Today is the 70th day of 2014 and the 81st day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1861, delegates from seven states adopted the Constitution of the Confederate States of America.

In 1888, the "Great Blizzard of '88" struck the Northeastern United States, killing 400 Americans.

In 2004, 191 people were killed when terrorist bombs exploded on rush hour commuter trains in Madrid.

In 2011, a magnitude 9.03 undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami that struck Japan, killing nearly 16,000 people and causing meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Lawrence Welk (1903-1992), bandleader; Ralph Abernathy (1926-1990), civil rights leader; Rupert Murdoch (1931- ), business leader; Sam Donaldson (1934- ), TV journalist; Antonin Scalia (1936- ), U.S. Supreme Court justice; Douglas Adams (1952-2001), author; Peter Berg (1962- ), actor/director; Terrence Howard (1969- ), actor; Johnny Knoxville (1971- ), actor; Dan Uggla (1980- ), baseball player; Anton Yelchin (1989- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: According to the Forbes 400, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch's net worth was $13.4 billion in 2013.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1979, Randy Holt of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings was penalized a record nine times for a total of 67 minutes.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." -- Douglas Adams, "Mostly Harmless"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 44 -- countries that received the $50 billion in funds and military goods made available under the Lend-Lease Act, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on this day in 1941.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (March 8) and full moon (March 16).

Today is the 69th day of 2014 and the 80th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed Ulysses S. Grant's commission to command the U.S. Army.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell spoke the first intelligible words transmitted over a telephone: "Mr. Watson -- come here -- I want to see you."

In 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1971, the U.S. Senate passed the 26th Amendment, lowering the minimum voting age to 18.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908), violinist/composer; Albert Fraenkel (1848-1916), physician; Clare Boothe Luce (1903-1987), playwright/politician; Chuck Norris (1940- ), actor; Jim Valvano (1946-1993), basketball coach; Sharon Stone (1958- ), actress; Rick Rubin (1963- ), record producer; Rod Woodson (1965- ), football player; Jon Hamm (1971- ), actor; Matt Kenseth (1972- ), race car driver; Timbaland (1972- ), rapper/producer; Robin Thicke (1977- ), singer-songwriter; Carrie Underwood (1983- ), singer-songwriter/actress; Olivia Wilde (1984- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: From 1875 through 1893, the Bell Telephone Company faced 587 unsuccessful court challenges to its patents, including five decided by the Supreme Court.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1995, retired basketball superstar Michael Jordan announced his retirement from baseball after a single season in the minor leagues. Jordan played his comeback game with the NBA's Chicago Bulls nine days later.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul." -- Jim Valvano

TODAY'S NUMBER: 129.1 million -- Americans who voted in the 2012 presidential election.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (March 8) and full moon (March 16).

Today is the 68th day of 2014 and the 79th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1847, the first large-scale amphibious assault in U.S. history was launched in the Mexican seaport of Veracruz.

In 1959, Mattel introduced the Barbie doll at the American International Toy Fair in New York City.

In 2004, a Virginia court sentenced the Washington, D.C.-area "Beltway Sniper" John Allen Muhammad to death.

In 2011, the space shuttle Discovery completed its 39th and final flight.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Samuel Barber (1910-1981), composer; Mickey Spillane (1918-2006), author; Walter Kohn (1923- ), physicist/Nobel Prize winner; Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968), cosmonaut/first person in space; Raul Julia (1940-1994), actor; Bobby Fischer (1943-2008), chess grandmaster; Charles Gibson (1943- ), TV journalist; Juliette Binoche (1964- ), actress; Clint Dempsey (1983- ), soccer player; Brittany Snow (1986- ), actress; Bow Wow (1987- ), actor/rapper.

TODAY'S FACT: Mattel Inc. reports that 90 percent of American girls between ages 3 and 10 own at least one Barbie doll.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1995, league owners unanimously approved the addition of major league baseball expansion franchises in Tampa Bay, Fla., and Arizona.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Those big-shot writers could never dig the fact that there are more salted peanuts consumed than caviar ... If the public likes you, you're good." -- Mickey Spillane

TODAY'S NUMBER: 148,221,675 -- miles flown by the space shuttle Discovery during its 26 years of operation, the equivalent of 300 round trips to the moon.

TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (March 8) and full moon (March 16).