Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, Joe Theismann and Bret Baier joined WMAL on Friday.

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Mornings on the Mall

Friday, January 23, 2015

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

5am – A/B/C Montgomery Co. Considering Later School Starts. (NBC News) — The Montgomery County Board of Education is considering pushing back public school start times. The board heard from parents and members of the community at public hearings on Thursday. Several options are under consideration for high schools, middle schools and elementary schools. Proposals range from keeping times the same to starting high schools more than an hour later. Montgomery County public high schools currently start at 7:25 a.m. The cost of proposed changes ranges from zero to $6 million. The main expense comes from adjusting busing schedules. Teenagers' sleep patterns usually occur at later times than those of adults and children, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Teens may need as many as nine hours of sleep a night, and may have difficulty falling asleep before 11 p.m. As a consequence, adolescents who are sleep-deprived often show a decline in academic performance, are more likely to be involved in a car accident and suffer from mental health problems, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP recommends that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

5am – D         DC METRO UPDATE:

• Metro officials clarify communication breakdown during L’Enfant Plaza incident. (Washington Post) — Ten days after scores of Metro passengers were stuck on a smoke-filled subway train, one aspect of the bewildering crisis became somewhat clearer Thursday as the transit agency explained why first-responders had trouble communicating by radio during the emergency. Yet broader questions about what caused the fatal incident remained unanswered. Top Metro officials, speaking publicly for the first time about the Jan. 12 calamity, also addressed the question of whether the ventilation system worked properly in the subway tunnel near the L’Enfant Plaza station. The acting head of the National Transportation Safety Board, who met with Metro officials Thursday, said that ventilation fans in the tunnel “weren’t functioning as intended” when federal accident investigators tested them shortly after the incident.
• DC's Metro revises emergency protocols after smoke fatality.  (The Hill) — The agency that operates the Washington, D.C., Metrorail subway system announced a series of changes to its emergency response protocols after a smoke incident that killed one passenger and injured about 80 others last week.  The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has come under criticism since an electrical issue on its Yellow Line on Jan. 12 resulted in passengers being trapped underground in a smoke-filled train that was heading toward northern Virginia for more than a half-hour.

5am – E         Governor Larry Hogan announces FY 2016 budget. Annapolis, MD – Governor Larry Hogan announced his FY 2016 Budget. The overall theme of the FY 2016 budget is “Balance Today, Balance Tomorrow” and it achieves a goal Maryland has not seen in a decade – aligning general fund spending with general fund revenues to create a structurally balanced budget. Governor Hogan’s FY 2016 operating budget expends $16.4 billion on revenues of $16.4 billion. The governor’s budget puts Maryland on sound financial footing without raising taxes or fees and without eliminating agencies or introducing furloughs or layoffs.  Additionally, the budget commits record funding to spending K-12 education, fully funds school construction and grows higher education spending by 1.3%. The budget achieves structural balance ahead of the goals set by the General Assembly’s Spending Affordability Committee. The recommendation from the committee included a reduction to the state's structural deficit over several years, moving from approximately $700 million to $350 million in FY 2016. Governor Hogan’s budget eliminates the structural deficit now.

6am – A/B/C DRIVE AT FIVE INTERVIEW – TREVOR MATICH – WMAL's football analyst – analyzed Deflate-gate.

• Brady Denies Any Wrongdoing. (ESPN) — FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said Thursday that he has not yet been contacted by the NFL about its investigation into underinflated footballs, adding: "I didn't alter the ball in any way."  In a news conference that lasted a little more than 30 minutes, Brady detailed how he selected 24 footballs for referees to inspect before Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts. "When I pick those footballs out, at that point, to me, they're perfect," he said. "I don't want anyone touching the balls after that. I don't want anyone rubbing them, putting any air in them, taking any air out. To me, those balls are perfect, and that's what I expect when I show up on the field." The NFL found that 11 of the Patriots' 12 game balls from their 45-7 win over the Colts were inflated significantly below the NFL's requirements, league sources involved and familiar with the investigation of Sunday's game told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

6am – D         INTERVIEW — LT COL TONY SHAFFER — a CIA trained former senior intelligence officer and the New York Times bestselling author of Operation "Dark Heart: Spycraft an Special Operations on the Frontlines of Afghanistan – And The Path to Victory."   His latest book is The Last Line. He is a senior fellow with both the London Center for Policy Research and the Center for Advanced Defense Studies

• Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud has died, Saudi state television says.  (CNN)Throngs of mourners gathered in Mecca early Friday just hours after Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud died. He was 90.Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz was appointed as the new king, state television reported.​ The announcement of Abdullah's death comes several weeks after the state-run Saudi Press Agency said he was suffering from pneumonia and had been admitted to the hospital. Services will be held Friday afternoon at the Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Grand Mosque in Riyadh, and many world leaders are likely to pay their respects. Jordan's King Abdullah cut short his visit to Davos, and is heading to Riyadh, according to a Jordanian government source.
• Yemen's President, Cabinet resign.  The resignations of Yemeni President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi and other officials are the latest fallout from the Houthis' move in recent days to gain power in the capital, which included kidnapping Hadi's chief of staff on Saturday and taking over the presidential palace on Tuesday. The chaos in Yemen is cause for concern far beyond the country's borders. For the United States and its allies, Yemen's government has been a key ally in the fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen-based group linked to attacks such as the recent slaughter at French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
• U.S. officials say 6,000 ISIS fighters killed in battles. (CNN) — Washington (CNN)The coalition fighting ISIS has killed more than 6,000 fighters, including half of the top command of the terror group, U.S. diplomatic officials said Thursday. The number of fighters killed has not been publicly discussed before but was disclosed by the U.S. ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones, who told Al Arabiya television earlier in the day that an estimated 6,000 fighters have been killed. Jones said the military effort was having a "devastating" impact on ISIS. The estimate was calculated by U.S. Central Command and finds ISIS fighters have been killed in Iraq and Syria by coalition airstrikes, according to a U.S. military official. CENTCOM has kept a running estimate of fighters killed, but has not made it public. U.S. intelligence estimates that ISIS has a total force of somewhere between 9,000 to 18,000 fighters. However, it is also believed the group can draw on thousands of other fighters whose loyalty shifts and could muster a force upwards of 31,000 total.

6am – E         Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush meet privately in Utah. WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Leading potential Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney, who are engaged in a behind-the-scenes competition for dollars and support among party loyalists, met privately in Utah on Thursday. Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said the former Florida governor had wanted to catch up with Romney and that the meeting had long been scheduled. A Romney spokesman said the meeting had taken place but provided no details. People familiar with the meeting said it was requested by Bush as a courtesy to the 2012 Republican nominee and had been scheduled before Romney made public his desire for a third presidential run. Bush had a similar meeting in September with the 2008 nominee, Senator John McCain. With Romney now openly pondering a candidacy, the session gave the two men a chance to take a measure of each other's intentions in 2016.

7am – A         Governor Larry Hogan announces FY 2016 budget. Annapolis, MD – Governor Larry Hogan announced his FY 2016 Budget. The overall theme of the FY 2016 budget is “Balance Today, Balance Tomorrow” and it achieves a goal Maryland has not seen in a decade – aligning general fund spending with general fund revenues to create a structurally balanced budget.

7am – B         VIRGINIA NEWS:

• Bill banning Common Core standards advances in Va.
• Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe released from hospital
• Metro officials clarify communication breakdown during L’Enfant Plaza incident
• DC's Metro revises emergency protocols after smoke fatality

7am – C         Jeff Gordon to step away from full-time NASCAR racing after 2015 season. Jeff Gordon will step away from full-time NASCAR racing after the 2015 season, Hendrick Motorsports announced Thursday morning. Gordon, 43, will compete in his 23rd and final season and then step out of the No. 24 car he has driven since November 1992. No replacement was named, but speculation will fall heavily on rising star Chase Elliott, a Hendrick development driver who the team has already said will be in Sprint Cup next year. A four-time series champion, Gordon is third on the all-time wins list with 92 behind only Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105). But his impact on NASCAR goes far beyond the numbers. Gordon's clean-cut, corporate image and youthful good looks helped stock car racing expand out of the Southeast in the late 1990s and 2000s, taking the sport to new heights and ushering in a wave of drivers who grew up wanting to be like him. Gordon said he "thought long and hard about my future this past year and during the offseason" before making his decision. "I won't use the 'R-word' because I plan to stay extremely busy in the years ahead, and there's always the possibility I'll compete in selected events, although I currently have no plans to do that," he said. "I don't foresee a day when I'll ever step away from racing."

7am – D         Obama’s Interviews with YouTube Stars:

• YouTube Star GloZell Green Accidentally Called Out Obama’s ‘First Wife’. (ABC News) —  YouTube sensation GloZell Green is known for her sharp tongue and quick wit but today she found herself a bit tongue tied. The comedian was almost through her hard-hitting White House interview with President Obama when she had an accidental slip. “My momma says whenever you go to somebody's house you have to give them something. Don't come empty-handed,” she said, after asking the president about race relations, Cuba and cybersecurity. She then proceeded to pull out three tubes of her signature green glitter lipstick.   “One for your first wife…” she said, as she handed them over. “My first wife!?” Obama exclaimed. “Do you know something I don’t?”  “Ooh, for the first lady!” GloZell corrected herself, her hands on her head. “…and the first children.” “I'm sorry,” she said again and again. “Oh, I'm teasing,” Obama said playfully.
• Obama: "I'm Mostly Watching SportsCenter" In My Free Time. (RCP) — In a question and answer lightening round with YouTube star Bethany Mota, which ended in a selfie, President Obama revealed he mostly watches ESPN's SportsCenter and sporting events in his free time. "if you have any free time, what TV shows or movies do you watch?" Mota asked. "You know, I'm really big on sports. The truth of the matter is, I'm mostly watching SportsCenter," the president responded. "Whenever I'm working out at the gym if there's a basketball or football game going on, I'm usually tuned in there." Obama also said he dreamed of being an architect and a basketball player. "What did you want to be growing up?" Mota asked. "I wanted to be a bunch of different things," Obama said. "I wanted to be an architect for a long time." "I suppose in the back of my mind at some point I thought playing in the NBA would be great, being a basketball player. That ended I think around the age of 13 when I realized I wasn't talented enough," Obama also said.

7am – E         Bryant Gumbel slams NRA: ‘They’re pigs … a curse upon the American landscape.’  (Washington Times) — Bryant Gumbel, HBO host, had this to say about the National Rifle Association: Members are “pigs,” a “curse” on America and about the most uncaring organization in history.  “There are a few things I hate more than the NRA,” he said, while discussing a segment he did on “Real Sports” that was titled, “Eat What You Kill,” The Blaze reported. He went on: “I mean, truly. I think they’re pigs. I think they don’t care about human life. I think they are a curse upon the American landscape.” Mr. Gumbel also said during the talk that he still feels how differently he was treated during his time as co-host of NBC’s “Today” show, when compared to other news personalities, suggesting that his skin color had a lot to do with it. “I used to say when I hosted the ‘Today’ program that if Barbara Walters, Ted Koppel and I all asked the same difficult question in the same tone of voice with the same look on our faces, Koppel would be characterized as brilliant and prepared, Barbara would be characterized as [expletive] and I would be characterized as arrogant,” he said, The Blaze reported. “So when you ask is it a negative thing, well, it shouldn’t be, but it is often thrown at someone of color as if, ‘Who the hell do you think you are?’ “

8am – A         INTERVIEW – JOE THEISMANN – Former Redskin quarterback and Super Bowl champion

• Theismann throws deflated balls, says he can't tell the difference
• Tom Brady Denies Any Wrongdoing

8am – B/C     Taking your calls!

8am – D        INTERVIEW _ BRET BAIER – Anchor, Special Report at Fox News Channel, weekdays at 6 pm

• Bret has a special on Cuba at 8 pm on Saturday and Sunday
• Bret analyzed the tone of the State of the Union.
• Shepard Smith Calls Out White House Over Petty Swipe At Fox News.
• Obama Will Not Meet With Netanyahu During March Visit. (ABC News) —   President Obama will not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits Washington this March, due to the proximity of his trip to the Israeli elections, the White House said today.

MONDAY:     Joe diGenova