Here’s the Latest:
U.S. markets opened with big gains and clear signs of relief after President Donald Trump said he would not attempt to fire the head of the Federal Reserve.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said Tuesday that the ongoing tariffs showdown against China is unsustainable and he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies. With Tesla profits tanking, billionaire Elon Musk said he advised Trump against tariffs and he’ll now spend less time in Washington slashing government costs.
Two major law firms will be in court asking judges on Wednesday to permanently block Trump’s executive orders that are designed to punish them and hurt their business operations.
And U.S. partners are taking stock of Secretary of State Marco Rubio ‘s plans for a massive overhaul of the State Department including closing or consolidating more than 100 bureaus worldwide.
Here’s the Latest:
Eyeing Trump, leading automakers showcase designed-for-China models at Shanghai auto show
They’re struggling not to be edged aside in the world’s largest car market while watching for Trump’s next steps in his trade war.
Three decades after Beijing set out to build a world-class auto industry, local manufacturers account for about two-thirds of sales inside China and a growing share of global exports. Meanwhile, higher U.S. and European tariffs on foreign-made EVs are prompting some to set up factories overseas as more global consumers opt for the latest Chinese models.
GM, Ford, Toyota and VW are still trying to sell new vehicles in China. But it’s “survival of the fittest,” one analyst says.
Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD now leads Tesla as the world’s biggest maker of EVs by sales, reporting revenue of over $100 billion. It says it plans to build more than 4,000 of its new ultra fast EV charging stations across China, providing full charges in five to eight minutes.
Markets rally after Trump eases concerns over tariffs and says he won’t try to fire Fed Chair Powell
A worldwide rally is coming back around to Wall Street amid encouraging updates from Trump about his plans for the Federal Reserve and his trade war.
The S&P 500 was 2.6% higher in early trading Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2%, and the Nasdaq composite was 3.5% higher.
Tesla helped lead the way by revving 4.3% higher after CEO Elon Musk said he’ll spend less time in Washington and more time running his electric vehicle company. Tesla shares rose 7% before the opening bell Wednesday.
Wall Street’s gains followed strong moves higher for stocks across much of Europe and Asia.
Black churches pledge to support the National Museum of African American History and Culture
They’re taking action after Trump signed an executive order alleging exhibits there and at other Smithsonian Institution sites have expressed a “divisive, race-centered ideology.”
Critics say Trump is trying to force a distorted national narrative that glosses over slavery and other historical wrongs. Some churches are donating as members of the museum and urging congregants to do the same.
The Rev. Robert Turner recently walked from Baltimore to Washington and prayed at the museum entrance. He marches to Washington one day each month to call for reparations for historic wrongs inflicted on Black Americans. Turner added the museum to his itinerary this month and laid a wreath “to show solidarity with the museum” and the history it presents every day.
▶ Read more about how Black churches are defending the African American museum
International students stripped of legal status in the US are piling up wins in court
At least 1,100 international students at 174 colleges, universities and university systems have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated since late March, according to an Associated Press review of university statements, correspondence with school officials and court records. The AP is working to confirm reports of hundreds more students caught up in the crackdown.
Rubio said the State Department was revoking visas held by visitors acting counter to national interests, including some who protested Israel’s war in Gaza and those who face criminal charges. But many affected students said they have been involved only in minor infractions, or it’s unclear altogether why they were targeted.
Federal judges around the country have issued orders to restore students’ legal status at least temporarily. Some other judges have denied similar requests.
▶ Read more about legal challenges to the student visa revocations
Book publishers respond to surging interest in the US Constitution by printing new editions
The Trump administration is inspiring many people to read up on the nation’s founding documents.
Random House announced Wednesday that will publish a hardcover book in July combining the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, followed in November by a hardcover edition of the Federalist Papers, both with introductions by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham. Other publishers have similar plans as interest surges, according to Circana, which tracks the print retail market.
“One way to address the chaos of the present time,” Meacham said, “is to re-engage with the essential texts that are about creating a system that is still worth defending.”
▶ Read more on interest in the United States’ founding documents
Markets bounce after Trump says he won’t try to fire Fed Chair Powell
U.S. markets are poised to open with big gains, a clear sign of relief after Trump said he won’t try to fire the head of the Federal Reserve and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects a “de-escalation” in Trump’s trade war.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.9% before the bell Wednesday, while S&P 500 futures rose 2.6%. Nasdaq futures climbed a full 3%.
Trump, upset that the Federal Reserve was not cutting interest rates immediately, said that he could fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell. But he told reporters Tuesday, “I have no intention of firing him.”
Markets are also reacting to Bessent’s comments that the ongoing tariffs showdown with China is unsustainable.
Rubio’s massive State Department overhaul would cut staff and bureaus
Democrats blasted the reorganization plan announced by Rubio on social media Tuesday and detailed in documents obtained by The Associated Press as the Trump administration’s latest attempt to gut “vital components of American influence” on the world stage.
Rubio ‘s overhaul would reduce staff in the U.S. by 15% while closing and consolidating more than 100 bureaus worldwide, reimagining foreign policy as Trump cuts the size of the federal government. It’s driven in part by the need to find a new home for the remaining functions of the U.S. Agency for International Development, an agency that Trump administration officials and billionaire ally Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have dismantled.
“We cannot win the battle for the 21st century with bloated bureaucracy that stifles innovation and misallocates scarce resources,” Rubio said in a department-wide email obtained by AP. He said the reorganization aimed to “meet the immense challenges of the 21st Century and put America First.”
▶ Read more about Rubio’s plan to overhaul the department
Law firms fighting Trump to ask judges to permanently block executive orders
Two major law firms are expected to ask separate judges on Wednesday to permanently block Trump’s executive orders that were designed to punish them and hurt their business operations.
The firms — Perkins Coie and WilmerHale — have said the orders imposed in March are unconstitutional assaults on the legal profession that threaten their relationships with clients and retaliate against them based either on their past legal representations or their association with particular attorneys who Trump perceives as his adversaries.
Courts last month temporarily halted enforcement of key provisions of both orders, but the firms are in court Wednesday asking for the edicts to be struck down in their entirety and for judges to issue rulings in their favor. Another firm, Jenner & Block, is expected to make similar arguments next week.
The executive orders taking aim at some of the country’s most elite and prominent law firms are part of a wide-ranging retribution campaign by Trump designed to reshape civil society and extract concessions from perceived adversaries.
▶ Read more about the law firms’ request to the judges
US Treasury secretary says trade war with China is not ‘sustainable’
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Tuesday speech that the ongoing tariffs showdown against China is unsustainable and he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be secretary of the Treasury, appears before the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
But in a private speech in Washington for JPMorgan Chase, Bessent also cautioned that talks between the United States and China had yet to formally start.
“I do say China is going to be a slog in terms of the negotiations,” Bessent said according to a transcript obtained by The Associated Press. “Neither side thinks the status quo is sustainable.”
The S&P 500 stock index rose 2.5% after Bloomberg News initially reported Bessent’s remarks.
Trump acknowledged the increase in the stock market in remarks to reporters afterward on Tuesday, but he avoided confirming if he, too, thought the situation with China was unsustainable as Bessent had said behind closed doors.
▶ Read more about Bessent’s comments
