Trump Targets Tylenol and Vaccines, and ABC Brings Kimmel Back

Summary

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The Headlines – Sept. 23, 2025: Trump Targets Tylenol and Vaccines, and ABC Brings Kimmel Back

Host: Tracy Mumford | Podcast: The Headlines (The New York Times)
Date: September 23, 2025

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Overview

Today’s episode provides a brisk but thorough rundown of the latest major news stories, with sharp reporting and context from Times journalists. The big stories: President Trump reignites the vaccine-autism debate—and targets Tylenol. The Supreme Court upends the power of federal agencies. Jimmy Kimmel’s show returns after political controversy. And NASA’s new class of astronauts includes a historic majority of women.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump, Autism, and Tylenol: Unfounded Claims and Scientific Pushback

(00:48 – 03:46)

• Press Conference Statements:
  President Trump, joined by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., held a press conference to address autism’s root causes. Trump claimed, without new evidence, that autism may be caused by acetaminophen (Tylenol), and revived debunked links between vaccines and autism.

  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr.:

    "I think I can say that there are certain groups of people that don't take vaccines and don't take any pills, that have no autism, that have no autism. Does that tell you something... Is that a correct statement, by the way?" (00:48)

    "The meteoric rise in autism is among the most alarming public health developments in history. There's never been anything like this." (01:17)

    "Taking Tylenol is not good. I'll say it, it's not good." (01:43)
    "Don't take Tylenol. Don't take it. If you just can't. I mean, it's just fight like hell not to take it." (02:26)

  • Context & Rebuttal from Experts:
    Tracy Mumford underscored that increased autism diagnoses are mainly due to better awareness and that decades of research, while examining many risk factors (e.g., air pollution, parental age), have found autism to be a complex interplay of genetic and environmental causes.

    • Reporter Analysis—Emily Baumgartner Nunn (Health Reporter):

      "All of the scientific experts we've spoken to since that press conference have stood by their previous opinion, which is that Tylenol or Acetaminophen should only be used in pregnancy in low doses at the least frequent interval possible, but that sometimes Tylenol is necessary because fevers during pregnancy can really bring about all of their own risks." (02:47)

    • Scientific Consensus:
      Major medical bodies state limited Tylenol use in pregnancy is safe and there's no established cause-effect between acetaminophen and autism.

  • Federal Action:
    Millions in federal funding directed toward further autism research, including re-examining vaccine links, despite clear scientific consensus on their safety.

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2. Supreme Court & the FTC: A New Battle Over Presidential Power

(03:46 – 05:29)

• SCOTUS Decision:
  The Supreme Court’s conservative majority allowed President Trump to fire an FTC commissioner, challenging nearly a century of precedent limiting such executive power.

  • Historical Reference:
    The 1935 ruling protected independent regulators from removal for mere policy differences. The emergency order now suggests the current Court may be open to overturning this.

  • Justice Elena Kagan’s Dissent:

    "...opened the door to presidents firing regulators, quote, 'for any reason or no reason at all,' and that her colleagues were essentially letting the president take control over agencies that were supposed to be protected from partisan politics." (04:45)

    • She also criticized the use of the so-called "shadow docket"—unsigned emergency rulings issued without oral arguments—highlighting its increasing use during the Trump administration.

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3. Jimmy Kimmel Returns Amid Free Speech Debate

(05:29 – 07:00)

• Controversy:
  ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! after Kimmel's comments about the suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk angered conservatives. The FCC hinted they might penalize stations airing Kimmel.

• Behind the Scenes:
  Disney executives paused production to “avoid further inflaming a tense situation.” Kimmel initially refused to alter his monologue.

• Resolution & Fallout:
  Agreement reached for Kimmel’s return, but reach may be limited: Sinclair, a conservative broadcaster owning numerous ABC affiliates, announced it won’t air the show and demanded Kimmel apologize to Kirk’s family and donate to Turning Point USA.

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4. NASA’s New Astronaut Class: Women in the Majority for the First Time

(07:00 – End)

• Personal Story—Erin Overcash:
  34-year-old Navy pilot Erin Overcash recounted receiving the NASA call as she and her spouse scrambled on their couch:

  "He effectively said, do you still want the job? And the first words that I said on the phone were, no way. I mean, I mean, yes, of course, but like no way." (07:27)

  • Overcash is among 10 new astronaut candidates (six women, four men), chosen from over 8,000 applicants.

• Significance:
  First time women have outnumbered men in a NASA astronaut class, continuing the agency’s slow progress toward gender parity.

• Future Prospects:

  • Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation/Acting NASA Head:

    "One of these 10 could actually be one of the first Americans to put their boots on the Mars surface, which is very, very cool. Again, no pressure, NASA. We have some work to do." (07:54)

  • Training includes flying T38 jets, learning Russian for International Space Station duties.

    "Because if things go sideways up there, you really want to be able to say, nye ot kruviyai etot. Look, don't open that hatch." (08:08)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tylenol & Autism:

  "Taking Tylenol is not good. I'll say it, it's not good." (01:43)

• Emily Baumgartner Nunn (on expert consensus):

  "Tylenol or Acetaminophen should only be used in pregnancy in low doses at the least frequent interval possible, but that sometimes Tylenol is necessary because fevers during pregnancy can really bring about all of their own risks." (02:47)

• Justice Elena Kagan, Dissent:

  "...letting the president take control over agencies that were supposed to be protected from partisan politics." (04:45)

• Erin Overcash’s disbelief at NASA call:

  "No way. I mean, yes, of course, but like no way." (07:27)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | Details | |-----------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:48 | Trump / Autism / Vaccine Press Conference | RFK Jr. and Trump statements; autism claims | | 02:47 | Expert Opinion / Tylenol Safety | Emily Baumgartner Nunn comments | | 03:46 | Supreme Court / FTC Power Case | Explanation of decision and Kagan dissent | | 05:29 | Jimmy Kimmel Controversy & Return | Behind-the-scenes negotiations & Sinclair’s response | | 07:00 | Erin Overcash / NASA Astronaut Announcement | NASA call anecdote, gender milestone, Mars mentions |

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Tone & Style

The podcast is brisk, clear, and informative, with a neutral, reporterly tone. Memorable moments—such as Erin Overcash’s relatable shock at her NASA call—add warmth and immediacy, while analysis segments balance context and expert authority.

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This episode is packed with consequential stories, vividly reported and contextually rich, suitable for listeners who want a quick but comprehensive grasp of the day’s top headlines.

Transcript

[CARE Representative]

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[Tracy Mumford]

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Tuesday, September 23rd. Here's what we're covering.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I think I can say that there are certain groups of people that don't take vaccines and don't take any pills, that have no autism, that have no autism. Does that tell you something that's currently. Is that a correct statement, by the way?

[Tracy Mumford]

President Trump and top federal health officials held a press conference yesterday about the root causes of autism, the neurological disorder whose symptoms can range widely from struggling to read social cues to being unable to speak.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

The meteoric rise in autism is among the most alarming public health developments in history. There's never been anything like this.

[Tracy Mumford]

Autism diagnoses in children have been rising. Public health experts say a big part of that is increased awareness. More people are talking about it with their kids, doctors. There have also been decades of research into potential risk factors, everything from air pollution to the age of people's parents.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Taking Tylenol is not good. I'll say it, it's not good.

[Tracy Mumford]

President Trump claimed, without new evidence, that it could be caused by acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. It's something scientists have looked at for years. Studies have so far yielded inconclusive results. A scientific review this summer found there was evidence of a link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and neurodevelopment disorders like autism and adhd, but not a cause and effect relationship. Scientists overwhelmingly agree that autism results from a complex mix of genetic and environmental factors.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Don't take Tylenol. Don't take it. If you just can't. I mean, it's just fight like hell not to take it.

[Tracy Mumford]

My colleague Emily Baumgartner Nunn covers health at the Times. She says that the president's warning flew in the face of recommendations from leading medical groups which say that limited acetaminophen use is safe during pregnancy.

[Emily Baumgartner Nunn]

So far, all of the scientific experts we've spoken to since that press conference have stood by their previous opinion, which is that Tylenol or Acetaminophen should only be used in pregnancy in low doses at the least frequent interval possible, but that sometimes Tylenol is necessary because fevers during pregnancy can really bring about all of their own risks.

[Tracy Mumford]

At the press conference, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And the commissioner of the FDA announced there will be more research into autism, with millions in federal funding going to study other environmental factors, including a long debunked theory that blames vaccines. At the Supreme Court yesterday, the conservative majority said President Trump can fire one of the heads of the Federal Trade Commission, setting up a court battle over the limits of presidential power. When Trump moved to fire the Democratic member of the FTC earlier this year, her lawyers fought back, pointing to a ruling from the Supreme Court in 1935 over a nearly identical scenario when President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to fire an FTC commissioner. In that case, the court ruled that presidents cannot remove independent regulators just because they disagree over policy. Now, by issuing their emergency order letting her be fired, the court is suggesting it's open to overturning that landmark precedent. It will hear full arguments in the case in December. The liberal justices, meanwhile, issued a sharp dissent, with Elena Kagan writing that it opened the door to presidents firing regulators, quote, for any reason or no reason at all, and that her colleagues were essentially letting the president take control over agencies that were supposed to be protected from partisan politics. Kagan also made a broader critique of the way that the court was making its decision through its emergency docket, which is also known as the shadow docket. That fast track process where the justices can issue unsigned and unexplained rulings without having heard oral arguments, has been criticized for years, but it's come under increasing scrutiny as the Trump administration has brought more than 20 emergency applications to the court this year alone. Kagan warned that the court's majority was using that process to let the administration steamroll over the court's own precedent and, quote, reshape the nation's separation of powers. Tonight, Jimmy Kimmel will be back on the air. In the last week, the late night host has been at the center of a political firestorm and a fierce debate over free speech in the U.S. his show was abruptly paused by ABC after he made comments about the suspect in the Charlie Kirk assassination that angered conservatives and after the head of the Federal Communications Commission suggested that he might crack down on stations that broadcast Kimmel's show. In a statement, Disney, which owns abc, said it had stopped production, quote, to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our Country. Kimmel had been planning an opening monologue about the whole controversy that made executives nervous. The Times has learned that after the show was pulled, leaders from Disney sat down with Kimmel and his lawyer to figure out a path to getting the show back on air. In that first meeting, Kimmel did not agree to change his script. A decision about what Kimmel will say tonight was made yesterday after more discussion. Though he'll be returning to abc, it's not yet clear exactly how widely the show will be broadcast. At least one of the TV companies that publicly criticized Kimmel, the conservative media giant Sinclair, has said it won't be airing the show. Sinclair owns about two dozen ABC affiliates and had previously called on Kimmel to apologize to Kirk's family and make a donation to his political group, Turning Point usa. And finally.

[Erin Overcash]

So I had my seat bags packed, ready to go meet the aircraft carrier. I had just finished flight training for the day and my spouse and I were on the couch. We get a call from an unknown number and we both look at each other and then we're like throwing blankets and pillows. Oh my gosh, where's the remote? Turn the TV off.

[Tracy Mumford]

Yesterday, Erin Overcash, a 34 year old Navy pilot, took the stage at a press conference in Houston to describe getting the call, the call that she would be one of NASA's new class of astronauts.

[Erin Overcash]

He effectively said, do you still want the job? And the first words that I said on the phone were, no way. I mean, I mean, yes, of course, but like no way.

[Tracy Mumford]

Overcash is one of 10 new astronaut candidates that NASA unveiled yesterday, chosen from over 8,000 applicants. The majority have a military background and six of the 10 are women. The first time that women have outnumbered men.

[Sean Duffy]

One of these 10 could actually be one of the first Americans to put their boots on the Mars surface, which is very, very cool. Again, no pressure, NASA. We have some work to do.

[Tracy Mumford]

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who is also the acting head of NASA, touted the government's big plans for the space program, including trips to the Red planet and beyond. First, though, the candidates need to complete two years of training. They'll learn to fly NASA's T38 jet planes. And because Russia is NASA's main partner on the International Space Station where most astronauts are sent, they also need to learn to speak Russian, because if things go sideways up there, you really want to be able to say, nye ot kruviyai etot. Look, don't open that hatch. Those are the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.