News Wrap: Homeland Security chief sounds alarm on conventions, funeral held for Philando Castile

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• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  Good evening. I'm Judy Woodruff. Gwen Ifill's on assignment in Cleveland.

  On the "NewsHour" tonight: Speculation swirls around whom Donald Trump will pick for his vice presidential running mate, but as the candidate prepares for a different type of convention, could party rules threaten his nomination?

  Also ahead this Thursday: hunger, violence, and political unrest, how Venezuela's financial crisis has taken a turn into darkness.

• FATHER OF KIDNAP VICTIM (through translator):

  At 2:00 in the morning, I was sleeping in my room. My telephone rang and it was my son. He said to me, "Papa, I'm kidnapped. I will put the kidnapper on."

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  And our End of AIDS series takes us from the U.S. to Rwanda, where a successful response to the virus is becoming a point of pride for this once battered country.

• DR. SABIN NSANZIMANA, Rwanda Biomedical Center:

  Now it's time where we can say, no more loss, shouldn't lose any other life anymore.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  All that and more on tonight's "PBS NewsHour."

  (BREAK)

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  The political world was alive with talk today of Donald Trump's running mate.

  Several news outlets reported that he's decided on Indiana Governor Mike Pence. Trump's son, Donald Jr., told NBC it's down to three, Pence, former Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. The Trump campaign said only that an announcement will come tomorrow morning.

  Meanwhile, the Democrats' presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton, met with Democratic senators at the Capitol. She told them she will pick a — quote — "very qualified" vice presidential running mate. We will discuss all of this and more after the news summary.

  Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg walked back her criticism of Donald Trump today. She had branded him a faker and dangerous for the country. In a new statement, she said — quote — "My recent remarks were ill-advised, and I regret making them. In the future, I will be more circumspect."

  The U.S. secretary of homeland security says he's worried about potential trouble during protests at the upcoming party conventions. Jeh Johnson spoke at a House hearing today.

  JEH JOHNSON, Secretary of Homeland Security: I am concerned about the prospect of demonstrations getting out of hand. I am concerned about the possibility of violence. We have within DHS some 3,000 personnel that will be dedicated to the security of the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention each.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  Johnson said thousands of state and local police will also be working the two conventions.

  Hundreds turned out today in St. Paul, Minnesota, for the funeral of Philando Castile, whose fatal shooting by a policeman had touched off nationwide protests. The casket was carried by horse-drawn carriage to the Cathedral of St. Paul. More than 1,500 mourners attended the service.

  In Dallas, police turned out en masse for the funeral of Sergeant Michael Smith. He was one of five officers shot to death by a sniper last week.

  A tragedy is unfolding in southern France tonight. A truck rammed into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice. Local officials say at least 30 people were killed, including the driver, and 100 were injured. They're calling it an attack.

  Britain's new prime minister, Theresa May, shook up the ruling Cabinet today, sacking several ministers and naming Boris Johnson as foreign secretary. The outspoken former London mayor helped lead efforts to quit the European Union. His appointment drew sharp criticism across Europe. Johnson brushed it aside.

• BORIS JOHNSON, Foreign Secretary, United Kingdom:

  It is inevitable there was going to be a certain amount of plaster coming off the ceiling in the chancelleries of Europe. It wasn't the result that they were expecting. And clearly they are making their views known in a frank and free way.

  There's a massive difference between leaving the E.U. and our relations with Europe, which, if anything, I think, are going to be intensified and be built up at an intergovernmental level.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  Here in Washington, the State Department said the United States expects to work well with the new British ministers.

  Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Moscow today, reportedly calling for joint U.S.-Russian action against Islamic State forces in Syria. Ahead of Kerry's arrival, The Washington Post said that he will propose joint bombing operations and other efforts, and ask Russia to restrain Syria's military.

  Until now, the Obama administration had rejected such cooperation.

  Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has denied that his forces targeted American journalist Marie Colvin. She died in an artillery attack while reporting in Syria in 2012, and her family is charging in a lawsuit that the regime wanted her silenced.

  But Assad tells the "NBC Nightly News" that Colvin was to blame for her own death.

• PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD, Syria:

  She worked with the terrorists. And because she came illegally, she's being responsible of everything that befall on her. Nobody knows if she killed by a missile or which missile and where did the missile came from or how. No one has any evidence.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  Assad typically uses the term terrorists to describe all of the groups fighting his forces.

  And back in this country, Wall Street resumed its rally. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 134 points to close at 18506. The Nasdaq rose 28 points, and the S&P 500 added 11.

  Still to come on the "NewsHour": speculation grows around Donald Trump's V.P. pick; a country in crisis, inside Venezuela's economic collapse; a rise in employment contracts that restrict workers' freedom; and much more.