Fox 5's Paul Wagner, Stuart Varney and MD Comptroller Peter Franchot joined WMAL on Thursday.

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INTERVIEW — PETER FRANCHOT – Maryland Comptroller

  INTERVIEW – STUART VARNEY – Anchor of Varney and Company, Fox Business

INTERVIEW – PAUL WAGNER – Fox 5 Reporter in DC

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

5am – A         DRIVE AT FIVE INTERVIEW: Anne Arundel County Councilman JOHN GRASSO, R-Glen Burnie

5am – B/C     Grasso calls people who seek government assistance 'freeloaders.'  (Capital Gazette) — Anne Arundel councilman stands by statement that he has no sympathy for affordable housing projects. County Councilman John Grasso said he stands by his comments at the council’s Monday meeting where he said people who can’t afford it should not live in Anne Arundel County — and that he’s heard from several people who agree with him. The Glen Burnie Republican told The Capital during an hourlong telephone conversation Thursday he believes those seeking government assistance are “freeloaders.” He said that includes people who seek help who have kids while not on sound financial footing. “Who told them to have children?” Grasso said. People “use children as a crutch to describe laziness.” In a follow-up text message, Grasso added: “I stand behind what I say.” “Most people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan (and) every one of those folks should learn that,” Grasso wrote.

5am – D         House passes bill to defund Obama’s immigration orders. (The Hill) — The House voted Wednesday to block funding for President Obama’s immigration orders, firing the first shot in a high-stakes battle over deferred deportations for the millions of people who are in the country illegally. The measure passed in a 236-191 vote, with 10 Republicans voting against it and two Democrats voting in favor. Democrats rallied against the bill, which would fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through September, after Republicans adopted a series of contentious amendments that take aim at facets of Obama’s immigration policy. One of the amendments would choke off funding for Obama’s executive action announced in November, which would allow some illegal immigrants to stay in the country and obtain work permits. A second amendment would halt the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA), which lifts deportation for some illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children. The defunding amendment was adopted in a 237-190 vote, with seven Republicans voting no, while the DACA amendment was approved 218-209, with 26 Republicans defecting. House Democrats were unified in opposition to both provisions.

5am – E         Marion Barry’s son threatened bank teller, destroyed security camera, police say. (Washington Post) — Marion Christopher Barry, son of the late former D.C. mayor, threatened a teller and destroyed a surveillance camera at a Chinatown bank branch Tuesday, according to police. Barry, 34, is running for the Ward 8 D.C. Council seat held by his father, Marion Barry Jr., before his death Nov. 23. Barry did not respond to telephone calls made Tuesday and Wednesday. Frederick D. Cooke Jr., a lawyer who has previously represented both Barrys, said Wednesday that he was not aware of the incident and had not been contacted by Barry or the police about it. A message left for Barry’s campaign manager, John Rodriguez, was not returned Wednesday.

6am – A/B/C Obama Calls For The Right To Take A Day Off If You Get Sick. On Thursday, President Obama is going to call for the passage of the Healthy Families Act, a bill that would require most employers to give workers paid sick leave. The legislation calls for businesses with 15 or more employees to let them accrue up to seven paid sick days a year to care for themselves or a family member who falls ill. On a call with press, adviser Valerie Jarrett said the White House estimates that it would give 43 million workers access to leave who don’t already have it. The leave could also be used by victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking to recover or seek assistance. Obama will also urge states and local governments to pass sick leave laws of their own. The president will also sign a memorandum that will ensure federal employees get at least six weeks of paid sick leave for the arrival of a new child and propose that Congress pass legislation to give them six weeks of paid administrative leave.

6am – D/E     Maryland parents investigated for neglect after letting kids walk home alone.  (Washington Post) — It was a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. But what the parents saw as a moment of independence for their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, they say authorities viewed much differently. Danielle and Alexander Meitiv say they are being investigated for neglect for the Dec. 20 trek — in a case they say reflects a clash of ideas about how safe the world is and whether parents are free to make their own choices about raising their children. “We wouldn’t have let them do it if we didn’t think they were ready for it,” Danielle said.  She said her son and daughter have previously paired up for walks around the block, to a nearby 7-Eleven and to a library about three-quarters of a mile away. “They have proven they are responsible,” she said. “They’ve developed these skills.” The Meitivs say they believe in “free-range” parenting, a movement that has been a counterpoint to the hyper-vigilance of “helicopter” parenting, with the idea that children learn self-reliance by being allowed to progressively test limits, make choices and venture out in the world.

7am – A         INTERVIEW – PAUL WAGNER – Fox 5 Reporter in DC

• Document: Metro passengers told firefighters they were unable to open train car doors. (Paul Wagner, FOX 5 Reporter) — There is new information about the Metro incident at L'Enfant plaza that left one woman dead and more than 80 people injured. A document exclusively obtained by FOX 5 shows passengers were unable to open the car doors to the train and self-evacuate. The document is a first-hand account of what firefighters encountered when they entered the tunnel Monday afternoon and when they got to the train. According to the document, the firefighters pounded on the door of the last train car telling the passengers to open the doors. But they said they couldn't. The firefighters, using a special key that they carry with them, were then able to open the doors, and within minutes, had found Carol Glover — the woman who died.

7am – B         Latest news on Paris terror attack:

• New Charlie Hebdo flies off the shelves. (CBS) — PARIS — Charlie Hebdo's defiant new issue sold out before dawn around Paris, and still people were lining up at kiosks in case of a spare copy of the paper fronting the Prophet Muhammad. The core of the irreverent newspaper's staff perished a week ago when Islamic extremists linked to al Qaeda's Yemen branch stormed its offices, killing 12. Those who survived put out the issue that appeared on newsstands Wednesday, working out of borrowed offices, with a print run of 3 million — more than 50 times the usual circulation.
• Al Qaeda Gave Charlie Hebdo Killers $20K. A lethal al Qaeda affiliate gave one of the Charlie Hebdo shooters $20,000 for terrorist operations three years ago, but the U.S. has not found evidence the group directed last week’s massacre in Paris, two counter-terrorism officials told ABC News today. Al Qaeda’s Yemen affiliate AQAP said overnight it’s leadership "chose the target, laid the plan and financed the operation” and called the shooters, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, “heroes.”
• Sky News Cuts Off Interview With Guest Who Shows Charlie Hebdo Cover On Air.

7am – C         Unemployed Ohio man allegedly planned bomb-and-shoot attack on U.S. Capitol.  (CNN) – For months, 20-year-old Christopher Lee Cornell had been on the FBI's radar. Authorities said he left alarming posts on social media, talking about violent jihad.  On Wednesday, agents arrested the Cincinnati, Ohio, man before he could put his alleged plot into action.  Authorities say Cornell, who ostensibly tweeted under the name Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah, hatched a simple scheme. It was similar to the Paris attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, but at a key location — the U.S. Capitol, said a criminal complaint filed by an FBI agent.  The plan: Set off pipe bombs to put lawmakers and employees in panicked flight then gun them down with an assault rifle, as they ran across his path and that of an accomplice, Special Agent T.A. Staderman wrote.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – STUART VARNEY – Anchor of Varney and Company, Fox Business

• White House Makes Big Push For Paid Family Leave
• Community College Push
• New Charlie Hebdo flies off the shelves. Sky News Cuts Off Interview With Guest Who Shows Charlie Hebdo Cover On Air.
• House passes bill to defund Obama’s immigration orders

7am – E         Entertainment News:

• TMZ Pesters Jimmy Carter With Insanely Idiotic Question About Beyoncé. (Fishbowl DC) – Badgered by some goober reporter outside LaGuardia Airport, Jimmy Carter was asked to comment on remarks made by Mike Huckabee criticizing the Obamas for allowing their daughters to listen to Beyoncé. With a polite smile and a look of “Who the hell is Beyoncé?” in his eyes, Carter simply replied, “I don’t agree with much that Mike Huckabee says. I think President Obama’s doing a good job.”
• Rosie Perez to Exit ‘The View.’  (Variety) — After only four months on “The View,” Rosie Perez is leaving the ABC morning show, Variety has learned. Perez had taken off the month of January to appear in the Broadway play “Fish in the Dark,” but it’s understood that she won’t be coming back to the Hot Topics table once she’s done. It’s unclear when ABC will announce her departure, but for now “View” producers have been trying other younger co-hosts in her seat. A rep for “View” denied that Perez would be leaving the show. “Her status with the show has not changed,” ABC said. After declining steadily for a few years, ratings for “The View” have stabilized in its 18th season with new co-hosts Rosie O’Donnell and Nicolle Wallace joining moderator Whoopi Goldberg; the show is on par with last year in total viewers and down a bit in key demos.
• Justin Bieber Crashes Gay Republican Meeting by Accident. Imagine a room where America’s oldest gay Republican advocacy group was in one corner, with massive posters of Ronald Reagan and American flag paraphernalia, and Justin Bieber was mackin’ on groupies in the other corner. Now take that out of your imagination and place that in the real world, because that’s sort of what actually happened. Someone who attended the meeting of the Log Cabin Republicans’ L.A. chapter relayed this hilarious story to Jillian Barberie and John Phillips‘ show on 790 KABC, which played out at West Hollywood restaurant State Social House. The Log Cabin Republicans were meeting in the private upstairs seating area, called The Attic, when Justin Bieber’s entourage suddenly arrived and asked to be sat in The Attic as well.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — PETER FRANCHOT – Maryland Comptroller

• 90-day session of the Maryland General Assembly Session To Be Dominated By Budget Debate. As the Maryland General Assembly convenes Wednesday, state spending and taxes are expected to dominate. It’s hard to predict what else might happen when there’s a new governor, a break in dominance by Democrats and the biggest freshman class of lawmakers in decades. These are some issues legislative leaders and advocacy groups expect to at least talk about during the 90-day session.  Republican Gov.-elect Larry Hogan campaigned almost exclusively on economic issues, promising to curb state spending, roll back taxes and improve Maryland’s business climate. When he takes office on Jan. 21, he’ll face a $750 million budget shortfall — and has cautioned residents to prepare for painful cuts.
• "Let Summer Be Summer" petition: Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot will join Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan, and Sen. Jim Mathias (D-Md.), as well as other prominent officials next Thursday in Annapolis to discuss the "Let Summer Be Summer" petition.Franchot led an investigation promoting the positives of Maryland public schools starting after Labor Day. A governor's task force met for nearly a year to weigh the issue, and voted 11 to four in favor of post-Labor Day start date.

8am – B         Chipotle suspends pork supplier, leaving no carnitas at a third of restaurants. (Star Tribune) — NEW YORK — Chipotle says it stopped serving pork at hundreds of its restaurants after suspending a supplier that violated its standards. Chris Arnold, a spokesman for the Mexican food chain, told The Associated Press it's the first time the company stopped serving a topping for its burritos and bowls. He said Chipotle learned of the violation by the supplier on Friday through a routine audit, and did not have a timeline for when carnitas would return to affected stores, about a third of its total base. "It's hard to say how long it will last," he said. In New York City on Tuesday, a sign on the door of a Chipotle location stated, "SORRY, NO CARNITAS."

8am – C         Pope News:

• Initial Plans in Works for Pope to Visit Washington D.C.  Initial plans are in the works for Pope Francis to visit Washington D.C. this September, according to News4's Tom Sherwood. Sources close to the Catholic Church tell Sherwood the Pope is initially planning to speak to a joint session of Congress around Sept. 23, and during the trip to the Nation's Capital, would host an event at the Basilica in Northeast Washington.
• Pope on Charlie Hebdo: There are limits to free expression. ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) – Pope Francis said Thursday there are limits to freedom of expression, especially when it insults or ridicules someone's faith.  Francis spoke about the Paris terror attacks while en route to the Philippines, defending free speech as not only a fundamental human right but a duty to speak one's mind for the sake of the common good.  But he said there were limits.  By way of example, he referred to Alberto Gasparri, who organizes papal trips and was standing by his side aboard the papal plane.  "If my good friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch," Francis said, throwing a pretend punch his way. "It's normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others."

8am – D         Muslim Call to Prayer to be Chanted Every Friday at Duke University. In a new initiative to promote religious pluralism, Duke University will broadcast the Muslim call to prayer every Friday on campus. The call to prayer—also known as “adhan”—will be chanted by the Duke Muslim Student Association.  The prayer itself is set to start this Friday at 1:00 p.m. and will be broadcast and amplified from the Chapel bell tower on campus.  As campuses continue to foster political correctness, they use it as a way to favor religions seemingly at war with Western Civilization and Judeo-Christian beliefs.

TOMORROW:          Bret Baier, Rep. Mike Rogers and John Nolte.