Legal analyst Joe diGenova, Susan Ferrechio and Richard Kelsey joined WMAL on Monday morning.

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Mornings on the Mall

Monday, January 5, 2015

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

5am – A/B/C Huckabee Leaving Fox News to Mull 2016 Presidential Campaign. (NBC News) — Television host and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says he is leaving his Fox News talk show as he considers whether to seek the 2016 Republican nomination for president — a decision he expects to reach in the spring. Huckabee said Saturday night's edition of "Huckabee" would be his last as he ponders his political future. "There's been a great deal of speculation as to whether I would run for president. And if I were willing to absolutely rule that out, I could keep doing this show. But I can't make such a declaration," he said at the end of Saturday's program.  “Now, I'm not going to make a decision about running until late in the spring of 2015, but the continued chatter has put Fox News into a position that just isn't fair to them — nor is it possible for me to openly determine political and financial support to justify a race. The honorable thing to do at this point is to end my tenure here at Fox. Now, as much as I have loved doing the show, I cannot bring myself to rule out another presidential run." Huckabee, 59, won the Iowa caucuses in 2008, finishing ahead of Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, John McCain and Ron Paul. He came in third, however, in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary, behind McCain and Romney. McCain emerged as the leader in the primaries that followed and Huckabee ended his campaign that March.

5am – D         Squatters invade $1M Bethesda home, caught by homeowner during move-in. BETHESDA, Md. (WJLA) – A father, mother, their three young children and pet dog moved into a luxurious custom-built home that did not belong to them, police say. James Crombie, 47, of Kensington, is now facing a long list of criminal charges related to the alleged squatting incident at the vacant home nestled along the 7600 block of Dwight Drive in Bethesda. According to charging documents filed in Montgomery County District Court, the Crombie clan was unpacking a moving truck stocked full of personal belongings when the home's true owner pulled into the driveway. He confronted the family and immediately called police. Crombie, a convicted con artist, told officers the home had been purchased for him by a Columbia, Md. consulting firm called The Moore Group. The 47-year-old said he was a principal member of the company. However, he had no sales contract or property title to prove his rightful ownership. Consequently, police forced the Crombies to vacate the residence the next day. Formal charges were filed a few weeks later. "It was shocking," neighbor Patricia Medeiros remarked. "I can't imagine how you would think you could get away with something like that. Not to mention the ethical issues involved with moving into someone else's home." The two-story house features a gourmet kitchen, marble bathrooms, custom closets and professional landscaping. Many rooms were badly damaged during the Crombie family's short stay. Court paperwork indicates the carpet was stained, door locks broken, ceiling dented and expensive furniture soiled. Repairs and cleaning costs topped $1,000.

5am – E         Entertainment news:

• Elvis Presley’s luxury jets go to auction.  (The Guardian) —  The Lisa Marie and Hound Dog II, designed by the late singer, are expected to fetch up to $15m at California auction. Elvis Presley’s pair of personal jets – one of which has a gilded wash basin and plush sleeping quarters – will go under the hammer in California. The Lisa Marie and Hound Dog II, designed by the late singer, will be offered together and are expected to fetch between $10m and $15m, Julien’s Auctions said. The planes, which are no longer airworthy, had been on display at Graceland, Presley’s estate in Memphis, Tennessee, for the past three decades. The rock’n’roll singer bought the Convair 880 jet from Delta Air Lines in 1975, two years before his death, for $250,000. He named it Lisa Marie after his daughter. Presley spent more than $300,000 refurbishing it with a bedroom, conference room, bar and videotape system linked to four TVs. He had the plane painted red, white and blue with his motto – TCB or “takin’ care of business” – on the tail. Presley purchased the Hound Dog II, a 10-seater Lockheed Jetstar, the same year for about $900,000 while waiting for the refurbishment of the Lisa Marie. The four-engine 28-passenger Convair could fly Presley, who preferred to travel at night, up to 3,000 miles.
• Donald Trump Fires Keshia Knight Pulliam From Celebrity Apprentice for Not Reaching Out to Bill Cosby.  (Us magazine) — Awkward! Keshia Knight Pulliam, a.k.a. Rudy Huxtable from The Cosby Show, has become the first contestant to be fired from Celebrity Apprentice — because she refused to ask alleged abuser Bill Cosby for help. On Sunday, Jan. 5’s show (recorded prior to Cosby's recent sex abuse allegations) Donald Trump told a disappointed Pulliam she was to blame for her team's lack of success during a charity task, because she refused to pull personal strings and contact the comedian to ask for a donation. Pulliam, who was project manager for the task, was trying to raise money for her own charity, Kamp Kizzy, by selling pies with her all-female team that included fellow contestants Kate Gosselin, Vivica A. Fox, Shawn Johnson, Bradi Glanville, Kenya Moore and Leeza Gibbons.

6am – A/B/C Poll: 60% of Republicans want Boehner out. As Congress gets ready to convene, a new poll shows a full 60 percent of Republican voters want Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, removed from his position as House speaker. Boehner has lost the confidence of his own party voters, according to the telephone survey conducted Dec. 26-30 by pollster Pat Caddell on behalf of People’s Poll. The national poll reveals that only 25 percent of GOP voters would vote to keep Boehner.  The official speaker’s election is scheduled for Jan. 6.

Louie Gohmert Challenges John Boehner For House Speaker. Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert announced Sunday he’ll challenge John Boehner for House Speaker. Gohmert told Tucker Carlson that people in Congress say they would vote for someone other than Boehner but they have no options. Now they do, he asserted. They have two options, Gohmert and Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) and maybe more will get in the race yet. If a majority of those present and voting for a person vote for someone other than Boehner, the speaker’s race goes to a second round. Right now that number is around 29, since Rep. Grimm is resigning effective tomorrow. A high level GOP source says at that point, there is blood and the water and a second round vote could facilitate many other candidates jumping in the race. The Texas congressman explained that Boehner and the GOP leadership deceived the American people when they went to Obama and Pelosi to get the votes for the Cromnibus, they told the people they would fight tooth and nail against amnesty…it follows a number of years of broken promises. Gohmert also referenced the recent poll that came out showing that 60% of Republican voters and Republican leaning voters want someone other than Boehner on the job.

6am – D         My 5-Year-Old Wants to Be a Single Mother. (Huffington Post/By Karen Mangiacotti – Writer, comedian, mom. http://girlonsaturday.blogspot.com) – “My 5-year-old daughter and I were discussing weddings and dance parties. I was feeling good about my open-minded parenting skills when I turned to her and said: "Well, if you choose to get married some day, you can have a disco ball at your wedding, too." I am careful never to mention gender when I talk about partnering. I am always clear that there are no expectations about whom they may couple with when they become adults, or if they choose to couple at all. I use inclusive language; I let them know I love them no matter what. I am a supportive and a great mom. Or so I thought. Because in that moment, I got blindsided with a response that totally took me by surprise.  "Actually," my sweet little girl looked me in the eye, ever-so-matter-of-factly, "I am going to be a single mom." ….  Here I was. Judging my young daughter for mindfully dreaming of being a single mother. It is crazy because, for me, being a single mother was one of the best times of my life. Sure, I could have done without the eating-only-rice-and-beans-for-months-on-end part, but the rest was pure magic. I worked (often with my baby in a front pack), and I mothered, and that was it. When the weekend came it was a glorious montage of free-feeling, little-person-centered fun and love. No house projects and no mate to suck up all of our time. It was beautiful. Why, then, was I horrified at the thought of my daughter asking for this life? Because I have baggage. Stupid, unwanted, limiting, mind-closing baggage. I have it and so might you. Luckily, we also have our super speedy, kindness-minded, progressive brains that can help us recognize that baggage — and then send it packing (hee-hee-hee). What happens in our brains we can't help, but what comes out of our mouths we can. So after I told my inner rule-prisoner to zip it, I told my daughter, out loud: "I think you would be a wonderful single mother. Maybe Daddy and I can come babysit sometimes."

6am – E         WELCOME BACK:

• Brian recaps his vacation: he tried eggs on a buffet and lost his drivers license.
• Larry recapped what Brian he missed last week while he was away:
  • A military wedding was moved for Obama's golf game.
  • Redskins closed out their sad football season
  • DC hosted the Winter Classic at Nationals Park
  • Scalise apologizes for appearance at 2002 white supremacist event.  Last Updated Dec 31, 2014 8:07 AM EST – Tuesday afternoon, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, issued a statement apologizing for his appearance twelve years ago at a white supremacist event, saying, "It was a mistake I regret, and I emphatically oppose the divisive racial and religious views groups like these hold. I am very disappointed that anyone would try to infer otherwise for political gain."

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

• McDonnell sentencing on Tuesday:  (Washington Post) – Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his wife, Maureen, were convicted in September of using the prestige of the office to receive $177,000 in loans, vacations and luxury goods from Richmond businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr. The former governor is expected to be sentenced Tuesday.  Attorneys for former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) called prosecutors' recommendation that he go to jail for a decade "extreme and unjustified," while prosecutors said McDonnell's request for community service was far too light. Neither side revised their recommendations to the federal District Judge James Spencer, who will sentence McDonnell on Tuesday.
• Hinckley won’t face murder charge in death of James Brady, prosecutors say. (Washington Post / January 2) — Federal prosecutors said they will not charge John W. Hinckley Jr. with murder in the shooting of President Ronald Reagan’s press secretary in a 1981 assassination attempt, even though a medical examiner concluded that James S. Brady’s death in August was caused by the old wounds. The decision, announced Friday by the U.S. attorney for the District, comes four months after a medical examiner decided that Brady’s death at the age of 73 was a direct result of a bullet fired 34 years ago outside the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest.

7am – B         DC Streetcar Crashes into Car While in 'Test Mode' on H Street. (NBC Washington) — A streetcar in Washington crashed into a car on H Street while in "test mode,'' just two weeks before the transit line is slated to open. D.C.'s Department of Transportation confirmed that a streetcar on the line that runs along H street and Benning Road in Washington — and is not yet open to the public — crashed into a car at the intersection of 6th and H streets on Saturday. The streetcar was going between 7 and 9 miles an hour, eastbound on H street, according to the department. A spokesman for the DC DOT told The Washington Post it was a "minor accident," and said it will not impact the line's opening, scheduled for the week of Jan. 19. No one was hurt. D.C. police are investigating the cause of the crash and who was at fault.

7am – C         Cops turn backs on Mayor de Blasio during eulogy for NYPD Officer Wenjian Liu. (NY Daily News) — The NYPD was not united in the silent protest that flouted an order from Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who said Liu’s funeral is 'about grieving, not grievance.' Many cops who turned their backs only ended up nose-to-nose with colleagues who opted not to participate. Hundreds of cops turned their backs on Mayor de Blasio yet again Sunday as he delivered a eulogy for a fallen officer, flouting a request from Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. While de Blasio hailed the life and legacy of Officer Wenjian Liu, 32, at Aievoli Funeral Home in Brooklyn, scores of cops outside turned away from a large video feed of his remarks. The majority participating in the silent protest wore NYPD uniforms.

Anti-Police Progressives: No Justice, No Brunch. (Daily Caller/Derek Hunter) — As anti-police protests peter out across the country, progressive activists are becoming increasingly desperate to maintain what they saw as momentum for their cause. But, as is the case with any dying movement, when the larger crowds dwindle, the only people left are the extremists and radicals who have no appeal to anyone outside of their fellow radicals. A handful of these radicals took to the restaurants of New York City Sunday morning to demand…attention. The attention they got they didn’t much care for. On Twitter under the hashtag “#BlackBrunchNYC,” they “stormed” eateries offering brunch and draw attention to themselves. Rather than inspire a nationwide movement, they inspired ridicule. First came the “activism.”

7am – D         NBC 4 reports that the Hyattsville City Council will meet Monday, January 5th at 7:45 pm and they want to know what people think about lowering the voting age. The idea is to increase voter turnout.

• Hyattsville leaders consider plan to let 16-year-olds vote. (WTOP) – WASHINGTON — The Hyattsville City Council will allow the public to comment on its proposal to let 16-year-olds vote in local elections. The council is considering a plan to lower the voting age to 16. The change is designed to increase voter participation and could be in effect for this year’s mayoral and council seat elections. Supporters say that teenagers are already working and driving at 16, so allowing them to vote now will influence a lifetime of casting ballots. If it passes, Hyattsville will join the city of Takoma Park in allowing teenagers to vote. The public hearing takes place at the Hyattsville Municipal Building, 4310 Gallatin Street, 3rd floor. Call 301-985-5000 for more information.

7am – E         Sports news:

• Romo, Cowboys rally past Lions 24-20 in wild card. ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Face-down on the turf, Tony Romo pounded his hands into the ground like a petulant child. Frustrated by yet another season-ending failure? Far from it. The Dallas quarterback was celebrating after giving the Cowboys the lead in a stirring playoff comeback. Romo threw two touchdown passes to Terrance Williams, the second for the lead late in the fourth quarter, and the Cowboys rallied for a 24-20 wild-card win over Detroit on Sunday in their first playoff game in five years. Dallas (13-4) wiped out an early two-touchdown deficit to advance to a divisional game in Green Bay, their first postseason visit there since a heartbreaking loss to the Packers in the Ice Bowl in 1967. ''You just have to stay in the moment and understand the game,'' Romo said. ''It doesn't end after the first quarter, second quarter. You just have to keep calm. I've played enough games to understand that. Maybe I didn't do that as well when I was younger.'' The Lions (11-6) went 99 yards for one of two first-quarter touchdowns, but Matthew Stafford couldn't get them in the end zone again.

• Stuart Scott dies at age of 49. Stuart Scott, a longtime anchor at ESPN, died Sunday morning at the age of 49. Among the features of the new ESPN studio in Bristol is a wall of catchphrases made famous by on-air talent over the years. An amazing nine of them belong to one man — from his signature "Boo-Yah!" to "As cool as the other side of the pillow" to "He must be the bus driver cuz he was takin' him to school."
• Chris Christie scores awkward Jerry Jones hug after high-5 denial. We all knew Chris Christie is a big Cowboys fan. (NY Post) – For the Cowboys’ wild-card game against the Lions on Sunday, Christie had seats in owner Jerry Jones’ suite, where bystanders in the adjoining hallway got a contact million. As Dallas somehow completed a comeback in a game that had a little bit of everything (including a disappearing flag), New Jersey’s hefty governor proved that even celebrations are bigger in Texas. Christie’s childlike, plump face lit up as his arms raised for the patented, postgame high-five — but Jones was busy hugging his son, Stephen. Demurred but not undeterred, Christie wrapped his arms around Jones, resting his chin on Jones’ arm, in an embrace that will forever be played and replayed by (slight) numbers of Christie fans and (large) numbers of masochists.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — SUSAN FERRECHIO – chief congressional correspondent for The Washington Examiner

• Preview of Congress coming back: what to expect with the GOP Congress
• Poll: 60% of Republicans want Boehner out. As Congress gets ready to convene, a new poll shows a full 60 percent of Republican voters want Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, removed from his position as House speaker. Boehner has lost the confidence of his own party voters, according to the telephone survey conducted Dec. 26-30 by pollster Pat Caddell on behalf of People’s Poll. The national poll reveals that only 25 percent of GOP voters would vote to keep Boehner.  The official speaker’s election is scheduled for Jan. 6.
• Louie Gohmert Challenges John Boehner For House Speaker. Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert announced Sunday he’ll challenge John Boehner for House Speaker. Gohmert told Tucker Carlson that people in Congress say they would vote for someone other than Boehner but they have no options. Now they do, he asserted. They have two options, Gohmert and Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) and maybe more will get in the race yet.

8am – B         Celebrity Apprentice Season Premiere Recap:

• Donald Trump Fires Keshia Knight Pulliam From Celebrity Apprentice for Not Reaching Out to Bill Cosby.  (Us magazine) — Awkward! Keshia Knight Pulliam, a.k.a. Rudy Huxtable from The Cosby Show, has become the first contestant to be fired from Celebrity Apprentice — because she refused to ask alleged abuser Bill Cosby for help.
• Team Geraldo wins Celebrity Apprentice pie-making challenge: The men's team went for "Team Vortex" (after joking that the women's team should be "Team Hormone"). Celebrity attorney Geraldo Rivera was named project manager, much to the chagrin of Kevin Jonas (of Jonas Brothers fame).  Jonas continually sniped at Rivera's leadership technique to the camera, including Rivera's lack of knowledge of Jonas' social media power. Jonas said he just has to tweet out asking people to do this thing for him and "they're going to do it." Go Jonas minions, go! Jonas was in charge of making a dessert pie, which was a pudding-based one. While actor Lorenzo Lamas made a low-calorie version of a chicken pot pie. Unfortunately, "Deadliest Catch" star Sig Hansen burned a lot of the pies. Gilbert Gottfried, meanwhile, was bringing in entertainment from circus performers to comedians to keep the crowd entertained. And it was a definite crowd. "I thought at first he was going to be like Mr. Magoo…" Rivera said. "But I must say when push come to shove, Gilbert Gottfried really stood up to the plate… he's a surprising and easily under estimable person." The men's team focused on bringing in big money. It was a tactic that worked. They raised more than $180,000.

8am – C         Sarah Palin Defends Her Son: ‘At Least Trig Didn’t Eat the Dog.’ PETA called Palin a "bizarrely callous woman." A Facebook photograph of Sarah Palin’s son standing on a dog to reach the kitchen sink has led to a heated online exchange between animal rights activists and the politician-turned-reality-TV-star. Just a day after Palin posted a series of photos of her six-year-old son Trig standing on a dog, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released a statement calling Palin a “bizarrely callous woman.” “PETA simply believes that people shouldn’t step on dogs, and judging by the reaction that we’ve seen to Sarah Palin’s Instagram photo, we’re far from alone in that belief,” said Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA, according to the Associated Press. “Chill. At least Trig didn’t eat the dog,” Palin fired back in a lengthy Facebook post in reference to President Barack Obama’s admission that he ate dog as a child in Indonesia. Palin also pointed out that Ellen DeGeneres shared a photo of a young girl using a dog to reach a bathroom sink last year without any reaction from PETA. DeGeneres was the advocacy organization’s 2009 woman of the year.

8am – D         INTERVIEW: RICHARD KELSEY – Assistant Dean, George Mason School of Law

• McDonnell sentencing on Tuesday:  (Washington Post) – Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his wife, Maureen, were convicted in September of using the prestige of the office to receive $177,000 in loans, vacations and luxury goods from Richmond businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr. The former governor is expected to be sentenced Tuesday.  Attorneys for former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) called prosecutors' recommendation that he go to jail for a decade "extreme and unjustified," while prosecutors said McDonnell's request for community service was far too light. Neither side revised their recommendations to the federal District Judge James Spencer, who will sentence McDonnell on Tuesday.

TOMORROW:          DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, Rep. Louie Gohmert and Larry Kudlow