Today is the second day of 2014 and the 13th day of winter.
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TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1492, the Moors were driven out of Spain as Granada fell to the forces of Ferdinand and Isabella.
In 1974, President Richard Nixon signed legislation instituting a 55-mph highway speed limit in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.
In 2006, a methane gas explosion in a Sago, W.Va., coal mine trapped 13 miners. Only one survived.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Michael Tippett (1905-1998), composer; Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), author; Roger Miller (1936-1992), singer-songwriter; Jack Hanna (1947- ), zoologist; Tia Carrere (1967- ), actress; Cuba Gooding Jr. (1968- ), actor; Tommy Morrison (1969-2013), boxer; Christy Turlington (1969- ), model; Taye Diggs (1971- ), singer/actor; Dax Shepard (1975- ), actor; Kate Bosworth (1983- ), actress.
TODAY'S FACT: Castilian Spanish is the official language of Spain, but Catalan, Galician and Basque are all official regional languages.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, Miami upset heavily favored Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, 31-30, as Nebraska failed on a two-point conversion at game's end.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" -- Isaac Asimov
TODAY'S NUMBER: 26,284 -- miles on the odometer of a rare, unrestored 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atlanta Coupe found in the garage of a British doctor and reported by media outlets on this day in 2009. One of only 17 ever made, the car sold at a Paris auction a month later for $4.4 million.
TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Jan. 1) and first quarter moon (Jan. 7).