Today is Friday, May 8, the 128th day of 2026. There are 237 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On May 8, 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced in a radio address that Nazi Germany’s forces had surrendered, stating that “the flags of freedom fly all over Europe” on V-E (Victory in Europe) Day.

Also on this date:

In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River, the first recorded European to do so.

In 1846, U.S. forces led by Gen. Zachary Taylor defeated Mexican forces near modern-day Brownsville, Texas, in the first major battle of the Mexican-American War.

In 1886, the first serving of Coca-Cola, which contained cocaine, was sold at a pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. (The drink became fully cocaine-free in 1929.)

In 1973, members of the American Indian Movement and the Oglala Lakota tribe, who had occupied the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for 10 weeks, surrendered to federal authorities.

In 1978, David R. Berkowitz pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to murder, attempted murder and assault in connection with the “Son of Sam” shootings that claimed six lives and terrified New Yorkers. (Berkowitz was sentenced to six consecutive life prison terms.)

In 1984, the Soviet Union announced it would boycott the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

In 1996, South Africa took a major step from apartheid to democracy by adopting a constitution that guaranteed equal rights for Blacks and whites.

In 2020, U.S. unemployment surged to 14.7%, a level last seen when the country was in the throes of the Great Depression; the government reported that more than 20 million Americans had lost their jobs in April amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2025, a papal conclave chose Robert Prevost as the first U.S.-born pope, making the 69-year-old cardinal the 267th pontiff of the Catholic Church after the death of Pope Francis on April 21 of that year.

Today’s Birthdays: Biologist/TV presenter David Attenborough is 100. Poet Gary Snyder is 96. Singer-songwriter Toni Tennille is 86. Pianist Keith Jarrett is 81. Singer Philip Bailey (Earth, Wind and Fire) is 75. Rock musician Chris Frantz (Talking Heads) is 75. Rock musician Alex Van Halen is 73. Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher is 69. Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott is 67. Filmmaker Michel Gondry is 63. Actor Melissa Gilbert is 62. Singer Enrique Iglesias is 51. Musician Joe Bonamassa is 49. Actor Domhnall Gleeson is 43. Actor Nikki Roumel is 26. Race car driver Oliver Bearman is 21.