The Vince Coglianese Show

Mornings on the Mall

Monday, February 3, 2020

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: The Senate impeachment trial of President Trump continues on Monday, heading toward a historic conclusion.  House impeachment managers and Trump’s defense team make closing arguments in the trial, with a final vote set for Wednesday.  Senators are all-but-certain to acquit the President on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after rejecting Democratic demands to summon witnesses

5am – D/E     SANDERS NEWS:

A DARK HORSE FACE? REPORT: John Kerry Discusses Jumping Into 2020 Race To Oppose Bernie Sanders. Former U.S. Secretary of State and 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry fears Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will win the 2020 Democratic nomination and reportedly discussed preparing to enter the race himself. According to an NBC News analyst who overheard Kerry having a conversation in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday, the former Massachusetts senator is worried that a Sanders nomination will take the Democratic party “down whole.” During the call, he allegedly admitted that in order to run he would have to resign from the board of Bank of America and forgo making paid speeches. “Maybe I’m fucking deluding myself,” Kerry allegedly said during the call before adding that Democratic donors could “raise a couple of million” since they “now have the reality of Bernie.” Kerry had previously endorsed Biden, making him the highest ranking member of the Obama administration to do so.

Rashida Tlaib boos Hillary Clinton from stage at Bernie Sanders Iowa As they were about to wrap up, moderator Dionna Langford, an Iowa-based activist, brought up recent comments by Hillary Clinton that nobody liked Sanders. At the mention of Clinton's name, scattered boos could be heard among the fired-up crowd. "We're not gonna boo; we're not gonna boo," Langford said, attempting to calm the audience. "We're classy here." Tlaib interjected, "I'll boo." Then she booed from stage, leading the crowd in another chorus of boos. "You all know I can't be quiet. No, we're gonna boo," she repeated. "That's all right. The haters will shut up on Monday when we win."

BERNIE LEADS AS DEMS HEAD TO IOWA.. +4 IN RCP AVERAGE...

Des Moines Register abruptly cancels release of Dem poll ahead of Iowa A glitch affecting a single computer monitor is responsible for the sudden canceling of the CNN/Des Moines Register poll — the pivotal ranking of Iowa’s Democratic presidential candidates that had been set to drop Saturday night just two days before the state’s caucuses. The highly anticipated ranking, set to be released at 9 p.m., was spiked at the last minute after the error was discovered by the campaign of candidate Pete Buttigieg, according to a source familiar with how the poll was conducted and produced. Pollsters found that the computer monitor — one of the “many dozens” used for live telephone surveys — was set with a font size that was too large, the source said. The erroneous setting meant only 11 of the then-12 candidates’ names fit onto the screen, which was accessed by telephone surveyors asking Iowa Democrats about their preferred next president. [...] The backpedaling caused CNN to drop an hour-long special on the results.

RULE CHANGE TO GET DEM MEGADONOR ON DEBATE STAGE... DNC overhauls debate requirements, opening door for Bloomberg. The Democratic National Committee is drastically revising its criteria to participate in primary debates after New Hampshire, doubling the polling threshold and eliminating the individual donor requirement, which could pave the way for former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg to make the stage beginning in mid-February. Candidates will need to earn at least 10 percent in four polls released from Jan. 15 to Feb. 18, or 12 percent in two polls conducted in Nevada or South Carolina, in order to participate in the Feb. 19 debate in Las Vegas. Any candidate who earns at least one delegate to the national convention in either the Iowa caucuses or New Hampshire primary will also qualify for the Nevada The new criteria eliminate the individual-donor threshold, which was used for the first eight debates, including next week's debate in New Hampshire. Bloomberg, the self-funding billionaire, has refused to take donations from other individuals, which has thus far precluded his participation in any of the debates since he joined the race late last year.

 

6am – A/B/C Trump, in Super Bowl interview with Sean Hannity, predicts fall of Pelosi: 'Radical left is gonna take over':

In an exclusive interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity during the Super Bowl LIV pregame show, President Trump confirmed that the State of the Union address would go ahead as scheduled on Tuesday -- just a day before the Senate is set to overwhelmingly acquit him after a months-long impeachment process.

"I think she's a very confused, very nervous woman," Trump said, referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, who reluctantly announced impeachment proceedings last year after months of resisting the progressive wing of her party.

"I don't think she wanted to do this," Trump continued. "I think she really knew what was going to happen, and her worst nightmare has happened. I don't think she's gonna be there too long, either. I think that the radical left -- and she's sorta radical left too, by the way -- but I think the radical left is gonna take over." [...]

The president also asserted that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was "rigging the election again" against "crazy" Bernie Sanders and candidates such as Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., after the DNC announced it would change debate rules in a way that would help Mike Bloomberg appear on stage. [...]

Asked what he felt about Bloomberg, Trump didn't hold back. "Uh, very little. I just think of little," Trump said. "You know, now he wants a box for the debates to stand on. OK, it’s OK, there’s nothing wrong. You can be short. Why should he get a box to stand on, OK? He wants a box for the debates. Why should he be entitled to that? Really. Does that mean everyone else gets a box? ... I would love to run against Bloomberg." [...]

On Bernie Sanders: "Well, I think he's a communist. I mean, you know, look, I think of communism when I think of Bernie. You could say 'socialist.' Didn't he get married in Moscow?" (Hannity then interjected that Sanders had, in fact, honeymooned in the Soviet Union.)

"At least he's true to what he believes," Trump concluded, by way of contrast with Elizabeth Warren.

On Warren, Trump said: "She's not true to it. I call her 'fairy tale.' Because everything's a fairy tale. That's how Pochahontas got started. This woman can't tell the truth."

 

6am – D         INTERVIEW - Correspondent Clayton Neville in Miami - recapped highlights of Super Bowl 54.

The Kansas City Chiefs battled it out with the San Francisco 49ers  at Super Bowl 54 on Sunday.  Clayton was there and has the most memorable moments of the big game.

Patrick Mahomes leads Chiefs to comeback victory over 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a comeback victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, 31-20. Mahomes and the Chiefs were down 20-10 heading into the fourth quarter. The quarterback threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce with 6:13 left to cut the score. Then, with 2:44 left, Mahomes found Damien Williams on a 5-yard touchdown pass to put the Chiefs ahead. Williams would then put the dagger into the hearts of the 49ers with a 38-yard rushing touchdown to put the game out of reach. It’s the first Super Bowl victory for the Chiefs in 50 years. Mahomes was named Super Bowl MVP.

 

6am – E         London stabbing attacker recently released from prison over extremist material. London (CNN) London police named have named a man they say was responsible for stabbing two people in south London on Sunday in what was described as a terror-related incident. The Metropolitan police said the attacker was 20-year-old Sudesh Amman, who had recently been released from prison for Islamist-related offences. He was being followed by surveillance officers who shot him dead at the scene, police said. “Although the suspect has not been formally identified, given the circumstances of the incident, we are confident that he was Sudesh Amman," Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D'Orsi announced. Police earlier called the attack a terrorist incident and said it was believed to be "Islamist-related." Amman stabbed two people on Streatham High Road at about 2 p.m. local time before the surveillance officers caught up with him and shot him dead, D'Orsi said. She said he was wearing what was quickly established to be a hoax device strapped to his body. Three people were taken to nearby hospitals -- two with stab wounds and another who police believe was hit by glass when Amman was shot. One of the victims who was initially described as having life-threatening injuries was out of danger on Monday, police said. A source in the UK government told CNN that the attacker had been released from prison in the last few days after serving about half of a three-year sentence for the possession and distribution of extremist material. Authorities had concerns about the man's behavior, including language that suggested he continued to hold extremist views, but he had to be released under current laws, the source said. He was released with strict licensing conditions, including a curfew, and he was kept under surveillance. In apparent response to the attacker's previous terror convictions, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that on Monday he would be announcing "further plans for fundamental changes to the system for dealing with those convicted of terrorism offences."

 

6am – F         Groundhog Day 2020: Here's what Punxsutawney Phil's prediction is for the rest of winter. (Fox News) -- As light snow fell early Sunday in western Pennsylvania, the Keystone State's most famous groundhog revealed that warmer days are apparently ahead. At sunrise on Groundhog Day, members of Punxsutawney Phil's top hat-wearing inner circle revealed the groundhog declared: “Spring will be early, it's a certainty.” "It's not very often that Phil predicts an early spring, but the groundhog, my friends, predicted an early spring," Fox News Senior Meteorologist Janice Dean said Sunday on "Fox & Friends" while in Miami for Super Bowl LIV. Dean added that Phil "does not predict Spring very often" and Sunday's prediction may be the 21st time in over 100 years the cuddly oracle has called for an early end to winter. Over the past five years — from 2015 through 2019 — Phil has predicted six more weeks of winter thrice and an early spring twice. According to records dating back to 1887, the Pennsylvanian prognosticator has predicted more winter more than 100 times, making this year's forecast a rare one overall. "I don't know that this has happened two years in a row. This is epic. This is historic right now," Dean said on "Fox & Friends," adding, "The groundhog has spoken and we are going to experience an early spring, everybody." Awoken by the crowd's chants of “Phil!” the groundhog was hoisted in the air for the assembly to hail before making his decision. He then grasped the glove of a handler as a member of his inner circle announced that spring would come early this year. This prediction was his 134th, according to the Pennsylvania Tourism Office. The annual event has its origin in a German legend that says if a furry rodent casts a shadow on Feb. 2, winter continues. If not, spring comes early. Phil's track record has only been correct about 39 percent of the time, but the discrepancy in poor forecasting is apparently because his wording gets lost in translation, according to Dean.

 

7am – A         INTERVIEW - JOE DIGENOVA - legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney to the District of Columbia

IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: The Senate impeachment trial of President Trump continues on Monday, heading toward a historic conclusion. House impeachment managers and Trump’s defense team make closing arguments in the trial, with a final vote set for Wednesday.  Senators are all-but-certain to acquit the President on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after rejecting Democratic demands to summon witnesses

SENATE SETS SCHEDULE TO END TRIAL: Senate approved a resolution outlining how the rest of trial will play out. On Monday, Trump's defense team and House prosecutors will give closing arguments. Senators then will be allowed to give statements up to 10 mins each. Senate leaders struck an agreement to hold the final vote to acquit Trump on the two articles of impeachment at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Trial will resume on Monday.

 

7am – B/C SANDERS NEWS:

A DARK HORSE FACE? REPORT: John Kerry Discusses Jumping Into 2020 Race To Oppose Bernie Sanders.

Rashida Tlaib boos Hillary Clinton from stage at Bernie Sanders Iowa event.

BERNIE LEADS AS DEMS HEAD TO IOWA.. +4 IN RCP AVERAGE...

Des Moines Register abruptly cancels release of Dem poll ahead of Iowa

RULE CHANGE TO GET DEM MEGADONOR ON DEBATE STAGE... DNC overhauls debate requirements, opening door for Bloomberg.

 

7am – D         INTERVIEW - DR. MARC SIEGEL  - Professor of Medicine at NYU and  Fox News medical correspondent @DrMarcSiegel doctorsiegel.com-- shared his medical analysis on the spreading of Coronoavirus.

CORONAVIRUS: VIRUS OUTBREAK: WHO Declares ‘Global Emergency,’ Confirmed Cases Jump ‘Tenfold’ Worldwide. The World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus outbreak a “global emergency” Thursday after cases of the deadly disease spiked “tenfold” across the planet. “The World Health Organization declared the outbreak sparked by a new virus in China that has been exported to more than a dozen countries as a global emergency Thursday after the number of cases spiked tenfold in a week,” reports the Associated Press.

US travel restrictions go into place Sunday evening to combat coronavirus spread. (CNN)The United States began implementing stringent travel restrictions Sunday evening in an effort to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak that has so far killed more than 300 people in China and infected more than 16,600 worldwide. The plan, which went into effect at 5 p.m. ET, includes temporarily denying entry to foreign nationals who visited China in the 14 days prior to their arrival to the United States, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Friday. Restrictions also apply to US citizens who have been in China's Hubei province, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, in the two weeks prior to their return to the United States. Upon their return, those citizens will be subject to a mandatory quarantine of up to 14 days, he said. US citizens returning from the rest of mainland China in the 14 days prior will undergo health screenings at selected ports of entry and face up to 14 days of self-monitored quarantine.

US and Australia close borders to Chinese arrivals. Countries around the world have closed their borders to arrivals from China, as officials work to control the rapid spread of the coronavirus. The US and Australia said they would deny entry to all foreign visitors who had recently been in China, where the virus first emerged in December. Earlier, countries including Russia, Japan, Pakistan and Italy announced similar travel restrictions.

Russia may deport any foreigners found with coronavirus, prime minister says. Foreigners could be deported from Russia if they test positive for the coronavirus, the prime minister said Monday, according to country’s media outlets. Newly appointed Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said a national plan to prevent the spread of the infection in Russia has been signed.

Coronavirus: 75,000 people infected in Wuhan, experts now believe. The University of Hong Kong says the average person will infect 2-3 people and the epidemic is doubling in size every six days. More than 75,000 people are now infected with coronavirus in Wuhan alone, academics have calculated, with the epidemic doubling in size every six days.  Experts at the University of Hong Kong, have modelled the spread of the virus and believe that each patient has infected between two and three people and the full scale of the epidemic has been ‘undercounted.’ They also warn that epidemics will soon emerge in other Chinese cities, which are seeing a time-lag behind the Wuhan outbreak of between one and two weeks, and have called for schools to be closed and staff to be allowed to work from home.

New report on first US case of novel coronavirus details mild symptoms followed by pneumonia. (CNN) Doctors have shared new details about the first case of Wuhan coronavirus in the United States in a paper published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the new report, doctors describe how the man progressed from initially mild, nonspecific symptoms to pneumonia on the ninth day of his illness. The patient -- a 35-year-old resident of Snohomish County, Washington, with no history of major health problems -- had returned from visiting family in Wuhan on January 15. He had not visited the seafood market where a number of early patients were initially linked, nor did he have any known contacts with sick people during his visit. Still, the man had seen a health alert by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and decided to visit an urgent care clinic on January 19, at which point he had been coughing for four days. Doctors initially found nothing abnormal on chest X-rays, but sent swabs to the CDC because of his recent travel to Wuhan. By the following day, on January 20, they confirmed the man had the novel coronavirus. At that point, the man was admitted to Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington, and placed in an airborne-isolation unit. Throughout his illness, he experienced a range of symptoms including fever, cough, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and runny nose. But it wasn't until his fifth day in the hospital -- day nine of his illness -- that doctors saw signs of pneumonia on his chest X-ray, in the lower lobe of his left lung. On the following day, his chest X-ray showed "stable streaky opacities in the lung bases ... indicating likely atypical pneumonia."

Face masks offer little protection against coronavirus, flu, experts warn. CINCINNATI – As a new virus attacks the human population, people are reaching for face masks. Some stores across the nation are selling out. But infectious-disease experts say a face mask can offer only slight protection against airborne illness. A more effective defense against a virus is washing your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water after using the restroom and before eating. “The regular surgical masks that you might buy at the drug store probably are effective for half an hour, and after that, they become wet from your breath, then they’re much less effective,” said Dr. Stephen Blatt, medical director for infectious diseases at TriHealth. “The longer you wear them, the less effective they become.” Dr. Senu Apewokin, an infectious-disease specialist at UC Health, said that while face masks can provide a temporary barrier against viruses, “we worry more about influenza than the coronavirus. The things we would do to prevent against the coronavirus are the very things we would do against influenza, washing hands, using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, avoid others who are ill, if you are sick, stay home.”

 

7am – E         POLITICAL SUPER BOWL ADS:

TRUMP ADS: Trump Super Bowl ad shows Alice Johnson thanking president Trump and notes Trump's work on criminal justice reform. His Super Bowl LIV commercial takes credit for Kim Kardashian West’s work advocating for Alice Marie Johnson—now a criminal justice reform advocate—to be released from prison. West enlisted the help of a team of lawyers to work on Johnson’s case, which led to an Oval Office meeting with Trump in 2018. Johnson served 21 years of a life sentence in prison after she was convicted on charges of conspiracy to possess cocaine and attempted possession of cocaine, according to the nonprofit Can-Do. President Trump granted clemency to Johnson a week after West pleaded her case during the 2018 Oval Office meeting. “Thanks to President Trump, people like Alice are getting a second chance,” Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign commercial reads. “Politicians talk about criminal justice reform. President Trump got it done. Thousands of families are being reunited.”

BLOOMBERG AD: Bloomberg's $10M Super Bowl ad posts misleading stat on child gun deaths. In the raw and emotional one-minute spot, Calandrian Simpson Kemp recalls her son's death: "On a Friday morning, George was shot. George didn't survive. I just kept saying, 'You cannot tell me that the child that I gave birth to, is no longer here.' Lives are being lost every day. It is a national crisis." A statistic immediately appears on the screen: "2,900 CHILDREN DIE FROM GUN VIOLENCE EVERY YEAR." The number is not attributed to any source. However, a recent report from the Bloomberg-founded group Everytown for Gun Safety came up with that same number -- but only when it included teenagers ages 18 and 19 in the calculation. Bloomberg's advertisement makes no mention of older teenagers and suggests that the statistic is referring to younger children only. Washington Free Beacon reporter Stephen Gutowski found that once adults were removed from the calculation, the number dropped by nearly half. Additionally, court documents from a Texas state appellate court reviewed by Fox News show that the victim referenced in the advertisement, George Kemp, was 20 years old at the time of his death.

 

8am – A         INTERVIEW – CAROL MALONEY – host of The Carol Maloney Show on ESPN 630 (in studio) -- recapped the Super Bowl.

SUPER BOWL: Patrick Mahomes leads Chiefs to comeback victory over 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. (Fox News) - Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a comeback victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, 31-20. Mahomes and the Chiefs were down 20-10 heading into the fourth quarter. The quarterback threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce with 6:13 left to cut the score. Then, with 2:44 left, Mahomes found Damien Williams on a 5-yard touchdown pass to put the Chiefs ahead. Williams would then put the dagger into the hearts of the 49ers with a 38-yard rushing touchdown to put the game out of reach. It’s the first Super Bowl victory for the Chiefs in 50 years. Mahomes was named Super Bowl MVP.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: Demi Lovato performs national anthem at Super Bowl LIV, receives praise online

SUPER BOWL HALF TIME:

Lady Gaga says she 'better hear no lip-syncing' during Super Bowl LIV halftime show: report

Jennifer Lopez’s 11-year-old daughter sang with her at the Super Bowl halftime show and people were super impressed.

JLo Brought A Stripper Pole To The Super Bowl And The Internet Lost It. Also, remember she’s 50.

Here's What Shakira Was Actually Doing With Her Mouth During Her Super Bowl Halftime Show. Before Jennifer Lopez joined her on stage for the halftime show, there was one particular highlight: the, um, very interesting thing she did with her mouth.

 

8am – B/C  BUSY WEEK AHEAD!

Sunday night: Super Bowl, Monday: Senate trial, Monday night: Iowa caucuses, Tuesday: Senate trial, Tuesday night: State of the Union, Wednesday afternoon: Senate conviction/acquittal vote, Friday night: Another Democratic debate

.. CNN HOSTS 8 TOWNHALLS WITH DEMS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY... The town halls will air in primetime from the campus of Saint Anselm College on February 5 and 6 and provide the candidates an opportunity to deliver their closing arguments to the "first-in-the-nation" primary voters. The candidates will appear in back-to-back hours and take questions directly from the audience and a CNN moderator.

TRUMP DELIVERS SOTU TUESDAY... ABC: Trump speech to project optimism at time of bitter division: Senior administration officials were tight-lipped about the extent to which Trump would mention his impeachment, which he has denounced as a "witch hunt” orchestrated by Democrats to try to undo the results of the 2016 election and harm his reelection chances this November. They stressed this his prime-time speech was still a work in progress. But they said Trump sees the speech as an opportunity to talk about moving the country ahead, contrast his vision with Democrats' and try to make the case to voters that he deserves four more years in the White House. “We’re really looking to giving a very, very positive message,” Trump told reporters Sunday during a Super Bowl watch party. “This has been a very partisan process and this is an opportunity for him to unify the country around opportunities for all Americans," added White House spokeswoman Jessica Ditto. Trump will spend much of the speech highlighting the economy's strength, including the low employment rate, stressing how it has helped blue-collar workers and the middle class. A focus will be the new trade agreements he has negotiated, including his phase-one deal with China and the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement he signed last week.

 

8am – D         INTERVIEW -- JOE SIMONSON - Covering 2020 Dems for the Washington Examiner – located in Iowa – discussed the Iowa caucuses.

Iowa Democrats will be the first Americans to officially weigh in on who will be the Democratic Party’s nominee to face President Trump. All political eyes will be on the Monday caucuses.

SIMONSON: ‘Like he’s not even in the race’: Low Biden enthusiasm sets stage for Sanders surge: OSCEOLA, Iowa — On paper, Joe Biden’s campaign infrastructure in Iowa is exactly what to expect from a prominent Democratic primary contender, with a large number of field offices and campaign aides spread throughout the state. But a closer look there and in New Hampshire reveals a lack of enthusiasm and cracks in the operation that could stifle his turnout efforts and give his closest competitor, Bernie Sanders, the upper hand in a tight race. “I don't know anybody who's showing any interest in Biden. It’s like he's not even in the race,” said Heather Titus, 47, a medical secretary from Osceola, Iowa who attended a town hall for former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday. Biden, 77, is perceived by some voters as part of a corrupt, failed Democratic establishment that caused Hillary Clinton to lose in 2016 to President Trump.

SIMONSON: 'He’s a communist': Trump trashes Sanders ahead of Iowa President Trump called Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders a “communist” during his pre-game Super Bowl interview. Fox News personality Sean Hannity asked Trump, 73, to do a “lightning round” interview game on Sunday, during which the president said the first word that came to mind after hearing an individual’s name. When Hannity said Sanders’s name, Trump said, “Communist.” “I think he’s a communist,” Trump said. “Look, I think of communism when I think of Bernie. You could say socialist, but didn’t he get married in Moscow? That’s wonderful. Moscow’s wonderful.”

SIMONSON: Tlaib, in booing Hillary Clinton, speaks for Bernie Sanders's voters when Bernie can't. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Bernie Sanders’s supporters love him because they say he speaks for them on all sorts of issues. When it comes to the issue of Hillary Clinton, though, Sanders is leaving it to Rashida Tlaib to speak for his voters. Tlaib, a Democratic congresswoman from Michigan, booed Hillary Clinton's name from the stage at a Sanders rally outside of Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday night. Sanders has generally avoided locking horns with Clinton or Democratic leaders, but Sanders's base wants someone to punch back.

Sanders calls for solidarity before Iowa caucuses amid reported concern in Democratic Party establishment about his possible nomination. Bernie Sanders took to Twitter on the eve of Monday's momentum-building Iowa caucuses to call on supporters to fight for solidarity as the Democratic establishment reportedly worries about his possible nomination. Sanders made a final appeal Sunday to potential supporters to join his movement that he says will fight for social causes and for "human solidarity." He plea came as he was either leading in polls from the state or near the top. There is reportedly some concern in the Democratic Party of the possibility of the self-described democratic socialist becoming the party’s standard-bearer.

 

8am – E         MEDIA COVERAGE OF IOWA CAUCUSES:

The liberal media has been so focused on impeachment coverage, they've been neglecting covering the 2020 Democrats running in Iowa. 

.. CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER JOHN HARWOOD: of 51 Republican senators who voted to block John Bolton’s testimony in Trump impeachment trial, 25 represent states of the Confederacy during the Civil War the old Confederacy represents the bulwark of the 21st century GOP (NOW DELETED TWEET)

DAN MCLAUGHLIN: Given that only 11 states seceded from the Union, it would be sort of astounding if they were currently represented by more than 22 Senators. How did you count 13? Please, please tell me, @JohnJHarwood, that you don't think your native Kentucky was a Confederate state.

JOHN HARWOOD: deleted a tweet because I made a tabulation mistake. 23 of 51 Senate GOP votes to block Bolton testimony came from states of the old Confederacy, not 25. apologies for the error

CHARLES COOKE: Still completely wrong. There were 11 states in the Confederacy. Each state has two senators. Virginia has two Democratic senators and Alabama has one. That’s 19 Republicans, out of a total of 51 who voted against witnesses (and 53 Republicans in total).

  -------------------------------------------------------------------

Mornings on the Mall Podcast - 2020-2-3

[00:00:00] 4:59 am - Mornings on the Mall

[01:00:15] 6:00 am - Mornings on the Mall

[02:00:26] 7:00 am - Mornings on the Mall

[03:00:37] 8:00 am - Mornings on the Mall

INTERVIEW - BRET BAIER - Anchor of "Special Report" on Fox News Channel weekdays at 6 pm and author of the latest book "Three Days at the Brink: FDR's Daring Gamble to Win World War II"

Topic:  the latest news on the impeachment trial and preview Iowa caucuses on Monday, State of the Union on Tuesday/ Trump in Iowa

INTERVIEW - JOE THEISMANN – Legendary former Washington Redskins quarterback

TOPIC: Preview Super Bowl Sunday

INTERVIEW - ALEXANDRA PHILLIPS -- a member of the European Parliament and a rising star of Nigel Farage's Brexit Party. She is a former Nigel Farage's chief of staff for more than a decade and is a former BBC journalist.

TOPIC: BREXIT DAY - Brexit: What happens after January 31 - Brexit day will transform the UK’s relationship with Europe, shift the country’s place in the world and herald a new era in international relations.

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, January 31, 2020

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B/C Do you care more about the SuperBowl or the 2020 election? A new poll published by Seton Hall University, comparing sports and politics shows that 28 percent of American men would rather see their favorite professional sports team win a Super Bowl or World Series than their choice of presidential candidate win the upcoming 2020 election. Sixty-four percent said they would rather see their favorite candidate win the presidency, while 8 percent said they didn't know. The women surveyed answered differently with ony 11 percent in favor of their favorite team and 84 percent leaning towards wanting their choice of candidate to win the 2020 election. The remaining 5 percent said they didn't know or had no opinion.

5am – D CORONA VIRUS:

WHO declares public health emergency over coronavirus The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday declared a public health emergency of international concern over the outbreak of coronavirus. "The main reason for this declaration is not because of what is happening in China, but because of what is happening in other countries," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO. "Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems, and which are ill-prepared to deal with it," he added. The cases have been centered in China, and the WHO said it has confidence in China's response to the virus. The declaration, which the WHO previously declined to make, comes as the virus spreads to more countries. There are now 98 cases in 18 countries outside of China, the organization said, including cases of human-to-human transmission in four countries: Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the United States. The first person-to-person transmission in the United States was reported Thursday in a person in Chicago who contracted the virus from his spouse who had recently returned from China, but officials said the risk to the general American public remains low.

American Airlines pilots union sues to stop flights to China amid coronavirus outbreak

FROM CNN: Coronavirus task force another example of Trump administration's lack of diversity (by Brandon Tensley) it's a statement that's as predictable as it is infuriating: President Donald Trump's administration lacks diversity. On Tuesday, Trump tweeted photos of a briefing he'd received on the new coronavirus spreading out of China "We will continue to monitor the ongoing developments," the President said in his post. "We have the best experts anywhere in the world, and they are on top of it 24/7!" Who are these experts? They're largely the same sorts of white men (and a couple women on the sidelines) who've dominated the Trump administration from the very beginning. By contrast, former President Barack Obama's circle of advisers in the face of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa was hardly so monochromatic. Neither was it so abysmal in terms of gender diversity. (Of course, to contextualize, Obama's administration, on the whole, was far more diverse than Trump's.) And yet, as unsurprising as the diversity issue in the Trump era has become, it's still worth pointing out from time to time, especially as the country approaches the 2020 presidential election in earnest That's partly because the recent photos of "the best experts" telegraph the kinds of people the administration deems worthy of holding power -- and even being in close proximity to it. They communicate a "patronage network that everyone is operating under," as Eric Yellin, an associate professor of history and American studies at the University of Richmond, told The Washington Post last year, about a different set of photos. "Having that network be interracial is really important." But the visuals that have come to define the Trump administration say something else, too. They signal which people in a multi-racial, half-female country Trump values the opinions of: mostly white men who are mirror images of the President himself.

5am – E  A postal worker rented a storage unit to hide mail because he felt 'pressured' to deliver it (CNN) A United States postal worker was caught with a public storage unit full of mail he never delivered. Jason Delacruz pleaded guilty to charges of delay of mail by a postal employee in August 2019. He is set to be sentenced on February 12. Delacruz, who worked as a mail carrier in Chesapeake, Virginia, said he felt "pressured" and couldn't "make time" to complete his mail route, according to court documents. He told authorities that he rented a public storage unit for $49 per month for "the sole purpose of storing mail he could not deliver." The employee said he started hiding mail in November or December 2018 and he rented the storage unit in February 2019, according to court records. He said he put mail he was unable to deliver in the unit from that time up until he was discovered in May 2019.

6am – A/B/C/D IMPEACHMENT NEWS:

Swing-vote GOP Sen. Alexander comes out against witnesses, paving way for imminent Trump acquittal

Susan Collins says she’ll vote in favor of witnesses.

Adam Schiff talked 454% more than lead Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow

Rand Paul Reveals the Question Justice Roberts Refused to Read During Impeachment Trial

Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., seemed to visibly irritate Chief Justice John Roberts when she formally asked a question about him during President Trump's impeachment trial Thursday that questioned the legitimacy of the Supreme Court and Constitution in light of the fact there have been no witnesses yet called.

6am – E 'We love Europe, we just hate the European Union’: Nigel Farage blasts EU during goodbye speech

6am – F Virginia Approves Gun Control Laws Despite Second Amendment Protests

7am – A INTERVIEW - ALEXANDRA PHILLIPS -- a member of the European Parliament and a rising star of Nigel Farage's Brexit Party. She is a former Nigel Farage's chief of staff for more than a decade and is a former BBC journalist.

TOPIC: BREXIT DAY - Brexit: What happens after January 31 - Brexit day will transform the UK’s relationship with Europe, shift the country’s place in the world and herald a new era in international relations. 

7am – B/C 2020 DEM NEWS:

Bloomberg surges past Warren into third place in new national poll

During a campaign event in Iowa Sunday, Elizabeth Warren said "a young trans person [had] asked about a welcoming community and I said, 'It starts with the Secretary of Education, who has a lot to do with where we spend our money' ... and I said, 'I'm going to have a Secretary of Education that this young trans person interviews on my behalf,’” She added that "only if this person believes that our Secretary of Education nominee is committed to creating a welcoming environment, a safe environment, and a full educational curriculum for everyone, will that person be advanced to actually be Secretary of Education."

BUZZFEED: The DNC Approved And Kept Private A Generous Exit Package For Tom Perez And Two Top Deputies

A lawyer for Hillary Clinton has finally accepted legal documents in connection with a $50 million defamation lawsuit filed by 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, the Hawaii congresswoman’s lawyer told Fox News on Thursday night.

7am – D  INTERVIEW - JOE THEISMANN – Legendary former Washington Redskins quarterback

TOPIC: Preview Super Bowl Sunday

7am – E FLASHBACK: This 1987 Joe Biden News Segment Caught The Presidential Hopeful Lying Over And Over And Over Again  A news clip from 1987 finds multiple examples of former Vice President Joe Biden appearing to lie about his background and plagiarizing other politicians during the 1988 presidential campaign. The video — which appears to be multiple segments compiled together — starts out with a news clip highlighting then-presidential hopeful and Democratic Sen. Joe Biden‘s comments during his appearance at the Iowa State Fair where he “used phrases identical” to that of British Labour Party Leader Neal Kinnock.

8am A/B/C – Should the SuperBowl move from Sunday to Saturday?

8am – D  INTERVIEW - BRET BAIER - Anchor of "Special Report" on Fox News Channel weekdays at 6 pm and author of the latest book "Three Days at the Brink: FDR's Daring Gamble to Win World War II"

Topic:  the latest news on the impeachment trial and preview Iowa caucuses on Monday, State of the Union on Tuesday/ Trump in Iowa

8am – E His dog was saved from a deadly cancer. He bought a $6M Super Bowl ad to thank the vet.  (NBC NEWS) David MacNeil's 7-year-old golden retriever, Scout, collapsed in summer 2019, and a veterinarian told him the dog had cancer and one month to live, according to NBC Madison, Wisconsin affiliate WMTV. He took Scout, who serves as his company's unofficial mascot, to the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. The dog had a one percent chance of survival, but doctors at the veterinary school treated Scout with aggressive chemotherapy and radiation that nearly eradicated his tumor. MacNeil was so grateful he took out the ad, a 30-second spot called "Lucky Dog" that opens with Scout running on the beach and tells the story of his survival. The spot encourages viewers to donate to the veterinary school's research.

INTERVIEW - BYRON YORK - chief political correspondent for the Washington Examiner

TOPIC: Latest on the impeachment trial

Schiff, in Trump's Senate impeachment trial, denies knowing whistleblower House impeachment manager Adam Schiff, D-Calif., denied knowing the identity of the Trump whistleblower during the president's trial on Wednesday and claimed that no one from the House Intelligence Committee was ever involved in coaching them.

Lev Parnas Showed Up On Capitol Hill But Was Barred From Senate Trial By Ankle Monitor Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday gave American businessman Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani, tickets to attend the Senate impeachment trial, however, he was not allowed in due to the electronic ankle monitor on his ankle.

Justice Roberts blocks Sen. Paul from naming whistleblower, source says and Paul may force the issue

White House tells Bolton his manuscript has classified material, cannot be published

'GAME OVER,' Trump declares, as old Bolton, Schiff videos surface amid Senate impeachment trial

INTERVIEW -   CHRISTOPHER CALDWELL - author of new book "The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties" -- IN STUDIO FOR 30 MINS

TOPIC: Discuss his book "The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties" 

ABOUT BOOK: A major American intellectual makes the historical case that the reforms of the 1960s, reforms intended to make the nation more just and humane, instead left many Americans feeling alienated, despised, misled—and ready to put an adventurer in the White House. Christopher Caldwell has spent years studying the liberal uprising of the 1960s and its unforeseen consequences. Even the reforms that Americans love best have come with costs that are staggeringly high—in wealth, freedom, and social stability—and that have been spread unevenly among classes and generations. Caldwell reveals the real political turning points of the past half century, taking readers on a roller-coaster ride through Playboy magazine, affirmative action, CB radio, leveraged buyouts, iPhones, Oxycontin, Black Lives Matter, and internet cookies. In doing so, he shows that attempts to redress the injustices of the past have left Americans living under two different ideas of what it means to play by the rules. Essential, timely, hard to put down, The Age of Entitlement is a brilliant and ambitious argument about how the reforms of the past fifty years gave the country two incompatible political systems—and drove it toward conflict.

INTERVIEW - BILL GERTZ - National Security Correspondent, The Washington Times and author of "Deceiving the Sky: Inside Communist China’s Drive for Global Supremacy"

TOPIC: CHINA - Latest on the coronavirus and Chinese espionage

-Criticism of China’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak is breaking through its censorship machine, prompting Beijing to work harder to squelch dissent

China spurned CDC offer to send team to help contain coronavirus: US Health Secretary

The S. government is chartering a flight out of Wuhan, China -- the city at the center of the novel coronavirus outbreak -- for U.S. personnel, their families and some U.S. citizens on Wednesday.

Hong Kong restricts border to contain Wuhan The Hong Kong government announced they are restricting some of its border crossings with mainland China to block the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.

China's first coronavirus hospital OPENS after just two days of construction

South Koreans Call in Petition for Chinese to be Barred Over Virus

Maryland reports possible coronavirus case; In Virginia, George Mason student’s results still under review

DC Testing 2 People for Coronavirus

Feds charge Chinese army lieutenant as spy at BU; arrest of Harvard professor

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, January 30, 2020

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C Elizabeth Warren proposes criminal penalties for spreading voting disinformation online (CNBC) Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday released a plan to fight disinformation and to hold tech companies accountable for their actions in light of the 2016 election. “Disinformation and online foreign interference erode our democracy, and Donald Trump has invited both,” Warren said in a Tweet Wednesday. “Anyone who seeks to challenge and defeat Donald Trump in the 2020 election must be fully prepared to take this on – and I’ve got a plan to do it.” Warren proposed to combat disinformation by holding big tech companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google responsible for spreading misinformation designed to suppress voters from turning out. “I will push for new laws that impose tough civil and criminal penalties for knowingly disseminating this kind of information, which has the explicit purpose of undermining the basic right to vote,” Warren said in a release. As president, Warren said she would reinstate the position of cybersecurity coordinator at the National Security Council, a position crucial to protecting the U.S. She added she will also open up data for research so that academics and organizations can provide the public with knowledge on disinformation. “The stakes of this election are too high -- we need to fight the spread of false information that disempowers voters and undermines democracy,” Warren said. “I’ll do my part -- and I’m calling on my fellow candidates and big tech companies to do their part too.”

5am – D Former Trump aide Michael Flynn says he ‘never lied’ and ‘I am innocent’ as he seeks to undo guilty plea (CNBC)  Michael Flynn, former national security advisor for President Donald Trump, claims in a new legal filing that he is innocent as he seeks to undo his guilty plea for making false statements to the FBI about his talks with Russia’s ambassador to the United States in the weeks before Trump’s inauguration. “In truth, I never lied,” Flynn said in the document, which was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Later Wednesday, federal prosecutors said in their own filing that they do not object to Flynn receiving a sentence of probation, with no jail time, if Judge Emmet Sullivan rejects his pending request to withdraw his guilty plea. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said it agrees that a sentence of between zero and six months in jail “is appropriate and warranted in this case, agrees with the defendant that a sentence of probation is appropriate and does not oppose the imposition of a sentence of probation.” The filings came two weeks after Flynn formally petitioned Sullivan to withdraw his guilty plea. Prosecutors are opposing that request. Flynn in his filing claimed that “I never would have pled guilty” if his first set of lawyers had told him that FBI agents wrote that he had a “sure demeanor” and “did not give any indication of deception” in a report they prepared after questioning him about the nature of his conversations with then-Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Instead, Flynn said that “I tried to ‘accept responsibility’ by admitting to offenses I understood the government I love and trusted said I committed.” And he claimed that at the moment he does not recall whether he discussed sanctions on Russia with Kislyak, as the FBI has alleged. However, Flynn has previously affirmed at two court hearings that he had falsely told FBI agents in January 2017 that he did not ask Kislyak to refrain from escalating sanctions in response to the imposition of sanctions against Russia by the Obama administration. “I am innocent of this crime, and I request to withdraw my guilty plea,” he wrote in the filing Wednesday. It is not clear whether Flynn’s statements in the filing will be enough to convince Sullivan that he should be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea. Lawyers unconnected to the case say that Flynn, who is still tentatively scheduled to be sentenced next month, faces very long odds in getting Sullivan to undo the plea.

5am – E Pizza shop owner takes down sign that says 'fat people are harder to kidnap' (Fox News) A pizza place in Ohio came under fire for posting a sign with a joke about kidnapping on it. Unfortunately, the owner apparently didn’t realize that January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Jeremy Clemetson, owner of East of Chicago Pizza in Barberton, Ohio, posted a sign advertising his pizza place with the slogan “Fat people are harder to kidnap,” Fox 6 Now reports. While he’s reportedly used the slogan before at his restaurant and on their Facebook page with no issues, this time was different. “I thought it would be a good idea to put up some funny signs,” he explained to the news outlet. “Most people seem to like them. I scour the internet for different signs that people have had. Sometimes I use them. Sometimes I reinvent my own. I also have got some of my funny signs from customers.” This sign, however, reportedly inspired someone to write an email to corporate headquarters complaining about the joke being in poor taste due to January being Human Trafficking Awareness Month. “I never even thought about it in that way, and as soon as I thought it, because kidnapping is not a joke, we are taking it down,” Clemetson explained. "I have seven kids of my own,” he continued. “I'm from the community here. I've lived here pretty much all of my life. I live in Barberton. I have strong roots here. I never even thought about it as the kidnapping aspect. I just meant it to be funny.”

6am – A/B/C IMPEACHMENT NEWS:

Schiff, in Trump's Senate impeachment trial, denies knowing whistleblower House impeachment manager Adam Schiff, D-Calif., denied knowing the identity of the Trump whistleblower during the president's trial on Wednesday and claimed that no one from the House Intelligence Committee was ever involved in coaching them.

Lev Parnas Showed Up On Capitol Hill But Was Barred From Senate Trial By Ankle Monitor Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday gave American businessman Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani, tickets to attend the Senate impeachment trial, however, he was not allowed in due to the electronic ankle monitor on his ankle.

Justice Roberts blocks Sen. Paul from naming whistleblower, source says and Paul may force the issue

6am – D Vanessa Bryant Breaks Her Silence Following Husband Kobe Bryant And Daughter’s Death

6am – E PETA calls for Punxsutawney Phil to retire, be replaced with AI robot for Groundhog Day (FOX 5 NY) PETA is calling for Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog to retire and be replaced with an animatronic version ahead of Groundhog Day 2020. The animal rights organization wrote in a letter to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club that it was time to change the decades-old tradition in which Punxsutawney Phil predicts whether we’ll see an early end to winter. PETA suggested that instead of live animals, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club use “technologically advanced electromechanical devices such as animatronics” with artificial intelligence could reliably predict the weather.

6am – F Jay Sekulow and Schiff spar over witnesses

7am – A INTERVIEW - BILL GERTZ - National Security Correspondent, The Washington Times and author of "Deceiving the Sky: Inside Communist China’s Drive for Global Supremacy"

TOPIC: CHINA - Latest on the coronavirus and Chinese espionage

-Criticism of China’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak is breaking through its censorship machine, prompting Beijing to work harder to squelch dissent

China spurned CDC offer to send team to help contain coronavirus: US Health Secretary

The S. government is chartering a flight out of Wuhan, China -- the city at the center of the novel coronavirus outbreak -- for U.S. personnel, their families and some U.S. citizens on Wednesday.

Hong Kong restricts border to contain Wuhan The Hong Kong government announced they are restricting some of its border crossings with mainland China to block the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.

China's first coronavirus hospital OPENS after just two days of construction

South Koreans Call in Petition for Chinese to be Barred Over Virus

Maryland reports possible coronavirus case; In Virginia, George Mason student’s results still under review

DC Testing 2 People for Coronavirus

Feds charge Chinese army lieutenant as spy at BU; arrest of Harvard professor

7am – B/C JOHN BOLTON:

White House tells Bolton his manuscript has classified material, cannot be published The White House has informed former national security adviser John Bolton that his book manuscript appeared to contain "significant amounts of classified information" and could not be published in its current form. The letter from the White House National Security Council to Bolton's attorney, Charles Cooper, and seen by Reuters, said the manuscript contained some material that was considered "TOP SECRET." "Under federal law and the nondisclosure agreements your client signed as a condition for gaining access to classified information, the manuscript may not be published or otherwise disclosed without the deletion of this classified information," the letter said.

'GAME OVER,' Trump declares, as old Bolton, Schiff videos surface amid Senate impeachment trial A string of newly resurfaced video clips of former national security adviser John Bolton spurred President Trump and his supporters Wednesday to highlight what they described as serious credibility questions -- raised by both Democrats and Republicans -- amid the Senate impeachment trial, as the president tweeted, "GAME OVER!" In his tweet, Trump linked to an interview of Bolton in August 2019 where he discusses Ukraine In the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty interview clip, Bolton made no mention of any illicit quid pro quo, and acknowledged, as Republicans have claimed, that combating "corruption" in Ukraine was a "high priority" for the Trump administration. Bolton also called Trump's communications with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "warm and cordial," without mentioning any misconduct. Separately, Fox News has identified clips of Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., now the lead House impeachment manager, in which he says Bolton had a distinct "lack of credibility" and was prone to "conspiracy theories." This week, Schiff said Bolton needed to testify in the impeachment trial as an important and believable witness. "This is someone who's likely to exaggerate the dangerous impulses of the president toward belligerence, his proclivity to act without thinking, and his love of conspiracy theories," Schiff told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on March 22, 2018, when Trump named Bolton national security adviser.

7am – D/E INTERVIEW -  INTERVIEW - CHRISTOPHER CALDWELL - author of new book "The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties" -- IN STUDIO FOR 30 MINS

TOPIC: Discuss his book "The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties" 

ABOUT BOOK: A major American intellectual makes the historical case that the reforms of the 1960s, reforms intended to make the nation more just and humane, instead left many Americans feeling alienated, despised, misled—and ready to put an adventurer in the White House. Christopher Caldwell has spent years studying the liberal uprising of the 1960s and its unforeseen consequences. Even the reforms that Americans love best have come with costs that are staggeringly high—in wealth, freedom, and social stability—and that have been spread unevenly among classes and generations. Caldwell reveals the real political turning points of the past half century, taking readers on a roller-coaster ride through Playboy magazine, affirmative action, CB radio, leveraged buyouts, iPhones, Oxycontin, Black Lives Matter, and internet cookies. In doing so, he shows that attempts to redress the injustices of the past have left Americans living under two different ideas of what it means to play by the rules. Essential, timely, hard to put down, The Age of Entitlement is a brilliant and ambitious argument about how the reforms of the past fifty years gave the country two incompatible political systems—and drove it toward conflict.

8am A – INTERVIEW - INTERVIEW - BYRON YORK - chief political correspondent for the Washington Examiner

TOPIC: Latest on the impeachment trial

Schiff, in Trump's Senate impeachment trial, denies knowing whistleblower House impeachment manager Adam Schiff, D-Calif., denied knowing the identity of the Trump whistleblower during the president's trial on Wednesday and claimed that no one from the House Intelligence Committee was ever involved in coaching them.

Lev Parnas Showed Up On Capitol Hill But Was Barred From Senate Trial By Ankle Monitor Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday gave American businessman Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani, tickets to attend the Senate impeachment trial, however, he was not allowed in due to the electronic ankle monitor on his ankle.

Justice Roberts blocks Sen. Paul from naming whistleblower, source says and Paul may force the issue

White House tells Bolton his manuscript has classified material, cannot be published

'GAME OVER,' Trump declares, as old Bolton, Schiff videos surface amid Senate impeachment trial

8am – B/C     ABORTION NEWS:

Virginia lawmakers vote to repeal mandatory ultrasound, waiting period for abortion New Democratic majorities in the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate voted this week to roll back abortion restrictions the GOP put in place in 2012 mandating an ultra-sound and 24-hour waiting period. “These restrictions were not designed to protect women, but rather to suppress their ability to make their own choices regarding their bodies,” said House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, who carried the legislation in the House. “This bill concerns an incredibly important decision that should be left up to a woman and her healthcare provider.” Among the code sections to be struck is a requirement that women be offered a copy of the ultrasound image and an opportunity to listen to the fetal heartbeat. The legislation would also eliminate heavily-litigated building code restrictions (referred to by opponents as TRAP laws, for “targeted restrictions on abortion providers”) that threatened to shut down many clinics by mandating hospital-style standards including wider hallways and doorways but were never fully implemented by the state Board of Health. The bills cleared the Senate on Wednesday and the House on Tuesday. They were unanimously opposed by Republicans, who passed the requirements when they last controlled both chambers of the General Assembly and the Executive Mansion — a status currently enjoyed by Democrats following sweeping electoral victories in November. Two Democrats split with their caucuses to oppose the legislation, Del. Cliff Hayes, D-Chesapeake, in the House and Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, in the Senate, where Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) broke the 20-20 tie vote. Ralph Northam (D) has endorsed the legislation.

Commercial Featuring Abortion Survivors Blocked from Super Bowl, Group Claims Jason Yates, the CEO of My Faith Votes appeared on the Tuesday afternoon edition of CBN's Newswatch to discuss the efforts of his group and the group Faces of Choice to get a pro-life commercial to air during the Super Bowl. CBN's Newswatch is seen weekdays on the CBN News Channel. For a programming schedule, click here.  The founder of a nascent pro-life advocacy group has been working since last summer to get a Super Bowl ad approved to run on Fox Sports during the February game. But with less than a week until kickoff, Lyric Gillett is accusing the network of censoring her commercial. Since July 29 of last year, Gillett told Faithwire she and her ad buyer have been in frequent communication with the sales and legal departments at the Fox Corporation. From that point forward, she claimed, staffers at Fox have continually piled on requests before agreeing to consider her ad, which features men and women who have survived abortion asking if their lives are “a mistake.”

8am – D  FAKE NEWS:

ABC News suspends correspondent Matt Gutman for falsely suggesting all of Kobe Bryant's children on helicopter ABC News suspended its reporter who inaccurately suggested Sunday that all four of Kobe Bryant's children were on the helicopter that crashed and killed the NBA legend and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. The Disney network's chief national correspondent Matt Gutman said amid the breaking news Sunday that Bryant's daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, seven months, were "believed" to have been involved in the deadly accident. "You know, we grew up with Kobe, and the fact that four of his children are believed to be on board that helicopter with him, all daughters, one of them a newborn, is simply devastating," Gutman said. That reporting was quickly refuted by local news affiliates and TMZ. Gutman issued a correction and an apology later in the day. "Today I inaccurately reported it was believed that four of Kobe Bryant’s children were on board that flight. That is incorrect. I apologize to Kobe’s family, friends and our viewers," Gutman stated.

Tennessee Rep. Van Huss files bill to recognize CNN, Washington Post as 'fake news' State Rep. Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough) filed a bill in the Tennessee General Assembly that would recognize CNN and the Washington Post as "fake news." The proposed resolution said it would recognize "CNN and the Washington Post as fake news and condemns them for denigrating our citizens."

8am – E A trans female Virginia delegate, who was biologically born a male, got an arm tattoo of the first 24 words of the Equal Rights Amendment. Democratic Manassas, Virginia, Del. Danica Roem tweeted a picture Wednesday showing Roem smiling with an arm tattoo of the words “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

INTERVIEW - FRED FLEITZ - President and CEO of the Center for Security Policy. He served in 2018 as a Deputy Assistant to President Donald Trump and Chief of Staff to National Security Adviser John Bolton.

Fred Fleitz: Ambassador Bolton, withdraw your book. (Fox News) It was crushing to read weekend press reports that my friend and former boss John Bolton plans to publish a tell-all book on his time as President Trump’s National Security Adviser.  The book reportedly will be published in March 2020. Given the importance of protecting a president’s confidential discussions with his senior advisers, I strongly disagree with Bolton’s decision to release the book before the November presidential election and call on him to withdraw it from the publisher immediately. I have known John Bolton for 30 years and served as his chief of staff twice, at the State Department from 2001-2005 and at the White House National Security Council in 2018.  He is an exceptional national security expert and a man of great integrity.  President Trump’s choice of Bolton was one of his best personnel decisions and was I very sorry when the courageous and visionary national security adviser left the White House after the relationship broke down.