Last May, the Associated Press ran a story about how the U.S. thwarted the plot of an al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen to blow up a U.S.-bound plane with a bomb that was designed to be undetectable. We ran it on Page 1. It was a huge story. And this is the story that triggered the investigation that led the federal government to seize a couple months of AP reporters' phone records.

The government wants to find out who leaked the highly classified details of the CIA operation that foiled the al-Qaida plot. The AP has reacted angrily to what it calls an unprecedented government intrusion into the newsgathering process.

Jonathan Katz has written a well-regarded book on the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the relief efforts that followed. It's titled, "The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster." Katz was then an Associated Press reporter and was the only full-time American correspondent in Haiti. Katz now lives in Durham. He will sign copies of his book Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. Via email, I recently asked him a few questions.

Q: Why did you write "The Big Truck That Went By"?
A: In may ways it was an extension of the work I was doing as a correspondent in Haiti. There was a much more profound story going on than the one we were able to tell in news stories, from the day of the quake itself, through the misbegotten relief effort, and the political turmoil and massive cholera epidemic that ended the year. What happened over the course of about twelve months in Haiti was simply extraordinary, and a story that has implications for people all over the world. A complete work of narrative nonfiction seemed like the best way to give the necessary context, blast through our pre-conceived notions, and bring that story to bear.

Q: For those who want to help (individuals, countries or groups, including those that are faith-based), what does it take to make a difference in Haiti?
A: Making a difference is easy. Improving lives over the long term is what's hard. In some ways it comes down to humility: knowing the limits (and costs) of our power, the ill effects of so many efforts in the past, and being willing to step back and listen to people about what they want and need in their own lives. That requires a lot of direct engagement, a lot of patience, and a lot of creativity. Any aid effort must begin with the principle of "first do no harm," and have as its ultimate goal its own irrelevance. Haiti, as anywhere, needs strong, durable institutions that are accountable to its own people. If your work is helping to build, and not undermine, those institutions, and is leaving behind something durable that will last long after your organization is gone, you're probably on the right track.

Q: How did you come to live in Durham?
A: As I mention at the end of The Big Truck, I ended up leaving Haiti to move in with my girlfriend, Claire Payton, in Brooklyn. Well, after the book was written, Claire, now my fiancée, transferred to Duke to complete her history PhD at the university's terrific Haiti Lab. I came with her. So here I am!
--John Drescher

Hillside's Jamal Marcus, East Chapel Hill's Alex Moore, South Granville's Matthew Fuhr and Millbrook's Keith Marshall have been named to the North Carolina all-state high school football team by The Associated Press.

See the full team below:

Should this year's Wake County school board election battle, with all the influx of outside money and political party activity, be considered a test run for next year's electoral contests?

That's a point raised in an Associated Press article today that's appearing  across the state. David McLennan, a political science professor at Peace University, speculates on how the fundraising and organizing that has accompanied the campaign in Wake County could be a kind of dry run for next year.

"This is a nice test case of what's going to happen next May with the constitutional amendment on gay marriage," McLennan said. "Depending on how the election goes in Wake County on the school board, I think that will be indicative of what we'll see next spring, and also for the general election in November."

Kristen Gaffney of Green was named to the Associated Press all-state girls basketball team as selected by sports writers throughout the state. South Central Pitt's Danielle Butts and Janesha Ebron also were selected.

Terry Whisnant of Cherryville and Tyler Lewis of Forsyth Country Day lead the boys team.

No teams from the Tri-Nine, Cap Eight or Greater Neuse 4-A conferences are in The Associated Press' final regular-season rankings.

Durham Hillside is the only Triangle area team to crack the rankings in any classification. The undefeated Hornets are No. 4 behind Matthews Butler, Mallard Creek and Richmond County.

Fayetteville Seventy-First, which plays Durham Jordan in the first round of the playoffs on Friday night, is ranked No. 9.

The Associated Press Stylebook helps create standards for publication writing. It tells writers and editors how to spell words and how to render numbers, among other things. It also offers rules on grammar and usage. It is the stylebook we rely on at The N&O, supplemented by an internal stylebook. The AP stylebook can be a valuable tool; it can also be a path to confusion.

The Associated Press weighs in on the Wake County school controversy with a story noting the historical context between current battle.

In an article being distributed today, AP contrast the relatively quiet integration of Raleigh's schools in 1960 with the recent acrimony. The article recaps the last 50 years, including the escalation over the past few months, for the national audience that will be reading the story.

"We're not going to sit idly by while they turn the clock back on the blood, sweat and tears and wipe their feet on the sacrifices of so many that have enabled us to get to the place we are today," says the Rev. Barber, president of the state NAACP, in the article.