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Trump Plans to Shut Down Money-Saving Energy Star Program; Secret Gathering to Choose Next Pope Starts Tomorrow; Global Superbug Threat Comes From Unseen Fungal Spores. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 06, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... Yes, very.

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BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that last one has been delayed for two days now. And Brianna and Erica, you guys are moms too. You can imagine I've been seeing a lot of parents here with young children. This is not easy, especially on them. Let me throw some quick numbers at you.

So far today, 204 delays here at Newark Airport, 124 cancellations. Yesterday, the number went up into 425 delays, 160 cancellations. So you can imagine as the day goes on, those numbers keep going up.

Again, not bringing any sort of relief to travelers at this point. And no relief, as you just heard Pete say, in sight anytime soon, guys.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: What a pain. Brynn Gingras, thank you for that look into what's happening at the airport.

The White House may be getting ready to end the Energy Star Efficiency Program, despite praise for it and claims that it saves Americans millions of dollars.

We'll have that ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: CNN has learned the Trump administration is preparing to eliminate two key environmental protection agency divisions focused on climate change and energy efficiency. Sources say the changes include closing the longstanding Energy Star program. You must recognize that label. You've been seeing it for a long time. It's that public-private partnership that actually certifies energy efficient appliances and helps you, the consumer, find products and tax credits to bring down the cost of appliances, things like air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines. CNN's Annie Grayer are joining us now with more. So why the changes?

What more do we know about them?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, this was just announced, sources tell me, in a recent meeting. And this is a big change for the EPA. It's eliminating two entire divisions that deal with climate and energy. And there are a number of programs that are going to be impacted.

But I want to focus on the Energy Star program because that's the one folks might know -- be most familiar with. It has had huge impacts on lowering energy costs for folks, for their home appliances, for things like air conditioners, dishwashers, refrigerators.

Since 1992, it has saved people over $500 billion in energy costs. So there is a lot of bipartisan support for this program. And groups are responding to the news that this might actually be cut.

Now, we don't know how many jobs are going to be impacted by this because EPA, along with a number of other agencies, are still in their reduction in force process. So we'll see what the results are of that and how many jobs are ultimately affected.

But I wanted to read for you some of what the EPA said when we presented them with this new reporting.

They said, quote, With this action, EPA is delivering organizational improvements to the personnel structure that will directly benefit the American people and better advance the agency's core mission while powering the great American comeback.

Now, the EPA is clearly standing behind this decision, Erica. But this is going to put a lot of Republicans who have long supported this program in a difficult position.

Now, these energy saving programs, while very popular, have become a bit of a political hot rod for President Trump as he continues to go after them. So with these changes, we're going to see a lot of political pushback here.

HILL: It is. It is yet another interesting decision we're learning about. Annie, really appreciate the reporting. Thank you.

Still to come here, we are just hours away from the start of the conclave to elect the next pope. And CNN is learning new details about the lengths that the Vatican is going to to protect that highly secretive process.

We'll take you live to Rome next.

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KEILAR: More than 130 Catholic cardinals from all around the world are set to begin the process of choosing a successor to Pope Francis. The conclave to elect the new pope will start tomorrow, and that means total seclusion for those involved in this secretive gathering.

The cardinals must give up their phones and devices. The Vatican also plans to use signal jammers around the Sistine Chapel to prevent surveillance or outside communication.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Rome. Ben, what's the atmosphere like ahead of the conclave?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, it's really one of anticipation, intense anticipation. Last week was sort of a period, a period of transition between mourning for the death of Pope Francis and getting ready for this conclave, which is always in the Vatican a massive event. We know that 133 cardinals will be participating in the conclave, that the Italian authorities are really bracing for the kind of excitement that we see.

I was here in 2013, and, you know, when that white smoke comes out of the chimney above the Sistine Chapel, it's as if something organic is touched within the hearts of those who live in Rome because what you see is hundreds, perhaps even thousands of people suddenly converging on St. Peter's Square behind me.

Now, the first vote in the conclave is going to happen about 24 hours from now. There will only be one vote tomorrow. On Thursday, however, there will be four.

Now, what we saw back in 2013 was that there were five votes, and the final one, of course, resulted in the election of Jorge Bergoglio, who, of course, took the name of Pope Francis. But certainly, more than before, the eyes of the Catholic world will be on the Sistine Chapel behind me -- Brianna.

KEILAR: And each of these cardinal electors was offered a book that profiles around 40 papal candidates, Ben, and their positions on issues facing the church. So what do these folks do? Do they do any campaigning on their behalf? Are they relying on a little campaigning, maybe help from their friends? How does it work?

WEDEMAN: Well, they're not allowed to bring in their phones, their tablets, their computers, but they can bring in reading material. And so many of them will have this College of Cardinals report, which is published by two Catholic journalists, one British, one American, which really breaks down issue by issue, cardinal by cardinal, focusing on the papabile, the pope-able ones, and giving an idea to those who can easily access this.

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It comes in book form. It's also on the web. Anybody can see it. It gives you a real idea of who these people are, where they stand on important issues to the church relating to things like LGBTQ matters and whatnot.

And in terms of the politicking that goes on, obviously, you, like many others, Brianna, have seen the movie Conclave, which is quite accurate in terms of what goes on behind the scenes. However, it's in very bad taste to show that you're actually interested in the position. And therefore, if there is politicking and there is behind the scenes, it's not something that's going to be made very public. But there is intense speculation about the possible candidates at this point -- Brianna.

KEILAR: It is subtle and secretive. Ben Wedeman, appreciate your report from Rome. Thank you so much for that.

There is a deadly fungi that is fueling the next superbug crisis. Up next, we're going to talk about the very real consequences from this life-threatening fungi.

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KEILAR: There is a new super bug threat. It is spreading worldwide. And it's not from a virus or bacteria, but from a microscopic form of fungus called Coccidioides.

The World Health Organization has put it on a global priority list for new drug development. And it's among the fungal diseases believed to be responsible for nearly 4 million deaths every year around the globe.

HILL: Our next guest is a survivor of this fungus. He still suffers chronic debilitating issues after inhaling the spores in 2012. And now he says he has to routinely inject a toxic drug into his head, one that is slowly poisoning him.

Rob Purdie is joining us now from Texas. Rob's also the co-founder and managing director of the MyCare Foundation, which stands for Mycology Advocacy Research and Education. Rob, it's good to have you with us.

So I think what blew us all away, frankly, in reading about your story and reading about this fungus is how you got sick. You were just hanging out in your garden. What happened?

ROB PURDIE, LIVING WITH DISSEMINATED COCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS (VALLEY FEVER): Yes, so most fungal infections are primarily respiratory. So it's an inhalation. You inhale the spores. Most of the time, it stays in your lungs. So I was literally working in my backyard. And that's probably where I got it.

I'm not an outdoor worker. I was white collar. And, you know, I just was working around the house, sprucing it up. And that's all it takes. You know, it just takes one breath with these diseases.

KEILAR: This is also known as valley fever. And as you said, you were working -- you work indoors or you were working indoors at the time. And this was something that, you know, farmers or outside workers would tend to get and in smaller numbers than we're seeing now.

Take us through the process for you of figuring out what it was, getting diagnosed, and then doing your best to find a treatment that works.

PURDIE: Yes, and it's a long story, but I'm going to kind of shorten it a little bit. So I woke up New Year's Day with a really bad headache. I tell everybody I woke up with the worst hangover of my life.

But I was home in bed at eight o'clock New Year's Eve, not feeling well. And so after a couple of days, I did what most people do. I went to an urgent care. They told me I had a sinus infection. They gave me antibiotics, completed the course, was worse. Went to a different urgent care, got the same diagnosis, but a different antibiotic.

And then just through sheer luck, while I was taking that antibiotic (INAUDIBLE) and he was able to get me in and happened to get an x-ray of my head and determine I didn't have a sinus infection, which probably shaved weeks or if not months off my course of diagnosis.

So then they told me I had cluster headaches. And then not until I started having vision issues, in addition to these headaches, and went to my local hospital, it's actually a public safety net hospital in my community at the time called Kern Medical located in Bakersfield, California, that I was diagnosed. And I was diagnosed by a resident, a physician in training.

And it just so happens that I was lucky enough to go to a hospital that had a lot of experience with this disease. So they said, you're having vision issues, a slight fever and a headache. We think we know what you have.

And Valentine's Day 2014, I was given a diagnosis of valley fever. But my valley fever, unlike most people who have the disease in their lungs, went to my brain and caused a meningitis. So that's a disease -- a form of the disease that requires lifetime care, usually with an oral antibiotic.

Unfortunately for me, they tried three oral antibiotics -- or excuse me, antifungals. And none of them work sufficiently to control the disease. So in late 2013, early 2014, they inserted this port in my head, it's called an Amaya Reservoir.

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And they use that to inject a drug called Amphotericin B directly into the ventricle of my brain to fight the fungal infection. And lucky for me, that worked, but it's a drug of last resort. So I tell everybody, I'm treated with a 70-year-old drug and was diagnosed with a 50-year- old test. And that highlights the difficulty with fungal infections and diagnosing them.

They're often overlooked. And the resources for both diagnosis and treatment are extremely limited compared to bacterial or viral infections.

HILL: And that's why I know you want to get the word out. So you have to live with this drug, which is toxic essentially at this point for the rest of your life. I think people watching this too are sitting back.

I would imagine like we did saying, wait a minute, I can get this just by breathing something in. Is there any way to prevent someone else getting this exact same diagnosis, this exact same fungal infection?

PURDIE: The best thing we can do is make people aware. Awareness is our best tool because you can't eliminate fungi from the environment, whether it's the Coccidioides fungi or any other. And so we have to focus on awareness and early diagnosis.

And the good news is most people, 99 percent of people are going to recover. It's just some people like me, for whatever reason, are going to end up with a disseminated form of the disease that requires lifetime of care. And often it's control. The problem is diagnosis.

I was lucky that I didn't have a lot of permanent damage to my central nervous system prior to being diagnosed because even once you control the disease, you can't reverse the damage that the disease does. And a lot of times I know people that have had strokes or other damage to their central nervous system and it impacts their ability to live a meaningful life.

So I feel extremely lucky even with the reliance on the drugs that I have.

KEILAR: Yes. And Rob, thank you so much for being with us and sounding the alarm on this because it is increasingly becoming a problem with all various kinds of these super fungi. And it's very important that we take notice as there's this effort to get more research done and better treatments. Rob Purdie, thank you so much.

PURDIE: Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: And we'll be right back.

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