Today is the 348th day of 2012 and the 83rd day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1577, Sir Francis Drake left England on a three-year voyage around the world.

In 2002, Cardinal Bernard Law resigned as archbishop of Boston following sex abuse scandals in the archdiocese.

In 2003, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. military forces in a small underground hideout near Tikrit, Iraq.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Heinrich Heine (1797-1856), poet; Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882), first lady; Diego Rivera (1886-1957), painter; Dick Van Dyke (1925- ), actor; Christopher Plummer (1929- ), actor; Ted Nugent (1948- ), musician; Steve Buscemi (1957- ), actor; Jamie Foxx (1967- ), actor; Sergei Fedorov (1969- ), hockey player; Taylor Swift (1989- ), singer.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2007, the "Mitchell Report" was released, indicating widespread steroid use in professional baseball and naming dozens of players involved.

TODAY'S FACT: Mexican artist Diego Rivera painted a fresco on a ground-floor wall at Rockefeller Center in 1933. However, the commissioned work was destroyed shortly after completion because it contained a portrait of Vladimir Lenin.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Whenever books are burned, men also in the end are burned." -- Heinrich Heine

TODAY'S NUMBER: 6 -- Mary Todd Lincoln's age when her mother died. Abraham Lincoln's mother died when he was 9.

TODAY'S MOON: New moon (Dec. 13).

Today is the 347th day of 2012 and the 82nd day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1901, the first trans-Atlantic radio transmission was received by inventor Guglielmo Marconi in Newfoundland.

In 1963, Kenya gained its independence from Great Britain.

In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of George W. Bush in Bush v. Gore, effectively resolving the 2000 presidential election.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: John Jay (1745-1829), first chief justice of the United States; William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879), journalist/abolitionist; Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880), novelist; Edvard Munch (1863-1944), artist; Edward G. Robinson (1893-1973), actor; Frank Sinatra (1915-1998), singer; Bob Barker (1923- ), TV personality; Dionne Warwick (1940- ), singer; Jennifer Connelly (1970- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1930, Major League Baseball's rules committee issued a revised code. Among many changes, balls that bounce into the stands were ruled automatic doubles, rather than home runs.

TODAY'S FACT: Frank Sinatra once wrote that rock 'n' roll music was "the most brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious form of expression it has been my displeasure to hear."

TODAY'S QUOTE: "To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost." -- Gustave Flaubert

TODAY'S NUMBER: 537 -- popular votes by which George W. Bush officially won the state of Florida's electoral votes in 2000.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 6) and new moon (Dec. 13).

Today is the 346th day of 2012 and the 81st day of autumn.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1941, the United States declared war on Germany and Italy.

In 1972, the lunar module for Apollo 17, the final manned mission of the Apollo space program, touched ground on the moon.

In 2008, investment banker Bernie Madoff was arrested for perpetrating one of the largest Ponzi-scheme frauds in U.S. history.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), composer; Fiorello La Guardia (1882-1947), New York City mayor; Alexandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), novelist/dissident; Rita Moreno (1931- ), actress; John Kerry (1943- ), senator; Teri Garr (1949- ), actress; Mo'Nique (1967- ), actress; Mos Def (1973- ), actor/rapper; Hailee Steinfeld, (1996- ), actress.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2009, pro golfer Tiger Woods announced he was taking "an indefinite break" from the sport due to chaos in his personal life.

TODAY'S FACT: Apollo 17, which set records for the longest lunar surface exploration and the most lunar material collected, remains the most recent manned lunar mission.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "For a country to have a great writer is like having a second government. That is why no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones." -- Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

TODAY'S NUMBER: $33.5 million -- Alex Rodriguez's estimated total earnings in 2012, making him the highest paid baseball player.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (Dec. 6) and new moon (Dec. 13).