Up First from NPR - CDC Links Vaccines and Autism, Trump's Ukraine Peace Plan, Mamdani Meets Trump

Episode Date: November 21, 2025

The CDC quietly rewrites its vaccine guidance online to suggest shots might cause autism, raising new questions about political influence over public health.President Trump unveils a 28-point Ukraine peace plan that leans on territorial concessions Kyiv has repeatedly rejected. And New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani heads to the White House for a meeting with a president who has labeled him a radical threat.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Jane Greenhalgh, Rebekah Metzler, Megan Pratz, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Our Executive Producer is Jay ShaylorLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hey, you're missing out today. Oh, why? What happened? Ben Abrams made homemade donuts. I mean, if he made them, they would have to be made from home, right? Why do you got to... Let's stick to the point. Ben Abrams made store-bought donuts. You're so annoying.

The CDC now links vaccines to autism. I don't think this would have happened, but for having Secretary of HHS, Robert Kennedy, in that position. Besant says that link is. false. What does this mean for public trust in the CDC? I mean Martinez, that's La Faddle, and this is up first from NPR News. President Trump has a new 28-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. I've settled eight wars. I have one to go. You know what that one is? I thought that was going to be my easy one. His plan includes making Ukraine give up land. Russia took by force,

something Ukraine has said it will not do, so can the plan work. And New York City's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is going to the White House. House today. He'll be sitting down with the president who's called him a communist, suggested the American citizen is living in the country illegally and threatened to arrest him. Will this meeting change the dynamic? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. There is so much happening in politics in any given week. You might need help putting it all in perspective. As your week draws to a close, join the NPR Politics Podcast team for our weekly round up. Here are best political reporters zoom into the biggest stories of the week. Not just what they mean, but what they mean for you, all in under 30 minutes. Listen to the weekly roundup every Friday on the NPR Politics podcast. For years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been clear. Vaccines do not cause autism.

Well, the agency has changed its position. Now its website says vaccines might cause autism, even though the science says it doesn't. NPR's Ping Huang is here to explain this about Face, and she joins me now. Good morning. Good morning. Ping, do we know who made that change? No one is owning up to it yet. So CDC scientists say they did not change the website, and the Department of Health and Human Services wouldn't say who ordered the change. But it is aligned with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who's had a long-held opinion that vaccines are dangerous. This is something that he has written books about, so both critics and supporters, of this move think that he's behind it. Here's Mary Holland. She's CEO of Children's Health Defense, which is the anti-vaccine organization that Kennedy used to lead. Well, I want us to acknowledge that I don't think this would have happened, but for having Secretary of HHS, Robert Kennedy, in that position. She was speaking in a video on the group's

website, and she celebrated and welcomed the change, as do many who are skeptical of vaccines. Okay, Kennedy's skeptical of vaccines, she's skeptical of vaccines, but the science doesn't back that up. Is there any new science to support this claim that vaccines might cause autism? There isn't. People who are steeped in this research say that this is an issue that has been studied exhaustively for many years. Here's Alison Singer with the Autism Science Foundation, which funds research. The studies are very clear. Vaccines don't cause autism. And we need to turn our attention to studying other causes of autism. Singer says that those other causes include things like genetics, like family history, exposure to certain drugs or air pollution or even

illnesses during pregnancy. And Layla, here's another interesting thing. A headline on the CDC's webpage still says, quote, vaccines do not cause autism, but there's a big asterisk next to it. And that leads to an explanation that the reason the CDC is not removing it is because an agreement with Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who provided a key confirmation vote for Kennedy. How has Senator Cassidy responded? Well, on X in a statement, he said that the developments were deeply troubling. He accused HHS of canceling funding for research into other causes of autism and refocusing on vaccines, which he said were, quote, safe and effective and will not cause autism. And this is something that major medical groups are also united

in saying. They're saying that this is wrong. Here's Dr. Sean O'Leary from the American Academy of Pediatrics. This is madness. I'm so sorry. that this is going to have an impact on, frankly, the health of children. I fear that it's going to lead to fewer children being vaccinated, children suffering from diseases they didn't need to suffer from. O'Leary called it a dark day. He says that he's been dealing with vaccine misinformation for years, but the difference here is that it's now coming from the federal government.

I mean, on that point, what does this do to people's trust in the CDC? I mean, this is an agency that's been in turmoil this year. They've lost between a quarter and a third of their staff. One of my sources told me that it's like the Titanic there right now with people wondering when to bail. So even people who are working there say the public should no longer trust some key information from the CDC, especially when it comes to vaccines. Once NPR's Ping Huang. Thank you, Ping. You're welcome. President Trump wants another peace deal under his belt.

I've settled eight wars. I have one to go. You know what that one is? I thought that was going to be my easy one because I have a good relationship with President Putin, but I'm a little disappointed in President Putin right now. The comments came just before his chief negotiator presented a new 28-point plan for peace to Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky. International observers are encouraged that Trump has not given up, but they're also expressing caution about the actual plan's practicality. NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez is here. Franco, tell us about this plan. Yeah, pieces began to start leaking out this week. And yesterday, the White House publicly acknowledged the proposal. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said special envoy Steve Whitkoff

and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been working on it, both with Russia and Ukraine for about a month. But she did not release any details on the plan, which she said was still in flux. Yeah, but there is one little detail, right? That actually is a big one. one where Ukraine might actually draw a line in the sand. That's right. And Ukraine has repeatedly said that they will not give up territory to Russia, that it doesn't already control. And in his statement and his evening address last night,

Zelensky said that the plan could activate diplomacy, but he also urged caution. Charging that Russia does not actually want peace. Here's more of what he said. Now he's saying Ukraine has received the American proposal, the American vision, and that Ukraine has one simple position, that Ukraine needs peace, a real peace that will not be broken by another invasion. Yeah, but Ukraine keeps saying they are not giving up territory to Russia, so why does the Trump administration keep bringing it up? Yeah, I mean, I think the simple answer is that Trump is just so focused on getting to yes.

I was speaking with Russian analyst Sam Cherub, who is at Rand, a think tank that studies security. And he says the details don't matter as much to Trump. who just wants to stop the fighting. For both Presidents Putin and Zelensky, the details really matter. That's why you have to have them or their representatives in the room working these issues in detail if you want to get something that will stick. And that's why Russia wants more strategic territory, and Ukraine is so adamant about security guarantees from Washington and its Western partners so that this type of invasion doesn't happen

again. The thing is, though, President Trump has seemingly gone back and forth when it comes to supporting Russia, then supporting Ukraine. And some people thought maybe that's because maybe he wants to kind of get out of effort to try and resolve this. So, I mean, what does that say about what this analysis means? Yeah, back in September, Trump's stunned much of Washington when he said that Ukraine can win the war and even called Russia a paper tiger. But when that was not followed up with any action, some international observers started to think that Trump was actually looking for an exit ramp because he was also pressing Europe to take more of the lead. So this news of a peace plan, even if it's perhaps not currently feasible, has experts like Cherup and courage

because the reality is only the U.S. has unique leverage over both Russia and Ukraine. And without the U.S., it's really hard to see a negotiated end to the war. White House correspondent Franco Ordonez. Thanks a lot. Thanks a. Thank you. Just weeks after being elected the next mayor of New York City, Zoran Mamdani, is headed to the White House. The 34-year-old Democratic Socialist quickly became a national figure after an upset primary win earlier this year. He's got a lot of fans, particularly among young voters.

and progressives. But he's also become a foe for many on the right, including President Trump, who he's expected to meet with later today. MPR political reporter, Elena Moore, will be covering that meeting. Elena, this is one of these meetings where I did not expect these two in the same room together. Yeah, I mean, it's actually a tradition for the incoming mayor-elect to sit down with the president. Also, New York is an important place. It's the biggest city in the country. and President Trump's hometown. He's from Queens, the same borough that Zeran Mamdani represents in the State Assembly right now. But despite that connection, a Trump has been a vocal critic of Mamdani. Ahead of Election Day, he went as far as to endorse Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic

governor of New York, who was running against Momdani. Yeah, and they seem like political, polar opposite, so I can kind of see why Trump would be riled up by the new mayor. Well, yeah, Mamdani ran on the Democratic ticket, but he identifies as a Democratic socialist. And he's made some ambitious campaign promises aimed at tackling the rising cost of living, like freezing the rent for rent-stabilized apartments and creating city-run grocery stores. But his ideas are also ones that conservatives have painted as radical and extreme. And Trump has really taken that up a notch. He's repeatedly called Mamdani a communist. He said he'd arrest him if he didn't cooperate with ICE raids as mayor and suggested that Mamdani isn't living in the country legally, even though

a he's a naturalized citizen. And what's been Mondani's response to Trump? He's largely stood his ground. I mean, Mamdani made a point even to address the president directly in his victory speech, looking into the camera and telling Trump to turn the volume up. Hear me, President Trump, when I say this, to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us. Part of what makes Mom Dani so impactful right now is that he's built a large movement, one

that a lot of longtime Democrats just don't have at the moment. In the lead up to election day, I talked to voters around the country who said they've been feeling increasingly disappointed by the Democratic Party in recent years, but see Mamdani as a welcome change. So he is popular, and

that's why, you know, partly Trump is paying attention. So what are they going to talk about? New I wish. I mean, speaking to reporters yesterday, Mom Dani said that even though he disagrees with Trump a lot, he's willing to work with anyone who wants to make life more affordable for New Yorkers. And as a reminder, I mean, Trump vowed to cut New York's federal funding if Mamdani won. So there are real stakes here. But this isn't just about the dollars. You know, this meeting is a reminder of the big shift that Mom Dani has to make in these next few weeks as he takes on this job. He's got a background as an activist. But being mayor of New York City is a totally different role. So today may be a test for him, you know, on balancing the policy priorities that got him elected and maintaining the political diplomacy required as mayor. That's NPR political reporter. Alina Moore. Thanks a lot.

Thank you. And that's up first for November 21st. I'm Leila Falded. And I'm Amey Martinez. In just three years, chat GPT. has changed the way we think about and interact with artificial intelligence. On college campuses, the impact has been swift, leaving teachers and administrators scrambling. If we're not careful, the presence of AI can poison our relationships with our students. This weekend on the Sunday story, how is AI changing higher education? Listen to the Sunday story right here on MPR's Up First podcast.

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