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Minneapolis Protests Underway As Tensions Threaten To Boil Over; Protesters Rally In Greenland Saying "We Are Not For Sale"; NYC Nurses Restart Contract Talks As Strike Enters Its Sixth Day; Mortgage Rates Hit Lowest Level In Three Years; Rising Energy Costs: Are There Ways For Homeowners To Save?; New Versus Used Cars: What Makes The Most Sense For Your Wallet?; Proposed Cap On Credit Card Interest Rates Draws Attention. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 17, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:01]

IYANLA VANZANT, AUTHOR, "SPIRITUAL HYGIENE": And I learned that with my second daughter, Nissa was my second daughter that I lost. And, you know, as a spiritual teacher and guide, I was really OK. As a mom I was hysterical. I was absolutely hysterical. And that's where I felt the grief. And I had to look at it and say, OK, how come the teacher is OK? And how come the mom is falling to pieces? And what it was the truth. I wasn't telling myself the truth about how I felt, about what I knew, what I saw.

I knew that my daughter was slowly dying. I knew it. The mom in me couldn't face it. The teacher in me knew it. So I had to let the mom grieve and lean into my wisdom and my knowing.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Wow. Facing your own truth. Oh, so powerful.

VANZANT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Iyanla Vanzant, thank you so much. I mean, your words are powerful. Your book is powerful. People are so grateful that you're touring and sharing your experience so that people can look at themselves and acknowledge their own experience. Right? And you're telling us to find power in your own experience.

Iyanla, thank you so much.

VANZANT: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: Glad you stopped for us.

All right. Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me on Fredricka Whitfield.

And this hour in Minneapolis, tensions over President Trump's immigration agenda are threatening to boil over. Dueling protest groups have taken to the streets today, facing off as the city remains on edge after last week's fatal shooting of a 37-year-old mother of three by an ICE agent. CNN correspondent Julia Vargas Jones is live for us in Minneapolis,

near the Whipple federal building, where we've seen some protests. People gathering again there.

What's happening? It's still quite boisterous out there.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It is quite boisterous, Fred. We just saw some kind of altercation play out behind us. It's unclear what's going on exactly. There seem to be some people coming very close to cars. Maybe hitting one of the cars coming in and out. That has dissipated now. We also seeing protesters gearing up a little bit with some plastic bags over their clothes, goggles.

They're getting ready for potential action from those federal officers who are on the other side of this fence. There is some activity going on over there that I can see through the fence. That white vehicle, there's officers coming out. Again this is this is the commotion. I will say it has mostly been peaceful. But then you do see this kind of reaction. People touching the cars, getting close. The other day, we saw someone spit at one of these cars. And that is when things get aggressive.

Now, I was just speaking to a woman before we came up who said, you know, I want things to be peaceful. I hope that I'm not alone in this. It's difficult because there is so much frustration. And I've said this before, but it feels like the threshold for something to happen, for things to burst is very low. People's patience is also low, and I would imagine from the officers' side as well. The protests have been here now for days. Every time they drive in, they drive out, this is the kind of welcome they're getting.

Of course, this is way beyond their pay grade. This is the conversation that's playing out on a national stage between the president, the governor and the mayor of Minneapolis who have said, both the mayor and the governor have said, please to keep these demonstrations peaceful.

You are talking about the dueling protests in downtown Minneapolis. They seem to have dissipated or be in the process of dissipating at this point. We saw Minneapolis Police Department dispersing that crowd. That is important. Why? Because at this time, that federal judge yesterday put some restrictions on the kind of use of force that federal agents can use against protesters who are peaceful here.

That includes restricting the use of tear gas, of pepper spray, pepper balls, which is what we've seen used here as well. Again, today might be a test of whether or not those tactics actually are curbed, or if it will take a while for those changes to trickle down to the ground here -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Yes. Tempers flaring. And it's a volatile situation, even made -- even more so there.

Julia Vargas Jones in Minneapolis, thanks so much.

All right. More large protests, this time in Greenland and Denmark today as President Trump escalates his threats to take over the semi- autonomous Danish territory.

[16:05:06]

Trump turned up the pressure on the Arctic Island today, saying he'll impose new tariffs on Denmark and several other European countries unless a deal is reached to purchase Greenland. The protesters in Greenland telling Trump today their homeland is not for sale. Protests were also held in several Danish cities earlier today, with thousands taking part there. A U.S. delegation of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers is actually in Copenhagen meeting with leaders from Denmark and Greenland. And amid the growing tension, several European nations have sent military personnel to Greenland for joint exercises.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Greenland for us.

Nic, what can you tell us about today's protests and how people are feeling?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, and I think one of the big things that's happened after the protests is people here have learned about President Trump's new tariffs. We were speaking with some of those military officials and watching some of those new troops that have arrived from Norway, from Sweden, from Finland, from the U.K., from the Netherlands, from Germany, from France.

Yesterday, those countries now seemingly about to be hit by additional tariffs. That's what President Trump says. And it just shows you how sort of volatile and escalatory the nature of President Trump's relationship to this situation in Greenland is. And of course, that was at the core of what we were hearing from people in this protest. So many people from this town in Nuuk came out on the streets.

There were children on their parents' shoulders, there were grandparents out there. There were people, you know, with walking sticks on the streets. And it was pretty slippy today, very icy because the temperature had warmed up just a little bit. There was traditional music going on as well, and the march started in the center of the town, and it walked all the way through the town, all the way to the U.S. consulate.

And the message, very simple, very straightforward coming from the people and the politicians. Prime minister speaking on the hill to the crowds, right by the U.S. consulate. And the message coming is hands off Greenland. Greenland is not for sale. We don't want to be part of the United States. A very clear message.

And I found a group of young people there. There were 20 years old. There was a group of four of them. And I said, look, this is coming to your generation. This is what's going to be potentially your future. How do you feel about what you've seen here today? And this is what one of them said to me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did not expect so many to be here, but it warms my heart to know that we are all united together to stand by and fight Trump.

ROBERTSON: And what's your message to the president?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our message is that Greenland is our country. We cannot be bought. We are people. And he should stop whatever he's doing because we are the people of Greenland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Yes, and the reason for coming out on the streets is to appeal to the international community to get that message to Washington. And one of the concerns that people have here is how much is NATO and how much is the European Union standing behind them. Well, we've heard from European leaders, Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president.

We've heard from them rebutting what President Trump has said today about increasing tariffs. They are concerned about it. It's very worrying. This is really, it feels, on an escalation of rhetoric all ways around. President Trump taking it to another level. The Europeans really, for the first time saying no, and we've heard from one European parliamentarian, the head of one of the principal parties in the European parliament, saying, look, it's time to sort of stop this trade deal that we're doing with the United States.

So this temperature around the NATO troops here, the temperature that these -- that the protesters are trying to break into and have their say, that just seems to be going up.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nic Robertson, thanks so much, in Greenland.

All right. Back in this country, hundreds of millions of people in a deep freeze this weekend. Brutal Arctic air is on the move, pushing as far south as Florida. And then some southern states could even see snow.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking what to expect and how long this cold sticks around.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, roughly 75 percent of the U.S. population is going to see temperatures at or below freezing at some point over the next several days, and that includes areas deep into some of the southern states. That means as we start to get some moisture that builds back into these areas, it could change over into snow. So we're looking at the overnight hours tonight.

You can see that next system from the Gulf starting to push a lot more moisture into states like Florida, Alabama, and into Georgia.

[16:10:00]

Early on, it's really going to be focused as rain as those temperatures are on the warm side. But as we start to go into early tomorrow morning and those temperatures dip back, yes, you could even start to see some of that change over into some rain snow mix even at times maybe perhaps all snow for portions of Georgia south and even North Carolina.

Granted it's not going to be for long. And this is a very fast-moving system. In fact, it exits entirely out of this area by the time we get to Sunday evening. So not much in the way is expected in terms of snowfall accumulation and any impacts it would likely cause. But those cold temperatures are here to stay. In fact, after that system moves through, temperatures will drop even more, even as places far south as Florida.

Take a look at this. Orlando looking at a morning low temperature Monday of only 36 degrees. Even Fort Myers going to see temperatures dropping down into the 30s early Monday morning. That is falling frozen iguana weather for some of these areas in south Florida. But it's going to be even colder across areas of the north as we get the next round of cold air that moves through. So you can see all that cold air in place Sunday into Monday.

But then that next shot comes in as we head into the latter portion of the week. So it's going to be kind of a roller coaster for some of these areas. Take Nashville, for example. Look at this. Highs in the 30s the next few days. We do warm up a little bit before that next drop comes as we head into next weekend. And then looking at Cincinnati, again the average high this time of year is 39 degrees. They will spend every single one of the next seven days at or below that high temperature.

WHITFIELD: All right. It's definitely winter. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

All right. Coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You punch everybody else outside in the street, you get charged. You get punched as a nurse, your manager is like, what could you have done different to deescalate the situation?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Thousands of -- nurses rather on strike and off the job in New York City. What they're demanding as talks start back up. And later your money questions answered. This week we tackle mortgage rates, car prices and the cost of your next meal. Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:16:56]

WHITFIELD: All right. Happening right now, contract talks have restarted for 15,000 New York City nurses who have been on strike for six days now. These negotiations are with two of the three major hospital systems affected. While talks have stalled with the other one.

CNN's Leigh Waldman is joining me right now from New York.

Leigh, what's the latest?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, it's cold out here. We had rain and snow, but that's not stopping the New York State Nurses Association from striking outside of Mount Sinai. You can see they're saying, hands off of our health care, patients over profit. We can show you the other side here. They have a lot of support. People have been constantly driving by, honking their horns in support of these nurses who, like you said, six days of striking now.

It's now the largest strike in decades here in New York City for the nurses impacted. There's three hospitals at the center of this, Mount Sinai, New York Presbyterian and Montefiore Einstein, at the center of this strike. These nurses, they're asking for safer staffing, essentially to hire more nurses to help with the patients. They want more money, and they also want security in and around their hospitals, saying that there's been incidents of nurses being punched while on the job here.

Now, we heard from the Mount Sinai officials, the CEO of Mount Sinai, he said despite this strike happening, 23 percent of their union nurses still showed up to work on Wednesday. He's also accusing the nurses' association of bullying the nurses who are showing up for work. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. BRENDAN CARR, CEO, MOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM: The New York State Nurses Association has been aggressively harassing and intimidating Mount Sinai's nurses who have chosen to come to work.

I'm sorry that this is happening to you. It should go without saying that you do not deserve to be targeted for coming to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: Now, there's also a statement that's been released by NYSNA, the nursing association, in response to what Dr. Carr had to say. They said, quote, "Mount Sinai's documented bullying, intimidation and harassment of over a dozen frontline nurses leading up to the strike demonstrates a failure of leadership. We urge CEO Dr. Carr to stop the baseless accusations and to come back to the bargaining table to settle a fair contract with the nurses, who are the backbone of Mount Sinai Hospital," unquote.

Now, we spoke to nurses and they said they're prepared to be out here for as long as it takes, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Leigh Waldman, thank you so much.

All right. Straight ahead. We're digging in to the questions that you have to help you make some money saving decisions. First up, our panel talks about what the latest drop in mortgage rates means for the housing market.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:24:06]

WHITFIELD: All right. Encouraging news this week for people hoping to buy a home. Mortgage rates have now fallen to their lowest level in more than three years. A 30-year fixed term now stands at 6.06 percent. That's down from 7.04 percent this time last year.

This news comes as recent CNN polling suggests that Americans say the economy is the country's top issue. So as many Americans are tightening their budgets, we're going to spend the next half hour taking a closer look at the concerns facing so many of us. We've assembled a panel of experts to answer your money questions.

Joining me right now, "Washington Post" syndicated personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary, also author of "What to Do with Your Money When Crisis Hits: A Survival Guide." Ken Coleman, co-host of "The Ramsey Show," and chairman of the Futurist Institute. Jason Schenker, also author of "Midterm Economics."

[16:25:05]

It's great to see all of you.

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, AUTHOR, "WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR MONEY WHEN CRISIS HITS: A SURVIVAL GUIDE": Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Ken, let me begin with you. If you've been holding off on putting your house on the market, is now finally the time?

KEN COLEMAN, CO-HOST, THE RAMSEY SHOW: I think it probably is. You know, but one caution, you know, for the other side of that coin is people that have been on the sidelines and they're thinking, OK, rates are really low. Should I jump in? And the cautionary tale is, and we say this all the time on "The Ramsey Show," no matter what the rate is, buy when you can afford. So make sure that down payment is in that 20 percent range.

You know we'd like to see people go for 15-year mortgages, which is highly controversial but always a good place. So I do think, yes, as we start to inch lower and lower, I think the market is kind of been waiting pensively and I think you'll see a lot of people jump in. And the question is, will it increase demand? And if that happens, uh-oh, housing prices will go up because of the demand. So very interesting time right now in our economy.

WHITFIELD: And so, Michelle, I mean, this time last year, the average 30-year fixed rate was 7.04 percent. A buyer who purchased, say, a $450,000 home with a 20 percent down payment at that rate would have faced monthly principal and interest payments of about $2,405. At today's average rate of 6.06 percent, those payments would fall to roughly $2,172, a savings of about $230 per month.

That's good. Yes. Or, you know, maybe even close to $84,000 over the life of that 30-year loan. So even with the cost associated with refinancing, is it worth it to do so right now?

SINGLETARY: I think a full percentage point is definitely worth looking at refinancing, but you have to look at whether or not you're going to be staying in a home for a while so that you can break even on the cost to refinance. And guess what, y'all? You can actually refinance without actually refinancing through the bank. You can make extra mortgage payments. Just one extra mortgage payment a year will bring down that mortgage over time.

That's what my husband and I did. And you can pay down on the principal. That will bring down the amount that you cost. So if you don't have the money to refinance or you're in an area, you're thinking, well, you know, I might be moving in two or three years, that is a way to bring down the cost as well. And I think Kim was absolutely right. Please don't just look at the interest rate. There is so much more involved in buying a home.

And don't just squeak into the house. Make sure you've got some savings for medical crisis when you lose your job. We know right now the economy is a little shaky, and you don't want to obligate yourself to something that you can't afford at this time. So look at everything. It's not just about the rate.

WHITFIELD: Right. Because, Jason, it isn't just about that, you know, monthly mortgage and those rates, as Michelle was saying. You know, first-time home buyers in particular, you know, they might be excited about some of these numbers, but they got to look at the other factors, right, about owning a home, insurance, taxes, maintenance, utility costs. What else do they need to be thinking about?

(CROSSTALK)

JASON SCHENKER, CHAIRMAN, THE FUTURIST INSTITUTE: Well, I think there's two pieces. And again that's something that Michelle had talked about. You know, I think that what's really interesting is this idea that, you know, if you can make prepayments in the mortgages and you can get a lower rate, you can get a one-two punch in terms of lowering that cost. Looking at your payback periods, I think that's really interesting.

The last time I refied my mortgage and I had been making additional payments and the rates went down, the payback period was only a few months. So, you know, making sure you're looking at where the juice is worth the squeeze. Really, really important when you're considering it.

But if you're a seller right now, this is a riskier time because two years ago, if you look back at data we've got from the New York Fed, in November of 2023, home prices were up 4.9 percent year on year. Last year, November 2024, a year before for the data we have, was up 3.5 and for November 2025, the most recent data we have, home prices were only up 1 percent year on year nationally.

So home prices, they're going up at a much slower pace. The market is really slowing down. So if you're a seller, you're thinking about selling. You might want to see some more price action before you really think about selling.

WHITFIELD: And so, Michelle, you know, back to a few more things, you know, to consider. You know, besides the cost of home ownership, you have to think about, you know, powering the house, right? Electricity. It's up 6.7 percent nationwide over the last year. And that's according to the Consumer Price Index, the government's key inflation measure. The cost is also up nearly 30 percent since the end of 2021.

I mean, that is a crazy number. So are Americans basically stuck when it comes to energy costs?

SINGLETARY: Crazy.

WHITFIELD: I mean, what are the ways to bring that down?

[16:30:00]

SINGLETARY: Yes. Well, they are. I mean, you know, put -- my husband's always say, put on a sweater girl. You know, put some footies on.

WHITFIELD: Layers.

SINGLETARY: I mean, you know, you want to check the insulation in your home, you know, and closed doors. And maybe just, you know, move around. Because we want to have the lights and heat in all -- on all sections of the house. You just want to look at all of that.

You actually can contact your energy -- your utility company. And they can actually do an assessment and kind of give you some ideas of some other ways to bring down your utility bill. And it all comes together. I mean, my husband paid off her home in 2023. And I think all the appliances get together at night and decide which one going to break off.

WHITFIELD: Break apart. Right.

SINGLETARY: And so they all -- and they don't want the dishwasher to break down because my husband keeps fixing that. So they said -- you know, he can't do it. But the thing is, when you get into a home, you want to consider all of that.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SINGLETARY: Do you have enough after you pay your mortgage for those kinds of things, including sending your kids to college or medical crisis? Look at the cost of health care. I -- you know, listen. I've been a homeowner since my early 20s, so I am a big advocate for home ownership.

But we might have to rethink that. Live with your parents as long as you can. Live with other people. Multigenerational housing.

WHITFIELD: OK.

SINGLETARY: My 27-year-old son is still living with us. So, those are the kinds of things that you have to consider.

WHITFIELD: All right, parents, listen up to that one. All right, panel, stay with me. We've got so much more to discuss. Once you have your house, you know, can you afford to park a car in the garage? Like, can you afford to have the car to park in the garage? I'll ask why it's almost impossible these days to find an affordable car.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:36:17]

WHITFIELD: All right. Back with our panel now discussing your money. Let's talk about cars and why an affordable one seems so hard to find. Data on car buying costs released this week shows new car buyers paid $50,326 on average in December. That's a record high, according to estimates from Kelley Blue Book. In 2024, U.S. buyers had a choice of three cars priced under $20,000, and now zero. None. Ken, I'll bring this one to you. Why are new cars so expensive right now?

KEN COLEMAN, CO-HOST, THE RAMSEY SHOW: Because they're overpriced, right? I mean, this is always the case. New cars, if you just look at what's available in the market. I've got to push back a little bit because I have a unique perspective.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COLEMAN: One, as co-host of The Ramsey Show, we're constantly telling people to sell their cars when they have too much car for their income. But I also have the unique advantage of telling you -- I've bought three cars over the last four years for my three teenagers. And I will tell you, as I am looking in our budget range --

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COLEMAN: I am also seeing very functional cars in the $7500 to $10,000 range. Are they the greatest-looking car in the world? Do they have the latest and greatest technology? No. But can they get you from point A to point B? And can you pay cash for those? The answer is yes.

So when I hear that, that's just simply not true. In fact, there are a whole bunch of those cars in that $10,000 or under range that would do people a lot of good to turn in their car payments. I'll tell you. We took a call just two days ago.

A couple had a combined car payment of $1,700 between the two of them, and they're bringing home pay was $3500. That is a very real story. So, the problem is not the expense of the cars and what the car makers are charging. It's that people have an appetite for something they cannot afford.

WHITFIELD: So, then, Jason, do you agree that used cars are the way to go? Because you do have to keep in mind maintenance sometimes on the used car. And that too can accumulate to a lot of -- you know, a lot of money spent.

JASON SCHENKER, CHAIRMAN, THE FUTURIST INSTITUTE: Well, the maintenance can be a lot. But if I think about in my own situation. So, I drive a car, a Mercedes convertible I bought in 2008. And that car when I bought it, if I think about it, it was $42,500, which was a deal at that time. And to think that today the average car is over $50,000 blows my mind.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SCHENKER: If I wanted to replace the car that I have that's 18 years old with a new car, it would cost almost $200,000.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SCHENKER: The maintenance to keep my car is only -- is about $1500 to $2000 a year, or 100 years of owning this car. So, I'm going to pay maintenance. It's cheaper to keep her. So, for folks out there thinking about, should I go get a new car or even a newer used car, you might be better if you think about the math. Just maintain the vehicle you have, keep it in good shape, and it might last a lot longer.

WHITFIELD: And so, Michelle, chime in on that. You know, it may not necessarily be all about the sticker price, but how much it's going to cost you per month, per year. Just, you know, what do people need to consider?

SINGLETARY: Yes. I love that. Keep -- it's cheaper to keep it.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SINGLETARY: That's what I'll tell my husband all the time.

SCHENKER: Oh, yes.

SINGLETARY: But so, here's the thing. It's absolutely true. Edmunds -- I've been writing a series of columns that we are now in a period of rectification of car ownership. So, you might be actually renting your car even though you have a loan, because people are taking out cars for more money, extending those payments for seven or more years. Edmunds found that about almost 30 percent of people have a car payment of a thousand dollars or more, and 6.3 percent of used car owners have $1,000 payment or more.

[16:40:12]

WHITFIELD: Wow.

SINGLETARY: That's just -- that's untenable for most families.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SINGLETARY: And one of the reasons why that's happening is they're rolling in loans from the previous vehicle. And on average, you know, about $10,000 -- or $72,000 on average. And some, $10,000 or more. You all, that's not -- that's just not sustainable.

And I agree. I -- my husband and I keep our cars for a very long time. My daughter, who's 30, she still drives the car we bought her when she was 16 years old.

WHITFIELD: Wow. SINGLETARY: It's a Honda Civic. And one of her friends was joking --

WHITFIELD: Hondas do last forever. They got a good rep.

SINGLETARY: You know, they don't have a backup camera. So, she doesn't have a backup camera. So, her friends were joking about it. So, she said, well, I could just turn my head.

WHITFIELD: Very clever. That's right. Use those rear-view mirrors. The side view mirrors, too.

SINGLETARY: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Everyone, stand by. Up next. The major changes that could one of your most used money tools. Is the credit card industry about to get flipped on its head?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:45:56]

WHITFIELD: All right. We're back with our panel. Michelle Singletary, Ken Coleman, and Jason Schenker. OK. We've discussed housing and car prices. Now, I want to get your insights on a few other financial topics. Michelle, President Trump has proposed a one year, 10 percent cap on credit card interest rates that he wants to see go into effect next week. Should people be excited about that?

SINGLETARY: Can I -- can you see me roll my eyes --

WHITFIELD: Yes, I saw that.

SINGLETARY: That's not -- OK? That's not going to happen. Don't count on that. It's a -- it's an empty promise. The banks are already pushing back.

But you know how you can get a zero percent rate on your card? Pay your bill off every month. And I know for a lot of people, that's not possible.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SINGLETARY: But there are other ways that you can bring down that debt. Call your lender, especially if you're struggling right now. But I think in terms of that happening, your better shot is to call your lender, call a nonprofit credit counseling agency. Key word nonprofit.

And when you search for it, don't look at the first search entry, because it's going to be a for-profit company. Look for someone that says, credit counseling, that's nonprofit, to help you talk to your lenders to bring down that rate.

WHITFIELD: And then, Jason, this week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins argued that the administration's new diet guidelines that were rolled out the week before would not cost Americans more. Just listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE ROLLINS, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: We've run over a thousand simulations. It can cost around three dollars a meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, you know, a corn tortilla, and one other thing. And so, there is a way to do this that actually will save the average American consumer money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Jason, is cutting grocery costs as simple as being more creative with our dinner menus?

SCHENKER: I think the biggest thing is avoiding eating out. You know, if you look at where people spend money on food and where they really get hit, you know, kind of to Michelle's point. Hey, if you want to pay less in credit card interest, then try not to carry a balance. Carry small amounts as possible.

If you want to save money on food, don't go out to restaurants. It is a lot cheaper to stay at home. So, I think that's probably the top thing I could tell anyone. If you want to save money on food, eat at home more.

WHITFIELD: Ken, times are pretty tough. You know, people are still, you know, needing something to look forward to. So, if you're expecting perhaps a tax return or a work bonus this year, what's a guilt-free way to kind of treat yourself without increasing debt?

COLEMAN: A guilt-free way? Well, just simply budget for something fun to do. You know, there are so many free things. There are so many inexpensive things to do. And then, this is the real challenge is that the American people have, by and large, not gotten serious about budgeting.

We see credit card debt continue. It's almost like every two or three months, we see the headlines come out. You're probably reporting on it almost on a monthly basis, that we hit a new record of credit card debt.

I want to go back to this issue we talked about, because I think President Trump here on this idea, this is almost as silly as the 50- year mortgage. You know, saying, well, we're going to force this -- number one. He can't. I don't believe he can do that. That's more legislation.

But let's just focus on this because I don't want to -- I don't want to dismiss that lowering the credit card rates and that credit card companies do gouge people. I don't want to dismiss that. And there's no question if we ran a chart that capping at 10 percent would lower costs for people.

But here's the key thing. This is like going to the doctor and having a problem with your knee. And the doctor just simply sending you away with a knee brace and not digging into what's going on with the knee.

Is the knee brace going to help you feel better and mitigate the pain? Yes. Can 10 percent do that? Yes. However, it doesn't solve the problem. Americans, by and large, just like our Congress, we are addicted to debt. And we're losing the game.

[16:50:02]

And I don't begrudge big companies and great marketing programs and putting out very likable celebrities like Jennifer Garner, what's in your wallet. You know what we say here at Ramsey? Cash. That's what's in our wallet. And we as the American people -- this is a real warning.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COLEMAN: If Congress won't do it on the national debt, we have to do it on our own household. And so, saving money by budgeting and knowing where our money is going every month is how we make it through tough times.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks to you all. We're all feeling better about how we're spending. And most importantly, how were going to save. Michelle Singletary, Ken Coleman, Jason Schenker, thanks to you all. Appreciate it.

COLEMAN: Thank you.

SINGLETARY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. And ahead of this Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. birthday holiday weekend, I had an extensive conversation with King's youngest daughter, Bernice King. We talked about the enduring legacy --enduring, rather, legacy of her parents and the civil rights movement. And I asked her how her mother, Coretta Scott King, carried that forward after her husband's assassination.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: How do you think your mom did that? I mean, what do you think her vision was for the King Center? What was the nucleus of that idea, and why she believed in it, and why you, you know, are destined to keep it going?

BERNICE KING, CEO, THE KING CENTER: She believed in it because -- yes. She believed in it because she believed in what they were teaching. She believed that had the power to change and transform the world. And she never let that go.

WHITFIELD: What do you think your mom and dad taught you about your fight and your commitment to keep it going?

KING: The first thing that my mother taught me is to manage my emotions, which is very important because you can get really mad --

WHITFIELD: And that's hard.

KING: And angry at what's happening.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

KING: But because she taught me a different way, she modeled it for me, I'm able to manage it better. And she told me something one day, riding in Atlanta down what's Langford Parkway now. She said -- I was talking to her about something that I was very angry about. And she stopped me in the middle and said, baby, never make a decision in your anger.

And that has just kind of been with me, because when things happen, you know, you want to immediately react. And you have to harness that. You got to think twice, perhaps three times, about it before you -- now, you may get to the same conclusion.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

KING: But you're able to now sort it out. You know, if I did this, what would be the consequences? And I think more importantly, both of my parents left the importance of not just serving humanity, but understanding this is not about me. This is greater than me. I'm here to make a contribution to this world.

And if it means that I have to suffer, if it means that I don't get everything I want, it's OK. Because there's a -- there's a greater community out there that I'm a part of, that I'm interconnected, interrelated, and interdependent with. And I have to think about that in everything that I do.

WHITFIELD: She and they always seemed so graceful. And with that grace was immense power.

KING: Yes. They were very humble people. They believed they had a great assignment. And they were very focused. She was extremely -- obviously, he was focused. But she was extremely focused.

And she was a great strategist. You know you have to think right after he was assassinated, within two and a half months, she founded the King Center. Shortly after that, it was like she was laying it all out strategically. Shortly after that, she travels around the world to do her book tour around the world first.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

KING: Called My Life with Martin Luther King Jr. Tell that story, galvanizing a world to keep it alive, because now the voice is gone. She never said this to me. But I think my mother understood that you want to make sure that there's something central lies in place where people can come to and can do further research and study, et cetera.

WHITFIELD: And they --

KING: Before we put this big holiday out there, because where do we go after this? So, she wanted the King Center in place. And part of that is because we have the largest repository of primary source materials related to the civil rights movement.

Most people don't know we have that kind of archive. And it's ironic, when we were in the pandemic here in Atlanta, the one place that people found solace, because so many places were shut down, was the King Center, because of the way the campus was built. You know, my parents are in tune.

WHITFIELD: The difference in the areas.

KING: And the reflecting pool.

WHITFIELD: The water. Yes.

KING: And they found a place to come to the kind of center themselves and get their heads together.

WHITFIELD: (INAUDIBLE) Yes.

KING: And thank God for that, you know.

WHITFIELD: Yes. A place of thoughtfulness for sure.

KING: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And peace. I was just recently there, and I was reminded -- I've been there many times over the years. But just recently, a couple of months ago, I went. And it was beautiful just to see so many people sitting peacefully alone or with others. Sometimes, a little picnic lunch in one corner, or just reading.

KING: Right.

WHITFIELD: And I saw people just lying down on the bench. And it is very peaceful and restful. And it is a place of solace.

KING: And you need that in today's world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[16:55:26]

WHITFIELD: And many thanks to Reverend Bernice King. And thanks to all of our guests today joining us on this holiday weekend. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. CNN NEWSROOM continues next with Bianna Golodryga.

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