In his latest book, Michael Beschloss details the windup to eight wars — and the executive branch involvement in each.

With the exception of the Korean War, all of these wars received either a formal congressional declaration of war (the War of 1812; the Mexican-American War in 1846; the Spanish-American War in 1898; WWI in 1917; and WWII in 1941-42) or some form of congressional authorization (Civil War in 1861 and the Vietnam War in 1964).

Updated at 2:30 p.m. ET

Hurricane Michael has rapidly grown into a strong Category 2 storm, with sustained winds hitting 110 mph on Tuesday — just 24 hours after gaining hurricane status, according to the National Hurricane Center. Michael is expected to make landfall along the Gulf Coast on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm.

For decades, whenever stevedore Giorgos Nouchoutidis arrived for work at the port of Piraeus, he would breathe in the fresh, briny sea breeze and feel a surge of pride.

Fourteen-year-old Caydden Zimmerman's school days start early and end late.

He has a 90-minute bus ride to get from the homeless shelter where he is staying in Boise, Idaho, to his middle school. He wakes up at 5:45 a.m., quickly brushes his teeth and smooths some gel in his hair, and then he dashes downstairs to catch his school bus.

Amy Knowlton pilots the 29-foot research vessel Nereid out of Lubec harbor and into the waters of the Bay of Fundy, off of easternmost Maine. A scientist with the New England Aquarium's Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life Knowlton points to harbor porpoises chasing fish in the wind-swept waters on a recent morning.

Then something much larger appears off the stern.

"Whale behind us," Knowlton says, steering closer. "It's probably a humpback or fin whale, we'll get a better look."