May 8, 2009 (Friday)
- Thunderstorms throughout the Midwestern United States kill five people. (New York Times)
- Afghan President Hamid Karzai demands that the United States halt airstrikes in the war against the Taliban. (Reuters)
- Louis Caldera resigns as Director of the White House Military Office. (New York Times)
- Wildfires cause at least 30,000 people to evacuate Santa Barbara, California, United States. (Reuters via ABC News Australia)
- Islamic terrorist and Singaporean fugitive Mas Selamat bin Kastari is arrested in Malaysia. (AP via Google News)
- At least 45,000 people evacuate as war between the government and the Taliban continues in Swat, Pakistan. (Sky News)
- A cave-in at a gold mine in Siguiri, Guinea, kills 20 people, injures five more, and renders ten others missing. (BBC)
- Pope Benedict XVI begins his tour of Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. (BBC)