By Margarette Burnette, Spencer Tierney, NerdWallet

The Federal Reserve just delivered the rate cut that Wall Street predicted, trimming the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points. The new target range is now 4.00% to 4.25%. While the move is likely to make loans cheaper, it will affect more than just debt. People with money parked in high-yield savings accounts will probably see their rates fade as well.

When the Fed lowers rates, banks often follow by lowering savings yields. It may not be a huge drop right away, but annual percentage yields (APYs) for today’s top savings accounts and certificates of deposit — which are north of 4% — will probably decline. If you’re not already earning a high rate on your money, you may want to act soon.

High rates will dip but not disappear

The economy has been showing signs of slowing productivity and rising unemployment, and the Fed typically responds to these conditions by easing its rate policy. In August 2025, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled rate cuts in a speech at the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Powell noted that “the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks” could justify a change. Today’s announcement made the change a reality. Depending on market conditions, there could be even more cuts in the future.

The Fed’s decision today was notable in that it was the first rate cut in 2025. But it was a relatively small reduction. While banks will drop their deposit rates, that doesn’t mean it’s your last chance for worthwhile rates.

“We’ve spent so much of the last 17 years in a zero-rate environment that we tend to think when rates fall, they’re going back to zero,” says Adam Stockton, head of retail deposits and lending at the banking analytics firm Curinos. But that scenario is probably not where we’re headed, Stockton says.

The Fed projected in June that its long-term target rate range is around 3.00% to 3.50%. If that holds, it means a further drop of only one percentage point or less. Stockton noted that, apart from a catastrophic financial event, consumers don’t need to worry about their deposit rates dropping to nothing. But finding the best rates for your money should continue to be a priority.

How to react to lower rates on savings accounts

Today’s best high-yield savings accounts earn around 4% APY, based on NerdWallet data. Those rates will likely dip, but since today’s cut is only 0.25 points, we’re unlikely to see large rate swings. If you’re looking for a place to park your cash and earn interest, a high-yield savings account is still your best bet.

Stockton suggests staying on top of your account’s rate to watch out for drops. You don’t have to check the APY daily, but looking it up every month or so to make sure it’s competitive is a good idea, he says. If it isn’t, consider switching accounts.

Keep in mind that interest compounds over time. So the sooner you move your money into a high-yield account, the more it can grow.

Don’t wait to open a new CD

The best one-year CD rates are around 4.10%, while top five-year rates are closer to 3.80%, according to NerdWallet data. These are some of the highest rates of the past decade, and you’ll need to act quickly if you want to secure them. As with savings accounts, these CD yields will likely dip.

CDs’ fixed rates let you lock in today’s yields for months or years of consistent returns. Ideally your rate surpasses inflation. Note that certificates of deposit are best for savings left untouched, since there are typically early withdrawal penalties that can erase some or all interest earned.

It’s not too late to get a high-yield savings account or CD before rates slip. The Fed’s next meeting is scheduled for late October, at which point it may cut rates again, so savers may want to act before then.

More From NerdWallet

The Truth About These 4 Common Banking Myths
Savings Rates Stay Strong Despite Dips: A 2024 Recap and What’s Next for 2025
Are You Saving Money in the Right Place?

Margarette Burnette writes for NerdWallet. Email: mburnette@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @Margarette.
Spencer Tierney writes for NerdWallet. Email: spencer.tierney@nerdwallet.com.

The article What Savers Should Do After the Fed’s First Rate Cut in 2025 originally appeared on NerdWallet.

By JONEL ALECCIA, AP Health Writer

Federal regulators are proposing to remove another artificial dye from the U.S. food supply — Orange B, a synthetic color that hasn’t been used in the U.S. for decades.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that it would seek to repeal the regulation allowing use of the dye approved in 1966 to color sausage casings and frankfurters. No batches of the dye have been certified, or asked to be used, since 1978, FDA officials said.

“Its use has been abandoned by industry,” the agency said in a statement. “The color additive regulation is outdated and unnecessary.”

But consumer advocates who have called for tougher FDA regulation of food dyes and other additives for decades have suggested it was an empty gesture.

“It says they are currently willing to take mandatory steps only where it has no impact,” said Sarah Sorscher, who directs regulatory affairs for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group.

The move follows the FDA’s decision in January to ban Red No. 3 because of potential cancer risk. That dye has been used far more widely in candies, snack foods and medicines.

The Orange B proposal is separate from a successful push by the Trump administration this year to pressure top food manufacturers to voluntarily remove artificial food dyes from products ranging from cereals and yogurt to sodas. After a brief public comment period, it would take effect within 45 days.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary have pledged to remove petroleum-based dyes from U.S. foods, citing concerns about children’s health.

Mixed studies have indicated that exposure to food dyes can cause behavioral problems in some children, including hyperactivity and attention issues. However, the FDA has maintained that approved dyes are safe and that “the totality of scientific evidence shows that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives.”

Recently, the FDA included six food dyes widely used in the U.S. — Green No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1 and Blue No. 2 — on a list of chemicals under agency review. Another approved dye, Citrus Red No. 2, is rarely used and found in small amounts in the skin of some citrus products.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

A new addition at the state Capitol grounds is meant to highlight an important aspect of Minnesota’s past and present.

Eleven flags were raised earlier this month in front of the Capitol to recognize Native American tribes in the state. The Tribal Flag Plaza is intended to inform the public about their contributions.

Minnesota is the second state to have tribal flags at their capitol after Montana, reported MPR News.

Flags from Minnesota’s 11 Native American tribes fly over state Capitol grounds in St. Paul. Photographed on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

The 11 flags represent the relationship between the state and the tribes. At the base of each flag are plants chosen by each tribe, each with cultural and ecological significance.

The initial idea came after Montana raised their tribes’ flags in 2020, according to Patina Park, the executive director of State Tribal Relations. Several of the tribes reached out to the Minnesota officials for a similar plaza, Park said.

The plaza design was approved by the Capitol Area and Architectural Planning Board in 2024. Construction started early this year and finished in September, according to Erik Cederleaf Dahl, the executive secretary for the Capitol Area and Architectural Planning Board.

At the grand opening on Sept. 5, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said the plaza is more than just a new landscape.

​“The Capitol should tell the full story of the history of Minnesota, one that honors all 11 federally recognized tribal nations, acknowledges complex histories and builds a future rooted in inclusion, beauty and truth,” Flanagan said at the celebration.

The plaza is a part of the large Minnesota 2040 plan, a project to make the Capitol mall area more accessible to all residents.

Park said the flags show the progress between the state government and Native American tribes.

“I think it reflects the intentional partnership and relationship building we have been doing over the last six years, governor’s two terms,” Park said.

For Michael Child Jr., the Prairie Indian Community Tribal Council treasurer, the flags are a way to represent the contributions of the native community.

“The plaza to me, kind of reminds people of history, but also reminds people that we are still here. We’re not some historical long gone and forgotten people,” Child said.

Dahl said the next step for the plaza is signage at the bottom of each flag, explaining each tribe’s seal. The signs will have the tribe’s name in their native language and English, there will also be information about the tribe in English, according to Park.

Both Park and Dahl hope when people walk by they will want to stop near the flags and learn more.

“I hope it triggers people to have a curiosity, to want to learn more, maybe travel, visit the tribal lands and go to their cultural sites or their cultural buildings,” Park said.

Minnesota’s federally recognized tribes

The 11 federally recognized tribes are:

• Lower Sioux Indian Community.

• White Earth Nation.

• Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

• Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

• Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

• Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

• Red Lake Nation.

• Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

• Upper Sioux Community.

• Prairie Island Indian Community.

• Bois Forte Band of Chippewa.

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By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon says it’s making a $1 billion investment to raise wages and lower the cost of health care plans for its U.S. fulfillment and transportation workers.

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The Seattle-based company said Wednesday the average pay is increasing to more than $23 per hour and said that some of its most tenured employees will see an increase between $1.10 and $1.90 per hour. Full-time employees, on average, will see their pay increase by $1,600 per year.

Amazon also said it was lowering the cost of its entry health care plan to $5 per week and $5 for co-pays, starting next year. Amazon said that will reduce weekly contributions by 34% and co-pays by 87% for primary care, mental health and most non-specialist visits for employees using the basic plan.

Amazon has a global workforce of 1.5 million workers.

Last December, seven Amazon facilities went on strike, an effort by the Teamsters union to pressure the e-commerce company for a labor agreement during a key shopping period.

That same month, Amazon reached a settlement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that requires the online behemoth to adopt corporatewide ergonomic measures at facilities across the country. The agency claimed hazardous working conditions led to serious lower back and other musculoskeletal disorders at Amazon facilities.

In January 2024, Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, said that average wages for hourly workers would exceed $18, up from $17.50. The increase was due to Walmart introducing some higher-paying hourly roles in its Auto Care Centers last year, among other changes, the company said.

Walmart had announced in January 2023 that U.S. workers would get pay raises the following month, increasing starting wages to between $14 and $19 an hour. Starting wages had previously ranged between $12 and $18 an hour, depending on location.