Q: If this secret no-fly list is so secret, how does anyone know that it has doubled?
—Terry Carrigan, Villa Rica
A: The number of names – about 21,000 -- on the U.S. government's no-fly list was provided to The Associated Press. That number was confirmed by a U.S. counterterrorism official, who quoted the same figure to CNN.com. The AP also reported that there were about 10,000 names on last year's list and that about 500 Americans are on the current list. The government lowered its standard of putting people on the list after the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner in December 2009, the AP reported. A person no longer has to be considered a threat only to aviation to be on the no-fly list, and people who have attended terror training camps are now included, a counterterrorism official told the AP. The list is subject to continuous review, the AP reported, "to ensure that the right people are on it and that the ones who shouldn't be on it are removed." Martin Reardon, former chief of the Terrorist Screening Operations center, told the AP that if someone is nominated to be on the no-fly list, but there isn't enough information to justify it, they are placed on another list.
Q: What is the immigration status of Gisele Bundchen? Does she work in the U.S. on a green card or is she a naturalized citizen?
—Linda Albers, Atlanta
A: Bundchen, a supermodel, was a citizen of her native Brazil as of August 2011, Forbes.com reported. The magazine reported that Bundchen, who is married to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, earned $45 million in 2010.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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