Mobsters on Valentine's Day, amenities on airplanes

Nothing says "I love you" like shooting a virtual gun with your sweetie. The $42 million National Mob Museum opens its doors in downtown Las Vegas on Valentine's Day. The historic Stewart Avenue building once served as a federal courthouse and one of 14 locations for the historic Kefauver hearings of the 1950s. It now houses multimedia interactive exhibits that re-create courtroom and gun- shooting experiences. Artifacts on display include the wall from Chicago's St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929 and the barber chair in which mobster Albert Anastasia was murdered in 1957. Rates: adults $18, ages 5-17 and 18-23 with student ID $12. Open daily.


The State Department's Office of Passport Services has launched a pilot program, good through April 22 or until 20,000 people sign up, that lets US adult citizens living in the United States and Canada apply for a passport card (not to be confused with a passport book) online. To make it work, you must have a valid 10-year US passport book, upload an acceptable digital photograph, and make an online payment in US dollars by means of pay.gov. The credit card-sized passport card costs $30, remains valid for 10 years, and works for travel between the United States and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea.