Tuesday morning news: September 23, 2025

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UN General Assembly » President Trump is in New York this morning, where he is set to address world leaders at the UN General Assembly.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt:

LEAVITT:  The president will also be hosting bilateral meetings with the UN Secretary General and the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina, and the European Union.

Trade and the war in Ukraine are likely to be key topics in those meetings.

Leavitt said the president also has meetings planned with leaders from numerous Middle Eastern countries.

The war in Gaza and Palestinian statehood is likely to dominate those talks.

UN special conference on two-state solution » And at UN headquarters on Monday, France and Saudi Arabia chaired a high-profile meeting to galvanize support for a so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

That comes with a growing number of nations saying they will formally recognize a Palestinian state.

Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour:

MANSOUR:  This is historic, especially when countries like France, UK, and the others to recognize the state of Palestine. It's an investment in peace and saving the two-state solution.

But Israel and the U.S. argue recognizing a Palestinian state now would reward terrorist acts by Hamas and others.

Tiktok deal » The White House says President Trump will sign an agreement this week, sealing a deal to bring TikTok’s U.S. operations under American control.

Karoline Leavitt says TikTok, within the U.S., will be owned by a majority of American investors.

She says Oracle will serve as the security provider for the social media platform and all US user data will be stored on servers in the United States:

LEAVITT:  Protected from surveillance or interference by foreign adversaries. And the algorithm wIll be secured, retrained, retrained, and operated in the United States outside of ByteDance’s control.

ByteDance is the Chinese company that currently owns TikTok and would still hold a minority stake, but no control.

No official word yet on a price tag, or which companies will form the new ownership group

H1B visas » Any U.S. company looking to hire and bring a foreign worker into the country must now pay a $100,000 visa application fee per person.

President Trump signed a proclamation on Friday, enacting that fee on H-1B visas, effective this week.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explained:

LUTNICK: No more will these big tech companies or other big companies train foreign workers. If you're going to train somebody, Train Americans, stop bringing in people to take our jobs.

An H-1B visa allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers with specialized skills and a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. The White House said the new fee will not impact current visa holders or visa applications submitted before Sunday.

HHS event on autism » The Trump administration is linking the use of Tylenol by pregnant women to a rise in autism.

An autism action plan by the White House points to a review of dozens of studies in suggesting a possible link.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told reporters:

KENNEDY:  The FDA will issue a physician's notice about the risk of acetaminophen during pregnancy and begin the process to initiate a safety label change.

Acetaminophen is the generic name of the drug, best known as Tylenol.

Many researchers stress the evidence is mixed — showing correlation, not causation — meaning it doesn’t prove acetaminophen raises autism risk.

Tylenol manufacturer Kenvue went a step further Monday, saying in a statement that acetaminophen is the safest pain reliever for pregnant women.

Theology survey » Many evangelicals may be confused about some gospel truths according to a new survey. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more.

BENJAMIN EICHER: Ligonier Ministries questioned well over 600 self-identified evangelicals in its 2025 State of Theology survey.

And the ministry says the results show some misalignment with Scripture especially as it pertains to the fallen and sinful nature of man.

Over half of those respondents said they believe everyone sins a little but most people are good by nature.

More than 60% said they believe everyone is innocent in the eyes of God.

Nearly half said they believe God accepts the worship of all religions.

But the vast majority of evangelical respondents agreed that there is one true God, that He is perfect, and that only Jesus’ sacrifice could secure our salvation.

Nearly all agreed that the Bible is the highest authority.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Western countries recognize a Palestinian state. Plus, Jimmy Kimmel, free speech, and FCC regulations.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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