1 in 2 households in poverty?

There have been numerous reports today over the fact that nearly 50% of the country is classified as being in poverty or low-income.
http://news.yahoo.com/census-shows-1-2-people-poor-low-income-054325860.html

That number seemed surprisingly high and after a fact finding mission found that the number appears to be grossly overstated.  Low-Income people are classified by those whose incomes are less than 200% of the poverty line.  The 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates run by the Census Bureau report the total of all living under the poverty line being 40,917,513, which is 13.8% of the United States population, while those under 200% of poverty at 94,693,417, which is 31.9%.  This figure of low-income is significantly lower than the 50% figure from the Associated Press.

It is unknown where these figures are derived from, but the hundreds of news reports show the same figures.  Is this one of those circumstances where journalists write an article without fact checking?  To be sure 94 million people is still a sizable chunk of the population and something that does need to be addressed.  Imagine being one of the nearly eighteen million people living on less than $5,000 per year.

All Individuals below:
50 percent of poverty level	17,762,160
100 percent of poverty level	40,917,513
125 percent of poverty level	54,155,678
150 percent of poverty level	67,790,487
185 percent of poverty level	86,708,847
200 percent of poverty level	94,693,417
Total Population	296,141,149

Source: U.S. Census and Wikstrom Economics