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

Trump pick for national intelligence director is withdrawing

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s pick for national intelligence director, Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe, withdrew from consideration Friday after just five days as he faced growing questions about his experience and qualifications.

The move underscored the uncertainty over his confirmation prospects. Democrats openly dismissed the Republican congressman as an unqualified partisan and Republicans offered only lukewarm and tentative expressions of support.

The announcement will leave the intelligence community without a permanent, Senate-confirmed leader at a time when the U.S. government is grappling with North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, the prospect of war with Iran and the anticipated efforts of Russia or other foreign governments to interfere in the American political system.

In a tweet Friday, Trump said Ratcliffe had decided to stay in Congress so as to avoid “months of slander and libel.”

Trump didn’t cite specific media reports, though multiple stories in the last week have questioned Ratcliffe’s qualifications and suggested that he had misrepresented his experience as a federal prosecutor in Texas.

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NYPD judge recommends firing officer in Eric Garner death

NEW YORK (AP) — In a reckoning five years in the making, an administrative judge on Friday recommended firing a New York City police officer over the 2014 chokehold death of an unarmed black man whose dying cries of “I can’t breathe” fueled a national debate over policing, race and the use of force.

The city’s police commissioner will make a final decision this month on whether to fire Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who is white, for his role in Eric Garner’s death. Pantaleo was suspended shortly after the judge’s decision became public, about two weeks after federal prosecutors closed the book on criminal charges.

Mayor Bill de Blasio hailed the judge’s report as “a step toward justice and accountability,” while Pantaleo’s lawyer and a union leader said it penalized an officer for properly doing his job. The lawyer said he will appeal to state court if Pantaleo is fired.

Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, said the report brought her “some relief” but was overdue and fell short of true accountability.

“It’s past time for Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYPD to end their obstruction, stop spreading misleading talking points and finally take action for my son,” she said in a statement.

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Cummings says he scared off intruder at Baltimore home

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Elijah Cummings says he scared off an intruder at his Baltimore home last weekend, providing details for the first time after President Donald Trump tweeted Friday about the break-in.

In a statement Friday, the Maryland Democrat said someone “attempted to gain entry into my residence at approximately 3:40 a.m. on Saturday, July 27.”

“I was notified of the intrusion by my security system, and I scared the intruder away by yelling before the person gained entry into the residential portion of the house,” Cummings said. “I thank the Baltimore Police Department for their response and ask that all further inquiries be directed to them.”

The break-in happened hours before Trump launched a Twitter tirade against Cummings, calling his majority-black district a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”

Trump tweeted earlier Friday, “Really bad news! The Baltimore house of Elijah Cummings was robbed. Too bad!”

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North Korea confirms another test of rocket launcher system

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Saturday its leader Kim Jong Un supervised another test-firing of a new multiple rocket launcher system that could potentially enhance the country’s ability to strike targets in South Korea and U.S. military bases there.

The report by Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency came a day after South Korea’s military said it detected North Korea firing projectiles twice into the sea off its eastern coast in its third round of weapons tests in just over a week.

Experts say the North’s increased testing activity is aimed at ramping up pressure on Washington and Seoul over stalled nuclear negotiations with the United States and planned U.S.-South Korea military exercises, and that its weapons displays could intensify in the coming months if progress in talks isn’t made.

North Korea has said Kim supervised the first test of the same rocket artillery system on Wednesday. KCNA said Kim expressed “great satisfaction” over Friday’s tests, which it said confirmed the system’s “altitude control level flight performance, track changing capability, accuracy of hitting a target and warhead explosion power of the guided ordnance rocket.”

The report didn’t include any direct mention of the United States or South Korea.

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Puerto Rico governor resigns as promised; successor sworn in

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló resigned Friday as promised, clearing the way for veteran politician Pedro Pierluisi to be sworn in as his replacement, a move that threw the U.S. territory into a period of fresh political uncertainty.

Rosselló had promised to step down in response to weeks of popular protest over mismanagement and a series of leaked chats in which he and advisers denigrated a range of Puerto Ricans. Because of problems with the qualifications of members of Rosselló’s administration in the constitutional line of succession, it was unclear until the last minute who would become governor.

Pierluisi was named secretary of state, the next in line to be governor, in a recess appointment this week. In an emailed announcement from his office, Rosselló said Pierluisi would succeed him. He was sworn in by a judge at 5 p.m., the hour Rosselló had set to leave office.

Four hours later, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz tweeted that the municipality at 8 a.m. on Monday would be challenging Pierluisi’s swearing in as governor. Meanwhile, a well-respected attorneys’ organization accused Pierluisi of “hijacking” the constitution.

The territory’s House of Representatives confirmed Pierluisi as secretary of state Friday, but the Senate has not yet voted on his appointment. Rosselló said confirmation by both houses was unnecessary for a recess appointment, an assertion that appeared certain to generate legal challenges.

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Rapper A$AP Rocky heading back to US as verdict looms

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Rapper A$AP Rocky and two other American suspects were temporarily freed from a Swedish jail and planning to head back to the U.S. on Friday as judges mull a verdict in the assault case against them.

The Stockholm District Court released the 30-year-old rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, as well as David Rispers Jr. and Bladimir Corniel until Aug. 14 —when a verdict is expected in the case. They are accused of beating 19-year-old Mustafa Jafari on June 30 outside a fast-food restaurant in central Stockholm.

The three suspects were seen hugging each other at the court after they learned they would be released as some of the public gathered inside the courthouse loudly cheered.

Mayers’ mother, Renee Black, who was present throughout the court proceedings, was with her son when he was released. A private plane was waiting at the Stockholm Arlanda Airport to transport the suspects and Black back to the U.S. Friday evening, according to the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

Mayers shared an emotional post on Instagram after he was released, thanking his fans for their support during this “very difficult and humbling experience.”

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FBI: Delivery drivers involved in Amazon theft ring

SEATTLE (AP) — The two contract delivery drivers working for Amazon had a clear-cut assignment: They were supposed to bring packages from a warehouse south of Seattle to a post office for shipping, or sometimes drive to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to pick up items that were being returned to the company.

Instead, the FBI said in a search warrant affidavit unsealed last month, they routinely stole the items and sold them at pawn shops.

A police detective last summer noticed that one of the drivers had dozens of pawn shop transactions, and thus began an investigation that uncovered a theft ring that sold millions of dollars’ worth of stolen goods on Amazon.com in the past six years, the FBI said.

According to the search warrant affidavit, two storefront businesses posing as pawn shops bought the goods from shoplifters, then had the items shipped to Amazon warehouses, where they were stored until sold online.

Entities associated with the alleged ringleader did at least $10 million in sales on Amazon since 2013, FBI agent Ariana Kroshinsky wrote in her affidavit. The agency said it was awaiting further records from Amazon to determine the full amount.

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How Trump’s latest China tariffs could squeeze US consumers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The latest tariffs President Donald Trump plans to impose on Chinese goods would cost U.S. households an average of $200 a year, some economists estimate, and would start to bite consumers and retailers just as the holiday shopping season begins.

That cost would come on top of the roughly $830 cost imposed per household from Trump’s existing tariffs, according to a New York Federal Reserve analysis.

Trump plans to tax $300 billion of Chinese imports at 10% starting in September with the goal of accelerating trade talks with Beijing to favour the United States. The new tariffs would be in addition to 25% tariffs Trump has imposed on $250 billion in Chinese products. Those are mostly industrial goods. By contrast, the new tariffs would target products used by American consumers, like shoes, clothing and cellphones.

By Friday, Trump’s new planned tariffs had triggered worries, especially among retailers, about the consequences. Retail stores, many of which have been struggling, would have to make the painful choice of either absorbing the higher costs from the new tariffs or imposing them on price-conscious customers.

Additionally, China has signalled the likelihood of imposing counter-tariffs on U.S. goods, which would hit American exporters. The stock market sold off sharply on Friday, in part over concerns about the effect on corporate profits.

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Families say Purdue Pharma must be ‘held accountable’

BOSTON (AP) — They came bearing oversized images of the sons and daughters they lost to drug overdoses and signs demanding justice from the pharmaceutical company they hold most responsible.

The parents and their supporters rallied outside a Boston courthouse Friday as a judge heard arguments in Massachusetts’ lawsuit against Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, over its role in the national opioid epidemic.

“Unless you’ve lost a child, you don’t know what that pain is like,” said Kathleen Scarpone, a New Hampshire resident whose 25-year-old son died of an overdose in 2015, just a few years after serving as a Marine in Afghanistan. “You wake up every day and your heart breaks a little. I don’t want anyone to ever feel that.”

Scarpone was among more than 100 people gathered in front of Suffolk County Superior Court through the daylong hearing. The group laid poster boards filled with photos of hundreds of Massachusetts overdose victims on the courthouse steps.

Some held signs saying, “Sack the Sacklers,” referring to the wealthy family that owns Purdue Pharma and whose name is emblazoned across major institutions such as the Smithsonian, Guggenheim and Harvard from years of philanthropy.

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California festival gunman killed himself, officials say

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The gunman who opened fire on a California food festival killed himself after officers shot him multiple times, officials said Friday, correcting previous police accounts that the officers fired the fatal bullet.

Police gave the update soon after the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office said 19-year-old Santino William Legan died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Legan killed three people — including two children — and injured 13 others at the popular Gilroy Garlic Festival on Sunday. Authorities say they have not yet been able to determine his motive.

Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee told reporters that the timeline remains the same: Three veteran police officers responded in less than a minute and fired multiple rounds when Legan turned his AK-47-style semi-automatic rifle on them. Smithee said the officers hit him multiple times and he fell to the ground with the rifle.

“He was able to get one more round off, and he was able to shoot himself in the head,” the police chief said.