US President Donald Trump officially classified the "Antifa" movement as a terrorist organization, world agencies reported, quoted by BTA.
The movement unites groups that define themselves as anti-fascist.
Trump's decision came after the ceremony in memory of the murdered ultraconservative activist and pro-Trumpist Charlie Kirk.
„Antifa“ is short for „anti-fascist“. The movement is not an organized political group in the traditional sense of the word, Reuters recalls. It is a decentralized movement without a clear structure, chain of command or leader, according to a 2020 Congressional Research Service report d.
Some experts on political extremism, including former FBI Director Christopher Wray, argue that “Antifa“ is better viewed as an anti-fascist ideology, also aimed at white supremacism, rather than an organization with a coherent structure. As such, it enjoys the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
“Antifa“ has its origins in anti-fascist movements in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century. It gained greater vitality in the US after the election of Donald Trump as president in 2016.
However, the right in the US associates “Antifa“ with a far-left movement, adds Agence France-Presse.
Representatives of the right in the US believe that the killer of Charlie Kirk is a radical leftist, recall agencies.
Trump said the US Food and Drug Administration will tell doctors to advise pregnant women not to take the drug “Tylenol“, also known as acetaminophen, because of an increased risk of autism, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
"Taking “Tylenol“ is not a good thing. I'm telling you - it's not good“, Trump said. “For that reason, they (the Food and Drug Administration) will strongly recommend that women limit “Tylenol“ during pregnancy, unless it is medically necessary“, Trump added.
At the same time, the US has approved a treatment for some forms of autism, notes Agence France-Presse. The US Food and Drug Administration announced that it is approving the use of folic acid to improve certain deficiencies associated with speech in some forms of autism. However, the US Department of Health and Human Services clarified in connection with this approval that folic acid is not a cure for autism.
Trump also said that there is no reason to vaccinate babies against Hepatitis B, adds Agence France-Presse.
“Hepatitis B is sexually transmitted. There is no reason for a baby that has just been born to be vaccinated against Hepatitis B. So I would say wait until the child is 12 years old, the child is well developed and then be vaccinated against Hepatitis B“, Trump said during an event dedicated to autism organized at the White House.
Vaccination of newborns against Hepatitis B is recommended in the United States as in many other countries because of the possibility of the child being infected by the mother during her pregnancy or during childbirth, notes Agence France-Presse press.
Regarding Trump's statements, the Associated Press commented that he is using the presidential platform to promote unproven links between “Tylenol“ and autism, without providing new evidence in this regard.
Trump also expressed unfounded fears that vaccines are contributing to the increase in cases of autism, which today affects one in 31 children in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency added.
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. said that at Trump's insistence, a “agency“ initiative to identify all causes of autism will be launched, in which the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and several other agencies will participate.
Scientists, doctors and researchers attribute the increased incidence of autism in the country to greater awareness of the disorder and the newer, broader "spectrum" used to diagnose people with milder forms of autism, the Associated Press noted. It's hard to say whether other factors are contributing to the increase, the agency added.
The Trump administration is under immense pressure from Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again movement to provide answers about the reasons for the reported increase in autism cases in the United States in recent years. Experts say there is no single cause for the disorder and that Kennedy Jr.'s rhetoric appears to ignore and undermine decades of scientific research on genetic and environmental factors that may play a role. Kennedy Jr. has for years promoted disproven theories that vaccines may be responsible for rising autism rates, the Associated Press notes.