Q&A ON THE NEWS

Q: Did Bill O’Reilly serve in the U.S. military? If not, why?

CHARLES E. BRYAN

Atlanta

A: Bill O’Reilly never served in the U.S. military. According to published reports, he received teaching and student deferments.

O’Reilly was a high school teacher for two years in Miami after graduating from Marist College in 1971. He says he later volunteered to be a military policeman for a fort in Brooklyn but was not asked to serve. The 59-year old commentator and author also received master’s degrees from Boston and Harvard universities.

O’Reilly began his broadcasting career 26 years ago with CBS and ABC news. He became anchor of the nationally syndicated tabloid show “Inside Edition” in 1988. He joined Fox in 1996.

Q: What is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s approval rating now?

DAVE STEELE

LILBURN

A: In early November, Rasmussen polled voters and found 40 percent had a favorable view of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while 53 percent regarded her unfavorably.

An October poll by Hotline reported 23-percent positive and a 41-percent negative results for Pelosi. In a Harris Poll from February asking adults to rate the job performance of Pelosi, only 25 percent replied positively compared with 57 percent, negatively.

For more polling information, go to www.pollingreport.com.

Researchers Joni Zeccola and Nisa Asokan wrote this column.

Do you have a question about the news? Our news researchers will try to get an answer. Call 404-222-2002 or e-mail q&a@ajc.com (include your name and city). Sorry, individual responses are not possible.