Fox11 viewers Tim and Julie Sweet sent these great photos. They look like they should be from an Alaska glacier, but no, it’s actually ice from the Bay of Green Bay that shoved against Rock Island State Park. That is the Island north of Washington Island, click here to see map.  Click twice on picture to make them bigger.

Ice & sky

Ice stack

Can you see the angry chicken?

Looks like Monday’s snow will not be as heavy as first thought. Snow will start late tonight in Southern Wisconsin and move north through the day Monday. North of Green Bay expect less then 1″ of snow. In Green Bay and Appleton we’ll see 1-2″. Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan will see 2 to 4″. We’ll continue to see a chance for occasional snow showers Monday night, Tuesday, and again Wednesday. These showers could drop an additional 1 to 2″ of snow.

Monday's Snow Forecast

A storm that produced rain in southern California is moving our way.  By Sunday night it could be snowing in southern Wisconsin.  Monday all of Wisconsin will get snow.  The big question is how much?  As of Saturday morning (when I’m typing this) it looks like 3-6” from Green Bay to the South.  North of Green Bay I’m expecting 3” or less.  Check out Fox11 News at 5 and 9 PM for the latest.

Possible winter storm Monday

Curiosity about whether the space station is visible with the naked eye inspired one of the questions in this edition of “Ask AP,” a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers’ questions about the news.

If you have your own news-related question that you’d like to see answered by an AP reporter or editor, send it to newsquestions@ap.org, with “Ask AP” in the subject line. And please include your full name and hometown so they can be published with your question.
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Can you see the space station or the shuttle with the naked eye during the day? On Feb. 13 at around noon I was walking west and looked up in the sky and saw a white blunt craft very high in the sky heading west. It did not have a contrail. I could see a commercial plane going north (with a contrail). Do I need to get new glasses?

Les Carlson
Springfield, Ill.
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Sorry to disappoint you, but that white blunt craft you saw was not orbiting Earth.

It’s pretty much impossible to see the space shuttle, space station or any satellite in broad daylight. They’re visible only in dark skies near dawn or dusk.

NASA has a Web page devoted to sighting opportunities from anywhere in the world. Here’s the link: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ You’ll see that Springfield has lots of shuttle and station sightings coming up.

If the sky is clear and you know where to look, you’ll be able to spot the orbiting pair with the naked eye. They will resemble bright, fast-moving stars. It’s an amazing sight that I’ve enjoyed many times. It’s especially cool right after the shuttle undocks from the station; then you can see one trailing the other. Good luck!

Marcia Dunn
AP Aerospace Writer
Cape Canaveral, Fla.
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If I have my TiVo recording a program, does that count as a viewer towards the show’s viewer ratings?

Eitan Itzkowitz
Teaneck, N.J.
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It depends on when, or if, you watch the program that you’ve recorded (and if you’re one of the families in the Nielsen Co.’s sample, of course).

The rating that networks watch most closely is the “live plus same day” figure _ meaning a measurement of people who watched a program live or on their digital video recorder by 3 a.m. the next day.

Nielsen also compiles an estimate of how many people watch a show live and on DVR within a week. This measurement has helped programs _ NBC’s “The Office” is an example _ that might otherwise be in trouble based only on the overnight ratings.

From Nielsen’s standpoint, if you don’t watch a show within seven days, it’s as if you didn’t watch it at all.

David Bauder
AP Television Writer
New York
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Having read the AP story on the coal mine fire in Centralia and the statement that it may burn for centuries, I wondered if any calculation has been made of the greenhouse gases that have been emitted by the fire, and that will be emitted if the fire is allowed to continue to burn?

Greg Trapp
Albuquerque, N.M.
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There is no reliable estimate of total greenhouse gas emissions from the underground mine fire in Centralia, Pa. But a 2006-2007 state study on the health effects of the Centralia fire found that it is not sending large quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, said Tom Rathbun, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The study found measurable but insignificant gas levels downwind of the fire _ in fact, the levels did not exceed ambient air quality standards, he said.

The Centralia fire, one of 112 active mine fires in the United States, began in 1962 and forced the relocation of more than 1,000 residents in the 1980s as it spread beneath homes and businesses. About 10 people still live in Centralia, resisting the state’s attempts to get them to leave.

Michael Rubinkam
Associated Press Writer
Allentown, Pa.
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Have questions of your own? Send them to newsquestions@ap.org.

By The Associated Press

Curiosity about predicting earthquakes inspired one of the questions in this edition of “Ask AP,” a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers’ questions about the news.

If you have your own news-related question that you’d like to see answered by an AP reporter or editor, send it to newsquestions@ap.org, with “Ask AP” in the subject line. And please include your full name and hometown so they can be published with your question.

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With the recent devastating earthquake in Haiti, I am wondering whether there have been any advances in predicting when and where earthquakes will happen. And besides California, what earthquake-prone areas in the U.S. should I be concerned about?

Daniel Lippman
Washington, D.C.
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Scientists are making progress honing their ability to forecast the likelihood of strong earthquakes along fault zones, but they cannot predict a quake’s precise time, location and magnitude, said Stuart Sipkin, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.

In fact, scientists are divided over whether such predictions will ever be possible. Sipkin said some believe quakes are by their nature too random to allow for precise predictions, while others feel science simply hasn’t found the right precursors that might allow them to make lifesaving quake predictions.

While predicting earthquakes isn’t currently possible, advances in the past decade using global positioning system measurements to reveal subtle changes in the Earth’s crust have aided science’s ability to forecast the probabilities of strong quakes along many fault zones.

Those readings show the growing pressures along faults – the areas where tectonic plates slide past each other. That data, along with a fault’s past history of strong quakes and the timethat’s elapsed since the last such temblor, help scientists calculate the amount of stress faults can take before their plates suddenly slip, causing a quake.

GPS data were key to scientists’ 2008 forecast that the fault which caused January’s devastating quake in Haiti was capable of causing a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, Sipkin says.

That prediction, which came without a specific timeframe, was released about two years before a 7.0 magnitude quake hit Haiti’s Port-au-Prince area on Jan. 12.

The USGS maintains earthquake hazard maps illustrating the risk levels of quakes for the entire U.S. The high risk zones in the agency’s 2008 maps – http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/ – include the West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska, Utah and the central Mississippi River Valley region.

Rick Callahan
Reporter
Indianapolis

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Under the Constitution’s separation of powers the president is the commander-in-chief of America’s military. When he is referred to by a member of the military does he have any other official designations? Does he hold a official military rank? Does the president have an official uniform or emblem as commander?

Stephan Vertal
Forest Grove, Ore.
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In his role of commander-in-chief, the president is at the top of the military chain of command. Orders go to the secretary of defense, through the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the combatant commanders. The president holds no military rank and has no military uniform. He has a presidential seal but no military emblem. Members of the military, like civilians, would typically refer to the commander-in-chief as “Mr. President.”

Robert Burns
National Security Writer
Washington, D.C.

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Headlines periodically advise that corporations have settled allegations of improper practices with the Justice Department or the attorney general of a state, usually by paying a fine. What happens to that money? To what is it applied?

Michael Buerger
Bowling Green, Ohio
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At the federal level, the money usually goes into accounts that pay for general government. Sometimes it goes into accounts for special purposes, such as environmental cleanup. Practices vary among the states but generally fall into the same categories. If there was fraud involving investors or other victims, the money may go back to them. In those cases a judge will appoint someone known as a receiver to make sure the money goes where it’s supposed to.

Curt Anderson
Legal Affairs Reporter
Miami

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Have questions of your own? Send them to newsquestions@ap.org.

Winter Storm “Doug” started shortly after midnight on Tuesday, February 9th and continued throughout the day and even into Wednesday morning before finally coming to an end.  Strong northeast winds gusting at times to 35 mph resulted in blowing and drifting of snow and low visibilities.  Driving conditions deteriorated as the day wore on.  The 2-day snow totals in our area ranged from 12 ” in Kiel to about an inch in northern Marinette County.  Here are the snow totals from “Doug.”

Washington D.C. has received more snow in the past 24 hours then it gets in a year.  Twenty inches of snow has fallen in D.C. as of 10 AM, and it’s continuing to snow.   Similar amounts are being reported from Pennsylvania, through Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey.  Travel in these areas is nearly impossible with strong winds and very large snow drifts.  Click here for the latest snow reports from D.C. and surrounding areas.

By The Associated Press

Curiosity about the effect journalists have on a disaster area inspired one of the questions in this edition of “Ask AP,” a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers’ questions about the news.

If you have your own news-related question that you’d like to see answered by an AP reporter or editor, send it to newsquestions@ap.org, with “Ask AP” in the subject line. And please include your full name and hometown so they can be published with your question.

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I have a question about Super Bowl ads. As we all know, they sell for enormous amounts of money. But how do they set the number of ads to be sold? Also, what if the game goes into overtime or runs longer than expected, and they have already shown all of the ads that were sold?

Jeff Vanderslice
Plantation, Fla.
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The National Football League and the TV network showing the Super Bowl decide how much advertising time the Super Bowl will have.

The Super Bowl has never gone into overtime. But if it does, the advertising gets complicated. The networks don’t just repeat ads from earlier, but do have ads ready to go. That’s because advertisers lock in spots for overtime, but they don’t pay unless the ads air, said Kyle Acquistapace, media director of ad agency Deutsch. The air time – sold in 30 second chunks – costs about the same as ads during regular play.

Some of the ads might have been scheduled for the postgame coverage, some are altogether new ads. Essentially, everything is subject to negotiation between the advertisers and the TV network. For example, a deal might specifically include the opportunity to get into the game if it goes into overtime, for which an advertiser might pay extra.

Sometimes an advertiser will get an overtime ad slot in exchange for buying commercial time on other broadcasts, Acquistapace said.

NBC sold 69 ad spots for last year’s Super Bowl. CBS won’t give a specific number but says it has sold close to that number and that its commercial time is sold out. Some of the slots cost more than $3 million for 30 seconds.

Emily Fredrix
AP Marketing Writer
New York

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In disaster situations like the recent Haitian earthquake, it appears that thousands of members of news crews descend on a locale already lacking sufficient necessities such as electricity, food, security, water, medical facilities and roads. How are they generally supported? Do they represent an additional demand on these resources? Do they contribute any tangible assistance to the victims?

Jack Smith,
Springfield, Ill.

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As disasters go, Haiti’s 7.0 earthquake presented unprecedented challenges. Associated Press writer Jonathan Katz, the only full-time U.S. journalist based in the hemisphere’s poorest country, was soon joined by more than 50 other AP staffers who came in on charter planes from the States and by helicopter and road from the Dominican Republic.

These journalists managed to show the world the extent of the disaster in words, pictures and video – coverage that drew attention to desperate needs and probably helped encourage Americans to donate more than $644 million for relief efforts so far.

To support these staffers, the AP brought in three small cargo flights of supplies, from electric generators to dishes to satellite phones and walkie-talkies, along with food, water, medicine – and flak jackets. Since the AP’s bureau was destroyed, many of the staff slept in tents outside a nearby hotel, transmitting from the roof and making a point of traveling in teams for security as well as to report in all formats.

Haiti’s devastated infrastructure and the survivors’ tremendous need for food and water meant AP’s operation had to be self-sufficient. Aside from occupying hotel rooms and buying gasoline for the generators at $25 a gallon, AP staffers made few demands on Haiti’s limited resources. The AP’s small cargo plane landed at the main airport, but did little to slow the aid coming in huge cargo jets competing for landing slots. The staff required no police protection, and hired local drivers and translators who badly needed jobs.

The tougher question for journalists is how to respond to people in such desperate need – just report the news, or try to help?

AP journalists were among those who did both. Writer Alfred de Montesquiou drew the world’s attention to 84 starving residents of the Port-au-Prince Municipal Nursing Home, alerting the authorities to their exact location. And while he had no food or water when he encountered the awful scene, he returned later to check on them and hand out a case of water, the first they had received since the earthquake struck.

Writer Tamara Lush had a similar experience after she discovered a woman lying near death on the side of a road. Her AP team put the woman in their car, fed her and drove her to a nearby village, then a hospital, then a clinic to get her help, despite their deadlines. She said every journalist in Haiti faced similar dilemmas – and made similar choices when they could.

Michael Warren
Chief of Southern Cone News
Buenos Aires

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I’ve heard a lot lately about something called “fair use.” Can you tell me what it is and how your company defines it?

Buddy Baker
St. Petersburg, Fla.

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Copyright law allows some copying for certain very limited purposes that serve the public interest. For example, copying portions of a work to comment on it, for research or to review or analyze it can be “fair use.” Courts go through a four-factor analysis to decide if a particular use is or isn’t fair use. But even lawyers and judges can find it hard to draw the line.

The four factors are: the purpose of the use; the nature of the copyrighted work that is being used; the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyright work as a whole, and; the effect of the use on the potential value of the copyright work.

Laura Malone
Associate General Counsel
New York

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Have questions of your own? Send them to newsquestions@ap.org.

A weak low pressure system in Iowa will move into Wisconsin Overnight.  Snow amounts are expected to be light with 1” to 2” possible.  The highest amounts of snow will be recorded in Southern Wisconsin.  Roads may be slick for Tuesday’s commute, so give yourself some extra time when traveling.  Look for warmer weather starting Thursday. 

Light Snow Tonight