Brian_Kerhin's Blog

It happens in the middle of every baseball season: The trading deadline approaches and rumors fly about pitching aces and All-Star sluggers getting sent to contending teams for a playoff run.

Deals are made - and others fall through - as the final hours of July tick away. Then that's it. No more trades until the season's over.

Except that, it turns out, there can be a LOT more trades before the season's over.

A reader's curiosity about how baseball trades can happen after the trading deadline inspired one of three 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.

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About three years ago I read about a new type of atomic energy plant that produced not only electric power but also, as a byproduct, large quantities of hydrogen that could be used to fuel autos. I thought that would be an excellent answer to much of the energy problem.

I assumed there would be a lot in the news about this innovation, but I have heard nothing. Is there something to it?

Robert Van Antwerp
Beaverton, Ore.
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A 2005 energy bill signed by President Bush gave the OK for building a new type of nuclear reactor that, in theory, will reach temperatures high enough to make hydrogen production more efficient.

Hydrogen is the most abundant substance on earth, but it's never found alone and likes to bind with other substances. Right now it can be isolated using hydrolysis or several other methods, such as mixing natural gas with steam, and a nuclear reactor isn't essential to make that happen.

But most of the processes use giant amounts of heat, and since nuclear plants happen to have lots of heat on hand, producing hydrogen nearby - and in a relatively environmentally friendly way - is a logical choice.

The current problem is that today's reactors can reach temperatures of only about 572 F. That's more than enough to cook your steak, but can be grossly inefficient for producing hydrogen.

The next-generation nuclear plant should be able to reach temperatures of 1,292 F to 1,652 F.

Scientists at the Idaho National Laboratory are working with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy on the new reactor's development. They've set a 2021 deadline.

Paradoxically, much of the hydrogen produced in the U.S. is used to sweeten heavy crude oil for the transportation sector, or for other chemical uses. Less than 1 percent of the produced hydrogen is used for fuel.

Ernest Scheyder
AP Energy Writer
New York

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Why do you hear of so many baseball trades being made after the so-called "trading deadline"?

Adam Broida
Teaneck, N.J.
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There are, in fact, two trading deadlines.

First up is July 31 - that's when to look for blockbuster deals. Until then, teams can make whatever trades they want - Manny Ramirez from Boston to the Dodgers, for example.

After that, it becomes tricky. To be traded, a player must pass through waivers - baseball's system that gives almost every team a chance to get the player being traded. Many potential deals between Team A and Team B get blocked when Team C files a claim. When that happens, the player being traded typically is pulled off waivers and rejoins his old team.

The other trade deadline is Aug. 31. Teams must acquire players by then for them to be eligible in the postseason.

Ben Walker
AP Baseball Writer
New York

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What ever happened to Betty Currie, President Clinton's former personal secretary?

Michael Logan
Milwaukee
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Betty Currie is retired and living in Hollywood, Md.

Currie is remembered for picking up from Monica Lewinsky gifts that the former president had given the White House intern in 1997. Currie later testified during investigations into Clinton's affair.

These days, the 68-year-old Currie is involved with area nonprofit organizations and the county Democratic group, and serves on the Alcohol Beverage Board of St. Mary's County.

Socks, the Clintons' cat during the White House years, still lives with the Currie family, according to her husband, Bob. The cat is nearly two decades old.

"He's slowed down a lot," he said. "The squirrels catch up with him; he doesn't catch up with the squirrels."

Betty Currie also stays busy with family, travel and visits with old Democratic Party friends in Washington. Bob Currie says once the party convention is over his wife will help with the campaign locally.

Nafeesa Syeed
Associated Press Writer
Mid-Atlantic Bureau, Washington

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