FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

United States passports are passports issued to citizens and nationals of the United States of America. They are issued exclusively by the U.S. Department of State. Besides passports (in booklet form), limited-use passport cards are issued by the same government agency subject to the same requirements. It is unlawful for U.S. citizens and nationals to enter or exit the country without a valid U.S. passport or passport-replacement document compliant with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative though there are many exceptions; waivers are generally granted for U.S. citizens returning without a passport, and the exit requirement is not enforced. As of 2022, holders of the passport were able to travel visa-free to 188 countries and territories, incl. Japan, making the passport one of the most powerful in the world in terms of travel freedom.

U.S. passport booklets conform with recommended standards (i.e., size, composition, layout, technology) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). There are five types of passport booklets; the State Department has issued only biometric passports as standard since August 2007. U.S. passports are federal property and must be returned to the government upon demand.

By law, a valid unexpired U.S. passport (or passport card) is conclusive (and not just prima facie) proof of U.S. citizenship, with the same force and effect as proof as certificates of naturalization or citizenship if issued to a U.S. citizen for the full period allowed by law. U.S. law does not prohibit its citizens from holding passports of other countries.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

Question of the Day

What do A.M. and P.M. stand for?

They stand for ante meridiem (before noon) and post meridiem (after noon).

Advice of the Day

To defeat sleepless nights, try as hard as possible to stay awake. You’ll soon be asleep.

Home Hint of the Day

One way to heat your upstairs easily is to install open ceiling registers between your first and second floors. Heat will rise to the second floor through the registers, and cool air will return down the stairs, keeping the second floor warmer.

Word of the Day

Windbag

A boring person who talks a great deal about uninteresting topics.

Puzzle of the Day

How would securely hitching a horse affect his speed?

It would make him fast.

Born

• Oliver Wolcott (politician) – 1726
• Norman Thomas (social reformer) – 1884
• Edwin Powell Hubble (astronomer) – 1889
• Alistair Cooke (journalist) – 1908
• Gene Tierney (actress) – 1920
• Maya Plisetskaya (Russian ballerina) – 1925
• Robert F. Kennedy (politician) – 1925
• Dick Smothers (comedian) – 1939
• Joe Biden (46th U.S. president) – 1942
• Veronica Hamel (actress) – 1943
• Joe Walsh (musician) – 1947
• Sean Young (actress) – 1959
• Ming-Na (actress) – 1963
• Joel McHale (actor) – 1971
• J. D. Drew (baseball player) – 1975
• Dominique Dawes (gymnast) – 1976

Died

• Harriot Stanton Blatch (U.S. suffragette) – 1940
• John McEwen (18th Prime Minister of Australia) – 1980
• Robert Altman (director) – 2006

Events

• The final ride of the Pony Express completed– 1861
• J. Haven & C. Hettrich patented a whirligig (yo-yo)– 1866
• William Bundy received patent for employees’ time recorder– 1888
• Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, incorporated as a city– 1903
• Fire wiped out most of business district in Oceana, West Virginia– 1907
• Photos required for U.S. passports– 1914
• Tucson Municipal Flying Field in Arizona became the first municipal airport in the United States– 1919
• First nighttime photograph taken from an airplane occurred over Rochester, NY– 1925
• The Alcan Highway was dedicated at Soldier’s Summit in the Yukon Territory– 1942
• Nuremberg Trials begin in Germany, an international military tribunal, trying Nazi offenders for crimes against peace, humanity and the laws of war.– 1945
• Princess Elizabeth (later to be known as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II) married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten– 1947
• The musical, Cabaret, premiered at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York– 1966
• The United States Department of Justice headquarters building dedicated as the Robert F. Kennedy Justice Building– 2001
• The Wizard of Oz Munchkins received a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame– 2007
• A 2.4-magnitude earthquake shook Portsmouth, New Hampshire– 2007
• Green Giant set a new Guinness World Record for largest green bean casserole. The concoction weighed 1,009 pounds! The dish was then served to people in need in the New York area through Citymeals on Wheels.– 2019

Weather

• Tornadoes in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee caused extensive damage and killed 73 people– 1900
• Eighteen inches of snow at Paradise, Michigan– 1987

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