I am a single parent, planning to travel from the US to Freeport Bahamas with my 12-year-old daughter. I have heard that US authorities require that a parent leaving the US with their child but without the other parent requires a notarized note of permission from parent not travelling. Is this correct? Will I need to carry permission to travel with my daughter in order to leave the country?

Yes, you should have this, but not for US officials. When entering the Bahamas via FPO last week, Immigration official told me that I (as a single father) need a notarized statement from my child's mother granting me permission to take the child out of the country. She questioned my daughter about whether her mother knows where she is, and then she let us pass.