Nation

DEMOGRAPHY

A Boost in Intermarriage

In a sign of shifting attitudes about race, black and white Americans are getting hitched to one another in record numbers, according to a new analysis of U.S. Census data. Some 14% of black men and 6% of black women walked down the aisle with a white partner in 2008, up from 5% and 1% in 1980, reported the Journal of Marriage and Family. Notably, blacks and whites with at least some time in college were more likely to marry than those with less schooling.

LIFTOFF?

NASA revealed its plans for a new heavy-lift rocket for future space missions as early as 2017. Built largely from existing engine designs, the Space Launch System is sort of a Saturn 5 on steroids. The cost: $18 billion.

POVERTY

One-Seventh Of a Nation

The number of Americans participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program--more commonly known as food stamps--totaled 45.2 million in June, down slightly from May but still a 9.5% increase in Americans' reliance on federal food relief from a year before. Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey and North Carolina saw the biggest increases in participation over the past year.

[The following text appears within a map. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual map.]

ONLY DECREASE NORTH DAKOTA -0.5%

BIGGEST NEW JERSEY 19%

Increase in food-stamp usage since June 2010

OVER 12%

8%--12%