donald Trump on the trial, threats by the attorney general to quit and the departure of the entire prosecution team following Justice Department leadership’s decision to back off its sentencing request.

6am – A/B/C SENATE ADJOURNS WITH NO DEAL ON SBA (Fox News) – The Senate held a brief pro forma session on Thursday — which are constitutionally mandated absent a larger adjournment agreement.But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) did not try for a second time to pass a new $250 billion for the small-business program — a request that would have been blocked by Democrats absent a deal on the funding package, which has not yet been reached. “This morning, the program ran out of money and shut down, just as we’d warned. But even now, Senate Democrats are still blocking funding. Every Senate Republican was ready to act today, but Democrats would not let us reopen the program,” McConnell said on the floor, referring to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

6am – D/E     Trump announces plan for reopening US in phases, rolling back social distancing: ‘The Next front in our war’ (Fox News) — President Trump on Thursday announced his plan for eventually rolling back social distancing measures and reopening the nation’s economy in several phases — depending on location — amid the coronavirus pandemic. The plan calls for three phases of reopening, based on the severity of the outbreak in each individual state or region. “We can begin the next front in our war, which we are calling ‘Opening Up America Again,'” Trump said during a White House news briefing. “To preserve the health of Americans, we must preserve the health of our economy.” The plan, which Trump announced along with the formation of a bipartisan council of lawmakers from both chambers of Congress, outlines “recommendations” for governors to develop their own plans to reopen. It also includes criteria that must be met regarding numbers of infections and hospitalizations before areas can open up.

6am – F         Land O’Lakes erases American Indian “butter maiden” from packaging. (CBS News) – As it approaches its 100th anniversary, Lands O’Lakes is marking the occasion with a new look. Namely, it’s kicking the American Indian maiden off the butter box holding its signature product.  Land O’Lakes butter has been encased in packaging bearing the logo of a “butter maiden” since 1928. The American Indian woman depicted had a feather in her hair and was kneeling, holding up a container of butter in her hands.  The logo had long been criticized as racist and stereotypical, with North Dakota Rep. Ruth Buffalo telling the Grand Forks Tribune the image goes “hand-in-hand with human and sex trafficking of our women and girls.” Reportedly a registered member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, Buffalo said “it’s a good thing for the company to remove the image,” but that the nation needs to “keep pushing forward to address the underlying issues that directly impact an entire population that survived genocide.” But the diary collective in February redid the design, with the new packaging showing an image of evergreen trees lining a body of water. The back of the package shows images of farmers. Land O’Lakes did not address the controversy in making the change. Dubbed the “butter maiden” and named Mia, the illustrated character first showed up on Land O’Lakes packaging seven years after 320 farmers started the Minnesota Cooperative Creameries Association in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1921. Arthur Hanson, the first illustrator for the St. Paul advertising firm Brown & Bigelow, came up with the original design evoking rural Minnesota with a blue lake, green pine trees and the depiction of a woman in a buckskin dress, according to the Pioneer Press.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – CHRISTIAN BRITSCHGI – associate editor at Reason magazine 

• MOVEMENT TO CANCEL PAYING RENT: BRITSCHGI: Many Want Rent Canceled: Alexandria, Virginia, is the latest city to entertain demands to cancel rent payments during the current pandemic. (Reason magazine) The Wall Street Journal reports that nearly one-third of renters were late on their rent this month, while a survey from rental listing website ApartmentList found that a full quarter of households couldn’t pay all of their housing costs. Localities, state governments, and federal agencies have so far responded with suspensions on evictions and foreclosures, and mortgage forbearance. With the end to the current economic shutdowns nowhere in sight, however, politicians and activists are starting to clamor for more radical solutions. On Tuesday, City Councilman Canek Aguirre of Alexandria, Virginia, introduced a resolution demanding Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, and the area’s congressional delegation use all powers at their disposal to cancel rent and mortgage obligations for the duration of the current crisis. “No resident who has lost income should be required to pay rent during this public health emergency, nor should they accumulate debt for unpaid rent,” reads Aguirre’s resolution. It’s not the first of its kind.
• WAR ON PLASTIC BAGS BACKTRACKS DURING PANDEMIC: BRITSCHGI: San Francisco Was the First Major City To Ban Plastic Bags. Now It’s Banning Reusable Bags To Combat Coronavirus. Preserving consumer choice allows stores and shoppers to respond nimbly to uncertain risks. San Francisco Department of Health published an update to its guidelines for the city’s already strict shelter-in-place order. These new guidelines include social distancing protocols that so-called “essential” businesses must follow when applicable. Included in the protocol section on preventing unnecessary contact is a directive for businesses to prohibit customers from bringing their own bags, mugs, or other reusable items from home. As SFGate notes, the updated guidance does not address the status of the city’s existing plastic bag ordinance, which bans the distribution of non-compostable single-use plastic bags, and requires stores to charge ten cents for each compostable, paper, or reusable bag a customer uses. That fee is set to increase to 25 cents in July 2020. Both New York and Maine have suspended the implementation of their state-level plastic bag bans because of the novel coronavirus. John Tierney argued in CityJournal recently that reusable bags have the potential to become contaminated with bacteria and have been known to transmit viruses. Early studies show that COVID-19 can also survive on plastic surfaces for up to three days.
• Flashback: March 13: Maryland moves closer to banning plastic grocery bags
• Three weeks later – April 1: DMV grocery stores are starting to ban using reusable grocery bags: Some grocery and convenience stores believe that limiting customers’ use of reusable bags can help stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
• In the midst of the pandemic, DC & MoCo are looking to get lax on the bag tax. While D.C. is trying to keep its inspectors working from home, Montgomery County says that reusable bags potentially carry a health risk.

7am – B/C     LOCAL NEWS:

• MD POLICE: WEAR PANTS WHEN GOING TO MAILBOX, PLEASE! Maryland police remind residents to wear pants to mailbox: ‘This is your final warning’ A small-town police department in Maryland has reminded residents to wear pants while checking the mail, yet another sign that many people working during stay-at-home orders are dressing casually, if they’re getting dressed at all. “Please remember to put pants on before leaving the house to check your mailbox. You know who you are. This is your final warning,” the Taneytown Police Department wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday.
• MARYLAND FINE FOR NOT WEARING FACEMASKS 1 YEAR JAIL SENTENCE: Marylander’s who refuse to don facemasks could face a 1-year jail sentence.  The Republican governor in Maryland issued a new executive order requiring that state residents wear face coverings when they go into public spaces in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus. “A few moments ago, I signed an executive order which will require the wearing of masks or face coverings while inside any retail establishments, including grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores, or when riding on any form of public transportation in Maryland,” said Gov. Larry Hogan. “[The order] also requires all essential retail locations to require their staff to wear face coverings and requires those businesses to put into place appropriate social distancing measures in order to keep their customers and their staff safe.” Hogan said the order goes into effect at 7 a.m. on Saturday.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – Priscilla Rodriguez, VP of College Readiness Assessments at The College Board 

• Students May Have to Take College Admissions Tests at Home This Fall. The SAT and ACT are developing digital versions of the standardized tests in case schools remain closed.  The SAT and the ACT, standardized tests that serve as a gateway to college for millions of applicants each year, announced on Wednesday that they would develop digital versions for students to take at home in the fall if the coronavirus pandemic continues to require social distancing. The switch would mark one of the most significant changes in the history of the admissions tests, which are normally taken with a sharpened No. 2 pencil and paper in a highly secure setting, under the watchful eye of proctors.

7am – E         TIGER KING UPDATE

• TIGER KING’S CAROLE BASKIN DONATED TO POLITICIANS, INCLUDING SEN. BURR: Carole Baskin, a big cat enthusiast featured in the Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” donated to North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr earlier in the year, according to paperwork filed by Burr’s office.  RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Carole Baskin, a big cat enthusiast featured in the Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” donated to North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr earlier in the year, according to paperwork filed by Burr’s office. Baskin runs the nonprofit Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida, and is a centerpiece of the wildly popular “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” documentary. The film explores Joe Maldonado-Passage, also known as “Joe Exotic,” and his path to prison for hiring a hitman to kill Baskin. Filings show Baskin donated $1,000 to Burr, a Republican, on Feb. 5. On Jan. 6, Burr became a co-sponsor of the Senate Bill 2561 or the Big Cat Public Safety Act: This bill revises requirements governing the trade of big cats (i.e., species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, or cougar or any hybrid of such species). Specifically, it revises restrictions on the possession and exhibition of big cats, including to restrict direct contact between the public and big cats. Burr announced in 2016 he would not seek public office following that year’s election.  The senator recently became the center of controversy after he dumped $1.7 million in stocks in the days before the coronavirus wreaked havoc on the economy. He was accused of exploiting advance information to sell of the stocks.
• Carole Baskin has actually donated to a number of political campaigns this cycle in addition to Richard Burr:

– Cory Booker’s presidential campaign

– Pat Toomey (R-PA)

– Susan Collins (R-ME)

– John Barrasso (R-WY)

8am – A         INTERVIEW – REP. LOUIE GOHMERT – R-TX — discuss his thoughts on Pelosi/Dems playing politics and holding up relief money for businesses

• SENATE ADJOURNS WITH NO DEAL ON SBA: The Senate held a brief pro forma session on Thursday — which are constitutionally mandated absent a larger adjournment agreement. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) did not try for a second time to pass a new $250 billion for the small-business program — a request that would have been blocked by Democrats absent a deal on the funding package, which has not yet been reached. “This morning, the program ran out of money and shut down, just as we’d warned. But even now, Senate Democrats are still blocking funding. Every Senate Republican was ready to act today, but Democrats would not let us reopen the program,” McConnell said on the floor, referring to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
• PELOSI HOLDING UP FUNDING: McCarthy blasts Pelosi for ‘showcasing her gourmet ice cream’ while funds for small business program ran out / House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., slammed Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Thursday for holding up the replenishment of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) now-empty fund for loans to businesses shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic “We are not in a stalemate on the Republican side,” McCarthy told “Bill Hemmer Reports”. “The only problem here is Democrats are denying the ability for small businesses to get their loans from the SBA to pay their employees. “We’ve got the Speaker being on late-night TV, more [interested in] showcasing her gourmet ice cream than securing the funding,” he added.

8am – B/C     BIDEN NEWS:

• Bernie Sanders says sexual assault accusation against Biden is ‘relevant’: “I think it’s relevant and to talk about anything. And I think any woman who feels that she was assaulted has every right in the world to stand up and make her claims,” Sanders said on CBS’ “This Morning.” “I think that she has the right to make her claims and get a public hearing and the public will make their own conclusions about it. I just don’t know enough about it to comment further.”
• MOLLIE HEMINGWAY: CNN Flooded Zone With Kavanaugh Coverage. Hasn’t Mentioned Biden’s Accuser Once. When Christine Blasey Ford accused federal judge Brett Kavanaugh of nearly killing her and trying to rape her when she was in high school, she was unable to provide any evidence that the two had even met. That didn’t stop media outlets from doing everything they could to destroy Brett Kavanaugh’s life and keep him from becoming a Supreme Court Justice. When Tara Reade accused her former employer Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her when he was a United States Senator, media outlets buried the news. The Washington Post and New York Times were forced to finally mention it on Easter Sunday, but CNN has enforced a strict block on even mentioning the allegation, much less giving it the kind of coverage Blasey Ford received for her claim. Even for a generally corrupt media that is engaged in disinformation campaigns on a routine basis, the disparity in how CNN gave wall-to-wall coverage of Blasey Ford and has forbidden any coverage of Reade is shocking.
• CNN Virus Town Hall Becomes Biden Campaign Event, Skip Sex Assault Claims. This Thursday’s edition of CNN’s coronavirus town hall turned into a Democratic Party campaign event when co-hosts Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta invited former Vice President Joe Biden onto the show to rip President Trump, and opine about how he would do things differently. And while there were frivolous campaign questions asked, neither of the co-hosts had the integrity to question Biden on the sexual assault claims made against him by former Senate staffer Tara Reade. The CNN duo asked Biden a total of six questions over a 15-minute segment that allowed him to speak ad nauseam. Following an initial question that involved pleasantries, Cooper’s next question was just a layup to allow Biden to decry the President’s recently released guidelines for reopening state economies. “Looking at the President’s new plan for reopening the country in phases, again, it’s up to the states. What do you think of what you heard today from the White House?”
• NYT: Biden Is Losing the Internet. Does That Matter? Mr. Biden has just 32,000 subscribers on the influential video platform, a pittance compared with some of his rivals in the Democratic primary race and roughly 300,000 fewer than President Trump. The videos that Mr. Biden posts — these days, mostly repurposed campaign ads and TV-style interviews filmed from the makeshift studio in his basement — rarely crack 10,000 views. And the virtual crickets that greet many of his appearances have become a source of worry for some Democrats, who see his sluggish performance online as a bad omen for his electoral chances in November. “This video is 2 days old and it’s sitting at 20,000 views,” one commenter wrote under a recent video of Mr. Biden’s. “This is a guy that is supposed to beat Trump?” […] YouTube, where progressives have only recently started competingfor attention with an extensive network of popular right-wing creators, is particularly thorny territory for a centrist pragmatist like Mr. Biden. The platform’s left-wing commentariat, often referred to as “LeftTube” or “BreadTube,” mostly seems to consist of young Sanders supporters who see Mr. Biden as an establishment phony. Video compilations of Mr. Biden’s verbal gaffes, with titles like “17 Minutes of Joe’s Melting Brain,” have gotten millions of views over all. Joe Rogan, a popular talk show host with an enormous YouTube following, endorsed Mr. Sanders this year. After Mr. Sanders withdrew from the race, Mr. Rogan stated that he would prefer to vote for Mr. Trump than Mr. Biden, saying of the former vice president: “The guy can barely remember what he’s talking about while he’s talking.”

8am – D         INTERVIEW – BRET BAIER – Anchor of “Special Report” on Fox News Channel weekdays at 6 pm and author of the latest book “Three Days at the Brink: FDR’s Daring Gamble to Win World War II”

• Thoughts on the president’s new phases plan
• Sources believe coronavirus originated in Wuhan lab as part of China’s efforts to compete with US