What was going on when I was born?

A bill that would raise the gasoline tax to finance a highway repair program ran into opposition in the House despite the support of both parties' leaders. (Page A1.) The Congressional Budget Office urged Congress to consider a different approach to highway improvement. (B15.) Many in Congress acknowledge that the House bill would do little to help the jobless. (B15.) Banks and savings institutions won Government approval to offer a new checking account paying unlimited interest. The account, which will become available on Jan. 5, requires a minimum balance of $2,500 and permits an unlimited number of checks. The move was another effort to help the banks compete with money market funds. A similar account was cleared three weeks ago by regulators. (A1.)

The state of Texas injected Charles Brooks Jr. with a deadly combination of sedatives and drugs just after midnight today, making him the first condemned prisoner in the United States to die by lethal injection. The lethal drugs were injected into Mr. Brooks's body at 12:09 A.M. At 12:16, he was pronounced dead by a prison doctor. The execution took place at the state prison here after a day of frantic legal appeals for the 40-year-old prisoner had failed. Neither the United States Supreme Court nor Gov. William Clements saw merit to the pleas for a reprieve. The vote Supreme Court voted 6 to 3 to reject the petition for a stay.

The total amount of money raised through loans and stock issues in the United States increased during the third quarter, according to newly published Federal Reserve estimates of the flow of funds in the nation's economy. The rise - to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $521.4 billion - was entirely accounted for by the Treasury, which borrowed at a record rate that came to more than $220 billion to finance the Government's huge deficit. Borrowers outside the Federal sector appear to have reduced their demand, but only modestly, given the weakness in the overall economy. Some economists warned that a rising demand for credit could portend a clash by next June between the Federal Government and the private sector over borrowing. Such competition for funds could lead to a resurgence in interest rates.

Stock prices soared yesterday, spurred by a sharp rise in the shares of International Business Machines. The best gainers were the blue-chip corporations, technology and airline issues. The Dow Jones industrial average, which had fallen until midafternoon, closed up 24.29 points, to 1,055.65. The record closing level of the Dow is 1,065.49, set on Nov. 3.

International The President cited Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor 41 years ago today as evidence of the nation's need for effective deterrence as he led a vigorous last-ditch campaign to save the threatened MX missile program. Mr. Reagan invited 76 Representatives to the White House and lobbied them in behalf of the program in advance of a key vote on the MX in the House today or tomorrow. (Page A1, Column 3-4.) Moscow, decrying the MX missile, warned that if Washington began deploying the intercontinental ballistic weapon, the Soviet Union would respond by deploying an equally effective missile. (B17:1.)

President Reagan, citing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as evidence of the need for an effective deterrent, led a vigorous last-minute campaign today trying to save the jeopardized MX missile program. Mr. Reagan invited 76 members of the House to the White House and told them that ''it was ironic that tomorrow is the 41st anniversary of Pearl Harbor'' as he made a plea for the nuclear missile. Japan's surprise attack on the naval base in Hawaii marked the United States entry into World War II. In Moscow, Dmitri F. Ustinov, the Soviet Defense Minister, said that if the United States began to deploy the MX, his country would deploy a new missile ''not inferior'' to the American weapon. He said that placing the MX in closely spaced silos would be a gross violation of arms treaties and an ''extremely dangerous round of the arms race.'' (Page B17.)

A widening Federal investigation into accusations of corruption in city government has raised public questions about the career of Mayor Kevin H. White, who has responded with angry attacks on the United States Attorney here. The inquiry began with a look at the way money was collected for a birthday party for Mayor White's wife, Kathryn. As part of the plan, she was to receive a gift of at least $122,000, most of which ostensibly came from city employees and contractors. Federal agents are now also checking accusations of abuses involving disability pensions and reports that money was extorted from contractors doing business with the city, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The expanding inquiry, coordinated by United States Attorney William F. Weld, now involves the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service and the Postal Service.

Members of the New York State Legislature met in private conferences today and differed widely over whether an increase in bus, subway and commuter rail fares could be avoided this year in the New York metropolitan area. Following separate meetings, two key Democratic leaders, Assembly Speaker Stanley Fink and the Senate minority leader, Manfred Ohrenstein, said they would not support any mass-transit tax package unless enough money was provided to put off a fare increase through the end of 1983. But Warren M. Anderson, the Senate majority leader, said he doubted enough money could be raised to close the entire deficit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He said some fare increase could be required.

Lucio Aguado sells video game cartridges at his Manhattan camera shop, but it's strictly a sideline. The cartridges, designed for home consoles, get squeezed into one or two shelves near the front of the store. ''I can't begin to stock everything,'' he said. ''It's getting to be like the record business. You have to stock the hit games, because that's what people ask for. But I have to be very selective.''

Top officials of the Koch administration warned today that New York City's most important program to spur housing rehabilitation would die at the end of the month unless an extension was passed by the State Assembly. The status of the program, known as J-51, has been uncertain since June 30, the date on which state authorization expired. However, the city has argued that the program, which provides tax breaks to owners who renovate residential buildings, could continue to Dec. 31, 1984.

In a further change in the way Americans do their banking, Federal regulators today authorized commercial banks and savings institutions to offer a checking account that pays unlimited interest rates for anyone who can maintain a minimum balance of $2,500. The nation's 20,000 banks and savings institutions will be able to begin offering the new account on Jan. 5. They will be allowed to pay market interest rates - now in the 8-to-9-percent range -similar to those paid by the money market funds. The Jan. 5 starting date is three weeks after the banks and savings institutions begin to offer a similar checking account authorized by Federal regulators in February. It also has no limit on the interest it pays, but it limits to three a month the number of checks that can be written.

A Federal appeals court ruled yesterday that New York State could obtain about $90 million in Federal funds to pay New York City for land needed to build the Westway project. Reversing a lower court, the decision cleared the way for the city to receive about $100 million from the state, because the state could now be reimbursed by the Federal Government for 90 percent of the payment. The decision, issued in Manhattan by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, concerned payment for the state's acquisition of city land for the major highway project along the Hudson River. 'Good News,' Koch Says Other court rulings have blocked any major construction work, pending a review of what effect a landfill section of the project would have on striped bass in the Hudson River. Meanwhile, some preliminary work and demolition of the old West Side Highway have been allowed to continue.