AP Top News at 11:59 p.m. EDT

El Salvador President Bukele says he won’t be releasing a Maryland man back to the US

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s top advisers and Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, said Monday that they have no basis for the small Central American nation to return a Maryland man who was wrongly deported there last month. Bukele called the idea “preposterous” even though the U.S. Supreme Court has called on the administration to “facilitate” Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s return. Trump administration officials emphasized that Abrego Garcia, who was sent to a notorious gang prison in El Salvador, was a citizen of that country and that the U.S. has no say in his future. And Bukele, who has been a vital partner for the Trump administration in its deportation efforts, said “of course” he would not release him back to U.S.

Judge denies bail for man accused of setting fire at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A man who allegedly scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion was denied bail Monday as he faced charges including attempted homicide, terrorism and arson. Cody Balmer spoke with a public defender at times as he appeared in court late Monday afternoon after being released from a hospital, where he had been taken after an unrelated medical event. Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg, told police he planned to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he encountered him after breaking into the building, according to court documents.

Trump administration freezes $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard over campus activism

BOSTON (AP) — The federal government says it’s freezing more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University, after the institution said it would defy the Trump administration’s demands to limit activism on campus. The hold on Harvard’s funding marks the seventh time President Donald Trump’s administration has taken the step at one of the nation’s most elite colleges, in an attempt to force compliance with Trump’s political agenda. Six of the seven schools are in the Ivy League. In a letter to Harvard Friday, Trump’s administration had called for broad government and leadership reforms at the university, as well as changes to its admissions policies.

Trump considers pausing his auto tariffs as the world economy endures whiplash

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that he might temporarily exempt the auto industry from tariffs he previously imposed on the sector, to give carmakers time to adjust their supply chains. “I’m looking at something to help some of the car companies with it,” Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office. The Republican president said automakers needed time to relocate production from Canada, Mexico and other places, “And they need a little bit of time because they’re going to make them here, but they need a little bit of time. So I’m talking about things like that.”

Hamas says it’s sending a delegation to Qatar to continue Gaza ceasefire talks

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Hamas official said Monday that the Palestinian militant group is sending a delegation to the Gulf state of Qatar to continue indirect ceasefire talks with Israel over the war in Gaza, as the territory’s Health Ministry said that 38 people were confirmed dead over the past day. The Hamas official said teams have been discussing terms for a new ceasefire agreement over recent days in Cairo, including a proposal that Hamas free eight to 10 hostages held in Gaza. But the Hamas official said a major sticking point remained over whether the war would end as part of any new deal.

UN: Civilian death toll in Sudan’s Darfur attacks tops 300 in two days as war nears two-year mark

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than 300 civilians were killed in two days of intense fighting in Sudan’s conflict-wracked Darfur region, the U.N. humanitarian agency reported Monday, as the African country’s brutal civil war nears the two-year mark. The attacks launched by Sudan’s notorious paramilitary group on two famine-hit camps for displaced people in North Darfur and its nearby capital on Friday and Saturday were initially reported to have left more than 100 dead, including 20 children and nine aid workers, according to a U.N. official. But the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA, reported the much higher death toll Monday, citing local sources that were not identified.

US Army to control land on Mexico border as part of base, migrants could be detained, officials say

WASHINGTON (AP) — A long sliver of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border that President Donald Trump is turning over to the Department of Defense would be controlled by the Army as part of a base, which could allow troops to detain any trespassers, including migrants, U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The transfer of that border zone to military control — and making it part of an Army installation — is an attempt by the Trump administration to get around a federal law that prohibits U.S. troops from being used in domestic law enforcement on American soil. But if the troops are providing security for land that is part of an Army base, they can perform that function.

Russia claims its deadly attack on Ukraine’s Sumy targeted military forces as condemnation grows

BRUSSELS (AP) — Russia on Monday claimed its deadly missile attack on Ukraine’s Sumy that killed and wounded scores including children had targeted a gathering of Ukrainian troops, while European leaders condemned the attack as a war crime. Ukrainian officials have said two ballistic missiles on Palm Sunday morning hit the heart of Sumy, a city about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Ukraine’s border with Russia, killing at least 34 people, including two children, and wounding 119. It was the second large-scale attack to claim civilian lives in Ukraine in just over a week. Asked about the attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s military only strikes military targets.

A Palestinian activist expecting a US citizenship interview is arrested instead by ICE in Vermont

A Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University was arrested Monday at a Vermont immigration office where he expected to be interviewed about finalizing his U.S. citizenship, his attorneys said. Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident who has held a green card since 2015, was detained at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, his lawyers said. The attorneys said they do not know where he is. They filed a petition in federal court seeking an order barring the government from removing him from the state or country.

Paige Bueckers is No. 1 pick in WNBA draft, going to the Dallas Wings

NEW YORK (AP) — Paige Bueckers is ready for her next chapter after a whirlwind week that started with her helping UConn win its 12th national championship and ended with her becoming the WNBA’s No. 1 draft pick by the Dallas Wings. “I’m just extremely excited to be there. I’ve only heard great things about the city,” Bueckers said of Dallas. “So excited to start that new chapter and be in a new city and explore that and give everything I have to the Wings organization. I know we’re going to do great things, and it’s a fresh start, and I think we’re all ready to do something special.”