Syndicated columnist Cal Thomas, Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, South Mountain Creamery farmer Randy Sowers, ABC News political director Rick Klein, and Montgomery Co. executive Ike Leggett joined WMAL on Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C Cities’ offers for Amazon base are secrets even to many city leaders (New York Times) – Jared Evans, a member of the Indianapolis City-County Council, is proud that the city is among 20 finalists for one of the most coveted prizes in the country: the planned second headquarters of Amazon.  He does, however, have one small question: What financial incentives did his city dangle in front of Amazon?  “What have I been told?” Mr. Evans said. “Absolutely nothing.”  Across the country, the search for HQ2, as the project has been nicknamed, is shrouded in secrecy. Even civic leaders can’t find out what sort of tax credits and other inducements have been promised to Amazon. And there is a growing legal push to find out, because taxpayers could get saddled with a huge bill and have little chance to stop it.

5am – D/E Rick Gates forced to admit extramarital affair as Manafort’s defense team attacks his credibility (Washington Post) – The courtroom showdown between Paul Manafort and his former right-hand man, Rick Gates, grew painfully personal Tuesday as a defense lawyer forced Gates, the prosecution’s star witness, to admit he had a transatlantic extramarital affair and embezzled money to live beyond his means.  During his second day on the witness stand, Gates detailed the lies, phony documents and fake profits he claims to have engineered at Manafort’s direction. Manafort, seated at the defense table, at times stared intently at his former protege and business partner, who has assiduously avoided Manafort’s gaze despite their proximity inside the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va.

6am – A Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO, defends decision not to ban Alex Jones, Infowars (Washington Times) – Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is defending his company’s decision not to ban right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his “Infowars” show.  Dorsey’s remarks, in a series of tweets late Tuesday, came after other tech companies removed Jones‘ content for violating hate speech policies.  Dorsey said Twitter didn’t suspend Jones or “Infowars” because “he hasn’t violated our rules. We’ll enforce if he does.”

6am – B Plain White T’s turning 2006 hit ‘Hey There Delilah’ into TV series (Rolling Stone) – The Plain White T’s hit “Hey There Delilah” is getting adapted into a scripted television series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  The band is transforming the song into a romantic comedy about a long-distance relationship. Described as a “contemporary fairy tale,” the show will reportedly expand the song’s story of a struggling musician promising his long-distance partner that once she graduates school, they’ll be together.

6am – C Sleeping more than 8 hours a night could increase risk of death: study (CTV News) – New U.K. research has found that sleeping longer than the recommended amount could be bad for your health. More than eight hours of shut-eye is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death, compared to sleeping less than seven hours.  Led by researchers from Keele University, along with colleagues at the University of Manchester, the University of Leeds and the University of East Anglia, the new analysis looked at 74 studies which investigated the link between sleep duration and sleep quality and the risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease.

6am – D INTERVIEW – Cal Thomas – syndicated columnist – discussed Ohio special election results and Iran sanctions          

6am – E Trump’s commerce secretary Wilbur Ross is accused of improperly siphoning $120 MILLION from his business partners – and even taking Sweet ‘n’ Low from a restaurant to save cash (Daily Mail) – Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is alleged to have siphoned off $120 million from business partners over years in Wall Street, taking smaller amounts at a time and settling a lawsuit which accused him of graft, it emerged Tuesday.  He was accused by one former colleague of being a ‘pathological liar’ and by another of putting Sweet’N Low packets in his pockets at a restaurant to savehim buying his own.

6am – F Feds compel dairy farmers to label natural milk ‘Imitation Milk Product’ (WJLA 7) – A Maryland creamery is suing the federal government over what it’s telling them to put in their “all-natural” milk.  The farmers refuse to pour vitamin serum into their milk. So, the government says it must be labelled “imitation milk product.”  For more than 30 years, early every morning, farm owners Randy and Karen Sowers have been milking more than 100 dairy cows.  Later in the morning, their employees at South Mountain Creamery in Middletown, Maryland sanitize and bottle the milk.

7am – A Trump proposal would limit citizenship for legal immigrants on welfare (Axios) – The Trump administration is finalizing a plan to make it more difficult for legal immigrants who have used certain welfare programs — including Obamacare, children’s health insurance, and food stamps — to obtain citizenship or green cards, according to NBC News.  Why it matters: Hardline policy adviser Stephen Miller has been leading the charge to scale back legal immigration for some time. According to NBC, the proposal would not need Congressional approval and would mark the biggest change to the legal immigration system in decades.

7am – B/C INTERVIEW – Peter Doocy – Fox News correspondent – discussed Manafort trial

7am – D NFL’s first male cheerleaders will take to the sidelines for the first time with the LA Rams and New Orleans Saints (Daily Mail) – Male cheerleaders will spur on NFL teams alongside women for the first time in the league’s history.  Three men will join the cheer squads on the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints for the 2018 season, which starts pre-season games this weekend.  Dancers Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies joined the Rams in March and have been training with the squad ahead of its first game.  ‘Still can’t believe I’m one of the first males in history to be a pro NFL cheerleader! Everyone’s support and love has been insane!’ he wrote.

7am – E Mom in labor tests positive for opiates after eating poppy seed bagel (New York Post) – A Maryland woman has discovered that eating a poppy seed bagel before giving birth carries serious consequences.  Elizabeth Eden told WBAL-TV in Baltimore she was in labor in April when a doctor told her she had tested positive for opiates and she had been reported to the state. The test result mean Eden’s daughter had to stay in the hospital for five days while her mother was assigned a caseworker.

8am – A INTERVIEW – Randy Sowers – South Mountain Creamery in Middletown, Maryland – discussed recent dairy and milk regulations and how it affects his business 

8am – B/C INTERVIEW – Rick Klein – ABC News political director – discussed Tuesday’s primaries     

8am – D INTERVIEW – Ike Leggett – Montgomery County executive – discussed latest on Montgomery’s Amazon HQ2 bid

8am – E LSAT prep test publisher to remove questions calling Trump ‘unfit,’ tax cheat: report (The Hill) – The publisher of a book to help students prepare for the law school aptitude test is removing disparaging references to President Trump in a new version being published this week, according to according to The College Fix.  The student-reported news site said the changes stem from an article it published about direct and indirect references to Trump in “LSAT Prep Book,” published by the Windham Press imprint Test Prep Books.