Dr. Gridlock’s Robert Thomson, Susan Ferrechio, Byron York and Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer joined WMAL on Friday!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, June 17, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A         DRIVE AT FIVE INTERVIEW – JAMES CARAFANO – HERITAGE FOUNDATION – proposes having a second 911 Commission.

5am – B         Gun Sales On The Rise:

• Gun sales surge among gays, lesbians after Orlando shooting. DENVER — Gun sales are surging in the wake of Sunday’s deadly mass shooting in Orlando, Fla. The tragedy is generating new debate over gun control reform and the right to bear arms. Gun shops typically see a spike in customers after mass shootings. But this time, many are seeing shoppers they’ve never really seen before: More gays and lesbians. George Horne, the owner of The Gun Room, Denver’s oldest firearms dealer, said Tuesday business is booming at his store. However, what’s different this time around is the clientele. Mike Smith, a firearms instructor in Colorado Springs, is one of many closely tracking the sudden surge in gays and lesbians buying weapons. The Pink Pistols is a national gun club for gays and lesbians. It saw its membership soar from about 1,500 members on Saturday to 3,500 on Monday. Dozens of new chapters are springing up, including one Smith is creating in Colorado Springs. He said it’s something he feels compelled to do, even though he’s heterosexual.

• Smith & Wesson gun sales are up 22%. Smith & Wesson is selling more guns than ever. The company, one of the nation’s largest gun sellers, reported a 22.4% annual increase in firearm sales Thursday. Smith & Wesson executives also projected robust sales growth for the next 10 months. Shares of Smith & Wesson (SWHC) spiked nearly 7% in after-hours trading after the report was released. That follows a volatile few days for the gun manufacturer’s stock, which initially jumped after the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history that left 49 victims dead at an Orlando gay club. Smith & Wesson’s report included sales in the three months through April 30. But it’s typical for gun manufacturers to see demand rise in the wake of such violent incidents as pro-gun consumers fear laws will restrict access. After the shooting in San Bernardino in December, Smith & Wesson’s quarterly sales jumped 61.5%.

5am – C         Dem News:

• Clinton ally and SEIU Political Director Brandon Davis takes over the DNC.    Hillary Clinton’s campaign is taking the reins of the Democratic National Committee, installing a new top official on Thursday to oversee the party’s day-to-day operations through the general election. Brandon Davis, national political director for the Service Employees International Union, will become the general election chief of staff for the Democratic Party. His selection formalizes the coordination of the Clinton campaign and the committee, a stark contrast to Donald Trump who is currently at odds with his party.
• Pelosi stops short of endorsing Wasserman Schultz atop DNC. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday declined to say Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) should remain atop the Democratic National Committee (DNC) amid charges that the Florida lawmaker is too divisive to unite the party in November. “I was on the DNC for a long time before I came to Congress, and we took great pride in being the ones who voted for who would be the chair of the DNC. So if you want to know who is going to be the chair of DNC, I think you should look to the membership of the Democratic National Committee,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol.  Pelosi gave a much stronger endorsement of Wasserman Schultz late last month after The Hill reported that some Democrats were increasingly worried she had become a liability as the party shifted its focus to Donald Trump and the presidential election. Wasserman Schultz, Pelosi said at the time, “enjoys the support of members of the House Democratic Caucus for her leadership in unifying the party and winning in November.”

5am – D         Gun Store Owner: We Alerted FBI to ‘Suspicious’ Customer Weeks Before Orlando Shooting. (ABC News) — The owner of a Florida gun store said he tried to alert the FBI to a “very suspicious” man later identified as Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen after Mateen tried to buy body armor and bulk ammunition from the store. Robert Abell, a co-owner of Lotus Gunworks in Jensen Beach, Florida, told ABC News today that a man entered the store five or six weeks ago and asked specific questions about high-end body armor. When employees said the store didn’t carry the body armor he wanted, Abell said, the man made a phone call in a foreign language, hung up and then asked about ammunition in bulk.  Abell said a member of his staff thought the questions were “odd” and made him uncomfortable, so he turned the man away.  Abell added that they thought the man was “very suspicious,” so they called the local FBI office in West Palm Beach and reported the incident. But they didn’t have the man’s name, since no sale was made, and the only surveillance footage they had was grainy. “We gave them information and everything that took place, and that was the end of the conversation,” he said. There was a follow-up conversation with agents, Abell said, but the FBI never visited the store or investigated further. That was the end of it until he saw the news about the Orlando shooting that took place early Sunday morning and images of the man identified as the killer: Mateen, the man who Abell said was in the store

5am – E         Bill would require drug test to claim high-dollar tax deduction. (The Hill) – A Wisconsin Democrat is pushing back against restrictions on welfare recipients with a bill that would require the wealthy to submit to a drug test before claiming high-dollar tax deductions.  Rep. Gwen Moore rolled out the legislation, the Top 1% Accountability Act, on Wednesday. Several states, including Wisconsin, require drug tests for at least some recipients of benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. And Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) also expanded such tests to some recipients of unemployment benefits and recently sued the federal government in an effort to drug test recipients of food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Those in favor of such policies argue that drug testing will save money and make recipients more responsible. A Think Progress study found the cost of administering such tests outstrips potential savings from catching violators. Moore described such laws as unfair persecution of the poor. In an interview with The Guardian, Moore said she is “sick and tired, and sick and tired of being sick and tired, of the criminalization of poverty.” “We’re not going to get rid of the federal deficit by cutting poor people off SNAP,” she said. “But if we are going to drug-test people to reduce the deficit, let’s start on the other end of the income spectrum.”  Under Moore’s bill, those filing more than $150,000 in itemized tax deductions would have to submit proof of a clean drug test within three months of the tax-filing date.

 

6am – A/B/C Mixed Messages:

• CIA Director: Battlefield Advances Have Not Degraded ISIS’ Terrorism Potential
• ISIS working to send operatives to the West, CIA Director John Brennan says
• Obama Visits Orlando Families, Calls for Assault Gun Ban

6am – D         INTERVIEW – ROBERT THOMSON aka Dr. Gridlock at The Washington Post

• As Metro gets ready for SafeTrack Surge #2, officials urge using other transportation options. WASHINGTON – Starting on Saturday, the second phase of Metro’s SafeTrack will shut down service along the Blue, Orange and Silver lines between the Eastern Market and the Minnesota Ave and Benning Road stations. A top Metro official said on Wednesday that they need at least 30 percent drop in ridership during Surge No. 2 of the SafeTrack rebuilding program. If that doesn’t happen, the official said passengers trying to use the shuttle buses that will bridge the shutdown sections could quickly find those buses extremely overcrowded.
• Surge No. 2 will run from June 18 to July 3. Rail service is shutting down between Eastern Market and Minnesota Avenue/Benning Road stations and will go on for 16 days affecting the Blue, Orange and Silver lines east of the Anacostia.
• DR. GRIDLOCK: What Metro’s SafeTrack will do to weekend rides

6am – E         Exercise four hours after learning ‘boosts memory.’ (BBC) — Intensive physical exercise four hours after learning is the key to remembering information learnt, say Dutch researchers. Exercise is known to release proteins that can boost the part of the brain related to memory, and this study suggests the timing of it is crucial. The study, in Current Biology, tested 72 people on their memory recall. And it found exercising a few hours after learning was more effective than immediately afterwards. After spending 40 minutes on a learning task, the 72 people were split into groups: one exercised straight away, the second performed exercise fours hours later and the third did not do any exercise. The activity consisted of 35 minutes’ vigorous exercise on an exercise bike.

 

7am – A         INTERVIEW – SUSAN FERRECHIO — Chief Congressional Correspondent for the Washington Examiner – discussed the debate over gun control on Capitol Hill.

• Senate strikes deal to vote on doomed gun proposals. The agreement between Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid locks in votes on Monday. After a marathon Democratic filibuster and pitched negotiations on gun control measures, senators are finally nearing a Senate floor showdown on firearms policy — but only to hold votes that are highly likely to fail. On Thursday morning, the Senate Republican Conference held a special caucus meeting on what amendments they would put forward to match a background checks proposal from Democrats, senators said. By the end of the day, senators had locked in an agreement to vote Monday on four competing gun-related measures.

7am – B         Entertainment:

• Lin-Manuel Miranda Leaving ‘Hamilton’ July 9; Vows to Return.  The news that no die-hard “Hamilton” fan — or anyone who hasn’t seen the Broadway smash yet — wants to hear has arrived: Lin-Manuel Miranda, its creator and star, is leaving the show this summer. But he promises to return “again and again.” Miranda, who has been in the show since it made its debut off-Broadway in early 2015, said Thursday he will perform his last show July 9. Javier Munoz, the current understudy for Alexander Hamilton, who also took over from Miranda in “In the Heights,” will take over July 11.
• Hamilton Will Be Filmed; Mixtape and Documentary Released This Fall. At today’s press conference led by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony-winning author revealed details on all of his upcoming projects.  Audiences will get to hear them when The Hamilton Mixtape drops in October. “ Hamilton’s story was pretty clear,” he said. “There’s probably 10-15 songs [that were cut], which is really good batting average for me, and we’re releasing some of those on the Hamilton Mixtape that will come out in the fall.
• Singer Meat Loaf collapses during concert in Canada. EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Rock singer Meat Loaf collapsed on stage during a concert in Edmonton, Alberta, on Thursday night and was taken to a hospital in unknown condition. The 68-year-old had canceled two other concerts in recent days — in Moose Jaw on Saturday and in Calgary on Tuesday — citing ill health. A video of the performance at Edmonton’s Jubilee Auditorium showed the singer dropping his microphone and falling to the floor amid a performance of his classic “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That).” Musicians went to his side to help, and the music eventually stopped.
• Finding Dory opens Friday in theaters. HOLLYWOOD – Finding Dory, Disney/Pixar’s Finding Nemo spinoff, will be released in theaters Friday. It’s sure to be a summer hit with the kids (and their parents). Finding Dory reunites everyone’s favorite forgetful blue tang, Dory, with her friends Nemo and Marlin on a search for answers about her family. Star Ellen DeGeneres spoke about it with NBC News.

7am – C         Wife of Warriors point guard Steph Curry tweets NBA is rigged. (Fox8) — CLEVELAND– The wife of NBA MVP Steph Curry went on a Twitter tirade before and after Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 115-101, forcing a Game 7. Ayesha Curry started with some cryptic tweets about the Warriors’ families being kept on the bus prior to the game. She also accused Cleveland’s downtown casino, JACK, of not allowing in her cousin. The casino’s Twitter account replied to her, asking for more information. Ayesha Curry tweetBut Curry’s comments escalated when her husband fouled out and was tossed from the game after throwing his mouth guard. In the now-deleted tweet, Curry said, “I’ve lost all respect this is absolutely rigged for money… Or ratings in (sic) not sure which. I won’t be silent. Just say it live sry.” She quickly deleted the post, saying it was in the heat of the moment. But minutes later, she accused police of racial profiling. The FOX 8 I-Team has reached out to Cleveland police for comment.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – BYRON YORK – Chief political correspondent, Washington Examiner

• Byron York: Can Clinton do to Trump what Obama did to Romney?
• Trump Veers From Party Line on Gun Control.

7am – E         McCain backtracks after blaming Obama for shooting in Orlando. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Thursday walked back comments that President Obama was “directly responsible” for the mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub that left 49 people dead and 53 more wounded. “I misspoke,” McCain said in a statement. “I did not mean to imply that the President was personally responsible. I was referring to President Obama’s national security decisions, not the President himself.”  The Arizona senator earlier Thursday said Obama was responsible for the shooting because he allowed for the growth of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) during his presidency, ABC News reported. “Barack Obama is directly responsible for it, because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaida went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama’s failures, utter failures, by pulling everybody out of Iraq,” McCain said, according to ABC News, which described the senator as “visibly angry.”

8am – A         INTERVIEW — LT. COL TONY SHAFFER – a CIA trained former senior intelligence officer and the New York Times bestselling author of ” Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft an Special Operations on the Frontlines of Afghanistan – And The Path to Victory.”  

His latest book is The Last Line.

• CIA Director: Battlefield Advances Have Not Degraded ISIS’ Terrorism Potential
• ISIS working to send operatives to the West, CIA Director John Brennan says

8am – B         Gun Store Owner: We Alerted FBI to ‘Suspicious’ Customer Weeks Before Orlando Shooting. The owner of a Florida gun store said he tried to alert the FBI to a “very suspicious” man later identified as Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen after Mateen tried to buy body armor and bulk ammunition from the store. Robert Abell, a co-owner of Lotus Gunworks in Jensen Beach, Florida, told ABC News today that a man entered the store five or six weeks ago and asked specific questions about high-end body armor. When employees said the store didn’t carry the body armor he wanted, Abell said, the man made a phone call in a foreign language, hung up and then asked about ammunition in bulk. Abell said a member of his staff thought the questions were “odd” and made him uncomfortable, so he turned the man away. Abell added that they thought the man was “very suspicious,” so they called the local FBI office in West Palm Beach and reported the incident. But they didn’t have the man’s name, since no sale was made, and the only surveillance footage they had was grainy.

8am – C         Oprah Winfrey cookbook scheduled for early 2017. To launch her own book imprint, Oprah Winfrey is releasing her first cookbook. Winfrey’s “Food, Health and Happiness: ‘On Point’ Recipes for Great Meals and a Better Life” is scheduled to come out Jan. 3 of next year, Flatiron Books told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Winfrey’s imprint, currently unnamed, is part of Flatiron, a division of MacMillan U.S. “In the past several months on Weight Watchers, I have worked with wonderful chefs to make healthier versions of my favorite meals,” Winfrey said in a statement. “When people come to my house for lunch or dinner, the number one thing they ask is, ‘How is this so delicious and still healthy?’ So I decided to answer that question with recipes everyone can enjoy.” Winfrey isn’t entirely new to the cookbook world. Her personal chef, Rosie Daley, published “In the Kitchen with Rosie: Oprah’s Favorite Recipes” in 1994. Winfrey contributed an introduction to “The Oprah Magazine Cookbook,” which came out in 2008.

8am – D         Father’s Day 2016: List of 10 top Father’s Day gifts dads really want.

Father’s Day 2016 is on Sunday, and while advertisers are flooding consumers with tons of ideas on what to get as that perfect gift for Father’s Day, many dads can care less about those gift ideas. So what is it that men really want for their special day? According to a Harris Poll described by AM New York on June 16, the number one Father’s Day gift that dads really want is “a day with family.” Whether dads live with their children under the same roof or not, none of the surveyed 2,225 men living in the United States disputed that spending time with one’s children belongs on the top of the list. “A day with the family remains the number one choice regardless of whether dads have kids under the same roof as them or not (61% & 53%, respectively),” writes the Harris Poll.

8am – E         Dem News:

• Clinton ally and SEIU Political Director Brandon Davis takes over the DNC.

• Pelosi stops short of endorsing Wasserman Schultz atop DNC.
• Bernie Sanders Offers No Concession in Address to Supporters.