Today is the 355th day of 2012 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 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; Dick Wolf (1946- ), TV producer; Alan Parsons (1948- ), musician; Billy Bragg (1957- ), singer/songwriter; David Cook (1982- ), singer; David Wright (1982- ), baseball player; Jonah Hill (1983- ), actor.

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

TODAY'S FACT: The United States turned over all parts of the Panama Canal, including its supporting areas and military bases, to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Fighting, to me, seems barbaric. I really don't like it. I enjoy outthinking another man and outmaneuvering him, but I still don't like to fight." -- Sugar Ray Robinson

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1.5 million -- estimated number of U.S. students in grades K-12 who are home-schooled.

TODAY'S MOON: First quarter moon (Dec. 20).

Today is the 354th day of 2012 and the 89th day of autumn.

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

In 1932, the BBC World Service first 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: 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; Tyson Beckford (1970- ), model; Alyssa Milano (1972- ), actress; Jake Gyllenhaal (1980- ), actor.

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

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

TODAY'S QUOTE: "To achieve harmony in bad taste is the height of elegance." -- Jean Genet

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

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 13) and first quarter moon (Dec. 20).

Today is the 353rd day of 2012 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: Ty Cobb (1886-1961), baseball Hall of Famer; Robert Moses (1888-1981), urban planner; Betty Grable (1916-1973), actress; Ossie Davis (1917-2005), actor; Keith Richards (1943- ), musician; Steven Spielberg (1946- ), director; Brad Pitt (1963- ), actor; Katie Holmes (1978- ), actress; Christina Aguilera (1980- ), singer.

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 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 QUOTE: "Cities are created by and for traffic. A city without traffic is a ghost town." -- Robert Moses

TODAY'S NUMBER: 104 -- commercial nuclear power plants operating in the United States as of 2012. Combined, the plants produce nearly 20 percent of the nation's electricity.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 13) and first quarter moon (Dec. 20).