Today is the 297th day of 2014 and the 33rd day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1926, magician Harry Houdini gave his last performance at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit.

In 1987, the Teamsters union was readmitted to the AFL-CIO, 30 years after its expulsion.

In 2002, authorities arrested John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo in connection with Washington, D.C.-area sniper attacks.

In 2003, the last commercial Concorde flight was made.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879), writer/publisher; Bob Kane (1915-1998), writer/illustrator; Jiles Perry "The Big Bopper" Richardson (1930-1959), singer-songwriter; Stephen Covey (1932-2012), author/educator; Bill Wyman (1936- ), musician; F. Murray Abraham (1939- ), actor; Kevin Kline (1947- ), actor; Monica (1980- ), singer; Wayne Rooney (1985- ), soccer player; Drake (1986- ), actor/rapper; Shenae Grimes (1989- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1901, adventurer Annie Edson Taylor celebrated her 63rd birthday by becoming the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1992, the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-3 to win World Series Game 6, becoming the first Canadian team to win the Major League Baseball championship.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important." -- Stephen Covey

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2 -- jersey numbers in the four major American professional sports leagues that are retired throughout the league. The No. 42 worn by Jackie Robinson (who died on this day in 1972) was retired by Major League Baseball in 1997; the No. 99 worn by Wayne Gretzky was retired by the National Hockey League in 2000.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Oct. 23) and first quarter moon (Oct. 30).

Today is the 296th day of 2014 and the 32nd day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1915, more than 25,000 women marched on Fifth Avenue in New York City to advocate voting rights for women.

In 1946, the United Nations General Assembly met for the first time in New York City.

In 1983, a suicide truck bombing in Beirut killed 241 U.S. military personnel.

In 2001, Apple announced the first iPod, which cost $399 and offered five gigabytes of storage.

In 2002, armed Chechen separatists took more than 700 people hostage at a theater in Moscow.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Gertrude Ederle (1905-2003), swimmer; Johnny Carson (1925-2005), TV personality/comedian; Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodriguez (1935- ), golfer; Pele (1940- ), soccer player; Michael Crichton (1942-2008), writer; Ang Lee (1954- ), filmmaker; Dwight Yoakam (1956- ), singer-songwriter; Nancy Grace (1959- ), journalist/TV host; Sam Raimi (1959- ), director; "Weird Al" Yankovic (1959- ), singer/satirist; Ryan Reynolds (1976- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: "Westworld," a 1973 science fiction film written and directed by Michael Crichton, was the first movie to use computer-generated images.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1993, right fielder Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-6 and earn the Blue Jays' second consecutive World Series title.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be president, and anyone who doesn't grow up can be vice president." -- Johnny Carson

TODAY'S NUMBER: 51 -- members of the United Nations when it first convened in 1946.

TODAY'S MOON: New moon (Oct. 23).

Today is the 295th day of 2014 and the 31st day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1883, the original Metropolitan Opera House opened in New York City with a performance of Charles Gounod's "Faust."

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced a naval and air "quarantine" of Cuba in a televised speech, after the discovery of Soviet missiles there.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to enter the United States for medical treatment.

In 2005, Tropical Storm Alpha was the first Atlantic storm to be designated with a Greek letter, after the annual list of 21 names had been exhausted.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Franz Liszt (1811-1886), composer; Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923), actress; Curly Howard (1903-1952), actor/comedian; Timothy Leary (1920-1996), psychologist/author; Christopher Lloyd (1938- ), actor; Annette Funicello (1942-2013), actress/singer; Deepak Chopra (1946- ), physician/author; Jeff Goldblum (1952- ), actor; Bob Odenkirk (1962- ), actor/comedian; Spike Jonze (1969- ), filmmaker; Ichiro Suzuki (1973- ), baseball player; Jesse Tyler Ferguson (1975- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: A clandestine operation known as Operation Peter Pan sent more than 14,000 Cuban children to the United States between 1960 and 1962, as parents feared their children would be taken into military schools and labor camps in the wake of the Cuban revolution.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2012, Lance Armstrong was formally stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life from competitive cycling after a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency investigation revealed he had used performance-enhancing drugs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The worst curse to befall anyone is stagnation, a banal existence, the quiet desperation that comes out of a need for conformity." -- Deepak Chopra, "The Return of Merlin"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 10 -- consecutive 200-hit seasons (2001-2010) for Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners, a Major League Baseball record.

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