Trump promotes unproven ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism without new evidence
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday used the platform of the presidency to promote unproven ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism without giving new evidence.
Speaking from the White House, Trump said women should not take acetaminophen, also known by the brand name Tylenol, “during the entire pregnancy.” He said the Food and Drug Administration would begin notifying doctors that the use of acetaminophen “can be associated” with an increased risk of autism, but did not immediately provide any medical evidence for the FDA's new recommendation.
Trump also raised unfounded concerns about vaccines contributing to rising rates of autism, which affects 1 in 31 U.S. children today, according to the CDC. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr said that at Trump's urging he is launching an “all-agency” effort to identify all causes of autism, involving the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Scientists, doctors and researchers have attributed increased rates of autism to greater awareness of the disorder and the newer, wide-ranging “spectrum” used to issue diagnoses for people with milder expressions of autism. It’s hard to tell if there may be additional factors behind the increase.
The Trump administration has been under immense pressure from Kennedy’s diverse Make America Healthy Again movement to provide answers on the causes of the marked increase in autism cases in the U.S. in recent years.
What we know about autism's causes
WASHINGTON (AP) — A White House announcement about autism is expected Monday afternoon after President Donald Trump's weekend comment that “I think we found an answer” to the developmental disorder.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised earlier this year to determine the cause of autism by September. That baffled brain experts who say there is no single cause and that the rhetoric appears to ignore decades of science into the genetic and environmental factors that can play a role.
Here's what we know about autism.
Autism isn’t a disease. It’s a complex developmental condition better known as autism spectrum disorder that affects different people in different ways.
It can include delays in language, learning or social and emotional skills. For some people, profound autism means being nonverbal and having intellectual disabilities, but the vast majority of people with autism experience far milder effects.
France recognizes Palestinian statehood at UN meeting to revive peace efforts
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — As the Gaza war rages on, France recognized Palestinian statehood on Monday at the start of a high-profile meeting at the United Nations aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict. More nations are expected to follow, in defiance of Israel and the United States.
French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement in the U.N. General Assembly hall received loud applause from the more than 140 leaders in attendance. The Palestinian delegation, including its U.N. ambassador, Riyad Mansour, could be seen standing and applauding as the declaration was made. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, was seen applauding on a live-camera view after the U.S. government banned him from attending the U.N. gathering in person.
“True to the historic commitment of my country to the Middle East, to peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, this is why I declare that today, France recognizes the state of Palestine,” Macron said.
The meeting and expanded recognition of Palestinian statehood are expected to have little if any actual impact on the ground, where Israel is waging another major offensive in the Gaza Strip and expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Macron announced recognition of the state of Palestine at the start of the meeting, at which several world leaders were expected to speak. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to address the meeting by video after he and dozens of other senior Palestinian officials were denied U.S. visas to attend the conference.
ABC ends Jimmy Kimmel's suspension and his show will return Tuesday
NEW YORK (AP) — ABC will reinstate Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show in the wake of criticism over his comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, officials with the network said Monday.
"We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” said a statement from the network.
ABC suspended Kimmel indefinitely after comments he made about Kirk, who was killed Sept. 10, in a monologue. Kimmel said “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk” and that “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
Kimmel has hosted “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC since 2003 and has been a fixture in television and comedy for even longer. He is also well known as a presenter, having hosted the Academy Awards four times.
Backlash to Kimmel’s comments about Kirk was swift. Nexstar and Sinclair, two of ABC’s largest affiliate owners, said they would be pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from their stations. Others, including several fellow comedians, came to his defense.
Supreme Court will weigh expanding Trump’s power to shape agencies by overturning 90-year-old ruling
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider expanding President Donald Trump's power to shape independent agencies by overturning a nearly century-old decision limiting when presidents can fire board members.
In a 6-3 decision, the high court also allowed the Republican president to carry out the firing of Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission, while the case plays out.
It's the latest high-profile firing the court has allowed in recent months, signaling the conservative majority could be poised to overturn or narrow a 1935 Supreme Court decision that found commissioners can only be removed for misconduct or neglect of duty. The majority has previously indicated that the president likely has the power to remove board members at will, with some exceptions, because those agencies exercise executive power.
They have suggested the Federal Reserve might be different, however, a prospect expected to be tested by the case of fired Fed Governor Lisa Cook.
Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented from the decision allowing Slaughter’s firing. It comes after similar decisions affecting three other independent agencies.
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Some admirers of Charlie Kirk hope response to his death signals start of a religious revival
With Vice President JD Vance calling Charlie Kirk “a martyr for Christianity,” and a Catholic cardinal calling him “a modern-day St. Paul,” some Kirk admirers suggest his assassination will galvanize throngs of people — notably young conservatives — to become more engaged in evangelical and Catholic churches.
Evocations of Kirk-inspired religious fervor surfaced almost immediately after his death on Sept. 10, and continued to swell as much of Sunday's VIP-studded memorial service for the conservative activist resembled a massive megachurch service. There have been widespread reports of attendance surging at some evangelical churches.
“Charlie had big plans, but God had even bigger plans,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the service in Arizona. “Charlie started a political movement but unleashed a spiritual revival.”
The Rev. Robert Jeffress, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump who leads a Southern Baptist megachurch in Dallas, said via email, “The short-term impact of Kirk’s murder is astounding.”
“The outpouring of emotion rivals that of September 11 and President Kennedy’s assassination,” Jeffress added. “Whether this genuine emotion translates into long-term change is yet to be determined, but I pray that it does.”
Putin says Russia is willing to abide by nuclear arms deal with the US for 1 year after it expires
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared his readiness to adhere to nuclear arms limits for one more year under the last remaining nuclear pact with the United States that expires in February, and he urged Washington to follow suit.
Putin said allowing the New START agreement signed in 2010 to expire would be destabilizing and could fuel proliferation of nuclear weapons. His televised remarks came at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and the West, and with concerns rising that fighting in Ukraine could spread beyond its borders.
“To avoid provoking a further strategic arms race and to ensure an acceptable level of predictability and restraint, we believe it is justified to try to maintain the status quo established by the New START Treaty during the current, rather turbulent period,” Putin said while speaking from the Kremlin. He said Russia is prepared to stick by the treaty's limits for one more year after it expires on Feb. 5, 2026.
Arms control advocates long have voiced concern about the treaty’s looming expiration and the lack of dialogue to secure a successor deal, warning about the possibility of a new nuclear arms race and increased risk of a nuclear conflict.
Putin said maintaining limits on nuclear weapons could also be an important step in “creating an atmosphere conducive to substantive strategic dialogue with the U.S.”
TikTok's algorithm to be licensed to US joint venture led by Oracle and Silver Lake
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tech giant Oracle will spearhead U.S. oversight of the algorithm and security underlying TikTok's video popular platform under the terms of a deal laid out Monday by President Donald Trump's administration.
All the final details still need to be nailed down among several joint venture partners that will include Oracle, investment firm Silver Lake Partners and possibly two billionaires — media mogul Rupert Murdoch and personal computer pioneer Michael Dell. The U.S. administration would not have a stake in the joint venture nor be part of its board, according to a senior White House official.
President Trump is expected to issue an executive order later this week that declares that the terms of the deal meet the security concerns laid out by the law, the senior White House official said. China still needs to sign off on the framework proposal, and any final deal would still require regulatory approval.
The proposal is aimed at resolving a long-running effort to wrest TikTok's U.S. operations from its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, because of national security concerns. TikTok has become a high-profile topic during conversations between Trump and China President Xi Jinping as they continue to spar in a trade war that's roiled the global economy for much of the year.
For now, the two sides are progressing on a framework deal that calls for a consortium of investors, including Oracle and Silver Lake, to take over the U.S. operations of TikTok in a process that might not be completed until early next year under a timeline laid out Monday by the Trump administration. That could mean TikTok's divestment might not be completed until a year after it was supposed to be banned under a law that had bipartisan support but was repeatedly bypassed by Trump.
Residents of San Francisco Bay Area jolted awake by 4.3 magnitude earthquake
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Residents across the San Francisco Bay Area were jolted awake early Monday by a moderate earthquake that was felt widely across the region.
The 4.3 magnitude quake hit shortly before 3 a.m. just east-southeast of Berkeley, across the bay from San Francisco, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
No injuries or major damage was reported, but some businesses said windows were broken and merchandise tumbled from shelves.
“Things were shaking in our newsroom,” posted Dave Clark, a news anchor for KTVU-TV. “It caught everyone off guard.”
Bay Area Rapid Transit trains ran with delays for several hours as crews made safety inspections of the tracks systemwide. BART said trains returned to regular service around midday.
ACC moving to 9-game football schedule starting next year, aligning with rest of Power Four peers
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference is moving to a nine-game league schedule for football while having teams play at least 10 games against power-conference opponents, though there will be variables due to the league’s odd number of football-playing member schools.
Commissioner Jim Phillips announced the decision in a statement Monday, saying athletic directors had “overwhelmingly supported” the move after “incredibly intentional” discussions about scheduling options.
Going from an eight- to a nine-game model would align the ACC with its power-conference peers in the Big 12, Big Ten and Southeastern conferences. The ACC would join the SEC — which announced its move from eight to nine last month — in playing 10 games against Power Four opponents in a so-called “9+1 model.”
Still, the ACC being the only power conference with an odd number of football-playing members (17) means there are wrinkles.
A person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press that most league teams will transition to the nine-game slate next year, though multiple teams will play eight league games and two against Power Four opponents — an “8+2 model” — to accommodate nonconference games already on the books.
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