Today in History
Today’s highlight:
On 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.”
On this date:
1541: Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River.
1846: The first major battle of the Mexican-american War was fought at Palo Alto, Texas; U.S. forces led by Gen. Zachary Taylor were able to beat back
Mexican forces.
1958: Vice President
Richard Nixon was shoved, stoned, booed and spat upon by antiamerican protesters in Lima, Peru.
1970: Anti-war protests took place across the United States and around the world; in New York, construction workers broke up a demonstration on Wall Street.
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.
1987: Gary Hart, dogged by questions about his personal life, including his relationship with Miami model Donna
Rice, withdrew from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
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.
Ten years ago: Republican Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah, targeted by tea party activists and other groups, lost his bid to serve a fourth term after failing to advance past the GOP state convention in Salt Lake City. Actress Betty White hosted NBC’S “Saturday Night Live” as the result of a Facebook campaign.
Five years ago: President Barack Obama visited Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, where he made a pitch for a Trans-pacific agreement that would open up commerce among the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim countries.
One year ago: The House Judiciary Committee voted to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress, escalating the Democrats’ legal battle with the Trump administration over access to the special counsel’s Russia report. Iran threatened to enrich its uranium stockpile closer to weapons-grade levels in 60 days if world powers failed to negotiate new terms for the 2015 nuclear deal.