President Donald Trump gears up for his highly anticipated United Nations address, the administration warns pregnant women against using Tylenol, and Trump moves to stop companies from “shipping in cheap foreign labor.”
It’s Tuesday, September 23, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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Foreign Policy Roundup
Topline: Trump is scheduled to make a highly anticipated address to the United Nations on Tuesday.
What we’re tracking: Whether Trump will commit to more UN funding.
After taking office, Trump withdrew the United States from UN agencies like the Human Rights Council and World Health Organization, rescinded about a billion dollars in funding that Congress had already appropriated, and ordered a review of any future funds going to the UN, saying he wanted to ensure its mission “aligned with our national interests.”
As a result, the UN is facing a severe budget crunch — to save money, it has initiated plans to relocate its offices from New York and Geneva to lower-cost alternatives, such as Nairobi. It is also planning to cut thousands of jobs and consolidate several smaller agencies.
Trump’s speech will reportedly touch on “his vision of how the United States is approaching the world” — the assembly is hoping that approach includes funding commitments for the UN.
The Waltz: Mike Waltz, a former Green Beret and Florida congressman, was confirmed by the Senate on Friday to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and hit the ground running.
The Push for “Palestine”: Trump’s speech will coincide with a separate conference on Palestinian statehood that’s being led by France and Saudi Arabia.
Canada, Britain, and Australia each offered recognition of a Palestinian state for the first time this weekend. They joined about 150 of 193 UN member states that have done so.
But while Trump has seemingly grown more frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he needs to “wrap up” the war in Gaza, he’s still expected to offer his support of Israel today. The State Department issued a statement calling the push for Palestinian Statehood a “publicity stunt” and “reward for terrorism”.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will make the case for statehood to the UN General Assembly on Thursday. He’ll have to do it remotely after the Trump administration canceled his visa.
Taking back Bagram: Last week, President Trump announced his intention to reclaim Bagram Air Base, which was abandoned and taken over by the Taliban following the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan under former President Joe Biden.
When Trump was asked if he was willing to deploy American troops to retake the base, he refrained from giving a clear answer.
“We’re talking now to Afghanistan, and we want it back and we want it back soon, right away. And if they don’t do it – if they don’t do it, you’re going to find out what I’m gonna do,” Trump said.
Autism Report
Topline: President Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced significant findings on research concerning a spike in national autism rates.
For weeks, there had been speculation about this, but Trump and Kennedy both linked one medication to a possible cause of autism and another to a possible treatment.
The cause: They said that the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy is tied to an increased risk of autism. Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in Tylenol and is one of the most widely used medications globally for pain relief and fever reduction.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary: “We have an epidemic of autism that has increased 400% in the recent decades and we don’t have a known cause. Now this may be a cause, but when you have enough evidence to suggest an association and you have no other plausible cause, we have a duty to notify parents and doctors.”
The cure: The other major part of this announcement was that a drug called leucovorin, also known as folinic acid, can potentially help treat autism symptoms.
Makary: “We recognized that some kids with autism actually have an autoimmune disease. … And some doctors have actually started to test for this folate antibody, and they will then move on to treat some kids with this folinic acid or vitamin B12 that bypasses the receptor.”
Pharma’s view: Kirk Perry, the CEO of Kenvue, which makes Tylenol, reportedly had a “hastily scheduled meeting” with Secretary Kennedy last week over reports about this announcement. Perry argued in the private meeting that there is no causal link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism. He told Kennedy that Tylenol is a safe option for pregnant women, especially if they spike a fever, and added that other options actually do have links to birth defects.
Since early September, the Kenvue stock has dropped around 15%.
H-1B Visa Debate
Topline: President Trump signed an executive order that the White House says will curb abuse of the H-1B system that’s freezing Americans out of good jobs. The order has sparked confusion, leaving many wondering how it works and who it affects.
H-1B visas allow companies to hire foreign workers for specialized jobs when companies can’t find a skilled American to fill the position. Critics of the program argue that it has been abused to undercut American wages.
According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the order imposes a one-time $100,000 fee per employee on any company seeking a new H-1B visa. Leavitt said in an X post: “This is NOT an annual fee.” And it does not apply to any current H-1B holders who are outside the country or whose visas are currently up for renewal.
Divisive? Hardly: Some of the president’s supporters want the H-1B program massively reduced if not canceled entirely. But even among the president’s supporters in the tech sector, they’ll say that the system could use reform.
Back in December, Elon Musk, a strong supporter of the H-1B program, posted on X that it is “broken and needs major reform.” He said many complaints about abuse could be addressed by “raising the minimum salary significantly and adding a yearly cost for maintaining the H1B, making it materially more expensive to hire from overseas than domestically.”
Project Firewall: The Department of Labor rolled out Project Firewall on Friday.
“For too long, Washington politicians have stayed silent as employers abused H-1B visas under President Trump. This is coming to an end today. The Department of Labor is proud to launch Project Firewall,” the department said in a promo video released on X.
Project Firewall is intended to crack down on abuse in the H-1B program. According to the department, it “will conduct investigations of employers through Project Firewall to maximize H-1B program compliance.” Violations could result in back wages for workers, civil fines, or even disbarment from the H-1B program for a specified period. The goal here is to “safeguard the rights, wages, and job opportunities of highly skilled American workers by ensuring employers prioritize qualified Americans when hiring.”
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