Today is the 343rd day of 2012 and the 78th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1941, the U.S. Congress declared war on Japan and the United States officially entered World War II.

In 1980, former member of The Beatles John Lennon was shot to death outside his Manhattan apartment building.

In 1993, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.

TODAY'S BIRTDHAYS: Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587); Eli Whitney (1765-1825), inventor; James Thurber (1894-1961), humorist; Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990), singer/dancer/actor; Jim Morrison (1943-1971), singer; Kim Basinger (1953- ), actress; Ann Coulter (1961- ), writer/commentator; Teri Hatcher (1964- ), actress; Sinead O'Connor (1966- ), singer; Dominic Monaghan (1976- ), actor; Ian Somerhalder (1978- ), actor.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1940, the Chicago Bears crushed the Washington Redskins in the National Football League championship game, 73-0, for the biggest victory margin in NFL championship history.

TODAY'S FACT: The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), encompassing the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the United States, was ratified by the last country, Costa Rica, on Oct. 7, 2007.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The wit makes fun of other persons; the satirist makes fun of the world; the humorist makes fun of himself." -- James Thurber

TODAY'S NUMBER: $1.1 trillion -- value of total U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico in 2011.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 6) and new moon (Dec. 13).

Today is the 342nd day of 2012 and the 77th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution.

In 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the United States into World War II.

In 2002, Iraq denied that it had weapons of mass destruction in a United Nations declaration.

In 2011, former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for multiple felonies, including the attempted sale of the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Willa Cather (1873-1947) novelist; Eli Wallach (1915- ), actor; Ellen Burstyn (1932- ), actress; Harry Chapin (1942-1981), singer/songwriter; Johnny Bench (1947- ), baseball player; Tom Waits (1949- ), singer/songwriter; Larry Bird (1956- ), basketball player; Terrell Owens (1973- ), football player; Emily Browning (1988- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2007, home-run record holder Barry Bonds pleaded not guilty to lying to investigators about using performance-enhancing drugs.

TODAY'S FACT: Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Senate voted for a war resolution 82-0. The House of Representatives approved the resolution 388-1.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The dead might as well try to speak to the living as the old to the young." -- Willa Cather

TODAY'S NUMBER: 73 -- record number of home runs hit during a Major League Baseball season, held by Barry Bonds since 2001.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 6) and new moon (Dec. 13).

Today is the 341st day of 2012 and the 76th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

In 1790, the U.S. Congress moved from New York City to Philadelphia.

In 1957, two months after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the United States attempted to launch its first satellite, but the Vanguard rocket exploded on the launch pad.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918), poet; Ira Gershwin (1896-1983), lyricist; Alfred Eisenstaedt (1898-1995), photojournalist; Baby Face Nelson (1908-1934), criminal; Dave Brubeck (1920-2012), jazz pianist; Craig Newmark (1952- ), founder of craigslist.com; Tom Hulce (1953- ), actor; Steven Wright (1955- ), comedian; Andrew Cuomo (1957- ), New York governor; Judd Apatow (1967- ), filmmaker.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2003, after a loss to Navy, Army became the first Division I college football team in history to finish the season 0-13.

TODAY'S FACT: Even before the 2010 earthquake, Haiti was one of the least developed and least stable countries in the Western Hemisphere. The United Nations' Human Development Index ranked Haiti 145th (out of 169 nations) in 2010.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Nothing is more damaging to a new truth than an old error." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

TODAY'S NUMBER: 898 -- steps to the top of the Washington Monument when it was dedicated. Since a wheelchair ramp was added, there are 896.

TODAY'S MOON: Last quarter moon (Dec. 6).