Sunday, December 21, 2025

CDC on vaccine hyperlink to autism; Mamdani to fulfill Trump : NPR

Good morning. You are studying the Up First publication. Subscribe right here to get it delivered to your inbox, and pay attention to the Up First podcast for all of the information it’s worthwhile to begin your day.

At present’s high tales

The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention’s web site now says a hyperlink between vaccines and autism can’t be dominated out. This can be a reversal from the company’s longstanding place that there is no such thing as a hyperlink. This message aligns with Well being Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s opinion that vaccines are harmful.

The outside of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention building. The sign for the CDC can be seen in front of the building.

The CDC has made a dramatic about-face within the company’s place on the connection between vaccines and autism.

Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Pictures


conceal caption

toggle caption

Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Pictures

  • 🎧 CDC scientists say they did not change their web site, and the Division of Well being and Human Providers would not expose who ordered the adjustment to the wording, NPR’s Pien Huang tells Up First. There may be no new scientific proof to help the declare of a hyperlink between vaccines and autism. Huang notes that it’s fascinating {that a} headline on the CDC’s webpage nonetheless states that vaccines do not trigger autism. Nevertheless, there may be an asterisk subsequent to this assertion, which explains that the company won’t take away it on account of an settlement with Republican Sen. Invoice Cassidy of Louisiana, who offered a key affirmation vote for Kennedy to turn out to be the HHS secretary.

President Trump’s chief negotiator has introduced a brand new 28-point plan for peace to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Worldwide observers are inspired that Trump has not given up on peace between Ukraine and Russia, however the proposal requires main territorial concessions from Ukraine, which the nation has repeatedly rejected.

  • 🎧 The Trump administration continues to recommend these concessions as a result of the president is targeted on getting a sure to his plan, says NPR’s Franco Ordoñez. Russian analyst Sam Charap notes that for Trump, the main points do not matter as a lot. He merely needs the combating to come back to an finish, in contrast to the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, who’re extra centered on the main points. Russia wishes extra strategic territory, whereas Ukraine has been adamant on safety ensures from Washington and its Western allies to make sure one of these invasion would not occur once more.

Trump will meet with New York Metropolis Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on the White Home’s Oval Workplace right this moment. This can mark the primary time the 2 will meet face-to-face. Mamdani, a 34-year-old Democratic socialist, emerged as a nationwide determine after his major win earlier this yr. The president has known as Mamdani a “communist” on social media and repeatedly sought to color him as too radical for the town that elected him mayor.

  • 🎧 The assembly is a reminder of the shift Mamdani has to make as he steps into the brand new function, says NPR’s Elena Moore. The mayor-elect has a background as an activist, however right this moment will likely be a take a look at for him in balancing his coverage priorities and sustaining political diplomacy. As a reminder, Moore says, the president vowed to chop New York’s federal funding if Mamdani received the election, so the assembly comes with actual stakes.

State and native voting officers from each main political events are actively making ready for the potential of the Trump administration’s interference within the midterm elections, that are lower than a yr away. The president has constantly unfold false claims about voting within the U.S. Within the spring, he issued an government order geared toward imposing vital modifications to election programs. Though courts have largely blocked the order, he has hinted at the potential of taking different government motion as properly. The election neighborhood is anxious that Trump plans to have a heavy hand of their processes subsequent yr. Listed here are a few issues voting officers are awaiting.

Deep dive

An iceberg in Ilulissat, Greenland. Ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are melting rapidly, and that melt will accelerate as the Earth heats up.

An iceberg in Ilulissat, Greenland. Ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are melting quickly, and that soften will speed up because the Earth heats up.

Ryan Kellman/NPR


conceal caption

toggle caption

Ryan Kellman/NPR

The planet has warmed about 1.3 levels Celsius, in keeping with the World Meteorological Group. Communities are already experiencing extra extreme storms, flooding, and heatwaves. Scientists warn that when the planet heats up past 1.5 levels, there might be huge, self-reinforcing modifications that would have devastating impacts worldwide. These modifications are generally known as local weather tipping factors. They will unfold over a long time or centuries and could also be partially reversible. However all of them have huge and lasting implications for all times on Earth. Listed here are a number of the most vital and well-studied modifications:

  • 💧 Coral reefs have been dying across the globe. They’re very delicate to warmth, and their loss would destabilize many international locations. Quite a few folks depend on them for meals, earnings and livelihoods. Marine life that may solely be discovered on these reefs can be susceptible to extinction.
  • 💧 Ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica might soften and end result within the rise of sea ranges all over the world.
  • 💧 Completely frozen floor within the Arctic is thawing, which might trigger the land to sink, leading to cracks within the foundations of buildings, buckling of roads and the kinking of pipelines.

Keep up-to-date with the newest information from the COP30, the United Nations local weather assembly in Brazil, with this app-exclusive playlist of tales.

Weekend picks

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked: For Good.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Depraved: For Good.

Giles Keyte/Common Photos


conceal caption

toggle caption

Giles Keyte/Common Photos

Try what NPR is watching, studying and listening to this weekend:

🍿 Motion pictures: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are again on the massive display screen this weekend in Depraved: For Good. The sequel options extra songs, magic, and lavish manufacturing design. However does it stay as much as the hype of the primary movie? This is NPR’s Aisha Harris’ verdict.

📺 TV: In The Beast In Me, a author struggles to search out her subsequent guide subject till a nefarious actual property tycoon strikes in subsequent door. He’s suspected of murdering his first spouse, although the incident was deemed a suicide. As they get acquainted, she seeks to uncover the reality.

📚 Books: Three new poetry collections discover identification, struggling, and hope, reflecting a type of shared expertise and the interior lifetime of a rustic in deep ache and uncertainty.

🎵 Music: Cabin In The Sky is the hip-hop group De La Soul’s first full-length launch since founding member Trugoy the Dove died in 2023. It options 20 songs with visitor appearances by Black Thought, Killer Mike, Q-Tip, and Nas.

🎮 Gaming: Kirby is again within the racing sport Kirby Air Riders, which rivals Mario Kart World, NPR’s James Perkins Mastromarino says. The sport has easy controls and deep customization.

🍗 Meals: Thanksgiving is lower than every week away, however there’s nonetheless time to arrange the proper meal. Try this recipe for a roast turkey and a information to TikTok chef Tini’s viral mac and cheese.

❓ Quiz: I acquired a “first rate” rating of seven out of 10. I’ll do higher subsequent time. Within the meantime, how about you’re taking a crack at it?

3 issues to know earlier than you go

A person holds a container of ByHeart infant formula.

ByHeart is recalling all of its toddler method merchandise after they had been linked to a rising botulism outbreak in over a dozen states. They had been accessible in cans and single-serve packets on-line and at main retailers.

Cheyanne Mumphrey/AP


conceal caption

toggle caption

Cheyanne Mumphrey/AP

  1. Well being officers warn that the recalled ByHeart Entire Diet method, linked to a botulism outbreak in over two dozen infants throughout 15 states, should be on some retailer cabinets.
  2. An overdue report from the Labor Division confirmed that U.S. employers added 119,000 jobs in September, whereas the unemployment price elevated to 4.4%.
  3. A brand new research in Proceedings of the Nationwide Academy of Sciences quantifies how little plastic a marine animal has to ingest for it to be deadly. For an Atlantic puffin, it takes lower than three sugar cubes’ price of plastic.

This article was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

Related Articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Articles