more images

Senate blocks GOP proposal to require that census ask about citizenship status in 2010 count

Senate blocks census citizenship question

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats Thursday blocked a GOP attempt to require next year’s census forms to ask people whether they are U.S. citizens.

UCLA study: Gay spouses similar to heterosexual married couples in age, income, parenting

Report: Gay couples similar to straight spouses

Coroner, medical examiner confirm census worker died at tree where he was found in Ky. forest

Coroner: Census worker died at tree in Ky. forest

Census data shows college graduates choosing urban, high-tech meccas in recession

Census: ‘Brain gains’ for high-tech cities

Correction: Gay Marriage Census

Correction: Gay Marriage Census

SAN FRANCISCO — In an Oct. 22 story about the U.S. Census Bureau’s efforts to count married same-sex couples, The Associated Press misspelled the surname of the assistant chief of the bureau’s field division. His correct name is Tim Olson, not Olsen. In addition, the story erroneously implied that a Web site designed to encourage gay households to participate in the census was a bureau project. The Our Families Count site will be produced privately.

Census bureau reps say 2020 survey could include boxes for gay and transgender individuals

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Census Bureau is making an unprecedented effort to include same-sex couples in next year’s national population count, but legally married gay couples won’t show up as such in the official once-a-decade tally, bureau representatives said Thursday.

Census reps say future surveys could include gays and transgender individuals in count

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Census Bureau is making an unprecedented effort to include same-sex couples in next year’s national population count, but counting the number of individuals who identify as gay, lesbian or transgender could be next.

Minority lawmakers oppose effort to ask about citizenship status in 2010 census

WASHINGTON — A coalition of black, Latino and Asian lawmakers on Thursday expressed opposition to a proposal that would require next year’s census forms to ask about the status of a person’s citizenship.

Census director expresses concern about ballooning costs in plans for 2010 head count

WASHINGTON — The head of the Census Bureau on Wednesday expressed concern about cost overruns in preparations for next year’s high-stakes count, saying he was taking steps to help prevent the expenses from ballooning further.

Memorial service set for Census worker whose death in remote Ky. forest is still unexplained

LONDON, Ky. — A memorial service is scheduled next week for a part-time Census worker whose death is still under investigation more than a month after his body was found tied to a tree in a Kentucky forest.

Revised formula puts number of poor people at 47.4 million _ 7 million more than official rate

WASHINGTON — The level of poverty in America is even worse than first believed.

To accurately count immigrants, Census 2010 will include outreach in more languages

SAN FRANCISCO — With the launch of the 2010 census less than six months away, the U.S. Census Bureau is preparing its most targeted and far-reaching language outreach yet to more accurately count the country’s immigrants.

Census director: Foreclosures will add challenges, costs to next year’s decennial census

LOS ANGELES — Foreclosures will make it tougher and more expensive to get an accurate census count next year as families move in with relatives or are left homeless, the Census Bureau’s director said Tuesday.

Study: City funds and manpower to promote 2010 head count lag levels in previous census

WASHINGTON — With the 2010 census looming, major U.S. cities whose residents are at high risk of being missed are struggling with a shortage of money and manpower to prepare for an accurate count.

Census official: Workers want to be in teams after colleague’s death in southeastern Ky.

BIG CREEK, Ky. — The manager of a part-time census taker who died under mysterious circumstances in southeastern Kentucky says other workers are requesting to visit houses in teams rather than alone.

Hanged Ky. census worker’s body released; police still not saying if death was homicide

LONDON, Ky. — Authorities have released the body of a part-time census worker but were still providing little information about the death of Bill Sparkman nearly a month after the substitute teacher was found in a remote Appalachian forest with a rope around his neck and the word “Fed” scrawled on his chest.

Census shows more Americans trying their hand at raising crops, livestock on ‘hobby farms’

GEM, Ind. — Most evenings, Gary Mithoefer can be found at the end of a long gravel driveway off a busy highway, tending two garden plots filled with white sweet potatoes, squash, cabbages and a dozen other vegetables still thriving in early fall.

Commerce Department rules out seeking a halt to immigration raids to improve census count

WASHINGTON — With the 2010 census six months away, the Commerce Department said Thursday it won’t seek a halt to immigration raids as it did in the previous census in hopes of improving participation in hard-to-count communities.

Census data show a widening income gap in US as poor people take bigger hit in recession

WASHINGTON — The recession has hit middle-income and poor families hardest, widening the economic gap between the richest and poorest Americans as rippling job layoffs ravaged household budgets.

Latinos hope the use of bilingual census forms will aid the 2010 count despite obstacles

LONG BEACH, Calif. — When Teresa Ocampo opens her census questionnaire, she won’t have to worry about navigating another document in English.

AP Exclusive: Son says he’s certain Ky. census taker found dead with ‘fed’ on chest was slain

LONDON, Ky. — The son of a U.S. Census Bureau worker found hanged from a tree in eastern Kentucky with the word “fed” scrawled on his chest says he has no doubt his father was slain.

Mom, friends: Ky. hanging victim overcame cancer, dedicated his life to teaching children

LONDON, Ky. — Even while fighting cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, Bill Sparkman would show up for work wearing his customary smile and a toboggan cap to cover his balding head.

Family visiting cemetery found census worker’s naked, hanged body; had been gagged, duct taped

BIG CREEK, Ky. — A family’s visit to a rural Kentucky cemetery led to the shocking discovery of a part-time census worker’s naked body hanging from a tree with the word “fed” written on his chest.

Witness: Census worker’s body was naked, gagged, hands and feet bound with duct tape

BIG CREEK, Ky. — A part-time census worker found hanging in a rural Kentucky cemetery was naked, gagged and had his hands and feet bound with duct tape, said an Ohio man who discovered the body two weeks ago.

Coroner: ‘Fed’ written in felt-tip pen on Ky. Census worker found hanging from tree

BIG CREEK, Ky. — Authorities said a U.S. Census worker died by asphyxiation but were releasing few other details about the mysterious case nearly two weeks after Bill Sparkman’s body — with the word “fed” scrawled on the chest — was found hanging from a tree near a family cemetery secluded by Appalachian forest.

Asphyxiation ruled cause of death for Census taker found with ‘fed’ written on chest

BIG CREEK, Ky. — Authorities said a U.S. Census worker died by asphyxiation but were releasing few other details about the mysterious case nearly two weeks after Bill Sparkman’s body — with the word “fed” scrawled on the chest — was found hanging from a tree near a family cemetery secluded by Appalachian forest.