Today is the 213th day of 2014 and the 42nd day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1834, Britain abolished slavery in all of its colonies.

In 1876, Colorado was admitted as the 38th U.S. state.

In 1957, the United States and Canada announced the formation of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).

In 1966, ex-Marine Charles Whitman opened fire from a tower at the University of Texas at Austin, killing 14 people and wounding 31.

In 2007, a highway bridge in Minneapolis collapsed over the Mississippi River, killing 13 and injuring 145.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: William Clark (1770-1838), explorer; Francis Scott Key (1779-1843), poet/lawyer; Herman Melville (1819-1891), author; Dom DeLuise (1933-2009), actor/comedian; Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008), fashion designer; Jerry Garcia (1942-1995), singer-songwriter; Coolio (1963- ), rapper; Sam Mendes (1965- ), film director; Jason Momoa (1979- ), actor; Max Carver (1988- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles was the first music video aired on MTV when the network launched on this day in 1981.

TODAY'S SPORTS: The Olympic Games opened in Berlin before a crowd of 100,000 spectators on this day in 1936.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A man thinks that by mouthing hard words he understands hard things." -- Herman Melville

TODAY'S NUMBER: 14,130 -- final elevation (in feet) of Colorado's Mount Evans Scenic Byway, the highest paved road in North America.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (July 26) and first quarter moon (Aug. 3).

Today is the 212th day of 2014 and the 41st day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1914, trading on the New York Stock Exchange stopped in response to the outbreak of World War I. It did not resume until December of that year.

In 1964, the American space probe Ranger 7 transmitted the first close-up photographs of the moon.

In 1991, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the START 1 treaty, an agreement to reduce both countries' nuclear arms stockpiles.

In 2006, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro underwent surgery and transferred presidential power to his brother Raul.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Milton Friedman (1912-2006), economist; Primo Levi (1919-1987), chemist/author; Evonne Goolagong Cawley (1951- ), tennis player; Michael Biehn (1956- ), actor; Mark Cuban (1958- ), Dallas Mavericks owner; Wesley Snipes (1962- ), actor; J.K. Rowling (1965- ), author; Zac Brown (1978- ), musician; B.J. Novak (1979- ), actor; DeMarcus Ware (1982- ), football player; Charlie Carver (1988- ), actor; A.J. Green (1988- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: The first U.S. patent was issued to inventor Samuel Hopkins on this day in 1790, for a process of making potash, an ingredient used in fertilizer.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1961, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game ended in a tie for the first time, when officials in Boston called the game with a 1-1 score after the ninth inning due to rain.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The way you solve things is by making it politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing." -- Milton Friedman

TODAY'S NUMBER: 11 million -- estimated population of Cuba in 2014.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (July 26) and first quarter moon (Aug. 3).

Today is the 211th day of 2014 and the 40th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1619, America's first legislative assembly met in Jamestown, Virginia.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Act, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon released subpoenaed White House recordings related to the Watergate cover-up.

In 1975, former Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa disappeared from suburban Detroit.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Emily Bronte (1818-1848), author/poet; Henry Ford (1863-1947), industrialist/automaker; Casey Stengel (1890-1975), baseball player/manager; Bud Selig (1934- ), baseball commissioner; Paul Anka (1941- ), singer-songwriter; Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947- ), actor/former governor; Laurence Fishburne (1961- ), actor; Lisa Kudrow (1963- ), actress; Terry Crews (1968- ), actor; Christopher Nolan (1970- ), filmmaker; Hilary Swank (1974- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a resolution establishing "In God We Trust" as the national motto of the United States on this day in 1956.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2002, Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie became the first woman to dunk in a WNBA game.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young." -- Henry Ford

TODAY'S NUMBER: 27 -- age at which Emily Bronte finished writing "Wuthering Heights."

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (July 26) and first quarter moon (Aug. 3).