Saving people’s lives, of course, is an airline’s top priority whenever a plane crashes. But later on, what’s the procedure for trying to save their luggage?

Curiosity about who’s ultimately responsible for air travelers’ belongings 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.

___

During the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, there was much coverage of a Scandinavian skier whose brother skied off into the woods and disappeared. Was the brother ever found?

Jan Conavay
Jerome, Ill.
___

In October 1993, Ketil Ulvang, the older brother of Olympic cross-country champion Vegard Ulvang, vanished in a snowstorm while jogging through the mountains near their hometown of Kirkenes, an Arctic village of about 5,000 people.

The younger Ulvang left training in Italy to search for Ketil, a physical therapist for Norway’s national ski team. Hundreds of volunteers joined one of the biggest searches in Norwegian history, but found not trace of Ketil.

In June 1994, days after the snow had melted and the search resumed, Ketil’s body was found floating in a shallow mountain lake. Kirkenes police spokeswoman Trude Danielsen said he most likely got lost in the snowstorm and fell through the ice.

Competing in the Lillehammer Games, Ulvang won a silver medal as part of the Norwegian 40-kilometer cross-country relay team. Two years prior, at the Albertville Games, he won three gold medals.

Ian MacDougall
AP Writer, Oslo, Norway

====
After a plane crash, what happens to passengers’ luggage? I’m thinking of the Hudson River splashdown, for example. Does the airline attempt to recover and deliver these belongings? Is returning bags or belongings considered a responsibility of the airline?

Alfonso Corona
Miami
___

There is a voluntary process developed by the National Transportation Safety Board in conjunction with air carriers for returning baggage and other personal belongings to passengers or their families after airline accidents. How much baggage can be retrieved depends on the extent of damage in the accident. After accident investigators go through everything, airlines usually hire a third party to clean baggage and other belongings. Airline wreckage is considered a biohazard site.

If belongings are intact, they can be delivered to passengers or family members. If the ownership of recovered belongings isn’t known, airlines often make photos available to passengers and family members so that they have an opportunity to claim their items. The airline is responsible for returning belongings, not the NTSB.

In the case of US Airways Flight 1549 – which collided with Canada geese shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York on Jan. 15, 2009, and ditched into the Hudson River – the airline hired a contractor to recover, sort, clean and restore more than 30,000 passenger belongings.

Joan Lowy
AP Writer, Washington

====
Under what circumstances was The Associated Press founded?

Jonathan Plotz
Frankfurt (Oder), Germany
___

The Associated Press sprang from Americans’ thirst for news from the Mexican War.

War dispatches originated in Veracruz, crossed the Gulf of Mexico by boat, and landed at Mobile, Ala., where they encountered delays in waiting for the Great Southern Mail, the postal route through the South. During the spring of 1846, the publisher of the New York Sun, Moses Yale Beach, hit on a scheme to speed the process.

Beach hired Pony Express riders to carry the dispatches from Mobile to Montgomery, where they could rejoin the mail for the journey to Richmond, the nearest telegraph head. From there, the dispatches could be wired to Washington and on to New York. Beach did not pay the riders unless they gained a 24-hour edge over regular mail – which they routinely did.

Beach’s further innovation was to offer an equal share in the pony venture to other New York daily papers. Thus was born the Associated Press of New York.

An inventor with a list of patents to his name, Beach doubtless understood that the cooperative arrangement would soon hinge entirely on the telegraph, as the wires enabling instantaneous communication spread across the country.

Valerie S. Komor
Director, AP Corporate Archives, New York
___

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

Curiosity about disposing of recalled goods 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.

=====

I have a few questions regarding tax credits for homebuyers. When is the deadline to apply? How do you apply? What type of documents do you need? If you bought your home in December 2008, do you qualify? What if you purchased your home in another state? Does that make any difference?

Joyce Hollowell
Cleveland
——

The deadline is approaching for the federal tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and up to $6,500 for current homeowners. To qualify, a buyer interested in either credit must sign a binding sales contract by April 30, and complete his or her home purchase by June 30.

You can claim the credit on your federal income tax return, the Internal Revenue Service says. You should fill out IRS Form 5405 to determine your credit amount. Then, you should claim that total on line 67 of the 1040 income tax form for 2009 returns, line 69 for 2008 returns.

Also, buyers must attach a copy of their HUD-1 settlement statement to Form 5405. A HUD-1 settlement form lists the costs and charges for a borrower in a home purchase. It also lists the names of the parties involved, and the property’s address, sales price and purchase date. If no HUD-1 form was used, then a certificate of occupancy or an executed retail sales contract should be submitted.

In addition, buyers who claim the current homeowner credit must show they’ve lived in their old home for at least five consecutive years during the past eight years. Acceptable documents to establish that include mortgage interest statements, property tax records or homeowner’s insurance records.

People who purchased a home in 2008 do not qualify for either tax credit. However, first-time homebuyers who bought between April 8, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009, can qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500 that must be paid back, much like an interest-free loan.

And, as long as the buyer uses the newly purchased home as his main residence, there are no geographical limitations within the United States for the tax credits.

Adrian Sainz
AP Real Estate Writer, Miami

=====

Over the last year there have been many recalls of Chinese-made and other products. Where do all these items go after they are taken off the shelves?

Sara Schreiber
Corvallis, Ore.
——

It depends on the nature of the recall.

Some products are repaired and sent back to consumers or retailers. Other products are destroyed by the recalling company. Some companies that recall products hire outside collectors, which must safely dispose of recalled products.

Recalled products that contain hazardous metals or chemicals, such as lead, must be destroyed in a way that is in keeping with state and local environmental laws.

For a small number of products, the company recalling the item might be allowed by the government to export the goods back to the country where they were made or to another country for disposal.

Sometimes the hardest thing is getting all products pulled off the shelves at chains that might have hundreds of stores.

Some retailers have a ”lockout” option in their computer systems that won’t let shoppers buy a product that has been recalled, even if it’s still on the shelves.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says this is often true of toys, children’s clothing, electronics and other goods sold at major toy stores and box retailers.

Mae Anderson
AP Retail Writer, New York

=====

How many NHL and non-NHL players were on the American and Canadian Olympic men’s hockey teams? And which NHL teams do the pros play for?

Tom Jeffs
Edison, N.J.
—–

All the players on the U.S. and Canadian squads were NHL players.

The U.S. players and their NHL teams:

Goalkeepers: Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres; Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings; Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins. Defensemen: Tim Gleason, Carolina Hurricanes; Erik Johnson, St. Louis Blues; Jack Johnson, Los Angeles Kings; Brooks Orpik, Pittsburgh Penguins; Brian Rafalski, Detroit Red Wings; Ryan Suter, Nashville Predators; Ryan Whitney, Anaheim Ducks. Forwards: David Backes, St. Louis Blues; Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings; Ryan Callahan, New York Rangers; Chris Drury, New York Rangers; Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks; Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks; Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs; Jamie Langenbrunner, New Jersey Devils; Ryan Malone, Tampa Bay Lightning; Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils; Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks; Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks; Paul Stastny, Colorado Avalanche.

And the Canadian team:

Goalkeepers: Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks; Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins; Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils. Defensemen: Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks; Shea Weber, Nashville Predators; Brent Seabrook, Chicago Blackhawks; Drew Doughty; Los Angeles Kings; Chris Pronger, Philadelphia Flyers; Dan Boyle, San Jose Sharks; Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks. Forwards: Brenden Morrow, Dallas Stars; Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks; Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames; Dany Heatley, San Jose Sharks; Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks; Michael Richards, Philadelphia Flyers; Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks; Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes; Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks; Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks; Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets; Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins.

Mike Stewart
AP Production Editor, New York

——

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

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.
=====

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.
—-
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.
=====

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.
—-
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
===

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

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.

=====
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.
—
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

=====
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.
—-
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.

=====
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
—
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

___

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

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.

=====
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.
—–
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

=====
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.

—–
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

=====
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.

—–
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

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

If an insurance company thinks you take a lot of risks, it might charge you higher premiums. Is the government considering charging banks a fee for the same reason?

Curiosity about a risk-based levy proposed for banks 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.

=====
An NFL team is a huge organization with several hundred employees. How many Super Bowl rings are given to the winning team? Who makes them, and what do they cost?

Luke Pearson
Westminster, Md.

—
When the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl last year, every single one of their full-time employees got a ring – but they didn’t necessarily receive the same gaudy ones as stars like Ben Roethlisberger.

Players, coaches, football operations staff and other top-level employees got a ring that weighed 3.7 ounces and included 63 diamonds totaling 3.61 carats. The rings were cast in 14-karat yellow gold with black antique backgrounds. Female employees received a smaller version because the full-size ring would have been too big for them to wear.

Lower-level employees received a ring with less gold and fewer diamonds, since buying the full-size ring for the entire organization would be prohibitively expensive. The NFL pays for up to 150 rings at $5,000 apiece, with the club picking up the rest of the cost.

When the Giants won the Super Bowl, the team said the rings cost about $5,500 each, but were valued at $25,000.

Jewelry companies such as Jostens manufacture the rings.

Rachel Cohen
AP Sports Writer
New York

=====

I read, in the last couple of weeks, a proposal to assess banks a fee based on the risk of their investments. This seemed to make sense, since that, theoretically, is the basis for the premium on individuals’ insurance policies. I haven’t heard more since then – is it still something being considered?

Michael E. Ulrich
West Columbia, S.C.

—
This was an idea proposed by President Barack Obama as a way to cover any shortfall in the taxpayer-backed $700 billion financial rescue fund set up at the height of the Wall Street crisis in the fall of 2008.

The levy would be assessed only on large financial institutions with assets of more than $50 billion – a group estimated at about 50. The fee would be a 0.15 percent tax on the liabilities of those firms, excluding any insured deposits. Liabilities are a way of measuring an institution’s risk level, so you can think of the proposed fee as a tax on the risks that banks take.

The White House expects the fee to raise about $90 billion over 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office expects the long-term shortfall of the rescue fund – known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP – to be $99 billion. That means the fee could recoup the TARP losses in 11 years.

The goal of the fee was twofold – repay taxpayers and discourage large banks from assuming too many liabilities outside of deposits.

Executives at large banks object to the fee because most of the TARP shortfall will be the result of infusions of money not to the banks but to the auto industry and insurance conglomerate American International Group, along with spending to ease mortgage foreclosures. Most large banks have repaid their TARP loans, plus dividend payments on top of that, so their executives believe such a fee unfairly singles them out.

Jim Kuhnhenn
Associated Press Writer
Washington

=====

Does any individual own the copyright to “The Star Spangled Banner”? If so, do you have any idea how much they would earn each year in royalties?

Bill Hart
Canton, Ohio

—
No one owns the copyright to “The Star Spangled Banner,” so no songwriting royalties are being collected by anyone at the moment.

The song was copyrighted in 1861 in New York and any piece of music with a copyright date of 1922 or earlier is in the public domain, which means anyone can use it for free.

The tune was arranged by George Warren with words written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, set to the music of “To Anacreon in Heaven,” according to sheet music obtained by Haven Sound Inc., which runs the site PDInfo.com.

Any song published after January 1972 is protected by copyright through 2067, according to Haven Sound president Lynn Nagrani. Songs written before 1972 are subject to a mishmash of state laws.

However, performers who sing “The Star Spangled Banner” own their own sound recording. That’s why Jennifer Hudson can sell her version, which she belted out at last year’s Super Bowl, on iTunes, and she doesn’t have to pay Key’s heirs any royalties.

Performers can also rearrange public domain songs and copyright their own versions, like Peter, Paul & Mary did with the public domain song “Michael Row the Boat Ashore.”

Ryan Nakashima
AP Business Writer
Los Angeles

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

Some people on Capitol Hill want to get the ball rolling on a thorough audit. But don’t worry – they’re not talking about your tax return.

A Senate bill proposes a full audit of the Federal Reserve. But what exactly would that entail? And when did the Fed last go through such a comprehensive inspection?

Curiosity about the proposed audit 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.

=====
In your stories on the recent tragic shooting in Espoo, Finland, you mentioned that Finland is among the top five nations in the world regarding civilian gun ownership. I assume the U.S. is also among the top five. What are the other three nations?

Andrew Gallagher
Costa Mesa, Calif.
—

There are 1.6 million firearms in private hands in Finland, which has 650,000 licensed gun owners – about 12 percent of the country’s 5.3 million people. They include hunters, target shooters and gun collectors.

Finland ranks fourth in civilian gun ownership per capita after the United States, Yemen and Switzerland, and Serbia is fifth, according to a 2007 report on civilian firearms by the Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based watchdog organization. It’s the most recent report they’ve done on the subject.

After two school shootings in 2007 and 2008, the Finnish government began preparing tighter gun laws. But the antigun lobby in Finland is weak, especially in rural areas, where Finns say hunting traditions justify widespread gun ownership.

A 2002 government study found that 14 percent of homicides in Finland are gun-related. In the United States, nearly 67 percent of murders reported to police in the same year were committed with a firearm, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Matti Huuhtanen
Associated Press Writer
Helsinki

=====

A lot of noise has been made about Sen. Bernie Sanders’ bill to audit the Fed. What does this bill actually do, and has the Fed ever been audited? If so, when was the last time that happened?

Richard B. Kahn
Hudson, N.H.

—
Sanders’ legislation, dubbed the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009, would require Congress’ investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office, to complete an audit of the Federal Reserve in Washington and its 12 regional banks around the country before the end of this year.

Under current law, the GAO has the authority to audit nearly every aspect of the Fed – with a few exceptions. An important one: the setting of interest rates used to steer the economy. That exemption for monetary policy was passed by Congress in 1978.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is opposed to Sanders’ bill because it wouldn’t retain that exemption. Without it, Bernanke fears that Congress would be able to meddle with the Fed’s interest rate decisions. (Some transactions, such as those with foreign central banks and foreign governments, also are currently exempted from GAO audits.)

Over the years, GAO has conducted multiple audits of various Fed operations. More recently, GAO has been looking into the Fed’s role as banking supervisor.

Jeannine Aversa
AP Economics Writer
Washington

=====

What is current health status of George H.W. Bush?

Charlie Sanders
Santa Fe, N.M.

—
Former President George H.W. Bush, 86, frequently attends Houston Texans NFL games and Houston Astros baseball games in his adopted hometown and appears at other events as well. Last month, he was at the dedication of a museum wing in his honor at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.

He has been walking with a cane for well over a year. He has had two hip surgeries and a back operation since 2000, but aides say he is pain-free, contending only with balance issues, and has no other overriding health issues. He went skydiving to mark his 80th and 85th birthdays and has said a skydive on his 90th birthday is still in the plans.

Michael Graczyk
Associated Press Writer
Houston

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

The federal homebuyers’ tax credit is a great opportunity to save thousands of dollars when you buy a house. But don’t expect to get the credit if the seller is a member of the family.

Why not?

Curiosity about this restriction in the tax credit program 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.

=====
In the last year, I have read many articles on the dangers of texting while driving. Have states begun to prohibit this dangerous activity?

Daniel Lippman
Washington

—
Nineteen states and Washington, D.C., have laws banning texting while driving, according to Melissa Savage, a transportation expert with the National Conference of State Legislatures. Seven states and the district have also banned driving while talking on a handheld cell phone.

In recent years, all states have at least considered laws dealing with distracted driving. Many safety groups have urged a nationwide ban on using any handheld mobile devices while behind the wheel.

Ken Thomas
Associated Press Writer
Washington

=====

We own a house that my daughter and her husband have rented from us for several years. They are a young married couple with two young children, and they saved for seven years to buy the house from us. However, they learned that they were not eligible for the federal tax credit, even though this was their first home purchase, because they were buying it from relatives.

It is heartbreaking to see them lose out on the credit because they are buying the house from her parents. I wish we could afford to make up the $8,000 for them, but we just can’t.

What’s the reasoning behind this rule?

Gerald Williams
Cleveland, Tenn.

—
Your daughter and her husband may be honest people. But others aren’t so trustworthy.

Nearly 600 taxpayers under 18 claimed the tax credit this year, including some under four, a Treasury Department official said this fall. That led lawmakers to conclude that some homeowners were merely pretending to sell their homes to family members as a way to collect the tax credit.

When lawmakers passed a bill to extend the credit until next year, they added anti-fraud language, including the ban on selling to relatives.

Alan Zibel
AP Real Estate Writer
Washington

=====
Now that historic health care bills have passed both the House and Senate – albeit with major differences – everyone is talking about the so-called reconciliation process.

How does this work, and have there been any major pieces of legislation that have passed both the House and Senate, only to die during the reconciliation process?

Chad Steenerson
Terre Haute, Ind.

—
“Reconciliation” is a process used to pass budget bills. In the case of health care, Democrats chose not to use that approach, which would have stopped Republicans from mounting a filibuster but also would have limited what the bill could contain and exposed it to other challenges.

Usually, when the House and Senate pass different versions of a bill, a bipartisan conference committee, with members from both chambers, tries to find a compromise. Democrats are also bypassing this approach, which would have given Senate Republicans three shots at filibustering.

Instead, the White House and the top Democrats in the House and Senate will try to negotiate a compromise, which would need to win a majority of votes in the House and would only have to get a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate one time.

There have been times when the House and Senate have passed separate bills and a compromise from the conference committee has failed. In 2003, for example, Senate Democrats filibustered a compromise on a Republican-written energy bill because of language that immunized makers of a recently banned gasoline additive from lawsuits. A similar bill became law two years later.

Matt Yancey
AP Congressional News Editor
Washington

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

However, those talks do not – I repeat – do not affect WLUK-TV FOX 11. Regardless of what happens with that dispute, FOX 11 will remain on TimeWarner Cable.

At issue here are retransmission fees – the amount that a cable system pays to a channel for the right to carry it. WLUK-TV FOX 11 has a deal with TimeWarner (and other cable & satellite providers) and, as such, this particular dispute does not affect us.

What gets confusing is that FOX does own some of the local affiliates across the county, as do the other networks. In those markets, customers could be without regular FOX programming, such as the NFL, House, etc.

WLUK-TV is owned by LIN Television, based in Rhode Island. We went through similiar negotiations with TimeWarner about a year ago and have a deal in place.

All of this isn’t to say that Northeast Wisconsin cable customers won’t be affected. If FOX and TWC can’t reach a deal, some of the cable networks owned by FOX (such as FX and Speed) could disappear Friday.

But we’ll be here.