Washingtonian’s Matt Blitz, Politico’s Alex Isenstadt, Sharyl Attkisson and Reggie Littlejohn joined WMAL on Friday!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, October 30, 2015

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Smith Hunter

5am – A/B/C When GOP Voters are Asked Who They Want to Drop Out of 2016 Race, There is a Shocking #1 Answer. (IJ Review) — Jeb Bush is the candidate that likely Republican voters who watched the CNBC debate most want to exit the presidential race, followed by Rand Paul and Donald Trump, according to a poll using data from Google Consumer Surveys conducted for IJ.com. The former Florida Governor garnered 23.7% of the results on the question:    Which GOP presidential candidate do you most want to drop out of the race? Bush was closely trailed by Sen. Paul at 20.5%, with Donald Trump rounding out the top three at 16.8%.

5am – D         Senate approves two-year budget deal that prevents default on debt. (USA Today) — WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a two-year budget deal early Friday that would prevent the U.S. government from defaulting on its debts next week and help avert a potential government shutdown in December. Senators voted 64-35 to approve the legislation shortly after 3 a.m. The House approved the budget agreement Wednesday despite opposition from a majority of Republicans. President Obama was poised to sign it into law. The legislation would raise the debt limit through March 2017, allowing the government to continue to borrow money to pay its bills. The Treasury Department has warned that the government will default on its debts unless the limit is raised by Tuesday.

5am – E         Exclusive: GOP campaigns plot revolt against RNC. (Politico) — The Sunday evening meeting comes after an eruption of complaints by the candidates about the debates. Republican presidential campaigns are planning to gather in Washington, D.C., on Sunday evening to plot how to alter their party’s messy debate process — and how to remove power from the hands of the Republican National Committee. Not invited to the meeting: Anyone from the RNC, which many candidates have openly criticized in the hours since Wednesday’s CNBC debate in Boulder, Colorado — a chaotic, disorganized affair that was widely panned by political observers.

6am – A/B/C Trick-Or-Treat Age Limit: How Old Is Too Old To Go Door To Door On Halloween? Some cities and municipalities have in the past few years imposed age limits on trick-or-treaters. Certain areas in Virginia started limiting trick-or-treating to those 12 and younger in the 1970’s. Kate Roberts, a California pediatrician, said most Americans quit the door-to-door activity between 12 and 17 years old. “If you have a teen who throws on an orange T-shirt and walks out the door, they’re not really expressing the holiday spirit,” she told Today.com. “Teens can sometimes be disrespectful. You want to make sure your teen isn’t going to be causing any issues in the community.” Some Americans still believe, however, that no age is too old to trick-or-treat. Today posted a survey asking at what age should people stop the tradition, and the most common answer was never, with 29 percent of the vote. The next most common answer was a tie at 15 percent for 12 years old and 13 years old. WITI-TV out of Milwaukee conducted a similar poll, with 34 percent of responders saying one is never too old to trick-or-treat. Some 17 percent of people said 13 was too old, while nearly 14 percent said 15 is too old.

6am – D         China Abandons One-Child Policy. Limit on families is raised to two children, ending a 35-year-old policy that led to myriad social and economic ills in China. BEIJING—China will abandon its one-child policy, perhaps the most notorious of the Communist Party’s intrusions into Chinese lives, amid a looming demographic crunch that threatens the long-term health of the world’s second-largest economy. All Chinese couples will be allowed to have two children, Chinese official media said, showing Beijing isn’t ready to totally relinquish its grip on the homes and bedrooms of its people. Demographers also warn that the move may be too little too late, as China already faces a declining, graying population without the workers it needs for its vast economy. Still, the move is symbolically significant and amounts to an acknowledgment of the social and demographic problems the 35-year-old policy has created. “This is a historic moment signaling the complete end of the one-child policy,” said Wang Feng, a demographer at Fudan University in Shanghai.

6am – E         ‘The View’ thinks Carly Fiorina’s face looks ‘demented’ (Washington Examiner) — “The View” hosts made fun of the look on Carly Fiorina’s face during the third GOP presidential debate. The panelists described how Fiorina’s face would have made a good Halloween costume that would give them nightmares. “You know what Carly said which really made me laugh? She kicked off her thing saying, “You know, people tell me that I didn’t smile enough during the last debate”,” said Michelle Collins, a co-host. “She looked demented. Her mouth did not downturn one time.” “I wish it was a Halloween mask,” co-host Joy Behar cackled. “I’d love that.” “Smiling Fiorina? Can you imagine? It’d give me nightmares,” Collins continued.

7am – A         INTERVIEW — MATT BLITZ – writer at Washingtonian

 The Scary, Weird, Somewhat True Story of the Fairfax “Bunny Man” (Matt Blitz / Washingtonian) – Often with urban legends, there’s the story and there’s the truth. That’s what makes the tale of Fairfax County’s Bunny Man so eerie, so bizarre and so downright creepy. While there are several variations of the urban legend splashed across the furthest reaches of the Internet, the true story of the Bunny Man may actually be even weirder. “A creepy guy, on Halloween, dressed oddly, throwing hatchets at people…it’s just too bizarre to possibly be true,” says Fairfax County Archivist Brian Conley, “But it is.”

7am – B/C     Hallowen: What Scares You? Do You Have Bunny Man Stories?

7am – D         INTERVIEW — ALEX ISENSTADT – Reporter, Politico

• Exclusive: GOP campaigns plot revolt against RNC. The Sunday evening meeting comes after an eruption of complaints by the candidates about the debates. (Politico/By Alex Isenstadt) Republican presidential campaigns are planning to gather in Washington, D.C., on Sunday evening to plot how to alter their party’s messy debate process — and how to remove power from the hands of the Republican National Committee. Not invited to the meeting: Anyone from the RNC.

7am – E         Entertainment News:

• Kevin Spacey says he gave a pep talk to D.C. United before they won their elimination game. (Washington Post) – Back in September when actor Kevin Spacey posed for pictures with members of D.C. United at a charity gala, it appeared to be a fun time between some random parties that crossed paths. But then, they developed a little online relationship. And then, the playoffs started. So the “House of Cards” star decided he’d drop in on the team. They won that game — a wild one in the rain at RFK Stadium that featured one penalty kick, one non-penalty kick/awful non-call, one red card, one horrific injury and one beautiful overhead kick that opened the scoring. In the end, the Black and Red were victorious, 2-1, and now await who they face next, which depends on the results of Thursday night’s Montreal Impact/Toronto FC tilt due to seeding. Spacey took to Twitter to express his glee: Kevin Spacey @KevinSpacey Ben, it seems my pep talk at practice worked! A few encouraging words from their Commander in Chief goes a long way. K🚀@dcunited @MLS #DCU 10:17 AM – 29 Oct 2015
• ABC’s The Muppets Scores Full-Season Pickup. The reboot from Bill Prady and Bob Kushell will run for a total of 16 episodes. ABC is showing faith in The Muppets. The network has picked up the freshman reboot for a full season — for a total of 16 episodes. The additional three-episode pickup is six shy of the standard back-nine order, with insiders stressing the shortfall is to accommodate the network’s midseason fare including family comedy The Real O’Neals and its all-black Uncle Book redo. The Muppets, which hails from Big Bang Theory co-creator Bill Prady and Bob Kushell (3rd Rock From the Sun) ranks as Tuesday’s highest-rated new series among adults 18-49. The comedy, a more adult-themed reboot in which Miss Piggy — now broken up with Kermit — hosts her own late-night talk show.
• Phil Collins is no longer retired! Phil Collins is plotting a comeback. In a new interview, the singer, who announced his official departure from music in 2011, opened up to Rolling Stone about his plans to return. “I’m no longer officially retired. The horse is out of the stable and I’m raring to go,” the 64-year-old told the magazine. “My kids are now 10 and 14 and they want to see what their dad does. They love my music and I’d like to take them out so they can enjoy it.”
• FLASHBACK: Phil Collins Becomes Honorary Texan After Donating Artifacts to the Alamo. Phil Collins’s heart now officially resides deep in the heart of Texas. The Texas state legislature named the British-born musician, 64, an honorary Texan Wednesday as a thank-you for donating his expansive collection of Alamo and Texas Revolution-related artifacts to the Alamo last year.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — SHARYL ATTKISSON – Investigative journalist and host of new show “Full Measure” on WJLA ABC Sunday mornings at 9:30 am – discussed the GOP debate and the questions from the moderators.

8am – B/C     Halloween etiquette: Is it OK to drive your kids to a better neighborhood for trick-or-treating?

8am – D         INTERVIEW – REGGIE LITTLEJOHN –Founder and President of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, an international coalition to expose and oppose forced abortion, gendercide and sexual slavery in China.

• An acclaimed international expert on China’s One Child Policy, Reggie has testified six times at the United States Congress, three times at the European Parliament, and she has presented at the British, Irish and Canadian Parliaments as well. Her first address at the European Parliament redefined the debate about China’s One Child Policy, revealing it to be systematic, state-sponsored violence against women. This address was included as a chapter in the book, Human Rights in China After the Olympic Games, (Human Rights Without Frontiers, 2009), available on Amazon.com.
• China scraps controversial one-child policy; couples can have two. BEIJING — More than 30 years after China imposed its controversial “one-child” policy, Beijing’s ruling Communist Party brought the program to an end Thursday, saying all couples would now be allowed to have two children.

8am – E         Daylight Saving Time 2015 ends Sunday, Nov. 1: Set your clock back an hour. Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday. The official time change occurs at 2 a.m., when we set our clocks back to 1 a.m. (AP) — Fall shifts into high gear this weekend when Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday. The official time change occurs at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, when we set our clocks back to 1 a.m. The result will be an extra hour of sleep that night, and some big changes in sunrise and sunset times. While the sun will rise at 7:25 a.m. and set at 5:54 p.m. Saturday, that will change the next day with sunrise at 6:26 a.m. and sunset at 4:53 p.m. — and it will only continue to get darker out earlier each night as winter approaches.

‘Clock Boy’ Ahmed Named One of TIME’S 30 Most Influential Teens of 2015. “Clock Boy” Ahmed Mohamed landed on TIME Magazine’s 30 Most Influential Teens of 2015. The publication announced this year’s crop of teen wonders with the 14-year-old among sports dynamos, up-and-coming Hollywood stars, kids of the rich and famous, young entrepreneurs, and a Nobel prize winning girls’ education activist who survived being shot by the Taliban. Mohamed is the Irving, Texas student arrested and suspended from high school on Sept. 14 after bringing a homemade suitcase clock initially seen as a possible hoax bomb. TIME says they determine their annual lists by considering accolades across numerous fields, global impact through social media and overall ability to drive news. It appears he made the list for the international noise created by the family claiming Islamophobia and bigotry as behind his highly publicized woes despite “safe school” zero tolerance policies in public schools.

MONDAY: Joe diGenova and former Fairfax School Board member Mychele Brickner