Ken Cuccinelli, ACLU’s Claire Guthrie Gastanaga and Fairfax School Board member Elizabeth Schultz joined WMAL on Thursday.

Listen here to Thursday’s show!

INTERVIEW – Claire Guthrie Gastañaga – Executive Director, ACLU of Virginia

INTERVIEW – ELIZABETH SCHULTZ – Fairfax County School Board Member (Springfield)

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Smith

5am – A         DRIVE AT FIVE INTERVIEW – KEN CUCCINELLI – former Virginia Attorney General

• AG Herring: Abortion clinics can be exempted from new standards.

5am – B         ISIS News:

• Online warning claims ISIS has terror cells in 15 U.S. states. (Fox 5) — WASHINGTON – A terror threat once thought to be contained overseas is here on United States soil. A new warning coming from someone claiming to be with ISIS says 71 militants are living in 15 states, specifically naming five — Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, Michigan and California.
• ISIS threatens to ‘slaughter’ controversial blogger Geller, warns of more attacks to come. ISIS has reportedly issued a menacing online message, singling out US blogger Pamela Geller as the terrorist group’s target.  The message also claims the jihadists are planning new attacks and they have “71 trained fighters in 15 states.” The controversial anti-Islamist blogger earned the ire of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS, or ISIL) for creating an art exhibition in Texas that encouraged the public to draw cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The threat was posted on the JustPasteIt forum, which is favored by the IS and its supporters.  The message said that Geller, or anyone who “hides or hosts her,” would become “legitimate targets” for IS militants. The terrorist group also said they would send jihadists to “achieve her slaughter.”
• Texas shooter in contact with ISIS ‘weeks’ before attack: report. (Fox 5) – One of the gunmen who targeted Sunday’s “Draw Mohammed” cartoon contest in Texas had reportedly been in contact with an influential ISIS recruiter in the weeks before the attack. ABC News said Tuesday it discovered that Elton Simpson, after learning about the event in April, exchanged messages on social media with a terrorism planner known as Miski. Simpson tweeted, “When will they ever learn?” Miski quickly responded, saying, “Where are the warriors of this Ummah [community]? It’s time for brothers in the #US to do their part.” Miski, whose real name is Muhammed Hassan, corresponded with Simpson, 30, before Sunday’s attack in Garland, Texas, when Simpson and roommate Nadir Soofi, 34, opened fire at the contest, which was sponsored by New York anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller.

5am – C         Critter News: China’s diving pigs delight and anger observers. Entrepreneurs said encouraging the pigs to exercise leads to healthier, better-tasting pork products. CHANGSHA, China, May 6 (UPI) — China’s swine farmers are not just producing pork – they’re putting on a show with pigs that dive. Pictures of the animals leaping off platforms have been circulating on the Internet and Chinese news reports are speculating that the country could do more to put leaping pigs in the global spotlight, reported The New York Times. A Chinese television segment of the pigs suspended in space, however, angered some observers. “This was clearly animal abuse. It may well be the case that pigs like water, but not jumping into it from the top of a huge platform,” one viewer stated online, according to RT.

5am – D         Former House Speaker Jim Wright dies at age 92. DALLAS (AP) — Former U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright, the longtime Texas Democrat who became the first House speaker in history to be driven out of office in midterm, has died at age 92. The World War II veteran and author, often praised for his eloquence and oratorical skills, was living in a nursing home when he died early Wednesday morning, according to the Harveson and Cole funeral home in Fort Worth. Funeral arrangements were pending. Wright represented a Fort Worth-area congressional district for 34 years, beginning with his election in 1954. He was the House’s Democratic majority leader for a decade, rising to the speakership in January 1987, to replace Tip O’Neill.

5am – E         McDuffie to propose new legislative language on police body-worn cameras, roundtable today. District of Columbia Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie    (D – Ward 5), Chairperson of the Committee on the Judiciary, announced that he will not move forward with Metropolitan Police Department’s (“MPD”) proposal to create a blanket exemption for body-worn camera footage from Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests. Councilmember McDuffie will instead propose new language that balances residents’ constitutional right to privacy with the need for transparency and open data from MPD.  “I support the use of body-worn cameras as a tool to enhance transparency, promote police accountability, and reduce false complaints against officers,” indicated McDuffie. “That is why I oppose MPD’s proposal to include a blanket Freedom of Information Act exemption for the recordings in the budget. While I recognize the need to ensure the privacy of residents, especially victims and those who have not been charged with any crime, I believe that there must also be a way to access the appropriately-redacted footage.” Councilmember McDuffie is convening a roundtable on police body-worn cameras Thursday at 2 PM (details can be found below). The hearing will allow residents, advocacy groups, and criminal justice professionals to openly discuss their needs and concerns regarding MPD’s rollout of its Body-Worn Camera Program. “I will consider testimony from the public witnesses, as well as research that I and my staff have collected in collaboration with other public safety and open government stakeholders, as I draft my proposal for the budget,” added McDuffie.

6am – A/B/C            Deflate-Gate: Patriots Probably Deflated Footballs, Investigation Finds. An investigator hired by the NFL concluded Wednesday that it was “more probable than not” that the New England Patriots personnel intentionally deflated footballs and that star quarterback Tom Brady was “at least generally aware.” A report commissioned by the league faulted two Patriots employees — Jim McNally, a locker room attendant, and John Jastremski, an equipment assistant, for a probable effort to let air out of game balls after they were examined by the referee. The report found less evidence linking Brady to tampering but found it was probable “that Brady was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski.”

6am – D/E     Reparations for Gitmo Detainees? John Paul Stevens says some Guantanamo Bay detainees should be given reparations. (Washington Post) — Retired Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens said this week that the government should compensate detainees still being held at Guantanamo Bay even after authorities determined that they did not pose a threat to the United States. Stevens’s call to give reparations to dozens of detainees at the U.S. military detention center in Cuba comes as the Pentagon is racing to move these inmates ahead of possible congressional action that could restrict transfers. In a speech Monday, Stevens pointed to the detainees who have already been approved for a transfer out of Guantanamo Bay, saying that some or all of them “are entitled to some sort of reparation.” There are 57 inmates in Guantanamo who have been approved for transfer out of the 122 detainees still being held. “I by no means suggest that every Guantanamo detainee, such as those who have been convicted by a military commission, is entitled to compensation,” Stevens told the group Lawyers for Civil Justice in Washington, according to a copy of his remarks. “But detainees who have been deemed not a security threat to the United States and have thereafter remained in custody for years are differently situated.” Stevens linked his suggestion to the government’s decision to eventually give payments of $20,000 to Japanese Americans imprisoned during World War II, which was accompanied by an official apology for actions “motivated largely by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.”

7am – A         Dorian Johnson Back In The News:

• Michael Brown’s friend sue Ferguson, Wilson, police chief. CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A friend who was with Michael Brown when the 18-year-old was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer is suing the city, the officer and the former police chief. Dorian Johnson contends in his lawsuit filed last week that Officer Darren Wilson initiated the confrontation that ended in Brown’s Aug. 9 death. Johnson alleges that Wilson used excessive force, “acted with deliberate indifference or reckless disregard” for Johnson’s rights, and never directed a fleeing Johnson and Brown to “stop” or “freeze” before firing at Brown. A grand jury and the U.S. Justice Department declined to charge Wilson, who later resigned. Neither Wilson’s attorney nor the former chief responded to messages seeking comment Tuesday. Ferguson’s city attorney said she was unaware of Johnson’s lawsuit and couldn’t immediately respond. Brown’s parents filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the defendants on April 23.
• Dorian Johnson, Michael Brown’s friend, arrested. (KSDK-TV, St. Louis) – ST. LOUIS — The friend who was with Michael Brown on the day the unarmed African American teen was shot and killed by a white police officer has been arrested. Dorian Johnson was arrested Wednesday afternoon, KSDK-TV reported. Police had been called to check on a group of people who were possibly armed with guns. Johnson was accused of approaching an officer to keep him from making an arrest, and police say he also threw suspected narcotics onto the ground. Charges are expected to be filed Thursday, KSDK reported. After Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in August, Johnson claimed the 18-year-old victim was shot “like an animal.” Brown’s death triggered unrest in the St. Louis suburb for months and sparked a national movement seeking improved relations between police and blacks.

7am – B         Fast Food News:

• Oh, no. You must see the updated, hipster version of the Hamburglar. (USA Today) — So, the McDonald’s Hamburglar was always kind of a creep, but now the fast-food chain has gone and turned him into a creep who’s also, sigh, a hipster. The trench, the skinny jeans, the red sneakers. Siiiiiiiiiiiigh. And, did we mention that he looks so SCARY THAT WE’RE HAVING WAKING NIGHTMARES.
• Fries at the doorstep: Fast-food pushes into delivery. NEW YORK (AP) — On the same day McDonald’s said it would begin testing delivery in New York, an order placed for two cheeseburgers, two large fries and a vanilla shake took about a half-hour to arrive at The Associated Press headquarters. The whipped cream on the shake was a little melted, and an order of apple slices was missing. But the burgers and fries were warm. The bill came to $23.32, including tip — nearly double the cost if a reporter had walked around the corner to the nearest McDonald’s to pick up the food. The world’s biggest burger chain said Monday that it was starting the test and teaming up with Postmates, a service that is also working with Chipotle and Starbucks. It’s the latest sign that fast-food chains are eager to figure out ways to feed customer demands for greater convenience. Already, Burger King has offered delivery in select regions since 2012. Others are experimenting with quicker takeout: Taco Bell lets customers order and pay in advance on its mobile app, and Starbucks said it plans to offer mobile pay-ahead later this year.
• Woman uses Pizza Hut’s mobile app to escape a hostage crisis. It’s sometimes too dangerous to call 911, but one Florida woman just found a potentially life-saving alternative: a food delivery app. When Cheryl Treadway’s boyfriend threatened to hurt her and her family if they left home, she used Pizza Hut’s mobile app to send a request for help under the pretext of ordering food. Thankfully, staff caught the message and sent police to Treadway’s home, getting the hostages out safely. This kind of stealthy, app-based plea won’t be as necessary once text-to-911 rolls out in earnest, but it’s good to know that it’s an option in dire circumstances.

7am – C         SPORTS NEWS: CAPS AND NATS WIN!

• BRYCE HARPER Brings His Good Luck to Caps Game Last Night:SportsCenter @SportsCenter: “After hitting career-best 3 home runs today, Bryce Harper attends tonight’s Capitals playoff game. (via @washcaps) 8:06 PM – 6 May 2015
• Washington Capitals, Burakovsky Down Rangers 2-1. The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers played yet another closely contested game. Once again, it was the Washington Capitals who came out ahead as they beat the Rangers 2-1 to grab a 3-1 series lead. Andre Burakovsky led the way with two goals and once again Braden Holtby was outstanding between the pipes.
• Bryce Harper homers in first three at-bats. Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper hit three home runs in his first three at-bats in a 7-5 victory against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday afternoon. In his fourth at-bat he produced an RBI groundout. He finished the game 3-for-4 with five RBIs. Harper hit a 393-foot solo shot leading off the second inning, a 442-foot, two-run drive in the third and a 445-foot bases-empty shot in the fifth, the last two reaching the second deck. Each of the home runs came on the second pitch of the at-bat off Tom Koehler (2-3). Harper connected in the fifth inning with such force that Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton stood motionless in right field, looking toward the infield as the ball soared into the seats behind him.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – Claire Guthrie Gastañaga – Executive Director, ACLU of Virginia

• ACLU of Virginia Files Lawsuit against Fairfax Police for Collection, Storage of Personal Information

7am – E         ‘You Sexy Thing’ singer Errol Brown dead at 71. WASHINGTON — He was the frontman for the ’70s band Hot Chocolate. Now, Errol Brown has died of liver cancer. He was 71. Brown’s manager confirmed the news Wednedsay to the BBC, saying that Brown died at his home in the Bahamas. He was born in Jamaica. Hot Chocolate scored a smash hit in 1975 with “You Sexy Thing,” which Brown co-wrote. The group’s other hits included “It Started with a Kiss” and “Every 1’s a Winner.” Brown is survived by a wife and two daughters.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – ELIZABETH SCHULTZ – Fairfax County School Board Member (Springfield)

• Fairfax County School Board to Vote on Gender Identity Issue – TONIGHT
• Elizabeth Schultz, the board member, has filed an amendment to delay action on this policy until October 15th: “so that the Board can be provided the commensurate draft regulation and handbook language and determine the overall impact of this change to Policy 1450.”  The board meeting is Tonight

8am – B/C     Taking calls on the Gender Identity policy in Fairfax schools.

8am – D         Deflate-Gate: Patriots Probably Deflated Footballs, Investigation Finds.

TOMORROW:  Bret Baier