By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are swinging again Wednesday in the final hours before President Donald Trump unveils the tariffs he promised as part of his “ Liberation Day ” that could drastically remake the global economy and trade.

The S&P 500 was 0.3% lower in morning trading after paring an early loss of 1.1%. It’s had a pattern this week of opening with sharp losses only to finish the day higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 140 points, or 0.3%, as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% lower.

Tesla helped pulled the market lower after it said it delivered fewer electric vehicles in the first three months of the year than it did in last year’s first quarter. Its shares fell 2.2% to extend their loss for the year so far to 35%. Tesla, one of Wall Street’s most influential stocks because of its immense size, has faced growing backlash due to anger about CEO Elon Musk’s leading the U.S. government’s efforts to cut spending.

Financial markets around the world have been particularly shaky lately because of all the uncertainty around what Trump will announce in the event scheduled to begin after the U.S. stock market closes for the day. He has said he wants tariffs to make the global system more fair and to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States from other countries.

But tariffs also threaten to grind down growth for the U.S. and other economies around the world, while worsening inflation when it seems to be remaining stubbornly higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Much is still unknown about what Trump will say later in the day, including how big the tariffs will be, which countries will be hit and what kinds of products will be targeted.

The announcement may also not even clear up all the uncertainty weighing on Wall Street, given that it may just provide a starting point for negotiations with other countries.

One of the hopes that’s helped push upward on the U.S. stock market recently is the possibility that at least the worst of the uncertainty may have already passed.

“We do not know how long the previously enacted tariffs and any future tariffs will remain in force, but we believe peak tariff uncertainty may soon be behind us,” according to Kurt Reiman, head of fixed income Americas, and other strategists at UBS Global Wealth Management. “Much of the work the administration set out to achieve will have been put in place, and there are numerous potential offramps available.”

The tariffs Trump plans to unveil later in the day follow other announcements of 25% tariffs on auto imports; levies against China, Canada and Mexico; and expanded tariffs on steel and aluminum. Trump has also put tariffs against countries that import oil from Venezuela and plans separate import taxes on pharmaceutical drugs, lumber, copper and computer chips.

Another fear hitting the market is that the herky-jerky rollout of his trade strategy may by itself create enough nervousness to spur U.S. households and businesses to freeze their spending, which would damage the economy.

Surveys have shown deepening pessimism, but economists are waiting to see if that translates into actual damage for the economy. A report on Wednesday morning suggested the U.S. job market may still be running stronger than expected.

The report from ADP Research said employers, excluding the government, accelerated their hiring last month by more than economists estimated. It could offer an encouraging signal for the more comprehensive hiring report that’s coming Friday from the U.S. government. Economists expect that to show overall hiring slowed in March from February.

The job market has been one of the linchpins keeping the U.S. economy out of a recession.

Treasury yields nevertheless fell after the ADP payrolls report, continuing a trend that’s largely held since January on worries about how tariffs could slow the economy.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.14% from 4.17% late Tuesday and from roughly 4.80% early this year. That’s a significant move for the bond market.

On Wall Street, Newsmax fell 36.3% in its third day of trading to give back some of its meteoric gains from its debut. It surged 735% Monday and then another 179% on Tuesday.

In stock market abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe after finishing mixed in Asia.

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge dismissed New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ corruption case on Wednesday, acquiescing to the Justice Department’s extraordinary request to set aside criminal charges so the Democrat could help with President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The judge, though, denied prosecutors the ability to potentially bring the criminal case back after the mayoral election. Judge Dale E. Ho’s order to dismiss the case “with prejudice” spares Adams from having to govern in a way that pleases Trump, or potentially risk having the Republican’s Justice Department revive the charges.

The decision follows a legal drama that roiled the Justice Department, created turmoil in City Hall and left Adams’ mayoralty hanging by a thread amid questions about his political independence and ability to govern.

Several prosecutors in New York and Washington resigned rather than carry out the Justice Department’s directive to drop the case against Adams. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a fellow Democrat, pondered whether to remove Adams from office but decided instead to propose new oversight for city government.

At a Feb. 19 hearing, Adams told Ho: “I have not committed a crime.”

Adams had pleaded not guilty to bribery and other charges after a 2024 indictment accused him of accepting illegal campaign contributions and travel discounts from a Turkish official and others — and returning the favors by, among other things, helping Turkey open a diplomatic building without passing fire inspections.

The case, brought during President Joe Biden’s administration, was on track for an April trial until Trump’s Justice Department moved to drop it. Ho delayed the trial and appointed former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement to assist him in deciding what to do.

The Justice Department had wanted the option to revive the case in the fall. Adams’ lawyers wanted it gone for good.

In a written submission on March 7, Clement told Ho he had no choice under the law but to dismiss the case. But he recommended that the judge reject the Justice Department’s request to be able to refile them after this year’s mayoral election, which would leave “a prospect that hangs like the proverbial Sword of Damocles over the accused.”

The decision comes with three months to go until a Democratic primary that is likely to chose the city’s next mayor.

Adams faces a large field of challengers, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and several Democrats who say he’s now too indebted to Trump for New Yorkers to be sure he’ll prioritize their interests. Adams has said he’s “solely beholden to the 8.3 million New Yorkers that I represent, and I will always put this city first.”

As recently as Jan. 6, the assistant U.S. attorneys in New York who were prosecuting Adams wrote in court papers that they continued to “uncover additional criminal conduct by Adams.” But a month later, their new superiors in Washington decided to abandon the case.

In court filings and a hearing, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has said he was “particularly concerned about the impact of the prosecution on Mayor Adams’ ability to support” Trump’s immigration objectives. Bove also has questioned the prior administration’s motives in pursuing Adams, who had criticized then-President Joe Biden’s handling of an influx of migrants.

The Trump administration’s acting U.S. attorney in New York, Danielle Sassoon, resisted Bove’s order, saying she couldn’t defend a dismissal linked to political considerations. Sassoon a

Sassoon and several other career prosecutors and supervisors of public corruption cases quit rather than follow Bove’s order. Bove put other New York-based prosecutors involved in the Adams case on a paid leave.

Bove and two senior Justice Department lawyers ultimately signed court papers requesting a dismissal with the option to refile the charges after the November election.

After four of Adams’ top deputies at City Hall decided to resign, Hochul briefly considered taking the unprecedented step of ousting a New York City mayor. She ultimately concluded it would be undemocratic and disruptive to do so.

Adams, a retired police captain and former state lawmaker and Brooklyn official, was elected in 2021 as a centrist Democrat in one of the United States’ liberal strongholds. But since his indictment in September, Adams has cultivated a warmer relationship with Trump, telling his staff not to criticize the president publicly and making media appearances with administration officials.

Adams insists that just he’s looking out for the city by having a working relationship with the administration.

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By BERNARD CONDON, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla sales declined in the first three months of the year, another sign that Elon Musk’s once high-flying electric car company is struggling to attract buyers.

The drop of 13% is likely due to combination of factors, including its aging lineup, competition from rivals and a backlash from Musk’s embrace of right wing politics. It also is a warning that the company’s first-quarter earnings report later this month could disappoint investors.

Tesla reported deliveries of 336,681 globally in the January to March quarter. The figure was down from sales of 387,000 in the same period a year ago. The decline came despite deep discounts, zero financing and other incentives.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected much higher deliveries of 408,000.

Tesla’s stock has plunged by roughly half since hitting a mid-December record as expectations of a lighter regulatory touch and big profits with Donald Trump as president were replaced by fear that the boycott of Musk’s cars and other problems could hit the company hard.

Analysts are still not sure exactly how much the fall in sales is due to the protests or other factors. Electric car sales have been sluggish in general, and Tesla in particular is suffering as car buyers hold off from buying its bestselling Model Y because of plans for an updated version later this year.

The Austin, Texas electric vehicle maker has also lost market share to rivals in recent months as their offerings improve, including those of BYD. The Chinese EV giant unveiled in March a technology that allows it cars to charge up in just a few minutes.

Shares of Tesla slipped more than 4% before the market open on Wednesday.

By Tony Leys, KFF Health News

PLEASANTVILLE, Iowa — Zach Mecham has heard politicians demand that Medicaid recipients work or lose their benefits. He also has run into a jumble of Medicaid rules that effectively prevent many people with disabilities from holding full-time jobs.

“Which is it? Do you want us to work or not?” he said.

Mecham, 31, relies on the public insurance program to pay for services that help him live on his own despite a disability caused by muscular dystrophy. He uses a wheelchair to get around and a portable ventilator to breathe.

A paid assistant stays with Mecham at night. Then a home health aide comes in the morning to help him get out of bed, go to the bathroom, shower, and get dressed for work at his online marketing business. Without the assistance, he would have to shutter his company and move into a nursing home, he said.

Zach Mecham gets ready for his workday with the help of Courtnie Imler, a home health aide who comes to his house in Pleasantville, Iowa. (Tony Leys/KFF Health News/TNS)

Private health insurance plans generally do not cover such support services, so he relies on Medicaid, which is jointly financed by federal and state governments and covers millions of Americans who have low incomes or disabilities.

Like most other states, Iowa has a Medicaid “buy-in program,” which allows people with disabilities to join Medicaid even if their incomes are a bit higher than would typically be permitted. About two-thirds of such programs charge premiums, and most have caps on how much money participants can earn and save.

Some states have raised or eliminated such financial caps for people with disabilities. Mecham has repeatedly traveled to the Iowa Capitol to lobby legislators to follow those states’ lead. The “Work Without Worry” bill would remove income and asset caps and instead require Iowans with disabilities to pay 6% of their incomes as premiums to remain in Medicaid. Those fees would be waived if participants pay premiums for employer-based health insurance, which would help cover standard medical care.

Disability rights advocates say income and asset caps for Medicaid buy-in programs can prevent participants from working full time or accepting promotions. “It’s a trap — a poverty trap,” said Stephen Lieberman, a policy director for the United Spinal Association, which supports the changes.

Lawmakers in Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, and New Jersey have introduced bills to address the issue this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

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Several other states have raised or eliminated their program’s income and asset caps. Iowa’s proposal is modeled on a Tennessee law passed last year, said Josh Turek, a Democratic state representative from Council Bluffs. Turek, who is promoting the Iowa bill, uses a wheelchair and earned two gold medals as a member of the U.S. Paralympics basketball team.

Proponents say allowing people with disabilities to earn more money and still qualify for Medicaid would help ease persistent worker shortages, including in rural areas where the working-age population is shrinking.

Turek believes now is a good time to seek expanded employment rights for people with disabilities, since Republicans who control the state and federal governments have been touting the value of holding a job. “That’s the trumpet I’ve been blowing,” he said with a smile.

The Iowa Legislature has been moving to require many nondisabled Medicaid recipients to work or to document why they can’t. Opponents say most Medicaid recipients who can work already do so, and the critics say work requirements add red tape that is expensive to administer and could lead Medicaid recipients to lose their coverage over paperwork issues.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has made Medicaid work requirements a priority this year. “If you can work, you should. It’s common sense and good policy,” the Republican governor told legislators in January in her “Condition of the State Address.” “Getting back to work can be a lifeline to stability and self-sufficiency.”

Her office did not respond to KFF Health News’ queries about whether Reynolds supports eliminating income and asset caps for Iowa’s buy-in program, known as Medicaid for Employed People with Disabilities.

National disability rights activists say income and asset caps on Medicaid buy-in programs discourage couples from marrying or even pressure them to split up if one or both partners have disabilities. That’s because in many states a spouse’s income and assets are counted when determining eligibility.

In Iowa, for example, the monthly net income cap is $3,138 for a single person and $4,259 for a couple.

Iowa’s current asset cap for a single person in the Medicaid buy-in plan is $12,000. For a couple, that cap rises only to $13,000. Countable assets include investments, bank accounts, and other things that could be easily converted to cash, but not a primary home, vehicle, or household furnishings.

“You have couples who have been married for decades who have to go through what we call a ‘Medicaid divorce,’ just to get access to these supports and services that cannot be covered in any other way,” said Maria Town, president of the American Association of People with Disabilities.

Town said some states, including Massachusetts, have removed income caps for people with disabilities who want to join Medicaid. She said the cost of adding such people to the program is at least partially offset by the premiums they pay for coverage and the increased taxes they contribute because they are allowed to work more hours. “I don’t think it has to be expensive” for the state and federal governments, she said.

Congress has considered a similar proposal to allow people with disabilities to work more hours without losing their Social Security disability benefits, but that bill has not advanced.

Although most states have Medicaid buy-in programs, enrollment is relatively low, said Alice Burns, a Medicaid analyst at KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

Fewer than 200,000 people nationwide are covered under the options, Burns said. “Awareness of these programs is really limited,” she said, and the income limits and paperwork can dissuade potential participants.

In states that charge premiums for Medicaid buy-in programs, monthly fees can range from $10 to 10% of a person’s income, according to a KFF analysis of 2022 data.

The Iowa proposal to remove income and asset caps has drawn bipartisan backing from legislators, including a 20-0 vote of approval from the House Health and Human Services Committee. “This aligns with things both parties are aiming to do,” said state Rep. Carter Nordman, a Republican who chaired a subcommittee meeting on the bill. Nordman said he supports the idea but wants to see an official estimate of how much it would cost the state to let more people with disabilities participate in the Medicaid buy-in program.

Mecham, the citizen activist lobbying for the Iowa bill, said he hopes it allows him to expand his online marketing and graphic design business, “Zach of All Trades.”

On a recent morning, health aide Courtnie Imler visited Mecham’s modest house in Pleasantville, a town of about 1,700 people in an agricultural region of central Iowa. Imler chatted with Mecham while she used a hoist to lift him out of his wheelchair and onto the toilet. Then she cleaned him up, brushed his hair, and helped him put on jeans and a John Deere T-shirt. She poured him a cup of coffee and put a straw in it so he could drink it on his own, swept the kitchen floor, and wiped the counters. After about an hour, she said goodbye.

Home health aide Courtnie Imler uses a mechanical hoist to lift Zach Mecham out of his wheelchair as she helps him get cleaned up and ready for work at the marketing business he runs out of his home in Pleasantville, Iowa. (Tony Leys/KFF Health News/TNS)

After getting cleaned up and dressed, Mecham rolled his motorized wheelchair over to his plain wooden desk, fired up his computer, and began working on a social media video for a client promoting a book. He scrolled back and forth through footage of an interview she’d done, so he could pick the best clip to post online. He also shoots video, takes photos, and writes advertising copy.

Mecham loves feeling productive, and he figures he could work at least twice as many hours if not for the risk of losing Medicaid coverage. He said he’s allowed to make a bit more money than Iowa Medicaid’s standard limit because he signed up for a federal option under which he eventually expects to work his way off Social Security disability payments.

There are several such options for people with disabilities, but they all involve complicated paperwork and frequent reports, he said. “This is such a convoluted system that I have to navigate to build any kind of life for myself,” he said. Many people with disabilities are intimidated by the rules, so they don’t apply, he said. “If you get it wrong, you lose the health care your life depends on.”

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.