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By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes slipped on Tuesday as Wall Street took a pause from its relentless rally.

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The S&P 500 dipped 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 88 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.9%.

It’s the first pullback for the indexes after the trio set all-time highs in each of the last three days. Since surging from a bottom in April, the broad U.S. stock market has been facing criticism that it’s shot too high, too fast and become too expensive. Even the head of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, said on Tuesday that stock prices broadly look “fairly highly valued.” read more

A pair of Mars-bound satellites are back at Kennedy Space Center a year after NASA bowed out of its chance to be part of the debut launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn.

The satellites for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission, constructed by Rocket Lab, look to fly on what would be New Glenn’s second ever mission.

The two small satellites, dubbed Blue and Gold, were built by Rocket Lab in California for NASA and the University of California Berkeley’s Space Science Laboratory.

“It’s been a long road, but we are so excited to be launching Blue & Gold on their mission to understand the Martian space weather environment.” said Rob Lillis, the mission’s principal investigator and associate director for planetary science at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory. “Through the usual ups and downs, Rocket Lab has been right alongside NASA and UC Berkeley, supporting us every step of the way on this interplanetary journey.”

The mission’s purpose is to orbit Mars and observe plasma and magnetic fields around the planet to help understand what processes strip atoms from Mars’ magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. That could help explain why Mars’ atmosphere is so thin, and how it may have evolved over time. read more

For the first time in 2025, the Fed has cut rates. That means two things for consumers: Borrowing will get cheaper, but savings returns won’t be as high. It will take time for either effect to take hold.

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  Powell signals Federal Reserve to move slowly on interest rate cuts

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  More Americans think companies benefit from legal immigration, a new poll finds

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  Trump’s unfounded claims heap new stress on household brand name Tylenol

On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, as expected, bringing the federal funds rate range to 4.00%-4.25%. The Fed last cut rates at its December 2024 meeting, following cuts at its two previous meetings. Throughout 2025, the federal funds rate has stood at 4.25%-4.50%.

Why cut rates now?

Fed Chair Jerome Powell called the trim a “risk-management cut,” in a press conference following the decision. When asked if a cut should have come sooner, Powell said, “We have to live life looking through the windshield rather than the rear-view mirror.” read more

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX, Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — As President Donald Trump’s administration imposes new restrictions on the legal immigration system, U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think these immigrants benefit the country, according to a new poll.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to economic growth and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. The survey also shows that Americans are less likely than they were in January to say the number of legal immigrants to the U.S. should be reduced. Slightly fewer than half of Americans say the number should remain the same, a similar percentage from earlier this year.

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By TOM MURPHY and MICHELLE CHAPMAN, Associated Press

President Donald Trump blasted Tylenol this week, promoting unproven links between the pain reliever and autism and pushing the well-established treatment into another national image crisis.

“Don’t take Tylenol,” Trump instructed pregnant women around a dozen times during a White House news conference. He also urged mothers not to give infants the drug, known by the generic name acetaminophen in the U.S. or paracetamol in other countries.

The attack on Tylenol by the U.S. president was unprecedented but not exactly new territory for one of the world’s most common pain relievers. Tylenol already has faced dozens of lawsuits regarding the autism claim, and it dealt with cyanide poisoning s in the 1980s that lead to a product recall.

Some studies have raised the possibility that taking the over-the-counter painkiller in pregnancy might be associated with a risk of autism — but many others haven’t found a connection.

The attack from Trump could invite more litigation and lead customers to switch to alternatives. But the maker of Tylenol, Kenvue Inc., is refuting Trump’s challenge, and analysts think loyalty to a product that has been on the market since the 1950s may ultimately limit damage. read more