News Wrap: Trump lashes out at Justice Department at GOP convention in Georgia

John Yang:

Good evening. I'm John Yang. Former President Donald Trump was on the campaign trail today, stumping for votes, a day after an indictment was unsealed detailing 37 felony counts against him, all stemming from his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. At the Georgia Republican Convention in Columbus this afternoon, Trump lashed out at the Justice Department and the special prosecutor who led the investigation.

Donald Trump, Former U.S. President:

The ridiculous and baseless indictment of me by the Biden administration's weaponized Department of Injustice will go down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country. And we have a thug who's in charge. This is a political hitch up. Republicans are treated far differently at the Justice Department than Democrats.

John Yang:

Earlier, at the North Carolina Republican Convention in Greensboro, rival candidate Mike Pence, who's been cleared by an investigation of his handling of classified documents, defended his former boss.

Mike Pence, Former U.S. Vice President:

Former president, like every other American, is entitled to a presumption of innocence. Attorney General Merrick Garland stop hiding behind the special counsel and stand before the American people and explain why this indictment went forward.

John Yang:

Trump is to make his initial appearance in federal court in Miami on Tuesday. Between this week's indictment in Florida and a March indictment in New York, the former president is facing 71 felony counts. Theodore Kaczynski, the man known as the Unabomber, has died. Between 1978 and 1995, he used homemade bombs in a one man effort to try to bring down modern society.

Theodore Kaczynski was one of America's most notorious domestic terrorists. For nearly 20 years, the Harvard trained mathematician made untraceable bombs in a shacky built himself in rural Montana. He mailed or hand delivered them to unsuspecting targets.

The FBI branded him the Unabomber because his early attacks were against universities and airlines. In 1995, Kaczynski sent the Washington Post and the New York Times a 35,000 word manifesto outlining his disdain for modern society and technology. He said his deadly crusade would continue if the outlets refused to publish it.

In the end, it led to his arrest. After reading it, Kaczynski's brother and sister in law tipped off authorities. In April 1996, the FBI captured Kaczynski in his shack, which was filled with journals, explosive materials and completed bombs. Kaczynski pleaded guilty to a variety of charges and was given four life sentences plus 30 years in prison.

Kaczynski was 81 when he died today in a federal medical facility in North Carolina.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his long awaited military counteroffensive against Russia has begun at a news conference in Kyiv with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Zelenskyy would not elaborate on Ukraine's progress so far. Trudeau pledged $500 million in new military aid to support the war effort.

On the front lines, fighting has intensified in the south and the east. The Ukrainian army claims they've made progress in the fight to reclaim the eastern city of Bakhmut this after Russian video appeared to show recent airstrikes on Ukrainian Army vehicles.

The fighting has forced the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to shut down its last reactor. Much of the surrounding area is still reeling from a major dam rupture and massive flooding earlier in the week.

Shifting weather patterns are helping clear the skies over the East Coast. Those skies had been fouled by smoke from Canada's worst wildfire season on record.

A cold front is expected to push the smoke out into the sea early next week. Skies over Manhattan, which had been a hazy orange for much of the week were clear today. At the White House, crowds gathered this afternoon for a Pride Month celebration. Poor air quality forced a postponement earlier in the week.

And in the Amazon jungle, a miraculous rescue. Four indigenous children, ranging in age from 13 years to eleven months, were found alive after being stranded for 40 days. They had survived a plane crash. The Colombian Army airlifted the siblings out of the wilderness on Friday. They're now getting medical treatment in Bogota. The crash of the light aircraft killed their mother and two pilots.

President Gustavo Petro says the children were found by a rescue dog.

Still to come on "PBS News Weekend," as the summer tick season gets started, what you need to know to stay safe, and how anonymity on social media influences the way people act online.