Arlington activist Matthew Hurtt, legal analyst Joe diGenova, Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, Redskins analyst Trevor Matich and guest host Mercedes Schlapp joined WMAL on Monday!

Mornings on the Mall

Monday, November 12, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Mercedes Schlapp

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C ‘I’m a smart person. I don’t need to be told the same thing every single day’: Trump says he doesn’t need daily intelligence briefings. Donald Trump on Sunday said he’s not interested in getting daily intelligence briefings — an unprecedented public dismissal by a president-elect of the nation’s massive and sophisticated intelligence apparatus. Trump, who also called a recent CIA assessment of Russian hacking ‘ridiculous’, made the remark as key congressional Republicans joined Democrats in demanding a bipartisan investigation into the Kremlin’s activities. They also questioned consideration of Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson — who has close business ties with Moscow — as head of the State Department. Asked whether he’s rejecting valuable intelligence on ‘Fox News Sunday,’ Trump was defiant. ‘I get it when I need it,’ he said on Fox News of the top-secret briefings sessions, adding that he’s leaving it up to the briefers to decide when a development represents a ‘change’ big enough to notify him.

5am – D         Is the D.C. mayor losing control of her city? (Washington Post) — Mayor Muriel E. Bowser is struggling to stand up to an aggressively liberal D.C. Council, which in the past six weeks alone has legalized assisted suicide in the nation’s capital and guaranteed new parents two months of paid time off. A moderate Democrat whose roots are in the middle-class African American neighborhoods of Northeast Washington, Bowser increasingly finds herself at odds with a council infused with the leftist tendencies of the District’s millennial newcomers. Heading into her third year in office, the mayor appears to be losing ground, sidelined as lawmakers advance a wish list of progressive policies without her cooperation, and sometimes despite her opposition. The outcome could determine whether the city focuses on the national priorities of the political left — such as social-welfare programs and business regulation — or Bowser’s more conventional urban agenda of schools, crime and homelessness. The latest display of the mayor’s predicament came last week, as council members gave preliminary approval to a $250 million-a-year program that will tax local businesses to provide private-sector workers with some of the nation’s most expansive family- and medical-leave benefits. Citing its expense and disproportionate benefits to commuters from Virginia and Maryland, Bowser has repeatedly said she does not want to carry out the plan, which creates a new agency with a budget larger than that of the Department of Public Works. But in a sign of her waning stature at city hall, it seems she will have little choice: The bill passed the council on its first reading with the supermajority necessary to override a veto.

5am – E         Sport News:

• Cousins Leads Redskins Over Eagles 27-22. Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes, including an 80-yard toss to DeSean Jackson, and had a pick-six. The Eagles took a 22-21 lead when Caleb Sturgis hit a 41-yard field goal with 4:59 left after holder Donnie Jones got the high snap from third-string long snapper Trey Burton down in time. Carson Wentz drove Philadelphia to the Redskins 14 in the final minute, but Ryan Kerrigan sacked him to force a fumble and seal the win for Washington. The Redskins (7-5-1) snapped a two-game losing streak and remained in the middle of a jumbled playoff race. The Eagles (5-8) have lost four in a row and eight of 10 after a 3-0 start.
• NFL: Giants didn’t file formal complaint over Steelers allegedly deflating balls
• Deflategate the sequel? Here we go again. The NFL says the Giants never filed a formal complaint with the league office over allegations that the Steelers deflated footballs during a 24-14 Steelers win in Week 13 in Pittsburgh. But Fox’s Jay Glazer reported earlier Sunday that the Giants did report the Steelers to the NFL for allegedly deflating footballs. Essentially, the Giants got a hold of two footballs being used in the games and checked them out on the sideline, where they came in under the normal PSI weight expected and required for NFL play. “Last week the New York Giants got suspicious of the Pittsburgh Steelers during their game so after two takeaways from the Steelers, the Giants actually tested two of the footballs on the sidelines to see if in fact they were, dare I used the d-word, deflated,” Glazer said. “Two of the balls came in under [the PSI weight], so they sent them in to the National Football League. Still waiting on a response from the NFL.” The Giants, Glazer reported, have not heard back from the NFL about their concerns over the footballs. But everyone else has.
• Dak Prescott struggles as Cowboys lose again to Giants. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — With a no-huddle offense and no-fooling-around defense, the New York Giants snapped the Cowboys’ 11-game winning streak with a 10-7 victory Sunday night, preventing Dallas from clinching the NFC East. Dallas (11-2) hadn’t lost since the season opener against the Giants (9-4), who solidified their position in the NFC playoff chase as the top-wild card team. New York still hopes to catch Dallas in the division, and it can thank a stingy, aggressive defense for still having that opportunity.

• Yes, Colin Kaepernick is hurting NFL ratings. The steady decline in NFL television ratings has been the biggest story of the football season, and arguably the biggest sports-business story of 2016. What is clear is that interest in watching primetime NFL games has waned, but what remains unclear are the exact causes, and which causes have had the largest impact. Now recent reports suggest that one of the factors dismissed by many has in fact had a definite impact: player protests during the national anthem, led by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Four weeks into the season, the NFL blamed the ratings dip on the “attention around our presidential election, which is unprecedented.”

6am – A/B/C The Dems Upset Over Russian Hacking

6am – D         INTERVIEW — MATTHEW HURTT – Arlington activist and former Chairman of the Arlington Young Republicans.

• Arlington County clears the way for Airbnb rentals in residential neighborhoods. WASHINGTON — The Arlington County Board has approved Airbnb rentals in all residential neighborhoods, effective on New Year’s Eve. The measure, amending the zoning laws, put on the fast track so that the county could begin regulating what residents are already doing — renting their homes. “We have lots of Arlingtonians already doing this and it’s illegal. We’re catching up, and I think we need to move quickly,” said Libby Garvey, chair, Arlington County Board. Members voted 4–1 in favor of regulations that will take effect Dec. 31. “I’m still concerned that it’s too rushed,” said John Vihstadt, who lost a bid to defer a vote on the regulations until the new year. “I’m concerned that it overreaches in several respects, while leaving other issues inadequately addressed.”

6am – E         Biden says ‘the state of my health’ will determine if he runs in 2020. (Daily Mail) — Vice President Joe Biden won’t close the door on another run for the White House in 2020.  Sitting down with CNN’s Jake Tapper for an exit interview, the longtime senator turned veep was asked to explain comments he made this week that hinted he would consider a presidential run in four years, which would be his third.  ‘You told Stephen Colbert that in 2020, you’ll be 78, but Donald Trump will be 74,’ Tapper remarked. ‘So age isn’t going to be an issue, I suppose?’  Biden’s answer was a ‘not quite.’  ‘Well, look, age could be very much an issue, and it may not be,’ the vice president said. ‘It depends on the state of my health and the health of whomever is running.’

7am – A         INTERVIEW — JOE DIGENOVA – legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney to the District of Columbia

• Electoral College lawsuit gets a Monday hearing. A lawsuit by two Democratic members of the Electoral College working to block Donald Trump’s election will head to federal court in Colorado on Monday. U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Daniel, a Bill Clinton appointee confirmed to the court in 1995, will preside over the hearing.
• Michigan Supreme Court throws out Jill Stein’s recount appeal. For the Green Party’s Jill Stein, her recount saga is coming to a close in Michigan.The state’s supreme court late Friday upheld a ruling from a lower appeals court that denied Stein’s petition for a complete vote recount, ending her hopes of getting Michigan officials to recount the entire state’s ballots.The court ruled 3-2 against Stein

7am – B         Trump Transitiion:

• Rex Tillerson, Exxon Chief, Is Expected to Be Pick for Secretary of State. WASHINGTON — Rex W. Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, whose extensive deal-making for the energy giant has plunged him into global politics from Yemen to Russia, is expected to be offered the secretary of state post this weekend by President-elect Donald J. Trump, according to two people close to Mr. Trump’s transition team.
• Chris Christie WAS offered jobs in the Trump administration – but refused them because he wasn’t the attorney general pick. (Daily Mail) —     Donald Trump reportedly told Chris Christie he could head Homeland Security or Veterans Affairs, but didn’t offer him attorney general. Christie turned down those opportunities, along with an ambassadorship and a job in the White House, sources told NJ.com. Christie seemed to be having a public falling out with the president-elect after being demoted from leading Trump’s transition team.

7am – C         Republican John Kennedy wins Louisiana Senate runoff in final 2016 race. Republican wins La. Senate runoff in final 2016 race. Republican John Kennedy is projected to win the Louisiana Senate runoff election, giving the GOP a 52-seat majority in the upper chamber. Kennedy, Louisiana’s state treasurer, defeated Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell (D) on Saturday in the race to replace retiring Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), according to The Associated Press. Republican National Committee (RNC) co-chair Sharon Day heralded Kennedy’s victory Saturday evening, saying it “caps a year of historic Republican wins up and down the ballot.” “And with 52 seats in the U.S. Senate, we are excited for Republicans to confirm a conservative Supreme Court justice and begin working with President-elect Trump to pass an agenda of change for the American people,” she said in a statement.

7am – D         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.”  

• TOPICS: Russia, Tillerson, Army-Navy game
• Kellyanne Conway calls CIA report on Russian election meddling “laughable and ridiculous”
• Trump to likely name Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, sources say
• Army beats Navy 21-17, ends 14-game losing streak.

7am – E         Entertainment News:

• Patti Smith blanks out during Nobel Prize performance. STOCKHOLM (AP) — Patti Smith needed two attempts to get through Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm on Saturday. The American singer-songwriter forgot the lyrics in the second verse and had to pause to regain her composure. “I apologize. I’m sorry, I’m so nervous,” Smith said, asking the orchestra to start over. The audience in Stockholm’s Concert Hall, many dressed in formal attire, clapped to support Smith as she tried anew.
• The Critics’ Choice Awards have spoken. The Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association have made their picks, officially kicking awards season into full swing. In film, La La Land, Moonlight took the top prize — just one of a huge haul of awards for the winsome song-and-dance spectacular. On the small screen, Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley took top honors in the drama and comedy categories, respectively, but it was  The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story scored the most nominations and dominated the acting categories along the way to picking up a statuette for best movie made for television or limited series.
• T.J. Miller Arrested for Alleged Battery of Cab Driver. The comedian was taken into custody by LAPD early Friday morning and released without having to post bail. Silicon Valley and Office Christmas Party star T.J. Miller was arrested early Friday morning in Los Angeles for battery on a cab driver, police said. The arrest took place at 1 a.m. Friday morning after an altercation with a cab service driver resulted in Miller allegedly assaulting the employee over a political argument involving Donald Trump, LAPD officer Jenny Houser told The Hollywood Reporter. The incident was recorded as a private person arrest, commonly known as a citizen’s arrest, the official said. Miller was taken into custody by LAPD officers and released without having to post bail later that same morning, officer Houser said.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — TREVOR MATICH — Redskins elite long snapper, WMAL’s Redskins analyst and Comcast SportsNet co-host

• Cousins Leads Redskins Over Eagles 27-22. Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes, including an 80-yard toss to DeSean Jackson, and had a pick-six. The Eagles took a 22-21 lead when Caleb Sturgis hit a 41-yard field goal with 4:59 left after holder Donnie Jones got the high snap from third-string long snapper Trey Burton down in time. Carson Wentz drove Philadelphia to the Redskins 14 in the final minute, but Ryan Kerrigan sacked him to force a fumble and seal the win for Washington. The Redskins (7-5-1) snapped a two-game losing streak and remained in the middle of a jumbled playoff race. The Eagles (5-8) have lost four in a row and eight of 10 after a 3-0 start. Jackson made a twisting, over-the-shoulder catch and spun away from Leodis McKelvin before slowing down and jogging into the end zone to give the Redskins a 14-13 lead in the third quarter.

8am – B         Christmas News:

• Secret Santa gives 200 strangers free Christmas gifts by paying off $46K in layaway items at Pennsylvania Walmart. ‘Santa B’ called the Everett branch of Walmart with a surprise last week. (Daily Mail) — Cash-strapped shoppers at the Everett, Pennsylvania branch of Walmart got an early Christmas present last week when a very Secret Santa paid off all of their layaway items, including hundreds of gifts. Store manager Ryan Kennedy received the surprise phone call from a mysterious figure known only as ‘Santa B’, who offered to pay off the items, which had been placed on hold so customers could pay them off over time, and totaled $46,265.59.
• Diner shocks owner by leaving note urging staff to play ‘holiday’ tunes. ‘Christmas music was offensive’: Diner at Florida tapas restaurant shocks owner by leaving note urging staff to play ‘holiday’ or ‘less religious’ tunes. Michael Lugo works at Michael’s Tasting Room in St. Augustine, Florida. He shared a photo of a customer’s handwritten note on Facebook last week. Lugo had an issue with the diner, who wrote: ‘Christmas music was offensive. Consider playing “holiday” music or less religious themed.’ Many people chimed in, rallying against “politically correct” culture. Lugo said complaints like the one on receipt puts his staff under ‘unfair’ stress

8am – C         Jill Stein concedes Michigan recount is over. It’s over: Green Party candidate Jill Stein concedes Michigan recount is a bust. (Daily Mail) — Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate in the recent presidential election, conceded on Friday that there would not be a recount of votes in Michigan. During a rally that drew dozens of supporters in frigid Detroit temperatures, Stein slammed the voting system in the Wolverine State, The Detroit News reported. The Michigan Supreme Court put a halt to the recount a day earlier by a vote of 3-2, ending whatever faint hopes there were of going over all 4.8million ballots.

8am – D/E     The Dems Upset Over Russian Hacking