Sharyl Attkisson, Fred Barnes and Mort Kondracke joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Smith

5am – A/B/C Capitals scratched Alex Ovechkin for oversleeping morning skate. (Yahoo Sports) — Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin was benched for the team’s Tuesday game against the San Jose Sharks because he overslept the team’s morning skate before the contest. Ovechkin set his alarm for p.m. instead of a.m. Because he missed practice, he was told he wouldn’t play. Washington was beat 5-0 by the Sharks. Shortly before the game, it was announced Ovechkin would miss the game for “personal reasons.” “I made mistakes, so that’s why,” Ovechkin said according to the Washington Post on Wednesday. Capitals coach Barry Trotz said the team tried to not make a big deal out of it Tuesday because it was a gameday.

5am – D         Sanders News:

• Bernie Sanders raised $1.3 million off last night’s #DemDebate: Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders raised more than $1.3 million in the first four hours after the Democratic debate began, according to his campaign. Sanders scored more than 37,600 individual contributions, averaging $34.58 during the four-hour stretch, spokesman Michael Briggs said. The Vermont senator’s campaign sought to capitalize on one of the biggest moments of Tuesday’s debate, Sanders’ insistence that the “American people are tired of hearing about” Hillary Clinton’s “damn emails.”
• Joy Behar Has The Hots For Bernie Sanders. Joy Behar says, “I like an old Jewish guy who’s a socialist. That’s my type of guy. Everybody is talking about O’Malley and how hot he was, but to me Bernie is hot.” The ladies of “The View” Wednesday were discussing the first Democratic debate when Behar exclaimed, “I thought that Bernie was so menschy in that moment like a real guy. I actually am aroused by him. I’m serious. I find him to be eye candy, not ear candy, eye candy.”
• Donald Trump goes after Bernie Sanders in new attack video. Donald Trump is starting to go after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). In a short attack video posted to Trump’s Instagram account on Wednesday, Trump’s campaign skewered the self-described Democratic socialist over his response to “Black Lives Matter” protesters who stormed the stage at a Sanders event earlier this year in Seattle. “The world is a dangerous place. We need a tough, strong leader in the White House. And it’s not this guy!” the video’s narrator says. “Bernie can’t even defend his microphone — how will he defend the country?” the text block of the video reads. The video is another addition to what’s becoming a signature Trump attack medium — Instagram. The latest featured familiar aspects, including footage of ISIS fighters, jocular stock music, and ad-hominem attacks on candidates’ personality traits.

• Bill Clinton Watched Hillary’s Debate From His Hotel Room Like The Biggest Behind-The-Scenes Supporter He Is. Tuesday night marked the first debate of the Democratic presidential season, aired by CNN. It featured a showdown between contenders Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and a trio of underdog up-and-comers in Martin O’Malley, Jim Webb, and Lincoln Chafee. One person it didn’t feature, however, was former president and potential First Husband Bill Clinton. But in case anybody thought that he was focused on something else, he revealed on Twitter that’s he’s following along like the rest of us — Bill Clinton tweeted himself watching Hillary’s debate from his hotel room, saying he was watching her “prove she’s the most qualified candidate for POTUS.”

5am – E         Airline News:

• American Airlines, US Airways Merge Reservation Systems This Weekend.
• American Airlines and US Airways officially become one on Saturday. Okay, they finalized their $17.7 billion merger nearly two years ago, but this weekend they integrate their reservations systems. As we all know from experience, that can be a pain for travelers. But American assures their passengers that won’t be the case, the Chicago Tribune reports. The company says it has spared no expense when it comes to making sure the integration of the systems goes smoothly — you know, not like that one over at United and Continental back in 2012 (for which the airline’s new CEO just apologized). In all, American says it prepared for the end of US Airways as we know it by conducting six full-scale tests of the migration with five million mock reservations prior to Saturday’s self-imposed deadline. The carrier has also set up a system to redirect all US Airways websites to American’s on Saturday and disabled the US Air mobile app.
• Customs computers at US airports down for about 90 minutes. A glitch in the Department of Homeland Security system that compares lists of air travel passengers to terror watch lists has been fixed, U.S. Customs and Border Protection told USA TODAY via an email Wednesday night. The system that was causing delays and long lines is back up and running after the agency took action to address the disruption, a spokesperson said. The outage last about 90 minutes, according to the agency. It does not appear that the disruption was malicious, the agency said. Earlier Wednesday, delays and long lines were being reported at J.F.K. International Airport in New York, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Logan International Airport in Boston and other major facilities.

6am – A/B/C No More Tipping? Danny Meyer is adding his acclaimed New York restaurants to a list of high-end eateries that have banned tips. Soon, when you visit some of New York’s most acclaimed restaurants, you’ll be able to pay your tab without leaving a little something extra, guilt-free. Restaurateur Danny Meyer said Wednesday that his Union Square Hospitality Group will be eliminating tipping, starting next month. In a letter on the group’s website, Meyer said that the new policy will kick in at The Modern restaurant at the end of November, and be instituted at the group’s remaining New York eateries next year. “Starting at The Modern in late November, you will no longer find a tip line on your check, and there will be no need to leave additional cash at the table, the coat check, or the bar,” Meyer said. “Once these changes are implemented, the total cost you pay to dine with us won’t differ much from what you pay now. But for our teams, the change will be significant. We will now have the ability to compensate all of our employees equitably, competitively and professionally. And by eliminating tipping, our employees who want to grow financially and professionally will be able to earn those opportunities based on the merit of their work.”

6am – D         Trump News:

• TRUMP RALLY: More than 5,000 people packed a hall in Richmond last night to see Donald Trump on the campaign trail, and he didn’t disappoint…       Getting huge cheers for calling Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders a socialist-slash communist, and accusing Hillary Clinton of wanting to give illegal immigrants free health care, drivers licenses and social security. At one point, the rally was interrupted by protesters.
• Donald Trump wants taxpayer-funded Secret Service detail. (USA Today) — The billionaire real estate mogul is renowned for braggadocio about his YUUUGE wealth, and for foregoing million-dollar checks from special-interest donors and self-funding his campaign. But there is one thing he wants that taxpayers would foot the bill for: Secret Service protection. He told The Hill on Tuesday that he deserves such a detail because of his popularity. And he noted that Obama already had Secret Service protection at this stage of the 2008 race. “They’re in no rush because I’m a Republican,” he quipped. Trump then clarified that he’s sure the Secret Service doesn’t want him or anyone else to get hurt. “But I would think they should be very proactive and want protection for somebody like me that has 20,000 people at any time,” he said. “You would think that they would want to be very proactive, but we have not heard from them.” Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Marsha Catron told USA TODAY on Wednesday that the agency had not received an official request for protection from the Trump campaign. Once it receives a request, a determination would be made on whether to grant it after consultation with a congressional advisory committee, she said.
• Ivanka Trump on Donald: ‘Look, my father is very blunt.’ Washington (CNN) – Ivanka Trump, the daughter of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, dismissed the criticism that her father has faced over controversial comments he’s made about women and their looks on Wednesday. The executive vice president at the Trump Organization said she believes those controversies were driven by “sensationalism” and “orchestrated largely by the media.” “Look, my father is very blunt. He’s very direct. He is not gender specific in his criticism of people, and people that he doesn’t particularly like or people that he does like but thinks they’re wrong on a particular issue,” she said in an interview with CNN’s Poppy Harlow. “So I don’t think that he’s gender-targeted at all. Like I said, I wouldn’t be the person I am today, I wouldn’t be a high-level executive within his organization if he felt that way.”

6am – E         Critter News:

• Bedbugs give state tax office employees the week off. About 150 state employees are getting an unscheduled week off from collecting taxes because of an infestation of bedbugs in the state office complex in Baltimore. The comptroller’s office workers were sent home after officials discovered evidence Tuesday that two previous sprayings of bedbugs had failed to eradicate the biting insects. Exterminators were expected to return to 301 W. Preston St. on Wednesday night for a new round of treatments, according to the state Department of General Services. No other state agencies have been affected, state officials said. Andrew Friedson, a spokesman for Comptroller Peter Franchot, said the problem was first brought to Franchot’s attention Oct. 1. He said the employees, who occupy the fourth floor of the 15-story building, were sent home that day but returned the next after an overnight spraying.
• Zoo meerkat expert sentenced over assault on monkey handler. LONDON (AP) — A former meerkat expert at London Zoo has been ordered to pay compensation to a monkey handler she attacked with a wine glass in a love spat over a llama-keeper. A judge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court said Wednesday that Caroline Westlake must pay 800 pounds ($1,235) to Kate Sanders for assaulting her in a dispute over colleague Adam Davies, who had dated both women. Judge Jeremy Colman also sentenced 30-year-old Westlake to 12 months community service for assault. The judge said Sanders had suffered a “nasty” face injury in the fracas at a zoo Christmas party on Dec. 8.

7am – A         INTERVIEW — SHARYL ATTKISSON – Investigative journalist and host of new show “Full Measure” on WJLA ABC at 9:30 am Sunday mornings – discussed her new show, the Democratic debate and the upcoming Benghazi hearing.

7am – B        Lamar Odom used cocaine, up to 10 sexual performance supplements before hospitalization. (USA Today) — PAHRUMP, Nev. – Lamar Odom took cocaine and as many as 10 sexual-performance supplement pills leading up to his hospitalization in Las Vegas, according to a dramatic 911 call released Wednesday by the Nye County Sheriff’s Department. Odom, the former NBA player and husband of reality television star Khloe Kardashian, was rushed to a medical facility after being found unresponsive by staff at a brothel known as the Love Ranch in Crystal, Nev., around 70 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Sheriff Sharon Wehrly said two employees of the Love Ranch stated Odom was unresponsive when they called 911 on Tuesday afternoon at 3:15 p.m. and informed dispatch of his drug use. “They confirmed his (cocaine) usage on Saturday but were unsure if it had continued throughout the weekend,” Sheriff Wehrly said at a media conference on Wednesday afternoon. “They also informed dispatch that he had used up to 10 tabs of sexual performance supplements.” Detective Michael Eisenloffel has not ruled out that Odom’s actions were a suicide attempt. Police said the sexual-performance supplements ingested by Odom were legal and were obtained from the Love Ranch. Dennis Hof, the owner of the Love Ranch, claimed on Wednesday that the brothel did not offer supplements to its visitors, despite advertising “Viagra” parties on its website.

7am – C        Md. students may have to re-take ACT tests after mail mishap. HARWOOD, Md. (AP) — Dozens of students who took the ACT test at Anne Arundel County’s Southern High School last month may need to retake the test because answer sheets were lost in the mail. The Capital of Annapolis reports that students affected were notified via email on Monday. ACT spokesman Ed Colby says the organization is trying to find the 88 lost answer sheets, but it’s unlikely they’ll be found. Colby says students can send the email from the ACT to colleges with early deadlines to ask for an extension. Students affected by the mistake are automatically registered for a free ACT test on Oct. 24. Those who can’t make the October test can reschedule at a future date at no cost.

7am – D         Emojis are ruining civilization. (NY Post) — In Jonathan Franzen’s novel “Purity,” a 1970s college student having a long, captivating initial phone conversation with the woman who will capture his heart reflects, “My world had been shrinking to the size of her voice in my ear . . . It seems crucial that we had our first real conversation on the phone, which distills a person into words passing directly into the brain.” Olden days. Lately a young lady telephonically contacted by a suitor must content herself with something more along the lines of “U so hot want 2 come ovah 4 chill sesh?” Which is more or less a sonnet compared with the emoji-chatter that’s taking over from word-based texting. In an attempt to show that it, too, understands the supremacy of cutesy pictograms, USA Today last week ran emojis next to its front-page stories: surprised face for news of leading Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy bowing out of the race for speaker of the house; crying face for “U.S. hero of French train attack stabbed.” That’s right: It’s gotten to the point where USA Today is worried that it needs to lighten the load it places on its readers. It’s as if Hostess started worrying that Twinkies were being perceived as overly nutritious. “Social media and its icons are becoming a dominant form of communication in our world,” explained USA Today’s editor. “We wanted to show what they would be like if transferred to print.” Dumb used to be an accident. Now it’s a goal. No matter how complicated something might be, someone is reducing it to a tiny cartoon.

7am – E         Sex News:

• Male brain is programmed to seek out sex over food. (Telegraph) — It is said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but a new study suggests that when it comes to sex, food is the last thing on his mind. Researchers have found that the male brain is hardwired to seek out sex, even at the expense of a good meal, with specific neurons firing up to over-ride the desire to eat. Intriguingly, women do not have the same neurons, suggesting that sex for females comes secondary to sustenance. Although the neurons have only been found in the brains of nematode worms, scientists at University College London say that it is likely that similar mechanisms are at work in humans. And it is proof that male and female brains are wired differently, a controversial subject, which has been argued by scientists and feminists for decades.
• Hyatt hotels banning on-demand porn movies in hotel rooms. Hyatt Hotels will no longer offer on-demand pornographic movies in its rooms, the company said Wednesday. “This content will not be introduced to any new Hyatt hotels, and it will be discontinued or phased out at all hotels,” the company said in a statement. Hyatt is just the latest hotel company to ban on-demand adult entertainment from its rooms. Decreasing revenue from movie rentals in hotels has driven the trend, with movie rental revenue per available hotel room dropping from $339 a year to $107 a year between 2000 and 2014, according to a report from PKF Hospitality Research. Hotel guests are renting fewer in-room movies because they can watch them on smartphones or laptops instead.
• California Trains Kids To Ask For Consent Every 10 Minutes During Sex. (Daily Caller) — A look at the new landscape of sex education published by The New York Times contains an eye-opening anecdote: In California, teachers are telling kids to get consent every ten minutes during sex to avoid committing rape. The article is about the brave new world created by affirmative consent, or “yes means yes,” which holds that a person must obtain explicit prior consent for every sexual act or else be considered to have committed sexual assault.The standard isn’t limited to sex itself; a person would also need explicit affirmative consent to kiss somebody, too. All of this is in contrast to the prevailing criminal standard, known as “no means no,” where sexual assault occurs when a person proceeds with sexual activity despite an explicit refusal of consent. While this remains the criminal standard, California made a major shift last year by requiring all school disciplinary bodies to use affirmative consent, and it also required state sex education classes to use the standard as well. That shift means a change in how sex education is handled, and the Times suggests that kids are finding affirmative consent to be a somewhat difficult standard to grasp. Among other things, some kids are getting the impression they need to set a timer during their intimate encounters to make sure their casual hookup doesn’t accidentally become a rape. “What does that mean — you have to say ‘yes’ every 10 minutes?” one tenth grader is quoted asking sex ed instructor Shafia Zaloom.

8am – A/B/C/D/E INTERVIEW — FRED BARNES AND MORT KONDRACKE – AUTHORS OF NEW BOOK “JACK KEMP”

• BOOK: Jack Kemp: The Bleeding-Heart Conservative Who Changed America Hardcover – September 29, 2015 by Morton Kondracke (Author), Fred Barnes (Author) – The late 1970s were miserable for America. It was the post–Vietnam, post–Watergate era, a time of high unemployment, ruinous inflation, gasoline lines, Communist advances, and bottomed-out U.S. morale. In the 1980s, it all turned around: “stagflation” ended and nearly two decades of prosperity ensued. The Soviet Union retreated, then collapsed. America again believed in itself. And around the world, democratic capitalism was deemed “the end of history.” Ronald Reagan’s policies sparked the American renaissance, but the Gipper’s leadership is only part of the story. The economic theory that underpinned America’s success was pioneered by a star professional quarterback turned self-taught intellectual and “bleeding-heart conservative”: Jack Kemp. Kemp’s role in a pivotal period in American history is at last illuminated in this first-ever biography, which also has lessons for the politics of today. Kemp was the congressional champion of supply-side economics—the idea that lowering taxes would foster growth. Even today, almost no one advocates a return to a top income tax rate of 70 percent.