Today is the 280th day of 2012 and the 15th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1949, American-born Iva Toguri D'Aquino (identified as "Tokyo Rose") was fined and sentenced to prison after being found guilty of treason.

In 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on Yom Kippur.

In 1981, Egyptian president and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Anwar Sadat was assassinated.

In 2000, Serbian and Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milosevic, who had been indicted by the United Nations in 1999 for crimes against humanity, resigned.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jenny Lind (1820-1887), opera singer; George Westinghouse (1846-1914), engineer/inventor; Le Corbusier (1887-1965), architect; Helen Wills Moody (1905-1998), tennis player; Carole Lombard (1908-1942), actress; Elisabeth Shue (1963- ), actress; Jeremy Sisto (1974- ), actor; Olivia Thirlby (1986- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1926, Babe Ruth hit three home runs for the New York Yankees in game four of the World Series, setting a record that still stands and leading the Yankees to a 10-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

TODAY'S FACT: George Westinghouse formed more than 60 companies to market his inventions, which were collectively estimated to have been worth $120 million in 1900.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Fear is, I believe, a most effective tool in destroying the soul of an individual -- and the soul of a people." -- Anwar Sadat

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2 -- Nobel laureates who have declined the prize. Jean-Paul Sartre declined the 1964 Literature Prize, and Le Duc Tho declined the 1973 Peace Prize, which he was to have shared with U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

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

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).