Today is the 261st day of 2014 and the 90th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone for the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed slave owners to reclaim slaves who had escaped to free states.

In 1947, under National Security Act reorganization, the Air Force became an independent branch of the U.S. military.

In 2009, the final episode of the soap opera "The Guiding Light" aired, ending its 72-year broadcast run on radio and TV.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), author/lexicographer; Greta Garbo (1905-1990), actress; Agnes de Mille (1905-1993), dancer/choreographer; Jack Warden (1920-2006), actor; Joe Kubert (1926-2012), writer/illustrator; Scotty Bowman (1933- ), hockey coach; Frankie Avalon (1939- ), singer; Fred Willard (1939- ), actor/comedian; Rick Pitino (1952- ), basketball coach; James Gandolfini (1961-2013), actor; Lance Armstrong (1971- ), cyclist; Jada Pinkett Smith (1971- ), actress; Jason Sudeikis (1975- ), actor/comedian.

TODAY'S FACT: The National Security Act of 1947 established the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1999, Sammy Sosa became the first Major League Baseball player to hit more than 60 home runs in two seasons.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Of all the properties which belong to honorable men, not one is so highly prized as that of character." -- Henry Clay

TODAY'S NUMBER: $1 billion -- donation pledged "to United Nations causes" by media mogul Ted Turner on this day in 1998. Turner's United Nations Foundation donated its billionth dollar in 2006, $600 million of which came from Turner himself.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Sept. 15) and new moon (Sept. 23).

Today is the 260th day of 2014 and the 89th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1787, delegations from 12 states voted to approve the proposed Constitution at Philadelphia's Constitutional Convention.

In 1862, more than 23,000 people died or were wounded in the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, resulting in the bloodiest single day in U.S. military history.

In 1978, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin reached a historic accord at Camp David.

In 2001, the New York Stock Exchange reopened, having been closed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Rube Foster (1879-1930), baseball player/manager; William Carlos Williams (1883-1963), physician/poet; Hank Williams Sr. (1923-1953), singer-songwriter; George Blanda (1927-2010), football player; Anne Bancroft (1931-2005), actress; Ken Kesey (1935-2001), author; Phil Jackson (1945- ), basketball player/coach; John Ritter (1948-2003), actor; Baz Luhrmann (1962- ), film director; Kyle Chandler (1965- ), actor; Bryan Singer (1965- ), film director; Jimmie Johnson (1975- ), race car driver; Alexander Ovechkin (1985- ), hockey player.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1976, NASA unveiled its first space shuttle, Enterprise, at a ceremony in Palmdale, California.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2004, Barry Bonds became just the third baseball player in history (after Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth) to hit 700 career home runs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "He knows that you have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance, just to keep the world from running you plumb crazy." -- Ken Kesey, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 30 -- years a state of war had existed between Israel and Egypt when the Camp David accords were signed on this day in 1978.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Sept. 15) and new moon (Sept. 23).

Today is the 259th day of 2014 and the 88th day of summer.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1920, the explosion of a bomb on Wall Street killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds of others.

In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act, authorizing the military draft.

In 1955, Argentine president Juan Peron was ousted by a military coup.

In 1974, President Gerald Ford announced a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam War deserters and draft evaders.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Jean Arp (1886-1966), artist; H.A. Rey (1898-1977), children's author/illustrator; Lauren Bacall (1924-2014), actress; B.B. King (1925- ), musician; Peter Falk (1927-2011), actor; Ed Begley Jr. (1949- ), actor; Henry Louis Gates Jr. (1950- ), author/academic; Mickey Rourke (1952- ), actor; David Copperfield (1956- ), magician; Molly Shannon (1964- ), actress; Marc Anthony (1968- ), singer-songwriter; Amy Poehler (1971- ), actress; Nick Jonas (1992- ), singer/musician.

TODAY'S FACT: Samuel Rayburn, elected to serve as speaker of the House of Representatives on this day in 1940, was the longest-serving speaker in American history. He served almost 17 (non-consecutive) years (1940-47; 1949-1953; 1955-1961).

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1981, Sugar Ray Leonard unified boxing's middleweight title by knocking out Tommy Hearns in the 14th round of a bout in an outdoor arena at the Caesar's Palace casino in Las Vegas.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Conspiracy theories are an irresistible labor-saving device in the face of complexity." -- Henry Louis Gates Jr.

TODAY'S NUMBER: 16 -- Emmy nominations for Kelsey Grammer's portrayal of the character Frasier Crane on "Cheers," "Wings" and "Frasier," which debuted on this day in 1993. Grammer is the only actor to receive Emmy nominations for portrayals of the same character on three different series.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Sept. 15) and new moon (Sept. 23).