Today is the 174th day of 2012 and the third day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1870, Congress created the Justice Department.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the GI Bill, providing benefits to veterans.

In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed a bill that lowered the federal voting age to 18.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001), aviator/author; Billy Wilder (1906-2002), director; Bill Blass (1922-2002), fashion designer; Dianne Feinstein (1933- ), U.S. senator; Kris Kristofferson (1936- ), singer/actor; Meryl Streep (1949- ), actress; Cyndi Lauper (1953- ), singer; Dan Brown (1964- ), author; Kurt Warner (1971- ), football player; Carson Daly (1973- ), TV personality; Dan Wheldon (1978-2011), race car driver.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1938, Joe Louis avenged an earlier defeat with a decisive first-round knockout of the German Max Schmeling in a heavyweight championship bout.

TODAY'S FACT: After 18- to 20-year-olds were enfranchised, the voter-participation rate fell to 55.2 percent for the 1972 presidential election, from 60.8 percent of eligible voters in 1968.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

TODAY'S NUMBER: 49 -- percentage of U.S. college students who were war veterans in 1947, marking the peak year of the GI Bill education program.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 19) and first quarter moon (June 26).

Today is the 173rd day of 2012 and the second day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1788, the U.S. Constitution went into effect as New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.

In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag was a form of political protest protected by the First Amendment.

In 2004, SpaceShipOne, piloted by Mike Melvill, became the first privately sponsored craft to carry a human into space.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Al Hirschfeld (1903-2003), cartoonist; Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), philosopher; Mary McCarthy (1912-1989), writer; Jane Russell (1921-2011), actress; Ray Davies (1944- ), guitarist/songwriter; Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007), politician; Juliette Lewis (1973- ), actress; Prince William (1982- ), Duke of Cambridge.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1997, the first Women's National Basketball Association game kicked off the league's debut season.

TODAY'S FACT: James Buchanan was the only U.S. president who never married.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does." -- Jean-Paul Sartre

TODAY'S NUMBER: 142,000 -- population of New Hampshire in 1790, following ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 19) and first quarter moon (June 26).

Today is the 172nd day of 2012 and the first day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1893, Lizzie Borden was acquitted of her parents' murder in an infamous trial.

In 1973, Juan Peron returned to Argentina after 18 years of exile.

In 1999, NATO formally ended its bombing campaign against Yugoslavia as Serb forces completed their withdrawal from Kosovo.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880), composer; Lillian Hellman (1905-1984), playwright; Errol Flynn (1909-1959), actor; Audie Murphy (1924-1971), war hero/actor; Olympia Dukakis (1931- ), actress; Brian Wilson (1942- ), musician/songwriter; Bob Vila (1946- ), handyman/TV personality; Lionel Richie (1949- ), musician; John Goodman (1952- ), actor; Nicole Kidman (1967- ), actress; Christopher Mintz-Plasse (1989- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1967, boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be inducted. The Supreme Court overturned Ali's conviction in 1971.

TODAY'S FACT: Western Argentina is home to many mountains of extreme height. Aconcagua Mountain is the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, with an altitude of 22,834 feet.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify." -- Henry David Thoreau

TODAY'S NUMBER: 36 -- Billboard Top 40 hits recorded by the Beach Boys, the record for an American group.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (June 19) and first quarter moon (June 26).