U.S. and world news for May 30

Economists projected that consumer spending slowed in April and that inflation cooled to 2.2%.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images via CNN Newsource

Americans pulled back on their spending in April

(CNN) — American consumers reined in their spending and socked away their money in April following a tariff-fueled buying binge the month before, according to new data released Friday that also showed inflation cooled off again. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer spending rose 0.2% last month, a weaker-than-anticipated reading but a notable retreat from March, when spending soared 0.7% as Americans front-loaded purchases — notably new cars — ahead of potential price increases from President Donald Trump’s tariffs. In April, consumers saw a nice 0.8% boost to their incomes, a jump likely attributed to larger Social Security payments as well as continued resilience in the labor market; however, a lot of those funds were plunked into piggy banks: The personal saving rate leapt to 4.9% from 4.3%, according to Friday’s report. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index was 2.1% for the 12 months ended in April, a slowdown from the 2.3% annual gain in March. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.1%, a slight acceleration after holding steady in March.

Canada wildfires force province’s largest evacuation

(CNN) — Massive wildfires burning out of control in western and central Canada are forcing thousands to flee as dire forecasts for the country’s fire season come to fruition. The intensifying blazes are also sending hazardous smoke toward major cities in the United States. The premiers of Manitoba and Saskatchewan have declared states of emergency, and much of Canada, from the Northwest Territories and Alberta to Ontario, are at “extreme” risk of wildfires on Friday — the highest level on Environment Canada’s fire risk scale. There are just over 170 wildfires burning across Canada as of Thursday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, and about half are uncontrolled. The country raised its National Preparedness Level to level 5 of 5 on Thursday, which is unusually high for this early in the fire season. Last year, Canada didn’t reach that level until July 15. In Manitoba, around 17,000 people are under evacuation orders, including the city of Flin Flon, Pimicikamak Cree Nation and the northern community of Cross Lake, along with Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, according to CNN’s Canadian news partner CBC News. Computer models show smoke from the western Canadian blazes will spread into the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes Friday and throughout the weekend, potentially affecting the cities of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit.

Supreme Court allows Trump to suspend deportation protections

(CNN) — The Supreme Court on Friday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to suspend a Biden-era parole program that allowed a half million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to temporarily live and work in the United States. It was the second time this month that the high court sided with Trump’s efforts to revoke temporary legal status for immigrants. The Supreme Court previously cleared the way for the administration to revoke another temporary program that provided work permits to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans. The court’s brief order was not signed. Two liberal justices – Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson – dissented from the decision. Though the emergency decision from the Supreme Court is not final – the underlying legal case will continue in lower courts – the order will allow the administration to expedite deportations for those who had previously benefited from the program.

Israel approves biggest expansion of West Bank settlements in decades

Jerusalem (CNN) — Israel approved a massive expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank this week in a move described as a continuation of de facto annexation of the territory. Peace Now, an Israeli non-governmental organization that tracks settlements, said it was the largest expansion of settlements since the signing of the Oslo Accords more than 30 years ago. Israel will establish 22 new settlements, including deep within the West Bank and in areas from which the country had previously withdrawn, as part of the new security cabinet decision, according to a joint statement from Defense Minister Israel Katz and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. “All the new communities are being established with a long-term strategic vision, aimed at reinforcing Israeli control of the territory, preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, and securing development reserves for settlement in the coming decades,” the statement said. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the president of the Palestinian Authority, called the announcement a “dangerous escalation and a challenge to international legitimacy and international law.”