Daily Mail’s David Martosko, Steve Kastenbaum in Rio, Trevor Matich, Daily Caller’s Vince Coglianese and guest host Lisa Boothe joined WMAL on Friday!
Mornings on the Mall
Friday, August 12, 2016
Hosts: Brian Wilson and guest host Lisa Boothe
5am – A/B/C Do you sometimes live paycheck-to-paycheck? You’re not alone. WASHINGTON — CareerBuilder says 75 percent of Americans claim they are living check-to-check just to make ends meet, at least sometimes. Its survey says 38 percent of working Americans occasionally barely make it to the next payday. Another 15 percent say they usually live paycheck-to-paycheck, and another 23 percent say they always do. Among minimum wage workers, 66 percent say they can’t make ends meet and 50 percent say they have to work more than one job to pay the bills. CareerBuilder surveyed more than 3,200 full-time workers and more than 2,100 full-time hiring and human resource managers from May 11 to June 7. But there are plenty of well-paid professionals that find themselves crawling to the next payday. The survey says 19 percent of workers at all salary levels were not able to make ends meet every month, including 9 percent of workers making $100,000 or more. And 23 percent of Americans making between $50,000 and $100,000 live check-to-check.
5am – D OLYMPICS NEWS:
- Simone Manuel wins gold for #TeamUSA in the women’s 100m freestyle.
- Simone Biles wins gold in the women’s gymnastics all-around
- Aly Raisman takes silver in women’s gymnastics all-around
- Michael Phelps takes gold in the men’s 200m individual medley.
- Team USA’s Ryan Murphy takes gold in the men’s 200m backstroke.
- Simone’s World: So much for the pressure getting to Simone Biles. Billed as the heavy favorite heading into the women’s all-around gymnastics competition, she lived up to the hype. With Thursday’s gold, she extended her streak of winning every all-around competition since 2013, which includes three world titles and four U.S. crowns. That’s why, as Nancy Armour wrote, she cemented herself as the greatest gymnast ever. And just like that, Biles crowned herself as the GOAT, but don’t you dare compare her to Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt.
- Michael Phelps won his 22nd gold medal Thursday night after destroying the field in the 200-meter individual medley. It was not close. It’s the fourth consecutive Olympics where he’s won that event. The only negative, from an American perspective, is that Ryan Lochte finished fifth in what’s expected to be their final time squaring off in this event. Outside of Phelps, the prevailing story line among the men is … just what color exactly is Lochte’s hair? Aqua? Green? Cerulean? It’s certainly not blond.Though not as well-known as either of the aforementioned men, fellow American Ryan Murphy is quietly having himself a fantastic Olympics. He won gold in the 200 backstroke Thursday after claiming gold in the 100 earlier this week. It’s safe to say that he owns the backstroke. Even more history was made in the pool. Simone Manuel won a gold medal with a rare tie in the women’s 100 freestyle, becoming the first African-American woman to win Olympic gold in an individual event, a FINA official confirmed.
5am – E Hack of Democrats’ Accounts Was Wider Than Believed, Officials Say. WASHINGTON — A Russian cyberattack that targeted Democratic politicians was bigger than it first appeared and breached the private email accounts of more than 100 party officials and groups, officials with knowledge of the case said Wednesday. The widening scope of the attack has prompted the F.B.I. to broaden its investigation, and agents have begun notifying a long list of Democratic officials that the Russians may have breached their personal accounts. The main targets appear to have been the personal email accounts of Hillary Clinton’s campaign officials and party operatives, along with a number of party organizations. Officials have acknowledged that the Russian hackers gained access to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is the fund-raising arm for House Democrats, and to the Democratic National Committee, including a D.N.C. voter analytics program used by Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Nancy Pelosi: DNC hack is ‘electronic Watergate.’ Washington (CNN)Amid reports that the hack of the Democratic National Committee was even broader than had been made public, the highest-ranking Democrat in Congress is calling the incident an “electronic Watergate.” Speaking to reporters on Thursday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi compared the hack to the infamous break-in of DNC offices at the Watergate complex that was tied back to President Richard Nixon and the White House. “Let me just say this in terms of the presidential campaign: This is an electronic Watergate,” Pelosi said. “This is a break in.” Pelosi was responding to a report late Wednesday by The New York Times that the scope of the hack of the DNC was broader than had been known. Citing sources familiar with the investigation, the Times reported that hackers compromised the private email accounts of over 100 party officials and groups, including officials in the campaign of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Governors Association — though a Democratic source said that the DGA inclusion was incorrect.
6am – A Critter News:
- F-22 Raptor Gets Owned By a Bunch of Honey Bees. The F-22 Raptor is one of the military’s most powerful weapons, but everything—man, woman, sentient rotted orange—has a weakness. For the fighter jet, that weakness is BEEEEEEEEEES! In June, one of the fleet was found with a massive swarm of honey bees—as many as 20,000, according to the Air Force, which described the incident this week—attached to its exhaust nozzle. Though some wanted to “get rid” of the bees, Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Baskin decided to do the humane thing and call in the experts. After Langley-Eustis’ resident entomologist realized he couldn’t do shit about the swarm, the base brought in Andy Westrich, a retired Navy member and a local bee keeper, who was able to remove the bees using vacuum hoses.
- Meet the shark born before George Washington. The Greenland shark has long been belittled as sluggish, homely and dim-witted. But now the species can demand respect: scientists say it is the planet’s longest-lived vertebrate, or animal with a backbone. Eight of 28 Greenland sharks profiled in a new study in today’s Science were 200 years or older, by scientists’ best estimates. One enormous female was aged at least 270 when she was caught – and she may well have been 390. That would make her possible birth date in the era of Rembrandt and Galileo. Even the study’s authors were astonished by the results, which allow the humble Greenland shark to steal the longevity prize from the bowhead whale, the previous record-holding vertebrate. The oldest bowhead reached a mere 211 years. The study turned up such mind-boggling ages that the scientists “kept checking the math,” says study author Peter Bushnell of Indiana University South Bend. “Typically nothing except for trees lives this long.”
- Talk of Rio golf course involves mega rats, snakes. RIO DE JANEIRO — The first round of Olympic golf in 112 years was completed on Thursday without a single golfer being attacked by a boa constrictor, crocodile or any number of animals the golfers heard they might see on the course. “It’s a good incentive to stay in the fairway,” Britain’s Justin Rose told USA TODAY Sports. “The coolest thing to me is that mega rat that lives out here. I saw him on the fifth hole, the par 5.” That would be the cabybara, rodents that are built a little like John Daly and weigh as much as 145 pounds and stand up to two feet tall. Patrick Reed of the United States was among the golfers that set out to separate fact from fiction regarding animal life on the course that reportedly is home to monkeys and three-toed sloths. “I don’t know what’s true and what’s not,” Reed said. “I heard there’s coral snakes out here. If there’s a boa constrictor, I’ll fight one of those before I’ll fight a coral snake.
6am – B Trump Tower climber: Everything we know about 19-year-old daredevil Michael Ryan. The Trump-loving teen busted for scaling The Donald’s namesake tower skipped a family vacation and assumed a new identity before launching his strange skyscraper odyssey. Michael Ryan of Great Falls, Va., who hoped to meet with Donald Trump, instead spent time Thursday with Bellevue Hospital doctors for a psychiatric evaluation. Ryan, 19, a high school dropout whose track career ended with foot surgery, was working at a Virginia gardening center before making the 242-mile pilgrimage to Trump Tower, cops and neighbors said. His parents returned Wednesday night from a European getaway to discover their son was arrested by the NYPD after wall-crawling to the 21st floor of the 58-story Midtown building.
Teenager who scaled Trump Tower had past problems at home. (AP) – NEW YORK — A Virginia teenager who climbed partway up Trump Tower had a history of problems at home. In 2014 he ran away from home after arguing with his parents about his obsession with a political blog, according to a police report. The teen was plucked from the side of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s namesake skyscraper on Wednesday after spending three hours climbing up its glass facade using powerful suction cups. The New York Police Department identified the climber as 19-year-old Stephen Rogata, of Great Falls, Virginia, though his birth name is Michael Joseph Ryan. According to a police report in Fairfax County, Virginia, the teen’s parents reported him missing in November 2014. They told police that their son, then 18, became angry when they took away his Internet privileges because he was spending too much time on a “blog on government issues in the United States” and neglecting his schoolwork. “His entire life focus is on that blog,” his mother, Gina Ryan, told police, according to the report.
6am – C Silver Spring Explosion Update:
- Sources: Third body spotted, others unaccounted for in explosion at apt. complex in Md. MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (ABC7) — Police confirm two people are dead and others remain unaccounted for following a massive explosion and fire at an apartment complex in Montgomery County, fire officials announced Thursday. Sources tell ABC7 a third body was spotted and officials have reason to believe additional victims are in the rubble. Officials also say they do not know exactly how many people are unaccounted for at this time. Families on scene told ABC7’s Brad Bell that young children are among the missing. Firefighters will continue their search on Friday morning.
- Huge fire and explosion levels Md. apartment complex; two dead, more than 30 injured. (Washington Post) — Authorities suspect that a natural gas leak caused a massive explosion and fire at a Silver Spring, Md., apartment complex late Wednesday night that left two people dead, 34 injured and about 100 displaced. Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett said “the working proposition” is that natural gas was involved in nearly leveling a building, but it took until early Thursday evening for investigators to stabilize the rubble enough to recover and remove the two bodies. Several residents are still unaccounted for, officials said, and the two victims had not been identified. Many who survived lost everything. After being treated for burns and cuts, Armindo Benitez returned first from the hospital to salvage what he could. “But it was all gone,” he said. “I have no ID. I can’t get money out of the bank, and my car is blocked in.” The power of the blast was felt almost two miles away at a fire station. County Council member Tom Hucker, who lives near the Flower Branch Apartments on Arliss Street, heard what sounded “like a sonic boom” and raced to the complex.
- Washington Gas Statement on Silver Spring, Maryland Incident. WASHINGTON –(BUSINESS WIRE) — Washington Gas is supporting local, state and federal officials responding to and investigating today’s incident on Arliss Street in Silver Spring, Maryland. Our thoughts are with the families impacted by this event.
6am – D/E Clinton Foundation News:
- As Hillary Clinton goes after Donald Trump, her own email troubles undermine her attacks. Once again, Hillary Clinton’s carefully laid campaign plans have been disrupted by old emails. (Los Angeles Times) — On a day in which Clinton was hoping to inflict considerable damage on Donald Trump — this time, by ripping into his economic agenda — her campaign was on the defensive, scurrying to clean up the latest damaging revelations in years-old messages that were sent by Clinton and her staff and released as the result of a lawsuit. The ongoing email dispute undermined the potency of a speech for which Clinton’s campaign had been laying groundwork all week, one in which she presented her economic agenda in full and tried to brand her self-styled populist rival a fraud. But Clinton, too, has had difficulty staying on task. The fresh batch of emails was pried from the State Department thanks to a lawsuit filed by the conservative advocacy group Judicial Watch. It revealed what appeared to be seedy dealings by Clinton’s team at the agency.
- Top Justice Department officials pushed for a public corruption probe of the Clinton Foundation earlier this year, but were overruled by their colleagues after a bank alerted the FBI to the “suspicious activity” of a foreign donor to the charity. Three Justice Department field offices agreed that the agency should pursue the investigation at the behest of the FBI, CNN reported Thursday. During a previously unreported meeting earlier this year, high-ranking Justice Department officials clashed over the possibility of pursuing a public corruption investigation. According to CNN, the agency had already looked into the Clinton Foundation in 2015 following the publication of a book, Clinton Cash, that detailed allegations of influence peddling.
- EXCLUSIVE: Joint FBI-US Attorney Probe Of Clinton Foundation Is Underway. (Daily Caller/Robert Pollock) – Multiple FBI investigations are underway involving potential corruption charges against the Clinton Foundation, according to a former senior law enforcement official. The investigation centers on New York City, where the Clinton Foundation has its main offices, according to the former official who has direct knowledge of the activities. Prosecutorial support will come from various U.S. Attorneys Offices — a major departure from other centralized FBI investigations. The New York-based probe is being led by Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Bharara’s prosecutorial aggressiveness has resulted in a large number of convictions of banks, hedge funds and Wall Street insiders. The official said involvement of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York “would be seen by agents as a positive development as prosecutors there are generally thought to be more aggressive than the career lawyers within the DOJ.” Bharara’s government biography notes that he, “has applied renewed focus on large-scale, sophisticated financial frauds by creating two new units – the Complex Frauds Unit and the complementary Civil Frauds Unit.
- Cheryl Mills Helped Clinton Foundation While Serving as Chief of Staff in Clinton’s State Dept. While serving as Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff in the State Department, Cheryl Mills reportedly traveled secretly to New York to interview two candidates for the leadership role at the Clinton Foundation. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have been trying to get information about Mills’ June 2012 trip, but were stonewalled for seven months. The State Department had reportedly refused to divulge the purpose of the former staffer’s trip. On Thursday, a CNN report shed some light on the clandestine trip. From network reporter Drew Griffin: “On June 19, 2012, Cheryl Mills, then the chief of staff for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, boarded an Amtrak Acela train in Washington’s Union Station bound for New York. What she did, who she met with — and why — has remained a mystery, even to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, until now. For the last seven months, Senate investigators have been trying to find out what Mills was up to and for seven months the U.S. Department of State has refused to answer.”
7am – A INTERVIEW — DAVID MARTOSKO — U.S. Political Editor For Dailymail.com
- MARTOSKO is currently in ORLANDO, FL, covering TRUMP on the campaign trail
- MARTOSKO piece: “Make me president – it may be ‘the only way I’m going to get to heaven!’ Trump asks pastors to get out the vote as he promises to make IRS stop ‘silencing’ churches
- MARTOSKO piece: “If I lose I’ll take ‘a very, very nice long vacation’ says Donald Trump as he refuses to change his style despite poll gap with Hillary
- Donald Trump said Thursday that he meant exactly what he said when he called President Barack Obama the “founder of ISIS” and objected when a conservative radio show host tried to clarify the GOP nominee’s position. Trump was asked by host Hugh Hewitt about the comments Trump made Wednesday night in Florida, and Hewitt said he understood Trump to mean “that he (Obama) created the vacuum, he lost the peace.” Trump objected. “No, I meant he’s the founder of ISIS,” Trump said. “I do. He was the most valuable player. I give him the most valuable player award. I give her, too, by the way, Hillary Clinton.”
7am – B INTERVIEW – STEVE KASTENBAUM — Correspondent in RIO covering the Olympics
- OLYMPICS NEWS:
- Simone Manuel wins gold for #TeamUSA in the women’s 100m freestyle.
- Simone Biles wins gold in the women’s gymnastics all-around
- Aly Raisman takes silver in women’s gymnastics all-around
- Michael Phelps takes gold in the men’s 200m individual medley.
- Team USA’s Ryan Murphy takes gold in the men’s 200m backstroke.
7am – C Southwest outage, canceled flights cost an estimated $54M. DALLAS (AP) — The cancellation of more than 2,000 Southwest Airlines flights due to a computer outage last month will cost the carrier an estimated $54 million. The Dallas Morning News (http://bit.ly/2aV2tcm ) reported the lost revenue and increased cost estimates based on a Southwest investor advisory released Wednesday. Dallas-based Southwest blamed a router failure for the July 20 outage and subsequent days of delays. While Southwest didn’t provide a specific cost of the outage, the company said it would lead to a 0.5 percentage point drop in unit revenues during the third quarter and that it expects its cost per seat mile to rise by up to 2 percent. The newspaper based its estimate on those projections. An unrelated computer outage this week has resulted in the cancellation of more than 2,100 Delta Air Lines flights.
7am – D/E INTERVIEW — TREVOR MATICH — Redskins elite long snapper and WMAL’s Redskins analyst
- Redskins game night: Some bright spots, some shaky play in 23-17 loss to Falcons
- Best and worst moments from the Redskins’ preseason opener
8am – A INTERVIEW – VINCE CONGLIANESE — Executive Editor, The Daily Caller
- EXCLUSIVE: Joint FBI-US Attorney Probe Of Clinton Foundation Is Underway. (Daily Caller) — Multiple FBI investigations are underway involving potential corruption charges against the Clinton Foundation, according to a former senior law enforcement official. The investigation centers on New York City, where the Clinton Foundation has its main offices, according to the former official who has direct knowledge of the activities. Prosecutorial support will come from various U.S. Attorneys Offices — a major departure from other centralized FBI investigations.
8am – B/C An Italian lawmaker wants to make it a crime for parents to feed their kids vegan diets. It may soon become a crime for Italian parents to keep their children from indulging in the country’s legendary meats and cheeses by restricting them to vegan options. An Italian lawmaker proposed a bill last week that would punish parents with imprisonment for raising their children on “dangerous” vegan diets, which the legislation compares to domestic abuse. “I have nothing against vegans or veganism as long as it is a free choice by adults,” the lawmaker, Elvira Savino of the conservative Forza Italia party, told Reuters Wednesday. “I just find it absurd that some parents are allowed to impose their will on children in an almost fanatical, religious way, often without proper scientific knowledge or medical consultation.” Offending parents could be sentenced to at least a year-long stint in jail for restricting their children to a vegan diet, according to the BBC. If the child becomes sick or injured because of the diet the sentence rises to four years and again to six years if the child dies. The legislation contends that many parents don’t know how to add nutritional supplements to their child’s vegan diet because they never consult medical professionals. Vegans don’t eat animal products, including dairy, eggs, meat, fish, honey and animal fats. “These children are literally underfed, put in mortal danger from unwary parents who have decided to follow a philosophical movement,” the proposed law, in Italian, reads.
8am – D/E Do you sometimes live paycheck-to-paycheck? You’re not alone. WASHINGTON — CareerBuilder says 75 percent of Americans claim they are living check-to-check just to make ends meet, at least sometimes. Its survey says 38 percent of working Americans occasionally barely make it to the next payday. Another 15 percent say they usually live paycheck-to-paycheck, and another 23 percent say they always do. Among minimum wage workers, 66 percent say they can’t make ends meet and 50 percent say they have to work more than one job to pay the bills. CareerBuilder surveyed more than 3,200 full-time workers and more than 2,100 full-time hiring and human resource managers from May 11 to June 7. But there are plenty of well-paid professionals that find themselves crawling to the next payday. The survey says 19 percent of workers at all salary levels were not able to make ends meet every month, including 9 percent of workers making $100,000 or more. And 23 percent of Americans making between $50,000 and $100,000 live check-to-check.
