Today is the 279th day of 2012 and the 14th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1877, Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe surrendered to U.S. Cavalry troops after a 1,700-mile retreat.

In 1947, President Harry Truman delivered the first address to be televised from the White House.

In 1969, "Monty Python's Flying Circus" debuted on the BBC.

In 2005, the U.S. Senate voted 90-9 to prohibit the use of "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment" on detainees.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), theologian/evangelist; Louis Lumiere (1864-1948), inventor/filmmaker; Ray Kroc (1902-1984), founder of McDonald's Corp.; Bil Keane (1922-2011), cartoonist; Glynis Johns (1923- ), actress; Vaclav Havel (1936-2011), playwright/Czech president; Steve Miller (1943- ), musician; Bernie Mac (1957-2008), comedian/actor; Mario Lemieux (1965- ), hockey player; Grant Hill (1972- ), basketball player; Kate Winslet (1975- ), actress; Jesse Eisenberg (1983- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2001, Barry Bonds set a new single-season home run record (twice) with his 71st and 72nd home runs.

TODAY'S FACT: In President Truman's first televised White House address (on this day in 1947), he asked the American people to stop eating meat on Tuesdays and poultry on Thursdays to help relieve food shortages in Europe.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get." -- Ray Kroc

TODAY'S NUMBER: 17 -- chief justices appointed to the Supreme Court in U.S. history.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 29) and last quarter (Oct. 8).

Today is the 278th day of 2012 and the 13th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, into orbit.

In 1958, trans-Atlantic passenger jet service began with commercial flights between New York and London.

In 1965, Pope Paul VI became the first reigning pontiff to visit the United States.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Edward Stratemeyer (1862-1930), children's author; Buster Keaton (1895-1966), comedian/filmmaker; Charlton Heston (1923-2008), actor; Jackie Collins (1937- ), novelist; Anne Rice (1941- ), novelist; Tony La Russa Jr. (1944- ), baseball player/manager; Susan Sarandon (1946- ), actress; Alicia Silverstone (1976- ), actress; Rachael Leigh Cook (1979- ), actress; Derrick Rose (1988- ), basketball player.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers finally won their first World Series after seven games against the New York Yankees. "Dem Bums" had lost four World Series in the previous eight seasons.

TODAY'S FACT: The longest nonstop scheduled passenger flight in 2010 departed from Newark, N.J., for Singapore and had a scheduled length of 18 hours, 50 minutes.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I see nothing in space as promising as the view from a Ferris wheel." -- E.B. White

TODAY'S NUMBER: 184 -- weight (in pounds) of Sputnik, according to Soviet news agency Tass on the day of its launch.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 29) and last quarter (Oct. 8).

Today is the 277th day of 2012 and the 12th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln designated the last Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving.

In 1990, East and West Germany were reunified.

In 1995, O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938), novelist; Gore Vidal (1925-2012), writer; Chubby Checker (1941- ), musician; Dave Winfield (1951- ), baseball player; Al Sharpton (1954- ), minister/activist; Clive Owen (1964- ), actor; Gwen Stefani (1969- ), singer; Talib Kweli (1975- ), rapper; Ashlee Simpson (1984- ), singer/actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1951, New York Giants player Bobby Thomson hit the "Shot Heard 'Round the World," a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to clinch the National League pennant over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1789, President George Washington announced that Nov. 26, 1789, would be "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer," the first in the nation's history.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "At any given moment, public opinion is a chaos of superstition, misinformation and prejudice." -- Gore Vidal

TODAY'S NUMBER: $1 trillion -- amount of public and private funds that eastern Germany received from western Germany in the five years following reunification.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Sept. 29) and last quarter (Oct. 8).