GOOD MORNING – TODAY IS FRIDAY, May 08, the 128th day of 2015 with 237 to follow. Sunrise in the Boston area is @ 5:31 and sunset is @ 7:50. The moon is waning. The morning stars are stars are Mercury, Neptune & Saturn. The evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Uranus & Venus.

ON THIS DAY IN: 1541 – Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River, which he called Rio de Espiritu Santo.

1794 – The United States Post Office was established.

1846 – The first major battle of the Mexican War was fought at Palo Alto, Texas, with a victory for General Zachary Taylor’s forces.

1886 – Atlanta pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invented the flavored syrup for Coca-Cola.

1886 – The Presidential Succession law was passed in the U.S., providing for succession to presidency in the event of the death of the President and/or Vice President.

1902 – On the Caribbean island of Martinique, the volcano Mount Pelée erupted, killing 30,000 people.

1945 – President Harry Truman announced the end of World War II in a radio address.

1945 – V-E Day (Victory in Europe) was celebrated throughout the free world. Germany surrendered in a second ceremony, in Berlin.

1970 – The Beatles 13th, and last, album, “Let It Be,” was released.

1973 – A 71-day standoff, between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, ends with the surrender of the militants.

1984 – The Soviet Union announces that it will boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.

2005 – The new Canadian War Museum opens in Ottawa, Ontario.