Alyson Satterwhite, James Carafano, Dr. Becky Domokos-Bays, Joe Concha, Axios Reporter Alayna Treene, and Kelly Lawler joined WMAL on Tuesday!
Mornings on the Mall
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese
5am – A/B/C U.S. to add citizenship question in 2020 Census: Commerce Dept (Reuters) — A question about citizenship status will be included on the 2020 Census to help enforce the Voting Rights Act, federal officials said on Monday, but California sued to block the move arguing that it would discourage immigrants from participating. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross decided to add the question to the count after a Department of Justice request based on the desire for better enforcement of the voting law, the U.S. Department of Commerce said in a statement. “Secretary Ross determined that obtaining complete and accurate information to meet this legitimate government purpose outweighed the limited potential adverse impacts,” it said. The census, which is mandated under the U.S. Constitution and takes place every 10 years, counts every resident in the United States. It is used to determine the allocation to states of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and to distribute billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities. Ross said in a memo that the Voting Rights Act requires a tally of citizens of voting age to protect minorities against discrimination, and that getting this information as part of the census would make it more complete.
5am – D Rumors of Speaker Paul Ryan’s resignation?
- Hagar: Rumor is that Paul Ryan may resign as U.S. House speaker, Scalise will replace him, Amodei says (RGI) — Nevada’s 2nd U.S. House District Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, said on Nevada Newsmakers Monday that Rep. Paul Ryan may soon resign as Speaker of the U.S. House. Amodei said he was repeating a rumor that’s around Capitol Hill. “The rumor mill is that Paul Ryan is getting ready to resign in the next 30 to 60 days and that Steve Scalise will be the new Speaker,” Amodei said. “Now that is interesting because nobody has talked to members (of the U.S. House) on how they are going to vote (on new leadership),” Amodei said. “Now, maybe they have talked to all of the members but me. I don’t know, so that is the rumor mill from last week.” Scalise, from Louisiana’s 1st U.S. House District, is currently the House majority whip, responsible for rounding up votes on various bills and issues. In June of 2017, he was shot during practice for the congressional baseball team in Virginia. He survived after being in critical condition and returned to Congress in late September of 2017.
- House Speaker Paul Ryan dismisses resignation rumors (CBS News) — A Republican congressman says that House Speaker Paul Ryan might soon resign, but Ryan’s office says he’s not going anywhere. Ryan’s office dismissed the speculation. “The speaker is not resigning,” his spokesperson, AshLee Strong, told CBS News on Monday. Earlier, Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, told a local journalist that there was a rumor that Ryan was on his way out, and that Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican who currently serves as majority whip, would replace him. “The rumor mill is that Paul Ryan is getting ready to resign in the next 30 to 60 days and that Steve Scalise will be the new Speaker,” Amodei told “Nevada Newsmakers.” Amodei added that “nobody has talked to” members of Congress about “how they are going to vote” on new leadership. “Now, maybe they have talked to all of the members but me,” Amodei continued. “I don’t know, so that is the rumor mill from last week.” Amodei said he did not know why Ryan would resign, but suggested the speaker may have accomplished all he set out to do in the House. “I don’t know. If I was just guessing, he wanted to do the tax-cut bill,” Amodei said. “You know, [former Speaker] John Boehner said the thing: ‘Hey, I checked all of the boxes I thought were important and I’m moving on to whatever else.’”
5am – E Russian Diplomats expelled:
- U.S., Allies Expel More Than 100 Russian Envoys for U.K. Attack (Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump ordered 60 Russian diplomats the U.S. considers spies to leave the country and closed Russia’s consulate in Seattle in response to the nerve-agent attack on a former Russian spy in the U.K., as European allies and Canada took similar measures. It’s the largest such expulsion in U.S. history. Worldwide, more than 100 Russian diplomats were sent home in a concerted effort to demonstrate NATO and European resolve to punish President Vladimir Putin’s government for the U.K. attack. European Union nations on Monday expelled 30 people, Ukraine ordered 13 Russians to leave and Canada expelled seven. The expulsions are the most aggressive U.S. move against Russia under Trump, who has sought a closer personal relationship with President Vladimir Putin while at the same time introducing new sanctions against people and entities with ties to the Kremlin.
6am – A/B/C Do agree with new NYCF law that would make it illegal to force employees to respond to email during non-work hours?
- Proposed NYC Law Would Make It Illegal to Force Employees to Respond to Work Emails During Non-Work Hours (NBC) — A New York City bill would make it illegal for employers to demand their workers to respond to work emails during non-work hours. City Councilman Rafael Espinal introduced a bill Thursday that aims to make it illegal for private employees in New York City to be required to check and respond to their work emails or take part in work-related electronic communications during non-work hours. Disconnecting from work would not apply in instances of overtime or in cases of emergencies, according to the proposal. If passed, the bill would also prohibit employers from taking action against employees for not responding to electronic communications. This proposal would apply to an employer with more than 10 workers. Espinal’s proposed legislation is similar to a law passed in France last year. The French law requires businesses with 50 or more employees to negotiate after-hours email rules with their employees, ultimately giving the workers the right to ignore the communications. Similar to France’s law, under Espinal’s bill, employers would also be required to “adopt a written policy regarding the use” of electronic devices for work-related communications during non-work hours. Those found in violation would be subject to $500 for the first offense. There will be an increase in fines for further violations if they occur within a two-year period.
6am – D Interview – ALYSON SATTERWHITE – Prince William County School Board Member – announced her campaign to run for Prince William County School Board Chairman after the departure of previous chair Ryan Sawyers, and her positions on various issues
6am – E ZUCKERBERG CALLED TO TESTIFY
- Senate Judiciary Committee Invites Zuckerberg to Testify on Facebook Privacy (Bloomberg) — Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg was invited to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee next month by Chairman Chuck Grassley as questions mount over its data privacy practices. The invitation asking Zuckerberg to answer questions at an April 10 hearing comes as the Federal Trade Commission confirmed it’s investigating Facebook’s privacy practices after reports the company allowed political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to harvest 50 million users’ data. Two other congressional committees also have invited Zuckerberg to testify, and he has said he’d agree if he is the right person to appear. Grassley, an Iowa Republican, also invited Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to appear before his panel to discuss data privacy. The fallout from disclosures about Cambridge Analytica, which did work for President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, has put Facebook under scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe and battered its stock. Facebook has lost about $100 billion in market value in the past 10 days, and the shares fell as much as 6.5 percent Monday in New York.
6am – F STORMY DANIELS:
- White House’s RAJ SHAH on allegations that Stormy Daniels was threatened: “The president doesn’t believe any of the claims that Ms. Daniels made last night in the interview are accurate.”
- Anderson Cooper’s Stormy Daniels interview draws highest ratings for ’60 Minutes’ in 10 years
- Trump told those close to him Stormy Daniels wasn’t the type of woman he finds attractive
- Stormy Daniels extends strip-club tour and touts her naked web cam service as she capitalizes on her alleged affair with Trump
7am – A INTERVIEW – JAMES CARAFANO – a leading expert in national security and foreign policy challenges, is The Heritage Foundation’s vice president for foreign and defense policy studies @JJCarafano – discussed news that the Trump Administration expelled 60 Russian diplomats in the wake of the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in the U.K, news that North Korean dictator visited China, and the appointment of John Bolton to National Security Advisor
7am – B/C INTERVIEW – Loudoun County Schools Nutrition Services Director DR. BECKY DOMOKOS-BAYS – discussed ongoing efforts by concerned citizens in Loudoun County to eliminate school lunch debt and a fundraiser that is being held to help pay off the debt
- Concerned citizens make move to wipe out school lunch debt in Loudoun Co. (WTOP) — Concerned citizens and a local organization are joining forces for the second year in a row to eliminate school meal debt for Virginia’s Loudoun County public school students. Loudoun County Schools Nutrition Services Director Becky Domokos-Bays said two local residents approached her by phone after learning, through media reports, about a citizen in another district who paid off local school meal debts. “I put those [two] people together, and we noodled it over a bit,” Domokos-Bays said. “They decided working with the Loudoun Education Foundation would be the most efficient way to run the fundraiser.”
- Fundraiser Aims To Pay Off Student Meal Debt in Loudoun County Posted on March 26, 2018 (WMAL) — Kids in Loudoun County Schools owe the school system $20,000 for unpaid meal bills. An effort is now underway to raise enough money in donations to pay off that debt. “While Loudoun is considered the richest county in the United States, there are folks who need help, and I thought it was a great match to work with our local school system to help those who may need some assistance,” said former mayor of Purcellville Bob Lazaro. Lazaro and another parent talked to the school system’s nutrition services director Dr. Becky Domokos-Bays, and she welcomed the help. Now through the end of April the Loudoun Education Foundation is accepting donations. According to the application for free or reduced lunch for the current school year on the school system’s website, kids who come from a family of four with a yearly income of $45,510 or less qualify for free or reduced lunches under federal guidelines. Lazaro said some families make too much to get the assistance, but still struggle financially.
7am – D/E U.S. to add citizenship question in 2020 Census: Commerce Dept (Reuters) – A question about citizenship status will be included on the 2020 Census to help enforce the Voting Rights Act, federal officials said on Monday, but California sued to block the move arguing that it would discourage immigrants from participating. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross decided to add the question to the count after a Department of Justice request based on the desire for better enforcement of the voting law, the U.S. Department of Commerce said in a statement. “Secretary Ross determined that obtaining complete and accurate information to meet this legitimate government purpose outweighed the limited potential adverse impacts,” it said. The census, which is mandated under the U.S. Constitution and takes place every 10 years, counts every resident in the United States. It is used to determine the allocation to states of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and to distribute billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities. Ross said in a memo that the Voting Rights Act requires a tally of citizens of voting age to protect minorities against discrimination, and that getting this information as part of the census would make it more complete. Opponents of a Census question about citizenship status say it could further discourage immigrants from participating in the count, especially when they are already fearful of how information could be used against them.
8am – A INTERVIEW – JOE CONCHA – Media reporter, The Hill – discussed last weekend’s March For Our Lives, the media’s changing estimations of the size of the march, the media obsession with guns, and the media obsession with Stormy Daniels
8am – B/C INTERVIEW – ALAYNA TREENE – Axios Reporter – discussed news that the Trump Administration expelled over 60 Russian diplomats, administrative shakeups in the White House, and rumors over what President Trump plans to do about VA Secretary Shulkin
8am – D INTERVIEW – KELLY LAWLER – Entertainment Writer, USA Today – discussed the reboot of 80s and 90s hit TV show Roseanne and the potential impact of its more conservative nature
- Roseanne was originally broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, with a nine-episode revival season set to premiere on March 27, 2018.
- Roseanne Barr Says Her TV Character Supports Trump: ‘It’s Just Realistic’
- Review: The new ‘Roseanne’ is exactly what you’d expect, for better or worse
8am – E Did Killer Mike Get Played by the NRA? Rapper Apologizes to March for Our Lives Organizers (Variety) — In a drama that played out over the weekend and into Monday morning, outspoken rapper Killer Mike saw an interview that he did with the National Rifle Association’s TV network — in which he advocated for gun rights for black citizens — aired on the network during March for Our Lives on Saturday, giving the impression that he was opposed to the march. He clarified the situation in two Instagram posts on Sunday night, leading with a Senegalese proverb that “there can be no peace without understanding” and citing inspiration from Martin Luther King, he said that he sat for an interview with “people who I might not always agree with,” the NRA, about black gun ownership. “That interview was used a week later by NRA-TV to disparage a very noble campaign that I actually support, March for Our Lives. “I want to say I’m sorry, guys,” he continued. “I’m sorry that an interview I did about a minority — black people in this country — and gun rights was used as a weapon against you guys. That was unfair to you and it was wrong… As you ally, and I am your ally, I want to say that many of the people I organize with were at that march. … I am an ally and an advocate for you always.”
