Peter Brookes, Byron York, KT McFarland and Rep. Cynthia Lummis joined WMAL on Wednesday.

Mornings on the Mall

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Hosts: Brian Wilson and Larry O’Connor

5am – A         DRIVE AT FIVE INTERVIEW — PETER BROOKES – Senior Fellow, National Security Affairs at the Heritage Foundation and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense – discussed the torture report.

5am – D         Football news:

• Johnny Manziel will start at quarterback for Cleveland Browns. BEREA, Ohio – The Johnny Manziel era will begin Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Manziel will replace Brian Hoyer as the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback, the Browns announced Tuesday afternoon in an email. "This decision is really not about Brian Hoyer or Johnny Manziel, it is about the Cleveland Browns," Browns coach Mike Pettine said in a statement. "We are always going to make decisions that we feel are in the best interest of the team. Brian has done everything that has been asked of him and he has done so as a true professional. It's never just any one position when a unit is not functioning at the level you'd like. We are trying to get the offense to perform at a higher level. Johnny has worked very hard to earn this opportunity and it will be very important for every member of the offense to elevate their play for us to obtain our desired result." The rock-star rookie gets his shot to revive the Browns dimming playoff hopes while giving many fans what they've been craving since the team made him a first-round pick in May's draft.
• Robert Griffin III Hits Rock Bottom, Spends 40 Minutes Punting A Football To Himself After Practice. There are a bunch of stories coming out of Washington, D.C., about the Robert Griffin III situation, and they're all bad. After RGIII was benched before Week 13, many speculated that his days in Washington were numbered. Coach Jay Gruden has spent the better part of the last month distancing himself from the quarterback. He called him "coddled," ripped his mechanics, and said the clock was ticking to prove himself as a pro quarterback. Last Thursday the Washington Post's Jason Reid reported that Gruden was finished with Griffin and wanted to trade him. Two days later, Reid reported that a power struggle has emerged between Gruden and owner Daniel Snyder and general manager Bruce Allen. Gruden could be fired if Snyder and Allen decide to give RGIII one last chance to start in the 2015 season, according to Reid. While those rumors swirled, TMZ quoted an anonymous Redskins player who called Griffin "secluded," and said he had lost the locker room.
• Cam Newton injured in car crash. (ESPN.com) – Facing the Bucs without Cam Newton for the second time this season is probably Carolina's best — and maybe only — option, David Newton writes. Players from around the league took to Twitter to show their support of Panthers QB Cam Newton. "Further testing revealed that Cam Newton has two transverse process fractures in his lower back and no further internal injuries," the Panthers said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. "Right now we have thought about Cam's well-being and we understand there was someone else in the other car who was injured," the team said. "We just hope that they're all OK." He was expected to be released from the hospital on Wednesday after undergoing tests.

5am – E         Ellen DeGeneres nabs most retweeted tweet of the year. (USA Today) – It was the selfie seen round the world, and now it's officially the most retweeted tweet of the year, according to exclusive data released by Twitter on Tuesday. "If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars," read Ellen DeGeneres' tweet. It was accompanied by a selfie taken by Bradley Cooper and including a who's who of A-listers at the Academy Awards: Meryl Streep, DeGeneres, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie and Lupita N'yongo. The selfie had 3.3 million retweets and 2 million favorites, and it was retweeted in 151 different countries.  The second-most-retweeted tweet of the year was from Justin Bieber: "YOU ARE ALL WORTHY NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS >> BE STRONG GOD IS WITH US ALL> MY BELIEBERS CHANGED MY LIFE> I WILL FOREVER BE GRATEFUL." DeGeneres' selfie also was the most-tweeted-about entertainment moment in the U.S. this year, with 254,644 tweets per minute.

6am – A/B/C Jonathan Gruber Apologizes For 'Glib' And 'Insulting' Comments About Obamacare WASHINGTON — Economist Jonathan Gruber testified before the House Oversight Committee Tuesday morning, where he apologized for saying that the "stupidity of the American voter” helped pass the Affordable Care Act. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor also denied the notion that he was the "architect" of the law. "In some cases I made uninformed and glib comments about the political process behind health care reform," Gruber said in his opening statement. "I am not an expert on politics and my tone implied that I was, which is wrong. In other cases I simply made insulting and mean comments that are totally uncalled for in any situation. I sincerely apologize both for conjecturing with a tone of expertise and for doing so in such a disparaging fashion." Republicans have seized on recently unearthed videos of Gruber discussing that work disparagingly, which they've attempted to use to delegitimize the law. The economist, who was consulted by the White House on the bill in 2009, said in 2013 that the inability of the American voter to understand the content of the Affordable Care Act had helped the bill pass. The Obama administration and numerous Democrats involved in the law's drafting have awkwardly tried to distance themselves from the economist.

6am – D         Rick Santorum is running for president again — and says this time will be different. Rick Santorum won primaries and caucuses in 11 states in 2012, coming in a respectable second in the GOP presidential primary season. And Republicans have a history of bestowing their nomination on the next guy in line, usually an also-ran from the last contest. Yet the former senator from Pennsylvania is rarely mentioned in the already feverish pre-game 2016 chatter among the political commentariat and the donor class. That’s just the way he likes it. Or so he says.  “America loves an underdog. We’re definitely the underdog in this race,” he said in an interview Tuesday. Santorum added that being underestimated — again — “has given me a lot of latitude.”His iconic sweater vests will likely make a return appearance. But Santorum 2.0 will be a very different presidential campaign than the one that came from almost nowhere to win the Iowa caucuses in an overtime decision, he vows.

6am – E         Nicole Kidman decided to marry Keith Urban after less than a month of dating. (Huffington Post) — Nicole Kidman knows what she wants. So after just one month of dating Keith Urban, she knew she wanted to marry him. “I’m spontaneous. I jump in," Kidman told Elle in the cover story interview for the magazine's January 2015 issue, on newsstands Dec. 16. "I kind of like getting married and then getting to know each other; I know that it sounds incredibly strange, but to me, it’s a more natural process.” Kidman met Urban in 2005. After months of romance speculation, she confirmed their engagement to People magazine in May 2006. They married that June. The couple already has two daughters, Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret, but the 47-year-old actress is hoping for more. “I had my last one at 43,” Kidman told Elle when discussing pregnancy. “My grandmother had her last at 49. Every month, I’m like, ‘I hope I’m pregnant!’” Her publicist interjected the conversation with an "off the record," but Kidman continued, “‘Off the record’? I don’t mind! Why not, right? I wish I was!”

7am – A         INTERVIEW: BYRON YORK – Chief Political Correspondent for the Washington Examiner, a Fox News contributor @byronyork

7am – B         LeBron Kind of Broke Royal Protocol With Kate. To an American eye, there was nothing strange about a sweaty LeBron James putting his arm around Kate to pose for a photograph after his Cleveland Cavaliers played the Brooklyn Nets on Monday evening. To the British, though, merely touching the Duchess of Cambridge represents a serious breach in etiquette. Someone get some smelling salts! While U.S. headlines cooed over the adorable mini-jersey James presented to Prince William and Kate, who were in New York as part of their three-day visit, British tabloids led with the fact that star basketball player inadvertently violated royal protocol. While the website of the Monarchy stipulates that “there are no obligatory codes of behavior” for meeting a member of the royal family, the more understood protocol is, well, don’t touch or speak to a royal unless you’re touched or spoken to first. First Lady Michelle Obama broke this unofficial rule in 2009 when she put her arm around Queen Elizabeth II. The media went wild, but the Queen was cool with it, though, because Obama’s arms are amazing.

7am – C         Stinky revenge: Couple tricks holiday package thief into stealing box of dog poop. WASHINGTON (WJLA) – After falling victim to thieves who swiped packages off of their front porch several times, a Northeast D.C. couple decided to teach them a lesson. Tis the season for package thieves; many D.C.-area residents have recently caught robbers taking packages on surveillance. But for one couple, caught on camera wasn’t enough—they boxed up a stinky surprise from their two dogs. About 3 p.m. Friday, surveillance footage shows a man walking up and down the sidewalk in front of their home, before stealing their package and taking off. The caught-on-camera incident marked the third package taken from their yard since October.  “Obviously, it made me really mad,” said the woman, whom ABC 7 is not identifying. “I worked hard, saved my money, bought something and then it was just gone.”  Angry, she and her boyfriend decided to place a fake package outside, and to move the camera so they could get a better angle if the robber hit again. He did on Monday, but this time, he got away with a box filled with dog feces. “I had originally wanted to put a note in the box that said, ‘Surprise!’” the woman said. Others in the neighborhood laughed when they heard what the couple had done.

7am – D         INTERVIEW – KT MCFARLAND – Fox News National Security Analyst

>> CIA interrogation report sparks deep divide on Capitol Hill. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Dianne Feinstein's unveiling of a report detailing the CIA's interrogation and detention policies in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks left lawmakers on Capitol Hill sharply divided Tuesday, with some praising the release and others warning that it could endanger American lives. As she released the report, which contains fresh allegations of deception, ruthlessness and ineffectiveness, Feinstein (D-Calif.) directly addressed critics who argued against making it public, declaring the information "too important to shelve indefinitely." She called the CIA's actions a "stain … [on] our history" and insisted that there was no perfect time to release it. "This clearly is a period of turmoil and instability in many parts of the world," she said. "Unfortunately, that's going to continue into the foreseeable future whether this report is released or not."

7am – E         Sony Pictures hack reveals celebs’ preferred false names. THE gargantuan Sony Pictures hack has so far seen leaks of upcoming movies, star salaries and all manner of other classified Hollywood information. Here are a few of the celebrity pseudonyms unearthed by the hack:

Tom Hanks: goes by “Harry Lauder” and “Johnny Madrid”

Sarah Michelle Gellar: goes by “Neely O’Hara”

Tobey Maguire: goes by “Neil Deep”

Natalie Portman: goes by “Lauren Brown”

Clive Owen: goes by “Robert Fenton” (his wife’s name is Sarah-Jane Fenton)

Rob Schneider: goes by “Nazzo Good” (Say it out loud. “Not so good.” Oh Scheider, you are hilarious).

Taye Diggs: goes by “Scott Diggs” (which is his real name)

Jude Law: goes by “Mr. Perry”

Daniel Craig: goes by “Olwen Williams” (apparently an homage to his grandfather, Olwyn Williams)

Jessica Alba: goes by “Cash Money” (So baller)

Ice Cube: goes by “Darius Stone” and “O’Shea Jackson” (the first was his character’s name in XXX: State of the Union, the second is his actual name)

Debra Messing: goes by “Ava Harper”.

8am – A         INTERVIEW — REP. CYNTHIA LUMMIS – R-WY – member of House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

• Congresswoman: If Not For Obamacare Glitches, My Husband Might Still Be Alive. WASHINGTON — Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) suggested Tuesday that had her husband not encountered difficulties enrolling in health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, he might still be alive today. Alvin Wiederspahn, a former Democratic member of the Wyoming state House, died in October of a heart attack in his sleep. He was 65. Lummis recounted the experience to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Marilyn B. Tavenner, who was called to testify before the House Oversight Committee on transparency issues regarding the Affordable Care Act. The Wyoming Republican said that even though her husband was enrolled for insurance in the D.C. health insurance exchange, "when we filed claims, we were told we were not enrolled in Obamacare." The couple filed claims once more, Lummis said, and once again they were told they were not enrolled.

8am – B         TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR:

#1: The Ebola Fighters are TIME’s Person of the Year for 2014.

#2: The Ferguson Protesters

#3: Vladimir Putin

#4: Massoud Barzani

#5: Jack Ma

8am – C         Congressional Spending Bill Blocks D.C. From Legalizing Marijuana. Because they can, Congress is attempting to block D.C. from legalizing marijuana as part of a $1.1 trillion spending bill, directly ignoring the will of 65 percent of local voters. "None of the funds contained in this Act may be used to enact any law, rule, or regulation to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, Controlled Substances Act or any tetrahydrocannabinols derivative for recreational purposes," the spending bill states. That language comes from Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, who previous attempted to defund D.C.'s marijuana decriminalization law. Decriminalization is not specifically mentioned in the spending bill, but a press release from the House Appropriations Committee makes this clear: The bill "prohibits both federal and local funds from being used to implement a referendum legalizing recreational marijuana use in the District."

8am – D         Holiday Card: Do you still send them? Has social media made them obsolete?

TOMORROW:          Grover Norquist, Adam Eidinger and Lanny Davis