AP answers your questions on the news, from tsunami alerts to the last balanced federal budget

Ask AP: Tsunami alerts, balanced federal budget

When it comes to producing a tsunami, does it matter if an earthquake is moving the seafloor up, down or side to side?

Curiosity about what sorts of seaquakes would set off a tsunami alert 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.

When was the last time the federal budget was balanced at $0.00, and under what president?

Richard A. Stanley

Greenfield, Ind.

The budget has never been balanced at exactly zero, though Woodrow Wilson came close in 1913 and 1914, when the deficit was less than $1 million.

Given the size of the economy, the deficit fluctuates a lot and it’s impossible to predict what it will be with any certainty, mostly because tax collections depend a lot on the economy and how the stock market is doing.

For four years from 1998 to 2001, under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the U.S. government ran surpluses ranging from $69 billion to $236 billion. Those surpluses went away with the recession of 2001, the popping of the stock market bubble and a wave of spending in the wake of 9/11. Tax cuts also contributed to the returning deficit.

In 2001, Bush supposedly inherited surpluses projected at $5.6 trillion over 10 years. But those guesses were way off as they were based on revenue models that turned out to be very flawed.

Andrew Taylor

Associated Press Writer covering the federal budget

Washington

Recent news reports of earthquakes at sea have been a mixed bag in terms of whether a tsunami alert was sounded.

As I understand it, tsunamis only result from earthquakes that cause the sea floor to drop, not from quakes involving lateral plate movement. Is there something in seismic readings that indicates an earthquake’s origin, and thus whether a tsunami alert is needed?

Michael Buerger

Bowling Green, Ohio

Seismologist Paul Richard of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University says the main reasons for issuing an alert are the size and location of an earthquake. The question is whether the quake is located in an area that has been associated with tsunamis in the past, and whether it is powerful enough to cause another one.

A tsunami can be caused by movement of the seafloor up or down, and it is also possible for a lateral quake to generate one if it results in an underwater landslide. Thus a calculation that seismic movement was lateral would not be sufficient to deny a warning, he said.

“Just the size of the earthquake is usually enough to set the ball rolling,” Richard said.

Randolph E. Schmid

AP Science Writer

Washington

Included in General Motors’ effort to restructure itself is getting rid of its Saturn division. There had been talk of it being sold to a group run by Penske. What is the current state of Saturn?

Stephan Vertal

Forest Grove, Ore.

As part of its government-backed reorganization, GM is shedding four brands: Hummer, Saab, Pontiac and Saturn. In June, GM announced a tentative agreement to sell Saturn to the dealership chain Penske Automotive Group Inc., owned by auto racing magnate Roger Penske.

GM and Penske are still ironing out the final details of the sale, which is expected to close in the coming months. For now, the agreement calls for Penske to get the rights to the Saturn brand as well as all 350 Saturn dealerships in the U.S. The division has about 13,000 employees, which Penske said he would retain at least in the near term.

Saturns are built alongside other GM vehicles at several factories across North America. Initially, GM will continue to supply Saturns for Penske on a contract basis, although Penske has said he is in talks with other car manufacturers about building Saturn cars in the future.

Dan Strumpf

AP Auto Writer

New York

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