AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EST

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to let Abrego Garcia go immediately, writing that federal authorities had detained him again after his return to the United States without any legal basis.

Abrego Garcia returned to his home in Maryland wearing a white shirt and orange hat hours after his release at 5 p.m., the deadline the judge gave the government for an update on Abrego Garcia’s release. He's lived for years in Maryland, where he has an American wife and child, since originally immigrating to the U.S. illegally as a teenager.

Abrego Garcia had been held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northeast of Pittsburgh.

His attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said he’s not sure what comes next, but he’s prepared to defend his client against further deportation efforts.

Indiana Republicans defy Trump and reject his House redistricting push in the state

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana's Republican-led Senate decisively rejected a redrawn congressional map Thursday that would have favored their party, defying months of pressure from President Donald Trump and delivering a stark setback to the White House ahead of next year's midterm elections.

The vote was overwhelmingly against the proposed redistricting, with more Republicans opposing than supporting the measure, signaling the limits of Trump's influence even in one of the country's most conservative states.

Trump has been urging Republicans nationwide to redraw their congressional maps in an unusual campaign to help the party maintain its thin majority in the House of Representatives. Although Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina went along, Indiana did not — despite cajoling and insults from the president and the possibility of primary challenges.

“The federal government should not dictate by threat or other means what should happen in our states,” said Spencer Deery, one of the Republican senators who voted no on Thursday.

When the proposal failed 31-19, cheers could be heard inside the chamber as well as shouts of “thank you!” The debate had been shadowed by the possibility of violence, and some lawmakers have received threats.

Senate rejects extension of health care subsidies as costs are set to rise for millions of Americans

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday rejected legislation to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits, essentially guaranteeing that millions of Americans will see a steep rise in costs at the beginning of the year.

As Republicans and Democrats have failed to find compromise, senators voted on two partisan bills instead that they knew would fail — the Democratic bill to extend the subsidies, and a Republican alternative that would have created new health savings accounts.

It was an unceremonious end to a monthslong effort by Democrats to prevent the COVID-19-era subsidies from expiring on Jan. 1, including a 43-day government shutdown that they forced over the issue.

Ahead of the votes, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York warned Republicans that if they did not vote to extend the tax credits, "there won’t be another chance to act,” before premiums rise for many people who buy insurance off the ACA marketplaces.

“Let's avert a disaster,” Schumer said. “The American people are watching.”

Noem links the seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela to US antidrug efforts

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday linked the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela to the Trump administration’s counterdrug efforts in Latin America as tensions escalate with the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

Noem's assertion, which came during her testimony to the House Homeland Security Committee, provided the Republican administration's most thorough assessment so far of why it took control of the vessel on Wednesday. Incredibly unusual, the use of U.S. forces to seize a merchant ship was a sharp escalation in the administration’s pressure campaign on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States.

Trump officials added to it Thursday by imposing sanctions on three of Maduro's nephews. The Venezuelan leader discussed the rising tensions with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin reaffirmed his support for Maduro's policy of “protecting national interests and sovereignty in the face of growing external pressure.”

Asked to delineate the U.S. Coast Guard's role in the tanker seizure, Noem called it “a successful operation directed by the president to ensure that we’re pushing back on a regime that is systematically covering and flooding our country with deadly drugs and killing our next generation of Americans.”

Noem went on to lay out the ”lethal doses of cocaine" she said had been kept from entering the U.S. as a result.

Justice Department again fails to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, AP sources say

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A grand jury declined for a second time in a week to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday in another major blow to the Justice Department's efforts to prosecute the president's political opponents.

The repeated failures amounted to a stunning rebuke of prosecutors' bid to resurrect a criminal case President Donald Trump pressured them to bring, and hinted at a growing public leeriness of the administration's retribution campaign.

A grand jury rejection is an unusual circumstance in any case, but is especially stinging for a Justice Department that has been steadfast in its determination to seek revenge against Trump foes like James and former FBI Director James Comey. On separate occasions, citizens have heard the government’s evidence against James and have come away underwhelmed, unwilling to rubber-stamp what prosecutors have attempted to portray as a clear-cut criminal case.

A judge threw out the original indictments against James and Comey in November, ruling that the prosecutor who presented to the grand jury, Lindsey Halligan, was illegally appointed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Justice Department asked a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, to return an indictment Thursday after a different grand jury in Norfolk last week refused to do so. The failure to secure an indictment was confirmed by two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to publicly discuss the case and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Zelenskyy says US-led peace talks wrestling with Russian demands for Ukrainian territory

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that negotiators are wrestling with the question of territorial possession in U.S.-led peace talks on ending the war with Russia, including the future of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of the world’s 10 biggest atomic plants.

Zelenskyy revealed details of the ongoing discussions before he headed into urgent talks with leaders and officials from about 30 countries that support Kyiv’s efforts to obtain fair terms in any settlement to halt nearly four years of fighting.

In Washington, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, continued to be in discussions with both sides. She said that “if there is a real chance of signing a peace agreement,” then the U.S. could send a representative to the talks as soon as this weekend.

But Leavitt added that it’s “still up in the air whether we believe real peace can be achieved.”

Trump long boasted about being able to solve Russia’s war in Ukraine in a day, but in recent months has complained bitterly about a lack of progress. Leavitt echoed that during her briefing with reporters on Thursday, saying the president is “extremely frustrated with both sides of this war.”

MyPillow founder and Trump supporter Mike Lindell says he’s running for Minnesota governor in 2026

SHAKOPEE, Minn. (AP) — Mike Lindell, the fervent supporter of President Donald Trump known to TV viewers as the “MyPillow Guy,” officially entered the race for Minnesota governor Thursday in hopes of winning the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Tim Walz in 2026.

Lindell made the announcement at a news conference at his MyPillow factory in the Minneapolis suburb of Shakopee that he streamed live on his Lindell TV conservative news platform. He said his political opponents had tried to shut him and his company down because of his support for Trump's claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

“Well, it didn’t work. I’m still standing. MyPillow is still standing,” Lindell said. “And now I want you to know that I will stand for you as governor of the state of Minnesota.”

Machinery banged and hissed loudly in the background as workers packaged MyPillows. He went straight from his announcement into a live interview with another Trump ally, conservative strategist Steve Bannon, on his “War Room” podcast.

The energetic Lindell then took the interview with Bannon outside, where his new red-white-and-blue bus was running. He said he intends to take his campaign to every town in Minnesota.

The man accused of killing Charlie Kirk appears in court for 1st time as a judge weighs media access

PROVO, Utah (AP) — The Utah man charged with killing Charlie Kirk made his first in-person court appearance Thursday as his attorneys pushed to further limit media access in the high-profile criminal case.

Prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of the conservative activist on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, just a few miles north of the Provo courthouse. They plan to seek the death penalty.

Robinson, 22, arrived amid heavy security, shackled at the waist, wrists and ankles and wearing a dress shirt, tie and slacks.

He smiled at his parents and brother sitting in the front row. His mother teared up after he walked in and clutched a tissue throughout the hearing while his father took notes. Robinson had previously appeared before the court via video or audio feed from jail.

Early in the proceedings, state District Court Judge Tony Graf briefly stopped a media livestream of the hearing and ordered the camera be moved after Robinson's attorneys said the stream showed the defendant's shackles in violation of a courtroom order.

Tens of thousands ordered to flee flooding after torrential rain in Pacific Northwest

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — Surging floodwaters turned farmland into vast pools, washed out bridges and stranded people Thursday, with evacuation orders issued for tens of thousands of Washington state residents and authorities hoping levees prevent far worse damage.

“The flooding levels we’re looking at are potentially historic in nature, so we just want to emphasize how serious the situation is,” Gov. Bob Ferguson said at a news briefing Thursday, one day after declaring a statewide emergency.

About 78,000 residents of a major agricultural region north of Seattle were ordered to evacuate the Skagit River’s floodplain, officials said.

Along the river in Mount Vernon, teams knocked on doors in low-lying areas Thursday to inform them of evacuation notices, city authorities said.

Further north near the U.S.-Canada border, Sumas, Nooksack and Everson were evacuated after being inundated by flood waters, while the border crossing at Sumas was closed, according to Whatcom County. Sumas Mayor Bruce Bosch said much of the city has been “devastated” by the high waters just four years after a similar flood.

Fernando Mendoza is AP player of the year after leading Indiana to 13-0 record and top seed in CFP

Fernando Mendoza was named Associated Press player of the year on Thursday after leading unbeaten and top-ranked Indiana to its first Big Ten championship since 1967 and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

The redshirt junior quarterback was the overwhelming choice over fellow Heisman Trophy finalists Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt, Jeremiah Love of Notre Dame and Julian Sayin of Ohio State. Mendoza received 32 of 51 first-place votes from a nationwide panel of media members who cover college football. Pavia got nine to lead the rest of the group, which also included Jacob Rodriguez of Texas Tech.

“I'm shining now but only because there are so many stars around me," Mendoza said, describing his rise from lightly recruited high school prospect in 2021 to a candidate for the sport's most prestigious awards. “There's an analogy that the only reason we're able to see stars in the sky is because the light reflects from all different types of stars. I have so many stars around myself — whether it's my teammates, my coaches, my family, support staff — that I'm able to shine now in this light, and I'm so happy for everyone to be a part of this.”

Mendoza, the Hoosiers' first-year starter after transferring from California, is the triggerman for an offense that has surpassed program records for touchdowns and points set during last season's surprise run to the CFP.

Mendoza has thrown for a Bowl Subdivision-leading 33 touchdowns and run for six, giving him a school-record 39 TDs accounted for.