Scottie Nell Hughes, KT McFarland and Chris Shelton joined WMAL on Wednesday!

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Larry is in New Hampshire!

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B     Trump, Sanders Sweep to Victory in New Hampshire Primaries; Kasich Second. Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders swept to convincing victories in the New Hampshire primaries on Tuesday night, providing them momentum for future contests and sending shock waves through the anxious political establishments of both parties. New Hampshire voters sent a clear message by delivering decisive wins to two political outsiders, throwing the nominating contests for both parties into a direction that few would have expected six months ago. Sanders’ victory Tuesday, coupled with a close second-place finish in Iowa, has elevated him as a serious challenger into a race that Hillary Clinton was expected to dominate. Even after his disappointing second place finish in Iowa, Trump’s dominance in the Granite State has taken a sensational story into a legitimate candidacy.

5am – C         Weather/Roads Update:

• Refreeze could bring dangerous road conditions overnight. WASHINGTON — Some parts of the D.C. region are seeing light snowfall early Wednesday morning. Coupled with overnight below-freezing temperatures, it could make for potentially icy roadways during the morning commute. Untreated roads and neighborhood side streets could be slippery, as snow is starting to stick in some places. Storm Team 4 meteorologist Dan Pydynowski says the morning flurries and snow showers could mean some accumulation, but mostly on grassy areas. The lingering flurries are expected to taper off by 5 or 6 a.m. Temperatures dropped into the 20s and near 30 degrees Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. Also, a lot of instability will lead to clouds and gusty conditions Wednesday, making it feel much colder than it did Tuesday.
• School Delays:
• Public Schools – Maryland: Calvert County Schools – Open 2 hours late, Carroll County Schools – Open 2 hours late and Frederick County Schools – Open 2 hours late
• Public Schools – Virginia: Spotsylvania County Schools – Open 2 hours late

5am – D         Supreme Court halts Obama’s carbon emissions rule. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court dealt a blow to President Obama’s signature climate change initiative Tuesday by halting the administration’s effort to reduce pollution from coal-fired power plants while a legal battle rages on. The move by the court’s five conservative members was a shock to environmentalists, who had hoped the justices would deny — as a federal appeals court did last month — a petition filed by 29 mostly Republican-led states and industry leaders. Now the Environmental Protection Agency must halt enforcement of the so-called “Clean Power Plan” until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decides on the merits of the GOP-industry lawsuit against it. Oral arguments are set for early June. Even if the plan is upheld at the lower court, it could not be implemented until the Supreme Court has had the final word. That likely would push the battle into 2017 or beyond.

5am – E         Medical director resigns, calls DC fire department ‘toxic.’ WASHINGTON (AP) — The medical director of the District of Columbia’s long-troubled fire department is stepping down, saying “people are dying needlessly” because the department is resistant to reform. Dr. Jullette Saussy has been on the job for seven months. She previously ran the ambulance service in New Orleans. In her resignation letter, dated Jan. 29, Saussy says the culture of the fire department “is highly toxic” to delivering “quality pre-hospital care.” Saussy says a 35-year-old man died of a “potentially survivable” stab wound last month after an ambulance took more than 18 minutes to arrive. She says that happened because too many resources are devoted to “low-level calls.”

6am – A/B/C Maryland Senate overrides Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto on felon voting rights bills. (Washington Times) — ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland Senate on Tuesday overrode Gov. Larry Hogan’s final veto from last year on legislation that would allow felons to vote before they complete probation or parole. The Senate secured the exact three-fifths majority it needed to override the veto on the ex-felon voting rights bills, which now will become law in 30 days and affect about 40,000 people. The override was a show of strength by Democrats, who dominate both chambers of the General Assembly. It took a few tries to overturn vetoes on the two bills sponsored by Sen. Joan Carter Conway and Delegate Cory McCray, both Democrats representing Baltimore. Senators voted largely along party lines, though four Democrats voted with Republicans to sustain the GOP governor’s veto. The Senate approved Ms. Conway’s bill with 29 votes but was one vote shy of passing Mr. McCray’s bill because Sen. Douglas J.J. Peters, Prince George’s County Democrat, had left the chamber and accidentally missed the vote. To reconsider a vote, a senator on the prevailing side must request that a bill be recalled. Sen. Katherine A. Klausmeier, Baltimore County Democrat, had voted to sustain the veto, but she recalled the bill, saying she wanted to give every member a chance to vote.

6am – D         Trump, Sanders Sweep to Victory in New Hampshire Primaries; Kasich Second. Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders swept to convincing victories in the New Hampshire primaries on Tuesday night, providing them momentum for future contests and sending shock waves through the anxious political establishments of both parties.

After New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton Struggles to Find Her Footing. HOOKSETT, N.H. — After her unexpected victory in the New Hampshire primary in 2008, Hillary Clinton said she “found my own voice.” She left New Hampshire on Tuesday night, after a double-digit defeat, still searching for it. Bernie Sanders’s nearly 22-point victory came after Mrs. Clinton’s advisers had worked hard to lower expectations, but privately, many people close to Mrs. Clinton, including her husband, believed the state would once again serve as a lifeline. They had hoped that women and working-class voters, who had resuscitated Mrs. Clinton’s 2008 campaign and rescued Bill Clinton’s in 1992, would at least narrow the gap with Mr. Sanders.

6am – E         Weather/Roads Update:

• Refreeze could bring dangerous road conditions overnight. WASHINGTON — Some parts of the D.C. region are seeing light snowfall early Wednesday morning. Coupled with overnight below-freezing temperatures, it could make for potentially icy roadways during the morning commute. Untreated roads and neighborhood side streets could be slippery, as snow is starting to stick in some places. Storm Team 4 meteorologist Dan Pydynowski says the morning flurries and snow showers could mean some accumulation, but mostly on grassy areas. The lingering flurries are expected to taper off by 5 or 6 a.m. Temperatures dropped into the 20s and near 30 degrees Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. Also, a lot of instability will lead to clouds and gusty conditions Wednesday, making it feel much colder than it did Tuesday.
• School Delays:
• Public Schools – Maryland: Calvert County Schools – Open 2 hours late, Carroll County Schools – Open 2 hours late and Frederick County Schools – Open 2 hours late
• Public Schools – Virginia: Spotsylvania County Schools – Open 2 hours late

7am – A/B/C INTERVIEW – SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES – News Director, Tea Party News Network – discussed the New Hampshire primary results.

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

• Top intelligence official: ISIS to attempt U.S. attacks this year
• North Korea ‘expands plutonium production’, says US
• North Korean satellite ‘stable’ in orbit after launch, US official confirms

7am – E         Chipotle News:

• D.C. lawyer is bombarded with texts from Chipotle lovers seeking a free burrito. (USA Today) — WASHINGTON — Chipotle closed all of its locations Monday for several hours to educate employees on new food safety measures after the recent E. coli outbreak. In an effort to earn back some trust with people who stopped eating there because of the outbreak — or were just inconvenienced by the closure — the company offered a free burrito to anyone who texted “raincheck” to 888-222 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. But if you add an extra 2 to that number, you get the cell phone of Washington, D.C., area lawyer Henry Levine. Levine got dozens of texts from people he didn’t know demanding a free burrito. In an interview with Tech Insider, Levine said the texts starting coming in at around 9 a.m. this morning. Eventually, he learned about the promotion and has been responding to most of the texts to tell the person they have the wrong number. However, Tech Insider reports some people did not take the news too kindly. At one point, Levine even went to a nearby Chipotle location to show the manager what was happening. The response was probably not what he was expecting. “The manager shrieked and called everybody else over to look at my cell phone,” Levine told Tech Insider. “The Chipotle staff were concerned about the 50 or 60 people who thought they were going to get burritos, but now aren’t.”
• Chipotle urges workers to stay home if they’re sick. NEW YORK (AP) — Chipotle repeatedly told employees they need to stay home if they feel sick and the restaurant chain kept all its U.S. locations shuttered early Monday as executives went over new food safety procedures. The presentation for workers, which comes after Chipotle has been slammed by a series of food scares, was broadcast live at hundreds of theaters and hotel conference rooms around the country. Co-CEO Monty Moran noted two of the four incidents were the result of norovirus, which is typically caused by sick workers. “If you’re feeling sick, especially if you’ve vomited, whether at work or at home, you need to let your manager or your field leader know right away,” Moran said from a restaurant in Denver.

8am – A/B/C Trump New Hampshire Victory: Did the media underestimate Trump?

• Trump, Sanders Sweep to Victory in New Hampshire Primaries; Kasich Second. Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders swept to convincing victories in the New Hampshire primaries on Tuesday night, providing them momentum for future contests and sending shock waves through the anxious political establishments of both parties.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – CHRIS SHELTON – president of Communications Workers of America – discussed his support for Sen. Bernie Sanders over Sec. Clinton.

8am – E         Drone News:

• Washington, D.C., shrinks drone-free zone. (AP) —WASHINGTON — Drones and model aircraft can return to the skies in the outer ring of special airspace around the nation’s capital. The Federal Aviation Administration announced an update Tuesday that shrinks the no-drone zone from a ring with a 30-mile radius around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to one with a 15-mile radius. The new rules will take effect Wednesday. Within the larger special flight rules area, which includes much of southern and central Maryland and northern Virginia, registered and marked aircraft under 55 pounds can fly in clear conditions. They must stay below 400 feet, within sight and avoid other aircraft. Hobbyists must notify any airport within 5 miles and commercial operators must notify the FAA.
• FAA: More registered drone operators than licensed pilots. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration says there are now more registered drone operators in the U.S. than there are registered manned aircraft. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told a legal forum on Monday that the agency passed the milestone last week when it topped 325,000 registered drone owners. There are 320,000 registered manned aircraft. Huerta said the number of small unmanned aircraft is even larger because drone operators often own more than one drone.