A major storm has erupted in the public-health world after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly rewrote key language on its website, suggesting that a connection between vaccines and autism cannot definitively be ruled out. This represents a complete reversal of the agency’s decades-long—and unequivocal—position that no such link exists.
The move stunned experts because the scientific consensus on this issue has been settled for years. Research across multiple continents, involving millions of children, has thoroughly debunked the claim of any correlation. Nonetheless, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been pushing this discredited theory for years, now appears to be steering federal health messaging in a dramatically different direction.
Public-health leaders warned that this sudden about-face lands at precisely the wrong moment. Childhood vaccination rates have already slipped nationwide, leading to the revival of illnesses once nearly eradicated, including measles and pertussis. They fear the new CDC language will pour gasoline on the fire.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has been changed to promote false information suggesting vaccines cause autism,” said Dr. Susan J. Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She emphasized the overwhelming scientific record, stating, “Since 1998, independent researchers across seven countries have conducted more than 40 high-quality studies involving over 5.6 million people. The conclusion is clear and unambiguous: There’s no link between vaccines and autism.”
Dr. Kressly also criticized the agency’s direction in stark terms. “Anyone repeating this harmful myth is misinformed or intentionally trying to mislead parents. We call on the CDC to stop wasting government resources to amplify false claims that sow doubt in one of the best tools we have to keep children healthy and thriving: routine immunizations.”
Federal officials, however, doubled down. In a statement to NPR, Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon echoed one of the new website assertions: “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.” He said the department “has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links.”
The Autism Science Foundation sharply rebuked that explanation, saying the revised wording “shows a lack of understanding of the term ‘evidence,’” adding, “No environmental factor has been better studied as a potential cause of autism than vaccines.”
Dr. Paul Offitt of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said the new wording is intentionally confusing. He called it a repackaging of familiar misinformation tactics: “These are the usual anti-vaccine tropes, misrepresentation of studies, false equivalence,” adding pointedly, “They might as well say chicken nuggets might cause autism because you can’t prove that either.”
Inside the CDC, the shift triggered alarm and internal turmoil. Dr. Demetre Daskalakis—who left the agency over the summer—said the changes “blindsided” longtime scientists. “The scientists did not participate in its creation,” he explained. “And the data are unvetted.”
Two current CDC employees, who contacted NPR anonymously, echoed that the new language signals that the agency’s vaccine information is being distorted. They described the updated website as “anti-science” and said they feared retaliation for speaking out.
These developments are only the latest in a series of moves by Kennedy that run counter to the positions of leading medical institutions, including the Infectious Disease Society of America and the American College of Physicians. Vaccine advocates warn that the administration’s new posture threatens to undermine trust built over generations.
This year alone, Kennedy dismissed every member of the CDC’s powerful Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and installed his own appointees. The newly reshaped committee quickly recommended eliminating thimerosal from the small subset of flu vaccines in which it still appears—despite years of evidence demonstrating its safety.
Federal agencies have also tightened access to COVID-19 vaccines and halted grants supporting new mRNA-based vaccines, cutting off development pipelines for future immunizations.
Alongside these moves, Trump administration officials have claimed a connection between acetaminophen and autism and touted leucovorin—a prescription form of vitamin B9—as a treatment for autism despite extremely limited evidence.
The current ACIP working group is evaluating additional sweeping changes, including removing aluminum-based adjuvants that have been safely used for nearly a century to boost vaccine effectiveness. They are also considering breaking up the single MMR shot into separate vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella—decisions experts warn would dismantle a vaccination system that has shielded American children for generations.
The committee is even debating delaying the hepatitis B vaccine, which has long been administered at birth to prevent severe liver disease and cancer.
In an unusual twist, the CDC acknowledged in a footnote that its site still features the longstanding header “Vaccines do not cause autism*.” The asterisk notes that the phrase remains only because of “an agreement with the chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it would remain on the CDC website.”
NPR contacted the office of Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who leads the HELP Committee and supported Kennedy’s confirmation, but received no immediate reply. Later in the day, Cassidy posted on X: “I’m a doctor who has seen people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. What parents need to hear right now is vaccines for measles, polio, hepatitis B and other childhood diseases are safe and effective and will not cause autism. Any statement to the contrary is wrong, irresponsible, and actively makes Americans sicker.”
Public-health officials fear that unless the CDC reverses course, vaccination rates could continue to fall—jeopardizing herd immunity, reviving diseases long under control, and placing millions of children at risk.
{Matzav.com}
[Video below.] At a time when the frum world is grappling with extraordinary communal challenges, Rav Kalman Epstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Shaar Hatorah in Queens, delivered a forceful and deeply reflective message about the escalating culture of extravagance in our community—lavish weddings, multi-course smorgasbords, and even the rise of private jets becoming a normalized symbol of status.
Speaking last night, he urged Klal Yisroel to confront the spiritual cost of this lifestyle honestly and courageously.
Rav Epstein began by reflecting on COVID, a period that disrupted every facet of Jewish communal life. With weddings limited, bar mitzvahs scaled down, and parlor meetings halted, he had hoped this would spark a long-needed cultural reset away from excess.
“One of the things that happened during COVID [is] that there weren’t any, at least most of the time, there weren’t any large gatherings. People stopped making big chasunas and big bar mitzvahs and parlor meetings. And we thought, I don’t know, we thought, at least I thought, that maybe this will be an impetus for the community. Here we’re not talking about yechidim. Yechidim really can’t change that…”
But instead of shifting permanently to simpler simchos, the Rosh Yeshiva lamented that the opposite has happened—extravagance has grown even more entrenched.
“And that affluence brought with it tremendous extravagance. And we thought that, again I say, at least I thought, that maybe that tekufah when that extravagance can’t be practiced will make it permanent, that we’ll learn that this is not the way we’re supposed to live.”
Rav Epstein explained that the Torah’s model of life is the very opposite of showiness. He invoked the pasuk of “hatzneia leches,” which he described as a mandate to live quietly, modestly, and without self-display.
“When we say, higid lecha adam ma tov u’ma Hashem doresh mimcha, asos mishpat v’ahavas chesed, and v’hatzneia leches im Hashem Elokecha, hatzneia leches means that you’re not supposed to have 20-man bands at weddings. You’re not supposed to have shmorgasbords, meals, and then something afterwards, whatever they call it. It means that Yidden are not supposed to show and not supposed to show themselves.”
In one of the most pointed comments of the evening, he highlighted the proliferation of private planes owned by members of the community.
“It means that we live in a situation where the airport in Lakewood is full of private planes. That’s not who we are supposed to be. Maybe it’s not even, most of us are, but it’s not who we’re supposed to be. We’re supposed to be… hatzneia leches means we’re supposed to be b’sheket, we’re supposed to be quiet, we’re not supposed to be showy. That’s what hatzneia leches means. And that’s the tzurah of Klal Yisrael.”
Rav Epstein drew a direct link between unchecked materialism and a weakening of spiritual sensitivity. Historically, he explained, our lack of material abundance actually elevated us.
“Because to the extent that we engage in gashmiyus, we lose ruchniyus. Yidden once upon a time when they were in the shtetlach and they were poor and they didn’t have much, but because they didn’t have much, because the gashmiyus wasn’t, the gashmiyus is a stirah to ruchniyus. Because the gashmiyus wasn’t there, then they felt closer to the Ribbono Shel Olam.”
He quoted Chazal’s instruction to daven not for luxuries, but for the ability to have Torah penetrate the heart.
“K’fi erech that is, Chazal say, k’fi erech ad she’atem mispallel that you should get parnasah, that you should get ma’adanim, you should be mispallel that you should get, that the Torah should go into libcha. You should be mispallel not to have ma’adanim. Ma’adanim and gashmiyus is a stirah to the feeling of kirvas Elokim, to the feeling of the Ribbono Shel Olam.”
The Rosh Yeshiva then shifted to a more recent chapter of suffering—Jewish hostages held in horrific underground captivity. Their plight, he said, should have stirred the community to more introspection and restraint.
“In the past few years when there were hostages who were in a horrible matzav, and if we were misbonein their matzav, it also should have been difficult for us to engage in extravagant gashmiyus.”
He told over the remarkable reaction of Rav Yitzchok Kolodetsky—son-in-law of Rav Chaim Kanievsky—who stopped sleeping in a bed during the hostage crisis.
“Rav Yitzchok Kolodetsky, the son-in-law of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, who comes to America sometimes, I’m told that when the hostages were taken a few years ago, he stopped sleeping in a bed. How could I sleep in a bed when there are hostages who are underground in a horrible matzav?”
And he shared a moving story about his own family—a young bar mitzvah boy who chose to sleep without a pillow.
“I have a niece who made a bar mitzvah recently. And her bar mitzvah boy, who at the time that the hostages were taken was 11 years old – this is on his own, they live in Lakewood, this is on his own – he decided that he can’t sleep, he stopped sleeping with a pillow. An 11-year-old boy, he had that hergesh that if there are hostages, if there are hostages who are in such a horrible matzav, how could I sleep on a pillow? How could I use things that are more gashmiyus than I need? I can manage to sleep without a pillow.”
Rav Epstein stressed that no one is asking people to sleep on the floor or deprive themselves of basic comforts. But he urged Klal Yisroel to take the message to heart: Hashem expects us to live as a mamleches kohanim v’goy kadosh, a nation that does not drown itself in luxury.
“And even though at this point in time maybe, at this point in time there are no hostages, at this point in time we don’t expect anybody to sleep without a pillow, we don’t expect anybody to sleep on the floor. But we still should be misbonen to what we’re supposed to learn from this. That even though we don’t have to, we don’t have to do things that are metza’er ourselves, but we should learn that the Ribbono Shel Olam wants us to live as a mamleches kohanim v’goy kadosh.”
Because spiritual depth, he emphasized, cannot coexist with unrestrained indulgence.
“And a mamleches kohanim v’goy kadosh doesn’t engage in this extravagant gashmius, because that’s the only way to engage and connect and feel the kirvas Elokim…and feel ruchnius is if we’re mema’et in the gashmius that we can afford and that we’re capable of.”
The Rosh Yeshiva closed with a heartfelt personal plea, one he said applies to himself as much as anyone.
“I just hope, one hopes, that this is not, I am saying this for myself too, I’m not just saying this for all of you. We just hope that we we all learn from these terrible years that passed, and hopefully the terrible years are over. The terrible years that passed, how we’re supposed to view things, what’s supposed to be important in life, what we’re supposed to be machshiv and what we’re not supposed to be machshiv.”
And finally, he reminded listeners of the promise embedded in living according to Hashem’s expectations.
“And if b’ezras Hashem if we’re mekayem what Hashem is doresh from us, which is ahavas chesed, asos mishpat, ahavas chesed, and hatznei’a leches, we’ll be zoicheh to see that b’karov, be zoicheh to see that the bracha and the tefillos that we’re mispallel on Rosh Chodesh that it should be a new beginning, a new start, and we should be zoicheh to geulos and yeshuos, the klal and the prat.”
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{Matzav.com}
Observers wonder how a highly-anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Friday will go following their history of taking swipes at each other.
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{Matzav.com}
[Video below.] Candace Owens has been advancing a string of unproven theories about the killing of Charlie Kirk, and one of those theories appears to have led her straight into an embarrassing on-air prank. While hosting her show, she began reading what she described as a serious tip—only for viewers to quickly note that the address at the center of the supposed revelation belonged to her own legal team.
Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on September 10 while attending an event at Utah Valley University. Since then, Owens has floated a variety of conspiratorial claims, including suggestions of Israeli involvement and even speculation about the Egyptian military. None of these assertions have been backed by evidence.
One of her favorite narratives has involved an Egyptian military plane. Owens claimed the aircraft departed Utah immediately after Kirk’s killing, but her timeline relied on confusing UTC with a Utah-based time zone—a mistake that placed the takeoff hours after the shooting when, in reality, the plane had left long before. Despite being corrected, Owens has continued promoting the idea.
Her latest twist came when she told viewers she received an email from a tipster alleging that “government entities” orchestrated Kirk’s assassination. The message insisted that the movements of the plane and certain government vehicles all traced back to a single Delaware address: 920 North King Street, also known as One Rodney Square.
Owens read the email aloud, describing the location as a hub for federal agencies such as the Department of Justice. But the clip quickly went viral for a very different reason. Online commentators pointed out that 920 North King Street is actually the office address of Richards, Layton & Finger—the law firm representing Owens in multiple legal matters, including the defamation suit connected to French President Emmanuel Macron and remarks Owens made about Brigitte Macron.
“Candace Owens appears to have been PRANKED on air by a tip,” wrote the account that shared the clip. “The tip said all directions pointed to the address: One Rodney Square, 920 North King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801. Which just so happens to be the address of Candace Owens’ lawyer.”
Even with that revelation circulating widely, Owens doubled down. On X, she dismissed criticism as coordinated government meddling, posting, “Looks like another round of a desperate and fake debunking regarding the Egyptian planes! These federally-sponsored trends are as fun as they are predictable now :-).”
She went on to write, “And I can tell you guys with absolute certainty that today I learned the Federal government is in a panic about the mention of their joint DHS, FBI, and DEA office at 920 N King. The tip proved absolutely solid and I was informed so. It is now a fact that a foreign dignitary was picked up after arriving from Provo the morning of Charlie’s assassination on the Egyptian plane, and then transferred to 920 King for some joint operation.”
Owens did concede, at least partially, that a law firm exists in the building, saying, “And yes, despite the massive office space, there is NOTHING else in that building except a law firm (and a place to eat). The law firm piece is an interesting side fact related to portions of the e-mail that I chose not to read on air.”
Yet she offered no explanation for why she didn’t mention that the law firm is her own counsel. Instead, she signed off with a promise of more revelations, writing, “Yet. Stay tuned!”
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{Matzav.com}
The Coast Guard issued an emphatic rejection of a Washington Post story that claimed the service was preparing to stop classifying swastikas, nooses, and similar imagery as prohibited hate symbols. Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday stated plainly, “The claims that the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses or other extremist imagery as prohibited symbols are categorically false. These symbols have been and remain prohibited in the Coast Guard per policy.”
According to the Post’s reporting, internal documents suggested the Coast Guard — which operates under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — would soon categorize swastikas and nooses as “potentially divisive” rather than explicitly hateful. The paper said this policy shift would place such imagery in the same category as Confederate flags and would require supervisors to review complaints and consult with legal advisors before directing their removal once the change takes effect on December 15.
DHS blasted the article immediately. One message on X dismissed the piece as an “absolute ludicrous lie and unequivocally false,” while DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin posted, “The @washingtonpost should be embarrassed it published this fake crap.” The department followed with a second post saying, “Y’all are just making things up now.”
The Post reported that under the new guidance, Coast Guard members would have 45 days to report displays of swastikas or nooses. The newspaper also cited the service’s 2019 directives, which already empowered commanders to order the removal of such symbols even if they were not ruled a “potential hate incident.”
That 2019 guidance spelled out examples: “The following is a non-exhaustive list of symbols whose display, presentation, creation, or depiction would constitute a potential hate incident: a noose, a swastika, supremacist symbols, Confederate symbols or flags, and antiSemitic symbols, among many others.” The document added that these symbols are inherently connected to “supremacy, racial intolerance, religious intolerance, or other bias,” and that such imagery can appear in many forms, including images, wording, numbers, clothing, or materials.
The Coast Guard’s newly released policy, published this month, indicates that the term “hate incident” has been retired from official usage. It explains that “conduct previously handled as a potential hate incident, including those involving symbols widely identified with oppression or hatred, is processed as a report of harassment in cases with an identified aggrieved individual, or in accordance with Chapter 11 of this Instruction.” The service emphasized that the new terminology does not alter the prohibition itself.
Adm. Lunday reiterated that principle in his formal response: “The Coast Guard remains unwavering in its commitment to fostering a safe, respectful and professional workplace. Symbols such as swastikas, nooses and other extremist or racist imagery violate our core values and are treated with the seriousness they warrant under current policy.”
Later in the day, however, the Coast Guard told the Post that it was reevaluating the updated language. “We will be reviewing the language,” Coast Guard spokesperson Jennifer Plozai said.
The issue caught congressional attention as well. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which oversees the Coast Guard, weighed in pointedly: “Lynching is a federal hate crime. The world defeated the Nazis in 1945. The debate on these symbols is over. They symbolize hate. Coast Guard: be better.”
{Matzav.com}
At a levaya, everyone feels the sadness, but the real, raw crying is usually held by a small circle, the immediate family sitting up front. At your levaya, it was different. The crying wasn’t coming from one section; it was coming from every corner of the room, from the front, the back, and everywhere in between. And these weren’t quiet tears. They were loud, heartbreaking screams and cries of pure pain. You could feel that everyone there had lost something personal. It wasn’t just a family mourning; it was an entire community broken.
And the reason for all that crying wasn’t only because the situation was so heartbreaking, though it truly was. You were so young, taken so suddenly, and the pain of that alone could break anyone. But the tears that filled the room were something deeper. People were crying because they missed you. Because you weren’t just another friend, you were a part of everyone’s life. You had a piece in every circle, every group, every person there. The cries were the sound of people realizing that a piece of their own world had just been ripped away.
Your smile, your warmth, your genuine care for every person, it was hitting all of us that we would never get that again. Never again that quick grin you’d flash when you saw someone, never again the way you made people feel noticed and valued without even trying. That realization is what crushed everyone. It wasn’t just losing someone we loved; it was losing a light that brightened every room you walked into.
Your chesed was something rare, the kind that didn’t just help people, it lifted them. You had this way of making someone feel like they were doing you a favor by letting you help. Whether it was a ride, a small favor, a listening ear, or just showing up when someone needed you, you did everything with such sincerity and warmth. There was never a sense of burden, never hesitation. You gave with a full heart, and somehow you made people walk away feeling better about themselves, as if you were the lucky one in the exchange. That was your greatness, quiet, constant, and so real.
You were genuine in every way, and your greatness came from the simplest of things. You didn’t need grand gestures or recognition; your kindness, your care, your thoughtfulness, all came naturally, effortlessly. It was in the small smiles, the quiet acts of help, the sincere words you offered without expecting anything in return. That simplicity, that unassuming nature, is what made your greatness so real and so unforgettable.
Your acts of kindness were so natural that they flowed with simplicity and ease. One moment, you could make someone feel completely seen, lifting their spirits and making them feel better about their life; the next moment, you were right back to learning or moving through your day as if nothing had changed. It was effortless for you to give so much warmth without ever slowing down the energy you carried in everything you did.
In a way, your life ended just as suddenly as it was lived, one moment you were here, full of warmth and kindness, and the next you were gone. Yet even in that suddenness, your light continues to shine in everyone you touched. Every act of kindness you showed, every smile you shared, every moment you made someone feel valued, those things didn’t end with you. They live on in the way we carry ourselves, in the way we treat others, in the way we remember you. Your presence may be gone from this world, but the love and goodness you planted in the hearts of those around you will continue to grow, reminding us to live with the same care, simplicity, and joy that you did.
One friend shared this memory of you: even on rough days, you were someone they looked forward to waking up for, just to see your good morning smile. That smile was always paired with a kind word or a reassuring pat on the back, and in those moments, people could truly feel your genuine care and understanding for a friend going through a hard time. You weren’t someone who got married a few years before others and stirred up hard feelings; instead, you radiated warmth, positivity, and healthy, caring energy. You weren’t a thorn in anyone’s side; you were a comforting friend, someone to lean on, whose presence made even the hardest days feel a little lighter.
Another reason you made such an impact was simply because you were always there. You showed up consistently, quietly, without fanfare. You were around at the moments that mattered, the small in-between times when people crossed paths. And because you were always present, you greeted everyone. No one slipped past you unnoticed. Whether it was a quick hello, a warm smile, or a heartfelt “how are you really doing,” you made every person feel seen. Your presence wasn’t loud, but it was constant, and that consistency left a mark on every single person who knew you.
Your consistency in your sedarim and your learning was something incredible to witness. Day after day, no matter what was going on around you, you showed up to learn with a quiet strength and a steady dedication that inspired everyone who knew you. The same was true with your davening; it wasn’t loud or showy, but it was real, focused, and sincere. You approached tefillah and Torah with a calm, dependable rhythm, the way someone does when it’s not an obligation but a part of who they are. Your steadiness in these areas grounded you, and in many ways, it grounded the people around you too.
Even when you felt it was time to get back to learning and stop schmoozing, you said it in a way that never made anyone feel bad about themselves, the opposite, actually. You had this gentle way of redirecting the moment, reminding people of what mattered, but doing it with such warmth that they walked away feeling uplifted, not corrected. Your sincerity and respect for others were so real that even your boundaries came across as kindness.
How you managed to have so much time, for all the people you helped, for all the chesed you did, and at the same time for all your shteiging, is truly unreal. It’s hard to understand how someone with such a full schedule, such a full heart, and such a full life could fit so much into every day. But that was you. You used every minute you had, every ounce of energy, every opportunity to grow and to give. In your short life, you lived more fully, more purposefully, and more beautifully than many do in twice the years. You didn’t waste time; you elevated it. You lived life to its fullest, not through big moments, but through constant, steady goodness.
And in the way that truly counts, in years measured by doing for Hashem, you lived a long life. When you look at the mitzvos you did, the chesed you gave, the people you lifted, the Torah you learned, and the sincerity you carried in everything, your life wasn’t short at all. It was rich, full, and overflowing with purpose. If a person’s “years” are counted by how much they accomplish for Hashem, then you lived many lifetimes’ worth.
We will miss you. We can’t replace you, no one ever will, but we have to move forward carrying what you taught us. We have to take the warmth you gave, the sincerity you lived with, the kindness you showed, and let it shape the way we live. Moving on doesn’t mean forgetting; it means letting your light continue through us, allowing your goodness to guide the steps we take from here.
In a powerful way, you’re the one comforting us in this tragedy. Even now, in the deepest pain, the memories of your warmth, your smile, and your goodness are what hold us together and give us strength.
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