KT McFarland, Susan Ferrechio, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger and guest host Amanda Carpenter joined WMAL on Wednesday morning.
Listen here to Wednesday’s show!
INTERVIEW – KT MCFARLAND – Fox News National Security Analyst
INTERVIEW – SUSAN FERRECHIO – CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON EXAMINER – discussed the next steps for Congress regarding the Iran deal.
INTERVIEW – REP DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER – D-MD – shared his thoughts on the Iran deal.
Mornings on the Mall
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Hosts: Larry O’Connor and Amanda Carpenter
Executive Producer: Heather Smith
5am – A/B/C Maryland hospital says it won’t hire people who smoke or use other products with nicotine. Maryland hospital won’t hire smokers. WASHINGTON — A hospital in Annapolis, Maryland says it won’t hire people who smoke or use other products with nicotine. Anne Arundel Medical Center recently announced that potential hires would be tested for nicotine as part of its screening process. If the applicants failed, they could reapply for a job in six months, though they would still have to be retested for nicotine. The policy would not effect those hired before July 1, the hospital said in a news release. Ex-smokers who use nicotine patches or other smoking cessation products can disclose the aids and still be eligible for hire, the Capital Gazette reports. Anne Arundel Medical Center has been “smoke-free” since 2007, but the old policy was limited to cigarette use. Last year, the policy was expanded to ban all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, hospital officials said.
5am – D Obama’s Push for Prison Reform:
- Obama Calls for Major Criminal Justice Reforms. In one of the most expansive speeches on criminal justice policy of his tenure, President Obama called for either reducing or eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug crimes, reconsidering solitary confinement for prisoners and increasing job training programs for people while they are incarcerated. Obama also urged states to get rid of laws that bar convicted felons from voting and said employers should avoid asking on job applications if a person has a criminal record, both practices that disproportionately affect minorities. The president also called on Congress to pass a criminal sentence reform bill by the end of the year. And he said he had asked the Department of Justice to start a study on ways to improve conditions for Americans in solitary confinement. “We keep more people behind bars than the top 35 European countries combined,” the president said in a speech to the NAACP’s annual convention in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
- Mosby To NAACP: Black Incarceration Rate Is Disenfranchising Our Communities. PHILADELPHIA, Penn.— State’s Attorney of Baltimore, Md. Marilyn Mosby received uproarious applause from attendees at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People annual convention Sunday when she deemed the criminal justice system unfair to minority voting communities. Mosby made no mention of Freddie Gray, the young black man who died in Baltimore while in police custody in April. The case made Mosby a national figure among black civil rights activists. Mosby explained to the audience that she did not want to pass on the “plight of” communities of color to future generations, saying, “You see, from slavery to Jim Crow to the industrial prison complex, there comes a point when we must say ‘enough is enough.’”
5am – E How the 2016 Presidential Candidates Are Reacting to the Iran Deal
Republicans running for the White House don’t like it. (National Journal) — Republican White House hopefuls moved swiftly Tuesday morning to criticize the nuclear deal the United States and other world powers reached with Iran. Sen. Lindsey Graham was the first to weigh in after the agreement was announced, telling Bloomberg the deal was “akin to declaring war on Israel and the Sunni Arabs.” In an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Graham called the deal “the most dangerous, irresponsible step I have ever seen in the history of watching the Mideast.” Graham also added that Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of State and frontrunner for the 2016 Democratic nomination, could negotiate a better deal than President Obama.
BUSH: Jeb Bush derided the agreement as a “dangerous, deeply flawed, and short sighted deal,” saying that it still allows a path for Iran to develop a nuclear bomb. “A comprehensive agreement should require Iran to verifiably abandon – not simply delay – its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability,” Bush said in a statement. He added: “This isn’t diplomacy – it is appeasement.”
RUBIO: Sen. Marco Rubio warned in a statement that the deal “undermines our national security” and criticized Obama for negotiating “from a position of weakness.” “Failure by the President to obtain congressional support will tell the Iranians and the world that this is Barack Obama’s deal, not an agreement with lasting support from the United States,” Rubio’s statement read. “It will then be left to the next President to return us to a position of American strength and re-impose sanctions on this despicable regime until it is truly willing to abandon its nuclear ambitions and is no longer a threat to international security.”
WALKER: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who officially kicked off his campaign on Monday and made rejecting a deal with Iran part of his announcement speech, said the agreement “will be remembered as one of America’s worst diplomatic failures.” Walker called on congressional leaders and presidential candidates alike to reject it.
FIORINA: Carly Fiorina also voiced concern during in an appearance on CBS This Morning, saying “there is reason for suspicion” because Iran has not negotiated in good faith.
6am – A/B/C Donald Trump leads new national poll. Washington (CNN) Businessman Donald Trump leads a new Republican presidential nationwide poll released Tuesday, marking the first time he’s held the top spot since announcing his candidacy. Trump secured 17% support, according to the Suffolk University/USA Today survey. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush garnered 14%, while the rest of the 2016 field remained in single digits: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, the newest entrant to the race, was at 8%; Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 6%; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 5%; Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 4%; and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 3%.
Jeb Bush calls out Donald Trump for ‘rhetoric of divisiveness.’ COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Jeb Bush called out Republican rival Donald Trump by name in a restaurant meet-and-greet here, even as pro-Trump, anti-immigration demonstrators waved signs just outside the door. “Whether it’s Donald Trump or Barack Obama, their rhetoric of divisiveness is wrong,” the former Florida governor said. “A Republican will never win by striking fear in people’s hearts. A Republican can win and will win if we have an aspirational message that gives people hope that their lives will be better if we apply conservative principles the right way.” Trump has been in the news for weeks for comments on Mexicans and immigrants viewed by many as inflammatory. Outside Barley’s pub, where Bush spoke on Tuesday, three men held hand-made signs accusing Bush of supporting “amnesty” for undocumented immigrants along with a stack of official Trump for president signs. One of them was Steve Harmon, of Council Bluffs.
6am – D/E MCPS Eliminates Middle School Final Exams. Middle School Studentsa at Table in LibraryMontgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) will make changes to its assessment program beginning this school year in order to increase instructional time and relieve the testing burden on the district’s students. The Montgomery County Board of Education on Tuesday endorsed a district plan to eliminate all MCPS-developed final exams in middle school courses this coming school year. The Board also will consider policy changes that would allow for the phasing out of high school final exams, beginning as soon as the spring semester of the 2015-2016 school year. On Tuesday, Interim Superintendent Larry Bowers presented the district’s plan to the Montgomery County Board of Education. The Board endorsed Bowers plan for middle schools and unanimously directed its Policy Management Committee to review Board Policy IKA, Grading and Reporting, and bring back a recommendation regarding high school exams to the Board in October.
6am – E Anyone without an Amazon Prime membership will be able to take advantage of a day of deals that Amazon boasts will be greater than Black Friday. Starting at midnight on Wednesday, Amazon Prime members will have access to “thousands of exclusive lightning deals with new deals added as often as every ten minutes throughout the day,” according to an Amazon press release. Amazon Prime Day Offers Online Shoppers New Reason to Spend. Amazon is declaring a new national holiday Wednesday, one devoted to online shopping and bolstering its own business at a time of ferocious competition among customers who prefer to shop on a computer or mobile device. Amazon’s Prime customers are being treated to the new annual shopping holiday commemorating the 20th anniversary of the site – which comes ahead of the launch of a new online competitor, Jet.com, next week. The new holiday features deals on gadgets from Apple and Google, along with Amazon’s products including Kindle and chances to win gift cards from the site. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba used the similar tactic of manufacturing a shopping holiday in 2009 called “Singles Day,” which helped the company generate $9 billion in sales on Nov. 11, 2014. This shopping bonanza available only to customers who pay the $99 per year subscription to Prime is also a ploy to block increasing online delivery competition. The faux holiday comes days ahead of the July 21 launch of Jet.com, which aims to offer prices five to six percent cheaper than any other site by applying the wholesale shopping approach of companies like Costco to e-commerce.
7am – A/B/C Should You Ask Your Fiancee To Take Your Last Name?
7am – D INTERVIEW – KT MCFARLAND – Fox News National Security Analyst
- Obama hails nuclear deal with Iran as a landmark
7am – E D.C. men among most handsome, a not-at-all-surprising study says. (WBJ) — To find some of the most handsome men in America, all D.C. gentlemen have to do is look in a mirror. Washington, D.C., ranked near the top of a list of the most handsome cities in America, according to a not-at-all-surprising or unexpected study by men’s spa chain and online outlet Grooming Lounge, which is based in the District. The study took into account annual spending on personal care services and products, shaving needs and clothing. Grooming Lounge combined the spending with data on the fittest cities in the nation to produce the rankings. Washington, D.C., ranked third out of 25 cities, according to the study, right behind Seattle and San Francisco. Take that Boston, Denver and New York, all cities considered less handsome than the District. Miami ranked last. Men in D.C. spent an average of $3,261 per year on personal care services; $3,127 on personal care products; $157 on shaving needs; and $3,628 on clothing, according to the study. Men in Seattle spent about $3,413 on personal care items each year, and topped the list in annual spending on shaving. Mike Gilman, founder and CEO of Grooming Lounge, said since the company opened its first spa in D.C. in 2002 the city has only gotten more handsome.
Men in suits are lining up to have their double chins removed. Some people inherit their father’s baby blues, or their mother’s blond hair. What did Kristian inherit from his parents? A double chin. “I’m the youngest of four children, and there’s a hereditary gene of having, what I like to call, no neck,” explains the 34-year-old actor from Chelsea, who asked that his last name not be used for professional reasons. “I’m very self-conscious about [my double chin]. I think it’s a lot harder for guys. Everybody makes jokes that I have no neck, no chin. My sister Becky really comes down on me about it,” laments Kristian, who took notice of his unsightly facial feature when he started college. “I’m 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, I run and work out every day, I eat right — but it won’t give me the results I want.“I just don’t like it. I don’t like looking like a turkey.”
8am – A INTERVIEW – SUSAN FERRECHIO – CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON EXAMINER – discussed the next steps for Congress regarding the Iran deal.
8am – B Md. Delegate Ariana Kelly Charged With Indecent Exposure, Trespassing. (NBC Washington) — The member of the Maryland House of Delegates who represents Bethesda has been charged with trespassing and indecent exposure. Ariana Kelly, 39, was arrested on the 9300 block of Ewing Drive in Bethesda on June 27, court records show. Kelly was dropping her children off at her ex-husband’s house when she argued with him and his fiancée, WTOP reported. According to court records obtained by WTOP, Barak Sanford told police he used a cell phone to record Kelly’s outburst. She then exposed herself, lifting her shirt. Police arrived on the scene and warned Kelly she could be charged with indecent exposure, WTOP reported. She was then arrested.
8am – C 86th All-Star Game: American League wins 6-3 as Trout wins second straight MVP. Mike Trout becomes first player to win back-to-back All-Star Game MVP awards. The Angels outfielder stole the All-Star Game show from the first at bat of the game, homering to lead off the game and scoring a run a few innings later to spark the American League to the win. Trout becomes the first player to win that award in consecutive seasons. He earned 2014 All-Star Game MVP honors, and is the fifth player ever to win two All-Star Game MVP awards.
Barry Bonds’ Selfie With a Sleeping Willie Mays. At the very least, this is a new perspective on baseball legend Willie Mays. Barry Bonds, 50, snapped an unusual selfie late on Monday night. In it, Bonds is beaming, but Mays, his 84-year-old godfather, appears to be asleep. “#SayHey Willie Mays and yes I sleep next to him,” Bonds captioned the photo. “I am so proud to have the best godfather in the world. I love you and everything you have done for me and my family, Willie.”
8am – D INTERVIEW – REP DUTCH RUPPERSBERG- D-MD – shared his thoughts on the Iran deal.
TOMORROW: Chef Geoff Tracy, Arthur Brooks, Sen. Mike Lee and guest host Del Wilber
