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

Jan. 6 charges against Trump would add to his mounting legal peril as he campaigns for 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hush-money payments. Classified records. And now, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election that led to the Capitol attack. Already facing criminal cases in New York and Florida, Donald Trump is in increasing legal peril as investigations into his struggle to cling to power after his election loss appear to be coming to a head.

A target letter sent to Trump by special counsel Jack Smith suggests he may soon be indicted on new federal charges, adding to the remarkable situation of a former president up against possible prison time while vying to reclaim the White House as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

Smith’s wide-ranging probe into the chaotic weeks between Trump’s election loss and his supporters’ attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, seems to be nearing an end just as another case could be on the horizon. A grand jury that was sworn in this month in Georgia will likely consider whether to charge Trump and his Republican allies for their efforts to reverse his election loss in the state.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in all the cases and dismissed the prosecutions as a malign effort to hurt his 2024 campaign.

Here’s a look at the Jan. 6 investigation, Trump’s legal cases and what could happen next:

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A gunman in New Zealand kills 2 people ahead of Women’s World Cup tournament

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — A gunman stormed a high-rise construction site in downtown Auckland early Thursday morning, shooting at terrified workers and killing two people as New Zealand prepared to host games in the FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament.

The gunman was found dead after a police shootout, during which an officer was shot and injured. Four civilians were also injured.

The shooting happened near hotels where Team Norway and other soccer teams have been staying.

New Zealand Prime Minster Chris Hipkins said the tournament would go ahead as scheduled.

“Clearly with the FIFA World Cup kicking off this evening, there are a lot of eyes on Auckland,” Hipkins said. “The government has spoken to FIFA organizers this morning and the tournament will proceed as planned.”

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Protesters in Iraq storm Swedish Embassy in Baghdad amid continuing anger over Quran burning

BAGHDAD (AP) — Protesters angered by the burning of a copy of the Quran stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad early Thursday, breaking into the compound and lighting a small fire.

Online videos showed demonstrators at the diplomatic post waving flags and signs showing the influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr. It wasn’t clear if there were any staff inside the complex at the time.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The videos showed dozens of men climbing over the fence at the complex, with the sound of them trying to break down a front door. Another showed what appeared to be a small fire being set. Other footage showed men, some shirtless in the summer heat, inside what appeared to be a room at the embassy, an alarm audible in the background.

Others later performed predawn prayers outside of the embassy.

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Tornado damages Pfizer plant in North Carolina as scorching heat and floods sock other parts of US

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A tornado heavily damaged a major Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina on Wednesday, while torrential rain flooded communities in Kentucky and an area from California to South Florida endured more scorching heat.

Pfizer confirmed that the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down shortly after midday near Rocky Mount, but said in an email that it had no reports of serious injuries. A later company statement said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for.

Parts of roofs were ripped open atop its massive buildings. The Pfizer plant stores large quantities of medicine that were tossed about, said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone.

“I’ve got reports of 50,000 pallets of medicine that are strewn across the facility and damaged through the rain and the wind,” Stone said.

The plant produces anesthesia and other drugs as well as nearly 25% of all sterile injectable medications used in U.S. hospitals, Pfizer said on its website. Erin Fox, senior pharmacy director at University of Utah Health, said the damage “will likely lead to long-term shortages while Pfizer works to either move production to other sites or rebuilds.”

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American soldier’s dash into North Korea leaves family members wondering why

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Family members of the U.S. Army private who sprinted across the border into North Korea said Wednesday that he may have felt overwhelmed as he faced legal troubles and his possible looming discharge from the military.

Relatives described Pvt. Travis King, 23, as a quiet loner who did not drink or smoke and enjoyed reading the Bible. After growing up in southeast Wisconsin, he was excited about serving his country in South Korea. Now King’s family is struggling to understand what changed before he dashed into a country with a long history of holding Americans and using them as bargaining chips.

“I can’t see him doing that intentionally if he was in his right mind,” King’s maternal grandfather, Carl Gates, told The Associated Press from his Kenosha, Wisconsin, home. “Travis is a good guy. He wouldn’t do nothing to hurt nobody. And I can’t see him trying to hurt himself.”

King was supposed to be returned to the U.S. this week to face military discipline after serving nearly two months in a South Korea prison on assault charges. But instead of boarding a flight for Texas on Monday, as planned, King slipped away and quietly joined a civilian tour group on Tuesday morning headed for the Demilitarized Zone that divides South and North Korea.

Even with legal troubles hanging over him, King’s relatives said they are at a loss to explain why he acted as he did.

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IRS whistleblowers air claims to Congress about ‘slow-walking’ of the Hunter Biden case

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans raised unsubstantiated allegations Wednesday against President Joe Biden over his family’s finances as they summoned IRS whistleblowers to testify publicly for the first time about claims the Justice Department improperly interfered with a tax investigation into Biden’s son Hunter.

Lawmakers heard from the two IRS agents assigned to the Hunter Biden case, which looked into his failure to pay taxes, for six hours of what was often grueling back-and-forth testimony. The hearing came after the president’s son pleaded guilty last month to misdemeanor tax charges in what Republicans have derided as a “sweetheart” deal.

Still, House Republicans are deepening their own investigation, making broad claims of corruption and wrongdoing by the Bidens, which they acknowledge have not been proven to be true.

“We will continue to follow the money trail,” said Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, as he opened the session. The Justice Department has denied the whistleblowers’ allegations. And the White House, in a statement, called the investigation and subsequent hearing part of “politically-motivated attacks on a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney, the rule of law, and the independence of our justice system.”

The top Democrat on the committee, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, said the hearing was “a theater of the absurd.”

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Women’s World Cup security heightened ahead of opening match following deadly shooting in Auckland

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Security will be heightened ahead of Thursday night’s opening Women’s World Cup game after a gunman killed two people at a downtown construction site in Auckland, roughly 12 hours ahead of co-host New Zealand’s match against Norway.

Norway’s team hotel was located within a short distance of the shooting, which occurred in the tourist area of the city near the harbor ferry terminal. Norway captain Maren Mjelde said teammates were awakened by a helicopter hovering outside the hotel.

“We felt safe the whole time,” Mjelde said in a statement. “FIFA has a good security system at the hotel, and we have our own security officer in the squad. Everyone seems calm and we are preparing as normal for the game tonight.”

Officials from Eden Park, where the game was scheduled to be played following an opening ceremony for the tournament, encouraged ticket holders to arrive to the stadium early.

“There will be an increased security presence within the precinct and across the venue. Additional traffic management measures are in place,” Eden Park said.

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Stanford University president announces resignation over concerns about his research

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The president of Stanford University said Wednesday he would resign, citing an independent review that cleared him of research misconduct but found “serious flaws” in five scientific papers on subjects such as brain development in which he was the principal author.

Marc Tessier-Lavigne said in a statement to students and staff that he would step down Aug. 31.

The resignation comes after the board of trustees launched a review in December following allegations he engaged in fraud and other unethical conduct related to research and papers that are in some cases two decades old (1999, 2001, 2001)

Tessier-Lavigne, a neuroscientist, says he “never submitted a scientific paper without firmly believing that the data were correct and accurately presented.” But he says he should have been more diligent in seeking corrections regarding his work and he should have operated laboratories with tighter controls.

Panelists found multiple instances of manipulated data in the 12 papers they investigated, but concluded he was not responsible for the misconduct. Still, they found that each of the five papers in which he was principal author “has serious flaws in the presentation of research data” and in at least four of them, there was apparent manipulation of data by others.

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Jason Aldean’s new music video was filmed at a lynching site. A big country music network pulled it

Country music star Jason Aldean ‘s latest music video for “Try That In A Small Town,” lasted just one weekend on Country Music Television before the network pulled it in response to an outcry over its setting and lyrics.

In the video, Aldean — who has been awarded country music artist of the decade by the Academy of Country Music — performs in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee. This is the site of the 1946 Columbia race riot and the 1927 mob lynching of an 18-year-old Black teenager named Henry Choate.

Aldean’s video, which was released last Friday, has received fervent criticism online, with some claiming the visual is a “dog whistle” and others labeling it “pro-lynching.”

Interspersed between performance footage of Aldean are news clips of violent riots and flag burning. A Fox News chyron reads: “State of emergency declared in Georgia.”

“Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you’re tough,” Aldean, who is from Macon, Georgia, sings. “Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck / Try that in a small town.”

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Wrexham opens US tour with 5-0 loss to Chelsea before 50,596 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Sue Martin had the summer mapped out for her family from St. Augustine, Florida.

Then along came word that Chelsea and Wrexham would play a preseason friendly on U.S. soil.

“We had a whole vacation planned and they dropped this game,” Martin said before . “We needed to be here. We love soccer. We love Ryan Reynolds.”

Reynolds and co-owner Rob McElhenney have taken Wrexham from a struggling fifth-tier side to a fan favorite, largely through the globally-streamed docuseries “Welcome to Wrexham.” The Red Dragons opened a four-game preseason U.S. tour Wednesday night with a 5-0 loss to Chelsea, which got two goals from Ian Maatsen and one each from Conor Gallagher, Christopher Nkunku and Ben Chilwell. The game drew 50,596 to Kenan Memorial Stadium.

The match was a must-see event and the first of its kind in this college town. Chelsea, coming off a miserable 13th-place finish in the Premier League, was the 2021 European champion, Wrexham, the oldest club from Wales, earned promotion to English soccer’s fourth tier.