Mercedes Schlapp, Alexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg, Alexandria Vice Mayor Justin Wilson, DC Transportation Director Leif Dormsjo, Jonah Goldberg, Bret Baier and guest host Vince Coglianese joined WMAL on Friday!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, January 13, 2017

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B     Newt Gingrich Explains ‘Trumpism.’ Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is never shy about sharing his opinion, even when its TMZ catching up with him. TMZ found Gingrich and asked him to explain ‘Trumpism’

5am – C         Amazon founder Jeff Bezos buys DC’s biggest mansion in the same neighborhood as Ivanka and Jared for $23MILLION. (Daily Mail) – Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has spent $23 million to buy the biggest home in the city in one of Washington’s most elite neighborhoods. Bezos can count President Obama and his family, and future first daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, incoming presidential adviser Jared Kushner, as neighbors when he moves into the affluent Kalorama area. The billionaire, who became the second richest person in the world this year, bought the 27,000 square-foot former Textile Museum to turn it into a pied-a-tierre in the city for himself and his family, the Washington Post reports. But Bezos, who lives with his wife McKenzie and their four children in Seattle, had made in clear when he bought the Washington Post in 2013 that he wasn’t planning to relocate.

5am – D         Critter News:

• Obama’s dog Sunny bites White House visitor in the face. (New York Daily News) — President Obama attended to a minor White House emergency earlier this week after a visitor was bitten in the face by the First Family’s 4-year-old dog. The unnamed 18-year-old family friend was visiting the White House on Monday when she went to pet and kiss Sunny, the President’s fluffy female Portuguese water dog, sources told TMZ. But the presidential pooch didn’t take kindly to smooches and chomped down on the teen’s face, leaving a half-inch gash under her left eye, according to the gossip site. Dr. Ronny Jackson, the Obama family’s physician, checked out the dog bite and determined the guest needed stitches.
• A Trump White House Without A Pet Would Break A Long, Weird History. (Huffington Post) – A White House without a four-legged friend would be a rarity, says Dave Baker, the co-owner of the Presidential Pet Museum, a donation-based institution not affiliated with the White House or the federal government. “There are only a few administrations that didn’t feature any pets at the White House,” Baker told The Huffington Post. “Martin Van Buren had a couple of tiger cubs that got sent to the zoo. Other than that, he didn’t have dogs or cats or anything like that.” Andrew Johnson also lacked a formal furry companion, though he did make a habit of feeding mice he encountered in the White House, which surely didn’t endear him to many White House staffers.

5am – E         Justice IG to launch review into FBI handling of Clinton probe. (USA Today) – WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s inspector general Thursday announced a wide-ranging review of the FBI’s handling of its inquiry into former secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email use, exhuming a series of events that the Democratic presidential nominee claimed helped doom her bid for the White House. Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz said the review was prompted by requests from federal lawmakers and members of the public. The internal inquiry will examine whether the Justice Department and FBI followed established “policies and procedures” when FBI Director James Comey publicly announced in July that the bureau would not recommend criminal charges against Clinton related to her use of a private email server while at the State Department. The recommendation was quickly accepted by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who had effectively ceded control of the inquiry to the FBI director after she met briefly with former president Bill Clinton prior to the conclusion of the investigation.

6am – A         Recap of Thursday’s Hearings:

• Ben Carson Urges Ending Reliance on Welfare in Bid to Be Housing Chief. WASHINGTON — Ben Carson, the nominee for secretary of housing and urban development, presented himself on Thursday as a credible manager for a sprawling federal bureaucracy, navigating an unlikely transition from celebrated neurosurgeon and genial conservative presidential candidate to the steward of American housing policy. At a Senate confirmation hearing, Mr. Carson, 65, strained at times to square his past remarks on the dangers of federal assistance — he once called poverty “really more of a choice than anything else” — with the mission of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, an agency with a $47 billion budget and a mandate to help millions of low-income renters and struggling homeowners. Forgoing many specifics, he laid out a vision of a more “holistic” approach: recruiting private sector dollars and seeking to end what he called a cycle of “generation after generation of people living in dependent situations.”
• Pompeo Delivers Another Smooth Confirmation Hearing for Trump’s Cabinet. It was an appropriate, if inauspicious, beginning to Thursday’s confirmation hearing for Mike Pompeo that the lights suddenly went out during opening statements. The Kansas congressman is Donald Trump’s selection to head the Central Intelligence Agency, which operates in the shadows. But even this was a little too on the nose for the Republican chairman of the Senate’s select committee on intelligence, North Carolina’s Richard Burr, who alerted the senators, staff, and press that the hearing would move to another room in the adjacent office building, where hopefully the electricity would not cut off. It was the only speed bump in an otherwise smooth hearing for Pompeo—even the two requisite Code Pink protestors stayed silent throughout the proceedings.
• Lights go out on confirmation hearing for expected CIA chief. The lights went out as the confirmation hearing began for Donald Trump’s pick to run the CIA , raising questions of whether it was a routine technical malfunction or someone was trying to disrupt the proceedings. The Senate Intelligence Committee is vetting Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) to run the fabled spy service.
• James Mattis Strikes Far Harsher Tone Than Trump on Russia. WASHINGTON — James N. Mattis, the retired Marine Corps general, told Congress on Thursday that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was trying to “break the North Atlantic alliance,” staking out a tougher stance on Russia during a confirmation hearing for defense secretary than his prospective commander in chief did on the campaign trail. “I’m all for engagement, but we also have to recognize reality,” General Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “There’s a decreasing number of areas where we can engage cooperatively and increasing numbers of areas where we’re going to have to confront Russia.”
• Senate passes bill to let retired Gen. James Mattis run the Pentagon; Trump pick still must be confirmed. The House Armed Services Committee has approved legislation to permit retired Marine Gen. James Mattis to serve as defense secretary. The GOP-led panel voted 34-28 to pass a measure that grants Mattis a one-time exception from the law that bars former U.S. service members who have been out of uniform for less than seven years from holding the job. Mattis retired from military service in 2013. A vote on the bill in the full House is scheduled for Friday. The Senate easily passed similar legislation on Thursday, 81-17.

6am – B         Researchers believe we accomplishing less when we are multi-tasking. FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A distant look tells you the mind is not totally focused, but the digital age is a time of information overload. “I can listen to music, I can text, I can be on Instagram or Facebook. Checking email while I’m also working in the kitchen cooking or paying bills on the computer,” said Pam Hernandez, Fresno. UC San Francisco brain researcher Dr. Adam Gazzaley said you are not multi-tasking– you are actually task switching. “There’s basic limitations in what our brain can do. So there’s only so much information we can hold in mind at the same time.” In Dr. Gazzaley’s new book “The Distracted Mind,” he argues our brains were never meant to multi-task. When we focus on one thing, the part of our brain which handles abstract thinking takes over. But when we absorb several sources at once, it’s forced to switch back and forth. “And with each of those switches, there’s a loss of the high resolution of that information,” said Dr. Gazzaley. The result can be really sloppy work and slower response times. New evidence indicates it may be habit forming. One study found young adults typically switch tasks every two minutes.

6am – C         Controversial Painting Update:

• A Blue Lives Matter flag has now been taped above the controversial painting on Capitol Hill which portrays police officers as pigs.
• Ryan confident that ‘disgusting’ painting will be removed from Capitol. (Washington Times) — House Speaker Paul Ryan waded into the debate Thursday over a controversial painting depicting cops as animals, saying he is confident the “disgusting” painting will have to come down. Mr. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, said he is confident the painting — chosen by Rep. William “Lacy” Clay as winner in a congressional art contest — appears to violate the rules of the competition, which bar “exhibits depicting subjects of contemporary political controversy or a sensationalistic and gruesome nature.” “This is disgusting,” Mr. Ryan said on the Mike Gallagher radio show. “It’s disgusting and it’s not befitting the Capitol.”

6am – D         INTERVIEW – MERCEDES SCHLAPP – Washington Times columnist, Fox News Channel contributor and Cuban-American

• President Obama is ending a policy that allows Cubans who reach U.S. soil to stay legally
• Obama ending ‘wet-foot, dryoot’ policy allowing Cubans reaching U.S. soil to stay and receive residency

6am – E         Man Pays $3,000 Tax Bill With Wheelbarrow Filled With Coins. A US businessman, Nick Stafford , in dispute with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) paid his $3,000 tax bill using five wheelbarrows containing 300,000 pennies on Wednesday.

Virginia man delivers 300,000 pennies to DMV, spends over $1,000 to do it. LEBANON, Va. (WSET) — It’s one way to get back at the DMV. Nick Stafford, from Lebanon, carried five wheelbarrows of pennies into the Department of Motor Vehicles Wednesday. It was 300,000 pennies in total. Stafford told the Bristol Herald Courier it was to pay sales tax on two new cars. The pennies weighed in at 1,600 pounds. And Stafford ended up filing three lawsuits and spending at least $1,000 to give the DMV his two cents. He said he had a bone to pick with the DMV, not about agonizingly long lines or a bad picture on his driver’s license, but about 10 phone numbers.

6am – F         Metro GM Wiedefeld: ‘We are not a fire department. That’s not what we do.’ WASHINGTON – When you ride on Metro, do you expect the transit agency to help rescue you if you get into a dangerous situation? That is what many people have been asking after lawyers representing Metro turned blame from itself and towards the D.C. Fire and EMS Department for the L’Enfant Plaza smoke incident that left one passenger dead. The finger-pointing got heated earlier this week when a legal document was filed asking for a $50 million lawsuit against Metro to be dropped. The lawsuit was filed by the family of Carol Glover, the woman who died  side a smoke-filled Metro train stuck inside a tunnel near the L’Enfant Plaza station back in January 2015, claims that negligence by Metro led to her death. But Metro’s lawyers are now placing the blame at D.C. firefighters, essentially saying it is up for them to get passengers to safety and not the responsibility of Metro. Metro GM Wiedefeld: ‘We are not a fire department. That’s not what we do.’

7am – A         INTERVIEW – Alexandria Mayor ALLISON SILBERBERG

7am – B/C     INTERVIEW – Alexandria Vice Mayor JUSTIN WILSON

• In Alexandria, a dispute over free speech. At council meetings. (Washington Post) – The Alexandria City Council voted 6 to 1 this week to limit the number of speakers at the start of its monthly Saturday hearings, an attempt to arrest the expanding length of those meetings’ public-comment period. Over the vociferous objections of first-term Mayor Allison Silberberg (D), the council agreed to allow no more than 15 speakers in the “open-mic” period that starts at 9:30 a.m.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – LEIF DORMSJO – DC Director of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT)

• Inauguration Traffic/Transportation preview:
• Visitors, Locals Prepare For Gridlock And Metro Headaches On Inauguration Weekend
• DDOT’s advice for avoiding inauguration traffic: ‘Plan ahead’

7am – E         President Barack Obama Honors Joe Biden With Surprise Medal of Freedom. Calling him “the best vice president America has ever had,” President Barack Obama awarded Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom Thursday in a surprise tribute to his friend and close adviser for the last eight years. The medal is the highest civilian honor in the United States, and Biden appeared stunned and wiped away tears. When he took the podium, he started by jokingly telling his chief of staff “you’re fired,” for not hinting at the surprise. “This honor is not only well beyond what I deserve, but it’s a reflection of the extent and generosity of your spirit,” Biden said. “I don’t deserve this. But I know it came from the president’s heart,” he said. “There is a Talmudic saying that says what comes from the heart enters the heart. Mr. President, you have crept into our heart, you and your whole family.”   Obama awarded the medal “with distinction,” an extra level of veneration, for the first time in his presidency. The previous three presidents awarded the higher level of the award to only one person each: John Paul II, President Ronald Reagan, and Gen. Colin Powell, Obama said.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – JONAH GOLDBERG – National Review senior editor and  fellow at the American Enterprise Institute

• Jonah Goldberg: Obama’s campaign rally in disguise

8am – B         Inauguration Preview:

• Rosie O’Donnell Unveils New Plan to Stop Trump: Martial Law. Just a week before Donald Trump’s inauguration, the star of upcoming ABC miniseries of When We Rise, Rosie O’Donnell, has revealed a new plan to stop him: martial law. On Wednesday, Trump’s archenemy O’Donnell urged the President Obama to implement a military government that would suspend all laws in the United States until Trump is cleared from any allegations of involvement with the Russian hacking scandal. “I FULLY SUPPORT IMPOSING MARTIAL LAW – DELAYING THE INAUGURATION – UNTIL TRUMP IS “CLEARED” OF ALL CHARGES,” tweeted the actress. O’Donnell then fired off a number of further tweets, calling Trump “mentally ill,” claiming he’s guilty of treason, and retweeting a Twitter user who’s spreading an unsubstantiated 35-page dossier (published by BuzzFeed on Tuesday) alleging the President-elect had contacts with Vladimir Putin during the campaign and engaged in bizarre sexual acts. “FOR GODS SAKE – DELAY THE INAUGURATION – KEITH HOW CAN WE MAKE THIS HAPPEN,” she tweeted in reply to GQ Special Correspondent Keith Olbermann.
• Nicole Kidman says we now need to support Trump. Americans now need to support President-elect Donald Trump, actress Nicole Kidman has told Britain’s state broadcaster the BBC in an interview. “He is now elected and we as a country need to support whoever is president because that’s what the country’s based on,” the dual Australian-American citizen and Oscar-winning star told the BBC this week. “However that happened … He’s there … And let’s go,” she concluded in response to the interviewer’s question on what Kidman thought of the president-elect.
• Lee Greenwood to Perform at Concert for Donald Trump’s Inauguration. WASHINGTON — (CNN) President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural committee has landed another performer. Country musician Lee Greenwood, best known for his song “God Bless the USA,” has signed on to play the “Make America Great Again!” welcome celebration on January 19, one day before Trump is sworn in to office, sources with knowledge of the situation told CNNMoney. The Presidential Inaugural Committee has previously announced three other acts for the celebrations surrounding the inaugural: The Radio City Rockettes, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and 16-year-old “America’s Got Talent” star Jackie Evancho. An insider told CNNMoney that Trump’s inauguration committee held several meetings with talent executives in D.C. after Christmas in an effort to secure additional performers. And one of the sources said “major announcements” regarding the lineup could come as soon as this week. A spokesperson for the Presidential Inaugural Committee declined to comment.
• Report: Paul Anka to Sing ‘My Way’ for Trump Inauguration. According to Radar Online, 75-year-old crooner Paul Anka will perform his most famous song, “My Way,” at Donald Trump’s inauguration, with the lyrics re-written for his long-time friend and incoming president. “Paul was asked by the members of the Trump inauguration committee and he was only too happy to do it for his longtime friend,” one insider told the tabloid outlet. The source indicated that Anka’s special version of the Frank Sinatra classic would be performed during the inaugural dance between Trump and his wife Melania Trump.

8am – C         It’s all about payback this NFL playoff weekend: NFL’s divisional playoff weekend features revenge factor in four rematches. As if reaching a conference title game wasn’t incentive enough, the NFL’s divisional playoff round will feature an added carrot for four teams: payback. For the first time since 2010, every second-round matchup represents a rematch of a regular-season meeting. Three of the four contests will be played in a different venue. The Texans and Patriots will again throw down in Foxborough, Mass., but their game will have a significantly different element: the presence of Tom Brady, who was suspended when the teams played in September.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – BRET BAIER – Anchor of Special Report on Fox News Channel and author of new book “Three Days in January: Dwight Eisenhower’s Final Mission”

• Bret’s thoughts on the confirmation hearings this week
• FOX NEWS CHANNEL TO PRESENT “FOX NEWS REPORTING: THREE DAYS IN JANUARY” ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 15th AT 8PM/ET   // What: FOX News Channel (FNC) will present a one-hour special entitled “Fox News Reporting: Three Days In January,” anchored by chief political anchor Bret Baier on Sunday, January 15th at 8PM/ET. The program will take an extensive look at the 34th President of the United States, Dwight David Eisenhower, and the meaning behind his famous words, “the military-industrial complex,” which are still widely misunderstood to this day.
• BRET BAIER BOOK SIGNING at POLITICS AND PROSE: Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.

8am – E         Freezing rain and wintry mix could make travel hazardous in D.C. region on Saturday. (Washington Post) — A very cold high-pressure system will set the stage for wintry weather Saturday. Even though precipitation will be light, freezing rain seems likely in some parts of the D.C. region, and it doesn’t take much of it to coat roads in dangerous ice. Temperatures are likely to drop below freezing, while at the same time road temperatures may still be warm from Thursday’s “heat wave,” which makes the forecast difficult. But the bottom line is that this pattern is similar to what we saw Dec. 17, so we’re urging drivers to carefully evaluate road conditions before heading out Saturday.