Metro victim lawyer Kim Brooks-Rodney, Rep. Mike Rogers and Big Hollywood's John Nolte joined WMAL on Friday.
Mornings on the Mall
Friday, January 16, 2015
Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor
5am – A DRIVE AT FIVE INTERVIEW – KIM BROOKS-RODNEY – she is a lawyer representing victims in a forthcoming metro lawsuit
- Lawsuit to Be Filed Over Smoke-Filled Metro Tunnel. Several Metro passengers who were injured Monday when a Yellow Line train filled with smoke have have announced that they will file a lawsuit against the transit agency for negligence. Malbert Rich, who was hospitalized after Monday's incident, spoke at Thursday's news conference. He said he didn't see a way to get off the train and began texting his family to say his final goodbye. "I told my mother that I loved being her son. I told my kids, I loved being their dad," Rich recalled during Thursday's news conference. Video from those aboard shows passengers coughing and lying on the ground, searching for fresh air. According to witness reports, it took as long as an hour for first responders to reach the passengers. Carol Inman Glover, 61, died during Monday's incident, and dozens of other people were injured. Glover was the first fatality on the Metro system since a 2009 crash killed nine people.
5am – B Timeline shows long wait for help on smoke-filled Metro train. (WTOP) — WASHINGTON — Passengers on a smoke-filled subway train in the nation’s capital were still asking when help would arrive 27 minutes after the smoke was first reported, District of Columbia officials said Thursday. One woman died and dozens more were sickened when the train filled with smoke Monday afternoon near a busy station in downtown Washington. The cause of the electrical malfunction that led to the smoke remains under investigation. District officials released a timeline of the emergency response Thursday morning. While it does not disclose the time that paramedics reached the smoke-filled train, it confirms the accounts of passengers who said they waited more than a half-hour for help. The first report of trouble came at 3:18 p.m., when a 911 caller reported smoke emerging from a tunnel near the station. Several 911 calls followed, and at 3:45 p.m., two people called from the train to ask whether help was on the way. It was another 24 minutes after that, at 4:09 p.m., that officials reported performing CPR on the woman who later died. Passengers have said they tried to revive her on the train before emergency responders got there. She wasn’t taken to a hospital until 4:25 p.m. — more than an hour after the smoke was spotted. The timeline also shows that firefighters were on the scene for 13 minutes before Metro subway officials confirmed that people were trapped on a train and that the electrified third rail had been shut down. The first reports of trouble actually came from another downtown Metro station about a mile away. According to the timeline, Metro called to report a debris fire on the tracks. It was not clear whether that fire was related to the electrical malfunction that caused the smoke, but it occurred north of the L’Enfant Plaza station. The train that filled with smoke was heading south toward Virginia.
5am – C Another $21M approved for Silver Spring Transit Center. SILVER SPRING, Md. (WUSA9) — Montgomery County council members approved another $21 million to complete repairs to the beleaguered Silver Spring Transit Center. The project is already four years behind schedule and $50 million over original budget. The new money will go towards correcting cracks and other construction and design defects. The total cost of the Silver Spring transit center project is now up to nearly $140 million. "My concerns reflect my constituents concerns why has this taken so long. This has taken longer than WWII," said a heated Montgomery County Council President George Leventhal, frustrated over the delays with the Paul S. Sarbanes Silver Spring Transit Center. However, Leventhal affirmed on Wednesday, "The center is going to be fixed, it's going to be safe, it's going to be open to the public." Leventhal said he's expecting the project to be completed and opened this spring. The council voted on Tuesday to approve the final funds needed.
5am – D Arizona will require students to pass civics test. (USA Today) — PHOENIX — Arizona will became the first state to require high school students to pass a civics test to graduate when the governor signs a bill that was fast-tracked Thursday. The measure sailed through the Legislature's committees Thursday morning and was approved by both chambers Thursday afternoon. Daniel Scarpinato, Gov. Doug Ducey's spokesman, said the governor would sign the bill Thursday, as he promised in his State of the State speech Monday. The American Civics Act will require students to pass 60 of the 100 questions on the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization civics test, and they can retake the test until they pass, starting in eighth grade. The requirement will start for the class of 2017, today's high school sophomores. It will be up to school districts and charter schools to determine how to include civics instruction in their curricula and how to test their students.
5am – E Oscars Nominations Recap:
- ‘Dick Poop’ flub during Oscar nominations spirals into social media frenzy as the real Dick Pope reacts. Whoops! Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs mispronounced Dick Pope's name while reading off the nominees for Best Cinematography on Thursday. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Cheryl Boone Isaacs sent the Twitterverse abuzz when she took the stage to announce this year's Oscar nominations and pronounced Dick Pope's name as "Dick Poop" when reading off his nod for "Mr. Turner" in the Best Cinematography category.
- Al Sharpton Calls For Emergency Meeting To Address 'Appalling' All-White Oscar Nominees. The Rev. Al Sharpton was left fuming mad after the Oscars revealed its all-white list of nominees for this year's Oscar awards on Thursday. "The movie industry is like the Rocky Mountains, the higher you get, the whiter it gets," Sharpton quipped in a statement released later in the afternoon. Sharpton, a critic of the lack of diversity in Hollywood, also announced he was holding an "emergency meeting" next week to address the issue. "I have called an emergency meeting early next week in Hollywood with the task force to discuss possible action around the Academy Awards," he said. The prestigious awards ceremony was widely criticized after its nominees for best actor, best actress, and best director were all white. In the past two decades this has happened only one other time, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sharpton praised the Oscars for nominating the civil-rights film "Selma" for best picture, but said it was "ironic" because the film is based on Dr. Martin Luther King's marches.
- 'American Sniper' poised to pull in $50 million over four-day weekend. Fresh off several Oscar nominations, Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper” will likely rise to the top of the box office over the busy Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend. The war drama, starring Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller, could make a whopping $50 million over the four-day weekend, according to people who have seen pre-release audience surveys. That would put it significantly ahead of this weekend’s newcomers: cyber-security thriller “Blackhat,” Kevin Hart comedy “Wedding Ringer” and family film “Paddington.” In its limited release over the Christmas holiday weekend, “American Sniper” premiered to a stellar $240,212 from just four theaters in Los Angeles, New York and Dallas. The film, which cost Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow about $58 million to make, will roll out in 3,555 screens across the U.S.
6am – A/B/C Del. Hope aims to tie gun permits to child-support payments. Del. Patrick Hope (D-47th) is seeking to ensure prompt payment of child support by taking a unique tack – threatening to revoke gun privileges for those who fall behind. Under the measure, an individual’s concealed-handgun permit could be revoked if the individual is delinquent in the payment of child support by more than 90 days or more than $5,000. The bill, if enacted, also would allow for revocation of the permit if an individual has failed to comply with a subpoena, summons or warrant relating to paternity or child-support proceedings. In each case, if the matter is addressed by the individual, he or she could reapply for a concealed-weapons permit, but would not automatically get it back. Hope said his proposal is not going unchallenged. “There will be the usual pushback on this bill,” he told the Sun Gazette. “Gun-rights advocates have already challenged me on revoking their constitutional right to carry a gun.”
6am – D Maryland state senator plans to introduce right-to-die bill. (AP) — REDERICK, Md. — A Maryland state senator says he’ll introduce a bill this year to make it legal for Maryland doctors to help terminally ill patients end their own lives. The Frederick News-Post reported Wednesday that Democratic Sen. Ron Young’s proposal would allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication to adults who are within six months of death. The patients could then decide if they want to take the drugs. The Frederick County lawmaker says the proposal resembles an Oregon law and was crafted by Compassion and Choices, a nonprofit that lobbies for so-called death-with-dignity legislation.
6am – E Kerry says he's going to give 'a big hug to Paris. PARIS (AP) — Pledging "to share a big hug with Paris" and show American solidarity with the French people after last week's deadly terrorist attacks, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has touched down in the French capital. Kerry arrived in Paris on Thursday from Sofia, Bulgaria, where he said his trip to France is not an apology for the Obama administration's failure to send a senior official to last weekend's unity march. Rather, he said it is to express the "affection" Americans have for France, which has been on edge since the attacks. Kerry will go to a town hall meeting with the mayor of Paris on Friday and express sympathy for the victims of the terror attacks last week. Singer-songwriter James Taylor, an old friend of Kerry's, has joined him there and will perform one song. He said he did not intend to explain the lack of a high-profile U.S. presence at Sunday's march, which the White House has acknowledged was a mistake. Some 40 world leaders and more than a million people took part in the march to show solidarity with France after the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper and a kosher supermarket.
5 Yemeni Gitmo detainees transferred; 122 remain. Yemeni terror suspects held at Gitmo released to live in nearby Oman. The Department of Defense announced Wednesday that five Yemeni terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have been released. But despite concerns from lawmakers about the risks of sending anybody back to Yemen, four were released to Oman — which is right next door. Yemen is back in the spotlight in the wake of the Paris terror attacks. One of the suspects traveled there in 2011 and met with the radical American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in the region, claimed responsibility for the attacks.
7am – A INTERVIEW – Former U.S. Representative Mike Rogers – former House Intelligence Committee Chairman, CNN's national security analyst and host of the daily segments, Something to Think About with Mike Rogers.
- Al Qaeda branch claims Charlie Hebdo attack was years in the making
- 5 Yemeni Gitmo detainees transferred; 122 remain
7am – B QVC hosts filmed arguing about whether the Moon is a planet or a star. (NY Daily News) – QVC shopping channel hosts Jane Treacy and Isaac Mizrahi were filmed arguing about whether the moon is a planet or a star. If you took science in grade school you know that the Moon is neither a planet nor a star, but these TV hosts are completely clueless. In a recent YouTube video that surfaced online, QVC shopping channel hosts Jane Treacy and Isaac Mizrahi were filmed arguing about whether the Moon is a planet or star. The argument started when one of the hosts referenced the Moon while they were looking at a green blouse. "It kind of looks like what the Earth looks like when you're a bazillion miles away from the planet Moon," Treacy said. "The planet Moon…" replied Mizrahi.
7am – C Ben & Jerry’s releases new ice cream flavors with ‘Cookie Core’ concept. (Kansas City Star) — Thought your favorite pint of Ben & Jerry’s couldn’t get better? Think again. The Vermont ice cream company has developed three new flavors hitting freezer aisles near you in the next few weeks. The new flavors combine cookies, ice cream and cookie butter as an expansion to the “Cookie Core” concept the brand debuted last year. In case you’re not familiar, the “Cookie Core” flavors feature “a thick core of spoonable cookie right down the center of the pint,” according to a release from the ice cream company. But enough about that — let’s get to the good stuff. The first new flavor, titled “Boom Chocolatta,” includes mocha and caramel ice creams with chocolate cookies, fudge flakes and a chocolate cookie core. Next up is “Peanut Buttah,” made of peanut butter ice cream with crunchy sugar bits, peanut butter cookies and a peanut butter cookie core. Last but not least is “Spectacular Speculoos,” consisting of dark caramel and vanilla ice creams with cinnamon-spiced cookies and a a cinnamon cookie butter core. To find out when the flavors will hit shelves in Kansas City, go to Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Locator.
Artery-Clogging Fried Chicken And Gravy Doughnut Sandwich Is A Thing You Can Get. (DCist) — This is a thing you can get in D.C. now: A fried chicken and gravy doughnut sandwich. "What? Why? How? No, wait, what? DEAR GOD, WHY?" are questions that are probably running through your head right now. Here are the best answers I can provide: The artery-clogging concoction is the brainchild of Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken—creators of the head-scratching Banh Mi Doughnut Sandwich—which will be available during breakfast and lunch, so you can spend the rest of your day in a food-induced coma. The monstrous sandwich features "a piece of fried chicken topped with gravy on a savory doughnut bun" and "has a Cajun flair" with "chopped peppers, onions, and celery" (hey, vegetables!). The breakfast version is smaller, priced at $5.50, while the larger (Jesus, why?) lunch version is $9.75. If, for whatever reason, that doesn't sound like enough calories for you, you can get extra gravy for $2. Anyway, yeah, that's a thing that exists. Eat it at your own risk. Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken is located at 1308 G Street NW, if you're feeling brave.
Wendy's removes soda option from kids' meal. Wendy's is the latest fast-food chain to remove the soda option from kids' meal menus. That means when parents drive through a pick-up window, they won't see soda as an option on the menu board, but if they decide to order one, they won't be turned down. The fast-food chain is the most recent to cave to pressure from children's health advocacy groups. McDonald's made a similar commitment to drop soda from Happy Meals in 2013, after partnering with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a group aimed at fighting childhood obesity.
7am – D Starting Friday, U.S. Will Ease Restrictions on Travel to Cuba. (NY Times) — As of Friday, the door will open a lot wider. While ordinary tourism remains banned by law, new rules put in place by President Obama will make it easier for Americans to visit Cuba than it has been for most of the last half-century. If airlines begin regular service between the United States and Cuba, as they quickly moved to do, it could soon be as simple as logging on to a computer to order a ticket and checking a box to say the trip serves a legitimate purpose. The rules will usher in a new era of contact between neighbors that have been estranged for longer than most of their citizens have been alive. It will be easier not only to travel, but also to send money. American telecommunications providers, financial institutions and agricultural companies will be given more opportunities to do business in Cuba. Visitors will be allowed to spend more, use credit cards and even bring home up to $100 in Cuban cigars. United Airlines announced on Thursday that it planned to seek approval to begin regular service to Cuba from Newark and Houston. American Airlines, which operates charter flights to Cuba from Miami and Tampa, Fla., said it was reviewing the rule changes.
7am – E Duke cancels plan to use the tower of its chapel for a weekly, amplified call to prayer for Muslims. DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Days after announcing that a Muslim call to prayer would echo from its historic chapel tower, Duke University changed course Thursday following a flurry of calls and emails objecting to the plan. Instead, Muslims will gather for their call to prayer in a grassy area near the 210-foot gothic tower before heading into a room in Duke Chapel for their weekly prayer service. The university had previously said a moderately amplified call to prayer would be read by members of the Muslim Students Association from the tower for about three minutes each Friday. Michael Schoenfeld, Duke’s vice president for public affairs and government relations, said it would be up to the students if they want to use some sort of amplification.
8am – A INTERVIEW – JOHN NOLTE – BIG HOLLYWOOD
- John's review of American Sniper
- Oscar Snubs Box Office Hits
- Al Sharpton Calls For Emergency Meeting To Address 'Appalling' All-White Oscar Nominees
8am – B Transportation news:
- Timeline shows long wait for help on smoke-filled Metro train. WASHINGTON — Passengers on a smoke-filled subway train in the nation’s capital were still asking when help would arrive 27 minutes after the smoke was first reported, District of Columbia officials said Thursday. One woman died and dozens more were sickened when the train filled with smoke Monday afternoon near a busy station in downtown Washington. The cause of the electrical malfunction that led to the smoke remains under investigation. District officials released a timeline of the emergency response Thursday morning. While it does not disclose the time that paramedics reached the smoke-filled train, it confirms the accounts of passengers who said they waited more than a half-hour for help.
- Lawsuit to Be Filed Over Smoke-Filled Metro Tunnel. Several Metro passengers who were injured Monday when a Yellow Line train filled with smoke have have announced that they will file a lawsuit against the transit agency for negligence. Malbert Rich, who was hospitalized after Monday's incident, spoke at Thursday's news conference. He said he didn't see a way to get off the train and began texting his family to say his final goodbye.
- Another $21M approved for Silver Spring Transit Center. SILVER SPRING, Md. (WUSA9) — Montgomery County council members approved another $21 million to complete repairs to the beleaguered Silver Spring Transit Center. The project is already four years behind schedule and $50 million over original budget. The new money will go towards correcting cracks and other construction and design defects. The total cost of the Silver Spring transit center project is now up to nearly $140 million. "My concerns reflect my constituents concerns why has this taken so long. This has taken longer than WWII," said a heated Montgomery County Council President George Leventhal, frustrated over the delays with the Paul S. Sarbanes Silver Spring Transit Center. However, Leventhal affirmed on Wednesday, "The center is going to be fixed, it's going to be safe, it's going to be open to the public." Leventhal said he's expecting the project to be completed and opened this spring. The council voted on Tuesday to approve the final funds needed.
8am – C Howard Co. teen sentenced to jail for setting speed camera on fire. (WTOP) — ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — A Howard County teen has been sentenced to two days in jail for setting fire to a speed camera near Glenelg High School and trying to light another last May. Connor Eash, 19, of Glenelg, admitted to setting a speed camera on fire on May 22, 2014. Howard County Police witnessed Eash return to the same location two days later with an ax, gasoline and a lighter. He was arrested after fleeing the scene, telling officers he considered speed cameras to be immoral. Circuit Court Judge Richard S. Bernhardt issued the two-day sentence after a passionate plea from Eash, a Howard County police officer and attorney Edward Curry to avoid jail time.
8am – D State of the Union preview:
- Ernst to deliver GOP State of the Union rebuttal. Sen. Joni Ernst will deliver the Republican rebuttal to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, thrusting her into a prominent role that has proved challenging to previous GOP speakers. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday pegged Ernst, an Iowa Republican elected in November, for the nationally prominent speaking role. In picking Ernst, McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, emphasized her commitment to the middle class and suggested her remarks would focus on GOP efforts to address middle-class families' needs.
MONDAY: Joe diGenova
