Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, KT McFarland and Tucker Carlson joined WMAL on Wednesday.

  INTERVIEW — TUCKER CARLSON – Editor, The Daily Caller and co-host of Fox and Friends Weekend

INTERVIEW – KT MCFARLAND – Fox News National Security Analyst

INTERVIEW – Montgomery County Executive ISIAHLEGGETT (D)

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

5am – A/B/C Do Weather People Deserve Blame For The Inaccurate Blizzard Forecasts?

• Al Roker defends meteorologists' inaccurate blizzard forecasts: ‘Mistakes happen.’ The ‘Today’ weatherman said that despite the winter storm bringing in less snow than predicted, he hopes people will still pay attention the next time a storm threatens New York City. (NY Daily News) — “Today” meteorologist Al Roker said he hopes people will understand that “mistakes happen” but will still pay attention the next time a storm threatens New York City.  “I think most people understand that mistakes happen,” Roker said. “We’re not in this business to be wrong, or to scare people, our job is to inform.” The weatherman said he understood why New Yorkers would be questioning the accuracy of weather forecasters after being spared from the fury of the storm — following days of frightening predictions.
• Meteorologists tweet apologies for 'historic' storm forecasts. These were just a few of the words and phrases used in forecasts and by officials to describe the winter storm that was set to hammer much of the Northeast Monday night and into Tuesday.  And while Long Island and most areas in New England, such as Boston, were hit hard, forecasts for New York City, New Jersey and Philadelphia proved to be much graver than what actually transpired. On Sunday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, amid dire forecasts, said, "This could be the biggest snowstorm in the history of this city." But on Tuesday morning, the mayor was sounding a different note, defending the closings and shutdown procedures the city had implemented in anticipation of a potentially devastating storm.
• National Weather Service Head Takes Blame for Forecast Failures. (NBCNews.com) — As the Blizzard of 2015 turned out to be a bust in the New York City region, the head of the National Weather Service said Tuesday that he was directing his agency to continue trying to improve its analysis of forecasting models and find better ways to communicate uncertainties to the public. Louis Uccellini acknowledged that he didn't do a good enough job in the hours before the storm hit explaining the difficulties in predicting snowfall on the edge of a system. That was largely why forecasts for potentially historic snowfall levels in New York and New Jersey, at the storm's western boundary, fell so far short, he said. "What we learned from this storm is we all need to improve how we communicate forecast uncertainty," Uccellini said in a conference call with reporters.

5am – D         How Big Is the GOP Presidential Field? Bob Ehrlich Is Preparing to Run. (National Journal) — January 26, 2015 CONCORD, N.H.—He's gotten very little attention since losing the governor's race in Maryland five years ago, but former Gov. Bob Ehrlich is nonetheless exploring a presidential campaign. Ehrlich plans to make his fourth visit to New Hampshire on Feb. 24, after meeting last week with more than 100 top donors in New York to discuss financing a potential campaign. At those meetings, he discussed setting up a leadership PAC, as a bunch of other probable candidates have done in recent weeks.

5am – E         Army: Bergdahl reports are untrue, no decision made. (Army Times) — The Army says there is no truth to media reports claiming a decision has been made to charge Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl with desertion.  The Army continues to review the case against Bergdahl, said Paul Boyce, a spokesman for Forces Command, on Tuesday morning. "Sgt. Bergdahl has not been charged with any crime," said Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon. "No decision has been made with respect to the case of Sgt. Bergdahl," Kirby said. "None. There is no timeline to make that decision, and Gen. [Mark] Milley is being put under no pressure to make a decision." In a report Monday citing two anonymous military sources, retired Lt. Col. Tony Schaffer told Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" that the Army plans to charge Bergdahl with desertion. Schaffer also told the outlet his sources confirmed to him that Bergdahl's lawyer has been given a charge sheet. No charge sheets were available Tuesday, and Boyce said he is unaware of any charge sheets being issued against Bergdahl, adding that the Fox News story "seems to be speculative in nature." Bergdahl's attorney Eugene Fidell declined to comment. NBC News, citing an anonymous senior defense official, is also reporting a desertion charge is coming, possibly within the week.

6am – A/B/C  Mike Huckabee Has A F*&king Problem With Women Cursing At Work. (The Huffington Post) — According to Mike Huckabee, it's "just trashy" for a woman to curse in the workplace. In a Friday radio interview highlighted by ThinkProgress, the former Arkansas governor and potential 2016 presidential candidate detailed the culture shock he experienced while filming his Fox News show in New York. "In a business meeting that you might have in the south or in the midwest there in Iowa, you would not have people who would just throw the F-bomb and use gratuitous profanity in a professional setting," Huckabee told Iowa radio host Jan Mickelson. "In New York, not only do the men do it, but the women do it. You just are looking around saying, 'My gosh, this is worse than locker room talk.' This would be considered totally inappropriate to say these things in front of a woman. And for a woman to say them in a professional setting, we would only assume that this is is a very, as we would say in the south, 'That's just trashy!'" Would you figure they do it because that's what they expect and that's what women, if they want to be perceived as equal they have to be just as debased as guys?" Mickelson asked. "I think that's part of it. It is so common that it's not even perceived as being profanity," Huckabee replied. "That's what's so amazing to me."

6am – D         The fitness trends that will rule in 2015. (The Washington Post) — My colleague Vicky Hallett recently chronicled the rise of digital services that stream workout videos on tablets, phones, television and computers. There’s a whole new world of subscription-based models, such as Crunch Live and Booya Fitness. And you can always check YouTube for free options, such as BeFit and Popsugar.  Tracking every step you take — Runners have long used heart-rate monitors to measure the intensity of their workouts, but these days people are wearing all sorts of devices to track their calorie intake or number of steps taken during the day.  Recording that sort of biometric data is likely take off this year amid a wider selection of smartwatches and wearable technology that hit the market during the holiday season. The latest generation of smartwatches and fitness bands have sensors that can monitor just about anything.  But before you drop $200 on a device that tracks your steps, sleep, calories and everything else, focus on the functions you really want, said Anthony Wall, director of professional education at the American Council on Exercise.  “GPS is a super-cool feature, but ask yourself if you’ll ever use it,” he said. “Pay attention to functionality and the battery life so you’re not charging the device all time.”

6am – E         Sports:

• GoDaddy pulls controversial Super Bowl puppy ad. (USA Today) – GoDaddy announced Tuesday night that it would be pulling a planned Super Bowl ad titled “Journey Home” from the game and replacing it with another commercial after viewers were outraged. In the ad, a puppy named Buddy falls out of the back of a truck and is separated from his family, but manages to travel through harsh conditions and find his way home. Buddy’s owner greets him with some heartbreaking news.
• Lynch: 'I'm here so I won't get fined.'  PHOENIX — Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll celebrates his players' "uniqueness," and running back Marshawn Lynch certainly stood apart from his teammates Tuesday, even as he faced a $500,000 fine from the NFL. During the annual Super Bowl media day, Lynch answered every question with some variation of "I'm here so I won't get fined." He occasionally changed the delivery but stuck to his script. Lynch stayed at his designated podium for 4 minutes, 51 seconds — over an hour less than all his teammates and coaches — and was asked 29 questions. At the 4:51 mark, he said "time," stood up and walked away from the microphone. Lynch had been threatened with a $500,000 fine by the NFL if he failed to make himself available on media day, a league source told ESPN's Ed Werder.  An NFL Players Association executive monitored Lynch's appearance Tuesday. About 200 reporters crowded around Lynch's podium for at least 15 minutes before he arrived.
• NFL confiscated Richard Sherman's headphones. PHOENIX – The exchange was innocent enough. Amid the craziness at Tuesday’s Super Bowl Media Day, someone in the crowd gave Richard Sherman an iPad with some headphones. The request? To watch a video and sing along with the beat.  That, however, could happen only with one adjustment. An NFL assistant quickly took the headphones away. Sherman would have to listen to the music on the speaker. The headphones were Sony. The NFL partners with Bose. Sherman is an ambassador of Beats by Dre. The NFL has a strict rule in place that prohibits players from wearing or using products while their logo is visible until 90 minutes after the conclusion of a game.
• Victoria’s Secret debuts its first Super Bowl commercial in seven years. Last week, Victoria’s Secret announced that it will be advertising in the Super Bowl for the first time since 2008. The steamy 30-second spot, which is airing in the fourth quarter, has been released:

7am – A   INTERVIEW – Montgomery County Executive ISIAHLEGGETT (D)

• Website about the new Montgomery transit authority: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/ita
• Leggett seeks to create Montgomery transit authority for bus lanes, other projects. (Washington Post) — Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), looking to accelerate development of long­discussed and costly mass transit projects, has asked state lawmakers for clearance to create an independent authority to oversee the work. A bill introduced Friday on Leggett’s behalf by Montgomery legislators would enable the county to form an agency focused on financing, building and operating a planned network of bus-only lanes to relieve chronic traffic congestion. The transit authority, which requires approval by the County Council, would be funded by a new countywide mass transit tax. It would also be empowered to borrow money on its own through the sale of bonds. Leggett floated the idea of an independent transit agency in his December inaugural speech, saying that “the strong possibility of continuing budget challenges on the state level” — meaning deficits coupled with new Gov. Larry Hogan’s apparent preference for road construction over mass transit — made it imperative that the county find a way to shoulder more of the costs.

7am – B         D.C. traffic camera revenue in 2014 was the lowest in last four fiscal years. Broken traffic cameras contributed to massive revenue decline, D.C. police say. (Washington Post) — D.C. police acknowledged this week that a sharp decline in revenue from the city’s network of traffic enforcement cameras was due in part to problems maintaining some of the equipment — undermining earlier claims that the drop was mainly due to motorists doing a better job obeying the law. Assistant Chief Lamar D. Greene, who oversees the camera program, said in a statement that severe weather last year contributed to the maintenance issues.  “During periods of extreme cold and snow last winter, there were instances when we could not change the batteries because they were not accessible, or the temperature affected the charge,” he said. “We have taken additional steps to enhance internal temperature controls since last winter, alleviating this problem.” The police department responded after D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) blamed the maintenance problems for a $38 million reduction in camera revenue at a budget briefing Monday morning. Mendelson said the issues arose after the police department assumed direct responsibility for the operations of the cameras.

7am – C         A panda snub? Bao Bao wins silver in ‘Panda Personality’ contest. Bao Bao has a good personality, but as far as pandas go, not the best one. (Washington Post) —The National Zoo’s celebrity panda cub took home silver from the “Panda Personality of 2014″ contest at  last week’s Giant Panda Zoo Awards in Belgium — an award ceremony for panda enthusiasts and conservationists put on by Giant Panda Zoo, a Web site dedicated to protecting the endangered species. Yuan Zai, a panda cub residing at the Taipei Zoo, won gold for best personality.  Bao Bao also didn’t win in the category of “Favorite Panda Outside of China.” That distinction went to Hao Hao, a female panda who moved from China to Belgium last year. A fan favorite, Hao Hao won gold for “Favorite Panda in China” in 2013. Panda fans voted online for these awards, and more than 200,000 votes were logged around the world — an 8 percent increase over last year, according to Giant Panda Zoo. The David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat placed third in the “Favorite Panda Enclosure Outside of China” category.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – KT MCFARLAND – Fox News National Security Analyst

• Obama defends Saudi relationship: 'Sometimes we have to balance'
• Michelle’s scarf controversy
• Economic problems in Russia for Putin
• Missing Auschwitz Ceremony, Obama Invokes Paris Attacks on Holocaust Remembrance Day
• Yemen crisis: Power vacuum puts future into peril

7am – E         Entertainment news:

• Taylor Swift's Twitter, Instagram Hacked. Hackers implore the pop star's 50 million followers to follow group's alleged leader. (Rolling Stone) — UPDATE: Taylor Swift has addressed the hacks on her Twitter and Instagram accounts in two posts on Tumblr, assuring fans, "Twitter is deleting the hacker tweets and locking my account until they can figure out how this happened and get me new passwords. Never a dull moment." The pop star did her best to make light of the situation, tagging her post with the "Shake It Off"-referencing hashtag: "Hackers gonna hack hack hack hack hack" and noting, "PS any hackers saying they have 'nudes'? Psssh you'd love that wouldn't you! Have fun photoshopping cause you got NOTHING." Taylor Swift's Twitter and Instagram accounts were hacked Tuesday, with the perpetrators reportedly sending out a handful of tweets to the pop star's over 51 million followers that were quickly deleted, according to The Verge.
• New All-Female 'Ghostbusters' Cast Chosen. (Hollywood Reporter) — The Paul Feig-directed reboot is eyeing a summer shoot in New York. The all-new, all-female Ghostsbusters are here. Melissa McCarthy, who was already in talks for one of the leads, has signed on for the Paul Feig-directed reboot, and Sony is now negotiating with Kristen Wiig as well as Saturday Night Live players Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Negotiations are ongoing, but the quartet are expected to sign on as the specter-seeking, poltergeist-punishing, phantom-phollowing foursome in the reboot, which is eyeing a summer shoot in New York.  McCarthy and Wiig have worked with Feig before, both breaking out in the director’s Bridesmaids. Jones, who is currently onscreen in Chris Rock’s Top Five, joined SNL early last year and this fall was promoted to feature player status. McKinnon has been on SNL since 2012 and last year was nominated for an Emmy for her work. The film is set for release on July 22, 2016, Feig said on Twitter.
• Disney Eyeing Chris Pratt For Indiana Jones Revival. EXCLUSIVE: Here’s one from the helluva good idea department. Marvel offerings are soaring, and Star Wars  is being reinvigorated by director JJ Abrams. Now, Disney has just started to turn its attention to reviving the Indiana Indiana Jones bullwhipJones franchise after buying the rights from Paramount in 2013. I’m cautioned that while things are very early, I hear the studio has set its sights on Chris Pratt as the swashbuckling archaeologist they hope to build the new franchise around, the role made famous by Harrison Ford in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Pratt jumped to leading-man movie status with his performance in last year’s blockbuster Guardians Of The Galaxy for Marvel and Disney.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — TUCKER CARLSON – Editor, The Daily Caller and co-host of Fox and Friends Weekend

• Hillary Clinton Is Reportedly Willing To Testify About Benghazi
• Ted Nugent is a new columnist for the Daily Caller.
• Nugent's first post yesterday was entitled: "NUGENT: HBO Host Bryant Gumbel Doesn’t Get Guns, Calls The NRA ‘Pigs’"
• Palin bombed at the Iowa Freedom Summit.
• Michelle Obama forgoes a headscarf and sparks a backlash in Saudi Arabia.

8am – B         Mike Huckabee complains of ‘trashy’ women at Fox News. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said in a recent radio appearance that while in New York for his Fox News show, he experienced significant culture shock from all the “trashy” women swearing in a professional setting. “In the South, or in the Midwest, there in Iowa, you would not have people who would just throw the F-bomb or use gratuitous profanity in a professional setting,” Huckabee told host Jan Mickelson in a Friday appearance on Des Moines’ “Mickelson in the Morning.”  “In New York, not only do the men do it, but the women,” he said.

8am – C         APS to Students: Stop Being Mean to Us on Twitter. (WTOP) — Arlington Public Schools wants students to stop launching expletive-filled tirades at its Twitter account. Yesterday @APSVirginia tweeted a “friendly reminder” for those mentioning it in tweets to “be respectful.” “We remove followers who don’t,” the school system said. “Our technology policies apply in the Twitterverse.” Via email, school spokesman Frank Bellavia says the tweet was specifically aimed at students who have been complaining about snow cancellation and delay decisions. “We have had a number of students use inappropriate language or make inappropriate comments on twitter over the last few weeks,” Bellavia said. “This is the second time we have posted this message asking students to be respectful on Twitter or we will block them.” APS’ internet policy states that student and staff must be courteous, use appropriate language, must not harass or attack others, and must not “view, send, display, or use profanity, obscenities, sexually explicit, or offensive materials.”

8am – D         Michelle Obama forgoes a headscarf and sparks a backlash in Saudi Arabia. (Washington Post) — Barack Obama was in Riyadh on Tuesday to pay his respects to the late Saudi King Abdullah. His visit, for which he cut short a much-hyped trip to India, underscores how important the U.S.-Saudi relationship remains to the American leadership. On social media, however, much of the attention has focused on something else: His wife's attire. As noted by the Associated Press, Michelle Obama did not wear a headscarf or veil Tuesday. In Saudi Arabia, that's unusual: The country is one of the few on Earth where women are expected to cover their heads, and most Saudi women wear niqabs. Exceptions are made for foreigners, however, and Michelle – who did wear loose clothing that fully covered her arms – appears to have been one of them. In photographs from the official events, other foreign female guests are also shown not wearing headscarves.

TOMORROW:          MD State Senator Richard Mandaleno, Larry Kudlow and Sen. David Vitter