ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 21, 1996 TAG: 9607190016
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: COX NEWS SERVICE
Q: A recent newspaper article on foreign aid shows that the United States receives 0.1 percent of foreign aid. How and why would this country receive foreign aid?
A: The United States does not receive any foreign aid from any source, said Leah Levin, spokeswoman for the U.S. Agency for International Development. The article did report that less that 1 percent of the United States' gross national product is spent on assisting other nations through foreign aid programs. Several years ago, however, during flooding on the Mississippi River, Bangladesh did contribute $100,000 to the United States in emergency assistance, calling it a token of their gratitude and appreciation for the many times that the United States has assisted Bangladesh during its monsoon floods.
Q: I was wondering how each year's site for the baseball All-Star Game is determined. I thought they rotated among every American and National league team, but Philadelphia had it this year. How does site selection work?
A: The All-Star Game flips between leagues in alternate years. Teams and cities bid for the game, and Major League Baseball likes to showcase new stadiums. Look for games in Cleveland and Denver soon.
Q: An article described plans for high-tech tracking of illegal gun sales to youths. I don't understand why they don't go after all illegal gun sales. Why target only youths?
A: For years, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has had the ability to trace guns used in crimes and has relied on local law enforcement authorities to provide the make, model and serial numbers of guns seized from criminals. But the response has varied from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, said Bobby Browning, spokesman for the ATF's Atlanta office. Local and state law enforcement agencies are not required to call ATF to trace a gun, and ATF traces generally have involved only guns used in serious crimes or seized from major felons, Browning said.
With the support of the Clinton administration, ATF has within the past two years acquired the software to computerize all its criminal traces and track them back to a single supplier. Now, ATF is asking law enforcement authorities to provide tracing information on guns recovered from juveniles or found on school property in an effort to ferret out adults who are breaking the law by selling guns to young people. It is illegal for anyone under 21 to possess a handgun or bring a gun onto a school ground.
Q: What was the federal deficit for fiscal year 1995? And what was the total national debt as of Dec. 31, 1995?
A: The deficit for fiscal year 1995 was $163.9 billion, according to Demetri Coupounas, policy director for the Concord Coalition in Washington. The cumulative national debt as of Dec. 31, 1995, was $4.9 trillion, he said.
Q: Besides Lewis Jordan, the ValuJet airline president, there were three other co-founders who put up $1 million apiece. Who were these co-founders, and why haven't they been heard from during all of this investigation?
A: The three other co-founders are ValuJet Chairman Robert Priddy, Vice Chairman Maurice Gallagher and board member Timothy Flynn. All three have had successful careers at commuter airlines and prefer to stay behind the scenes. Priddy, a multimillionaire financial guru who also helped found Atlanta's Atlantic Southeast Airlines, focuses on investors and analysts. Gallagher and Flynn both live in Nevada and don't participate in day-to-day operations.
Q: If the president-elect were to pass away between the November election and the inauguration, would the vice president automatically take over the presidency or would there have to be another election?
A: If the incumbent president were re-elected but died before his new term began, the vice president would become president immediately, as stipulated in the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. If a challenger were elected president but died before taking office, the vice president-elect would take office on Jan. 20, according to the 20th Amendment. If the winner of the Nov. 5 popular election were to die before the Electoral College met, the selection process laid out in the 12th and 20th Amendments would be carried out. The electors in each state would vote for a president, and those votes would be sent to the Senate for counting. If no individual gained a majority, the House would choose a president from among the three with the most electoral votes.
Q: New York City sometimes is referred to as Gotham. What is the derivation of that?
A: Gotham is an Anglo-Saxon name meaning ``goat town,'' according to The Encyclopedia of New York City. Residents of the original Gotham, near Nottingham, England, reportedly were called ``wise fools'' in the Middle Ages for avoiding King John's taxes by acting insane. Around 1807, Washington Irving began to use Gotham satirically in several published essays. Irving used the name sardonically to suggest New York was a city of self-important but foolish people. The pejorative connotations of Gotham have been lost through the years.
Q: It was reported recently that Colin Powell and George Bush were on a plane that made an emergency landing in Bangor, Maine. Was it ever disclosed what they were doing together and where they were going? Was it a private plane or a commercial flight?
A: Bush and Powell were on a private jet en route to Greece for a vacation when the plane made an emergency landing in Maine. According to a spokesperson in Powell's office, a bird had gotten into the engine. The plane later proceeded to Greece as planned.
Q: What is the order of succession in Russia if President Boris Yeltsin should die?
A: Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin would take over for three months, at which time another election would be held to elect a new president, according to the Russian Embassy in Washington.
Q: What happened to the American soldier who refused to wear the U.N. emblem on his uniform? Was he drummed out of the service?
A: Spec. Michael New, stationed in Germany, refused to wear the U.N. patch and head gear and felt it was illegal for the Army to make him do so. New believed that wearing the patch was an involuntary shifting of his allegiance from the United States to the United Nations. Lt. Col. Bill Harkey, Army spokesman at the Pentagon, said the court-martial was completed and New was sentenced to a bad conduct discharge. The sentence was approved by the Court Martial Convening Authority. However, there is an automatic appeals process, which has begun, Harkey said.
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