Larry Kudlow, ABC's Tom Rivers, Washington Post's Dana Hedgpeth, Ken Cuccinelli, Judge Andrew Napolitano and guest host Torie Clarke joined WMAL Tuesday morning.

Mornings on the Mall

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

5am – A/B/C Sony warns media not to publish hacked e-mails. (USA Today) — Sony Pictures Entertainment, reeling from hacker attacks, told news organizations Sunday that they may be held liable for damages if they publish the contents of its hacked e-mails and files. The warning, which was sent to publishers in a three-page letter from Sony's lawyer David Boies and published by tech news site Re/code, said leaked e-mails, documents and other files amount to "stolen information" and that Sony "does not consent to your possession, review, copying, dissemination, publication, uploading, downloading, or making any use of the Stolen Information." "If you do not comply with this request, and the Stolen Information is used or disseminated by you in any manner, SPE will no choice but to hold you responsible for any damage or loss arising from such use," wrote Boies, the high-profile attorney who has represented Al Gore and financier Hank Greenberg.

5am – D         Barbara Walters named Amal Clooney the most fascinating person of 2014 on Sunday night during her special 'The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2014.' The human rights lawyer, formerly known as Amal Alamuddin, captured the heart of actor and known-bachelor George Clooney and married him in September. Walters called the wedding "perfect," particularly pointing out Amal's hat and the wedding dress designed by the late Oscar De La Renta, according to ABC News. Last year, Walters named Hillary Clinton the most fascinating person of 2013. This year's list includes: Taylor Swift, Michael Strahan, David Koch, Oprah Winfrey,  Elon Musk, George R.R. Martin, and Chelsea Handler.

5am – E         Turtle that breathes through its butt now critically endangered in Australia. “These turtles breathe out of their ass, which is super awesome,” researcher Jason Schaffer said. TOWNSVILLE, Australia, Dec. 15 (UPI) — A turtle notable for the fact that it breathes through its rear-end is now considered critically endangered by the Australian government. The white-throated snapping turtle (Elseya albagula) was downgraded from endangered to critically endangered by Australia's Department of the Environment in November. A native Australian species is considered critically endangered if "it is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future." The white-throated snapping turtle is unique because it breathes by extracting oxygen from water through cloacal respiration, or through its rear-end. That makes it suitable for living long periods of time under water, particularly in rivers like the Connor River. "These turtles breathe out of their ass, which is super awesome," James Cook University researcher Jason Schaffer told Scientific American. Schaffer said the species is increasingly threatened because of the presence of dams and sediment in its natural habitat.

6am – A         INTERVIEW: TOM RIVERS, ABC News Correspondent, London @tomrivers — follow up hostage situation resolved in Sydney

6am – B/C     Virginia governor seeks to reinstate restrictions on handgun sales.  (Yahoo! News) — RICHMOND, Va. (Reuters) – Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, on Monday called to reinstate restrictions on the purchase of handguns, in a move that opponents described as unlikely to succeed with a Republican-dominated legislature. McAuliffe asked lawmakers to reinstate a law allowing buyers to purchase only one handgun a month, which had been repealed during his Republican predecessor's administration. He also wants to require private vendors at gun shows to run background checks on all prospective buyers. "At gun shows, private vendors are not required to conduct criminal background checks, creating an easy avenue for criminals to illegally gain access to guns," McAuliffe said. His call came the day after the second anniversary of a gunman's rampage in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 26 elementary school students and educators. McAuliffe also aims to revoke concealed weapons permits for parents who are delinquent on child support payments and prohibit the possession of firearms for misdemeanor domestic violence offenders.

6am – D         BREAKING: Major delays on three Metro lines, service suspended

6am – E         O'Malley will probably put off announcement on presidential bid until spring. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley will probably push off an announcement about running for president until spring, a timetable that reflects the dominance of Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic field and the daunting challenges that O’Malley faces in raising money, according to several people helping him prepare for a possible bid. The thinking comes as O’Malley convenes some of his biggest supporters in Annapolis on Tuesday for a day of political briefings capped off by a reception at a private residence. While the invitation advertises talk of “the way forward for our country,” aides say the agenda does not include any definite word on O’Malley’s 2016 ambitions. Just a few months ago, O’Malley said he would “probably” make up his mind about running by the time his tenure as governor ends in late January. Some advisers have urged the governor, who is barely registering in the polls, to get in early with the aim of becoming better known and establishing himself as a more progressive and forward-looking alternative to Clinton

7am – A         INTERVIEW: DANA HEDGPETH – Reporter, Washington Post
Dana Hedgpeth is the Washington Post’s lead reporter in covering the Metro rail and bus systems in the D.C. region and the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) that runs them. Dana joined the Washington Post in 1999
>> Major delays on three Metro lines, service suspended

7am – B/C     BREAKING: Major delays on three Metro lines, service suspended

7am – D         INTERVIEW – KEN CUCCINELLI – former Virginia Attorney General and President of Senate Conservatives Fund – discussed Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe proposing package of gun restrictions.

7am – E         Study Finds All-Electric Cars Aren't Very Green At All. (Townhall) —

Electric cars are often touted as the most environmentally friendly vehicles out there, but the devil is always in the details. While charging tends to be the focus of environmental assessments, the entire life cycle of the vehicle needs to be considered. Researcher and former electric car enthusiast Ozzie Zehner put it best when he said, “moving from petroleum-fueled vehicles to electric cars starts to appear tantamount to shifting from one brand of cigarettes to another." Zehner is not alone in his assessment. A new study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences echoes his finding that green cars aren’t very green at all. The AP reports:  "It's kind of hard to beat gasoline" for public and environmental health, said study co-author Julian Marshall, an engineering professor at the University of Minnesota. "A lot of the technologies that we think of as being clean … are not better than gasoline." The key is where the source of the electricity all-electric cars. If it comes from coal, the electric cars produce 3.6 times more soot and smog deaths than gas, because of the pollution made in generating the electricity, according to the study that is published Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  They also are significantly worse at heat-trapping carbon dioxide that worsens global warming, it found.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO – author of new book, Suicide Pact: The Radical Expansion of Presidential Powers and the Assault on Civil Liberties, and Fox News senior judicial analyst

8am – B         Barbara Walters named Amal Clooney the most fascinating person of 2014 on Sunday night during her special 'The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2014.'

8am – C         INTERVIEW – NICOLE RAZ – WMAL's intrepid reporter on-the-ground at Metro Center about major delays on three Metro lines, service suspended.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – LARRY KUDLOW – CNBC Senior Contributor and host of The Larry Kudlow Show on WMAL Saturdays at 7 pm – discussed oil prices.

TOMORROW:          Morgan Wright, Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer and Benjamin Freed