Lawyer Robin Ficker, Washington Examiner’s Susan Ferrechio, Rep. Don Beyer and Larry Kudlow joined WMAL on Tuesday morning.
Listen here to Tuesday’s show!
INTERVIEW — CONGRESSMAN DON BEYER (D-VA) — Virginia’s 8th congressional district
INTERVIEW – ROBIN FICKER – is a lawyer who previously represented DARON WINT, who was arrested this month in the quadruple homicide when his DNA wasfound on pizza at the crime scene
INTERVIEW — SUSAN FERRECHIO – chief congressional correspondent for The Washington Examine – discussed what’s next for Patriot Act.
INTERVIEW: LARRY KUDLOW – CNBC Senior Contributor and host of The Larry Kudlow Show on WMAL Saturdays at 7 pm
Mornings on the Mall
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor
Executive Producer: Heather Smith
5am – A/B/C Acting TSA head reassigned after watchdog report reveals airport security failings. (Fox News) — The acting head of the Transportation Security Administration was reassigned late Monday after an inspector general’s report revealed that undercover agents were able to sneak fake explosives and banned weapons through checkpoints as part of an investingation that revealed a massive, system-wide security failure at America’s airports. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced that TSA Acting Administrator Melvin Carraway had been sent to work in the department’s Office of State and Local Law Enforcement. Acting Deputy Director Mark Hatfield would take over the TSA until a new acting administrator was appointed. Earlier this year, President Barack Obama nominated Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger to be the TSA’s permanent administrator. Homeland Security officials confirmed to Fox News earlier Monday that TSA screeners failed 67 out of 70 tests — or 96 percent — carried out by special Department of Homeland Security investigators known as “red teams.” In one case, an undercover agent with a fake bomb strapped to his back set off a magnetometer — but the screener still failed to find it. Before announcing the reassigning of Carraway, an 11-year TSA veteran, Johnson issued a statement outlining a series of actions he had ordered in response to the findings, including more training for all transportation security officers, re-evaluation of airport screening equipment and continued covert testing.
5am – D Obama: I’ve Restored the US as the ‘Most Respected Country in the World.’ Obama said, “People don’t remember, but when I came into office, the United States in world opinion ranked below China and just barely above Russia, and today once again, the United States is the most respected country on earth. Part of that I think is because of the work we did to reengage the world and say we want to work with you as partners with mutual interests and mutual respect. It was on that basis we were able to end two wars while still focusing on the very real threat of terrorism and try to work with our partners in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the reason why we are moving in the direction to normalize relations with Cuba and the nuclear deal that we are trying to negotiate with Iran.”
5am – E With Republican Lindsey Graham in the field, here’s how the 2016 presidential race is looking. (USA Today) — CENTRAL, S.C. — Sen. Lindsey Graham kicked off his bid for the presidency Monday, emphasizing national security and his readiness to be commander in chief as he joined the crowded GOP field. The announcement unfolded in Graham’s hometown in South Carolina, in the middle of Main Street, right next to the building where his father operated a pool hall, restaurant and liquor store, and the family lived in a back room. “I’m Lindsey Graham, and I’m running for president of the United States,” Graham declared, drawing applause. The third-term senator touted policies he’s advocated for many years: a strong national defense, support for Israel and saving Social Security. He said he was ready to be commander in chief and that Democrats were not his enemies. “I will seek the common ground our nation so desperately needs to find,” Graham said.
6am – A/B/C Supreme Court rules against Abercrombie in hijab case. (Politico) — The Supreme Court ruled Monday against the retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, 8-1, deciding that the company’s failure to accommodate a job applicant who wore a hijab violated civil rights law. The clothing chain declined to hire Samantha Elauf in 2008 as a sales associate because her hijab violated the company’s “look policy,” which at the time prohibited employees from wearing head coverings. Elauf was never informed of the “look policy.” Elauf filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEEOC filed suit against Abercrombie, prompting the retailer to deny its policy was discriminatory because its ban prohibited all types of headgear and therefore was not based on religion. (Abercrombie has since changed its “look policy” to allow for headgear, including hijabs, which are a type of headscarf.) Abercrombie also argued that it was up to Elauf to request accommodation. Under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, employers must provide “reasonable accommodation without undue hardship.” The question before the court was whether the employer bore responsibility to provide that accommodation even when the employee — or in this case, prospective employee — did not ask for one. The high court ruled that it did, reversing a decision from the Tenth Circuit.
6am – D INTERVIEW – ROBIN FICKER – is a lawyer who previously representedDARON WINT, who was arrested this month in the quadruple homicide when hisDNA was found on pizza at the crime scene
- D.C. Mansion Murder Suspect Is Innocent Because He Hates Pizza, Lawyer Says
6am – E Infrastructure News:
- Lawmakers Lament Deteriorating Arlington Memorial Bridge. Regional lawmakers are sounding the alarm about the condition of the Arlington Memorial Bridge and are pushing for Congress to provide funds to repair the structure. “Two lanes closed on one of the most important entrances to our nation’s capital. We already have the worst traffic congestion in the country, and now this,” Rep. Don Beyer Jr., D-Va., said at a Monday press conference on the Virginia side of the bridge. “This is not just the symbol, but the reality of failed leadership.” The National Park Service announced on May 28 that both of the curbside lanes in the drawbridge section of the bridge will be closed until emergency repairs are finished. The NPS and the Federal Highway Administration also instituted an indefinite 10-ton load limit across the entire bridge, meaning Metro buses will not be able to traverse the bridge connecting the District of Columbia to Northern Virginia. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and NPS Director Jonathan B. Jarvis joined Beyer at the event to call for federal transportation funding.
- Officials announce bill to replace bridges like Memorial Bridge. (WUSA) —WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — Two Congress members and a senator held a press conference at ArlingtonMemorial Bridge on Monday to discuss the bridge’s deteriorating condition. At noon, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Ranking Member of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) hosted a press conference. Remarks were also heard from U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, and National Park Service (NPS) Director Jonathan Jarvis. Congresswoman Norton called on Congress to pass her bill, the “Save Our National Parks Transportation Act.” The bill would give NPS $460 million a year for the federal lands transportation program for fiscal year 2016 to 2021. It would also help start a program called the Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Transportation Project program, funded at $150 million for fiscal year 2016 to 2021. According to officials, federal bridge, which includes the Memorial Bridge are not a part of state allocations. They are federal assets and are required to be taken care of by the government.
- Washington Monument to Remain Closed Until Thursday at Least. (WUSA) —The Washington Monument will remain closed until at least Thursday as technicians repair a mechanical alignment issue with the elevator. The issue is believed to be a result of multiple shutdowns caused by intermittent power losses in the past week, the National Park Service said. The elevator lost power Sunday at 9:30 p.m., the National Park Service said. No visitors were inside the elevator at the time. One visitor on the observation level was escorted to the ground level via the stairs.
- Metro doors open as train accelerates in D.C. (WTOP) — WASHINGTON — A video shared Sunday shows a D.C. Metro train’s doors wide open while the train moves through a tunnel. The video, taken around 11:15 a.m. as the train traveled between Metro Center and Farragut North, was posted to Unsuck DC Metro’s Facebook page. Rider John Carroll of Chevy Chase said that initially a Metro employee entered the car at Farragut North and told everyone they would be offloaded in a few minutes so staff could check the door. But instead, according to Carroll, the employee left the train. “Suddenly we heard the chimes. The doors closed and we actually continued to move until we went to the next stop.” The train was then offloaded at Dupont Circle.
7am – A INTERVIEW — SUSAN FERRECHIO – chief congressional correspondent for The Washington Examine – discussed what’s next for Patriot Act.
7am – B Media News:
- STUDY: People spend more than eight hours a day consuming media… Is that all? We now spend more than eight hours a day consuming media. If you weren’t reading this article, you would probably be scanning something else on the internet, watching TV, or maybe—just maybe—reading a newspaper or magazine. In short, you would be consuming media. On average, people spend more than 490 minutes of their day with some sort of media, according to a new report by ZenithOptimedia. Television remains dominant, accounting for three hours of daily consumption—an hour more than the internet, in second place. (The report measures media consumed in its traditional form—for example, broadcasts on television sets and newspapers in print. Watching videos on the web or reading a newspaper’s website counts as internet consumption.) By 2017, we will find even more time in the day to take in media—half of our waking life is apparently not enough—with global average consumption set to rise to 506 minutes, according to ZenithOptimedia.
- Bob Schieffer on Journalism: Now Unable To “Tell People What We Think Is Relevant And What They Need To Know” – BOB SCHIEFFER, CBS NEWS: We now don’t know where people get their news, but what we do know is they’re bombarded with information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Most of the information is wrong and some of it is wrong on purpose. It is our job, I think, in mainstream journalism to try to cut through this mall of information and tell people what we think is relevant in what they need to know. That is the job of the journalist and I have to say it’s harder and harder…
- Millennials use Facebook for political news. (Huffington Post) — A new survey from the Pew Research Center reveals that 61 percent of American millennials (18 – 33 years old) said that in the past week they got political or government-related news from Facebook. That’s considerably higher than the percentage of millennials who said they got news from CNN — 44 percent — and higher still than the 37 percent who said they tuned into local TV for coverage. Far fewer baby boomers (50-68 years old) use Facebook in this way: Only 39 percent reported that they got news about politics and government from Facebook in the past week. Meanwhile, 51 percent of Generation X (34 – 49 years old) reported that they get such news from Facebook.
7am – C Iraqi PM Haider Al-Abadi Says Forces Lost 2300 Humvees to ISIS. (NBC) — Iraq’s security forces lost around 2,300 Humvees to ISIS when they retreated from Mosul last year, according to the country’s prime minister. The United States has supplied Iraq with hundreds of millions of dollars in military hardware, including Humvees, and Defense Secretary Ash Carter recently claimed the country’s forces “just showed no will to fight” against ISIS. Humvees — or high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV)— vary in price greatly depending on the specific hardware with which they are fitted. However, the State Department last year approved the potential sale to Iraq of 1,000 Humvees with increased armor, machine-guns, and grenade launchers for an estimated $579 million, according to a report by AFP.
Iran’s Nuclear Stockpile Grows, Complicating Negotiations. (NY Times) — WASHINGTON — With only one month left before a deadline to complete a nuclear deal with Iran, international inspectors have reported that Tehran’s stockpile of nuclear fuel increased about 20 percent over the last 18 months of negotiations, partially undercutting the Obama administration’s contention that the Iranian program had been “frozen” during that period. But Western officials and experts cannot quite figure out why. One possibility is that Iran has run into technical problems that have kept it from converting some of its enriched uranium into fuel rods for reactors, which would make the material essentially unusable for weapons. Another is that it is increasing its stockpile to give it an edge if the negotiations fail. The extent to which Iran’s stockpile has increased was documented in a report issued Friday by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations organization that monitors compliance with nuclear treaties. The agency’s inspectors, who have had almost daily access to most of Iran’s nuclear production facilities, reported finding no evidence that Iran was racing toward a nuclear weapon, and said Tehran had halted work on facilities that could have given it bomb-making capabilities. Since atomic negotiations began a year and a half ago, Iran has slowly increased the size of its uranium stockpile, which can fuel either reactors or bombs.
7am – D/E Bruce Jenner Becomes Caitlyn Jenner.
8am – A INTERVIEW — CONGRESSMAN DON BEYER (D-VA) — Virginia’s 8th congressional district
- Lawmakers Lament Deteriorating Arlington Memorial Bridge
- Officials announce bill to replace bridges like Memorial Bridge
8am – B SCOTUS rules in favor of man convicted of posting threatening messages on Facebook. Washington (CNN) – The Supreme Court ruled Monday in favor of a Pennsylvania man who posted several violent messages on Facebook and was convicted under a federal threat statute — the first time the Court raised the implications of free speech on social media. The Court said that it wasn’t enough to convict the man based solely on the idea that a reasonable person would regard his communications as a threat. “Our holding makes clear that negligence is not sufficient to support a conviction,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. The Court held that the legal standard used to convict him was too low, but left open what the standard should be. It is a narrow ruling and the Court did not address the larger constitutional issue.
8am – C Actor Vince Vaughn outlines support for gun rights. (CNN) Actor Vince Vaughn says he supports guns in schools to prevent mass shootings, detailing his stance in an interview in British GQ’s July issue. Vaughn, star of screwball comedies such as “Wedding Crashers,” “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and “Starsky & Hutch,” came out full force in favor of the Second Amendment. “I support people having a gun in public full stop, not just in your home,” Vaughn said. “We have the right to bear arms to resist the supreme power of a corrupt and abusive government. “It’s well known that the greatest defense against an intruder is the sound of a gun hammer being pulled back.” Schools without guns are targets for mass shooters, he said. “In all of our schools it is illegal to have guns on campus, so again and again these guys go and shoot up these f***ing schools because they know there are no guns there,” he said. “They are monsters killing six-year-olds.”You think the politicians that run my country and your country don’t have guns in the schools their kids go to?” he asked. “They do. And we should be allowed the same rights.” Banning guns won’t stop criminals, he said. “Banning guns is like banning forks in an attempt to stop making people fat. Taking away guns, taking away drugs, the booze, it won’t rid the world of criminality.”
8am – D INTERVIEW: LARRY KUDLOW – CNBC Senior Contributor and host of The Larry Kudlow Show on WMAL Saturdays at 7 pm
- Economy shrank 0.7% in the first quarter
- Martin O’Malley: ‘I am not beholden to Wall Street interests’ Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, the newest candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, criticized former secretary of state Hillary Clinton (D) and former Florida governor Jeb Bush (R) as being a part of “the old leadership” unable to sever ties with Wall Street.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham joins the presidential race.
TOMORROW: David Plouffe, KT McFarland and Sen Rand Paul
