ABC's Scott Goldberg, KT McFarland, Fox's Janice Dean, Big Hollywood's John Nolte and guest host Washington Examiner's Susan Ferrechio joined WMAL on Wednesday morning.
Mornings on the Mall
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Hosts: Brian Wilson and Susan Ferrechio
5am – A/B/C What is the greatest holiday movie of all time?
5am – D Drivers Older Than 75 Will Have to Renew Licenses More Often Under New Law. (NBC Washington) — A new law will require older drivers in Virginia to renew their driver's licenses more often. Starting Jan. 1, 2015, drivers older than 75 will have to get their licenses renewed every five years. At the time of their renewal, they will also be given a vision screening, which is standard for in-person renewals. Currently, drivers older than 80 must renew their licenses in person every eight years. The new law is named after Darren Morrell, a 32-year-old Oakton man who was killed in a crash involving an 85-year-old driver in 2010. "Darren was on his motorcycle and never had a chance," said his father, David Morrell. "[The driver] did not look. He did not know he hit Darren. People on the street had to stop him from leaving the scene." Darren's Law also gives the court the option to require older drivers to take a "mature driver motor vehicle crash prevention course" after driving-related offenses.
5am – E Sharyl Attkisson: White House Hiding Photos Taken Night Of Benghazi Attack. (Daily Caller) — In an interview Tuesday morning with C-SPAN, former CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson revealed that secret photos taken by the White House photographer have never been released to the public, and current White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest was the one keeping them secret. “One of the things my producer and I did early on to try to get clues, because you know they told us so little initially, we requested White House photos taken that night. Because if you know how the White House works, a photographer is omnipresent. He would have been there taking photographs in the Situation Room. He would have been taking photographs of the president that night. So we asked for the photos, which in my view, are public information. They are paid for with tax dollars, and they release them when they want them released and they are positive. The Photo Office indicated initially– this was probably in October or November of 2012– that we could have the photos at the end of the day, and that never materialized. They suddenly started referring us a White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest, who is now press secretary. And they said that Josh would have to approve it, and Josh would never return a call or e-mail. We would try to maintain communication with him or try to make communication with him over a long period of time, and he wouldn’t even answer. We would go back to the White House press, photographer’s office and say, ‘You have given us an impossible task. You have told us to talk to someone who will not talk to us. You need to give us another route to follow to try and get these photos.’ And they would say no, you have to talk to Josh Earnest.”
6am – A/B 'Ban manspreading': New NYC subway ads ask commuters to stop 'manspreading.' New York has cracked down on 'manspreading', where men sit with their legs apart on public transport. (Telegraph) — Any woman travelling by public transport will be aware of manspreading – where a male passenger sits with his legs splayed out, totally oblivious to the woman next to him who’s forced to double cross her legs for lack of space. In New York, the anti-manspreading movement has grown so much that its attracted the attention of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The MTA is now set to unveil public service ads to encourage men to sit with their legs together. ‘Dude… Stop the spread, please. It’s a space issue’ is just one of the slogans to be used on the new advertising campaign. But manspreading is not confined to the New York subway – it’s a global issue and now annoyed Londoners are calling for Transport for London to follow in MTA’s footsteps with a similar campaign. On Twitter, people have made comments such as “we so need this in London” and “bring this to London.” Last year, a blog called ‘Men taking up too much space on the train’ soared in popularity after Games of Thrones actor Richard Madden was photographed doing exactly that with his legs splayed. The blog asked public transport passengers to sneakily photograph manspreading culprits and submit them to the site.
6am – C Sony Plans Limited Release of North Korea Film on Christmas Day. Sony Pictures Entertainment said Tuesday it will release "The Interview" in select theaters on Christmas Day, an abrupt reversal after the movie company said last week it would shelve the controversial satire indefinitely. "We have never given up on releasing 'The Interview' and we're excited our movie will be in a number of theaters on Christmas Day," Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Entertainment, said in a statement. "At the same time, we are continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience." Independent movie theaters based in Austin, Atlanta and Scottsdale, Arizona, confirmed Tuesday they plan to be among the first in the nation to screen the comedy, which depicts a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
6am – D INTERVIEW: Scott Goldberg, ABC News Correspondent, New York @scottgoldberg
- 2014 HOLIDAY TRAVEL OUTLOOK: PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES. Better tell Grandma you might be late. That’s the reality for travelers on the east coast, which continues to be socked by rain, wind and even a little snow just in time for the Christmas holiday. And it’s not just the East. Holiday travelers out West have their own problems…in this case with snow contributing to flight delays in at least half a dozen cities. And if you the low-gas prices have enticed you to hit the roads, you certainly won’t be alone with more than 98.6 million Americans traveling 50 miles or more from home, an increase of 4 percent from last year. Scott takes a look at what holiday travelers are facing the day before Christmas.
6am – E Md. Governor's Travels Cost Taxpayers Thousands of Dollars. (NBC 4) — Md. Gov. Martin O’Malley’s campaign travels and out-of-state governmental visits have cost taxpayers approximately $137,000 in the past year, according to an investigation by the News4 I-Team. The money was used to help cover travel costs for the governor’s state police security detail, including flights, hotel rooms and meals for the troopers. Though such travel costs are customary for the security details of U.S. governors, the I-Team’s review found O’Malley’s security travel cost exceeded those of neighboring states. O’Malley, widely considered a possible presidential candidate in 2016, made at least 23 campaign trips outside of Maryland between July 2013 and July 2014, according to campaign records. State police joined the governor during those trips. The 23 campaign visits included trips to pivotal presidential primary states of New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina. Records provided to the I-Team by O’Malley’s campaign show many of the visits were fundraisers or campaign appearances on behalf of other candidates.
7am – A/B/C Is Santa a Republican or a Democrat? (Washington Post) — In the world of political analysis, there are few more urgent tasks than shuffling people in the news into the appropriate political bucket, the better to understand their motivations and likely future endorsements. It is in that spirit that we reached out to prominent political consultants and politicians to ask them to offer their opinion on the week's biggest newsmaker: Kris Kringle, a.k.a. Santa Claus. Our thanks to those who participated — and, of course, if other prominent figures (President Obama, Pope Benedict) wish to weigh in, please email. And our thanks to internet hero @darth, who created our Reagan-and-Kennedy-in-Santa-hat icons. Newt Gingrich, former House Speaker: Santa Claus is clearly a Republican. He actually delivers what he promises. He and the elves believe in hard work. He helps children for free, he doesn't put them deeper in debt. He unites all of us in a love of Christmas. He isn't a divider. Paul Begala, Democratic media consultant: Santa is definitely a Democrat. Rather than cater to the wealthiest one percent he rewards people who work hard and play by the rules. And while he's not a participant in the first lady's anti-obesity campaign he's very concerned about climate change. After all, Rudolph can fly but he can't swim.
7am – D INTERVIEW — KT MCFARLAND – Fox News National Security Analyst – analyzed what the U.S. should do about North Korea.
7am – E Florida Passes New York to Become the Nation’s Third Most Populous State, Census Bureau Reports. (Census) — By adding an average of 803 new residents each day between July 1, 2013 and July 1, 2014, Florida passed New York to become the nation’s third most populous state, according to U.S. Census Bureau state population estimates released today. Florida’s population grew by 293,000 over this period, reaching 19.9 million. The population of New York increased by 51,000 to 19.7 million. California remained the nation’s most populous state in 2014, with 38.8 million residents, followed by Texas, at 27.0 million. Although the list of the 10 most populous states overall was unchanged, two other states did change positions, as North Carolina moved past Michigan to take the ninth spot. Another milestone took place in Georgia (ranked 8th), which saw its population surpass 10 million for the first time. North Dakota was the nation’s fastest-growing state over the last year. Its population increased 2.2 percent, followed by the 1.7 percent growth in Nevada and Texas. Each of the 10 fastest-growing states was in the South or West with the exception of North Dakota. Six states lost population between July 1, 2013, and July 1, 2014: Illinois (9,972 or -0.08 percent), West Virginia (3,269 or -0.18 percent), Connecticut (2,664 or -0.07 percent), New Mexico (1,323 or -0.06 percent, Alaska (527 or -0.07 percent) and Vermont (293 or -0.05 percent).
8am – A INTERVIEW — JANICE DEAN – Fox News senior meteorologist and author of "Freddy the Frogcaster and the Big Blizzard" – discussed how Christmas day storms could deliver travel headaches.
8am – B Clint back on the market and Cameron engaged:
- Clint Eastwood Is Officially Single as Divorce From Second Wife Dina Eastwood Is Finalized. Clint Eastwood is officially riding solo once again. The 84-year-old actor-filmmaker's divorce from Dina Eastwood, his second wife, has been finalized, according to court documents filed in Monterey, Calif., and obtained by E! News. Per the filing, a judge signed off on the split yesterday. Dina and Clint are parents to 18-year-old daughter Morgan together and, since she's no longer a minor, custody was not a legal issue. Details of their financial arrangement are being kept confidential. By the time it was revealed in August 2013 that they had separated after 17 years of marriage, Clint and Dina had already been living apart for some time, according to a source. Dina then filed for a legal separation that September. Dina called her ex "the sweetest" in an interview on Bethenny a year ago.
- Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden are engaged! (InStyle) – One of the musician’s friends confirmed to People that it “happened a few nights ago.” The couple reportedly started dating last May, and clearly the relationship quickly turned serious. The couple was recently spotted together on a trip to Miami in July after spending time with Diaz’s family in Ana Maria Island, Fla. Benji’s twin brother Joel (the brothers are members of the band Good Charlotte and recently have been playing under the name The Madden Brothers) is married to Nicole Richie, who actually introduced Benji, 35, to Cameron, 42. “I am a devoted sister-in-law,” Richie said on Watch What Happens Live in July. “I’m happy for anyone who is happy, and I want everyone to be surrounded with love.” Nicole Richie and Cameron Diaz as sisters-in-law? They’d make quite a dynamic (and super fashionable) duo!
8am – C Man is taken to hospital after eggnog chugging contest – HOW much did he down? SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah man says he’s fully recovered after he was hospitalized for chugging a quart of eggnog so quickly that he inhaled some of creamy holiday beverage into his lungs. Ryan Roche from Utah County told KSL-TV that he participated in an alcohol-free eggnog chugging contest at a holiday office party earlier this month. Roche says he downed a quart of eggnog in 12 seconds without taking a breath but soon began coughing and gasping. Hours later, a friend drove him to the hospital as Roche was shaking and struggling to breathe. Doctors told him he had eggnog in his lungs. He was put on oxygen and antibiotics and released from the hospital after three days. Roche says he recovered his strength after a week.
8am – D INTERVIEW – JOHN NOLTE – film critic at Breitbart's Big Hollywood
- Sony Plans Limited Release of North Korea Film on Christmas Day
TOMORROW: Guest host Austin Hill – Merry Christmas!
