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1. Former President Trump Indicted
Former U.S. President Donald Trump was indicted Thursday on charges of “willfully retaining national defense secrets in violation of the Espionage Act, making false statements and a conspiracy to obstruct justice,” the New York Times reports.
This is the first time a former president has faced federal charges, the Times reports. Trump is expected to surrender this upcoming Tuesday.
“I’m an innocent man. I’m an innocent person,” Trump said in a video on his Truth Social platform.
2. Wildfires Rage On in Canada
While there’s been some progress in containing wildfires in the eastern Canadian province of Quebec, flames continue to spread out west in British Columbia, Reuters reports. Evacuation orders are in place in Tumbler Ridge and Donnie Creek, both in British Columbia, where the average temperatures have risen 10 degrees Celsius more than the seasonal average.
The success in containing fires in Quebec is relative, however, as nearly a third of the fires burning across Canada are in the province, the news outlet reports. The situation is stabilizing in the province, according to Premier François Legault.
“Canada is enduring its worst start to the wildfire season. There have been 2,372 fires so far this year and 4.3 million hectares (10.6 million acres) burned, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), roughly 15 times the annual average over the last decade,” the news outlet reports.
3. Inside Marriott’s New Project MidX Studios Brand
Marriott International entered the midscale extended-stay segment with a new brand tentatively called Project MidX Studios, and the company hopes to capture the demand growth in the segment, HNN’s Bryan Wroten reports.
“We see it as a unique opportunity to enter the space and grow, particularly in the U.S. and extended stay,” Leeny Oberg, chief financial officer and executive vice president of development, said.
As Marriott continues to finalize the brand’s official name — Project MidX Studios is a placeholder — the company is in discussions with development companies to build hotels for the new brand, Wroten reports. The company is targeting an average rate of $80 and a revenue per available room of $65.
4. China Entices More Consumer Spending
Six commercial state-run banks in China lowered interest rates on deposits this week from 0.25% to 0.2% in an effort to increase consumer spending in an economy that has struggled to find footing since it lifted its COVID-19 restrictions last year, the New York Times reports.
China’s economy saw some positive momentum in the first quarter of this year, growing at 4.5%, but the second quarter results are expected to show some contraction, the newspaper reports. Betty Rui Wang, senior China economist at the Australia-based bank ANZ, said May was a turning point.
“It’s losing momentum,” Wang said.
5. Eurozone in Recession
Global trade issues and geopolitical tensions have rattled Germany’s usually resilient economy, putting the eurozone in a recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. The large size of the country’s economy can swing the eurozone’s fate, as countries such as France, Italy and Spain have seen growth this year.
According to the newspaper, economists believe there will be “a slow and protracted recovery” for Europe later this year. One cause of the continent’s slow growth is the lack of consumer spending; household spending decreased in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 in Europe.