GEOFF BENNETT: And we start the day's other headlines with a much-anticipated deal between the U.S. and Ukraine.

The Treasury Department confirms that the two sides signed an agreement to establish the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.

In a statement, Secretary Scott Bessent wrote that: "This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term."

The deal includes collaboration Ukraine's critical minerals.

The Trump administration had made it clear that such an agreement was required to continue the overall effort to win the war.

In Vermont, a federal judge released a Palestinian activist who led protests against the war in Gaza while a student at Columbia University.

GEOFF BENNETT: Mohsen Mahdawi had been a legal permanent resident of the U.S. for 10 years.

He was arrested by ICE agents earlier this month during an interview about finalizing his U.S. citizenship.

His lawyers say he was detained for speaking out for Palestinian human rights.

The Trump administration wants to deport him, saying his presence in the U.S. has -- quote - - "foreign policy consequences."

Speaking to supporters today, Mahdawi remained defiant.

MOHSEN MAHDAWI, Permanent U.S. Resident: And I am saying it clear and loud to President Trump and his Cabinet: I am not afraid of you.

GEOFF BENNETT: Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident of the U.S. Khalil was detained by immigration authorities in March and remains in custody.

Communities cleaned up today across parts of the Ohio Valley and Northeast after a massive line of thunderstorms turned deadly.

Tuesday's storms, known as a derecho, stretched hundreds of miles and were responsible for at least three deaths in Pennsylvania.

Hurricane-force wind gusts tore off roofs, toppled trees into houses and brought downed power lines throughout the region.

More than 500,000 people were without power today, mostly in Pennsylvania.

And in the South Central U.S., officials are warning of flash flooding across southern Oklahoma and northern Texas amid record rainfall.

In the Middle East, Israel is appealing for international assistance as it battles wildfires raging near Jerusalem.

Extreme heat and high winds are fanning the flames, which have prompted the evacuation of several communities.

At least 12 people have been hospitalized.

Authorities shut down a main highway today after drivers there abandoned their cars when smoke engulfed the road.

The fires came as many marks the country's Memorial Day for fallen soldiers.

Some Independence Day celebrations set for tomorrow have been called off.

On Wall Street today, stocks shook off losses early on as investors digested the latest economic data.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day 140 points higher.

The Nasdaq slipped about 15 points, but that's well off its lows.

The S&P 500 managed a slight gain.

Still to come on the "News Hour": Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin on reshaping her party's message to voters; taking stock of President Trump's economic policies 100 days in; and a look back at the Vietnam War half-a-century after the fall of Saigon.