US President Donald Trump on Monday urged pregnant people not to take Tylenol over an unproven link to autism, and urged major changes to the standard vaccines given to babies.The announcement comes as the White House has vowed to revolutionize health in the United States, as experts across medicine and science voice broad concern over the administration’s initiatives.Medical professionals have long cited acetaminophen as among the safest painkillers to take during pregnancy, especially as fever and pain can also pose dangers to both the mother and the developing fetus.But Trump insisted that “taking Tylenol is not good.””For this reason, they are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary. That’s for instance, in cases of extremely high fever that you feel you can’t tough it out,” he said.During his news conference Trump then pushed major changes to the routine vaccine schedule given to infants, insisting without evidence that there’s “no reason” to vaccinate newborns against the incurable, highly contagious Hepatitis B.Repeating anti-vaccine movement talking points, Trump said “I would say, wait until the baby is 12 years old and formed.”That statement stands in direct contradiction in the face of broad medical consensus formed over decades that the best way to prevent maternal transmission of the disease that can cause liver damage and cancer is to vaccinate newborns within the first day of life.His statement comes days after an influential advisory panel handpicked by health chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stopped short of advising that a delay of one month of the first dose of Hepatitis B was warranted.They deemed more discussion was necessary — offering temporary relief to many experts in public health who said delaying that shot could have dire results.- New therapy approved -Identifying the cause of autism — a complex condition connected to brain development that many experts believe occurs for predominantly genetic reasons — has been a pet cause of Trump’s controversial health chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Earlier this year, Kennedy — well-known for his anti-vaccine views and penchant for conspiracy theories — vowed he would release findings regarding autism’s cause by September 2025.The administration’s recent initiative to uncover autism’s roots has been widely criticized. Kennedy has spent decades pushing discredited claims that link vaccines to autism.He touted the drug leucovorin, a form of vitamin B first used to alleviate chemotherapy side effects, as an “exciting therapy” that could help children with autism.The FDA on Monday said it was approving the drug’s tablet form to help a subset of children who have “cerebral folate deficiency.”The Trump government’s expected focus on acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, is likely to meet broad critique.The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are among the major medical groups who have identified Tylenol as among the safest options for pain relief and fever reduction during pregnancy. Doctors already warn against its long-term use.Another common over-the-counter pain reliever, ibuprofen, is generally considered unsafe for pregnant people, especially after the 20th week.- ‘Nuanced and uncertain’ -A literature review published last month concluded there was reason to believe a possible link between Tylenol exposure and autism existed — but other studies have found an opposite result.Researchers behind the August report cautioned that more study is needed and that pregnant people should not stop taking medication without consulting their doctors.David Mandell, a psychiatric epidemiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, told AFP that research suggests the possible risks posed by taking Tylenol while pregnant seem “to be lower than the risk of having an uncontrolled infection during pregnancy.”The professor of psychiatry also emphasized that digging into the interaction of genetic and environmental factors is an area of critical research, but that to take on those studies with rigor demands decades of study and funding — and cast the Trump administration’s efforts as rushed.The Coalition of Autism Scientists earlier called it “highly irresponsible and potentially dangerous to claim links between potential exposures and autism when the science is far more nuanced and uncertain.””Secretary Kennedy’s announcement will cause confusion and fear,” said the group in a statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron recognized a Palestinian state at the United Nations on Monday,  spurring a wave of Western moves to defy Israel in making the landmark — if symbolic — move.Macron, speaking at a summit that Israel and its chief backer the US did not attend, called for an end to the war in Gaza.”The time for peace has come, as we are just moments away from no longer being able to seize it,” Macron said in an address in the General Assembly.”The time has come to free the 48 hostages held by Hamas. The time has come to stop the war, the bombings of Gaza, the massacres and the displacement.”Macron, however, said France would not open an embassy to a Palestinian state until a ceasefire is in place in Gaza and all hostages released.The Palestinian Authority hailed France’s “historic and courageous” decision and its delegation gave him a standing ovation. Australia, Britain, Canada and Portugal recognized a Palestinian state, piling pressure on Israel as it intensifies its war in Gaza.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to allow a Palestinian state and far-right members of his cabinet have threatened to annex the West Bank to make statehood impossible.Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon said Israel “will take action.””They are not promoting peace. They are supporting terrorism,” he said.US President Donald Trump “believes (recognizing) is a reward to Hamas,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told AFP ahead of the summit: “We should not feel intimidated by the risk of retaliation.”- Palestinian Authority presses Hamas -Other countries recognizing a Palestinian state on Monday included Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco and San Marino, according to Macron.Spain, Ireland and Norway already recognized a Palestinian state in May, and Sweden did so in 2014.The war was unleashed when Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023, bringing a relentless counterattack by Israel.An independent state would be centered around the Palestinian Authority, which exerts limited control in the West Bank, and is the rival of Gaza-based Hamas.Israel has sought to minimize the distinction between the two, and Washington, in an unusual step, refused to allow Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas to attend.The 89-year-old veteran Palestinian leader, forced to address the summit virtually, called on Hamas to surrender its weapons to his Palestinian Authority.”We also condemn the killing and detention of civilians, including Hamas actions on October 7, 2023,” he said.France co-hosted the summit with Saudi Arabia, which has flirted with normalization with Israel, a top goal for Netanyahu. The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, told the summit that all countries should follow suit and recognize a Palestinian state.- Limited practical effect -Germany, Italy and Japan, while all critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, are among major US allies that declined to recognize a Palestinian state.”A negotiated two-state solution is the path that can allow Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace, security and dignity,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said.Britain, which backed a Jewish homeland in 1917, said it would back off recognizing a Palestinian state if Israel agreed a Gaza ceasefire. Instead, Israel launched a massive new campaign aimed at seizing Gaza City.But recognition, while historic, is unlikely to change facts on the ground.”Unless backed up by concrete measures, recognizing Palestine as a state risks becoming a distraction from the reality, which is an accelerating erasure of Palestinian life in their homeland,” said the International Crisis Group’s Israel-Palestine project director, Max Rodenbeck.The October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 Israelis, mostly civilians, according to official data.Israeli military operations since then have killed 65,344 Palestinians, mostly civilians, says the Hamas-run health ministry, figures the UN considers reliable.abd-gw-fff-sct/sms

Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show, which was abruptly pulled from the air last week after the US government threatened broadcasters, will be back on Tuesday, Disney announced Monday.The sudden suspension by ABC, which is owned by Disney, came after conservative complaints about comments Kimmel had made in the wake of the shooting of Christian activist Charlie Kirk.”Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” said a company statement.”It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive.  “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.”Kimmel’s abrupt disappearance from the airwaves, apparently after government pressure on broadcasters who distribute ABC, sparked fury in liberal America, with critics saying Kimmel had been targeted because he is a frequent critic of President Donald Trump.Trump had celebrated Kimmel’s removal, calling it “Great News for America.”Opponents saw it as the latest step in creeping government control of free speech — an article of faith for many Americans, as well as a right enshrined in the country’s constitution.Some on the right were also uneasy, including people who regularly count themselves as Trump allies, like Ted Cruz, the conservative senator from Texas, and firebrand broadcaster Tucker Carlson.On Friday, Trump again complained about negative media coverage of him, which he said he thought was “illegal.”- FCC threat -The Kimmel episode unfolded a week after Kirk, a close Trump ally, was shot dead on a Utah university campus, setting off a bitter battle over responsibility in deeply polarized America, with conservatives — including Trump — blaming “the radical left.”Authorities have charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson and have not indicated they are looking for anyone else.In his show-opening monologue last Monday, Kimmel said “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid… as anything other than one of them.”He then showed footage of Trump pivoting from a question about how he had been affected by Kirk’s death to boasting about the new ballroom he is building at the White House, prompting laughter from the studio audience.”This is not how an adult grieves the murder of somebody called a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish,” Kimmel said.Two days later, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr threatened the licenses of ABC affiliates that broadcast Kimmel’s show.”I think it’s past time these (affiliates) themselves push back… and say, ‘Listen, we’re not going to run Kimmel anymore until you straighten this out because we’re running the possibility of license revocation from the FCC,'” he told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson.Hours later, Nexstar, one of the country’s biggest owners of ABC affiliate stations, announced it would be removing the show from its stations.Nexstar is in the middle of a multi-billion-dollar merger with a rival that will require FCC approval.ABC then followed suit, pulling the show nationwide.- Hollywood stars -Before Disney’s about-face was announced on Monday, a constallation of Hollywood stars signed an open letter calling the decision to pull the show “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our nation (that is) unconstitutional and un-American.””The government is threatening private companies and individuals that the President disagrees with. We can’t let this threat to our freedom of speech go unanswered,” said the letter by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).Signatories to the letter included Marvel star Pedro Pascal, Tom Hanks, Jennifer Aniston, Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro.

The White House on Monday said a US version of TikTok would feature a homegrown model of the app’s prized algorithm, potentially clearing one of the main obstacles to keeping the Chinese-owned platform online in the United States.Often described as TikTok’s “secret sauce,” the fate of the video-sharing app’s algorithm was one of the main question marks in persuading China to allow the platform’s transfer to US ownership.A law passed under President Donald Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, has forced current owner ByteDance to sell its US operations or face a ban of the hugely popular app in its biggest market.US policymakers, including Trump in his first presidency, have warned that China could use TikTok to mine data from Americans or exert influence through its state-of-the-art algorithm.Trump has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the ban while the White House looked for a team of domestic buyers for TikTok’s US business.As part of its ongoing trade talks with Beijing, it has also sought permission from Chinese authorities to allow one of their most successful tech champions to hand over the corporate reins — and algorithm — to Americans.Under the proposal presented by a senior White House official to reporters, TikTok’s US operations would move into a new joint venture based in the United States that would involve a majority-American board of directors.US cloud giant Oracle, which already works closely with TikTok in the United States, would serve as a security guarantor for the algorithm, ensuring that it remained separate from any Chinese involvement.- ‘Fully inspected’ -TikTok’s content recommendation algorithm is “going to be fully inspected and retrained by the security provider on US user data, and then it’s going to be operated by that US entity,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.The US official said the algorithm would be “continuously monitored” to ensure it is “not being unduly influenced.”The latest updates came after Trump hailed progress Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping on issues including TikTok, after both leaders spoke by telephone for the second time since Trump’s return to the presidency.Trump is expected to sign an executive order this week, declaring that the terms of the TikTok deal meet national security requirements, the US official said Monday.This would also help to assure doubters who worry that the arrangement between Trump and Xi could fall short of the US law’s obligations by leaving too great a role for ByteDance, which would keep control of TikTok globally.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News over the weekend that “there will be seven seats on the board that controls the app in the United States, and six of those seats will be Americans.”Trump separately added that conservative media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and his eldest son Lachlan could be among the investors who will take control of TikTok in the United States.Venture capital giants Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake are also reported to be part of the deal.Beijing, however, has said very little about any pending agreement.”On the TikTok issue, Xi noted that China’s position is clear: the Chinese government respects the will of enterprises and welcomes them to conduct business negotiations based on market rules, to reach solutions that balance interests and comply with Chinese laws and regulations,” state broadcaster CCTV said after the Trump-Xi phone call.