Gordon Chang, Washington Post’s Scott Allen, and Washington Examiner’s Al Weaver, and Sinclair’s Boris Epsteyn joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

5am – A/B/C Do men think they are smarter than women?

• Men really do think they are more intelligent than their peers, even when tests PROVE that women are as smart (Daily Mail) — It seems men really are more arrogant when it comes to judging their intelligence. A new study has revealed men think they are smarter than their peers, even when compared to women whose grades prove they are just as smart. The study goes some way to explain why men may push for higher salaries when compared to women. It also explains why women are often put off of subjects such as maths and engineering at school. Researchers at Arizona State University (ASU) made the discovery after asking college students enrolled in a 250 strong biology course about their intelligence. Specifically, students were asked to estimate their own intelligence compared to everyone in the class as well as the student they worked most closely with. Experts were surprised to find that women were far more likely to underestimate their own intelligence than men. When comparing a female and a male student, both with a grade point average of 3.3, the male student is likely to say he is smarter than 66 percent of the class. A female student is likely to say she is smarter than only 54 percent of the class.

5am – D         China/Economic News:

• China announces new tariffs on 106 US products, including soy, cars and chemicals (CNBC) — China announced additional tariffs on 106 U.S. products on Wednesday, in a move likely to heighten global concerns of a tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s biggest economies. The effective start date for the new charges was not announced, though China’s Ministry of Commerce said the tariffs are designed to target up to $50 billion of U.S. products annually. The 25 percent levy on U.S. imports includes products such as soybeans, cars and whiskey, Beijing said. The full list can be found here. The move comes less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump unveiled a list of Chinese imports that he aims to target as part of a crackdown on what he deems as unfair trade practices. Sectors covered by Trump’s proposed tariffs include products used for robotics, information technology, communication technology and aerospace. The trade showdown between Washington and Beijing has rattled investors and fueled market fears that the dispute could soon spiral into a full-blown trade war.
• Trump’s top economic adviser says to stop worrying, there’s a ‘pot of gold’ at the end of the trade fight with China (Business Insider) — Larry Kudlow hasn’t been President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser for long, but the former CNBC host already finds himself in the middle of a crisis with China. Kudlow urged caution on Wednesday after the US and China went back and forth with declarations of new tariffs. The increase in trade tensions worried many economists, who said the moves could be the start of a trade war. “Don’t overreact, we’ll see how this works out,” Kudlow said in an appearance on Fox Business. “My view is, look, I’m a growth guy, I’m a Reagan supply-side growth guy. I think at the end of this whole process, the end of the rainbow, there’s a pot of gold.”

5am – E         Proposal would limit when California police can shoot guns. Legislation would change current ‘reasonable force’ to ‘necessary force’ standard (KCRA) — Several lawmakers and the family of a 22-year-old unarmed black man who was fatally shot by police proposed Tuesday that California become the first state to significantly restrict when officers can open fire. The legislation would change the standard from using “reasonable force” to “necessary force.” That means officers would be allowed to shoot only if “there were no other reasonable alternatives to the use of deadly force” to prevent imminent serious injury or death, said Lizzie Buchen, legislative advocate for the American Civil Liberties Union, which is among the groups behind the measure. “We need to ensure that our state policy governing the use of deadly force stresses the sanctity of human life and is only used when necessary,” said Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, a San Diego Democrat who introduced the bill. “Deadly force can be used, but only when it is completely necessary.” The goal is to encourage officers to try to defuse confrontations or use less deadly weapons, said Democratic Assemblyman Kevin McCarty of Sacramento, who is co-authoring the legislation. “We should no longer be the target practice or victims of a shoot first, ask questions later police force,” said Assemblyman Chris Holden, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus. But some in law enforcement called the proposal irresponsible and unworkable. Officers already use deadly force only when necessary and are taught to try to defuse dangerous situations first when possible, said Ed Obayashi, a Plumas County sheriff’s deputy and special prosecutor who trains officers and testifies in court on police use of force.

 
6am – A         Megyn Kelly Shuts Down Stormy’s Lawyer For Not Returning $130k (Daily Caller) — Megyn Kelly ripped apart Michael Avenatti during an interview on NBC Wednesday morning, sharply questioning the key components of his lawsuit for Stormy Daniels. One of Avenatti’s claims is that the hush agreement Daniels signed about her alleged affair with the president is invalid because Trump never signed it. However, Kelly pointed out that the agreement only required either Trump or his lawyer, Michael Cohen, to sign. “[Cohen] could bind himself to that $130,000 and she signed it and she cashed the check,” Kelly argued. Kelly also noted that the agreement required Daniels to turn over any proof she had of the alleged affair, yet Avenatti recently teased a DVD on his Twitter account, implying that Daniels had broken that term of the agreement.

6am – B         Nunes threatens to enforce subpoena over FBI memo that kick-started Russia investigation (Fox News) — Congressional investigators are still facing roadblocks over FBI records, despite promises of cooperation from FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, according to a letter obtained by Fox News on Wednesday. The Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes, wrote that he has been denied a clean copy of the 2016 FBI memo that kick-started the Russia counterintelligence investigation — now known as the special counsel’s Russia probe. “On March 14th, 2018, Committee investigators were given access to a still heavily redacted version of the EC (FBI memo known as an electronic communication), which — as I informed Director Wray the next day via phone — was unsatisfactory,” Nunes, R-Calif., wrote. “On March 23, 2018, FBI’s Assistant Director for Legislative Affairs informed the Committee that FBI would refuse to further unredact the EC (FBI memo) based on its sensitivity. The document in question is not highly classified, and law enforcement sources have apparently not been shy about leaking to the press information that the Department and Bureau refuse to share with Congress.”

6am – C         Washington Nationals News:

• Great Mills High School deputy who confronted shooter to throw 1st pitch at Nationals home opener (Fox 5DC) — The school resource officer who rushed into action during the Great Mills High School shooting will throw out the first pitch for the Washington Nationals’ home opener Thursday. The Nationals announced that Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office will toss the ceremonial first pitch before Washington takes the field at Nationals Park against the New York Mets. Gaskill confronted 17-year-old Austin Rollins after he shot 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey in the head before school began the morning of March 20, according to the sheriff’s office. The bullet that struck Jaelynn also hit 14-year-old Desmond Barnes in the leg, officials stated. Jaelynn later died from her injuries and Desmond was released from the hospital the following day.
• Nationals’ home opener to feature Olympians, giveaways (WTOP) — An Olympian, a Paralympian and a heroic school resource officer will be on hand to help the Washington Nationals start their home season at Nationals Park Thursday. The Nats will play the New York Mets at 1:05 p.m., and the team released the full schedule of Opening Day events on Tuesday. The first pitch will be thrown out by St. Mary’s County, Maryland, Deputy Blaine Gaskill, the school resource officer who confronted the shooter at Great Mills High School on March 20. The Nats’ lineup card will be presented by Olympic speed skater Maame Biney, who grew up in Reston, Virginia, and competed in the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea; and Frederick, Maryland, native Noah Grove, who won a gold medal at the Paralympic Games. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser will be on hand to announce “Play ball!”

6am – D         INTERVIEW – GORDON CHANG – Daily Beast columnist,  author of “The Coming Collapse of China” and “Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World” – discussed the growing tensions with China, the possibility of a trade war, and how America should address the growing threat of China

6am – E         Bill Clinton News:

• Bill Clinton Admits to Interfering in Israeli Election (BreitBart) — Former president Bill Clinton confessed to Israeli television that he tried to help Shimon Peres defeat Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s 1996 general elections. In an interview on Channel 10 news that aired Tuesday, Clinton admitted that he tried to help Peres win the election in a way that didn’t “overtly” implicate him, and that he did so because Peres was more committed than Netanyahu to the so-called peace process, which had suffered a huge blow with the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin six months earlier. “I tried to do it in a way that didn’t overtly involve me,” he said, without expanding on exactly how he intervened. “I did try to be helpful to him [Peres] because I thought he was more supportive of the peace process. And I tried to do it in a way that was consistent with what I believed to be in Israel’s interest, without saying anything about the difference in domestic polices, without anything else.” Despite polls indicating a victory for Peres, Netanyahu ended up narrowly winning the May 1996 vote, with many analysts saying a slew of Palestinian suicide bombings that hit the country turned the electorate toward the right.
• History Channel Scraps Bill Clinton Impeachment Drama Series ‘The Breach’ (Deadline) — History has abandoned its planned scripted drama series from R.J. Cutler based on the Bill Clinton impeachment. The Breach: Inside the Impeachment of Bill Clinton was greenlighted by History in September as a six-part scripted drama series based on Peter Baker’s bestseller The Breach: Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton. Over the past few months, the producers made several offers to A-list actors for the leads, but no one had been cast. A rep for History confirmed that the network is no longer going forward with the project in what was described as a creative decision.

6am – F         Air Force veteran sues after being pulled from ceremony mid-speech (Fox News) — A retired Air Force sergeant who was forcibly removed two years ago from a military retirement ceremony as he recited a traditional passage honoring the flag filed a lawsuit Monday, claiming he was ousted for mentioning the word “God.” Senior Master Sgt. Oscar Rodriguez was invited to speak at an April 3, 2016 ceremony by an outgoing fellow master sergeant from the 749th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. Video of the event showed Rodriguez being physically removed by service members at Travis Air Force Base in California as he was delivering a flag-folding speech. On Monday, two years after the incident, Rodriguez sued the U.S. Air Force, demanding an apology and admission of wrongdoing. In an interview with Fox News, he claimed his First Amendment rights were violated. “This is about my constitutional right,” Rodriguez said of the suit. “I was removed from the speech because my script mentioned God. Air force officials did not want me to utter those words,” he told Fox News. “There was no direct communication between the Air Force and myself to forbid me from making this speech.”

 
7am – A         EPA’s Scott Pruitt pushes back on pay raise, condo controversy in Fox News exclusive (Fox News) — Embattled Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt fired back at critics Wednesday, defending his decision to take a $50 a day condo rental from the wife of a lobbyist and claiming he just found out about a controversial pay raise for two of his staff members. “My staff and I found out about it yesterday and I changed it,” Pruitt told Fox News in an exclusive wide-ranging interview. When pressed to provide specifics, Pruitt said he wasn’t sure who would be held accountable or if the person who authorized the raise was a career EPA employee or a political appointee. “You don’t know? You run the agency. You don’t know who did it?” Fox News’ Ed Henry asked. “I found out this yesterday and I corrected the action and we are in the process of finding out how it took place and correcting it,” Pruitt responded, though he didn’t say if anyone would be fired. In March, Pruitt approached the White House and asked for substantial pay raises for two of his closest aides, Sarah Greenwalt and Millan Hupp. Pruitt asked to bump Greenwalt’s salary to $164,200 from $107,435 and Hupp’s to $114,590 from $86,460. Since the employees were political appointees, the White House needed to sign off on it but refused. According to The Atlantic, someone at the EPA used a little-known provision in the Safe Drinking Water Act to skirt around the White House’s decision and green light Greenwalt and Hupp’s salary increases.

7am – B         Trump signs proclamation sending National Guard to Mexico border immediately (Fox News) — President Trump signed a proclamation Wednesday night to send the National Guard to the southern border immediately, a senior White House official told Fox News, in response to what the administration described as an “unacceptable” flow of drugs, criminal activity and illegal immigrants. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said at the White House press briefing that the signing would be done in conjunction with governors and that the administration hoped the deployment would begin “immediately.”

7am – C         Mueller asking Russian oligarchs about any donations to Trump campaign: report (The Hill) — Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has reportedly questioned whether Russian oligarchs illegally sent cash donations to President Trump’s campaign or inauguration. CNN reported Wednesday that Mueller’s team stopped two oligarchs during recent trips to the U.S. and made a voluntary document and interview request to a third Russian oligarch. In one case, Mueller’s team stopped an individual after his jet landed at a New York airport to search his electronic devices. It is not clear if the second oligarch was searched, CNN reported. The network said the special counsel has intensified its focus on whether money flowed into the U.S. presidential race from Russia. Mueller is reportedly looking into whether the oligarchs themselves donated to Trump’s campaign or inauguration funds, or if they used American citizens as straw donors.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – SCOTT ALLEN – Sports reporter, Washington Post – discussed the Nationals season home opener, what to expect this year, and what’s new at the park this season

• The Nats will play the New York Mets at 1:05 p.m. today
• WASHINGTON POST: Bryce Harper has hit four home runs in three games, and ‘he’s getting even better’
• New at Nats Park for 2018: Alcoholic juice pouches, skewers and Nathan’s hot dogs

7am – E         Durbin demands answers from Sinclair chief about ‘mandated content’ for local news anchors (The Hill) — Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is asking Sinclair Broadcasting Corporation to reveal whether they mandated local news reporters deliver scripted promotional messages on-air or face punishment for refusing. Sinclair, the largest television station operator in the United States, is requiring anchors on its local stations read from a corporate script that blasts national media for “using their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control exactly what people think” while emphasizing that “truth is neither politically ‘left or right.'” Durbin, in a letter sent to a top Sinclair executive on Wednesday, warned that “this practice not only compromises the ability of local reporters to serve the unique interests of their viewers, but it undercuts the journalistic integrity of local news anchors who are required to deliver corporate-scripted messages, at times without providing a disclaimer of their source.” According to Durbin, the corporate messages that Sinclair reportedly instructed journalists at its member stations to read “exactly as they are written” also contradict November 2017 claims by Sinclair executives to his office that the company never mandates specific content and always identifies sources.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – AL WEAVER – political reporter for the Washington Examiner – discussed the possibility of the GOP rescinding some of the spending that Congress appropriated in the omnibus spending bill, the uphill fight for President Trump to pass tough border legislation, and the controversy over the President’s decision to use military troops on the southern border

• GOP leaders may rescind some spending: WASHINGTON

• Trump’s Idea for Military to Secure Border Is Complicated. President could face congressional and legal stumbling blocks
• Trump’s demand for tough border bill faces big hurdles in Congress

8am – B         Facebook News:

• Facebook: ‘Malicious actors’ used its tools to discover identities and collect data.
• Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify to Congress next week about Cambridge Analytica. Mark Zuckerberg will face US lawmakers on April 11
• Zuckerberg: Facebook made a “huge mistake” — but I can fix it
• ZUCKERBERG: YOU’VE BEEN SCRAPED (CNBC) — Zuckerberg says most Facebook users should assume they have had their public info scraped.

8am – C         Robert Griffin III, Ravens agree on one-year contract (NFL) — Robert Griffin III is back on an NFL roster. The Baltimore Ravens announced Wednesday they agreed to a one-year contract with RGIII. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reports Griffin’s deal has a base salary of $1 million and the quarterback will also receive a small bonus upon signing. “He came in last week, worked out. Had a real good workout and we were able to come to an agreement late yesterday. He will probably be here early next week to sign the deal,” general manager Ozzie Newsome said. Griffin, 28, sat out the entire 2017 season after being cut by the Cleveland Browns last March. Griffin’s last start came Jan. 1, 2017 (Week 17 of 2016 season) in a Browns loss to Steelers. The QB completed 72.5 percent of his passes for 232 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, his best game of that season. The Ravens have been in the market for a backup quarterback to Joe Flacco, with Josh Woodrum the only other signal-caller on the roster. The Ravens kicked the tires on RGIII last offseason but did not sign the QB. “He’s a very talented quarterback who’s had a lot of success in this league early on,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “So we’re excited about it. We felt like we needed a No. 2 quarterback. You look at the veteran quarterbacks out there … I mean, where we’re at right now, I’m pretty excited about this player. I’m really feeling like we got a steal.”

8am – D         INTERVIEW – BORIS EPSTEYN – Chief Political Analyst for Sinclair Broadcast Group – reacted to the ongoing controversy over a ‘must-run’ anti-false news message that Sinclair Broadcast Group had all of its local affiliates cover on-air, and defended the company’s decision to run the message

8am – E         Entertainment News:

• Steven Spielberg teases gender-swapped Indiana Jones: ‘There would be nothing wrong with that’ (Washington Times) — Director Steven Spielberg burnished his “social justice warrior” credentials this week by teasing the possibility of a female Indiana Jones coming to theaters soon. In an interview with the U.K. Sun to promote his adaptation of writer Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One,” the iconic Hollywood director responsible for movie classics such as “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Jurassic Park” said Harrison Ford’s famous character is due for a gender swap. “Spielberg nodded when asked if this new-look Jones could be female, and added: ‘We’d have to change the name from Jones to Joan. And there would be nothing wrong with that,’” the Sun reported. “This will be Harrison Ford’s last Indiana Jones movie, I am pretty sure, but it will certainly continue after that.”
• TV Ratings: ‘Roseanne’ Draws 15.2 Million Viewers in Week 2 (Variety) — ABC’s revival of “Roseanne” slipped double digits from its premiere last week but still dominated broadcast on Tuesday night in the overnight ratings. “Roseanne” averaged a 3.9 rating in adults 18-49 and 15.2 million viewers. The first two episodes of “Roseanne,” airing back-to-back last week, stunned industry analysts when they averaged a 5.2 and 18.4 million viewers between them. That means this week’s episode was down 25% in the demo and 17% in total viewers. However, only one episode aired this week and it was always likely that it would see some kind of decline. The “Roseanne” bump translated into a good night for “The Middle,” which was up significantly airing immediately after the revival with a 2.2 and 8.3 million viewers. That is a new season high in both measures for the comedy series. “Black-ish” (1.5, 5.4 million) and “Splitting Up Together” (1.4, 4.8 million) both came down from the increases they saw thanks to “Roseanne” last week, but were still the top shows in their half hour time slots in the key demo. “For the People” drew a 0.8 and 2.8 million viewers at 10.