Mail delivery vehicles are parked outside a post office in Boys Town, Neb., in August 2020.
Nati Harnik/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Nati Harnik/AP
Many businesses are closed and services are suspended on Thursday, a national day of mourning in honor of former President Jimmy Carter.
President Joe Biden declared Jan. 9 a day of observance and called for Americans to “assemble on that day in their respective places of worship” to honor Carter.
As the nation says goodbye to the 39th U.S. president during a funeral service in Washington, D.C., the United States Postal Service says it is suspending mail service on Thursday and postal offices will be closed. However, the postal service says there will be limited package deliveries so it “does not experience any negative impacts to its package delivery operations.”
Both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq are also closed. The rare closure of Wall Street for a U.S. president first occurred in 1865 after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The observance by Wall Street to honor deceased presidents has continued and the most recent closure was in 2018 after the death of former President George H.W. Bush.
Many U.S. government agencies and executive departments are also closed because of an executive order signed by Biden. But some offices must remain open and certain employees must work “for reasons of national security, defense, or other public need,” according to the executive order.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts also has ordered the high court’s building remain closed on Thursday. And some national monuments and parks are closed, according to the National Park Service.
NPR’s Maria Aspan contributed to this report.
