Transcript of Evening Wire: Three-Day Peace In Ukraine & Virginia Strikes Down New Map | 5.8.26 New

President Trump announces a temporary ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. The Virginia Supreme Court devastates the Democrats' redistricting plans, and the government opens up its secret UFO vault to the public. I'm Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley with Georgia Howell. It's Friday, May 8th. This is Evening Wire. President Trump announced a short-term ceasefire today between Russia and Ukraine. In a post on Truth Social, the president said, quote, "This ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity and also a prisoner swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country." Trump also said that he directly requested the ceasefire from May 9th through the 12th to celebrate the Soviet Union's victory in World War II. Trump thanked both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky for agreeing and says talks to end the conflict are ongoing.

The situation in the Hormuz Strait remains tense. Daily Wire foreign affairs reporter Kassia Kiva has the latest on the standoff with Iran.

US Central Command said American fighter jets disabled two more oil tankers after they attempted to violate the US blockade on Iran. According to CENTCOM, the Navy jets targeted the Iran-flagged tankers before they could enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman. The command said an F-18 Super Hornet launched from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush fired precision munitions into the vessel's smokestacks, disabling both ships and preventing them from reaching Iran. So far, more than 50 vessels have been redirected or disabled in the blockade operation.

Despite fears that the war with Iran and rising inflation could hammer the economy, the latest jobs report delivered a surprise. American employers added more jobs than expected in April. Hiring was especially strong in healthcare, retail, and hospitality. While unemployment held steady at 4.3%. However, the broader U6 unemployment rate, which includes discouraged workers and Americans stuck in part-time jobs who want full-time work, rose to 8.2%. Federal Reserve officials must now weigh a resilient labor market against inflation, energy prices, and growing uncertainty about the war in Iran and AI disruption. White House economists estimate that President Trump's deals to drop drug prices could save over half a trillion dollars over the next 10 years. The White House released the projections as Trump and Republicans gear up to pitch the administration's record on the economy ahead of midterms. The president has paid special attention to drug prices, wanting to eliminate the disparity between the prices Americans pay and the much lower prices for drugs in other countries. So far, the administration has struck agreements to lower prices with 17 global drugmakers, while White House officials work with Congress on ways to make the savings last.

The Virginia State Supreme Court struck down the Democrats' controversial redistricting referendum today.

The new map would have likely given Democrats 4 more House seats in November, but the court says the Democrat-controlled legislature violated the state constitution in how it tried to fast-track the referendum. The ruling nullifies the vote, which passed by a slim majority after some $100 million was spent trying to sway voters. So rather than 10-to-1 blue-to-red districts in the state, Virginia will remain at their current 6-to-5 split. The Trump administration is opening the secret UFO vault to the public. Daily Wire reporter Zach Jewell has the details.

The White House released the first batch of anticipated UFO files today that have long been hidden from public view. War Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the Pentagon, quote, is in lockstep with President Trump to bring unprecedented transparency regarding our government's understanding of unidentified anomalous phenomena. Hegseth added, quote, these files hidden behind classifications have long fueled justified speculation, and it's time the American people see it for themselves. Over 160 files can be viewed at a new webpage from the Department of War. The files include photos, videos, FBI investigative records, eyewitness testimonies, and public reports concerning UFOs. Files and videos from the vault show a variety of irregular objects captured in photographs and videos from the FBI, NASA, and US military.

Americans across several states have been caught up in the growing cruise ship health scare. Daily Wire homepage managing editor Jordan Schroeder has the latest.

A hantavirus breakout on a luxury cruise ship has sparked concerns about the virus spreading. A number of passengers who may have been exposed were American: 2 in Texas, 2 in Georgia, 1 in Virginia, 1 in Arizona, and 1 in California. All are reported to be in good health, but since the symptoms can still develop weeks later, they're still being closely monitored by health officials. None of the passengers were aware when they left the cruise ship that they might have been exposed. Meanwhile, in Argentina, officials will start testing rats for hantavirus after a couple contracted it and cases spiked 86% in just a year. As Vanderbilt professor of infectious disease Dr. William Schaffner told Morning Wire, while this is a very serious virus, it's still difficult to spread.

It is an old virus. This is not a mutating virus. It's a pretty stable virus, and it's a family of viruses. There were some passengers who didn't book for the whole cruise, just part of it, and they have already disembarked. Those folks are being traced. So, so far so good. Could there be further transmission? Yes, but I think it's going to be very limited. This is not COVID once again. It's not going to run around the world and make us all sick. So folks can be at ease about that.

Elon Musk is being summoned to France to face criminal charges. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham has more.

French prosecutors have charged X owner Elon Musk after an investigation into his social media company. The case has stood out for the division it has represented between the U.S. and Europe's approaches to social media platforms and the bounds of free speech. Last month, the US Justice Department dismissed the French investigation as politically charged. The charges facing Musk have also escalated the legal battles between the tech tycoon and the French government, which raided X offices in Paris earlier this year. Musk is facing preliminary charges related to claims of a biased algorithm, violating the secrecy of correspondence, and child pornography shared over his site.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces mounting political pressure as early results in Britain's nationwide local elections showed both major losses for the Labor Party and significant gains for the Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage. Vote counts across England suggest Labor was losing hundreds of council seats while Reform made major advances on an anti-establishment and anti-immigration platform. Starmer acknowledged the results were, quote, very tough, but insisted he will continue pursuing the agenda he promised to voters. The elections also highlighted broader fractures in Britain's traditional two-party system, with the Green Party, Plaid Cymru, and the Scottish National Party all making gains alongside Reform. Policy reversals, cost of living frustrations, and controversy surrounding appointments within Starmer's government have all fueled speculation that senior Labor figures could challenge him before the next general election.

The U.S. International Trade Court on Thursday ruled against Trump's 10% global tariffs. Daily Wire contributor Tim Pearce reports.

The court ruled 2-1 that across-the-board tariffs were not justified under the 1970s trade law. The small business plaintiffs argued that the new tariffs were an attempt to sidestep a Supreme Court precedent that struck down Trump's 2025 tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In his latest order in February, Trump invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act, which allows for duties for up to 150 days to correct serious balance of payments deficits or head off an imminent depreciation of the dollar. Thursday's court ruling found that the law was not an appropriate step for the kinds of trade deficits that Trump cited in his February order.

One of the preeminent education and coursework apps, Canvas, went dark this week after a ransom note from a supposed hacker was posted on their platform. Across thousands of schools, including Ivy League institutions like Harvard and Berkeley, students lost access to coursework and just in time for finals. Instructure, the company behind Canvas, said the hacker had managed to access names, email addresses, and even messages between students using the application. However, they said there was no evidence that passwords and financial information were involved. Instructure notified the FBI and said, quote, we have since confirmed that the unauthorized actor carried out this activity by exploiting the issue related to our free-for-teacher accounts. As a result, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily shut down free-for-teacher accounts. Canvas has since been restored for most students while the investigation is ongoing.

A massive drug bust took down several street dealers in LA this week. Daily Wire reporter and host of That's So Criminal, Lyndon Blake, has more.

Feds swarmed MacArthur Park near downtown Los Angeles, executing a massive drug bust and taking an alleged narco queen into custody.

Attention, this is a drug enforcement operation.

Attention, this is a drug enforcement operation.

Bill Asayly, the first assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, announced Operation Free MacArthur Park in a post on X, explaining that agents were targeting what amounted to, quote, an open-air drug marketplace. Asayly said they were targeting the distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine from the, quote, street dealers to the, quote, suppliers. At least 25 defendants have been arrested and charged in a federal complaint with possessing and distributing dangerous narcotics. He also highlighted that the park's, quote, number one trafficker, a Calabasas resident, is in federal custody and faces possible life imprisonment. The rest could be facing several decades.

A major pizza and bagel ingredient could soon be banned in New York. Daily Wire Entertainment reporter Amanda Harding explains.

A new bill moving through Albany could change how some of the state's most iconic foods are made, but supporters say the impact on quality will be insignificant. The proposed legislation, called the Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act, would ban potassium bromate, a flour additive often used to improve dough texture, which has been linked to cancer in some studies. The bill cleared both the State Assembly and Senate in late April and now heads to Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul's desk. The bill memo says that while food additives enhance the shelf life, taste, or texture of various commercial food products, the science is shedding new light on just how dangerous some of them can be.

And in a move straight out of science fiction, Japan Airlines will soon be adding humanoid robots to their workforce. The airline will soon launch a 2-year program testing robots in jobs like baggage handling and aircraft cleaning. Early reports show the robots to be a little clunky, but operating with some success. The airline has said they've chosen to test humanoid robots rather than some other design to see if robotic workers can be integrated alongside existing employees without having to update infrastructure. Japan Airlines has reportedly struggled to find new employees as the domestic Japanese workforce continues to age and shrink.

All right, those are your drive home updates. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And in case you missed it, earlier today we covered some major stories.

Including the Hauntavirus cruise ship seeking a place to dock, reality star Spencer Pratt putting himself on the political map, and the next generation of men becoming both more religious and more conservative. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with a weekend edition of Morning Wire.