September 2025

There were 1,641 posts published in September 2025 (this is page 44 of 165).

Phillies notes: Turner’s progress, Castellanos prepares for October

Phillies notes: Turner’s progress, Castellanos prepares for October originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Phillies have to be excited to get back in front of their home crowd to close out the regular season.

Despite a huge series victory, where they clinched the NL East, against the Dodgers, some glaring offensive numbers stood out.

Including Emmett Sheehan, who followed lefty opener Anthony Banda, Los Angeles’ starting pitching shut down the Phillies’ offense all series.

Between Sheehan, Shohei Ohtani and Blake Snell, the trio combined for 17 ⅔ innings, allowing just three hits and one run (0.51 ERA) while racking up 24 strikeouts.

Luckily, timely hitting proved to be the difference, as Philadelphia took two of three at Dodger Stadium.

But with LA likely looming as an NLDS opponent, it’ll be worth watching whether Rob Thomson’s group can adjust to their starters.

When the Phillies went into Chase Field to face the Diamondbacks, the offense didn’t fare much better. With runners in scoring position, the bats went cold, going just 4-for-30 in those situations.

Whether Arizona still has their number from two seasons ago or not, the Phillies will look to right the ship with their RISP struggles during this final homestand.

Trea working back

The Phillies’ star shortstop was on the field this afternoon taking live at-bats against minor leaguers Danny Harper and Andrew Walling.

When asked if Trea Turner would return before the end of the regular season, Thomson kept it short with reporters.

“We’re hopeful,” he said.

Sep 7, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) celebrates after hitting a home run against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Thomson added that Turner is running at about “70 to 75 percent.” He emphasized it isn’t essential for Turner to play before the postseason begins, though getting him some reps would certainly help.

In Turner’s absence, Harrison Bader has done a phenomenal job atop the lineup. He’s slashing .339/.383/.518 with six extra-base hits in 60 plate appearances and credits hitting in front of Kyle Schwarber.

“Hitting in front of that caliber of bat is awesome,” Bader said. “I think when you have a really good bat behind you, it changes the mentality of the pitching staff.”

“Honestly, hitting leadoff has been awesome,” Bader added. “I’m just trying to keep the spot warm until Trea comes back, and I’ve enjoyed it.”

Reyes receives MVP honors

Earlier today, Minor League Baseball announced its Double-A All-Stars and awards — and Phillies prospect Felix Reyes took home hardware.

The 24-year-old, who spent almost the entire season with Reading, was named Eastern League Most Valuable Player.

In his fifth professional season, Reyes broke out in a big way. He hit .335 with 15 homers and 67 RBIs, posting a .937 OPS over 95 games.

“He can really hit … and he’s a really good player,” Thomson said.

Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2020, Reyes finished just shy of the Minor League batting title, trailing only Rangers prospect Cody Freeman.

My take on Casty

Obviously, it was a hectic road trip — and Nick Castellanos’ comments to reporters only stirred the pot further.

After a few days to cool down, one key takeaway remains: Castellanos is clearly playing with a chip on his shoulder. And that hasn’t been a negative in the batter’s box.

Since the start of September — when he fully assumed the platoon role, he’s slashing .306/.333/.500 in 36 at-bats. He’s also excelled against right-handed pitching in that span, hitting .333.

With free agency ahead this offseason and his constant emphasis on staying focused on bringing a World Series championship back to Philadelphia, I see the storyline as a positive heading into October.

Wouldn’t it be something if, after all the controversy, Castellanos played a key role in a championship run?

As Philly fans have heard often: trust the process.

Tuesday preview

The Phillies open a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park against a red-hot Marlins club. Miami has won 10 of its last 11 under first-year manager Clayton McCullough.

The Marlins, who sit four games out of the last Wild Card spot, are 2-4 against Philadelphia this season.

They’ll send out right-hander Edward Cabrera (7-7, 3.57 ERA). The 27-year-old is making his first start since Aug. 30 after an elbow sprain landed him on the IL.

In his lone start against the Phillies, back on June 19, Cabrera went 6 ⅓ innings, allowing just two hits and one run in a 2-1 Phillies win.

His numbers at Citizens Bank Park, though, haven’t been as sharp. In three starts, he’s posted a 4.91 ERA, allowing 16 hits in 14 ⅔ innings.

His last outing at The Bank? Six earned runs in just four innings.

For the Phillies, it’ll be the ever-reliable Cristopher Sánchez (13-5, 2.66 ERA). The southpaw gutted through his last outing in Los Angeles, rough early but finishing strong with seven innings of four-run ball.

Sep 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (61) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

In what’s likely his final start of a Cy Young-caliber season, the Phillies should feel good about their chances of securing the coveted first-round bye.

With a win and a Dodgers loss (to Arizona), they’ll clinch an automatic bid to the National League Division Series.

First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m. ET.

Major League Baseball implementing Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System for 2026 season

It’s officially happening.

The MLB competition committee voted on Tuesday to approve implementing the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System for the entire 2026 season.

Here’s how it will work:

— Each team will get two challenges and can keep them if they’re successful

— Challenges can only be initiated by a pitcher, catcher, or batter, and the challenge must be requested immediately after the call is made

— To signal a challenge, the pitcher, catcher, or batter will tap his hat or helmet to let the umpire know, and no help from the dugout or other players on the field is allowed

— In each extra inning, a team will be awarded a challenge if it has none remaining entering the inning

The ABS system was used on a trial basis during MLB spring training games this season as well as during the 2025 All-Star Game in Atlanta. 

The system has also been used, to some degree, on a more regular basis throughout the minor leagues (starting in independent ball in 2019) and the Arizona Fall League, though the process and technology have been updated over time.

According to a release from Major League Baseball, 12 Hawk-Eye cameras will be set up around the perimeter of the field to track the location of each pitch. The pitch location is compared to the batter’s strike zone, and if any part of the ball touches any part of the strike zone, the pitch will be considered a strike. The home plate umpire will announce the challenge to the fans in the ballpark and a graphic showing the outcome of the challenge will be displayed on the scoreboard and broadcast. The entire process should take approximately 15 seconds.

Robot umpires approved for MLB in 2026 as part of challenge system

NEW YORK (AP) — Robot umpires are getting called up to the big leagues next season.

Major League Baseball’s 11-man competition committee on Tuesday approved use of the Automated Ball/Strike System in the major leagues in 2026.

Human plate umpires will still call balls and strikes, but teams can challenge two calls per game and get additional appeals in extra innings. Challenges must be made by a pitcher, catcher or batter — signaled by tapping their helmet or cap — and a team retains its challenge if successful. Reviews will be shown as digital graphics on outfield videoboards.

Adding the robot umps is likely to cut down on ejections. MLB said 61.5% of ejections among players, managers and coaches last year were related to balls and strikes, as were 60.3% this season through Sunday. The figures include ejections for derogatory comments, throwing equipment while protesting calls and inappropriate conduct.

Big league umpires call roughly 94% of pitches correctly, according to UmpScorecards.

ABS, which utilizes Hawk-Eye cameras, has been tested in the minor leagues since 2019. The independent Atlantic League trialed the system at its 2019 All-Star Game and MLB installed the technology for that’s year Arizona Fall League of top prospects. The ABS was tried at eight of nine ballparks of the Low-A Southeast League in 2021, then moved up to Triple-A in 2022.

At Triple-A at the start of the 2023 season, half the games used the robots for ball/strike calls and half had a human making decisions subject to appeals by teams to the ABS.

MLB switched Triple-A to an all-challenge system on June 26, 2024, then used the challenge system this year at 13 spring training ballparks hosting 19 teams for a total of 288 exhibition games. Teams won 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges (617 of 1,182) challenges.

At Triple-A this season, the average challenges per game increased to 4.2 from 3.9 through Sunday and the success rate dropped to 49.5% from 50.6%. Defenses were successful in 53.7% of challenges this year and offenses in 45%.

In the first test at the big League All-Star Game, four of five challenges of plate umpire Dan Iassogna’s calls were successful in July.

Teams in Triple-A do not get additional challenges in extra innings. The proposal approved Tuesday included a provision granting teams one additional challenge each inning if they don’t have challenges remaining.

MLB has experimented with different shapes and interpretations of the strike zone with ABS, including versions that were three-dimensional. Currently, it calls strikes solely based on where the ball crosses the midpoint of the plate, 8.5 inches from the front and the back. The top of the strike zone is 53.5% of batter height and the bottom 27%.

This will be MLB’s first major rule change since sweeping adjustments in 2024. Those included a pitch clock, restrictions on defensive shifts, pitcher disengagements such as pickoff attempts and larger bases.

The challenge system introduces ABS without eliminating pitch framing, a subtle art where catchers use their body and glove to try making borderline pitches look like strikes. Framing has become a critical skill for big league catchers, and there was concern that full-blown ABS would make some strong defensive catchers obsolete. Not that everyone loves it.

“The idea that people get paid for cheating, for stealing strikes, for moving a pitch that’s not a strike into the zone to fool the official and make it a strike is beyond my comprehension,” former manager Bobby Valentine said.

Texas manager Bruce Bochy, a big league catcher from 1978-87, maintained old-school umpires such as Bruce Froemming and Billy Williams never would have accepted pitch framing. He said they would have told him: “‘If you do that again, you’ll never get a strike.’ I’m cutting out some words.”

Management officials on the competition committee include Seattle chairman John Stanton, St. Louis CEO Bill DeWitt Jr., San Francisco chairman Greg Johnson, Colorado CEO Dick Monfort, Toronto CEO Mark Shapiro and Boston chairman Tom Werner.

Players include Arizona’s Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen, Detroit’s Casey Mize, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh and the New York Yankees’ Austin Slater, with the Chicago Cubs’ Ian Happ at Detroit’s Casey Mize as alternates. The union representatives make their decisions based on input from players on the 30 teams.

Bill Miller is the umpire representative.

MLB announces Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System for 2026 season

Rejoice, MLB fans, robot umpires are almost here … well, kind of. The league joint competition committee met Tuesday to vote on whether to bring the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system to the majors in 2026, per Joe Lemire of the Sports Business Journal. 

The vote was successful, MLB announced, meaning players will be able to challenge ball and strike calls next season.

The news shouldn’t come as a surprise, as MLB has been testing the challenge system for years. The league originally used the Atlantic League and the minors to roll out the system. MLB tested two different ABS changes in recent years. The first involved using ABS to make every single ball and strike call. The second involved teams being given the ability to challenge specific calls during games. The second option was preferred among players and was considered a success in the minors.

Because of that, MLB decided to test the ABS challenge system last spring. The league also allowed players to challenge calls in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. Each team was given two challenges per game, which could be lost if an umpire’s call was confirmed. The experiment went over extremely well. Players seemed on board with the idea, and challenges were fast enough that they did not interfere with games. 

MLB will implement a similar system in 2026. Teams will begin each game with two challenges, and they’ll retain those challenges if successful. Challenges can be initiated by the pitcher, catcher or batter and must be requested right after the pitch in question. Players are not allowed to receive help from the dugout or other players before initiating a challenge. An additional challenge will be rewarded to teams in extra innings if those teams no longer have any challenges.

Once a challenge is initiated, the home plate umpire will announce the challenge to the crowd. The scoreboard will then show where the ball landed using ABS cameras. The entire process is expected to take roughly 15 seconds.

In order to bring ABS challenges to the majors, the league needed to collectively bargain the issue with the umpire’s union. Both sides reached an agreement in 2024. One umpire sits on the league’s joint competition committee — along with six team owners and four players — so all three sides were represented in Tuesday’s vote. 

MLB announces Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System for 2026 season

Rejoice, MLB fans, robot umpires are almost here … well, kind of. The league joint competition committee met Tuesday to vote on whether to bring the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system to the majors in 2026, per Joe Lemire of the Sports Business Journal. 

The vote was successful, MLB announced, meaning players will be able to challenge ball and strike calls next season.

The news shouldn’t come as a surprise, as MLB has been testing the challenge system for years. The league originally used the Atlantic League and the minors to roll out the system. MLB tested two different ABS changes in recent years. The first involved using ABS to make every single ball and strike call. The second involved teams being given the ability to challenge specific calls during games. The second option was preferred among players and was considered a success in the minors.

Because of that, MLB decided to test the ABS challenge system last spring. The league also allowed players to challenge calls in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. Each team was given two challenges per game, which could be lost if an umpire’s call was confirmed. The experiment went over extremely well. Players seemed on board with the idea, and challenges were fast enough that they did not interfere with games. 

MLB will implement a similar system in 2026. Teams will begin each game with two challenges, and they’ll retain those challenges if successful. Challenges can be initiated by the pitcher, catcher or batter and must be requested right after the pitch in question. Players are not allowed to receive help from the dugout or other players before initiating a challenge. An additional challenge will be rewarded to teams in extra innings if those teams no longer have any challenges.

Once a challenge is initiated, the home plate umpire will announce the challenge to the crowd. The scoreboard will then show where the ball landed using ABS cameras. The entire process is expected to take roughly 15 seconds.

In order to bring ABS challenges to the majors, the league needed to collectively bargain the issue with the umpire’s union. Both sides reached an agreement in 2024. One umpire sits on the league’s joint competition committee — along with six team owners and four players — so all three sides were represented in Tuesday’s vote. 

Walmart ‘Deals’ Sale Is Its Answer to Prime Day

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Walmart has jumped on the October Prime Day bandwagon in an attempt to sway you away from the biggest online sale of the fall. The main event is Amazon’s two-day Prime Big Deal Days promotion, aka October Prime Day. This week, Walmart officially announced its own “Prime Day”-esque promotion, and there’s some good news for those of you who balk at the idea of paying for a membership to take advantage of a sale—it’s free to everyone.

What is Walmart Deals?

Walmart Deals is meant to be the answer to Amazon’s Prime Day sales. It is both an in-store and online sale with deals on most things that Walmart sells (food being arguably the biggest omission). The sale happens every year around spring, summer, fall, and winter, revolving around Prime Day sales.

When does Walmart Deals start?

Walmart Deals kicks off Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET for Walmart+ members (a five-hour head start) and Oct. 7 for everyone else. It runs until Oct. 12, both online and in stores at local opening times.

Do you need to be a Walmart+ member to shop during Walmart Deals?

No. But, if you are a Walmart+ member, you’ll get early access to the sales beginning Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET, the evening before the event opens to the public. You can sign up for a free 30-day Walmart+ subscription or get the annual plan for $98 ($8.17/month).

What you can expect from Walmart Deals

Walmart says its sale will include many different categories, including deals on electronics, home, toys, travel, and many other categories—similar to the deals we found last year. The sale will be on Walmart.com, the Walmart app, and in stores. You can already see the landing page, even though the sale hasn’t started. Here are some deals Walmart says will be available:

Electronics

Home

Seasonal Decor

Toys

Fashion

 Beauty

Food

You can choose between in-store pickup and different delivery options, including early-morning delivery, late-night express delivery, and next- and two-day shipping.

All of the other competing sales for October Prime Day

You can always expect major retailers to have their own competitive sales, the big ones being Best Buy, Target, and, of course, Amazon. Target has been the only other retailer to officially announce their October competition sale. Like in previous years, the dates for these sales will start earlier, overlap, and run longer than October Prime Day. There are usually a couple of deals that are better than Amazon’s Prime Day from each of the retailers, but the majority of the good deals will be on Amazon. I will be updating this post with details on those offerings as soon as they’ve been announced.

Knicks Notes: Mike Brown talks starting lineup, rotation plans as training camp begins

The Knicks enter the 2025-26 season with a new head coach but the same championship aspirations as a year ago, and things tipped off officially on Tuesday with the start of training camp. 

Head coach Mike Brown, as well as key players like Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges all met with the media on Tuesday, talking about the busy offseason that was and the exciting season to come. 

Here are the key takeaways…

Mike Brown on the starting lineup and rotation

The Knicks used the same starting five — Brunson, Towns, Hart, Bridges, and OG Anunoby — for just about all of the 2024-25 regular season. And while former head coach Tom Thibodeau was reluctant to make changes to the lineup, he ultimately did insert Mitchell Robinson into the starting lineup ahead of Game 3 of Eastern Conference Finals against Indiana, moving Hart to the bench. 

With that in mind, the starting lineup heading into this season is already a topic of conversation. But according to Brown, it’s too early to say who will make up the starting five.

“It will materialize throughout camp,” Brown said. “I think it’s too early to go in and say ‘hey, this is what’s going to happen.’ The roster, Leon [Rose] and his group did a fantastic job putting together a talented, deep roster, and so you have to be methodical with your approach when it comes to declaring ‘Okay, these guys are going to start.’”

Thibodeau also notoriously used a very short rotation, and shrank it even more in the playoffs to around eight players.

Brown said he’ll likely use more players, with everyone having a chance to contribute throughout the year. 

“If you look at what I’ve done in the past, it’s usually nine-and-a-half to 10 guys,” Brown said. “I try to play as many guys as I can. Even when I was in [Sacramento] and we had an injury during the season, there was a point in time towards the end of the season where I started a two-way guy in Keon Ellis. So, I’m going to try to play who can help us win, and I’m going to try to give guys an opportunity. So, hopefully with as deep as our roster is, everybody will get an opportunity at some point during the season.”

Brunson on Thibs’ firing

Prior to Thibodeau’s dismissal after the ECF loss to the Pacers, Brunson was one of his strongest defenders. 

Asked immediately after the Game 6 loss if Thibodeau was the right person to lead the Knicks, Brunson was adamant.

“Is that a real question right now?” Brunson said after the Game 6 loss to the Pacers. “You just asked me if I believe he’s the right guy? Yes.”

Asked about Thibodeau on Tuesday, Brunson expressed his gratitude to his former coach.

“Obviously it’s sad to see a man I’ve known for a long time part ways with this organization, but he’s meant a lot to me,” Brunson said. “I’ve expressed that publicly and personally. But yeah, he’s meant a lot to my career, to this point.”

Hart/KAT on offseason procedures, or non-procedures

On the health front, Towns disputed reports from June that he had procedure done on a finger on his left hand and his knee, saying emphatically “I did not get finger surgery or knee surgery.”

One player who did undergo a procedure was Hart, who admitted to recently having a setback in his rehab while recovering from a procedure to a finger on his right hand, which will likely require him to wear a splint all season long.

“I was out for a little while. I’m just trying to get used to it and get through the season with it,” Hart said.

“I don’t want to go into too much detail, but obviously got a procedure on it, and then kind of reaggravated it somewhat recently. I’ll probably just rock out with a splint this season and try to fix it again next summer.”

Bridges on extension

Following an up-and-down first season in New York, Bridges signed a four-year, $150 million extension; however, he left some money on the table as he elected not to sign for the max of $156 million, saving the Knicks $6 million that went to building out the rest of the roster.

“Real excited, happy to be back, be here with everybody and be a part of this organization.,” Bridges said. “Just happy we got it done, and really no issues, honestly.”

He added: “The biggest thing is if I came here and preached how much I want to win and then tried to take every dollar and make it difficult for the organization, then I’d just seem like a fraud, and that’s not who I am.

“I want to win bad, and whatever it takes. Like I said, I love all the guys here, so why wouldn’t I want the next man up that needs some money, why would I not give them an opportunity to get paid as well? I think I got a good amount of money and I don’t think a couple more [millions] will change my life, so I think it would be better to help everybody else out.”

What You Should Actually Know About Tylenol and Pregnancy

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In a press conference totally divorced from reality as scientists and doctors understand it, President Trump announced yesterday that the FDA would be warning providers and patients away from acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) in pregnancy. There were some other unsubstantiated claims about vaccines and autism mixed in, so let me break down what’s actually known and understood here. 

What is acetaminophen? 

Acetaminophen is an over-the-counter medication used to relieve pain and fevers. The flagship products of the Tylenol company are acetaminophen pills and syrups, but Tylenol sells other products as well, including medicines with a mixture of active ingredients. (Always check the Drug Facts label when you take medications to know what you’re getting.) I’ll often use the word Tylenol, since it’s more commonly known, but acetaminophen is also available in other products, like Excedrin and NyQuil..

Outside the U.S., acetaminophen is often known as paracetamol: Same drug, different generic name, though Trump seems to have stuck with the brand name Tylenol during the press conference. The Tylenol company now has a pop-up on its website pointing customers to this response, which correctly points out there is no credible link between Tylenol and autism.

What the science actually says about acetaminophen and autism 

The short answer: There is no credible link between autism and the use of acetaminophen in pregnancy. But HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. sorta-kinda spoke correctly when, during the press conference, he said there were some studies that “suggest a potential” connection between acetaminophen and autism. For example, a review published this year (not a study itself, but an analysis of prior studies) found that some studies do in fact show a link between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and autism, although the evidence is mixed. 

A press release about the review noted, “While the study does not show that acetaminophen directly causes neurodevelopmental disorders [emphasis mine], the research team’s findings strengthen the evidence for a connection and raise concerns about current clinical practices.” That said, it seems most medical experts aren’t convinced that this review, or the studies that claimed to find a link, are strong enough to change clinical practice. (More in the next section on what medical experts are saying about these claims.) 

So why doesn’t this count as strong evidence? An association (two things tend to occur together) is not the same as causality (this thing definitively causes that thing). People who take acetaminophen during pregnancy tend to be different than those who don’t—for example, if somebody takes Tylenol during pregnancy because they are sick, it may be the sickness rather than the Tylenol that is the risk factor. Or the people who take Tylenol may be different from people who don’t in some other way.

A large study published last year took this into account. The researchers looked at 2.5 million children in Sweden, and their initial analysis found an increase in risk of autism in children whose mothers had taken acetaminophen. But then they looked at whether this relationship held up between pairs of siblings, where one was exposed to acetaminophen in utero and the other was not. And the relationship disappeared. 

In other words, if acetaminophen increased autism risk, you’d expect the sibling exposed to the drug in utero to have a higher likelihood of autism than their sibling who wasn’t. But that wasn’t the case. Instead, it seems some families have a higher likelihood than others of having children with autism, and taking acetaminophen doesn’t increase the risk within that family. 

What medical experts say about acetaminophen in pregnancy

Acetaminophen (including Tylenol) is generally considered the safest pain reliever for use in pregnancy. Other common alternatives, like ibuprofen, have known risks and are not recommended if you are able to take acetaminophen instead. Medical experts also agree that it’s dangerous to leave pain and fever untreated during pregnancy. 

Several medical organizations issued statements in response to the president’s press conference, all of which are worth reading in full, but here are some key quotes from each: 

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in a statement: “Suggestions that acetaminophen use in pregnancy causes autism are not only highly concerning to clinicians but also irresponsible when considering the harmful and confusing message they send to pregnant patients, including those who may need to rely on this beneficial medicine during pregnancy.” The statement goes on to discuss the strength of the evidence, saying that “not a single reputable study has successfully concluded that the use of acetaminophen in any trimester of pregnancy causes neurodevelopmental disorders in children.”

The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine said in their statement: “In response to today’s White House press conference announcement, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) reiterates its recommendation advising both physicians and patients that acetaminophen is an appropriate medication to treat pain and fever during pregnancy.  Despite assertions to the contrary, a thorough review of existing research suggesting a potential link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and an increased risk of autism and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children has not established a causal relationship.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics said in their statement: “Today’s White House event on autism was filled with dangerous claims and misleading information that sends a confusing message to parents and expecting parents and does a disservice to autistic individuals. … Families who have questions about their child’s medications, autism care plans or other health care should consult with their pediatrician or health care provider.”

The Autism Science Foundation said in their statement: “Any association between acetaminophen and autism is based on limited, conflicting, and inconsistent science and is premature… Today’s announcement distracts from the urgent scientific work needed to understand the true causes of autism and to develop better supports and interventions for autistic people and their families.”

The European Medicines Agency, which plays a similar role in Europe as the FDA does in the U.S., issued a statement that there is no new evidence that would require reevaluating the status or labeling for acetaminophen, which they call paracetamol. “Paracetamol remains an important option to treat pain or fever in pregnant women. Our advice is based on a rigorous assessment of the available scientific data and we have found no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children.”

There is no evidence that vaccines cause autism, either

The press conference also repeated long-debunked myths about vaccines and autism. There’s no credible link here, either to vaccines in general, to specific vaccine ingredients like mercury, or to combined vaccines like the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella vaccine). 

And I shouldn’t have to tell any parent this, but babies are not in fact “pumped” with a “vat” of “80 different vaccines” at “one visit,” as Trump claimed. Babies see the pediatrician every few months during their first year of life, getting a few shots each time, many of which are combination vaccines (not just the MMR). Many of these vaccines need to be given in multiple doses—it’s not a one-and-done shot for each one. 

So it’s not true that separating the MMR into its components has “no downside.” Splitting the shots means kids are getting more needle sticks and delaying the date at which they’ll get their last dose of each and be fully protected. (The CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, which was gutted of its longtime experts and filled with controversial replacements handpicked by the HHS secretary, who has long been an anti-vaccine activist himself, has already voted to remove the combined MMR-chickenpox vaccine as a standard option for young children.) 

Trump also repeated the myth that there’s no reason for babies to get hepatitis B shots at birth. Hepatitis B can be sexually transmitted, sure, but it’s not only sexually transmitted. Babies can get it at birth from a parent who doesn’t know they have it; they can also get it during childhood from various non-sexual, non-drug exposures. Hepatitis B is a more severe disease the younger you get it, and it’s one of the vaccines babies’ immune systems can process even in those early days (not all vaccines will work that early) so the risk-benefit calculation is an easy one: this vaccine, like others, offers children real protection.