MUSIC VIDEO: Danny Boy - Sinéad O'Connor, 24DEZ1993

MY mom and dad loved this song, Sinead's version is so beautiful.....

Danny Boy - Sinéad O'Connor

Sinéad O’Connor performs ‘Danny Boy’ on a special Christmas Eve edition of The Late Late Show. In his introduction, Gay Byrne explains that singer Sinéad O’Connor had been a guest on the previous week’s programme and gave; "A stunning performance." When she heard that an Irish music special was being planned for Christmas Eve, she asked to be included. She chose to sing an unaccompanied version of the traditional ballad ‘Danny Boy’. This episode of The Late Late Show was broadcast on 24 December 1993. The presenter is Gay Byrne. ‘The Late Late Show’ was intended to be a summer filler, but proved so successful with the public that it became part of the regular schedule. The idea for the programme came from the show’s producer, Tom McGrath, who wanted to present an Irish version of the American talk show ‘The Tonight Show’. Gay Byrne was to be the show’s presenter and would remain so for the next thirty seven years. Tom McGrath’s original idea was that the show would be informal and have the feel of people dropping in for a chat. ‘The Late Late Show’ became an important forum for the airing and debating of many issues in a changing Irish society. The first programme of ‘The Late Late Show’ was broadcast at 11.20 pm on 6 July 1962. At the time, it was unusual to have a live talk and entertainment show on so late in the day’s viewing. On that first show, the guests were Count Cyril McCormack, Ken Gray, George Desmond Hodnett and Harry Thuillier. McGrath would go on to pioneer many other successful variety shows on Irish television. Pat Kenny replaced Gay Byrne as presenter in 1999 and remained in that position for 10 years. Ryan Tubridy presented the show from 2009 to 2023. The programme is still running today and is presented by Patrick Kielty.

Wish You Were Here | Afro Fiesta ft. Twanguero & I-Taweh | Playing For Change | Mark's Park 11NOV22

 

Wish You Were Here | Afro Fiesta ft. 

Twanguero & I-Taweh | Playing For Change | Mark's Park

Nov 11, 2022

Afro Fiesta, Twanguero and I-Taweh reunite for this special live outside at Mark's Park version of the Pink Floyd 1975 hit, “Wish You Were Here.” In a divided world, these remarkable musicians come together for a moving and intimate performance in hopes of spreading love and unity all over the world. Watch more videos, ad-free at https://playingforchange.com As we share music from our home to yours, we invite you to be moved by the sounds and the spirit of togetherness! Written by Roger Waters and David Gilmour FEATURING I-Taweh: Vocals and acoustic guitar Jason Tamba: Vocals and acoustic guitar Mermans Mosengo: Vocals, harmonica and cajon Twanguero: Electric guitar JOIN THE MOVEMENT Subscribe to our mailing list: http://bit.ly/1x9CAfJ Join us as a PFC Member: http://bit.ly/JoinAndSupportPFC

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ICE IN 2025 AND NAZIS IN 1935??? NO!!! & ( VIDEO ) JOIN ICE BY JESSE WELLS

 

ICE & HSI ARE DOMESTIC TERRORIST ( VIDEOS ): THE RESISTANCE ON WHEELS & IMPOSTER ICE AGENTS

JESSE WELLES is amazing and so very needed for times like these!

 The new ICE song by Jesse Welles nails it.

ICE isn’t recruiting heroes, it’s recruiting the bitter, the rejected, the ones desperate for a badge to cover their failures. Losers with power become the most dangerous kind.

FASCIST FOTZE STEPHEN MILLER IS A SERIAL KILLER

 

ICE & HSI ARE DOMESTIC TERRORIST ( VIDEOS ): THE RESISTANCE ON WHEELS & IMPOSTER ICE AGENTS

 

New York Faces Painful History as It Marks the Erie Canal’s Bicentennial 28SEP25

 

I remember learning about the Erie Canal in school, nut never anything about the the US government breaking treaties with various tribes of the Haudenosaunee ( Iroquois ) Confederacy. In NW Pennsylvania that wouldn't have been a surprise because in Warren County we were well aware of the feds breaking treaties and stealing land from the Seneca Nation, in the 1960's it was for the Kinzua Dam. At least people are learning the whole history of the Erie Canal now, and of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Seneca Nation. AND guess what NOT MY pres drumpf / trump and all your "christian" nationalist magat cultist??? NOBODY today is being blamed for this history, so no need for you and you sycophants to try to WHITEWASH this. From the New York Times.....

New York Faces Painful History as It Marks the Erie Canal’s Bicentennial

As the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal approaches on Oct. 26, organizers are seeking to temper the celebration with an acknowledgment of the waterway’s displacement of Native American communities.

By Justin Murphy

Sept. 28, 2025

On an October morning in 1825, Gov. DeWitt Clinton of New York stood at the head of a flotilla of dignitaries at the inauguration of the Erie Canal, the 360-mile artificial waterway that stretches from Lake Erie’s eastern shore in Buffalo to Albany on the Hudson River.

The boat carrying Governor Clinton was called the Seneca Chief, a reference to the Indigenous nation that, together with the rest of the Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois) Confederacy, had dominated western and central New York for centuries.

Farther back in the procession was another boat, called Noah’s Ark, which unlike the Seneca Chief, actually carried members of the tribe. They shared the vessel with eagles, deer and a bear, as part of a dehumanizing sideshow.

This fall, as New York marks the Oct. 26 bicentennial, or 200th anniversary, of the Erie Canal, which helped open up regions west of New York for the young United States, organizers are attempting to balance celebration with reflection on some of the painful history that accompanied the achievement.

Gov. DeWitt Clinton opening the Erie Canal 200 years ago.Credit...Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Eastern white pine trees, a Haudenosaunee peace symbol, will be planted between Buffalo and New York City as one gesture meant to acknowledge how the canal’s construction harmed the Haudenosaunee, whose traditional territory encompasses nearly its entire route.

That harm was substantial. The state obtained land for the Erie Canal through coercive negotiations with the Haudenosaunee. And after the canal opened New York’s frontier to waves of white settlers, the increased need for land became an argument for further land grabs.

To be sure, the dispossession of Indigenous communities by the Erie Canal is a history that has captured scholarly attention, and has been acknowledged before this year’s celebration. But the prominence of that history in the bicentennial celebration bucks an increasingly more prominent trend across the nation of eliding rather than confronting painful episodes in American history.

“For so long, the standard story about the Erie Canal has been that it’s a great engineering marvel and an engine of progress,” said Terry Abrams, past president of the Tonawanda Reservation Historical Society. “But that came at a cost, and that cost was born by Seneca and other Haudenosaunee people. It’s just part of the whole story.”

A port overlooking the entrance to the Erie Canal in Buffalo.Credit...Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho, via Getty Images

The Erie Canal made it possible to ship goods between New York and Great Lakes ports like Chicago. It opened the way for booming trade and settlement in the growing country’s interior.

The land it covered, though, had previously belonged to the nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which includes the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas, Tuscaroras and Mohawks.

In the decades before the canal opened, Haudenosaunee nations lost vast expanses of territory, largely through treaties and sales now considered fraudulent. Many of the canal’s leading proponents profited directly from transactions that separated Indigenous people from their land.

“We as Haudenosaunee people were right in the way, all across the state,” said Melissa Parker Leonard, who traces her Seneca heritage back to the 18th century and runs an advocacy organization called 7th Gen Cultural Resources. “When the canal opened, it was like the last step to really remove us,” she added.

“When the canal opened, it was like the last step to really remove us,” said Melissa Parker Leonard, who traces her Seneca heritage to the 18th century.Credit...Lauren Petracca for The New York Times

The Erie Canal bicentennial comes at a time of raging debate over the proper framing of historical injuries to minority groups.

Various states have passed laws restricting the way educators can talk about racism and other injustices. The Trump administration recently ordered a review of exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution to ensure that they do not include “divisive or partisan narratives,” and more broadly has criticized historical narratives that cast shadows on the idea of American exceptionalism.

New York has taken some steps to acknowledge past misdeeds. In May, Gov. Kathy Hochul formally apologized to the Senecas for the “historic atrocities” committed at the Thomas Indian School, a state-run boarding school 30 miles south of Buffalo that at least 2,500 Indigenous children were forced to attend.

Members of the Indigenous Spirit Dancers, a Haudenosaunee dance group, performed during a remembrance ceremony at Seneca Bluffs Natural Habitat Park in Buffalo this month.Credit...Lauren Petracca for The New York Times

Some observers of the Erie Canal’s bicentennial have planted eastern white pine trees, symbols of the Haudenosaunee nations that were displaced by its construction, near the waterway.Credit...Lauren Petracca for The New York Times

The white pine tree planting is one of several components of the Erie Canal celebration that will bring the relatively unknown story of Indigenous land dispossession to wider audiences. The Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse and other museums and organizations along the waterway will also host Haudenosaunee speakers and events.

And when a replica of the Seneca Chief set off from Buffalo on Sept. 24 for a voyage to New York City, the first speech was not given by an elected official or prominent donor but rather by Joe Stahlman, a historian of Tuscarora descent.

“Two hundred years can seem like a long time,” Mr. Stahlman said. “It’s right that we pause to reflect on what that means to us.”

Joe Stahlman, a historian of Tuscarora descent, gave the first speech when a replica of the Seneca Chief, the first boat to traverse the Erie Canal, set off from Buffalo on Sept. 24 for a voyage to New York City.Credit...Lauren Petracca for The New York Times

The attention to these negative effects, though, has drawn some criticism.

Mark Poloncarz, the Erie County executive, complained this month that a Buffalo History Museum exhibit called “Waterway of Change” was “pretty negative,” focusing too much on the harm done to the Haudenosaunee instead of celebrating the canal’s importance to Buffalo and the growing nation.

“I think we need to celebrate our history and also identify some of the issues in our history,” Mr. Poloncarz, a Democrat, told The Buffalo News. “But it is a day to celebrate it.”

The commemoration in Buffalo has largely been driven by the Buffalo Maritime Center, a nonprofit focused on boatbuilding and the maritime history of the region.

Its working copy of the Seneca Chief, assembled over four years by more than 200 volunteer novices, left the Buffalo Harbor on Wednesday before a cheering crowd of hundreds. It will inch down the canal and the Hudson River before reaching New York City in time for the official bicentennial date of Oct. 26.

Brian Trzeciak, executive director of the Buffalo Maritime Center, said it was critical to share an “expanded narrative” of the canal that recognizes the harm it caused.

Brian Trzeciak, executive director of the Buffalo Maritime Center, said it was critical to recognize both what a great accomplishment the canal was and the harms it caused.Credit...Lauren Petracca for The New York Times

“The Erie Canal was a great accomplishment; it made New York State what it is,” Mr. Trzeciak said. “However, you have to talk about what led up to that, and you have to balance it out.”

Local Senecas and Mr. Trzeciak worked together on the idea of planting 28 eastern white pine trees along the length of the canal path.

The tree is central to Haudenosaunee culture and philosophy. Leaders from all the member nations are said to have buried their weapons beneath a white pine to mark the founding of their confederacy.

Three days before the launch of the Seneca Chief, about 75 people, mostly Senecas, gathered to plant the first tree at Seneca Bluffs Natural Habitat Park, a small plot at a bend in the Buffalo River.

The park is within the historic boundaries of the Buffalo Creek Reservation. The land was taken from the Senecas in 1838 through a treaty that the historian Laurence Hauptman ranked as “one of the major frauds in American Indian history.”

The Seneca Chief replica was assembled over four years by more than 200 volunteers.Credit...Lauren Petracca for The New York Times

White pines can live for more than 200 years, meaning that the saplings planted this fall might still be standing during the canal’s quadricentennial and beyond. If so, they would add another layer of meaning to an already complex history.

“Around us today are the living descendants of those who were told to step aside for progress,” Ms. Parker Leonard said before the planting. “Today we acknowledge this painful history, not to dwell in sadness but to speak honestly so that healing and moving forward are possible.”

ial

Trump’s warning about taking Tylenol during pregnancy doesn’t match with doctors’ recommendations & Research doesn’t show using Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism. Here’s what else you should know 22&15SEP2 5 & RFK Jr.’s statements about autism and environmental toxins conflict with ample research 24APR25

 

MORE blatantly, and in this case dangerously false and incorrect information from our national disgrace, that fool and total idiot NOT MY pres drumpf / trump. It is not wrong for me to describe him as I do because I am only stating what is true. Intelligent people do not have to lie to make their point, good business people do not have a record of bankruptcies and lawsuits against their businesses like drumpf / trump has, moral people do not surround themselves with greedy, self-centered and unqualified sycophants like those making up his entire cabinet. Here is the truth about Tylenol and all acetaminophen products and their relationship to autism from PolitiFact, hope you will share this with those who might need to know.....

Trump’s warning about taking Tylenol during pregnancy doesn’t match with doctors’ recommendations

At a Sept. 22 press conference, Trump and members of his administration announced the Food and Drug Administration will be notifying doctors that using acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, “can be associated” with an increased risk of autism.

Trump issued a warning: “Don’t take Tylenol if you’re pregnant.” 

For years, Tylenol has generally been considered safe for treating pain and fever — even during pregnancy, when doctors discourage patients from using many medications. Doctors might even recommend taking Tylenol for pain or fever during pregnancy, because left untreated, they can pose their own health risks. 

After years of research, no study has shown that acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, causes autism. There’s no known single cause of autism, a neurological condition that influences how someone acts and communicates.

But some scientific terms, like "association," can confuse the issue. There’s some research that says there’s an association between taking acetaminophen during pregnancy and autism. There’s also some research that says there’s not an association. 

But either way, there’s an important caveat: "Association" is not the same as causation. That means that research showing an association between the medication and autism doesn’t mean the medication caused autism

Research doesn’t show using Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism. Here’s what else you should know

By Madison CzopekSeptember 15, 2025

If Your Time is short

• The Department of Health and Human Services is expected to release a report that suggests using Tylenol during pregnancy might cause autism. That’s not supported by over a decade of research. 

• Some studies have found that children exposed to acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, during pregnancy were more likely to have autism symptoms or be diagnosed with autism. Other studies found no such association. 

• There is expert consensus that untreated medical conditions such as fever can endanger maternal and child health, and that Tylenol is a safe option to treat pain and fever during pregnancy.

For years, Tylenol has generally been considered safe for treating pain and fever — even during pregnancy, when doctors discourage patients from using many medications. 

Doctors might even recommend taking Tylenol for pain or fever during pregnancy, because left untreated, they can pose their own health risks. 

But recent news reports about the federal government connecting Tylenol to autism have drawn fresh questions about the drug, and concerns. 

A few things are clear.

After years of research, no study has shown that acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, causes autism. There’s no known single cause of autism, a neurological condition that influences how someone acts and communicates.

But some scientific terms, like "association," can confuse the issue. There’s some research that says there’s an association between taking acetaminophen during pregnancy and autism. There’s also some research that says there’s not an association. 

But either way, there’s an important caveat: "Association" is not the same as causation. That means that research showing an association between the medication and autism doesn’t mean the medication caused autism. 

Here’s what else you should know.

#1: Doctors say it’s safe to use acetaminophen to reduce fever and pain during pregnancy. 

After the Wall Street Journal reported on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plans to link Tylenol to autism, leading maternal and prenatal care organizations reiterated their longstanding support for using acetaminophen during pregnancy. 

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine said acetaminophen is a safe way to treat pain and fever when used in moderation. 

"Pregnant patients should not be frightened away from the many benefits of acetaminophen, which is safe and one of the few options pregnant people have for pain relief," said Dr. Christopher Zahn, ACOG’s chief of clinical practice. 

In fact, Dr. Salena Zanotti, an obstetrician and gynecologist, told Cleveland Clinic earlier this year that acetaminophen is considered the safest drug to take during pregnancy for fever and pain. 

"When you’re pregnant, it’s riskier to have an untreated fever than it is to take acetaminophen," Zanotti said.

Other common pain relievers such as ibuprofen or naproxen — often sold as Advil or Aleve, respectively — aren’t recommended during pregnancy because they could harm fetal development, Zanotti said. The Food and Drug Administration said as much in 2023, advising that such nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, shouldn’t be used during pregnancy after 20 weeks of gestation.

#2: Having an untreated fever while pregnant can harm a baby. 

Ignoring medical conditions such as fever that could be treated with acetaminophen during pregnancy is "far more dangerous than theoretical concerns based on inconclusive reviews of conflicting science," Zahn said. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that fever during pregnancy has been linked to adverse outcomes including birth defects. 

Untreated fever and pain during pregnancy has maternal and infant health risks, including preterm birth, according to the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. 

#3: Research has not shown that using acetaminophen during pregnancy causes autism. 

No study has shown using acetaminophen during pregnancy causes developmental disabilities — including autism. 

But the language used in scientific research can be confusing. Words like "correlation," "association," and "increased risk," in studies about acetaminophen use during pregnancy do not mean that the medication caused a disability like autism.  

"Both ‘association’ and ‘increased risk’ are very different from ‘proven causal link,’" said Christopher J. Smith, chief science officer at Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center.  

The FDA, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and ACOG have all reviewed the available research on acetaminophen use during pregnancy and subsequent neurodevelopmental issues in children and found no evidence proving the medication caused those disabilities, Zahn said.

"The vast majority of the studies done on acetaminophen use in pregnancy are inconclusive and unable to confirm a causal relationship between the prudent use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and fetal developmental issues," he said.  

#3: Research has not shown that using acetaminophen during pregnancy causes autism. 

No study has shown using acetaminophen during pregnancy causes developmental disabilities — including autism. 

But the language used in scientific research can be confusing. Words like "correlation," "association," and "increased risk," in studies about acetaminophen use during pregnancy do not mean that the medication caused a disability like autism.  

"Both ‘association’ and ‘increased risk’ are very different from ‘proven causal link,’" said Christopher J. Smith, chief science officer at Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center.  

The FDA, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and ACOG have all reviewed the available research on acetaminophen use during pregnancy and subsequent neurodevelopmental issues in children and found no evidence proving the medication caused those disabilities, Zahn said.

"The vast majority of the studies done on acetaminophen use in pregnancy are inconclusive and unable to confirm a causal relationship between the prudent use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and fetal developmental issues," he said.  

#5: An association between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and autism might be explained by other factors. 

Research has shown that genetics plays a role in autism. Hundreds of genes have been linked to autism, as have some environmental factors such as how old parents are when a child is conceived, low birth weights, and fever or illness during pregnancy, the Autism Science Foundation said.

Brian Lee, a Drexel University epidemiology professor, coauthored the 2024 study, which evaluated data on nearly 2.5 million births in Sweden from 1995 to 2019 to assess acetaminophen use during pregnancy and the risk of autism. The study initially replicated a small statistical association between acetaminophen use and the risk of autism and ADHD, Lee said.

"However, when we did a sibling analysis that compared siblings (born to the same mother), the association completely went away," he said. "We do the sibling analysis because it allows us to control for genetic and environmental factors that we do not otherwise have data on."

The sibling analysis showed that other factors caused the initial statistical association, Lee said. The paper highlighted the possibility that genetics acted as a variable that could predict both a mother’s use of pain relief medication and a child’s risk of autism.  

A mother’s genetic predisposition for autism and ADHD, which is also genetic, is associated with "greater pregnancy pain, more headache and migraine, and more use of pain-relieving medications," Lee said. In other words, mothers who are genetically predisposed toward autism or ADHD are more likely to have conditions that cause them to use acetaminophen — and that same genetic predisposition could be what increases the likelihood of a child having those conditions.

Another consideration: Many studies rely on parents self-reporting acetaminophen use, so the data could be unreliable. 

Someone might be more likely to remember taking acetaminophen during pregnancy if their child has autism or ADHD, for example — especially if they think there could be a connection between the drug and the diagnosis, according to Dr. Erin Clark, a University of Utah obstetrics and gynecology  professor. A person might also be less likely to remember taking acetaminophen during pregnancy if their child hasn’t received such a diagnosis.

Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, said other considerations might explain any association between acetaminophen and autism. Conditions that cause someone to take acetaminophen during pregnancy — such as fever or migraine — might increase the likelihood that a child will be autistic. 

Our Sources

Email interview with Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Sept. 8, 2025

Email interview with Dr. Judette M. Louis, dean of Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences Eastern Virginia Medical School at Old Dominion University, Sept. 9, 2025

Email interview with Emily Oster, a professor of Economics at Brown University and founder of ParentData, Sept. 9, 2025

Email interview with Brian Lee, professor of epidemiology at Drexel University, Sept. 9, 2025

Email interview with Christopher J. Smith, chief science officer at Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center, Sept. 9, 2025

Email interview with Dr. Christopher Zahn, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’s chief of clinical practice, Sept. 10, 2025

CBS News, What research shows about Tylenol and autism, Sept. 8, 2025

Harvard T.H. Chan, Using acetaminophen during pregnancy may increase children’s autism and ADHD risk, Aug. 20, 2025

Environmental Health, Evaluation of the evidence on acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders using the Navigation Guide methodology, Aug. 14, 2025

European Journal of Epidemiology, Prenatal and postnatal exposure to acetaminophen in relation to autism spectrum and attention-deficit and hyperactivity symptoms in childhood: Meta-analysis in six European population-based cohorts, May 28, 2021

International Journal of Epidemiology, Acetaminophen use in pregnancy and neurodevelopment: attention function and autism spectrum symptoms, June 29, 2016 

JAMA Psychiatry, Association of Cord Plasma Biomarkers of In Utero Acetaminophen Exposure With Risk of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Childhood, Oct. 30, 2019

Autism Research, Maternal use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and risk of autism spectrum disorders in childhood: A Danish national birth cohort study, Dec. 21, 2015

JAMA Psychiatry, Association of Maternal Neurodevelopmental Risk Alleles With Early-Life Exposures, May 1, 2019

Cureus Journal of Medical Science, A Comparison of Prenatal Exposures in Children with and without a Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, July 24, 2019

JAMA, Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability, April 9, 2024

JCPP Advances, Acetaminophen use during pregnancy and offspring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – a longitudinal sibling control study, June 22, 2021

Cleveland Clinic, Can You Take Acetaminophen While Pregnant? March 17, 2025 

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, ACOG Response to Consensus Statement on Paracetamol Use During Pregnancy, Sept. 29, 2021 

Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, SMFM Statement on Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Autism - Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Sept. 5, 2025 

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Facebook post, Sept. 5, 2025

NBC News, What the science says about acetaminophen, pregnant mothers and autism, Sept. 5, 2025

Science Direct, Publication Bias - an overview, accessed Sept. 9, 2025

Emily Oster’s Instagram post, Sept. 9, 2025

The Bump, What to Do for a Fever During Pregnancy, Oct. 5, 2023

MotherToBaby, Fever/Hyperthermia, Feb. 1, 2025

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Flu & Pregnancy, Sept. 17, 2024

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Heat and Pregnancy, June 25, 2024

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, About Vaccines and Pregnancy, June 17, 2024

International Journal of Epidemiology, Prenatal paracetamol exposure and child neurodevelopment: a sibling-controlled cohort study, Oct. 24, 2013

JAMA Pediatrics, Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy, Behavioral Problems, and Hyperkinetic Disorders, April 2014 

ParentData, Is Tylenol Safe in Pregnancy? Sept. 7, 2025

Wiley Online Library, Maternal Acetaminophen Use and Offspring's Neurodevelopmental Outcome: A Nationwide Birth Cohort Study, Sept. 2, 2025

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA recommends avoiding use of NSAIDs in pregnancy at 20 weeks or later because they can result in low amniotic fluid, Jan. 27. 2023

Nature Reviews Endocrinology, Paracetamol use during pregnancy — a call for precautionary action, Sept. 23, 2021

University of Utah Health, Pain During Pregnancy? Yes, Acetaminophen Is Safe to Take, March 27, 2023

UT Southwestern Medical Center, Acetaminophen is still safe in pregnancy, despite controversy, Nov. 7, 2022

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA has reviewed possible risks of pain medicine use during pregnancy, Jan. 19, 2016 

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Prenatal acetaminophen use and outcomes in children, March 2017 

Autism Science Foundation, Statement from Autism Science Foundation Regarding Wall Street Journal Report  "RFK Jr., HHS to Link Autism to Tylenol Use in Pregnancy and Folate Deficiencies," Sept. 5, 2025

NPR, HHS responds to report about autism and acetaminophen, Sept. 6, 2025

The Wall Street Journal, RFK Jr., HHS to Link Autism to Tylenol Use in Pregnancy and Folate Deficiencies, Sept. 5, 2025

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Use of over-the-counter medications during pregnancy, September 2005

Cleveland Clinic, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), accessed Sept. 11, 2025

University of Cambridge, Autistic individuals have increased risk of chronic physical health conditions across the whole body, Sept. 29, 2023

National Institutes of Health, Study reveals no causal link between neurodevelopmental disorders and acetaminophen exposure before birth, April 11, 2024

Cleveland Clinic, Oligohydramnios, accessed Sept. 11, 2025

RFK Jr.’s statements about autism and environmental toxins conflict with ample research

By Madison CzopekApril 24, 2025

If Your Time is short

• Autism experts say the neurological conditon’s definition and diagnosis have changed over the years, and autism awareness and access to screening have improved, all contributing to autism’s rising prevalence. 

• Autism has no identified single cause. Scientists have found links between autism and hundreds of genes.

• Researchers said although some other factors have been causally linked to a higher prevalence of autism, there is no single factor such as environmental toxins that can explain all autism diagnoses. 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. insists an environmental toxin is responsible for increased autism prevalence in the U.S.

"This is a preventable disease," he said April 16, dismissing an HHS agency report’s explanation for the increase. "We know it’s an environmental exposure. It has to be. Genes do not cause epidemics. They can provide a vulnerability, but you need an environmental toxin."

His remarks followed a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on autism’s prevalence among children that found 1 in 31 8-year-olds have autism, up from 1 in 36 two years before. The CDC linked the rise to better screening and awareness, contradicting Kennedy.

The medical name for autism is autism spectrum disorder, often shortened to ASD; it refers to a neurological condition that influences how a person behaves, interacts with others and communicates. 

Autism researchers and people on the autism spectrum told PolitiFact more people have been diagnosed with autism as its definition and diagnostic criteria expanded over time. They also attributed autism’s rising prevalence to increased awareness and screening.

Autism has no identified single cause. Experts told us research does not support Kennedy’s assertion that an "environmental toxin" is increasing autism’s prevalence. Autism research has proven genetic components are linked to a higher likelihood of autism, they said. Other factors linked to a higher likelihood include higher paternal age and maternal use of a drug called valproate, which is used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder.

"Autism is not an epidemic, nor is it a disease, and nor is it preventable," said M. Remi Yergeau, a Carleton University professor and Canada Research Chair in Critical Disability Studies and Communication. Discussing autism in such terms is scientifically inaccurate and can dehumanize autistic people and instill fear, Yergeau said. 

Evidence does not support idea that an "environmental toxin" is causing autism

Joshua Anbar, an Arizona State University healthcare administration and policy professor and one of the CDC report’s researchers, said numerous studies examined various environmental factors such as prenatal exposures to infections or antibiotics potentially linked to autism. 

"To my knowledge, none of these factors have been conclusively proven to explain the increase in autism prevalence we have observed over the last several decades," he said.

Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, said some initial studies have suggested an association between autism and environmental factors such as pollution, but she was unaware of studies "demonstrating a causal link between the two."

Gross also said "a robust body of research" proves there is no link between vaccines and autism, which she believes was the "environmental toxin" Kennedy speculated about. Over decades as an anti-vaccine advocate, Kennedy championed the false narrative that vaccines cause autism. 

Kennedy has also pledged to deliver "answers" about autism’s rise by September. Experts told PolitiFact it would be impossible to produce such answers in that timeframe.

Eric Fombonne, an Oregon Health & Science University professor emeritus of psychiatry, said he doesn’t know how researchers would begin to investigate the "environmental toxins" Kennedy mentioned, because doing so requires observing a cluster of cases appearing in a population in a certain time period or within a geographic location. 

"In any country I know, there is no evidence of a clustering of (autism) cases in time or by geographical area," Fombonne said. "The lack of such evidence is another sort of piece of the puzzle which doesn’t really support the environmental risk hypothesis." 

Latest CDC report attributed increased prevalence to better screening 

The CDC based its 1-in-31 finding on 2022 autism surveillance program data from 16 sites across 15 states and territories. The figure is not a nationally representative autism prevalence estimate, the report said. 

Prevalence varied widely by location, with a site in Laredo, Texas, reporting 9.7 cases per 1,000 8-year-olds and a California site reporting 53.1 cases per 1,000 8-year-olds, the report said.

The report’s 52 authors attributed the changes in autism prevalence over time and across sites to the "differing practices" for evaluation and identification, varying screening availability and challenges such as financial barriers that can limit access to services. 

Since 2018, for example, California has reported the program’s highest prevalence rates among 4- and 8-year-olds. That’s partly because a local initiative trained hundreds of pediatricians to screen and refer children for assessments as early as possible, the researchers wrote. 

"Research has not demonstrated that living in certain communities puts children at greater risk for developing ASD," they wrote. 

Diagnostic requirements changed, and awareness, acceptance increased

In 1994, the American Psychiatric Association’s guide to diagnosing mental disorders first categorized autism as a spectrum, and included subcategories such as childhood disintegrative disorder and Asperger’s syndrome.  

That change "significantly expanded who could be diagnosed," folding in people with milder symptoms and stronger language skills, said Christopher Banks, president and CEO of the Autism Society of America. "As a result, diagnosis rates rose sharply in the late 1990s and early 2000s."

In 2013, the subcategories were consolidated into a single autism spectrum disorder diagnosis that includes people with both minimal and significant support needs. What was once considered Asperger’s, for example, is now autism spectrum disorder Level 1.

Other factors have boosted the diagnosis rate. Advocates’ efforts to destigmatize autism have improved awareness, Fombonne said. 

Beginning in the 1990s, more services became available to autistic children, including special education and treatments covered by insurance. Access to services means, "there’s just a lot more value to the diagnosis," said David Mandell, a University of Pennsylvania psychiatry professor and director of the Penn Center for Mental Health. More services, in turn, led to greater parental awareness, and likely to more testing.

Mandell said studies show preterm babies are at a higher risk for autism. That means rising survival rates for premature babies may contribute to higher numbers. 

Daniel Openden, president and CEO of the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center, said CDC data has shown stable growth in autism diagnoses in recent years: 1 in 44 in 2018; 1 in 36 in 2020; and 1 in 31 in 2022. 

"These smaller incremental changes, as opposed to sharp spikes in increases, suggest the effect of the diagnostic changes is leveling off and we’re approaching a more accurate and consistent understanding of autism prevalence in the general population," Openden said.

Autism’s cause remains unknown; genetics plays a role but other factors less concrete

Scientists have found links between autism and hundreds of genes, Openden said.

Beyond genetics, researchers have explored a number of potential causes, but few conclusive links have been discovered. 

Fombonne said parental age has been causally associated with higher prevalence of autism: "The older the parents — and the father in particular — the more likely the risk of autism is." He called it a "very robust conclusion" documented in dozens of studies.

But this factor’s effect on overall autism rates is very small, because few children are born to fathers over age 50, Fombonne said. 

Studies have also linked autism to maternal use of valproate, a drug more widely known by the brand name Depakote. Fombonne said pregnant mothers who take this medication have a small increased risk of having an autistic child. He added that use of the medication by pregnant mothers is very rare, so it doesn’t account for many cases of autism. 

PolitiFact Chief Correspondent Louis Jacobson and Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

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