By The Associated Press
                - Today is Friday, May 7, the 127th day of 1999. There are 238 days
                  left in the year.

                - On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied
                  headquarters in Rheims, France, to take effect the following day,
                  ending the European conflict of World War II.
                - In 1789, the first inaugural ball was held in New York in honor of
                  President and Mrs. George Washington.
                - In 1847, the American Medical Association was founded in
                  Philadelphia.
                - In 1915, nearly 1,200 people died when a German torpedo sank the
                  British liner Lusitania off the Irish coast.
                - In 1939, Germany and Italy announced a military and political
                  alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.
                - In 1941, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded "Chattanooga Choo
                  Choo" for RCA Victor.
                - In 1954, the 55-day Battle of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam ended with
                  Vietnamese insurgents overrunning French forces.
                - In 1975, President Ford formally declared an end to the "Vietnam
                  era." In Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, the Viet Cong staged a
                  rally to celebrate their takeover.
                - In 1984, a $180 million out-of-court settlement was announced in the
                  "Agent Orange" class-action suit brought by Vietnam veterans who
                  charged they'd suffered injury from exposure to the defoliant.
                - In 1992, the space shuttle Endeavour blasted off on its maiden
                  voyage.
                - Ten years ago: Both sides claimed victory in Panama's national
                  elections, with the opposition also charging a pattern of fraud.
                - Five years ago: Norway's most famous painting, "The Scream," by
                  Edvard Munch, was recovered almost three months after it was stolen
                  from an Oslo museum. Go For Gin won the 120th Kentucky Derby.
                - One year ago: The parent company of Mercedes-Benz agreed to buy
                  Chrysler Corp. for more than $37 billion. Londoners voted
                  overwhelmingly to elect their own mayor for the first time in
                  history. The mayoral election will take place in May 2000.

                *Happy Birthday*
                - Actor Darren McGavin is 77.
                - Singer Teresa Brewer is 68.
                - Senate Budget chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., is 67.
                - Football Hall-of-Famer Johnny Unitas is 66.
                - Singer Jimmy Ruffin is 60.
                - Singer Johnny Maestro is 60.
                - Actress Robin Strasser is 54.
                - Singer-songwriter Bill Danoff is 53.
                - NBC newsman Tim Russert is 49.
                - Actor Robert Hegyes is 48.
                - Movie writer-director Amy Heckerling ("Clueless") is 45.
                - Actor Michael E. Knight ("All My Children") is 40.
                - Rock musician Phil Campbell (Motorhead) is 38.
                - Rock singer-musician Chris O'Connor (Primitive Radio Gods) is 34.
                - Actress Traci Lords is 30.