On this day, May 8
1945 President Harry S. Truman announced on radio that Nazi Germany’s forces had surrendered, and that “the flags of freedom fly all over Europe.”
1972 President Richard Nixon announced that he had ordered the mining of Haiphong Harbor during the Vietnam War.
1973 Militant American Indians who had held the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for 10 weeks surrendered.
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.)
1984 The Soviet Union announced it would boycott the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
1993 The Muslim-led government of Bosnia-Herzegovina and rebel Bosnian Serbs signed an agreement for a nationwide cease-fire.
1996 South Africa took another step from apartheid to democracy by adopting a constitution that guaranteed equal rights for Blacks and whites. 2003 The Senate unanimously endorsed adding to NATO seven former communist nations: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
2012 Maurice Sendak, author of “Where the Wild Things Are” and other beloved children’s books, died in Danbury, Conn., at age 83.
2013 A jury in Phoenix convicted Jodi Arias of first-degree murder in the 2008 death of her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander (Arias was later sentenced to life in prison).
2018 President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear accord with Iran and restored harsh sanctions; Trump had been a severe critic of the deal negotiated by the Obama administration in which Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program.
2020 The unemployment level surged to 14.7%, a level last seen when the country was in the throes of the Great Depression; the government reported that 20 million Americans had lost their jobs in April amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
2022 The summer movie season got off to a blockbuster start thanks to “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.” The superhero extravaganza grossed an estimated $185 million in ticket sales in its first weekend in U.S. and Canadian theaters.
2023 The Associated Press won two Pulitzer Prizes in journalism for its coverage of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, in the categories of public service and breaking news photography.
Today’s birthdays: Naturalist Sir David Attenborough, 98. Singer Toni Tennille, 84. Actor James Mitchum, 83. Actor Mark Blankfield, 76. Singer Philip Bailey (Earth, Wind and Fire), 73. Rock musician Chris Frantz (Talking Heads), 73. Rockabilly singer Billy Burnette, 71. Rock musician Alex Van Halen, 71. Actor David Keith, 70. Sports commentator/former NFL coach Bill Cowher, 67. Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, 63. Actor Melissa Gilbert, 60. Rock singer Darren Hayes, 52. Singer Enrique Iglesias, 49. Blues singermusician Joe Bonamassa, 47. Actor Matt Davis, 46. Actor Elyes Gabel, 41. Actor Domhnall Gleeson, 41. Actor Julia Whelan, 40. Actor Nora Anezeder, 35.