What happened
Donald Trump announced yesterday that the US Food and Drug Administration would advise doctors that the use during pregnancy of Tylenol – known as paracetamol elsewhere – “can be associated with a very increased risk of autism”. Speaking in the Oval Office, he also suggested delaying childhood vaccines, including the hepatitis B shot for newborns, despite scientific consensus that vaccines do not cause autism.

Who said what
“It’s too much liquid, too many different things are going into that baby,” said Trump.

“This is dangerous, it’s anti-science and it’s irresponsible,” said Mel Merritt, the National Autistic Society’s head of policy and campaigns, adding: “Let’s be clear – painkillers do not cause autism and vaccines do not cause autism.” Trump’s announcement is the “latest move in a campaign that seeks to valorise the ‘natural’ – often at women’s expense”, said Carter Sherman in The Guardian.

What next?
The US Department of Health and Human Services is planning a public information campaign urging doctors to use their judgment on paracetamol in pregnancy. Tylenol maker Kenvue countered that “acetaminophen is the safest pain relief option for pregnant women” and warned that untreated fever could endanger both mother and foetus.

What happened
A number of charities have cut ties with the Duchess of York after it emerged that she had sent an email apologising to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein for publicly disowning him.

Children’s hospice Julia’s House, food allergy charity The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, the Children’s Literacy Charity and the organisation Prevent Breast Cancer have all ended their relationships with Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of Prince Andrew.

It comes after The Sun reported that the duchess had “humbly apologised” to Epstein for linking him to paedophilia in the media while describing him as “steadfast” and “generous”.

Who said what
The duchess’s spokesperson said the email had been sent “in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats”. They added that Epstein had threatened to sue her for defamation after associating him with paedophilia.

What next?
The duchess and Prince Andrew are now “likely to be encouraged to stay away from public-facing family events”, said The Telegraph, including Christmas at Sandringham.

Mexican music is facing a crackdown. Local authorities are prohibiting public performances of narcocorridos, popular ballads that romanticise drug cartels.

As the country wrestles with the “effects of organised crime” and “pressure from the Trump administration to crack down on cartels”, politicians are keen to show that they don’t condone songs that glorify criminal activities, said The New York Times.

Corridos about local bandits have been popular since the “early 20th century”, said the Financial Times, but since the 1970s a hugely successful sub-genre – narcocorridos – has celebrated drug runners and “become a key element of propaganda for cartels”.

Although there is as yet no nationwide law prohibiting narcocorridos, about “a third of Mexico’s states and many of its cities have enacted some kind of ban” on their performance. These mostly take the form of heavy fines, but can also trigger a prison sentence.

But fan reactions to artists abiding by state rules have, ironically, led to violence. When Luis R. Conriquez – who has more than 23 million monthly listeners on Spotify – said on stage that he was joining the “cause of zero corridos”, he was “booed” by the audience, who then “threw punches” at each other and “caused significant damage to the venue”, said Billboard.

In fact the bans may be having the opposite effect to the one intended. Figures show that one defiant group, Los Alegres del Barranco, has “gained over 2 million new listens on streaming services”, said CNN. It seems a genre “that has long romanticised outlaws, outcasts and underdogs” still has an “enduring modern appeal”.