U.S. and world news for Sept. 23

Jimmy Kimmel goes back on the air tonight

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to ABC tonight after ABC did an about face after taking him off the air following pressure from the Trump administration. Sinclair, one of the country’s biggest owners of local TV stations and a consistent Trump supporter, said its stations would not carry Kimmel when he returns tonight. Trump’s FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is denying having said what he said about the FCC using its powers if ABC did not take Kimmel off the air. Carr did not address the existence of a recording of him making the threatening remarks. “We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” Disney, which owns ABC, said in a statement. Kimmel is planning to address the controversy in his monologue on the show tonight, a source familiar with Kimmel’s plans told CNN.

Autism announcement

The Harvard Crimson reported this morning that the White House has misused a statement from Harvard School of Public Health Dean Andrea A. Baccarelli about the use of Tylenol by pregnant women. Donald Trump said at a news conference yesterday that Tylenol use during pregnancy causes autism in children and implored people to stop using it. That supports the view of his Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but ignores scientific evidence to the contrary. The White House used a statement from Baccarelli as evidence to support Trump and Kennedy, without revealing that Baccarelli said, “As the only approved medication for pain and fever reduction during pregnancy, acetaminophen remains an important tool for pregnant patients and their physicians.”

Palestine is a key subject at U.N. General Assembly

France declared its recognition of a Palestinian state during a summit at the U.N. General Assembly, joining a wave of countries seeking to end the war in Gaza. The other countries that recognized Palestine on Monday include Belgium, Monaco, Luxembourg and Malta. Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal formally recognized Palestine the day before. Notably, France’s announcement makes Israel’s biggest backer, the United States, the sole permanent member of the U.N. Security Council not to recognize Palestinian statehood. This further highlights how isolated Israel and the U.S. have become on this issue compared to the rest of the world, analysts say.

Hurricane Gabrielle intensifies

Hurricane Gabrielle has intensified into a Category 4 storm east of Bermuda, while two more potential tropical systems — one near the Caribbean and another farther east — could develop later this week. The storms are not an immediate threat to land, but the area of activity near the Leeward Islands and Bahamas is the wild card, with a future U.S. impact possible if atmospheric conditions align. Forecasts indicate that Bermuda could experience rain, gusty winds and large swells from the storm. The hurricane will also generate rough seas and dangerous rip currents along much of the U.S. East Coast, from North Carolina to New England, through midweek.

Artificial intelligence investment

Chipmaker Nvidia will invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI and provide it with data center chips, the companies said on Monday, a tie-up between two of the highest-profile leaders in the global artificial intelligence race. The deal, which will see Nvidia start delivering chips as soon as late 2026, will involve two separate but intertwined transactions, according to a person close to OpenAI. The startup will pay Nvidia in cash for chips, and Nvidia will invest in OpenAI for non-controlling shares, the person said. Nvidia’s investment comes days after it committed $5 billion to struggling chipmaker Intel.

White House aid take becomes a federal prosecutor

Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide and a fierce ally of President Donald Trump, has taken over as the top federal prosecutor in Virginia’s eastern district. Halligan assumed the office days after her predecessor, Erik Siebert, was pushed out of the job when he failed to indict one of Trump’s political enemies, New York Attorney General Letitia James. Siebert was also overseeing the investigation into whether former FBI Director James Comey lied in testimony before Congress. CNN said that Halligan was one of Trump’s close legal advisers in recent years but has no experience as a prosecutor. She worked as one of his attorneys during the initial investigation into whether Trump was illegally keeping classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago estate.