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Minnesota Protests Continue; VA Father Accused Of Killing Wife, Another Man In Plot With Au Pair; Trump Threatens Allies with New Tariffs Over Greenland; CNN Reports On College Football Championship And NFL Playoffs; CNN's Fredricka Whitfield Interviews Bernice King. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired January 18, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And along with them, more and more vehicles from the sheriff's department.

I want to walk through a little bit just to give you a sense of how much this continues to grow. I believe when we got here, I would say perhaps 100, under 200 people, just my personal estimate here, but it continues to grow. And it has become a bit of a perma (ph) protest. I think I've mentioned this to you before with its own even infrastructure.

We've seen people coming in with hot pizzas, with hot coffee. There are some brownies coming out, water, hand warmers, very importantly. And also, whistles being distributed to this crowd, whistles that we've seen being used in the streets of Minneapolis as well, Fred.

Just a couple days ago, we ran into one of these -- what the DHS say are targeted ICE operations. And we watched as the community started to respond, following these cars, and then blowing their whistles, telling neighbors, alerting them about this ICE operation.

Now, I've been mentioning to you, you know, the main reason for people to want to be here as far as what they've told us is because they don't want ICE in Minneapolis. They don't want these federal agents here. They've been staged right here. Apologies. I'm sorry. Right here, this is the main entrance. Cars come in, they come out. They're being heckled by these protesters.

These barricades are very much new. This showed up today. This seems to be a new measure for these federal agents to contain protesters to this side of the street. Now, you mentioned earlier those restrictions being put in the way that federal agents are responding to protesters, peaceful protesters, I will add from that federal judge on Friday. That includes not being able to detain peaceful protesters, not being able to stop cars without reasonable suspicion, and not using those chemical agents like pepper spray and others such as tear gas or pepper balls that we've seen being used here. So, it remains a test of what they can and they can't do.

Now, one question that I have is, does that change and did that change actually bring the sheriff's department here? Is that why we're seeing increased presence? That is one of the questions that we have here, Fred, for what is happening. Of course, we're expecting these tensions to continue and, as we've seen, get even more -- the tensions are getting a little higher before they cool off, especially as night falls here in Minneapolis.

And those temperatures dipping as well. We're right now 15 degrees. It's still snowing. It's going down to minus five, but those protesters seem to not be deterred by the cold temperatures, Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Not at all, it appears. All right, Julia Vargas Jones in Minneapolis, thanks so much. Let's go to South Florida now where we find Betsy Klein. So, protesters, much of the American public alike, you know, growing increasingly frustrated, what's being expressed, that is, about what's happening in Minneapolis with ICE agents. So, how is the administration responding?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it doesn't seem like the tensions are going to simmer any time soon because we have learned that the Pentagon has ordered 1,500 active duty U.S. troops to prepare for a potential deployment to Minnesota. Now, that includes two battalions from Alaska. What we don't know at this stage is what types of tasks those soldiers would perform, but one U.S. defense official says that it could include crowd control measures as well as efforts to support law enforcement on the ground.

Now, President Trump, for days now, has raised the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act. That is that centuries-old law that allows a U.S. president to deploy troops domestically. But we heard also today from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. He says that there may come a time when that is needed and that Trump has the full support of the Justice Department should he choose to do so.

What I want to make very clear and officials have stressed to us repeatedly over the last day is that this does not mean that a deployment is imminent or guaranteed. But we do know that the White House is watching what is going on in the ground, as Julia just laid out so well, very, very closely. And they have a range of options for President Trump, depending on how he chooses to respond.

All of these as the Trump administration has surged federal resources to Minnesota. That includes a number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents as well as other federal personnel and a small handful of FBI agents as we are seeing those protests intensify.

I want you to listen to how Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons laid out the justification for those personnel and what they are doing.

[17:05:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD LYONS, ACTING DIRECTOR, ICE: You hear about the 3,000 federal officers and special agents that deployed to Minneapolis. Majority of those, if not most, are to protect the men and women that are out there trying to make those arrests. And that has definitely changed our tactics where we would go and have five to six officers on an arrest team. Now, you have to go with 10 to 15 just to protect those individuals that are trying to arrest a bad guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, this comes after, as Julia mentioned, that federal judge ruled Friday that agents cannot deploy certain crowd control measures. But the Trump administration here is arguing that these protesters are not peaceful. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Betsy Klein and Julia Vargas Jones, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. So, as tensions rise in Minnesota, immigration advocacy groups in Minneapolis are focused on monitoring ICE officers. CNN followed one group out on patrol after they trained to advocate for the legal rights of those being detained by federal authorities. Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer, was not part of this group.

Here's CNN's Isabel Rosales.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The phone buzzes, and they hit the gas.

RYAN PEREZ, LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZING DIRECTOR, COPAL: OK, I'm getting an alert. Federal activity in Bloomington.

ROSALES (voice-over): ICE has been spotted.

PEREZ: We're heading to -- it sounds like it's a business location.

ROSALES (voice-over): These are legal observers with immigrant advocacy group, COPAL, part of a network of 5,000 trained civilians who monitor federal immigration enforcement in real time.

PEREZ: Hey, we're observers with COPAL.

ROSALES (voice-over): We spent the day with members of the group as they traveled around Minneapolis, responding to calls about ICE activity. Here, they missed the federal agents by mere moments.

PEREZ: This business was targeted by ICE, and they've took some people.

ROSALES (voice-over): Ryan Perez, a self-described ICE watcher, says he has answered more than a hundred of these tips. That number increases by the day with an influx of federal agents in Minneapolis.

PEREZ: So, our observers are trained to walk in and say, I demand to see a warrant, show me a warrant.

ROSALES: So, you are legal observers that are not quiet?

PEREZ: Ours are not quiet. We said it's your First Amendment right to document, yes. It's also your First Amendment right to be loud.

Continue recording. Focus on the camera. ROSALES (voice-over): And with their notes and videos, they create a legal record.

ROSALES: What types of people sign up to be observers?

PEREZ: People that look a lot like Renee Good. We have a lot of moms. We have a lot of retirees.

ROSALES (voice-over): In the 24 hours after her death, Perez says the group saw a three-fold increase in the number of people signing up for their constitutional observer program.

PEREZ: To say this -- the killing of Renee Good lit a fire under the community would be an understatement.

ROSALES (voice-over): Kateri Heymans is one of them. She has been alarmed by the number of federal agents flooding her hometown.

KATERI HEYMANS, LEGAL OBSERVER, COPAL: Someone put the name of Renee Good here on this fence.

ROSALES (voice-over): And Good's killing inspired Kateri to register as an observer the very next day. This is her first time out on patrol. Some rules: No touching, stay eight feet away from agents, observe, document, use your whistle.

PEREZ: And so, the whistle keeps people safe because it says this is effectively a war zone.

ROSALES (voice-over): Then another alert.

PEREZ: Have your phone ready. We're three minutes away. So, it's good to start having your phone ready.

HEYMANS: Even videos of documenting things can really help people because sometimes, people don't know their family is being taken away.

PEREZ: You hear the president saying that observers are obstructing and violent.

ROSALES: Are they?

PEREZ: So, our observers, I can only speak for our peaceful and following protocol.

ROSALES (voice-over): Our last stop before sunset brings us to a tense scene outside the Whipple Federal Building, which has become the epicenter for protests.

ROSALES: Whoa, whoa.

PEREZ: We see a bunch of agents with riot gear on the right side here. It looks like they're ready in case of an escalation on the left side of protesters.

We want to document this just like any other law enforcement activities.

ROSALES: So, what we're seeing right now is federal agents coming in and driving in unmarked vehicles. And they have detainees in the back. This is the Whipple building where they're being taken for processing. And any time we see one of these vehicles rolls in, you can see a rise of emotion with these activists who are yelling and chanting.

ROSALES (voice-over): Around a dozen people ended up being arrested later. DHS claims the activists assaulted law enforcement.

Among the shouting crowds and remnants of pepper balls, these legal observers stand out in neon, making sure someone is always watching.

Isabel Rosales, CNN, Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[17:09:57]

WHITFIELD: Still to come, people in Greenland and European leaders are pushing back as President Trump ramps up threats over his plans for the Danish territory. And straight ahead, key testimony unfolds in the trial of Brendan Banfield, the man accused of killing his wife and another man in an elaborate plot with his au pair.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:14:57]

WHITFIELD: All right, testimony is set to resume Tuesday in the double murder trial of a Virginia father accused of carrying out a salacious plot to kill his wife. Prosecutors argue Brendan Banfield planned it with his mistress, the family's Brazilian au pair. She actually testified against him.

CNN's Jean Casarez brings us up to speed after the first week of testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: The whole question is, did Brendan Banfield murder his wife? Is Juliana, the au pair, to be believed? Is she credible? Does her story match the forensics? Well, they showed a video of McDonald's and it was Brendan Banfield on the morning of when his wife and Joseph Ryan were killed.

And Juliana had testified that the plan was that he would not go to work but he would go to McDonald's, and he would just stay there for a while, wait for a call from Juliana to say, somebody has just broken into the home, because that was Joseph Ryan, the escort that was coming to the home. And that's what we saw yesterday. We saw that. And we saw phone calls to Juliana.

Next, they went into the kitchen. Juliana had testified that Brendan had said, take my wife Christine's cell phone, put it in the drawer in the kitchen, so she can't call 911 at all when this all unfolds. Lo and behold, in the kitchen, there was the phone.

However, the knife, the murder weapon, there was blood on it. Forensics was done. Brendan Banfield, who prosecutors say stabbed his wife in the neck multiple times, his DNA was not on it at all. Christine Banfield's DNA was on it. And also, Joseph Ryan, who had come to the house as the escort, his DNA was on it.

But then you get to the bedroom. It was eight months after all of this happened. No one had been arrested. They went to execute a search warrant in the home. They went into the bedroom. And let's hear what they found.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): They had gotten new flooring, new bedroom furniture, and pictures that had once featured Brendan and Christine had been taken down and replaced with Brendan and Juliana together.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): So, showing you Commonwealth 97 (ph), is this the primary bedroom?

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): In October of 2023, eight months after the murders?

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Yes.

CASAREZ: And if you look carefully, there are two pictures there. There's the brand-new couple on the nightstand, and then on the fireplace over there. However, back to forensics, there was Christine Banfield's blood on the jacket of Brendan Banfield's, found also on -- some droplets on the pants. However, when police arrived at the scene, he was bending over, trying to aid and assist and help his wife, who was on the floor at that point. So, that can go both ways.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow! Jean Casarez, thank you so much. What a fascinating trial. That's why people are so riveted. Here with me now to discuss more about all this, Court TV anchor and former prosecutor and assistant district attorney, Julie Grant. Julie, great to see you. So, this is -- this is just week one of testimony.

JULIE GRANT, COURT TV ANCHOR, FORMER PROSECUTOR, FORMER DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Yes. Great to be with you, Fred. And it's already wild, wild. What a sinister scheme this, allegedly, was. It has people talking all over the world, really, as you know.

WHITFIELD: Right. And then we heard now in this first week of testimony, testimony from the au pair, who pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter as part of the plea deal, and she says she agreed to the deal because it opens the possibility of getting less prison time with that caveat. So, how much power does her testimony actually have with that kind of deal?

GRANT: A lot. And the deal kind of soured things, Fred. I'm glad you're bringing this up because she was given a deal to plead to manslaughter. And then so she says it is time served for her testimony. But that's backwards.

I was a prosecutor. What you want to do is you want to get your witness to testify first. Don't offer them anything so the defense can't throw it in your face at trial. See how they do. See if they do what's right, if they tell the truth. And then at their sentencing, you say, Your Honor, we want to give them some consideration for what they did in owning their crimes. Doing what's right. Giving testimony on behalf of the Commonwealth. So, we recommend a lesser sentence. But here, they just --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: -- this way then.

GRANT: Doesn't make sense to me. I think it was a bad move. And the defense team is very seasoned. They caught on to it. And so, they're telling the jury all about it.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. OK. So, now what? What seems to be the key pieces of evidence or testimony that the defense will really try to lean into in week two?

GRANT: So, what they're trying to do is make it seem like Brendan Banfield was not behind this at all. And so, when we heard the au pair testify, one of the most stunning things, Fred, was she said that throughout the whole planning and scheming, he was mindful that there was going to be an investigation done, and that he did every single thing with the idea that some investigators are going to be scrutinizing every single move.

So, it's kind of different than what we typically see. We see criminals typically just not wanting to get caught, not wanting there to be an investigation. Here, he knew there would be one.

[17:19:57]

And so, one of the important things he did, for example, is using Christine Banfield's devices at the time that she was home in the house. And the au pair said the reason he did this would be down the line, if anybody would question whether it was, in fact, her profile, who was reaching out to this man named Joseph Ryan, and anybody checked her cell phone, for instance, to see where it was pinging, what the location was, it would line up that she was home and that he could make that argument.

So, we're going to see the defense leaning largely into the digital evidence and making the argument this was not him, that he is the hero, he stepped in, and he had to shoot in defense of others.

WHITFIELD: It seems like there will be testimonies, potentially, coming from neighbors. What do people see in the behavior of these individuals or even as this family unit or the au pair? How powerful might that potentially be?

GRANT: Oh, that's a great question, Fred. And get this, this is really sinister. We heard testimony that there was someone from a window company who was asked to come to the house to assess the place, to make it more soundproof. And the au pair testified that she and Brendan Banfield did some loud screaming in that room, in the bedroom, ahead of the homicides to make sure that neighbors wouldn't hear anything happening.

WHITFIELD: So, the planning?

GRANT: The planning was to try to make this -- yes, so that it would occur with the least amount of outside noise, so that Brendan Banfield could take as much control of that scene as possible.

WHITFIELD: Wow! Fascinating. And that's just week one.

GRANT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: OK. We'll have you back to talk about more.

GRANT: I'd love to.

WHITFIELD: Julie Grant, great to see you.

GRANT: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, still to come this hour, the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers are set to face the University of Miami on the road. But for their star quarterback, it's a homecoming.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, back now to the trade war erupting over Greenland. Just moments ago, the European Union wrapped up an emergency meeting of its ambassadors in Brussels. Today's high-stake gathering coming after President Trump announced that he would hit eight E.U. countries with new tariffs until the U.S. is allowed to acquire Greenland.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more details from Greenland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Nations within the European Union and the U.K. who have been affected by President Trump's threat of tariffs, that's the countries who have sent NATO troops here to nuke and elsewhere in Greenland as part of these ongoing military Arctic training exercises. That's Denmark, of course, along with Finland, along with France, along with Germany, along with the Netherlands, along with Norway, along with Sweden, along with the U.K. Those are the countries that are being targeted by these tariffs.

And the joint statement says that President Trump threatens to undermine the transatlantic security, risks putting the relationship on a downward spiral. And they say they stand squarely behind Denmark and the people of Greenland in determining their future, that they will continue and are willing to continue as they have done in conversations about Greenland, but based on its sovereignty or based on the respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity which, very clearly, they feel President Trump is not doing at the moment.

So that pushback from those countries is very clear. And that discussion with EU ambassadors was discussing some incredibly disruptive potential measures, stopping potentially the E.U.-U.S. trade deal, which would leave tariffs in place on U.S. goods coming into Europe, would damage trade and the economies of both Europe and the United States.

But an even bigger mechanism tool that has never been used before, the sort of so-called nuclear option, the anti-coercion measures that Europe, the European Union, all those nations could bring to bear on the United States, that would potentially put costs on any Amazon transaction, any Visa or MasterCard transaction, incredibly wide ranging and economically damaging.

So, the Europeans reaching, as they say, to their toolbox of what they can do to talk economics and economic power, President Trump. And this is the biggest division, if you will, that I think that you have seen with the U.S. in recent history.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Nic Robertson, I appreciate it. Still to come on the "CNN Newsroom" --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNICE KING, DAUGHTER OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: There's a way to have to enforce a law without stripping people and violating them of that dignity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Bernice King on why her father's words still matter and still challenge us to this day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, millions of Americans are expected to tune in tomorrow night to watch college football's next champion be crowned. The Indiana University Hoosiers are taking on the University of Miami Hurricanes. But perhaps, none of us will be watching closer than the students and staff at Columbus High School in Miami.

CNN's Brynn Gingras explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Go 25 miles south of Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, where college football's biggest showdown is set for Monday night, and you'll land here, Columbus High School, a school that's, well, got some skin in the game.

DAVE DUNN, HEAD FOOTBALL COACH, CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS HIGH SCHOOL: We have seven people with Columbus or Columbus alums that are all tied to this game. Welcome back.

GINGRAS: Oh, thank you.

GINGRAS (voice-over): That's Columbus's football coach, Dave Dunn. We first met last year when we came to chat about Fernando Mendoza, Indiana's breakout quarterback, a Heisman winner who played for Dunn.

GINGRAS: Last time I saw you, wait, Fernando hadn't yet won the Heisman, I.U. hadn't yet won the Big Ten, they certainly weren't playing for a national championship.

DUNN: Yes.

GINGRAS: What arise?

DUNN: Yes.

GINGRAS: What do you think?

DUNN: It has been an unbelievable month.

GINGRAS (voice-over): A fairy tale season that will be capped off when Fernando and his brother, Alberto, his backup quarterback at I.U., return home to take on Miami.

[17:35:00]

They'll face friends. Three high school teammates play for the Hurricanes. Miami's head coach, Mario Cristobal, and assistant coach, Alex Mirabal, round out all Columbus High alumni who will be on the field.

DUNN: I coached with Coach Mirabal here. He was an offensive line coach here at Columbus. And Coach Cristobal's nephew is on our staff. And his two sons are on our team. All five players played for me here.

GINGRAS: What is it just feels like coach?

DUNN: It's like a proud father moment, almost. How many times may I get a chance to see seven of our people compete for a national championship in our backyard?

GINGRAS: Are you getting text messages from friends saying, hey, coach, you should brush your shoulders off? This is pretty cool, that you got these many players playing in a national championship game.

DUNN: A few of those, but probably more ticket requests. I've gotten more of those than I have accolades. But it goes with the territory. JOHN LYNSKEY, AMBASSADOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS, CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

HIGH SCHOOL: Let's go way back.

GINGRAS: Yes.

LYNSKEY: This is 1986 and 1987 school year.

GINGRAS (voice-over): The connections to this school run even deeper. The Mendoza brothers' dad also played football at Columbus alongside Mario Cristobal.

LYNSKEY: Fernando was an offensive lineman. And there's Mario Cristobal leading the team onto the field.

MARIO CRISTOBAL, HEAD COACH, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: It's always special when you get to play against with or against guys that you know or knew growing up.

LYNSKEY: This is Halley's Comet.

GINGRAS: Yes.

LYNSKEY: This will never happen again. A Heisman trophy winner from Columbus High School playing his hometown university, which he was a fan of, coached by two guys who played with his father in high school, and the game is in Miami. Figure that.

GINGRAS: What makes this school so special?

LYNSKEY: It becomes part of your DNA. And I think it is passed on from generation to generation.

GINGRAS: So, do you cheer for the person that thanks you in their Heisman speech or do you cheer for this side where you are friends with the coaches and you coach some of those players?

DUNN: It's like trying to pick your favorite kid. It's not an easy question to answer. So, I'm just -- I'm there to root both everybody, both teams on.

GINGRAS: Do you have a shirt that's like split in half?

DUNN: No, I don't yet. If someone is asking, what color you're wearing, red or green? I go more in blue.

GINGRAS: Come Monday night, this entire football field is going to be transformed into a giant watch party. And whether it be Mendoza and I.U. or the University of Miami who comes out on top, this school says it does not matter. It is a win-win situation for them. It's going to be a great game.

In Miami, Brynn Gingras, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, Brynn, for that. Yes, lots of excitement on the college level and to the NFL level because at the end of today, the NFL playoffs will be down to the final four teams battling for the Super Bowl. On Saturday, the Denver Broncos advanced to the AFC Championship Game after an overtime win over the Bills. But the win was bittersweet as the Broncos lost starting quarterback Bo Nix for the rest of the season because of a broken bone in his foot.

And the Seattle Seahawks advance to the NFC Championship after blowing out the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams are now awaiting today's winners to see who they will face off against to advance to the Super Bowl. Boy, there's a lot of excitement there.

Joining me right now to talk more about the NFL playoffs is Dorin Dickerson. He's the co-host of "The Fan Morning Show" on 93.7 in Pittsburgh. He's also a former NFL player, most notably with the Detroit Lions. Dorin, great to see you.

DORIN DICKERSON, SPORTS TALK SHOW CO-HOST, FORMER NFL PLAYER: Great to see you, too. Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: Wonderful.

DICKERSON: Yes, the NFL playoffs are exciting right now.

WHITFIELD: It is really exciting. So, there's a lot to kind of look at here. So, let's start with the Broncos, their win. Sorry, you know, to you as a former member of the Bills with your team losing. But the Broncos lost their starting quarterback. I mean, how do you think the Broncos, you know, without Bo Nix, will impact their chances in the AFC Championship Game?

DICKERSON: Well, Bo Nix, I mean, he's a very good young player. He proved that last year when he was a rookie. And they are going to miss him. But you do have a veteran in the back as a backup in Jarrett Stidham. And knowing Sean Payton and knowing his offense and how he is just so quarterback friendly, I think Jarrett Stidham will go in there and give them a shot. And that's all you could ask for in a championship game, an AFC Championship Game.

I mean, obviously, right now, the Texans and the Patriots are playing. So, they'll figure out who they're going to play. But I think Jarrett Stidham will give them at least a good opportunity to see if they can make it to a Super Bowl, which would be pretty cool to see.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And more on that Texans-Patriots game, you've been with both those teams, so maybe it's kind of tough for you to -- you know, who are you pulling for. But, you know, the winner faces the Broncos, as you just said. And right now, it's a wintery mess in Foxborough, where I understand there are at least eight turnovers already. So, that's pretty crazy. What are your thoughts?

DICKERSON: Oh, yes. I mean, C.J. Stroud -- obviously, I'm here at Pittsburgh, so I got to see C.J. Stroud play last week against the Steelers. They ended up beating the Steelers. But their defense is the reason why they advanced to this game today. But C.J. Stroud did not have a good game last week. He's not having a good game right now. We'll see how -- if he could pull it out. But Drake Maye, he's an MVP candidate and, you know, he's having a great year.

[17:40:01]

So, the Patriots, they're on to something this year.

WHITFIELD: Wow! All right, the Seattle Seahawks, they took out the San Francisco 49ers. So, the Seahawks clinched their spot in the NFC Championship. Seattle takes on either the Los Angeles Rams or the Chicago Bears, who will play later on tonight. Who do you like in that matchup?

DICKERSON: I got to go with my former teammate, Matthew Stafford. He has already won a Super Bowl with the Rams. And I do like what the Bears are doing. I like Caleb Williams. I like Ben Johnson, first year head coach of the Bears. There's a lot of excitement in Chicago knowing that they have these opportunities now in the young explosive football team.

But Matthew Stafford, he has been there before, he's a veteran, he's probably going to be a Hall of Famer. I think that Matthew Stafford is on to something this year with Puka Nacua. Davante Adams, he has a good and nice plethora of receivers and skilled players to throw the ball to. It's going to be another exciting game tonight to cap off to see who's going to make it to the AFC and NFC championship games.

WHITFIELD: Yes. So, you know, what you like about this playoff season and how does it kind of set up expectations for this year's Super Bowl, in your view?

DICKERSON: Well, it's crazy because I'm a big Patrick Mahomes fan. I really am. But it is different this year because he is not in the playoffs. He's always that kind of like, you know, that boogie man. If he's rolling, he always expects the Chiefs, you know, to make it. So, him not being in the playoffs this year, it gives, you know, other teams like the Patriots, like the Texans, like, you know, the Seattle Seahawks on the other side, too, them opportunities to really see if they can win a championship this year.

So, that's the difference for me, is no Patrick Mahomes, and it's kind of crazy that he's not, you know --

WHITFIELD: It is strange.

DICKERSON: -- he's kind of at home and obviously nursing the need.

WHITFIELD: Wow! You want to roll the dice? Who do you see in the Super Bowl?

DICKERSON: I got it -- I got it -- I got it going by me and Matthew Stafford again. I think it's going to be Matthew Stafford. I think it's going to be the New England Patriots who are playing right now, as we talked about before, against the Texans.

WHITFIELD: Exciting stuff. We'll have you back. Dorin Dickerson, thanks so much.

DICKERSON: Thank you. Appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: All right, up next, my sit-down interview with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s daughter, Bernice King. Why she says her father's teachings still matter today and how they can help America deal with all these divisions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, beautiful sunset in the nation's capital. This holiday weekend, the nation is paying homage to civil rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Across the country, people are recognizing King in a number of ways, from volunteering to reflecting on his commitment to the nonviolent fight for human rights and dignity. The holiday was first celebrated in 1986 after being signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.

I spoke with King's daughter, Bernice King, about her father's legacy and the importance of his teachings today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Reverend Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. and CEO of the King Center, welcome to the house that Ted Turner built here in your hometown of Atlanta.

KING: Yes. Thank you so much. Glad to be here.

WHITFIELD: How are you?

KING: I'm doing good.

WHITFIELD: This weekend would be your dad's 97th birthday. How are you hoping this nation will recognize his legacy, celebrate his birthday, and acknowledge this holiday?

KING: Well, I mean, traditionally, people do a lot of acts of service on the King holiday, which I think is a good thing. It's important that we continue to do that. But I think it's also important that we really lean closer into my father and his teachings.

My message is we need to really study Dr. King and his teachings because there are some things in there that can make us better humans, because right now, we need to be operating from our better angels, and we need a large force of that at this time because there's a lot of very dark and evil and mean-spirited and unkind things happening in our nation. It seems like we're losing a bit of our humanity. And I th00ink Dr. King provides a roadmap for how we can learn how to live together as brothers and sisters.

WHITFIELD: What are some of those teachings that you think people need to be reminded of? KING: First and foremost, at the core of his nonviolence philosophy and methodology is this respect for the inherent dignity and worth of every person. Maybe we never had it, but we need to find it because it's very important that we honor the dignity of every person.

So even if, for instance, an ICE agent has to carry out their role and function, they do it by honoring that person's dignity. There's a way to have to enforce a law without stripping people and violating them of that dignity.

The fact that part of bringing about transformation and change is a willingness to not retaliate, you know, when things are happening, which is very hard. They were very disciplined in the movement. The people literally were trained to face people spitting on them, perhaps pulling their hair. They literally went to training sessions.

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What do you do? Now, personally, you know, you want to respond or defend yourself. But when you're in a movement, when you're trying to get to an outcome of justice, then there's a part of you that has to say, I'm willing for the greater cause to endure this suffering and not retaliate because we are trying to get to a certain outcome.

WHITFIELD: We saw that in Martin Luther King, Jr., in your dad, in John Lewis, in Reverend Andrew Young. I mean, countless others whose approach was non-violence but, of course, they were met, you know, with personal, physical blows, all in the face of protesting for civil rights and human rights.

Yet despite those blows and enduring that kind of physical response, they did succeed in a variety of ways. They were able to promote change and even legislation.

So, I'm wondering, as you look at the climate today in America, are you concerned or worried that nonviolent protests don't have the leverage that it once did?

KING: I don't think we've learned to properly use it. You know, daddy taught it as creating -- as creative tension that you use when negotiation fails, when there's no room to sit at a table and work things out and get to, you know, a greater good, to get to adjust the outcome.

When you can't get to that table or you're at that table and people walk away or they make promises and they don't fulfill those things, then you have to, you know, increase the pressure on the situation. And that's where all of this direct action comes into play.

And there's a strategy with it. I think what's missing today is there's no strategy. I think there's passion and deep concern about what's happening in our nation. It's very inhumane, and unjust things are happening. And we can't just sit back and just let it happen. We do have to respond. We do have to make sure that we shine a light. But, at some point, there have to be plans and strategies thought through. Now, what outcome do we want to get to? The avenues to getting to change is much more difficult because back then, they had pieces and parts of a federal government who had an opening to the cause. Their conscience was pricked. That's why nonviolence is so important and why you have to maintain it. Because what happens is if you start using any kind of violence, it gives the conscience an excuse to still opt out.

WHITFIELD: Particularly during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. There was an ear.

KING: There was an ear.

WHITFIELD: There was an ear for that.

KING: There was an open door.

WHITFIELD: In Minnesota today, you've got prosecutors who have quit because the Trump White House wants to focus on the woman the ICE agent killed, Renee Good, and her spouse. What are you seeing happening here?

KING: Does that really surprise any of us with this current administration? I mean, if I might flip the script, you know, ICE needs to come through our nonviolence training. I think you have -- when you have power, you don't have to overexert yourself. So, non- violence training gives you the discipline to carry out whatever it is you're trying to carry out with respect for the individual, the respect that you would want if you were in the same shoes.

WHITFIELD: What does this say about America today? How would you characterize the climate of America?

KING: We've kind of lost our soul. We have lost our soul. And, again, in order to regain that soul, I think we need to lean deeply into Dr. King and pull from his blueprint, learn from his ways. I think that's very important.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And our thanks again to Reverend Bernice King for sharing her thoughts and memories with us this weekend. And we'll be right back.

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WHITFIELD: All right, some good news for millions of student loan borrowers who are struggling to make their monthly payments. The Education Department has put a temporary pause on plans to garnish wages. The agency did not say how long this delay would remain in place. The planned agency overhaul is expected to cut down the number of plans available to borrowers and add a new income-driven option that wipes away unpaid interest for people who make on-time payments. Borrowers in default will also get a second chance to restart their loans before collections restart.

All right, YouTube is introducing new parental controls aimed at limiting endless scrolling by teens. Parents can cap how much screen time their teens get. Parents can also set custom bedtimes and take a break reminders.

And you can soon catch up on the latest news with a different kind of news team. Roy Wood Jr., Amber Ruffin, and Michael Ian Black are back with their comedic take on the week's headlines.

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The new season of "Have I Got News for You" premieres January 24th at 9 p.m. right here on CNN and next day on the CNN app.

And thank you so much for being with me this weekend. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.