Dashboard

BORDER CROSSINGS

Papers, Please

An oral declaration of citizenship will no longer be enough for U.S. and Canadian citizens to cross the border. A passport, combination of a driver's license and birth certificate, or a trusted traveler card is now mandatory.

CELEBRATION

Big Apple Avalanche

Since 1886, New York City's cleanup methods for ticker-tape parades have gotten greener. But the party still isn't exactly eco-friendly.

THE PARADE

Some 50 tons of shredded paper fell over the Super Bowl-champion Giants during the Feb. 5 parade (left). Of more than 200 such parades in New York City, the largest--with 5,438 tons of ticker tape--was a two-day event to mark the U.S. victory over Japan in 1945.

THE CLEANUP

Estimated removal costs are less than $200,000, and low-sulfur biodiesel now fuels trucks and sweepers. Still, sifting tons of litter is a challenge; only a fraction will be recycled.

EXPLAINER

What Is a Super-Delegate?

WHO ARE THEY? Democratic Party leaders, elected officials and others who can decide, regardless of state election results, whom to cast their votes for at the nominating convention.

HOW MANY ARE THERE? This year roughly 800 out of 4,049 total delegates.

HOW IMPORTANT ARE THEY?In a tight race, they could determine the nominee.

GOVERNMENT SPENDING

Dollars for Defense

The Pentagon's 2009 budget request is the highest--after accounting for inflation--since WW II. But because of U.S. economic growth, military spending as a share of the national pie is smaller than in prior conflicts. [The following descriptive text appears within a diagram]

14.2 % KOREA, 1953

$416 billion 9.5 %

VIETNAM, 1968

$420 billion 4.3 %

IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN, 2009

$650 billion*

*estimated figure