• Today is Thursday, May 10, the 131st day of 2012. There are 235 days left in the year.
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• Today's Highlight in History:
• On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was driven in Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.
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• On this date:
• In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale arrived in the Virginia Colony, where, as deputy governor, he instituted harsh measures to restore order.
• In 1774, Louis XVI acceded to the throne of France.
• In 1775, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, along with Col. Benedict Arnold, captured the British-held fortress at Ticonderoga, N.Y.
• In 1865, Union forces captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Irwinville, Ga.
• In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover was given the job of FBI director.
• In 1933, the Nazis staged massive public book burnings in Germany.
• In 1940, during World War II, German forces began invading the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and France. The same day, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Winston Churchill formed a new government.
• In 1941, Adolf Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachuted into Scotland on what he claimed was a peace mission. (Hess ended up serving a life sentence at Spandau prison until 1987, when he apparently committed suicide.)
• In 1960, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Triton completed its submerged navigation of the globe.
• In 1977, actress Joan Crawford, 72, died in New York.
• In 1981, Socialist Francois Mitterrand defeated incumbent Valery Giscard d'Estaing in the second round of France's presidential election.
• In 1994, Nelson Mandela took the oath of office to become South Africa's first black president.
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• Ten years ago: A tense 39-day-old standoff between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem ended with 13 suspected

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