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Trump Administration Moves to Cut EPA's Bias for Regulating Pollution; How Healthy Lifestyle Choices Can Slow Cognitive Decline; More Parents Taking Hard Line in Their Disciplining of Kids. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired July 29, 2025 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: As the summer months heat up with longer lasting and dangerously high temperatures, the Trump administration wants to repeal the scientific basis for regulating greenhouse gases. The so-called endangerment finding is the legal foundation for a host of the nation's climate regulations under the Clean Air Act.

CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir is joining us now on this very important story. So Bill, what kind of impact are we talking about if this is revoked?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, imagine if the president decided that gravity no longer had any effect, and so all regulations around railings were now moot. You know, you can take the railings down around your house to protect your children from falling. This is the sort of sweeping, nonsensical, anti-science thing that the Trump administration thought was untouchable in the first administration, so they tried to work around it.

It comes after the 2007 Supreme Court decision that the EPA does have the right to regulate air pollution, and then two years later they came out with the finding that planet cooking pollution is an endanger, is a danger to health and life and treasure and all of that. The endangerment finding then props up all regulation around power plants and cars and trucks and the oil and gas industry, how much pollution a single power plant could emit. This would remove all of that.

Now, of course, they're in for a big fight. This has to go through public comment periods. Democrats are going to fight this. Environmental groups are going to fight this in the courts here.

But Lee Zeldin described this as the dagger to the heart of the climate change religion, basically dismissing the expertise of countless, hundreds of thousands of scientists and public health workers, not just in the United States, but around the world, who are going to continue this fight, who still believe gravity exists, who still believe that carbon dioxide causes these horrible results that we're seeing around the world, these heat waves.

Since the endangerment finding was put into place, the planet has warmed up about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit. [14:35:10]

And the hotter it gets, the more fossil fuels that are burnt, the worse the floods and fires and storms. The science is just unequivocal on all of this. And yet the Trump administration wants to fly in the face of it.

KEILAR: And Bill, COP 30, the most significant climate summit in a decade is set for November and the U.S. won't be there. What's the reaction? What does that mean for American competitors?

WEIR: Well, it creates a huge opportunity for China, which is now basically owning the post-carbon economy, installing just gob smacking amounts of wind and solar and battery storage, but they're also still using a lot of coal. And the bilateral tug of war with the U.S. was the kind of thing that was bringing down their coal use and encouraging more of the renewables. That goes away.

That gives them an inroad with developing nations around the world. It gives some countries, you know, a permission to not meet any targets. New targets are due in September.

COP 30 is in Brazil in November there. And even some Democrat congresspeople who want to go and say there are states and cities still engaged on this are having a hard time getting credentials because the U.S. has zero delegation, has nobody there for the first time in 30 of these meetings. So it's a moral failure.

Some would argue the biggest polluter historically to walk away from the cleanup effort globally and let everybody else left holding the bag. But enormous financial opportunities squandered as this new economy moves forward in the rest of the world, but not in the United States.

KEILAR: Yes. Bill Weir, thank you so much for talking to us about this. We appreciate it.

And next, we're going to talk with our very own Dr. Sanjay Gupta about a new Alzheimer's study that is offering some hope for those at risk of developing the disease. Turns out one simple activity could delay the onset.

[14:40:00]

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: You've probably heard this before. A healthy diet and exercise are good for you. What the science is indicating through more and more studies is that these habits aren't just important for your body's physical health, but also your brain's health, even though your brain is technically part of your body.

KEILAR: That's because it's because I said that in the break. I was like, it is in the brain. I mean, anyway --

SANCHEZ: I figure I'd find a way to -- KEILAR: -- so I tried to wait. I tried to rhetorically and not there. But the point is, there's a new study. OK, and this is really exciting because it was presented at this week's Alzheimer's Association's International Conference.

This is the largest randomized clinical trial in the U.S. designed to examine whether lifestyle interventions, you know, the stuff we can control, the things we can do can protect cognitive function in older adults.

So let's page CNN chief medical correspondent and author of Keep Sharp, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Sanjay, keep us sharp.

We're trying here. Break down the study.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm enjoying watching this conversation between you two.

SANCHEZ: Trying to figure it out.

GUPTA: No, look, you know, here's the headline for me is that I think if you go back several decades, I think there was a period of time when we thought someone was either going to get heart disease or they weren't going to get heart disease. And there wasn't a lot that you could do about it.

For a long time, I think we've thought the same way about the brain. Either you were going to develop something like Alzheimer's or you weren't and there wasn't a lot you could do about it.

I think what these new studies are showing is that that's very much not the case. In fact, 40 percent right now, according to some studies of new dementia cases, are preventable. It's a pretty extraordinary thing.

And as you mentioned, just with lifestyle changes alone. So there's been these studies around the world. The one that we're talking about is one that was done in the United States, just over 2,000 individuals.

These were people between the ages of 60 and 79, and they were cognitively in good shape, but also pretty sedentary, not the most active sort of lifestyle. They had an increased risk of dementia. They were given a structured program, which wasn't that challenging.

It involved a regular exercise, 30 minutes a day, a Mediterranean diet, some brain training, socialization and monitoring of all this. And they found a significant decrease in the likelihood of developing dementia.

They even compared that group, the structured group, to a group of people who said, yes, look, I know that I should exercise more. I'm trying to do this on my own. And they found that that group improved as well. But structure, some structure, some accountability for these lifestyle changes seemed to make the biggest difference.

So the fact that lifestyle can have impact on this, if you do it in some sort of coordinated way, even more so was the headline here.

SANCHEZ: Yes, that's huge. And I wonder, for folks who are already in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease --

GUPTA: Yes.

SANCHEZ: -- could these kinds of interventions potentially benefit them?

GUPTA: I think the answer is yes. We're at very early days here, you know, in terms of actually recognizing the impact of lifestyle changes on brain health specifically. But you know, I worked on this documentary around this guy, Dean Ornish, and he put people who had been diagnosed with dementia, with Alzheimer's, on a 20-week program.

And we can put it up there -- but basically it involved a vegan diet. It involved daily exercise, again, mild strength training, stress relief, and support sessions. Not that challenging.

It also involved these supplements that Dr. Ornish talks a lot about. We'll put those up on the screen as well if you want to take a picture of that. But basically, in people who had already been diagnosed with dementia, that program, these supplements, in some cases, about 46 percent of the time, was able to actually stall or even reverse the symptoms of dementia.

[14:45:00]

So again, I don't want to over- or understate this, but I think for a lot of people, again, if I get Alzheimer's, it's preordained. I couldn't do anything to prevent it. I certainly can't do anything now that I have it.

I think these studies are telling a different story.

KEILAR: That's amazing. My probiotic arrived in the mail yesterday, so I'm very excited about it. And Sanjay is telling us to take shrooms, but only a certain kind there. The lion's mane one, we should notice that.

And Sanjay, just, you know, when you're looking at this, though, the biggest takeaways from these studies, although you've told us a lot of really great information -- and I took a photo of that graphic by the way -- but what are the big takeaways here?

GUPTA: I think, look, I think the biggest takeaway is that there's a lot more in your control than we've realized. I mean, we've been looking for some home run hits with regard to new therapies for Alzheimer's. There has been some progress, but I think we've known in the back of our mind that lifestyle changes can make a big difference.

You know, look, I'll tell you, Brianna, I worry about this a lot for myself. I have a strong family history. One of the privileges of being a journalist, I was working on the documentary. I actually went through the program that Dr. Richard Isaacson put together as part of doing the documentary, had everything tested, did the program, and this is what he said to me after the program was complete. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. RICHARD ISAACSON, INSTITUTE FOR NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES: Your numbers went from eh to now working faster and better than your age. You're actually six years younger --

GUPTA: Six years younger.

ISAACSON: -- than your age.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA (on camera): Six years younger, guys.

KEILAR: Wow!

GUPTA: I mean, look, I think there's a lot more in our six years younger brain, which is good, hopefully. Still good judgment, still functioning well.

KEILAR: This is one moment where you want to be told that you're immature. That's a compliment.

GUPTA: Exactly.

KEILAR: So congratulations, Sanjay. That's awesome.

GUPTA: Thank you.

KEILAR: How fascinating. Thank you so much, Sanjay.

GUPTA: You got it.

KEILAR: And if you have questions about lifestyle interventions and cognitive decline, all of this that we've been talking about, just scan that QR code on the screen. I'm going to scan it.

And Dr. Gupta will be back later this week to answer your questions. Sanjay, thank you.

GUPTA: We got it. Thank you.

KEILAR: So when we come back, what's behind the parenting style dubbed F-A-F-O? You know what that means, people, and why it may be taking over gentle parenting. Can you do them together? All these -- maybe not. We'll answer these questions.

[14:50:00]

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SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're monitoring this afternoon.

New numbers from the Labor Department show that job opportunities shrank for U.S. workers last month, with hiring also slowing. Job openings hit near economists' expectations at 7.4 million for June. Despite the slowdown in hiring, layoffs have stayed below pre-pandemic levels.

Also, the Trump administration is set to incinerate nearly $10 million worth of contraceptives purchased by USAID rather than deliver them to women overseas. The supplies are currently being held in Belgium, which says it's holding diplomatic talks to try to find some alternative solution.

One organization says it offered to pay for the shipping and repackaging of the supplies, but the U.S. apparently rejected that offer. When CNN asked about this, the State Department pointed to the so-called Mexico City policy, which prevents NGOs that provide, counsel, or advocate for abortion access from receiving U.S. funding.

KEILAR: And the Trump administration will allow federal workers to tell co-workers why their religion is correct. That's according to a memo issued Monday by the Office of Personnel Management. This means that federal employees can display religious items on their desk, pray over tour groups or patients, and engage in polite discussion on why non-followers should rethink their beliefs. Federal law already offers some protections for religious expression in the workplace.

When it comes to parenting, the gentle approach is kind of getting slapped aside with a new attitude. It's called FAFO, or F-A-F-O, which stands for F Around and Find Out.

We all know that. FAFO pushing past the participation trophies for higher expectations, lower tolerance for disobedience, and a harder line.

SANCHEZ: The Wall Street Journal describes the FAFO parent this way, quote, Won't bring your rain, quote, walk home in a downpour. Didn't feel like having lasagna for dinner? Survive until breakfast. Left your toy on the floor again? Go find it in the trash under the lasagna you didn't eat.

Joining us now is clinical child psychologist Dr. Andrea Mata. She wrote book, The Number Two Parenting Book, Practical Tips for the Pooped Out Parent.

Dr. Mata, thank you so much for being with us. You advocate for what's called authoritative parenting. Is that different from FAFO?

DR. ANDREA MATA, CLINICAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes, so how I explain FAFO parenting is that there's just one aspect of authoritative parenting called natural consequences, where your child is going to behave in a way and instead of you like nagging them and intervening, what you're going to let them do is you're just going to let them experience the consequence, the natural consequence that they get from leaving their house without a coat in the dead of winter.

KEILAR: OK, and so you have hosted a webinar called Gentle Parenting Doesn't Work. Tell us a little bit about that and maybe specifically, you know, all kids are not the same, right? So where you see it not working?

MATA: So I think the big thing is when I talk about my -- in the workshop, and I actually did it just last night, the Gentle Parenting Doesn't Work workshop, I talk about three basic reasons why gentle parenting doesn't work.

[14:55:00]

It's because they focus on feelings and that doesn't get us very good -- many good places. Number two is that they avoid punishments and rewards. And the third reason is a lot of gentle parents will treat their child as if they're on the same level as them as the adult, or if it's as if it's a partnership, instead of like, you're the authority figure as the parent, and the child is underneath you in a loving, caring way, not like a, you know, a jerk boss.

KEILAR: Yes.

SANCHEZ: It's really notable that some of gentle parenting, or at least the intent of it comes from an era where kids were seen as being delicate and needing supplementation at home to build their confidence. That's why you get the refrain about participation trophies and that sort of thing.

But now it seems like some folks feel that they may have gone too far and critics blame gentle parenting for some of Gen Z's problems, like struggling with workplace relationships, suffering from depression and anxiety.

I mean, do you agree?

MATA: I do agree because I think what's happened is like Millennials and Gen Xers were parented using like a militant parenting style, like my way or the highway. Millennials and Gen Xers didn't feel seen. They didn't feel heard. They didn't feel valued. And so they're like, we're never going to parent like our parents did.

And so we swung all the way back to the other side, which is gentle parenting. But then I think that's gone too far as well. And we missed this beautiful middle ground called authoritative parenting. And I like to say it's setting high expectations within the context of the warm and fuzzies. That's where we need to be. That's where I want parents to be.

KEILAR: OK, so and let's just be clear about this. We're not talking, Dr. Mata, about like people being mean to their kids, right? I mean, even natural consequences can be experienced by a child without, that's the whole point.

If they experience the natural consequence, then you don't have to like yell at them about it, right? It's just a sort of a learning process. You can maybe explain and walk them through. Some might say that is gentle parenting.

I mean, can you sort of -- you say it's this middle ground, but can you kind of explain that? That's sort of like using the important consequence but also appealing to kids in discussion.

MATA: I think the biggest thing for me is like where I want parents to be is that you have an expectation for your child and you're going to have them meet that expectation within the context of the warm and fuzzies.

Whereas I think sometimes gentle parenting, because we get overwhelmed and we get overburdened, we kind of lose that expectation or we lower the bar of that expectation and we keep our warm and fuzzies high, but then that becomes problematic because then we tell, like we're communicating, whether we mean to or not, that kids only have to do things when they want to do things. And then that's what starts to cause like the Gen Z mental health crisis that we're seeing, especially in the workplace.

KEILAR: Yes. And I mean, there are studies that show the negative effects of that sort of the warm and fuzzies without sort of that expectation and the engagement. Dr. Mata, thank you so much for being with us.

MATA: Thank you so much for having me.

SANCHEZ: Up next, a major development in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal as his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, agrees to testify before Congress in exchange for a slew of demands, including immunity.

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