Today is the 342nd day of 2014 and the 78th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1941, the United States declared war on Japan and officially entered World War II.

In 1980, John Lennon was shot to death outside his Manhattan apartment building.

In 1991, the leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine signed an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

TODAY'S BIRTDHAYS: Eli Whitney (1765-1825), inventor; James Thurber (1894-1961), humorist; Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990), entertainer; David Carradine (1936-2009), actor; Jim Morrison (1943-1971), singer-songwriter; Kim Basinger (1953- ), actress; Ann Coulter (1961- ), political commentator; Teri Hatcher (1964- ), actress; Kevin Harvick (1975- ), race car driver; Dominic Monaghan (1976- ), actor; Ryan Newman (1977- ), race car driver; Ian Somerhalder (1978- ), actor; Nicki Minaj (1982- ), rapper; Dwight Howard (1985- ), basketball player.

TODAY'S FACT: The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), encompassing the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the United States, was ratified by the last country, Costa Rica, on Oct. 7, 2007.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1940, the Chicago Bears crushed the Washington Redskins in the NFL championship game, 73-0. It remains the largest margin of victory in NFL history.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Boys are perhaps beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years." -- James Thurber

TODAY'S NUMBER: $1.14 trillion -- value of total U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico in 2013.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Dec. 6) and last quarter moon (Dec. 14).

Today is the 341st day of 2014 and the 77th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the United States into World War II.

In 2002, Iraq denied that it had weapons of mass destruction in a United Nations declaration.

In 1999, the Recording Industry Association of America filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the online file-sharing service Napster.

In 2011, former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for multiple felonies, including the attempted sale of the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Willa Cather (1873-1947), author; Eli Wallach (1915-2014), actor; Ellen Burstyn (1932- ), actress; Harry Chapin (1942-1981), singer-songwriter; Johnny Bench (1947- ), baseball player; Tom Waits (1949- ), singer-songwriter; Larry Bird (1956- ), basketball player; Jeffrey Wright (1965- ), actor; Sara Bareilles (1979- ), singer-songwriter; Emily Browning (1988- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Senate voted for a war resolution 82-0. The House of Representatives approved the resolution 388-1.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2007, home-run record holder Barry Bonds pleaded not guilty to lying to investigators about using performance-enhancing drugs.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The world is little, people are little, human life is little. There is only one big thing -- desire." -- Willa Cather

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2,403 -- Americans killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor on this day in 1941. The Imperial Japanese Navy lost just 64 servicemen.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (Dec. 6) and last quarter moon (Dec. 14).

Today is the 340th day of 2014 and the 76th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

In 1790, the U.S. Congress moved from New York City to Philadelphia.

In 1877, the first edition of The Washington Post was published.

In 1957, two months after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the United States attempted to launch its first satellite, but the Vanguard rocket exploded on the launch pad.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918), poet; Ira Gershwin (1896-1983), lyricist; Alfred Eisenstaedt (1898-1995), photojournalist; Baby Face Nelson (1908-1934), criminal; Dave Brubeck (1920-2012), jazz pianist; Steven Wright (1955- ), comedian; Andrew Cuomo (1957- ), New York governor; Nick Park (1958- ), director/animator; Judd Apatow (1967- ), filmmaker; Johnny Manziel (1992- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: The world's first pediatric heart transplant (which was also the first human-to-human heart transplant in the United States) was performed at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, on this day in 1967.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2003, after a loss to Navy, Army became the first Division I college football team in history to finish the season 0-13.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The only reason a road is good, as every wanderer knows, is just because of the homes, the homes, the homes to which it goes." -- Joyce Kilmer, "Roofs"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 898 -- steps to the top of the Washington Monument when it was completed on this day in 1884. (The bottom step was later converted to a wheelchair ramp, bringing the total to 897.)

TODAY'S MOON: Full moon (Dec. 6).