Today is the 354th day of 2014 and the 90th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1803, the territory covered by the Louisiana Purchase was formally transferred to the United States from France.

In 1860, South Carolina seceded from the United States.

In 1941, with his army under pressure on the Russian front, Adolf Hitler ordered "no retreat."

In 1946, the Christmas film "It's a Wonderful Life" was released in New York City.

In 1989, the United States invaded Panama to overthrow dictator Manuel Noriega in Operation Just Cause.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Harvey Firestone (1868-1938), business magnate; Branch Rickey (1881-1965), baseball executive; Irene Dunne (1898-1990), actress; Uri Geller (1946- ), illusionist; Dick Wolf (1946- ), TV producer; Alan Parsons (1948- ), musician; Billy Bragg (1957- ), singer-songwriter; Rich Gannon (1965- ), football player; David Wright (1982- ), baseball player; Jonah Hill (1983- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Adolf Hitler was released from Landsberg Prison in the German state of Bavaria on this day in 1924 after 264 days of incarceration for treason.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1946, boxer Sugar Ray Robinson won the welterweight crown by a unanimous decision over Tommy Bell.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Capital isn't that important in business. Experience isn't that important. You can get both of these things. What is important is ideas." -- Harvey Firestone

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2.2 million -- acres of land owned by media billionaire John Malone, making him the largest private landowner in the United States.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 14) and new moon (Dec. 21).

Today is the 353rd day of 2014 and the 89th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1777, the Continental Army under George Washington set up winter quarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

In 1932, the first BBC World Service radio broadcast aired, as "Empire Service."

In 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Bill Clinton.

In 2011, North Korea announced that dictator Kim Jong Il had died two days earlier.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950), historian; Leonid Brezhnev (1906-1982), Soviet leader; Jean Genet (1910-1986), author; Edith Piaf (1915-1963), singer/actress; Cicely Tyson (1933- ), actress; Richard Leakey (1944- ), paleoanthropologist; Robert Urich (1946-2002), actor; Reggie White (1961-2004), football player; Criss Angel (1967- ), magician; Tyson Beckford (1970- ), model; Alyssa Milano (1972- ), actress; Warren Sapp (1972- ), football player; Jake Gyllenhaal (1980- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The first American president to be impeached by the House of Representatives was Andrew Johnson in 1868.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1980, Brigham Young University's football team, down 20 points with three minutes to play, staged an improbable comeback to defeat Southern Methodist University in the Holiday Bowl, 46-45.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "A man must dream a long time in order to act with grandeur, and dreaming is nursed in darkness." -- Jean Genet

TODAY'S NUMBER: 12 -- astronauts in the Apollo program who set foot on the moon's surface.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 14) and new moon (Dec. 21).

Today is the 352nd day of 2014 and the 88th day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1865, slavery formally ended in the United States with the ratification of the 13th Amendment.

In 1957, the first civilian electricity-generating nuclear facility in the United States opened in Pennsylvania.

In 1958, a U.S. rocket launched SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment), the world's first communications satellite, into space.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: H.H. Munro aka Saki (1870-1916), author; Ty Cobb (1886-1961), baseball player; Robert Moses (1888-1981), urban planner; Betty Grable (1916-1973), actress; Ossie Davis (1917-2005), actor; Keith Richards (1943- ), musician; Steven Spielberg (1946- ), director; Ray Liotta (1954- ), actor; Brad Pitt (1963- ), actor; Steve Austin (1964- ), wrestler/actor; DMX (1970- ), rapper/actor; Katie Holmes (1978- ), actress; Christina Aguilera (1980- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: The SCORE satellite launched in 1958 used a tape recorder to save and relay voice messages. It communicated a Christmas message from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the world via shortwave frequency on Dec. 19.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1932, a blizzard forced the National Football League to hold its championship game inside Chicago Stadium on an 80-yard field. The Chicago Bears defeated the Portsmouth Spartans, 9-0.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I hate posterity -- it's so fond of having the last word." -- Saki, "Reginald in Russia and the Other Sketches"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 100 -- commercial nuclear reactors operating in the United States as of 2013. Combined, the plants produce nearly 20 percent of the nation's electricity.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 14) and new moon (Dec. 21).