Fed hold rates steady, says job market is ‘solid’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday after cutting it three times in a row last year, a sign of a more cautious approach as the Fed seeks to gauge where inflation is headed and what policies President Donald Trump may pursue. In a statement, the Fed said the job market is “solid,” and noted that the unemployment rate “has stabilized at a low level in recent months.” The Fed also appeared to toughen its assessment of inflation, saying that it “remains somewhat elevated.” Both a healthier job market and more stubborn inflation typically would imply fewer Fed rate cuts in the coming months. In a news conference Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell largely deflected questions about recent comments from President Trump, including one from last week, when Trump said he would lower oil prices and then “demand” lower rates.

President Donald Trump appeals his New York hush money conviction

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump has appealed his New York hush money conviction, seeking to erase the verdict that made him the first person with a criminal record to win the office. Trump’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal Wednesday asking the state’s mid-level appeals court to overturn his conviction last May on 34 counts of falsifying business records. The case involved an alleged scheme to hide a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 Republican campaign and was the only one of his criminal cases to go to trial.

Ex-fire chief in New York City pleads guilty in corruption scandal

NEW YORK (AP) — A former New York City Fire Department chief has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge, admitting that he and others agreed to accept $190,000 in bribes to speed safety inspections for customers of a former city firefighter. Anthony Saccavino entered the plea Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. Sentencing was set for May 14. A plea agreement signed with the government recommends that Saccavino serve five years in prison. It also calls for Saccavino to give up the $57,000 he received in bribes before the scheme was discovered. Authorities said Saccavino carried out the scheme from 2021 to 2023.

DOJ drops criminal proceedings against Trump co-defendants in classified records case

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has abandoned all criminal proceedings against President Donald Trump’s two co-defendants in the classified documents case against him in Florida, foreclosing the chance the case against them could ever be revived. Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira were charged with conspiring with the Republican to obstruct an FBI investigation into the hoarding of classified documents that he took with him when he left the White House after his first term. A judge in July dismissed charges against all three men, but an appeal of that dismissal with regard to Nauta and De Oliveira had remained pending.