News Wrap: Putin sign deals with Vietnam during trip to bolster Russian support in Asia

In our news wrap Thursday, Vladimir Putin signed deals with Vietnam during his trip to bolster support in Asia, the trial of a Russian American woman accused of treason began in Moscow, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is set to be the next NATO Secretary General and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced sanctions against Mexican drug cartel members in a push to address the opioid crisis.

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Geoff Bennett: Russian President Vladimir Putin picked up more support today during his trip to Asia, signing a series of deals with Vietnam. But his visit to the region is as much about the war in Ukraine as it is about bilateral agreements.

Earlier this week, Putin was in North Korea, where he and Kim Jong-un pledged to come to each others aid. That led South Korea to say it would consider supplying arms to Ukraine. Putin told reporters in Vietnam today that the country’s leaders would be making a big mistake if they did so.

Meantime, in Washington, Senate Republicans and Democrats banded together in pushing to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT): In my view, this message to the world is as important in a moral sense as any practical consequence. Russia deserves to be in this small, selective club of atrocity-committing killers.

Geoff Bennett: Also today, the White House said it would redirect deliveries of air defense missiles to Ukraine, instead of sending them to other U.S. allies. A spokesperson described the decision as — quote — “difficult, but necessary,” given Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is all but certain to be the next NATO secretary-general after his last rival for the job, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, withdrew from the race. Rutte would succeed current NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg in October. He’s a longtime supporter of Ukraine’s war effort against Russia. Rutte’s selection would allow NATO leaders to put up a united front when they gather in Washington in July to mark the 75th anniversary of the military alliance.

The trial of a Russian-American woman accused of treason started today in Moscow. Ksenia Karelina was born in Russia but lives in Los Angeles. She was arrested in February while visiting family in Russia. Russian authorities accuse her of raising money for Ukraine. But her boyfriend says it was a single donation of about $50.

In a statement, he told the “News Hour”: “She is full of compassion and donated a small amount to a U.S. nonprofit to help people in need. She is not an activist for any cause.”

Karelina faces up to 20 years if convicted.

Today, a State Department spokesperson warned all Americans to avoid going to Russia.

Matthew Miller, State Department Spokesman: You run a tremendous risk by traveling to Russia of being detained, being imprisoned, being convicted. And so we continue to make clear to every American, do not for any reason travel to Russia.

Geoff Bennett: Karelina’s trial is taking place behind closed doors in the same court where Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will face espionage charges when his trial starts next week.

Tropical Storm Alberto was downgraded to a tropical depression today, as the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season made its way inland over Mexico. Alberto brought heavy rain and sustained winds of 35 miles per hour. Three people have died. Parts of Southern Texas were also hard-hit.

Rain is also in the forecast in New Mexico, where two massive wildfires have burned more than 35 square miles and destroyed 1,400 buildings. At least two people there have died. Residents are hoping the rain will help the firefighting efforts, which have been unrelenting.

Christopher Bright, New Mexico Resident: It’s been nonstop planes, nonstop sirens, almost felt like being in the middle of a war zone, with all the smoke surrounding our little calm area right here in the middle.

Geoff Bennett: Meantime, the Eastern Great Lakes and New England baked today under this week’s unrelenting heat wave. The mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley are next. The National Weather Service expects heat index readings to surpass 100 degrees in many areas, possibly setting new records.

Crew members from the cargo ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Key Bridge in March will finally be allowed to return to their home countries of India and Sri Lanka. Attorneys for the city of Baltimore had said they should stay in the U.S. to be deposed in ongoing civil litigation, but a U.S. district judge confirmed they can go home, so long as they are still available for depositions.

The crew members had stayed on the Dali for weeks after the deadly collision, even when experts carried out a controlled demolition of the bridge to free the vessel.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced new sanctions today against eight members of a Mexican drug cartel as part of the Biden administration’s broader push to address the ongoing opioid crisis. The group is notorious for manufacturing and distributing fentanyl, as well as other illegal drugs.

Speaking in Georgia today, Yellen said the Treasury Department is treating the cartel like it would a business, freezing its members’ assets and cutting them off financially.

Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury Secretary: They rely on access to banking systems and to the U.S. dollar to make payroll and finance purchases. And this means the Treasury Department has a unique ability to disrupt and degrade their operations.

Geoff Bennett: At that same appearance, Secretary Yellen defended President Biden’s tariffs on Chinese goods, including electric vehicles and semiconductors. And she criticized former President Trump’s tariff proposals as being too broad, saying they would hurt American consumers and businesses.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones industrial average added nearly 300 points to close above 39000. The Nasdaq slipped from its recent records, giving back 140 points. The S&P 500 gave back nearly 14 points.

And actor Donald Sutherland has died.

Jeffrey Brown has more on the career of one of the industry’s most versatile actors.

Jeffrey Brown: Donald Sutherland’s career spanned six decades, with appearances in nearly 200 films and TV shows and the widest possible range of characters.

Donald Sutherland, Actor: I’d rather be a civilian, sir.

Jeffrey Brown: He first made his name in the 1960s playing an army misfit in “The Dirty Dozen.”

Donald Sutherland: I think you will find these accommodating. They’re quite dry.

Jeffrey Brown: In the ’70s, he broke through as a leading man, as a wise-cracking battlefield surgeon in Robert Altman’s film “MASH.”

He could also be twisted and menacing, as in “Fellini’s Casanova,” or a murderous Nazi spy in “Eye of the Needle.” A seminal role, the emotionally wounded father in Robert Redford’s 1980 film “Ordinary People.”

One of Hollywood’s most prolific actors, Sutherland maintained a constant presence on screen and never retired, taking on more supporting character roles as time went on.

Donald Sutherland: For you, Ms. Everdeen.

Jeffrey Brown: Among the best known, as President Snow in the popular film series “The Hunger Games.” Despite his critical acclaim and popularity, Sutherland never received an Academy Award nomination. But he said the privilege of working with acclaimed filmmakers was enough of a reward.

Donald Sutherland: I have made films for Fellini’s and for Bertolucci, for Chabrol, for Werner Herzog, for Rebecca Horn. These people, I love, and that love is the greatest award you could ever have in your life.

Jeffrey Brown: And in 2017, at age 82, he received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement.

Donald Sutherland: I wish I could say thank you to all of the characters I have played, thank them for using their lives to inform my life.

Jeffrey Brown: Sutherland’s death was announced on social media by his son and fellow actor Kiefer, who wrote of his father: “Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved.”

Donald Sutherland was 88 years old.

For the “PBS News Hour,” I’m Jeffrey Brown.