Q: Is there any update on the water situation with Georgia, Alabama and Florida? What is the deadline for an agreement?
-- Chris Rice, Rex
A: Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson has set a July 2012 deadline for a water-sharing agreement between Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Otherwise, he ruled, metro Atlanta would be allowed to take only the same amount of water it received in the mid-1970s, when the population was less than a third of its current size. But the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is reviewing Georgia's appeal of that order, is set to rule at any point. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in March that during oral arguments, three judges appeared inclined to vacate the looming July 2012 deadline and settle the issue by sending the case back to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine how much water from Lake Lanier can be used to meet the needs of metro Atlanta residents. In the meantime, governors from the three states are trying to reach a negotiated settlement.
Q: Who were the CNN reporters on the roof of the hotel in Baghdad during the start of the Gulf War in 1991? Was Wolf Blitzer one of them?
-- Jesse Creech, Decatur
A: Peter Arnett, Bernard Shaw and John Holliman, known as the "Boys of Baghdad," were the reporters who provided live reports from the ninth floor of the Al Rasheed Hotel during the opening days of the Gulf War in January 1991, according to CNN.com. Wolf Blitzer, who was new to CNN, reported from the Pentagon. Holliman died in a car crash in suburban Atlanta in 1998.
Lori Johnston wrote this column; staff writer Bill Rankin contributed. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or e-mail q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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