AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EDT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign affairs adviser, both confirmed the agreement.

“I asked and, President Putin agreed. President Zelenskyy agreed -- both readily," Trump said as he departed the White House to attend a dinner at his Virginia golf club. " And we have a little period of time where they’re not going to be killing people. That’s very good ”

Trump earlier Friday had announced on social media that the ceasefire would run Saturday through Monday. Saturday is Victory Day in Russia, a holiday that commemorates the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

“I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump wrote. “The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day but, likewise, in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II.”

Alabama lawmakers pass plan for new US House primary if courts allow different districts

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A national redistricting battle over U.S. House seats swung toward Republicans on Friday, as a Virginia court invalidated a Democratic gerrymandering effort and Republicans in Alabama approved plans for new primary elections if courts allow GOP-drawn House districts to be used in the November midterm elections.

The Alabama legislation, which was signed quickly into law by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, is part of an effort by Republicans in Southern states to capitalize on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that significantly weakened Voting Rights Act protections for minorities.

At the Alabama Statehouse, a chaotic scene erupted as one protester was dragged from the packed House gallery by security officers. Republican lawmakers in Louisiana and South Carolina also faced staunch opposition from civil rights activists and Democrats as they presented plans Friday to redraw their congressional districts.

The action came just a day after Tennessee enacted new congressional districts that carve up a Democratic-held, Black-majority district in Memphis. The state Democratic Party sued on Friday, seeking to prevent the districts from being used until after this year's elections because of the tight time frame

Even before last week's Supreme Court ruling in a Louisiana case, Republicans and Democrats already were engaged in a fierce redistricting battle, each seeking an edge in the midterm elections that will determine control of the closely divided House. That battle tilted further toward Republicans when the Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday that Democratic lawmakers had violated constitutional requirements when placing a redistricting amendment on the ballot.

US fires on and disables 2 more Iranian tankers as tensions rise in the Strait of Hormuz

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. forces fired on and disabled two Iranian oil tankers on Friday after exchanging fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz overnight. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, reported another Iranian missile and drone attack.

The attacks cast more doubt on a tenuous month-old ceasefire that the United States has insisted is still in effect. Washington is awaiting an Iranian response to its latest proposal for a deal to end the war, reopen the strait and roll back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hopes to receive “a serious offer” from Iran later Friday.

The U.S. military said Friday that its forces had disabled two Iranian tankers that were trying to breach an American blockade of Iran’s ports. Hours earlier, the military said it thwarted attacks on three Navy ships and struck Iranian military facilities in the strait.

Iran has mostly blocked the critical waterway for global energy since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, causing a global spike in fuel prices and rattling world markets. The U.S. has imposed its own blockade of Iran's ports.

Bright lights and hot orbs: UFO files shed light on sightings but leave interpretation to the public

WASHINGTON (AP) — Buzz Aldrin observing a “fairly bright light source” while aboard the Apollo 11. A mysterious object making “multiple 90-degree turns” at a speedy clip. A blaringly bright object doing corkscrew twists over the skies in Kazakhstan.

Those are some of the details in a new batch of files on UFOs that the Pentagon began releasing on Friday as President Donald Trump taps into the public's long-held curiosities about "unidentified anomalous phenomena” in the broader universe. Though the Pentagon has been working on declassifying the documents for years, Trump put attention back on the topic months ago by teasing a major UFO document dump.

“Whereas previous Administrations have failed to be transparent on this subject, with these new Documents and Videos, the people can decide for themselves, ‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?’ Have Fun and Enjoy!” Trump wrote Friday in a Truth Social post.

Trump's Republican administration says the public can draw its own conclusions with the information in the files, which includes old State Department cables, FBI documents and transcripts from NASA of crewed flights into space. A new Pentagon website housing the documents on UAPs has a decidedly retro feel, with black-and-white military imagery of flying objects displayed prominently on the page, with statements displayed in typewriter-like font.

The files reflect cases that the government deems unresolved, meaning that for a variety of reasons they couldn’t be explained with certainty. The Pentagon described the files as new and “never-before-seen,” though some had been made public years ago.

On the cruise ship hit by hantavirus, some fear what awaits them at home

MADRID (AP) — In the days since the hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, concern has taken hold among at least some of its Spanish passengers — but not so much because they fear contracting the illness. Rather, they are afraid of how they will be received back on land.

They have seen sensational news reports and devil-may-care memes ostracizing those aboard the MV Hondius, two passengers told The Associated Press by phone from the ship on Friday.

“You go onto social media — they want to dynamite the boat. They want to sink the boat,” a Spanish man said.

He says he worries about being stigmatized as a viral vector to be avoided — or worse. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of these concerns, and another Spanish woman insisted on anonymity for the same reason.

“You see what’s out there and you realize you’re heading into the eye of a hurricane," she said. “Many people forget that in here there are more than 140 passengers. In reality, there are 140 human beings.”

US stocks rise to records after a solid jobs report overshadows higher oil prices

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market rose to records Friday following the latest sign that the nation’s job market is doing better than economists expected.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to an all-time high after a report said U.S. employers added 115,000 more jobs than they cut last month, even though the war with Iran is raising fuel costs and uncertainty for everyone. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by 12 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.7% to its own record.

While hiring slowed from March’s level, it was still nearly double what economists expected. And it helped the S&P 500 close out a sixth straight winning week, its longest such streak since 2024. The U.S. stock market has been blasting higher since late March, in part on hopes that the war will not mean a worst-case scenario for the global economy and that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen to allow oil tankers to deliver crude from the Persian Gulf again.

It’s still to be determined if those hopes are warranted or just wishful. U.S. forces fired on and disabled two Iranian oil tankers on Friday after exchanging fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz overnight. It’s the latest flare-up in fighting to raise doubts about the tenuous month-old ceasefire that the United States has insisted is still in effect.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil rose 1.2% to settle at $101.29 following the latest volleys of fire. That’s below its heights above $119 during the war, but it’s still much more expensive than its roughly $70 level from late February before the fighting began.

Canvas system is online after a cyberattack disrupted thousands of schools

Tens of thousands of students studying for final exams around the world Friday regained access to a key online learning system after a cyberattack had earlier knocked it offline, throwing schools and universities into turmoil.

Elizabeth Polo was in a creative writing class at the University of Maryland late Thursday afternoon when a classmate shouted, “Canvas got hacked.” A message from a hacking collective flashed on her computer screen.

“Our whole class just like was like freaking out about it,” said Polo, a junior. “Our poor professor was trying to get everyone to calm down but it was just kind of chaos.”

Across academia, the outage set off panic and confusion as students and faculty members found themselves locked out of a platform they rely on to manage grades and access course notes and assignments. Colleges scrambled to reschedule final exams as students lost any way to access materials they needed to study.

Instructure, the company behind Canvas, said in an update late Thursday that the system was available for most users.

Suspect in Navajo woman’s disappearance sentenced to 5 years for robbery after plea deal

PHOENIX (AP) — The only person ever charged in the unsolved 2021 disappearance of Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay, whose case became emblematic of a crisis fueled by disproportionately high rates of violence faced by Native Americans, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes in Phoenix on Friday accepted an agreement in which Preston Henry Tolth pleaded guilty to robbing Begay. Under the agreement, Tolth was credited with three years’ time served and prosecutors dropped an assault charge and agreed not to prosecute him in the future if Begay’s case develops.

The sentencing effectively closes a yearslong case that has been troubled by a lack of physical evidence and the suppression of a confession from Tolth, who also is Navajo.

During Friday's hearing, family members urged Rayes to reject the agreement. Begay's niece tearfully reiterated that they didn’t want Tolth released without him leading investigators to Begay.

“A 62-year-woman is still nowhere to be found. No amount of time is enough if he won’t tell us where she is,” said Seraphine Warren, who later left the courtroom when it was apparent the judge was moving forward with the sentencing.

Evidence points to human remains at home linked to Kristin Smart's killing, sheriff says

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (AP) — A California sheriff said Friday that evidence suggests human remains were present at a home connected to the man convicted of killing Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old college student who went missing in 1996.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said they cannot say whether the remains are those of Smart or whether authorities will seek another warrant to start digging on Susan Flores' property. Her son, Paul Flores, was convicted in 2022 of killing Smart, whose body has never been found.

The search began Wednesday after authorities served a warrant Wednesday at the home in the central coast town of Arroyo Grande more than 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. Authorities have not specified what prompted the search, but scientists specializing in human decomposition and soil took samples from the ground.

“We believe that based on what we’re looking at evidence-wise -- scientific evidence -- that a human’s remains were there at one time -- or still there. We can’t call it Kristin, but there’s evidence to support human remains,” Parkinson said during a news conference.

Smart went missing from California Polytechnic State University in May 1996 after returning from an off-campus party. Prosecutors alleged she was killed during an attempted rape and that the last person she was seen with was Paul Flores, a fellow student. She was declared legally dead in 2002.

NFL and referees agree on a 7-year collective bargaining agreement, avoiding potential work stoppage

The NFL and the NFL Referees Association agreed Friday on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement that avoids a potential work stoppage and use of replacement officials.

The agreement, which was approved by the union's board of directors and ratified by a vote of the membership, runs through the 2032 NFL season.

“We see this new CBA as a partnership with the league that benefits our membership but also seeks to make our game better. It is good to get these negotiations behind us so we can focus on preparing for the 2026 season,” union President Carl Cheffers said.

The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement with the referees association had been set to expire on May 31, and the two sides began negotiating in the summer of 2024.

The league began the onboarding process for replacement officials last month because negotiations weren’t progressing. But they won’t be necessary.