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.

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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.
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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

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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
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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

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Under what circumstances was The Associated Press founded?

Jonathan Plotz
Frankfurt (Oder), Germany
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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
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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.

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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
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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

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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.
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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

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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.
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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

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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.
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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.

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.

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.