U.S. and world news for May 29

Stocks higher after a federal court halts Trump’s tariffs

New York (CNN) — Stocks were mixed Thursday after a federal court ruled late Wednesday that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority to impose sweeping tariffs, throwing into chaos the administration’s core trade policy that has threatened to raise prices for businesses and slow the economy. Investors cheered — but not overwhelmingly. The Dow opened higher but hovered around the flatline Thursday morning. The S&P 500 rose 0.25% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4%, boosted by Nvidia’s strong earnings Wednesday. Gains were somewhat muted because the fate of Trump’s tariffs remains unclear. Trump’s administration immediately appealed, so the ruling may ultimately be overturned. A number of Wall Street analysts also suggested the White House could simply reclassify some of its sweeping tariffs under a different law that was not challenged in the court ruling. “The Trump administration has other authorities it can use to impose tariffs similar to those the court struck down,” noted Alec Phillips, managing director at Goldman Sachs, in a note to investors.

Elon Musk ending time in Trump administration

(CNN) — Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who was granted special government employee status to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, said Wednesday evening that his time in the Trump administration has come “to an end.” During his time helming DOGE, Musk oversaw major cuts to the federal workforce as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce federal spending. “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk said in a post on X, the social media platform he owns. “The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.” CNN has previously reported that DOGE is poised to continue its work even as Musk steps back, with staffers to remain in place, embedded across federal agencies, for months or years to come. Musk, who was limited to working 130 days as a special government employee, will begin the offboarding process, which essentially includes paper work, on Wednesday night, a White House official said. “I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” Musk said in an interview. “I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don’t know if it can be both.”

Harvard commencement clouded by fears

(CNN) — From the time Leo Gerdén left his native Sweden, he has looked forward to this day, when he’ll cross a stage as one of more than 1,700 undergrads earning degrees from Harvard University. But he’s not sure he will feel the kind of joy he expected at commencement. “I think it will be quite hard, to be honest,” Gerdén told CNN. Still, Gerdén is lucky. As a senior, he always planned for this to be his last semester at Harvard. Now, many other foreign scholars fear their own time in Cambridge, Massachusetts, could be cut short. Harvard’s international students – who make up 27% of the university’s enrollment – are the latest group caught in the crossfire of ideological warfare between their school and the Trump administration as it presses colleges across America to adopt policies aligned with its politics or face steep funding cuts. The commencement will unfold as federal District Judge Allison Burroughs – in a courtroom just 6 miles from the music and cheering – hears arguments in a case that could determine whether those who plan to return to Harvard in the fall actually can come back.

Home sellers outnumber buyers by largest margin in 12 years

(CNN) — After years of bidding wars and climbing home prices, the balance of power in the housing market may finally be shifting. Home sellers now vastly outnumber buyers in the US, according to an analysis released Thursday from real estate company Redfin. The report found that there were nearly 500,000 more home sellers in the market than buyers as of April, the largest gap between the two groups since Redfin began compiling the data in 2013. The data is an early indication that the US housing market may be experiencing a slowdown — not because home prices nationally are becoming more affordable, but because there are fewer buyers. It’s the latest sign that a long-building affordability crisis, now compounded by trade tensions and recession fears, may be finally catching up with the housing market. Despite the recent drop-off in demand for new homes, prices have continued to rise. The median existing home sales price rose 1.8% year-over-year in April to $414,000, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors last week. That’s an all-time high for the month of April and the 22nd consecutive month of year-over-year price increases. At the same time, elevated mortgage rates are contributing to the monthly expenses that new borrowers incur when purchasing a new home. The average rate on a standard 30-year fixed mortgage, the most popular type of home loan, is currently hovering just under 7% and threatens to go even higher amid unrest in the bond market.

Russian military figure killed in explosion 

Kyiv, Ukraine (CNN) — A Russian deputy governor and prominent veteran of Moscow’s war in Ukraine was killed in an explosion in southern Russia early on Thursday, authorities said. Zaur Aleksandrovich Gurtsiev, 29, died alongside another man in the blast on a street in Stavropol, which investigators said “committed using a homemade explosive device.” “As part of the investigation, the scene of the incident is being inspected, examinations are being ordered, and the necessary investigative actions are being carried out to establish all the circumstances of the incident,” Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a Thursday statement. Video footage circulated online and on state media appears the show the moment of the blast, which occurs just as Gurtsiev meets the other man in a darkened street, near a row of parked cars. After the blast, the footage seemingly shows Gurtsiev lying on the ground, while the second man is rocked back by the explosion. The man who died in the explosion in Stavropol along with Gurtsiev rented an apartment in a building near the scene of the incident, emergency services told state media outlet TASS.

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