Dr. Gridlock, MD Comptroller Peter Franchot, Larry Kudlow & Jake Tapper joined WMAL on Thursday!

Mornings on the Mall

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

5am – A/B    Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie drop out of race. GOP hopefuls Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie dropped out of the presidential race Wednesday. Fiorina announced the suspension of her campaign via Twitter. Promising to “continue to serve in order to restore citizen government to this great nation so that together we may fulfill our potential” in a statement, the former HP executive also reflected on feminism’s role in politics. “To young girls and women across the country, I say: do not let others define you,” she said. “Do not listen to anyone who says you have to vote a certain way or for a certain candidate because you’re a woman. That is not feminism. Feminism doesn’t shut down conversations or threaten women.” Separately, NBC News confirmed Wednesday that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie plans to suspend his presidential campaign as well.

5am – C        McAuliffe announces deal on I-66 HOT lanes that would speed up highway widening. (Washington Post) — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) announced Wednesday morning that he has agreed to speed up the widening of Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway as a compromise with state legislators who were opposed to imposing tolls on those nine miles of highway before an expansion. The deal is the latest significant compromise McAuliffe has reached with the Republican-controlled General Assembly, following an agreement on gun regulations announced in January, and it already is drawing strong reaction from supporters and opponents. The I-66 deal shortcuts the McAuliffe administration’s plan to create high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes in 2017, study their performance in managing traffic, then decide whether the interstate should be widened. The governor’s original plan called for financing the any widening through the toll revenues. Under the deal announced Wednesday, the cost of the widening will be financed through the state budget. The widening will occur along four miles in the eastbound direction between the Dulles Connector and Ballston, the zone where traffic is heaviest. The budget revisions will allow for a cost up to about $140 million, state transportation officials said.

5am – D/E     Lent:

• Plastic-bag ‘fast’ latest in a more modern take on Lent. When the Rev. Ryan Sirmons speaks from the pulpit at the United Church of Christ in Annapolis on Sunday, he says, he’ll talk to his congregation about Lent, the 40-day period of fasting and reflection leading up to the Christian celebration of Easter. But he won’t encourage church members to give up coffee or desserts. Instead, he says, he’ll challenge them to forgo accepting plastic bags when they’re at the checkout of the grocery store. “I used to think of Lent as a time you give up chocolate,” Sirmons said. “The point is to give up something to make you aware not just how you individually feel, but how you look at the world.” Sirmons is one of several faith leaders encouraging a fast from plastic bags during Lent, which begins Wednesday with Ash Wednesday. They have the backing of environmental groups that are pushing a bill in the Maryland General Assembly that would ban plastic bags and levy a 10-cent fee on paper bags.
• ‘DUDE. YOUR FOREHEAD.’ RNC’s Sean Spicer spends Ash Wednesday plagued by ‘Twitter trolls’ – RNC chief strategist and comms director Sean Spicer is really has his work cut out for him today. No, not with RNC business — with fielding a repeat question from tweeters fixated on his forehead: Cheaptarts @Cheaptarts CNN @seanspicer what happened to your forehead ? Ouch 4:23 PM – 10 Feb 2016

5am –E Critter News:
• D.C. to locals: Don’t eat our rockfish. WASHINGTON (ABC7) — For the first time ever, a very popular local fish is on the “Do Not Eat” list. Recent testing in the Potomac River has found extremely elevated levels of PCBs in rockfish. Rockfish, also known as stripers or striped bass, is an important part of the local economy. It’s a very popular fish for recreational and commercial fisherman. But D.C. now says you shouldn’t eat it. At the Maine Avenue Fish Market in DC, rockfish are big business. “It’s one of the most popular fish we have. You can fry it, grill it, bake it,” said James Meadows of Jessie Taylor Seafood.
• ‘Beautiful’ albino turtle found on Australia beach. Wildlife volunteers say they were stunned to find an extremely rare albino turtle on a beach in Australia. The tiny creature was one of 122 hatchlings from a green turtle nest on Castaways Beach on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. The volunteers from Coolum and North Shore Coast Care were surveying the nest on Sunday when they found it. “It was very chipper and just took off into the water as happy as can be,” said group president Linda Warneminde. “He wasn’t sick, he was just white,” she told the BBC. Albino green turtles are extremely rare and may have a low rate of survival, experts were quoted as saying. Ms Warneminde said typically only one in 1,000 green turtles survived to maturity and experts believed the chances for an albino turtle were even lower.
• Why the long face? Horses recognize human emotions, says study. (CNN) A smile can get you a long way with people — and animals, it turns out. Horses can distinguish between happy and angry facial expressions on humans, a new study has shown for the first time. The 28 horses were shown large color photographs of different facial expressions for 30 seconds, and their reactions monitored as part of the research by psychologists at the UK’s University of Sussex. When presented with photographs of angry male faces — frowning with bared teeth — the horses’ heart rate significantly increased. Importantly, the equines also moved their heads to look at the aggressive photos through their left eye — a mannerism associated with negative stimuli. Information from the horses’ left eye is processed in the brain’s right hemisphere — an area specializing in threatening environments, said researchers.

6am – A         Clinton and Sanders Battle For Minority Vote:

• Bernie Sanders Dines With Al Sharpton In Harlem. The Rev. Al Sharpton talks with Sen. Bernie Sanders at Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem the morning after Sanders’ New Hampshire primary victory over Hillary Clinton. The morning after his New Hampshire primary victory, Bernie Sanders made a highly publicized visit to Harlem to dine with Al Sharpton, one of America’s most prominent civil rights activists and media personalities. The two dined at Sylvia’s, the same New York City restaurant where Sharpton huddled with Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.
• Slowly but Surely, Bernie Is Securing the Black Vote. The tide appears to be turning against the Clintons’ long and close relationship with many African-American voters. Fresh from his victory in New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders stopped in Harlem to have breakfast with Reverend Al Sharpton, who congratulated Sanders and addressed the crowd gathered outside Sylvia’s restaurant: “It’s the morning after a historic victory, the widest margin in the history of New Hampshire,” Sharpton said. Sharpton will meet with Hillary Clinton next Thursday and will then announce his endorsement. In the article below, you can watch two fascinating recent interviews with Ben Jealous, former leader of the NAACP and Ta-Nahisi Coates of The Atlantic magazine explaining their support of Sanders.
• The Congressional Black Caucus is rushing to defend Hillary Clinton, following what many black lawmakers said was an expected loss in New Hampshire but one that should not hurt her in the next round of voting. On Thursday morning, the CBC’s leaders said they will appear at a club adjacent to the Democratic National Committee to formally endorse Clinton for president, through the CBC political action committee. The group will then disperse its African-American lawmakers to states where black voters are crucial, particularly in South Carolina’s Democratic primary on Feb. 27. “It’s one thing to endorse and do nothing. It’s another thing to endorse and to go to work,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), chairman of the CBC PAC. These lawmakers are, Meeks said, “people that can actually testify [to] the work that Hillary Clinton has done.” Meeks said that 90 percent of the 20-member board of the CBC’s PAC voted to endorse Clinton, while none of the board members voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders and a few members abstained because they had not yet endorsed in the race.

6am – B         More 2016 News:

• How to watch the Milwaukee Democratic debate. One week after their first one-on-one faceoff, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will take the stage in Milwaukee in a debate hosted by PBS NewsHour in partnership with Facebook. It comes just a couple of days after Sanders’ resounding victory over Clinton in the New Hampshire primary, as Clinton seeks to gin up momentum going into the next set of contests, in which she is favored. The Nevada Democratic caucus is Feb. 20, followed by the South Carolina Democratic primary on Feb. 27, leading up to Super Tuesday on March 1. It starts at 9 p.m ET. It’ll air live on local PBS stations, with a live stream on the PBS NewsHour website, and CNN will simulcast it as well. The Helen Bader Concert Hall in the Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Moderators are PBS NewsHour co-anchors and managing editors Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff.
• New Cruz Ad: We Wouldn’t Tolerate Trump Values In Our Kids, Why In Our President?       Texas Senator Ted Cruz is coming out of the New Hampshire primary swinging hard at GOP frontrunner Donald Trump with a new ad that compares the businessman’s behavior to that of a child. The ad, call “Playing Trump,” shows 3 kids playing with a “Donald Trump action figure” and smashing a doll’s house while chanting “eminent domain.” Asked what the toy does, one boy responds, “He pretends to be a Republican.”

6am – C         More snow days could mean calendar change for Fairfax schools.

WASHINGTON — Fairfax County public school students have had so many snow days for in recent years that the school calendar could see some future changes. It wouldn’t happen until the 2017 school year, but the Fairfax County School Board will consider starting classes before Labor Day. Virginia law requires school systems to start school after Labor Day — the intention, among other things, is to boost state tourism. However, school districts can get a waiver to the post-Labor Day start if they are closed an average of eight days a year, for five of the past 10 years, because of weather or other emergencies. Fairfax County public schools say the system now qualifies for the waiver, having missed an average of 8.4 days for five years.

6am – D         INTERVIEW – ROBERT THOMSON aka Dr. Gridlock at The Washington Post

• McAuliffe announces deal on I-66 HOT lanes that would speed up highway widening. (Washington Post/Robert Thomson) — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) announced Wednesday morning that he has agreed to speed up the widening of Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway as a compromise with state legislators who were opposed to imposing tolls on those nine miles of highway before an expansion. The deal is the latest significant compromise McAuliffe has reached with the Republican-controlled General Assembly, following an agreement on gun regulations announced in January, and it already is drawing strong reaction from supporters and opponents. The I-66 deal shortcuts the McAuliffe administration’s plan to create high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes in 2017, study their performance in managing traffic, then decide whether the interstate should be widened. The governor’s original plan called for financing the any widening through the toll revenues. Under the deal announced Wednesday, the cost of the widening will be financed through the state budget. The widening will occur along four miles in the eastbound direction between the Dulles Connector and Ballston, the zone where traffic is heaviest. The budget revisions will allow for a cost up to about $140 million, state transportation officials said.
• Homeowners Told to Make Property Changes for Purple Line. Construction on the Purple Line connecting Prince George’s and Montgomery counties could begin this year, and homeowners who live along the planned route have been told to make major adjustments to their property. The modern streetcar connecting Bethesda and New Carrollton would run in Robert Haddad’s backyard in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He’s been told a shed he built himself has to go. He is one of dozens of homeowners along the Capital Crescent Trail told they might have to move their property. Some are frustrated at how the state is handling the project. There are no firm details about who will build it the Purple Line, yet homeowners have to take action.

6am – E         Hillary Earns More New Hampshire Delegates Than Sanders | The Daily Caller. Though Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary in a landslide over Hillary Clinton, he will likely receive fewer delegates than she will. Sanders won 60 percent of the vote, but thanks to the Democratic Party’s nominating system, he leaves the Granite State with at least 13 delegates while she leaves with at least 15 delegates. New Hampshire has 24 “pledged” delegates, which are allotted based on the popular vote. Sanders has 13, and Clinton has 9, with 2 currently allotted to neither. But under Democratic National Committee rules, New Hampshire also has 8 “superdelegates,” party officials who are free to commit to whomever they like, regardless of how their state votes. Their votes count the same as delegates won through the primary. New Hampshire has 8 superdelegates, 6 of which are committed to Hillary Clinton, giving her a total of 15 delegates from New Hampshire as of Wednesday at 9 a.m.

#ImNotKiddingMaddi trends as Hillary Clinton sends ‘desperate’ email asking for a dollar after New Hampshire vote. A woman named Maddi shared the email she says she received from Hillary Clinton online, where the presidential candidate says she is ‘not kidding’ and asks for a dollar donation. A woman named Maddi has caused nation-wide mirth in the US after posting an email she says she received from Hillary Clinton online. In the email, Clinton (or her team) says: “After tonight’s results roll in, keep this in mind: most of the country casts their primary ballots by the middle of March. “We absolutely, critically need to make sure Hillary comes out on top in the states that lie ahead. “I’m not kidding, Maddi, I’m asking you to give $1 right this second”. The email has sparked memes which have been posted all over the internet. The memes seem to have originated in the comedic Facebook group “Bernie Sanders Dank Memes Stash”, where people post humorous images featuring the socialist presidential candidate.

 

7am – A/B/C Carly, Christie Drop Out. After a poor showing in New Hampshire, New Jersey governor Chris Christie and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina are suspending their campaigns. Fiorina announced the move today on Twitter.

7am – D         INTERVIEW — MARYLAND COMPTROLLER PETER FRANCHOT

• FRANCHOT BLOCKS MORE TAX RETURNS: State Comptroller Peter Franchot blocked tax returns from several more private preparers in Baltimore City and adjoining areas Tuesday, the third time in two weeks he’s taken action against tax preparers his office flagged for questionable activity, Rick Seltzer is reporting for the Baltimore Business Journal.

7am – E         Fire chief, mayor say turning around DC Fire and EMS will take time. (Fox 5) — WASHINGTON – The medical director of the D.C. Fire and EMS Department unleashed her concerns in a resignation letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser this week. Dr. Jullette Saussy called the department highly toxic and said the response to emergencies was so slow that people are dying. Both the fire chief and mayor said it is no secret the department is still on the road to recovery, blaming years of poor leadership and poor training. Saussy was hired just seven month ago, but is now quitting as she said her concerns fell on deaf ears.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — LARRY KUDLOW – CNBC Senior Contributor and host of The Larry Kudlow Show on WMAL Saturdays at 7 pm

• World Markets Shudder as Economy Jitters Take Center Stage. Investors were not cheered by comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who on Wednesday cautioned that global weakness and falling financial markets could depress the U.S. economy’s growth. That could, in turn, slow the pace of Fed interest rate hikes, she said, but investors appear more concerned about the outlook for growth. Yellen’s second day of testimony before U.S. lawmakers on Thursday will likely remain the point of focus.
• Larry was in New Hampshire. He shared his thoughts on Trump winning and then Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie dropping out of the race.

8am – B         Food News:

• Donald Trump trolled at rally by man standing behind him with bizarre ‘steak’ sign. A man standing behind Donald Trump at a Wednesday-night rally held an unusual protest sign. The Republican presidential front-runner gave a stump speech before a packed Clemson University crowd in Pendleton, South Carolina. At various points in his speech, however, a sunglasses-clad man stood up with a sign declaring that “TRUMP LIKES HIS STEAK WELL DONE.” This was an apparent reference to a Tuesday report in The Telegraph, in which Trump was described ordering a well-done steak at a restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire. The report caused a small firestorm of mockery on Twitter.
• Donald Trump Ordered A Well Done Rib Eye Last Night. Well Done! Donald Trump has told The Telegraph that if he doesn’t win New Hampshire he is “outta here”. Mr Trump, speaking at a restaurant where he had just eaten a $54 ribeye steak (well done), was on bullish form as he prepared for a likely victory in the New Hampshire polls. Asked how he was preparing for tomorrow, he said: How do I prepare? I dunno I wanna win. If I don’t win I am leaving,” he said. Turning to a customer in a nearby booth he said in a joking tone: “If I lose I am outta here to South Carolina!” Mr Trump came to the Hanover Chophouse, the best steak restaurant in Manchester, after his last rally to encourage voters to the polls. He sat in a booth in the corner with his family and secret service all around.       He sat beside Melania, his wife, and Donald Trump junior, his son. Three members of the family ordered “well done” chicken and another a “well done” salmon.
• Burger King Is Now Offering an Extra Long Cheeseburger That Is Smothered in Butter. It features two beef patties flavored with a buttery garlic sauce. Burger King has always been known as the fast food joint that lets you “have it your way.” But until recently, if your way included having your burger drenched in butter, you were out of luck. Luckily, the chain’s new, limited-time Extra Long Buttery Cheeseburger began rolling out nationwide on Monday. The latest upgrade to BK’s signature sandwich features two beef patties flavored with a buttery garlic sauce, onions, iceberg lettuce, ketchup, mayonnaise and American cheese on a toasted hoagie bun, according to Brand Eating. It is similar to one of competitor Jack in the Box’s most successful new menu products, the Buttery Jack.
• Burger King launching grilled hot dogs this month. (USA Today) — Move over, burgers. Burger King announced on Wednesday that it will roll out its first national hot dog offering on February 23. The restaurant has tested hot dogs in select U.S. locations since late spring 2015. Burger King is about to become the biggest restaurant seller of hot dogs in the country. The fast food chain is broadening its beef kingdom to include two different kinds of grilled hot dogs permanently hitting the menu at its roughly 7,100 U.S. locations later this month. The launch has Burger King poised to steal a sizable bite of a market dominated by convenience stores, wholesale clubs and retailers like Home Depot. With the addition of a classic grilled dog and a chili cheese dog, Burger King is also expanding its menu to include one of America’s favorite processed meats at a time when the fast food industry has been scrambling to find ways to appeal to more health-conscious customers with additions such as kale salad and sides of fruit.

8am – C         Maryland Democrats go after guns. (The Washington Times) –ANNAPOLIS — Maryland Democrats on Wednesday introduced a package of three gun-control measures as part of their legislative priorities, aiming to build on the state’s sweeping 2013 weapons ban that recently was challenged by a federal court. One measure would ban guns on all college campuses in the state. Another would bar state police from issuing gun permits to anyone on the federal no-fly list. The third measure would mandate courts to inform persons convicted of domestic violence to surrender their guns to a federally licensed firearms dealer or to local police within 48 hours of being convicted. It also would establish a mandatory five-year prison sentence for anyone found with a gun after being convicted of domestic violence. Democrats hailed the measures as life-saving and as building on the 2013 Firearms Safety Act, which banned certain military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, among other things. That provision of the law was deemed potentially unconstitutional by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, and send back to a district court in Baltimore for reconsideration. Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh said he is not concerned about the challenge to the Firearms Safety Act, adding that the bills introduced Wednesday will “withstand legal challenges.”

8am – D         INTERVIEW — JAKE TAPPER – Anchor of CNN’s The Lead and State of the Union

• Jake was in New Hampshire and discussed his thoughts on the state of play post-New Hampshire for the GOP and Democratic candidates.

8am – E         Iran News:

• US Navy rips Iran after new footage shows captured sailor crying. Iranian state TV showed video Wednesday of one of 10 captured U.S. Navy sailors in tears while the group was being held by the country’s Revolutionary Guard last month. The footage, which was shown on the official Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, was condemned by the Navy, who called the sailors’ captivity “outrageous and unacceptable.”
• Iran parades reenactment of captured U.S. sailors. Tehran releases video showing American in tears. Iran celebrated its 37th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution by putting on parade a mock demonstration of the capture of the 10 U.S. sailors, and by releasing images of one of the detained Americans with a face of tears during his ordeal. The reenactment took place on a parade float, using Iranians to act out both captives and armed captors roles. In the background, parade participants called for the destruction of the Saudi regime, the United States and for Israel, Ynet News reported.