Out-of-wedlock births climb
More than half of births to American women under the age of 30 now occur outside of marriage. For white women with some college education but no degree, the share of out-of-wedlock births has grown especially quickly, climbing from 11 percent in 1990 to 34 percent in 2009.
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Rates of intermarriage rise
About 15 percent of new marriages in 2010 crossed racial or ethnic lines—double the rate of intermarriage in 1980, according to the Pew Research Center. In the new marriages in 2010, 9 percent of whites “married out,” as did 17 percent of blacks, 26 percent of Hispanics, and 28 percent of Asians.
The Washington Post
The world's nuclear bombs
There are now about 20,500 nuclear warheads and bombs in the world, held by nine nations, according to the Federation of American Scientists. The U.S. has 8,500 of them.
USA Today
The nation's most corrupt city
Chicago really is the nation’s most corrupt city. Since 1976, 1,531 public officials in the Chicago area have been convicted of corruption, the most of any jurisdiction.
Chicago Tribune
Government increases categories of illness and injury
Next year, the number of federally mandated categories of illness and injury for which hospitals may claim reimbursement will soar from 18,000 to 140,000, including nine categories for injuries caused by parrots and three relating to burns from flaming water skis.
The Economist