Weather Channel’s Geoff Maurer, DC HSEM Director Chris Geldart, Newt Gingrich, Greg Gutfeld, Christian Toto, Bret Baier and guest host Jim Geraghty joined WMAL on Friday!

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, December 16, 2016

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Jim Geraghty

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

 

5am – A/B     Q & A with Jim Geraghty

• Jim’s thoughts on the latest Trump transition news:
• Fox News cuts ties with analyst Monica Crowley, reported Trump admin pick
• Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle is contender for Trump press secretary

5am – C         DC Doubles Number of Police Body Cameras. The Metropolitan Police Department has doubled its number of body-worn cameras, and Interim Police Chief Peter Newsham says the force has more than any other police department in the country. MPD now has 2,600 body cameras for officers. Newsham said at a news conference that officials responded to community demands. “I think the rollout of these cameras does improve our legitimacy. It’s something the community has asked for,” he said. The $5 million body camera program began more than a year ago with a limited  pilot program. The expansion comes as police in D.C. and the nation come under increased scrutiny for shootings that involve officers. An MPD officer shot and killed 31-year-old Terrence Sterling on Sept. 11. One officer on the scene was wearing a body camera but did not turn it on until after the shooting.

5am – D         INTERVIEW — GEOFF MAURER — Weather Channel Meteorologist – discussed the chilly weather in DC on Friday and over the weekend.

5am – E         DC Metro News:

• Metro compromise cuts hours every day of the week. WASHINGTON — Metro trains will run fewer hours each day under a new service schedule that the transit agency’s board approved on Thursday. The board agreed to the service cuts under a compromise designed to prevent D.C. board members from vetoing the reductions. There was little debate over the changes before the final vote. Under the new schedule, Metrorail will close at 11:30 p.m. on weeknights and at 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Trains will run from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays. The new schedule begins in July.
• Nearly half of Metro track inspectors disciplined over falsified reports. WASHINGTON — Nearly half of Metro’s track inspection department has been fired or staff members face disciplinary action in response to problems exposed by a July derailment. At the same time, Metro revealed Thursday that riders were put at risk Monday because the third-rail power was not turned off while they were evacuated after cars on a train separated. Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said Thursday that four track inspectors and two supervisors have been fired, six more track inspectors are pending termination or unpaid suspension, 10 more track inspectors could face less serious discipline, one more supervisor is being fired, two more supervisors are in the administrative discipline process, two top managers have been demoted and one assistant superintendent left Metro before he could be disciplined. After the July 29 derailment near East Falls Church, Metro and outside investigators uncovered years of apparently falsified inspection reports. Metro inspectors also showed in interviews that they were not even familiar with what they were supposed to do. The derailment caused about $860,000 in damage. Three of the 63 riders on the train reported injuries; one went to the hospital with a head injury.

6am – A/B/C Worst Christmas Songs

6am – D         Fast Food News:

• You can get McDonald’s delivered to your door in January. Big Mac lovers in select cities can rejoice this January when McDonald’s begins testing delivery service. The fast-food chain will offer the delivery option from nearly 200 restaurants in Orlando, Tampa and Miami starting in late January, according to McDonald’s spokeswoman Becca Hary. Customers can order off the menu and have their food delivered to their door via the UberEATS app or website.
• Select BurgerKing stores exchanging Whoppers for unwanted gifts December 26th. Burger King Will Let You Exchange Your Crappy Christmas Gifts for a Whopper. The day after Christmas is all about basking in the holiday glow of family, reminiscing on the previous day’s festivities, and desperately trying to return the pile of bullshit your relatives bought you because they have horrible taste and think you are still a 7-year-old girl, for some reason.  Burger King is going to make that awkward day of exchanges a little easier. On December 26th in a few select locations (Miami, London, and Brazil), Burger King is letting customers exchange their unwanted gifts for a flamin’-hot Whopper. The presents in question will be donated to charity, too — so it’s all for a righteous cause. If you don’t live in Miami, London, or Brazil — and frankly, most of the Earth’s population doesn’t — you can still get in on the action. The first 100 fans to post a picture of themselves, an unwanted gift, and the #WhopperExchange tag will get “…a surprise from the Burger King brand’s social media accounts,” according to a press release by the company.

6am – E         INTERVIEW — CHRIS GELDART – Director, District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (DCHSEMA)

• D.C. Activates Cold Emergency Plan as Temperatures Drop. Washington, D.C., has activated its Cold Emergency Plan through 7 a.m. Friday as the season’s first cold front hits the region. According to the National Weather Service, highs will be in the upper 20s, but the real feel temperature could be as low as 10 degrees, thanks to wind chill. Light wintry precipitation is expected Friday night into Saturday morning, with gale force winds possible on Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning. As DCist reports, “D.C. guarantees shelter on freezing nights, but the government opens emergency warming sites when the temperature falls below 15 degrees, or 20 degrees with precipitation.” Luckily, “the District has one of the lowest rates of homeless people who aren’t being sheltered: less than 4 percent.”

7am – A         INTERVIEW – NEWT GINGRICH – former Speaker of the House, 2012 presidential candidate and author of the new book “Treason” – discussed the Trump transition and his booksigning in Alexandria: Saturday, December 17th at NOON at Sugar House Salon in Alexandria, VA.

7am – B         Census Bureau: 4 Richest Counties in U.S. Are Suburbs of D.C. (CNSNews.com) – The four richest counties in the United States, when measured by median household income, are all suburbs of Washington, D.C., according to newly released data from the Census Bureau. They are Loudoun County, Va., where the median household income was $125,900 in 2015; Falls Church City, Va., where it was $122,092; Fairfax County, Va., where it was $112,844; and Howard County, Md., where it was $110,224. The Census Bureau treats independent cities such as Falls Church, Va., as the equivalent of a county when calculating its median household income statistics. Nationwide, the median household income in 2015 was $55,755, according to the Census Bureau.  That means the local median household income in each of the nation’s three richest counties—all of which are Washington suburbs in Northern Virginia—are more than twice the national median household income.

7am – C         Hilary Tone Update:

• Washington Times: “Ms. Tone previously worked at Media Matters for America as their education program director, according to her LinkedIn profile.”
• DC Schools Refuse To Condemn Tweet From Comms Director To ‘Get Rid’ Of White Men. Officials with Washington, D.C.,’s Public Schools (DCPS) are refusing to condemn a racist call from their communications director to “get rid of” all white men. Hilary Tone, who serves as DCPS communication director, posted her desire to “abolish” white men after President-elect Donald Trump chose Rick Perry to head the Department of Energy. Tone retweeted an article about Trump taping Perry for an agency he once suggested abolishing, saying “in that case, I’d like to be Secretary of White Men.” Tone also took to her Facebook page to make a similar call to eliminate white men, writing, “If wanting to get rid of something qualifies you to run it, I would like to be Secretary of White Men.” DCPS released a tepid statement on the incident and officials repeatedly refused to publicly condemn Tone’s posts.

7am – D/E     Facebook to start putting warning labels on ‘fake news’ (CNN) — Facebook says it will start applying warning labels to some “fake news” stories that users share on the social network. Articles that are known to be false — seemingly published with the intent to trick people — will be marked with what Facebook is calling a “flag.” Below the headline there will be a red label that says “disputed by 3rd Party Fact-Checkers.” Users will be able to click on a “learn why this is disputed” link to get more information. Facebook will not be doing the fact-checking itself.  CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly said that “we do not want to be arbiters of truth ourselves, but instead rely on our community and trusted third parties.” So those third parties will be fact-checking organization that have committed to the International Fact Checking Code of Principles, which was recently established by Poynter, a journalism organization. Several dozen fact-checking organizations around the world have signed on the code of principles.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – GREG GUTFELD – co-host of Fox News Channel’s “The Five”

• Gutfeld’s event in D.C. in January: Dana Perino, and Gutfeld will be at the Warner Theater on Jan. 28th — Get Tickets Now!
• Discuss his thoughts on the Trump Transition
• Yesterday, Greg Gutfeld went on an epic rant about the media for Buying Teen’s Lie About Anti-Muslim Attack. New York Muslim woman fabricated report of Trump supporters threatening her on the subway, police say

8am – B/C     INTERVIEW – CHRISTIAN TOTO – FILM CRITIC, HOLLYWOODINTOTO.COM

• Discussed his “Rogue One” movie review
• Previewed upcoming films for Christmas
• CHECK OUT HIS PODCAST: The Hollywood in Toto podcast is available on iTunes, SoundCloud and Spreaker.com, A Weekly interview-based show from a right-of-center perspective.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – BRET BAIER — ANCHOR, SPECIAL REPORT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL, WEEKDAYS AT 6 PM – discussed the Trump transition, fake news and electors.

8am – E         Entertainment News:

• CBS Plans to Reboot ‘The Honeymooners.’ The Honeymooners, the famous 1950s sitcom starring Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows, is getting a modern reboot on CBS, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The original series focused on the home life of Ralph Kramden (Gleason) a New York City bus driver and his wife Alice (Meadows) along with their amusing neighbors, Ed and Trixie Norton (Art Carney and Joyce Randolph). The new version of The Honeymooners will revolve around two couples, but with a twist: one of the pairs will have just remarried after getting a divorce four years earlier.
• Star of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ surprises Va. students with new laptops. FAIRFAX, VA (WUSA9) – The Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik surprised local middle school students with brand new laptops, on Thursday evening. Thanks to Capital One, 92 students, from public schools across Fairfax County, took home the computers. It was all part of the companies “C1 Coders” program, which teaches children about coding and software engineering, with the hope that it will help to “address areas of critical need for the nation’s ability to grow and prosper in the digital age.” The students worked on developing a mobile app for 10-weeks and presented them Thursday. Bialik came to Virginia to congratulate the students on their work and hand out the computers. The actress, known for her role as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory, rose to fame after starring in NBC’s Blossom. Bialik largely stopped acting after Blossom ended in 1995 to pursue a PhD in neuroscience, and says she was in college when she learned to code.