Today is Wednesday, Oct. 24, the 297th day of 2007. There are 68 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 24, 1945, the United Nations officially came into existence as its charter took effect.

On this date:

In 1537, Jane Seymour, the third wife of England's King Henry VIII, died 12 days after giving birth to Prince Edward, later King Edward VI.

In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years War and effectively destroyed the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph message was sent as Chief Justice Stephen J. Field of California transmitted a telegram to President Abraham Lincoln.

In 1901, widow Anna Edson Taylor became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

In 1931, the George Washington Bridge, connecting New York and New Jersey, was officially dedicated (it opened to traffic the next day).

In 1939, nylon stockings were sold publicly for the first time, in Wilmington, Del.

In 1940, the 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

In 1952, Republican presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower declared in Detroit, "I shall go to Korea" as he promised to end the conflict. (He made the visit over a month later.)

In 1962, the U.S. blockade of Cuba during the missile crisis officially began under a proclamation signed by President John F. Kennedy.

In 1987, 30 years after it was expelled, the Teamsters union was welcomed back into the AFL-CIO. (However, the Teamsters disafilliated themselves from the AFL-CIO in 2005.)

Ten years ago: Setting the stage for an upcoming summit, President Bill Clinton rejected calls for a confrontational approach to China, arguing that isolating the Chinese would be "potentially dangerous." In Arlington, Va., former NBC sportscaster Marv Albert was spared a jail sentence after a grudging courtroom apology to the woman he'd bitten during a sexual romp.

Five years ago: Authorities arrested Army veteran John Allen Muhammad and teenager Lee Boyd Malvo near Myersville, Md., in connection with the Washington-area sniper attacks. (Malvo was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Virginia and Maryland; Muhammad was sentenced to death in Virginia, and to life in prison in Maryland.) The San Francisco Giants defeated the Anaheim Angels, 16-4, to take a 3-games-to-2 lead in the World Series.

One year ago: American officials unveiled a timeline for Iraq's Shiite-led government to take specific steps to calm Baghdad and said more U.S. troops might be needed to quell the bloodshed. The St. Louis Cardinals gained a 2-to-1 World Series edge as they defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-0. (Before Game 3 began, baseball players and owners finalized a five-year collective bargaining agreement.)

Today's Birthdays: Football Hall-of-Famer Y.A. Tittle is 81. Rock musician Bill Wyman is 71. Actor-producer David Nelson is 71. Actor F. Murray Abraham is 68. Actor Kevin Kline is 60. Former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume is 59. Country musician Billy Thomas (Terry McBride and the Ride) is 54. Actor B.D. Wong is 47. Rock musician Ben Gillies (Silverchair) is 28. Singer-actress Monica Arnold is 27. Rhythm-and-blues singer Adrienne Bailon (3lw) is 24.

Thought for Today: "Seek not the favor of the multitude; it is seldom got by honest and lawful means. But seek the testimony of the few; and number not voices, but weigh them." _ Immanuel Kant, German philosopher (1724-1804).