News Wrap: Death toll rises to 53 in Texas after migrants were found in abandoned truck

Judy Woodruff:

The NATO summit is under way in Madrid tonight, and alliance leaders have branded Russia as the biggest threat to its peace and security. They also pledged more aid to Ukraine, as Ukrainian President Zelenskyy appealed via video link from membership.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President (through translator):

Russia needs to be isolated. Is it a coincidence that all allies in the East, all our neighbors, are in favor of Ukraine's membership in NATO? No, this is not a coincidence.

Judy Woodruff:

We will take a closer look at the NATO summit after the news summary.

Two more people have died in the latest Texas migrant smuggling tragedy. That announcement today raised the toll to 53 fatalities out of 67 people found in a sweltering abandoned truck in San Antonio on Monday. Mexican officials say the truck driver initially pretended to be one of the survivors in a bid to get away.

The U.S. Supreme Court today allowed an Army veteran to sue Texas over his claim that burn pits in Iraq cost him his job as a State Trooper. Le Roy Torres says he was exposed to toxic material that caused lung damage. He says he was unable to work and that the state violated federal law by forcing him out.

Also today, the court ruled that Oklahoma may prosecute non-Native Americans for crimes against tribal members on reservations. An earlier decision curbed state authority on tribal lands.

The High Court's final decisions of this term come tomorrow, and Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement becomes official. Ketanji Brown Jackson will be sworn in immediately to replace Breyer. She will become the first Black woman on the court.

A French court has convicted all 20 defendants in the 2015 Paris terror attacks that killed 130 people. The only surviving attacker, Salah Abdeslam, was found guilty of terrorism and murder charges. He got life in prison.

One survivor welcomed the end of the trial even before the verdicts today.

Arthur Denouveaux, Bataclan Survivor:

It's a relief. It's mostly a release, both because it means that justice has made what it had to do, but also because it means that this trial is behind me and I can go on with my life.

Judy Woodruff:

Thirteen defendants were convicted of aiding in the plot. Six others were tried in absentia. Most are presumed to be dead.

In Israel tonight, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that he will not run in upcoming elections. Bennett led a broad, but fragile coalition for just a year, before it crumbled. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will had an interim government before the fall election. That is the fifth since 2019.

Back in this country, R&B singing star R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for sexually abusing young women, including some who were children. He said nothing in court. But tearful accusers told the judge how Kelly had preyed on them. After the sentence was imposed, some of them spoke outside.

Jovante Cunningham, Survivor:

There wasn't a day in my life up until this moment that I actually believed that the judicial system would come through for Black and brown girls. I stand here very proud of my judicial system, very proud of my fellow survivors, and very pleased with the outcome.

Judy Woodruff:

Allegations against Kelly had circulated since the 1990s. He was convicted last year of racketeering and sex trafficking.

There is word that the FBI is now investigating alleged sexual abuse by Catholic priests in New Orleans going back decades. The Associated Press reports that agents are checking whether priests took children across state lines to molest them. In New Orleans, the archdiocese is already in bankruptcy over abuse claims.

Tuesday's primary election results were another mixed bag for Trump supporters. In Colorado, far right Congresswoman Lauren Boebert defeated a mainstream Republican challenger, but GOP voters rejected indicted county clerk Tina Peters in her bid to be the state's chief elections officer.

In New York, Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul easily won her primary. She faces Lee Zeldin, a Republican congressman, in November.

On Wall Street, stocks struggled to make any headway. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 82 points to close at 31029. But the Nasdaq edged down just three points. The S&P 500 slipped two.

And the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II has died. In 1945, Hershel "Woody" Williams single-handedly wiped out a series of Japanese machine guns on Iwo Jima. Williams died today at a Veterans Affairs hospital named for him in West Virginia. He was 98 years old.