Mornings on the Mall 09.19.19 / Srilekha Palle, KT McFarland, Tim Murtaugh, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt

 Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

Fairfax candidate Srilekha Palle, former Trump Deputy National Security Adviser KT McFarland, Trump 2020 campaign’s Tim Murtaugh and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt joined WMAL on Thursday!

5am – A/B/C Navy confirms videos did capture UFO sightings, but it calls them by another name. The U.S. Navy doesn’t know exactly what the “unidentified aerial phenomena” seen in the videos are. Three videos posted online that have been described as being related to UFO sightings do indeed include footage of “unidentified aerial phenomena,” a U.S. Navy spokesman confirmed. But as for specifics, spokesman Joseph Gradisher said the Navy doesn’t know exactly what the objects are. “The three videos (one from 2004 and two from 2015) show incursions into our military training ranges by unidentified aerial phenomena,” Gradisher told NBC News in an emailed statement. “The Navy has characterized the observed phenomena as unidentified,” he said.

5am – D         NYT reporters claim Kavanaugh agreed to be interviewed ‘if they wrote they didn’t talk with him’ (Fox News) – The New York Times reporters behind the controversial piece about Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh claimed on Wednesday night that he had agreed to be interviewed for their book under the condition that they write that they didn’t speak with him. Appearing at a National Press Club event in Washington D.C., Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly, the co-authors of the new book “The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation,” said Kavanaugh was willing to sit down with the them, but ultimately fell through because of his demand. “Brett Kavanaugh agreed to talk to @katekelly and @rpogrebin for their book – If they wrote that they didn’t talk to him,” National Press Club president Allison Kodjak tweeted. “The authors – who told the story tonight @PressClubDC, refused and walked away from the interview.” Fox News did not get an immediate response from Kavanaugh’s office. Last weekend, the New York Times walked back an explosive report about a resurfaced allegation of sexual assault by Kavanaugh from his college days. The piece by Pogrebin and Kelly, adapted from their book, alleged there was corroboration of an incident in which Kavanaugh, as a college student at Yale, exposed himself to a female classmate at a party.

5am – E         NATIONAL SECURITY NEWS:

NEW NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER

• Trump taps Robert C. O’Brien to replace John Bolton as national security adviser. (Washington Post) – President Trump named Robert C. O’Brien as his new national security adviser Wednesday as he seeks to realign his staff and temper internal divisions following the turbulent reign of former national security adviser John Bolton. The appointment of O’Brien solidifies the status of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as the most influential foreign policy voice in the administration. Pompeo has known O’Brien for years and backed his ascension to the job after battling with Bolton over an array of policy issues on Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea, U.S. officials said. O’Brien, who served as the nation’s top hostage negotiator, will now take on a far more daunting set of responsibilities as Trump’s fourth national security adviser. He takes over amid escalating tensions with Iran, a high-stakes trade war with China and concerns about whether he wields enough clout to forge consensus among the U.S. government’s competing egos and agencies. But officials said they hoped his friendly demeanor and experience as a lawyer could bring more stability and collegiality to an often chaotic policymaking process going into the 2020 election.
• Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump  20h20 hours ago I am pleased to announce that I will name Robert C. O’Brien, currently serving as the very successful Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department, as our new National Security Advisor. I have worked long & hard with Robert. He will do a great job!
• President Trump: “Mr. O’Brien is highly respected. He was highly respected by so many people that I didn’t even know really knew him.”
• ELI LAKE: Trump’s Replacement for Bolton Is Also a Hawk

NEW IRAN SANCTIONS:

• Trump orders new Iran sanctions after Saudi attack. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he ordered the Treasury Department to “substantially increase” sanctions on Iran.  Trump’s announcement follows strikes Saturday on the world’s largest crude-processing plant and oil field in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. accused Iran of carrying out the attacks. It was not immediately clear what steps the president directed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to take. Asked about the sanctions later Wednesday during stops in California, the president told reporters he would announce details over the next 48 hours. The Treasury Department, White House and State Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests to comment.The strikes triggered the largest spike in crude prices in decades and renewed concerns of a budding conflict in the Middle East. All the while, Iran maintains that it was not behind the attacks.
• Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 20h20 hours ago I have just instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to substantially increase Sanctions on the country of Iran!
• POMPEO CALLS SAUDI ATTACK “AN ACT OF WAR” (Fox News) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described the weekend bombing on Saudi oil facilities as an “act of war” and called it an “Iranian attack” on one of the world’s largest oil processing facilities. Pompeo, speaking from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, said that even if the “fraudulent claims” of responsibility by the Yemen Houthis rebels were true, “it doesn’t change the fingerprints of the Ayatollah as having put at risk the global energy supply.”
• Zarif threatens ‘all-out war’ in case of military strike on Iran. Tehran, Iran (CNN) Iran’s foreign minister has raised the specter of “all-out war” in the event of US or Saudi military strikes and that Saudi Arabia would have to fight “to the last American soldier.” Javad Zarif told CNN that Iran hoped to avoid conflict, adding that the country was willing to talk to its regional rivals Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. But the possibility of a return to negotiations with the US, however, would not happen unless Washington provided full sanctions relief as promised under the 2015 nuclear deal, Tehran’s top diplomat said.He again denied Tehran’s involvement in weekend attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, which dramatically ratcheted up tensions in the region this week. Zarif said Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who claimed responsibility for the attack, have stepped up their military capabilities and are capable of conducting a sophisticated operation such as the one that knocked out half of the kingdom’s energy production.
• U.S. Satellites Detected Iran Readying Weapons Ahead Of Saudi Strike, Officials Say. U.S. surveillance satellites detected Iran readying drones and missiles at launch sites in Iran before Saudi oil facilities were attacked on Saturday, according to two Defense Department officials.
• The imagery has not been publicly released. The officials tell NPR that U.S. intelligence views the activity as “circumstantial evidence” that Iran launched the strike from its own soil. audi Aramco has said the attacks on its plants in Abqaiq and Khurais were “a result of terrorist attacks with projectiles.” Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack, but U.S. officials have accused Iran of playing a key role. Iran has denied any involvement. The two officials say the U.S. Defense Department has sent a forensic team to Saudi Arabia to examine wreckage of drones and missiles used in the attack. Intelligence experts say the outcome of those examinations could provide “compelling and convincing” evidence that Iran was behind the attack.
• Iran’s Rouhani may cancel U.N. visit if U.S. visa not issued soon: state media. DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani may cancel his trip to New York next week for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations if the United States fails to issue visas for him and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in the next few hours, state media said on Wednesday. Longtime U.S.-Iran strains have worsened since U.S. President Donald Trump last year quit a 2015 international agreement for Iran to curb its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. Tensions have escalated in recent months after attacks on tankers in the Gulf and Saudi oil facilities that the United States blames on Iran.

6am – A         Justin Trudeau Wore Brownface at 2001 ‘Arabian Nights’ Party While He Taught at a Private School. (Time) — Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, wore brownface makeup to a party at the private school where he was teaching in the spring of 2001. TIME has obtained a photograph of the incident. The photograph has not been previously reported. The picture was taken at an “Arabian Nights”-themed gala. It shows Trudeau, then the 29-year-old son of the late former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, wearing a turban and robes with his face, neck and hands completely darkened. The photograph appears in the 2000-2001 yearbook of West Point Grey Academy, a private day school where Trudeau was a teacher. Earlier this month, TIME obtained a copy of the yearbook, The View, with the photograph of Trudeau in brownface from Vancouver businessman Michael Adamson, who was part of the West Point Grey Academy community. Adamson was not at the party, which was attended by school faculty, administrators and parents of students. He said that he first saw the photograph in July and felt it should be made public.

6am – B/C     DEM POLLING: WARREN RISING, BIDEN AT NEW LOW IN POLLS:

• Fox News Poll: Biden at new low in Democratic primary race. There is both good news and bad news for former Vice President Joe Biden, according to a new Fox News Poll. Most Democratic primary voters still consider him the candidate that has the best chance of defeating President Trump in 2020 and bringing the White House back to the Democratic Party. But Biden’s support is at a new low. He captures the support of 29 percent of Democratic primary voters, the poll says. That’s down 2 points since last month and down 6 points since May when he was at a high of 35 percent support. His current 11-point lead is down from a high of 19 points in June. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., climbs back into second with 18 percent (up 8 points since August), followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., at 16 percent (down 4), forming the clearest top-three candidate tier seen in the race to date.
• Democratic primary voters more enthusiastic about Warren than Biden: NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. (Fox News) — Joe Biden remains the front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, but a new national survey indicates Sen. Elizabeth Warren tops the former vice president by double digits when it comes to enthusiasm. Thirty-five percent of likely Democratic primary voters questioned in a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll said they’re enthusiastic about voting for the populist senator from Massachusetts who’s put out one progressive policy proposal after another. That’s a dozen percentage points ahead of the 23 percent who said they were enthusiastic about voting for the former vice president. And Warren — who’s been on a steady rise in both national and early primary and caucus voting state polling the last five months — also gets the most second-choice support, with 21 percent of Democratic primary voters saying she would be their second choice in the record-setting field of roughly 20 White House hopefuls. The poll’s Tuesday release came a day after an estimated crowd of up to 20,000 people showed up to see Warren at a rally in New York City.

6am – D/E     CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS:

• NBC News Asks Americans To Confess Their Climate Change Sins. (Daily Caller) – NBC News is asking Americans to confess their climate change sins, though at least some people have taken the opportunity to troll the news company. “Even those who care deeply about the planet’s future can slip up now and then. Tell us: Where do you fall short in preventing climate change?” reads the introduction to NBC’s “Climate Confessions” project. Many of the responses appear to take the project seriously. One person confessed taking flights to see their son across the country. “I fly to see my son on the west coast. I live on the east,” reads the confession. “I drive to work even though the bus is almost as fast. I often feel I have good excuses,” another person confessed. “I wish I had been born a vegan and then maybe it would be easier. I can’t seem to give up meat,” another confession stated. One person apparently used the project to tout their virtuousness, rather than confess their climate sins. “I LOVE meat. But I love the earth more. Vegan for over 4 years now,” they wrote. Others appear to have taken the opportunity to troll NBC over the project. One such entry reads: “I require at least half a roll of TP when wiping.”
• ‘Absolute theological bankruptcy’: Union Theological Seminary students confess climate sins to plants. (Washington Examiner) – Students at Union Theological Seminary prayed to a display of plants set up in the chapel of the school, prompting the institution to issue a statement explaining the practice as many on social media mocked them. “Today in chapel, we confessed to plants,” the nation’s oldest independent seminary declared Tuesday on Twitter. “Together, we held our grief, joy, regret, hope, guilt and sorrow in prayer; offering them to the beings who sustain us but whose gift we too often fail to honor. What do you confess to the plants in your life?” The ceremony, which is part of professor Claudio Carvalhaes’ class “Extractivism: A Ritual/Liturgical Response,” drew ridicule from many on Twitter, some of whom accused the seminary and students of having lost their minds. In response, the seminary’s Twitter account began retweeting users who defended the ritual and also issued a statement spanning a lengthy 10-tweet thread. Chief Political Correspondent Byron York on the expanded Washington Examiner magazine  “We’ve had many questions about yesterday’s chapel,” the statement read in part. “In worship, our community confessed the harm we’ve done to plants, speaking directly in repentance. This is a beautiful ritual.” “We are in the throes of a climate emergency, a crisis created by humanity’s arrogance, our disregard for Creation,” the statement continued. “Far too often, we see the natural world only as resources to be extracted for our use, not divinely created in their own right—worthy of honor, thanks and care. We need to unlearn habits of sin and death. And part of that work must be building new bridges to the natural world. And that means creating new spiritual and intellectual frameworks by which we understand and relate to the plants and animals with whom we share the planet.” Encouraging churches to turn from “theologies that encourage humans to dominate and master the Earth,” Union asserted that “we must birth new theology, new liturgy to heal and sow, replacing ones that reap and destroy.” Confessing to the plants was “just one expression of worship here at Union,” a spokesperson for the seminary told the Washington Examiner. “Union Theological Seminary is grounded in the Christian tradition, and at the same time deeply committed to inter-religious engagement. Union’s daily chapel is, by design, a place where people from all the wondrous faith traditions at Union can express their beliefs. And, given the incredible diversity of our community, that means worship looks different every day!”
• Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg demands that Congress ‘listen to the scientists.’ Greta Thunberg to lawmakers: ‘Listen to the scientists’ (Washington Post) – A 16-year-old Swedish climate activist demanded Wednesday that Congress “listen to the scientists” who were sounding the alarm on the threat of global warming. Rather than offer prepared remarks to the House Climate Crisis Committee and a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, Greta Thunberg said she was attaching as testimony a landmark 2018 United Nations report that warned of dire consequences for the planet if the atmosphere warmed to greater than 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. The document, prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said world governments would need to take “unprecedented” action to reduce carbon emissions to stave off the worst effects of global warming. “I am submitting this report as my testimony because I don’t want you to listen to me, I want you to listen to the scientists,” Thunberg said. “I want you to unite behind science. And then I want you to take real action. Thank you.” Thunberg was joined by her fellow young climate activists Jamie Margolin, a co-founder of the Zero Hour youth climate campaign, Vic Barrett of Alliance for Climate Education, and Benji Backer of the American Conservation Coalition. “My generation has been committed to a planet that is collapsing,” Margolin said. “Youth climate activism should not have to exist.” Her testimony came shortly after the Trump administration announced it would move to revoke California’s ability to require stricter auto emissions standards. The pollution generated by automobiles is known to be a significant contributor to the planet’s warming.
• LIST OF FAILED CLIMATE DOOMSDAY PREDICTIONS FROM THE LAST 50 YEARS (CEI) – More than merely spotlighting the failed predictions, this collection shows that the makers of failed apocalyptic predictions often are individuals holding respected positions in government and science.
• Trump revokes waiver for California to set higher auto emissions standards. Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he was revoking California’s authority to set its own vehicle emission standards, the latest move in the Trump administration’s ongoing fight with the Golden State and attempts to chip away at former President Barack Obama’s environmental legacy. “The Trump Administration is revoking California’s Federal Waiver on emissions in order to produce far less expensive cars for the consumer, while at the same time making the cars substantially SAFER,” Trump tweeted.

6am – F         Trump Administration Awarded Grants To Illegal Immigrant Advocacy Organization. (Daily Caller) – The Trump administration has awarded nearly $1 million in grants to an illegal immigrant advocacy organization that has directly worked to undermine enforcement efforts at the southern border. Casa De Maryland is a nonprofit organization that assists illegal immigrants in finding employment and mobilizes against restrictionist immigration policies, including the Trump administration’s move to terminate the Flores settlement and forge partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In 2018, Casa De Maryland joined a group of organizations suing the Trump administration for its attempt to add a citizenship question to the U.S. Census. Despite the fact that Casa De Maryland has consistently tried to undermine the administration’s immigration policies and has arguably flouted federal law by encouraging employers to hire illegal immigrants, the organization has consistently received a significant amount of its funding from local, state, and federal government contracts. According to a review of Casa De Maryland’s 990 nonprofit forms, it received $3.87 million in government contracts in fiscal year 2014, $3.58 million in FY 2015, and $4.04 million in FY 2016, accounting for approximately half of its yearly revenue. A decent chunk of the change has made its way to Casa De Maryland from the Trump administration. The Department of Labor, for example, awarded the organization a $131,720 grant in September 2017 through the “Susan Harwood” program, which provides occupational hazard training to employees and employers. Casa De Maryland has been receiving grants of similar amounts through the same program since 2011, all while running day laborer programs that help employers hire illegal immigrants and presumably undercut legal workers. Casa De Maryland received $849,939 from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in October 2017 for community crime reduction projects, despite Casa De Maryland’s efforts to cancel local 287(g) programs that train law enforcement officers to detain criminally accused illegal immigrants on behalf of ICE. In Frederick, MD, the program has been responsible for the deportation of 1,500 criminals, including 110 gang members since 2011. The Department of Labor and the Department of Justice did not return a request for comment on their respective funding of Casa De Maryland.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – SRILEKHA PALLE  – (Sree-LAY-kuh PAH-lay) – an immigrant from India and Republican nominee for Sully District Supervisor in Fairfax County, Virginia. Her official website is PalleForSully.com; follow her on Twitter: @PalleForSully.

• Srilekha Palle Blasts Kathy Smith’s “Sanctuary” Pledge. GOP nominee for Sully District Supervisor Srilekha Palle blasted incumbent Democrat Kathy Smith’s full embrace of additional “sanctuary” measures for Virginia’s Fairfax County.  Smith recently signed the ACLU “People Power Fairfax” pledge to “limit information sharing with ICE to the maximum extent possible consistent with state and federal law.” Smith additionally vowed to oppose cooperation with ICE detainers for the handover of removable criminal aliens.  “By signing this pledge, Kathy Smith has vowed to endanger the public,” Palle said today. “Officials who ‘resist’ ICE claim to be in solidarity with immigrants – and they want to be rewarded with our votes. As a lawful immigrant, and now a U.S. citizen, let me be very clear: these officials are doing us no favors. Overwhelmingly, the victims of criminal aliens are themselves immigrants.”  Born and raised in India, Palle has lived in America for 20 years (15 years in Fairfax County). For six years, Palle served as president of the Hindu Durga Temple of Virginia, located in Fairfax Station.

7am – B/C     American Airlines mechanic who allegedly sabotaged plane has ISIS ties, prosecutor says. (NBC News) – The 60-year-old man, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Iraq, allegedly had ISIS videos on his phone and a witness said he claimed to have a brother in ISIS. A Miami aircraft maintenance worker who allegedly tampered with an American Airlines plane over the summer has possible terrorist ties with the Islamic State, prosecutors said in court Wednesday. Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, 60, is being held without bond after a judge ruled that Alani posed a flight risk after prosecutors argued that the mechanic had a brother who was a member of ISIS. Alani, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Iraq who has worked as an airline mechanic for 30 years, allegedly had ISIS propaganda on his phone, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Medetis said.  A video depicting people being shot was allegedly sent from his phone. Alani also told the individual he sent the video to that he wanted Allah to cause harm to non-Muslims, prosecutors say. Two witnesses also told prosecutors that Alani mentioned to them he had a brother who was in ISIS, but gave conflicting accounts according to the prosecutor. An American Airlines coworker claimed that Alani said he had to go to Iraq to visit a brother who was a member of ISIS, but a roommate alleged Alani said he had to go because his brother was kidnapped.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – KT MCFARLAND – Former Deputy National Security Adviser for President Trump and she also worked in Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations.

• Trump taps Robert C. O’Brien to replace John Bolton as national security adviser
• Trump orders new Iran sanctions after Saudi attack. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he ordered the Treasury Department to “substantially increase” sanctions on Iran.  Trump’s announcement follows strikes Saturday on the world’s largest crude-processing plant and oil field in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. accused Iran of carrying out the attacks.

7am – E         PRINCESS BRIDE REMAKE OUTRAGE:

• Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra says that “very famous people whose names I won’t use” want to redo Norman Lear’s ‘The Princess Bride’  “We have so many people coming to us saying, ‘We want to remake this show or that show,’” Vinciquerra says. “Very famous people whose names I won’t use, but they want to redo ‘The Princess Bride.’ Some people want to do animated versions of some of the sitcoms. Not a month goes by when we don’t have an idea coming from some very big name wanting to do things with Norman.”
• ‘The Princess Bride’ remake idea has people crying inconceivable
• ‘Princess Bride’ star says remaking film ‘would be a pity’: Cary Elwes @Cary_Elwes There’s a shortage of perfect movies in this world. It would be a pity to damage this one.
• EVEN SEN. TED CRUZ WEIGHED IN: Ted Cruz @tedcruz NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Sonny, The Princess Bride is the greatest thing, in the world—except for a nice MLT, mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe. They’re so perky, I love that. DON’T MESS WITH PERFECTION.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – TIM MURTAUGH – Trump 2020 Director of Communications – discussed President Trump’s CA trip and the latest polling on the 2020 Democratic field.

• Trump revokes waiver for California to set higher auto emissions standards. Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he was revoking California’s authority to set its own vehicle emission standards, the latest move in the Trump administration’s ongoing fight with the Golden State and attempts to chip away at former President Barack Obama’s environmental legacy.
• President Trump goes on $15M fundraising blitz in California, irritating liberals and Hollywood elites. (Fox News) – President Trump sent liberal California activists into a tizzy on Tuesday, as he executed a lunch-dinner-breakfast-lunch fundraising blitz expected to scoop up $15 million from wealthy Republicans in the state in the span of just two days.
• Trump visits border wall construction in California to cap three-day trip.  (The Hill) – OTAY MESA, Calif. — President Trump on Wednesday visited a portion of wall being constructed here along the U.S.-Mexico border, where he bragged of the barrier’s effectiveness while also arguing the flow of migrants and drugs must be cut further.  “This is certainly a tremendous national emergency,” Trump told reporters as he stood in front of a 30-foot tall barrier. He was joined by acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan and other border officials, who echoed the president in describing the importance of the barrier.
• Trump says EPA to slap San Francisco with violations related to homeless population. (Fox News) – President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday that within a week, his administration will slap San Francisco with a notice of environmental violations related to the city’s homelessness problem. Trump made the remarks while returning to Washington, D.C., after a two-day fundraising trip to California. Trump said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will give San Francisco a notice related to the “tremendous” amount of pollution flowing into the ocean from the city’s storm sewers, Reuters reported.
• Fox News Poll: Biden at new low in Democratic primary race. There is both good news and bad news for former Vice President Joe Biden, according to a new Fox News Poll. Most Democratic primary voters still consider him the candidate that has the best chance of defeating President Trump in 2020 and bringing the White House back to the Democratic Party. But Biden’s support is at a new low. He captures the support of 29 percent of Democratic primary voters, the poll says. That’s down 2 points since last month and down 6 points since May when he was at a high of 35 percent support.
• Democratic primary voters more enthusiastic about Warren than Biden: NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. (Fox News) — Joe Biden remains the front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, but a new national survey indicates Sen. Elizabeth Warren tops the former vice president by double digits when it comes to enthusiasm. Thirty-five percent of likely Democratic primary voters questioned in a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll said they’re enthusiastic about voting for the populist senator from Massachusetts who’s put out one progressive policy proposal after another.

8am – B/C     ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:

• TAYLOR SWIFT HAS OBAMA NOSTALGIA: Taylor Swift: ‘We Were in Such an Amazing Time When Obama was President’ (Breitbart News) – Pop megastar Taylor Swift heaped praise on former President Barack Obama, saying in a new interview that his presidency represented an “amazing time” because foreign countries “respected us.” “We were in such an amazing time when Obama was president because foreign nations respected us. We were so excited to have this dignified person in the White House. My first election was voting for him when he made it into office, and then voting to re-elect him,” the country pop megastar said in a Rolling Stone interview published Wednesday to promote her latest album, “Lover.” Taylor Swift added that she is now obsessed with politics.  “Really, I keep trying to learn as much as I can about politics, and it’s become something I’m now obsessed with, whereas before, I was living in this sort of political ambivalence, because the person I voted for had always won,” she said. The pop star talked about a range of topics in the Rolling Stone interview, including her career and personal life. At one point, the interviewer asked her thoughts about the time a white-supremacist site suggested the singer was “on their team.” “I didn’t even see that, but, like, if that happened, that’s just disgusting,” Swift said. “There’s literally nothing worse than white supremacy. It’s repulsive. There should be no place for it.”
• First Dates Announced for Whitney Houston Hologram Tour | Billboard News. The Whitney Houston Hologram Tour Will Begin in January 2020. The tour will start overseas, then head to North America in the fall of 2020. Whitney Houston’s fans will always love her ⁠— and now, seven years after her tragic death, they’ll have a chance to see her in concert once again. A new hologram tour that’ll feature a digitized version of the late diva belting her chart-topping hits will hit the road in 2020, first overseas and then later across North America. The show, called “An Evening with Whitney,” will cover all of the star’s most famous hits, including “I Will Always Love You,” “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),” and “The Greatest Love of All,” all of which will be backed by a live band, back-up singers and dancers.
• CHELSEA HANDLER NEEDED THERAPY TO INTERVIEW: Comedian Chelsea Handler indicated on Wednesday that she needed psychotherapy in order to calmly interview conservatives about white privilege. She made those comments on “The View” where she discussed her new documentary “Hello Privilege. It’s Me, Chelsea.” According to Netflix, the documentary shows Handler “explor[ing] how white privilege impacts American culture — and the ways it’s benefited her own life and career.”
• Kevin Spacey’s Accuser Dies In The Middle Of Sexual Assault Lawsuit (Daily Caller) – A man who accused Kevin Spacey of sexual assault has died. No details of the accuser’s death have been released, according to a report published Wednesday by The Hollywood Reporter. A notice of the accuser’s death was filed in court by Spacey’s lawyers.
• Kris Jenner Was Rushed to the Hospital After Being Tackled By Kim Kardashian’s Security Team. (InStyle) – As if this season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians wasn’t wild enough already (we’ll take Kim’s “humanitarian ho” comment about Kourtney and raise you a Scott Disick/Corey Gamble verbal showdown), it appears that next episode will explore Kris Jenner’s dramatic hospital trip. In a preview for Sunday’s episode, we caught a glimpse of the KarJenner matriarch resting on a stretcher as a hysterical Kim rushed to her side. But any initial “WTF” musings were soon replaced with a much louder and more urgent “W!T!F!” when we saw the latest teaser for the episode. The new clip reveals how Jenner wound up in her current (as of taping) predicament. As explained by Khloé, Kim’s whole security team tackled (TACKLED!) Kris. “Kim, please, you’ve got to come. We’ve just called 911. This is so crazy,” Khloé told her older sister over the phone. In the background of the call you can hear Kris crying, “My neck!”

8am – D         INTERVIEW – Interior Secretary David Bernhardt

• The Washington Monument was closed for most of the last 10 years because of earthquake damage and then elevator repairs, but it reopens Thursday. America’s best-known obelisk reopens to the public on Thursday after more than three years of construction on a new security facility and renovations to its elevator system. How To Visit: For now, the key is to get up early and expect a wait. Visitors who want to go before October 19 can get same-day tickets from the Washington Monument Lodge, directly in front of the monument on 15th Street. Park Service rangers expect lines to start forming around 6 a.m., based on their previous experience. Tickets are first-come, first-serve. Starting October 10, visitors can order free tickets online for tours beginning October 19. The monument will typically operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. It will be open every day of the year except for December 25.

8am – E         Badrun Khan to challenge Ocasio-Cortez in Democratic primary. (The Hill) – A local activist in Queens announced a primary challenge against New York progressive heavyweight Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) on Wednesday. Badrun Khan, whose website describes her as an activist who has “spent her entire life fighting for justice, equality and fairness in her community,” says she is fighting for “REAL Results… Not Empty Promises,” suggesting how she views Ocasio-Cortez’s progressive platform. Khan lists a handful of policy positions on her website but doesn’t touch on top progressive priorities. She favors expanding Social Security and Medicare benefits and ensuring health care “is made available for all and that those who have existing coverage can choose to keep what they currently have.” She stops short of declaring support for any variant of “Medicare for All.” But Khan voiced support for a lobbying ban on former members of Congress that has gained popularity among Democrats. The daughter of Bengali immigrants, Khan says she seeks to be a “uniter” who can “build bridges so that no community, regardless of their ethnicity or religion will ever be left behind. But Khan, who officially filed her candidacy in July, will face an uphill battle against Ocasio-Cortez, who has shot to national prominence and wields a formidable grassroots following online. Ocasio-Cortez responded to Khan’s candidacy on Wednesday by saying, “I just focus on delivering for my district and doing the best job. I try not to focus too much on other folks in the field.”