Weather Channel’s Geoff Maurer, Morgan Wright, Susan Ferrechio and Jake Tapper joined WMAL on Thursday!

 Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B/C   Rainy Day: Which Is Worse To Drive In: Snow or Rain?

5am – D         DRIVE AT FIVE INTERVIEW — SEN. BEN CARDIN – D-MD — discussed the override vote of Obama’s veto on the 9/11 bill.

• Congress overrides Obama’s veto of 9/11 bill. Senate votes to override Obama’s veto of 9/11 bill. (Washington Post) — Congress on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to override President Obama’s veto of legislation that would allow 9/11 victims’ families to sue the Saudi Arabian government over its alleged support for the terrorists who carried out the attacks.          

5am – E         The Obamas Stumping for Hillary:

• Michelle Obama On Trump’s Temperament: ‘We Need An Adult In The White House’
• Obama faces tough questions from military and veterans. FORT LEE, Va. — Military personnel and veterans challenged President Obama, often aggressively, on his refusal to use the phrase “Islamic terrorism,” his decision to open combat jobs up to women and the performance of the Department of Veterans Affairs at a town hall meeting here Wednesday. Obama was at this Army base near Richmond to take part in a military-focused special that aired Wednesday night on CNN. The cable network selected questioners who were respectful but who reflected a military population that is more conservative than the population as a whole and generally skeptical of the president’s performance as commander in chief over the past eight years.

6am – A/B/C Comey on Clinton email probe: ‘Don’t call us weasels.’ The normally stoic FBI chief grew emotional as he rejected claims that the FBI was in the tank for Clinton. FBI Director James Comey is passionately defending the integrity of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email setup, arguing that critics are unfair to suggest that agents were biased or succumbed to political pressure. “You can call us wrong, but don’t call us weasels. We are not weasels,” Comey declared Wednesday at a House Judiciary Committee hearing. “We are honest people and … whether or not you agree with the result, this was done the way you want it to be done.” Comey insisted there is no double standard, though he said there would be serious consequences — short of criminal prosecution — if FBI personnel handled classified information as Clinton and her aides did.

6am – B         INTERVIEW — GEOFF MAURER – Radio Broadcast Meteorologist, Weather Channel – shared the weather forecast for today’s rainy day.

• Heavy rain, flooding continue through DC area. WASHINGTON — A solid area of heavy rainfall moved through Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, causing some flash flooding in northwest areas near Winchester and Front Royal. “Regular” flooding continues in many locations Thursday morning, the distinction being that the water may not be rising as rapidly anymore, but the floodwaters are already there and will be slow to recede as additional rain, sometimes heavy, continues to fall today. Because any extremely heavy rainfall could cause flash flooding, the Flash Flood Watch continues until 8 a.m. Friday. As always, follow the advice “Turn around, don’t drown” if you encounter flooded roadways — they’re out there, and there have been some road closures.
• This is why the D.C. region could see torrential, flooding rain this week (Washington Post) — A rather awe-inspiring combination of meteorological forces is set to unfold across the greater Washington region in the next three days. The moisture feed off the Atlantic Ocean is expected to be robust — if not exceptional — for this time of year. The potential for widespread flooding is very high, akin to that from a tropical storm or hurricane. Several potent ingredients are forecast to converge over the Mid-Atlantic region today through Friday, leading to a long, heavy rain event. This is a storm that will probably deliver many inches of rain, with the prospect of flash flooding and more widespread river floods. Below, we delve into the various factors including those related to the jet stream, Atlantic moisture source and surface-weather features.
• Flash Flood Watch in Maryland.  Flash Flood Watch remains in effect through Friday morning. The Flash Flood Watch continues for: Portions of Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia and West Virginia, including the following areas, in Maryland. Anne Arundel, Calvert, Carroll, Central and Eastern Allegany, central and southeast Howard, central and southeast Montgomery, Charles, extreme western Allegany. Frederick MD, northern Baltimore, Northwest Harford. Northwest Howard, Northwest Montgomery, Prince Georges. Southeast Harford, Southern Baltimore, St. Marys and Washington. The District of Columbia. In Virginia. Albemarle, Arlington/falls Church/alexandria, Augusta. Central Virginia Blue Ridge, Clarke, Culpeper, Eastern Loudoun, Fairfax, Frederick VA, Greene, King George. Madison, Nelson, northern Fauquier, Northern Virginia Blue Ridge, orange, page, Prince William/manassas/manassas Park, Rappahannock, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Southern Fauquier, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren and Western Loudoun. In West Virginia, Berkeley, Eastern Grant, Eastern mineral, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Morgan, Western Grant and Western mineral.

6am – C         Rise and grind: Get #NationalCoffeeDay freebies, deals. WASHINGTON — Thursday is National Coffee Day. We poured a big caffeinated cup, jazzed it up with cream and sugar, and put together this list of freebies and deals around the D.C. region:

• Krispy Kreme: Get a free 12 oz. coffee and a free original glazed doughnut.
• Dunkin’ Donuts: Any medium hot coffee is just 66 cents.
• Starbucks:  At participating Starbucks, they’ll donate a coffee tree to Mexican farmers on behalf of every customer who buys a brewed Mexico Chiapas coffee.
• Sheetz: Show your My Sheetz loyalty card to get a free small cold brew coffee while supplies last.
• Peet’s Coffee: Get a free medium drip coffee when you buy any fresh food item at participating stores.
• Whole Foods: Now through Nov. 1, use the Whole Foods Market app to get $1 off a 16 oz. Allegro Pumpkin Spice Latte at participating stores with coffee bars.
• 7-Eleven: A big coffee promotion starts next week at participating stores. Scan your 7-Eleven app to get a free, any size, any flavor coffee Oct. 3-9.
• Wawa: Enjoy a free, any size (up to 24 oz.) hot coffee.

6am – D/E     Rolling Stone has come up with the 100 greatest TV shows of all time. My list was a little different. (Washington Post) — The Oct. 6 issue of Rolling Stone is out, with the magazine’s list of “The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time” on the cover. (No. 1? Hardly a spoiler alert needed – it’s HBO’s “The Sopranos.”) The list contains a few surprises and, naturally, some choices that could be eternally quibbled over. The whole list is worth a read. After “The Sopranos,” the rest of their Top 10 goes like this: (2) “The Wire”; (3) “Breaking Bad”; (4) “Mad Men”; (5) “Seinfeld”; (6) “The Simpsons; (7) “The Twilight Zone”; (8) “Saturday Night Live”; (9) “All in the Family”; and (10) “The Daily Show.”

7am – A         INTERVIEW — MORGAN WRIGHT – Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government (Morgan is a signer on the letter to the Sec of Defense)

• Republicans Say Obama Administration Is Giving Away The Internet. Republican lawmakers are accusing the Obama administration of allowing countries like Russia, China and Iran to take control over the Internet. Their beef with the administration focuses on a relatively obscure nonprofit overseen by the U.S. government that is scheduled to become fully independent Saturday. The organization is called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN for short. Its history traces back to a graduate student at UCLA named Jon Postel. He started keeping track of the unique numbers assigned to particular computers using the Internet, during its early days. Jonathan Zittrain, an Internet law professor at Harvard, says Postel kept a clipboard to make sure no user had the same number — sort of like a phone book.
• National Security Leaders Oppose Obama’s Oct. 1 Internet Handover. Military and cybersecurity experts send letter to top Pentagon officials urging intervention in irreversible transition. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, a broad coalition of 77 national security, cybersecurity, and industry leaders sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford calling on the top military officials to intervene in opposition to President Obama’s radical proposal to relinquish American guardianship of the Internet and give it to foreign corporations and countries, including Russia, China, and Iran. This letter follows a joint statement issued by 10 Republican senators urging Democratic senators to oppose the Obama administration’s proposed Internet handover set to take place on October 1. “As individuals with extensive, first-hand experience with protecting our national security, we write to urge you to intervene in opposition to an imminent action that would, in our judgment, cause profound and irreversible damage to the United States’ vital interests,” the letter reads. “…Indeed, there is, to our knowledge, no compelling reason for exposing the national security to such a risk by transferring our remaining control of the Internet in this way at this time. In light of the looming deadline, we feel compelled to urge you to impress upon President Obama that the contract between NTIA and ICANN cannot be safely terminated at this point.” The distinguished group of signers includes former Assistant Secretary of Defense Frank Gaffney, Jr., former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin (Ret.), former Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, former Director of the Defense Nuclear Agency Vice Adm. Robert Monroe (Ret.), and former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Andrew McCarthy, among others. Congress must act by September 30 in order to stop this Internet handover, which poses the risk of increased censorship and loss of free speech online, possible legal repercussions, and national security vulnerabilities.
• UN Takeover of U.S. Internet Saturday– Arizona’s State Attorney asked a federal judge to block or at least delay Saturday’s handover of the U.S. internet to the United Nations.  When the internet was developed it allowed for unique domain names so someone could go to”Arizona.gov” instead of having to remember “159.87.85.253” which is the official address.  Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers or ICANN has a federal government contract to register and monitor those unique domain names. The White House is set to let that contract expire Saturday.  At that point, UN expert Brett Schaefer says control of U.S. domain names will go to an international consortium under the United Nations.

7am – B         Gary Johnson had trouble naming a foreign leader he respects. “I guess I’m having an Aleppo moment.” 

7am – C         INTERVIEW — GEOFF MAURER – Radio Broadcast Meteorologist, Weather Channel – shared the weather forecast for today’s rainy day.

7am – D         Entertainment News:

• Agnes Nixon, All My Children creator, dies at 88. Agnes Nixon, the writer and producer best known for creating ABC’s One Life to Live and All My Children, has died. She was 93. Nicknamed the Queen of Soaps, Nixon earned a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 2010 for her long and storied career in the daytime genre. All My Children ran for 41 years before it was canceled by ABC in 2011. (It went to air on the Online Network until 2013). One Life to Live premiered in 1968 and lasted until 2013. Nixon also created the short-lived sudser Loving, which aired from 1983 to 1995. And if she didn’t create the soaps, she simply wrote for them: Her packed resume also includes stints on Another World, Guiding Light and Search for Tomorrow.
• Twenty One Pilots to Perform on ‘SNL,’ Lin Manuel Miranda to Host. The 42nd season of Saturday Night Live premieres this weekend (Oct. 1) with host Margot Robbie and musical guest the Weeknd; on Wednesday (Sept. 28), the show revealed its stars for episode two. Twenty One Pilots will serve as musical guest on Oct. 8, with Lin-Manuel Miranda hosting. The pairing of angsty alternative rap-rockers with the Hamilton creator/musical theater luminary is a bit incongruous, but hey, doesn’t that make for entertaining live television?
• Alec Baldwin is the new Donald Trump on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Alec Baldwin has played many roles in his career, but he’s about to take on the yugest one yet. Baldwin will play the role of Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live” this season. The actor will play the businessman turned candidate at least until the election, according to a source with knowledge of the casting. The sketch series, which kicks off its 42nd season on Saturday, released a video on YouTube Wednesday that has Baldwin donning the famous hair and expression of Trump.
• Miley Cyrus Shades Mariah Carey: ‘I’ve Never Really Been a Fan.’ Shade alert! Miley Cyrus has candidly praised her biggest inspirations (such as Dolly Parton and Joan Jett) many times through the years, but there’s one pop superstar she’s apparently not too fond of: Mariah Carey. The “Wrecking Ball” singer, 23, recently told a contestant on The Voice that “not everyone can be Mariah Carey.” In a new interview with Elle magazine, she elaborated on the statement and shared her thoughts on the iconic diva. “I’ve never really been a fan, because it’s so much about Mariah Carey,” Cyrus told the publication in her October 2016 cover story. “That’s part of her shtick; I can see through that. That’s part of what makes her a gay icon; like, it’s about Mimi! It’s about what she’s wearing, and it’s about her. What I make isn’t about me. It’s about sharing my story; it’s about someone being connected to what I’m saying.”
• Miley Cyrus Says She Was Underpaid on Hannah Montana. Excerpts from her Elle cover story were released Sept. 12, and on Tuesday, the magazine released the rest of her interview. For four seasons, Miley played the titular character on Hannah Montana—a normal girl by day, a singer by night—until the hit Disney Channel series came to an end in 2011. Miley’s father, musician-turned-actor Billy Ray Cyrus, played her character’s father, Robby Stewart. When the show premiered, Miley felt like her dreams had come true. It wasn’t until later, however, that her dream began to feel more like a nightmare. “I did not grow up spoiled in any way. I just wanted to be on TV. I mean, at one point—they’ll probably kill me for saying it—I was probably the least paid person on my cast because I didn’t know any better,” the actress recalls. “I was just like, ‘I can be on Disney! Yeah, I want to do it!'”

7am – E   13000 People Texted A D.C. Bartender Instead Of C-Span After The Debate. (DCist) – In order to get in touch with Tripp Diaz these days, callers have to email her in advance. That way, she knows you aren’t a random person wishing to discuss their feelings about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. “I have no idea what happened,” Diaz says, but somehow C-Span posted her number on screen during their debate coverage, alongside ways to contact them through Facebook and Twitter. Her phone instantly became unusable thanks to the ensuing flood of calls and texts. Diaz, a bartender at Eatbar on Barracks Row, was having an utterly uneventful night at home on Monday. She already made up her mind about who she is going to vote for in November and didn’t want to watch the candidates bicker. “I was being a horrible citizen and watching American Horror Story instead,” Diaz says. Horror story, indeed. Around 11 p.m., she stared at her phone, bewildered, as it blew up. It was so constant that Diaz’s girlfriend had to time her phone call so they could speak. When a friend’s sister shared a screenshot from C-Span, Diaz finally realized what had happened and why so many people were itching to tell her their political affiliations. C-Span has not responded to a request for comment.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — SUSAN FERRECHIO – Chief Congressional Correspondent for the Washington Examiner – discussed what Congress did yesterday before leaving town for recess.

• Congress votes to override Obama’s 9/11 veto; overwhelming rejection of White House.
• White House lashes out at ’embarrassing’ Senate veto override. “I would venture to say that this is the single most embarrassing thing that the United States Senate has done, possibly, since 1983,” Obama spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One.
• FBI’s Comey rejects call to reopen Clinton email case. FBI Director James Comey: ‘Don’t call us weasels.
• Congress passes continuing resolution to avoid government shutdown. Congress Passes Spending Bill to Keep Government Running Through Dec. 9. Stopgap spending bill includes Zika funding, flood relief; separate bill to address Flint, Mich., funding.

8am – B         Voting News:

• Court: New Hampshire Voting Booth Selfie Ban Unconstitutional. A federal appeals court on Wednesday said New Hampshire’s ban on voting booth selfies “is like burning down the house to roast the pig.” In a unanimous vote, a three-judge panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston upheld a lower court ruling that declared the state’s ban unconstitutional. It was the first time a federal appeals court considered the issue. A 2014 New Hampshire law criminalized voters snapping photos of their ballots and sharing them on social media. Such actions were punishable by a fine of up to $1,000. A federal judge blocked the law’s enforcement a year ago and the state appealed citing a need to discourage vote buying.
• Washington Mall Shooter Illegally Voted. Activist group uncovers documentation showing that Arcan Cetin registered and voted in U.S. elections.  (Brendan Kirby/LifeZette) — A Turkish immigrant accused of shooting up a mall in Washington State on Sept. 24 registered to vote despite not being a citizen and participated in at least three elections, according to a national ballot-integrity organization. Police have charged Arcan Cetin, 20, with five counts of first-degree premeditated murder in connection with a shooting that left five people dead at the Cascade Mall in Burlington. True the Vote searched records in Cetin’s home county and found only one Arcan Cetin on the voter registration rolls and matched it to his date of birth. That, combined with unnamed Immigration and Customs Enforcement sources telling local media that the defendant was on a citizenship track, indicates that he was illegally registered. “It’s pretty clear-cut,” said Logan Churchwell, a spokesman for the group. “He registered to vote. He voted twice in federal elections.” The records show that Cetin registered to vote in 2014, in time to cast a ballot in the midterm election that November. Churchwell said Cetin also voted in a local election the following year and then again during the state’s presidential primary earlier this year. It is impossible to determine whether Cetin voted in the Republican or Democratic primary, but Churchwell said his Twitter feed from last year suggested that he was a Hillary Clinton supporter.

8am – C         Tim Tebow Hit A Home Run On The First Pitch. Former NFL quarterback and current New York Mets prospect Tim Tebow hit an opposite-field home run on the first pitch he saw in today’s instructional league game.

8am – D         INTERVIEW — JAKE TAPPER – Anchor of THE LEAD and STATE OF THE UNION on CNN – discussed his military townhall with President Obama last night.

8am – E         INTERVIEW — GEOFF MAURER – Radio Broadcast Meteorologist, Weather Channel – shared the weather forecast for today’s rainy day.