Trump to Address UN

President Donald Trump will take the international stage this week to address the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23 in New York City. 

The question of Palestinian statehood is expected to dominate this year’s U.N. meeting, with world leaders closely watching Trump’s speech, given his opposition to the proposal.

On Sept. 21, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Portugal announced that they will formally recognize Palestinian statehood, joining nearly 150 countries that already have done so.

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to announce France’s recognition of a Palestinian state on Monday. Macron said earlier that it is a necessary move to help end Israel’s conflict with the Hamas terrorist group that began with the latter’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, and San Marino are expected to follow suit.

While the two-state solution is regaining momentum at the U.N., the United States and Israel continue to reject the proposal.

Trump said on July 29 that supporting a two-state solution would effectively reward Hamas. He reiterated his opposition on Sept. 18 during a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his state visit.

“I have a disagreement with the prime minister on that score—one of our few disagreements, actually,” Trump said of Britain’s plan to recognize Palestinian statehood.

“We have to remember Oct. 7, one of the worst, most violent days in the history of the world,” he added. “We have to have the hostages back immediately.”

The United States has denied entry visas to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation for this year’s general assembly, citing national security concerns. 

The State Department blamed Palestinian leaders for the collapse of the Gaza cease-fire talks and for Hamas’s refusal to release its remaining Israeli hostages.

Last week, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution allowing Abbas to address the assembly by pre-recorded video.

UN Marks 80th Anniversary

This year’s meeting will mark the United Nations’ 80th anniversary and will be held under the theme: “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.

The U.S. president has been a vocal critic of the international body, questioning its effectiveness in solving international conflicts. After winning office, he ordered the United States to pull out of or cut funding to multiple U.N. organizations.

“I’ve always felt that the U.N. has tremendous potential. It’s not living up to that potential right now. It hasn’t for a long time,” Trump said on Feb. 4 while signing an executive order to withdraw the United States from the U.N. Human Rights Council and ban funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

“They’ve got to get their act together,” he said.

—Emel Akan; Stacy Robinson

AUTISM AND TYLENOL

Tylenol use in pregnancy is possibly associated with autism, and pregnant women should generally not take the drug unless they have serious fevers, federal officials said on Sept. 22.

The Food and Drug Administration notified doctors on Monday, “suggesting that the use of acetaminophen by pregnant women may be associated with an increased risk of neurological conditions.”

Acetaminophen, the active ingredient of Tylenol, is a pain reliever. It is also available in generic drugs. About 60 percent of pregnant women use acetaminophen.

Still, recognizing that there are no alternatives for pregnant women with high fevers, doctors should use their best judgment, officials said.

“With Tylenol, don’t take it,” Donald Trump said. “And if you can’t live—if your fever is so bad—you have to take one, because there’s no alternative to that.”

A spokesperson for Kenvue, the parent company of Tylenol’s manufacturer, told The Epoch Times in an email: “We believe independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism. We strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers.”

Kenvue was spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is among the organizations that say acetaminophen is safe in pregnancy to deal with fever and headaches.

The rate of autism has jumped in the United States, hitting one in 31 8-year-olds in 2022, the most recent year for which data are available.

Multiple studies have found that acetaminophen use during pregnancy can increase the risk of autism, a disorder marked by symptoms such as difficulty communicating and processing change, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including a review of 46 prior studies published in August.

“Our findings show that higher-quality studies are more likely to show a link between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and increased risks of autism and ADHD, Dr. Diddier Prada of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, one of the researchers, said in a statement when the review was released.

Some other research has found no evidence supporting a link between fetal exposure to acetaminophen and autism, including a 2024 analysis of nearly 2.5 million Swedish children.

Some lawsuits have been filed alleging retailers failed to warn people that Tylenol or generic versions of the drug could cause autism or ADHD.

In 2023, a federal judge handling a number of those suits determined that people proposed as expert witnesses by plaintiffs had not provided scientific evidence behind the claims and barred the people from testifying. Based on that order, the judge dismissed the cases.

Oral arguments in an appeal are slated to take place on Oct. 6.

Officials also said on Monday that enough data suggest that a medication called leucovorin can help treat autism.

Some research has also concluded that autistic children have high levels of folate receptor autoantibodies, which interfere with the transport of folate, or vitamin B9, in the body.

Dr. Richard E. Frye ran a trial testing folic acid in autistic children. The recipients experienced improvements in verbal communication, Frye and coauthors reported in 2016.

“I think this is a major step forward to get many children with autism treated and improve their ability to function. It is particularly groundbreaking in the fact that many do not think that autism can be treated at its core. This treatment fixes core biological deficits and therefore could be disease-modifying,” Frye told The Epoch Times in an email.

—Zachary Stieber; Stacy Robinson

BOOKMARKS

U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud of Minnesota has upheld a policy that allows men who identify as female to compete in women’s sports. Tostrud said the plaintiffs had failed to prove the policy violated Title IX, which prohibits discrimination against women.  

The Supreme Court has temporarily allowed Donald Trump to fire Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter, while it waits to hear the case in full. Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented in the 6–3 decision.

The U.S. Secret Service has arrested Jacob Samuel Winkler after he pointed a laser at a helicopter carrying President Trump. A Secret Service agent said the suspect was walking down Constitution Ave. shirtless, “talking to himself and being loud.”

Border czar Tom Homan said the U.S. has located nearly 25,000 missing children, some of whom were being trafficked or enslaved. “This is the main priority for the Trump administration,” Homan said in an interview with Fox News. 

A little over half of California voters support California’s redistricting plan, an Emerson College Polling survey found. Around 34 percent said they would vote ‘no,’ and 15 percent were undecided.

—Stacy Robinson