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29 States With Weather Advisories, Watches And Warnings Across The U.S.; Final Epstein Files Released; Federal Judge Says Operation Metro Surge Can Continue In Minnesota; Russia Says It Agreed Pause Certain Kyiv Strikes at Trump's Request; Trump Picks Wall Street Veteran Kevin Warsh To Succeed Fed Chair; Gold Price Falls After Warsh Announced As Pick To Succeed Powell; Many Americans Trimming Budget For Trips. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 31, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:26]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez, sitting in for Fredricka Whitfield.

A lot of news to get to, but we're going to start this hour with the latest developments on a monster bomb cyclone really hitting the southeast and Mid-Atlantic hard this weekend. Right now, more than 27 million people are under winter weather alerts as heavy snow, winds and coastal flooding hit the region.

I mean, earlier today a semi-truck collided with a train on the tracks in snowy conditions in North Carolina. You see some of the aftermath here. The Gastonia Police Department says the driver was able to escape before the impact and that there weren't any injuries. But obviously a lot of concern here, especially as many cities are still recovering from last weekend's storm that killed more than 100 people, according to the Associated Press.

CNN is covering the developments from multiple fronts and locations. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in Virginia Beach and CNN national correspondent Dianne Gallagher in a snowy Charlotte, North Carolina.

Dianne, can you just tell us how much snow have you gotten there to this point? I mean, clearly a lot. And just what are you seeing on the ground there?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Omar, to give you an idea of just how much snow we have, my photojournalist Andy Buck, who is from Colorado, lived in New York for a long time, after we just finished last hour, we got in the car and he said, wow, this is a lot of snow.

We are looking at numbers they haven't seen in more than 20 years here in Charlotte. And look, I want to give you an idea. I'm going to bring out the dare to keep kids off drugs ruler, because that's all I can find in my house. My husband since sixth grade apparently. We here are up to eight inches out here Cordelia Park in Charlotte, North Carolina, kind of in the NoDa Villa Heights neighborhood. The big concern has been the roads. And you talked about that there in

Gastonia. That's to the west of us. North Carolina Highway Patrol says that more than 340 collisions have been reported to them, and that is just from midnight to noon today. And we've seen the snow pick up here in these afternoon hours. I've also, unfortunately, seen more cars driving on the roads here in Charlotte in the past hour or so than we had all during the morning hours.

The big concern is not just the snow and the lack of visibility when the wind starts kicking up, but it's the fact that we've had ice on these roads, especially in some areas that haven't been able to melt down since last weekend when that ice storm came through. And so side streets, neighborhood roads, any sort of shady area already had ice that had been melting and refreezing for a week now.

We have the snow on top of it. It remains extremely cold here and will for the next several days. And so not just in Charlotte, but parts of Western North Carolina, Eastern North Carolina, out to the coast where they're dealing with those intense winds and potential flooding as well. The cold temperatures, the water, the snow, the ice from last week, they are very concerned about what that means for the roads, not just today and tomorrow, but maybe even extending into parts of next week.

The state has put about 5500 tons of salt down already as of this morning. They treated the roads with a brine substance. More than two and a half million gallons of that before the snow began, which basically lowers the temperature at which it can freeze on pavement to about 18 degrees. But we've been getting down there, so they do want people to be careful. Again, we've been out here all day at Cordelia Park, where people are enjoying themselves, basically picking up anything they can to get down this hill on a sled.

We have seen it all. Air mattresses, pool floats. We've seen pizza boxes in plastic bags. And of course, storage bins and cookie sheets.

Omar, I know you wish you were out here with me even though it's really cold.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

GALLAGHER: What would you try to sled with that you have in your house to go down? Because most people don't have sleds here. So what would you use?

JIMENEZ: I was going to say that baking sheet, I've never tried that. That actually, that probably gets some good speed. Looking down at that hill that would work for me. That would work for me. And I don't know if I could compete with you.

GALLAGHER: Yes, he was a lot faster.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Dianne --

GALLAGHER: I don't think -- notice I'm not doing that this hour.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Stay warm out there. Stay safe. It looks beautiful, but obviously still some risks, too.

GALLAGHER: Yes.

JIMENEZ: That's why I want to bring in Derek Van Dam, who is over in Virginia Beach for us right now.

You showed us a frozen fountain earlier, but obviously, you're tracking a lot of these conditions, not just in Virginia Beach, but across the region as well. How are conditions where you are right now and what is in store for people today?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Cold, cold. It's brutally cold here, Omar.

[16:05:03]

I was listening to Dianne's live hit there and a sun visor works very well for all of us, snow starved southeast residents. Right? When you're in Virginia Beach, you think, hey, I'm going to be sipping cocktails poolside, summer, beach, warm. Not today.

I want to show you this. Look at this. Palm trees bending over because of an impending winter storm. We are waiting for those giant snowflakes that Dianne is already experiencing. We haven't quite gotten there yet. It's just offshore. But I do want to show you what's responsible for this winter storm and why it's called a bomb cyclone, OK.

So we're going to take us through these this gate here. By the way, it's so cold here at Virginia Beach that the sand has actually frozen solid. So sand retains moisture really easily. And so it's actually not the sand that is frozen. It's the moisture in between the sand particles that freezes and creates this hard surface that I'm standing on right now.

But here's a deserted Virginia Beach, Chesapeake Bay, just up there, and the winds coming in from the north. Get this, will gust tropical storm force later tonight and into tomorrow morning. And if we get those snow bands which we are just patiently waiting for, the whiteout conditions will ensue. The roads will go downhill, and we will have the troubles that they are seeing in the other parts of North Carolina, into South Carolina and even parts of Georgia as well.

But it's this cold Arctic air that has got us really concerned because the storm from last week really set the stage. It was a curtain raiser for the cold blast, but now this reinforcing shot of cold air has hard freeze warnings going as far south as the Miami metropolitan area. I mean, that's mind boggling. This is -- it hasn't been that cold since 2010 in that part of Florida. There's even cold alerts in the upper Florida Keys. I mean, what is that, right?

We think this area is warm and pleasant, but right now we're bracing for impact because we have the potential to see these nor'easter winds that will pick up and coincide with a high tide cycle on Sunday morning that could push up the angry ocean that you see behind me and cause coastal flooding and coastal erosion. We've already seen some semblance of coastal -- minor coastal erosion from the low tide cycle from earlier this morning.

But tomorrow morning at 7:06 to be exact here in Virginia Beach, the closest passage of this winter storm, and then the high tide, watch out. That could mean business here, Omar.

JIMENEZ: I'm a beach guy, Derek. Love getting my toes in the sand. I'm not going putting my toes in that sand.

VAN DAM: (INAUDIBLE).

JIMENEZ: Derek Van Dam, yes. Appreciate it.

All right. Also, today we are learning a lot more about what's inside the Justice Department's release of millions of files related to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, including brand new photos appearing to show former Prince Andrew.

I want to bring in CNN senior reporter Marshall Cohen. He and his team have been combing through this latest batch of files.

Marshall, can you just tell us more about these photos? But also, what else is in yesterday's document drop that stood out to you?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, big picture. This was by far the biggest drop we've seen, about 3.5 million pages of material. There were also more than 182,000 images and videos. Some of those images, of course, included Prince Andrew.

The Justice Department says this is the final batch that they have, and now they are fully compliant with the transparency law that Congress passed last year with near unanimous support, which, of course, is what forced all of these disclosures.

So what did we learn? Well, according to our review, President Donald Trump was mentioned more than 1,000 times in these documents. Remember, we've known for years that Trump was close friends with Jeffrey Epstein in the '80s and '90s before Epstein's conviction on state sex crime charges. But these documents added a lot of new details.

We saw notes from an FBI interview in 2021 where one of Epstein's victims said that his longtime accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, actually brought her to a party in New York and, quote, "presented her to Trump." And later Maxwell made clear that that woman was, quote, "available." The woman did tell the FBI that nothing ever happened between her and Trump.

There was also a spreadsheet that we saw yesterday for the first time that the FBI apparently put together just last year, and that spreadsheet contained uncorroborated and unverified sexual assault allegations against Trump. Let me be totally crystal clear that Trump said that he cut ties with Epstein in the mid-2000s. He denies wrongdoing, and he has never been accused by law enforcement of any involvement in any of Epstein's offenses.

But he wasn't the only person in these files. Other prominent figures were coming up left and right. E-mails showed that the tech billionaire Elon Musk tried coordinating with Epstein to visit him in the Virgin Islands. Other messages showed that Howard Lutnick, who is now the Commerce secretary, planned meetings with Epstein long after he claimed that they had stopped speaking with each other.

[16:10:09]

And there were those new pictures of the former Prince Andrew. One of the images had him on all fours, leaning above a woman who herself was lying on the floor. Very bizarre. And all of these men deny wrongdoing.

And Omar, none of them have been accused by the authorities of any crimes.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And how is the Trump administration responding to the revelations at this point?

COHEN: Well, they are pushing back against some of their critics on Capitol Hill and some of the survivors who claim that this is way too redacted, way too much was withheld. And they are taking umbrage at the idea that they used their power over those redactions to shield their boss, Donald Trump.

Listen to what the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: I can assure that we complied with the statute. We complied with the act, and there is no -- we did not protect President Trump. We didn't protect or not protect anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Omar, they say this is a done deal. They've put everything out. They want to put this behind them. But we've already seen in the last 24 hours some lawmakers and some of those survivors of the sexual abuse, saying that they are still not satisfied with what they're seeing and they're not going to give up the fight.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Marshall Cohen, appreciate you staying on it. And thank you for the reporting.

We're also following breaking news on a significant court ruling out of Texas. A federal judge has ordered the release of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father. We'll have the details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:16:19]

JIMENEZ: We're following breaking news just in to CNN. A federal judge has ordered the release of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. Now the preschooler and his dad were taken away by federal agents during the recent immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. They've been held in detention in Texas for more than a week now.

The judge ordered them released, quote, "as soon as practicable" and no later than Tuesday as their immigration case proceeds through the court system. So we'll keep you updated on that.

Also today, a federal judge ruled that the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, as it's been dubbed Operation Metro Surge, can continue. The ruling came as a lawsuit filed by Minnesota, St. Paul and Minneapolis also continues. The suit calls the federal immigration enforcement operation a federal invasion involving warrantless arrests and excessive force.

Now, this decision also follows weeks of escalating tensions and protests over the shooting deaths of Minneapolis residents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal agents.

CNN's Julia Benbrook joins me live from the White House now.

So, Julia, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem commented in the last hour about the federal judge's ruling. What can you tell us?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so we know that, as you detailed, a judge ruled that Operation Metro Surge can continue while this lawsuit plays out. And Kristi Noem is praising that decision. Now, the operation, which is said to target undocumented Somali immigrants there, has led to weeks of escalating tensions on the ground and frustrations between city officials and the federal government.

Minnesota and the Twin Cities sued federal officials, calling this immigration enforcement there a federal invasion, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, he reacted to this judge's ruling in a statement saying this. He said, quote, "Of course we're disappointed. This decision doesn't change what people have lived through, fear, disruption and harm caused by a federal operation that never belonged in Minneapolis in the first place. This operation has not brought public safety. It's brought the opposite and has detracted from the order that we need for a working city. It's an invasion and it needs to stop."

The city has made it clear that they will continue to pursue this lawsuit. Now, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, she was asked about this during a press conference that took place just a little while ago, and she made it clear that she is happy with this ruling and that operations will continue. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: And we're grateful when a court sees that the right thing has been done. We'll continue to focus on getting dangerous criminals, murderers and rapists and drug traffickers out of this country and bringing them to justice. We're going to continue to try to work with the local law enforcement and the leadership in Minnesota to do that, to make that community safer.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BENBROOK: And then also, in a statement to CNN earlier today, DHS said that this was a win for public safety.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, President Trump is defending the job that Kristi Noem is doing in Minnesota. Obviously, she's faced a lot of criticism in particular for how she characterized the shooting and killing of Alex Pretti. But President Trump still defending the job she's doing. What is he saying?

BENBROOK: Yes, those comments that she made before the investigations really even took off have received a lot of scrutiny. And there are calls even on Capitol Hill among Democrats and some Republicans, that she should no longer be in this role.

[16:20:03]

But as you mentioned, President Donald Trump, at least for right now, is defending his Homeland Security secretary. In a post that he made late last night, he said this. He said, "The radical left lunatics, insurrectionists, agitators and thugs are going after Kristi Noem, the secretary of Homeland Security, because she is a woman and has done a really great job."

He went on in that post to say, "I was elected on strong borders and law and order, among many other things. Thank you to Secretary Kristi Noem." Now, unless Trump fires her, which, by his own words there does not seem to be the plan at this point, the members on Capitol Hill, some of them are calling for a vote on impeachment. We will, of course, be tracking that.

And then, Omar, I believe we have this to pull up for you now, just within the last few moments, Trump took to social media with his most recent call for Noem. He said this. He said, "I have instructed Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that under no circumstances are we going to participate in various poorly run Democrat cities with regard to their protests and riots, unless and until they ask for help. We will, however, guard and very powerfully so any and all federal buildings that are being attacked by these highly paid lunatics, agitators and insurrectionists. Please be aware that I have instructed ICE and-or Border Patrol to be very forceful in the protection of federal government property."

So we have reached out for the White House asking for some clarification there. But in that he is calling on Noem specifically, showing that he is still working with her, to move forward with these efforts on the ground.

JIMENEZ: Julia Benbrook, appreciate the reporting.

Also new today, Ukrainians are bracing to see if a limited pause on Russian strikes will hold for the entire weekend. A Kremlin spokesperson said Trump made the request for a hold and Russia agreed.

As CNN's Salma Abdelaziz explains, this pause was meant to set the table for new talks between Russia, the United States and Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is extremely limited in scope and scale, but this truce is a sign of progress for mediators who have been desperate to broker any kind of de-escalation efforts. Past attempts have failed, but now, at President Trump's request, Russia has halted attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

Now, Russia has continued to carry out other attacks across the country with drones, with ballistic missiles, particularly in frontline regions. So civilians in Ukraine do continue to suffer. But for negotiators who are trying to push these peace talks forward, this will be a foundation, a groundwork that they can build upon.

Where are those peace talks now? There should have been trilateral talks taking place in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. We have now heard from President Zelenskyy that those are likely to be moved or rescheduled because of the U.S.'s focus on Iran.

Now, where are those peace talks currently? Well, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that there is only one outstanding issue, territorial control of Donetsk. But Russia has poured cold water on that, saying there are many more outstanding issues on the table that need to be resolved. It has also confirmed that it did stop energy infrastructure strikes, but described it as a response to President Trump's personal request rather than calling it a truce.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right. Thank you for that reporting.

We got a whole lot coming up, including, still to come, our weekly conversation on your money. Up first this week, a deep dive on President Trump's new Fed chair choice and what his track record could mean for you. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:18:17]

JIMENEZ: Now we've had a lot of news this week. One of the biggest news stories this week that you may have missed if you weren't paying attention, President Trump's pick for the chairman of the Federal Reserve. He says he's nominating Wall Street veteran Kevin Warsh when Jerome Powell's term ends in May.

Now, the president has been openly attacking Powell, accusing him of not lowering interest rates aggressively enough. So I just want to talk about this, a lot to talk about here. I want to bring in John Tamny. He's the president of the Parkview Institute and the author of the book "The Deficit Delusion." Also, Martha Gimbel, executive director at the Budget Lab, and Rick Newman, the author of the "Rick Report" newsletter and a former Yahoo finance columnist.

Good to have all of you with us. John, I want to start with you. Can you give us the breakdown of why

the choice of Fed chair actually matters to all of us?

JOHN TAMNY, PRESIDENT, PARKVIEW INSTITUTE: Well, I think you can find why it doesn't matter as much as people think in all the commentary of the last few weeks. President Trump has asked for a 10 percent cap on credit cards, credit card interest rates, and the response from left to right has been he can't decree that. If in fact he does, credit cards will be scarce and so will credit.

Well, look at the Fed the same way. Kevin Warsh no doubt promised him, President Trump, that he would be easy on rates, that he would bring them down, that he would push the rate down. But the reality is that markets always speak. The Fed is not immune from the truth that when you impose price controls and you put on artificial price controls, scarcity is the result. So I think people vastly overstate the meaning of this one way or the other.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, Martha, just to that point, I mean, how much is policy likely to change if we see Warsh actually assume the job?

MARTHA GIMBEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE BUDGET LAB: I think it's a little bit unclear right now.

[16:30:10]

JIMENEZ: Yes.

GIMBEL: You know, if you look at Kevin Warsh's record, he's been thought of as a real hard money guy. He's going to raise interest rates. He'll fight inflation. That's not where his recent statements have been.

And so, I think if you've been reading the news and you've been kind of confused about what to expect from this, frankly, I think that's because a lot of people who watch the Fed really closely are a little bit confused right now. We're not exactly sure what his plan is and how he's going to think about things.

JIMENEZ: Yes. You know -- you know, Rick, when President Trump has criticized current Fed Chair Jerome Powell in trying to influence to lower rates. You know, a lot of the concern was about the Fed should be operating independently and should consider all factors, but shouldn't just bend to the will of an executive. And I just -- can you just explain why is it important when you announce a new chair to send the right signal with the Fed chair? And just what is the right signal?

RICK NEWMAN, AUTHOR, THE ROCK REPORT NEWSLETTER: The right signal is that the Fed is going to be able to do its job without interference from the White House. And this is one instance where I think we actually got very good news. Kevin Warsh, you can argue is he too much of a hawk, too much of a dove, but I think the most important thing is he's not a kook.

He will get confirmed by the Senate, assuming there are no skeletons in his closet, and he's probably going to be a fairly orthodox Federal Reserve president. And for ordinary people. Ordinary people should not have to worry about the Federal Reserve at all. It should not be anything that ever crosses their radar.

It matters a lot to investors. Investors need to know there's a steady hand, especially if we get into something like a crisis. And remember, it's not a dictatorship over there. The chair does not call all the shots.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

NEWMAN: It's -- there are 12 people who vote. And I think we're going to -- I think we'll see a normal Federal Reserve for the time Kevin Warsh is there for the next four and a half years.

JIMENEZ: All right. Hey, predicting a normal news cycle in any way, you know, you're a brave man. Wait. Martha -- before we go to commercial. Martha, you were about to say something.

GIMBEL: I think you saw why this matters in the 1970s, when Arthur Burns, who was the Federal Reserve chair at the time, did come under a huge amount of political pressure from President Nixon. Nowhere near what President Trump has been trying to do, but still political pressure. And that massively contributed to the stagflation problems at the time.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

GIMBEL: So, if you're knowing what you should be worried about, think about the 1970s.

JIMENEZ: Cool. All right, everybody, stick with us. Just getting started. We're going to take a quick break. Next, I just want to talk about what may be the hottest investing topic right now, going it's old, its new, gold and silver, and what its volatility might have to do with Trump's next pick for Fed chair. We'll be right back

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:37:34]

JIMENEZ: President Trump's pick to be the next Federal Reserve chair is already seeming to have an impact for some investors. Less than a week ago, for example, gold surged past $5,000 an ounce for the first time ever. On Friday, gold and silver saw massive sell offs, and both came right after Trump's announcement Friday morning. I want to bring back the panel.

Rick, I just want to start with you. Our gold and silver still being seen as sort of safe haven investments, especially for non-cash assets. How are you interpreting the volatility we've seen?

NEWMAN: I think there's a lot going on. I'm not sure the sell-off on Friday really had anything to do with Kevin Warsh being announced as the next Fed chair. Gold just hit the stratosphere, and it could have just been some profit taking people saying, wow, I never thought it would go this high.

But one thing that's happening, and this is important, is some investors are buying gold because they're worried. They think somethings wrong in the global financial system. The dollar has been weakening. Its weaker than it has been historically.

They're looking at Trump's tariffs. They don't like what they see there. They're looking at the massive amount of federal debt in the United States and thinking maybe were starting to enter a debt crisis. And some of those people are buying gold.

That doesn't mean they're right. But there are a lot of worries. And I think a third thing that's going on is some people are just saying this is a trendy trade, kind of like a meme stock. I want to get in and get catch some of this momentum.

JIMENEZ: And, John, you know, for everyday investors out there, obviously, you know, inflation is -- has been a concern in years. But more just -- more so just about can gold and silver be a good hedge against inflation? How should everyday investors sort of be looking at this category?

TAMNY: Well, they're the ultimate hedge because ask yourself why gold has always been used as money for hundreds, and realistically thousands of years. Gold is the constant. It doesn't move the currencies in which it's priced move. And so, when you see gold hitting $5300 last week, that is a sign not of gold becoming more expensive, but the dollar cheapening.

President Trump has made clear, going back to his first term, he wants a weak dollar. Gold has performed very well during both of his presidencies precisely because of that. You throw in tariffs, which are another signal from the administration we want a cheaper dollar.

And you see this. This is a very dangerous thing. The gold price is the inflation. Prices may be eventually reflect this, but this is the shrinking of the dollar. And so, for President Trump to be talking about how inflation is way down, he and his voters and the base -- and voters in general are in for a rude awakening.

[16:40:15]

JIMENEZ: You know, Martha, sometimes, you know, in investment circles or investment conversations, you know, there's always talk about non- cash assets. In this case, we're talking gold and silver. Obviously, crypto has been talked about in various forums over recent years.

But as we look at the volatility in gold and silver, crypto or Bitcoin in particular was in like a nosedive yesterday. Do you see any connection between -- again, they're both non-cash assets, but very different. Do you see any connection between the two? And is it tied to any of the factors that everybody's talking about here?

GIMBEL: Look, I mean, Bitcoin has always behaved a little bit more like a tech meme stock than a --

JIMENEZ: Yes, yes.

GIMBEL: -- that the people run to. I want to go back to the first point in this question about uncertainty. You know, I do think the rise in gold and silver, there's a lot going on there. But I do think that this is part of what people are talking about, not sell America, but hedge America.

We've had a huge increase in uncertainty. You know, my team did research last year at the Budget Lab about how that can really hurt returns if you have an increase in political uncertainty, and people are just looking at what's going on in the United States right now, the president saying he doesn't care if the dollar gets weaker, and they're thinking, we just don't know what to do with this. It's time to hedge. And when you're moving funds around like that, you can create a lot of volatility and a lot of weirdness and things like gold and silver.

JIMENEZ: And you know, John, I know you were talking about gold sort of being you know -- I mean, it has been the constant for centuries, we know, even further than that likely to this point. So, I mean, just from a practical standpoint, should people just be going and buying some gold right now if they get a little extra from their tax return?

TAMNY: You could do worse. If you -- look at gold versus the S&P in the 21st century. I mean, it's got to be remembered. This didn't begin with President Trump.

JIMENEZ: Sure.

TAMNY: It began with President Bush. Under Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, gold was very low. The dollar was strong. They both made a strong dollar. Part of their economic policy.

And I think you could see the booming economies in both as evidence of that. It made investment a safe thing to do rather than putting money in a coffee can, which is what buying gold is. Ever since George W. Bush, the dollar has been in decline, and so gold has become a more attractive asset.

And the question has got to be asked, what about all the economic growth that is not taking place in the 21st Century? As people quite literally, when you buy gold, you're buying wealth that already exists. So, you're basically putting money under a mattress or again, in a coffee can.

So, you could consider -- continue to do this. President Trump has made clear he likes a weak dollar. It's so unfortunate it will weaken his economy. It always weakens the economies of presidents. But this is what he believes.

JIMENEZ: Everyone, stay with us. We got to take a quick break. But still to come, can you afford to take a vacation this year? A lot of people complaining about getting burned out at work. The real question, can you afford not to take a vacation? We'll talk about all of it coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:48:05]

JIMENEZ: All right. A lot of the United States has been locked into this winter weather with a bomb cyclone hitting the East Coast today. If you're stuck in the -- in that winter weather, maybe you need a little vacation right now. We all need a little vacation. Maybe. A USA Today survey this week finds that just over half of those surveyed said they are cutting back on everyday spending to afford travel.

I want to bring back my panel to talk about this a little bit more. So, Rick, this survey suggests that half of Americans say travel is worth the everyday sacrifice. How are you reading this?

NEWMAN: Well, I went skiing during the storm last weekend. I drove, I stayed at a cheap hotel, and I brought my own beer to the ski lodge. So, I'm all for -- I'm all for it.

Great. I mean, it's great. I guess this -- I guess we learned a little better work life balance maybe during the pandemic. So, people realize they need to unwind.

I guess the economy can't be doing that bad, though, if people are still traveling. I will note that American Airlines reported earnings last week. And they said their strongest bookings were in first class and business class, not so much in economy. So, there are also some people who are splurging on travel.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And you know, your point about the pandemic, I think that experienced -- that experienced sort of travel experiential things seem to be -- to get much more value. Martha, you know, the survey also found that 24 percent of workers say they're struggling or burned out at their jobs. Do you think that's why people are putting more money toward travel instead of splurging in their normal day? How does that dynamic sort of affect the economics of how people spend money?

GIMBEL: I mean, travel is always a great restorative. I'm in D.C. It's been five degrees. I have been distracting myself with pictures of warm hotels on Instagram.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

GIMBEL: I will say, if you look at the real spending data that big boom in post-COVID travel spending, even adjusted for inflation that we saw, is starting to come back to normal. So, you know, this is kind of where people are right now. But if we're extrapolating forward, I don't know that were going to keep seeing these kind of big, booming travel numbers that to keep seeing.

That being said, you know, I will say just anecdotally, a friend of mine is a travel agent. And she says every year they say, all right, we have to be prepared. It can't keep up like this. And it does. So, we'll see what happens.

[16:50:28] JIMENEZ: Yes, You know, John, as people sort of, I guess, determine which parts of their wallets they want to use or which parts of their budgets they want to use to put toward travel. I mean, is there sort of a first set of expenses that goes in terms of trying to save for something larger? How do you assess people's spending priorities here?

TAMNY: Well, I think that Americans are in love with their work. And I think with A.I., they'll be in love with it even more, because it's going to remove so much of the awful aspects of it. And so, what I think is that this is -- of course, Americans are traveling more because so often they can travel now while keeping in touch with work, while doing their job.

And my guess is that in the future, you'll see even longer vacations. But people doing a lot more work while on vacation, not just -- not because they have to, but because they really enjoy it. So, my sense is that the trend and I think people -- the travel agents, are going to see this growing and growing and growing.

JIMENEZ: And, Rick, just to that point. I mean, coming out of the pandemic, obviously that was sort of the basis of a lot of the flexibility for work from home. Obviously, further investments in internet and that sort of infrastructure.

But I just wonder just to John's point, do you think that this is something that is going to continue? Not necessarily because people are enjoying their time off, but because they have the flexibility to be not stuck in five-degree weather all the time.

NEWMAN: It actually started with smartphones. Remember when you used to have to be in the office to send an e-mail and suddenly you could fake it? So, you know, we've got -- technology is working in our favor here.

I hope John's right in -- because another thing that people worry could happen is, A.I. just replaces all the -- all the jobs. Now, I don't think that's going to happen. It might happen to some extent.

But you know, we've got a little pushback from bosses. I mean, there are some companies who have said enough is enough. We want people back in the office. I hope the workers win this one. Because I think we're all better workers when we get to make a little bit more of our own schedule, and we can relax a little bit during the workday. So, let's hope this trend continues.

JIMENEZ: Amen to that. As I bid you all farewell from you all's home office setups, I'm here at the office.

NEWMAN: Right.

JIMENEZ: But I appreciate you three being on. Appreciate the insights, John Tamny.

NEWMAN: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Martha Gimbel, Rick Newman, appreciate you all. All right. CNN Hero Shirley Raines spent nearly a decade caring for thousands of people on Los Angeles' Skid Row. The founder of the nonprofit, "Beauty 2 the Streets," provided food, clothing, and beauty services to those in need. She passed away this week at the age of 58. CNN's Anderson Cooper remembers the activist who devoted her life to caring for the community.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHIRLEY RAINES, FOUNDER, BEAUTY 2 THE STREETS: Happy Saturday, King.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Shirley Raines was a force for good, vibrant, caring and passionate. For nearly a decade, Miss Shirley brought her unique brand of help to people living on Skid Row in Los Angeles.

RAINES: I'm so glad you're here.

COOPER (voice-over): She provided necessities like food and clothing and extras like hair care, makeup.

RAINES: You like that, Mama?

COOPER (voice-over): Even a chance to sing.

RAINES: That was Mickey on the mic. You guys give her a hand.

COOPER: She exuded joy, but her compassion came from her own struggles.

RAINES: After my son died, I fell apart. It was very hard.

COOPER (voice-over): She found her calling when she started volunteering on Skid Row.

RAINES: It's a community of broken people. I am broken just like them. The women started saying, oh, we love your hair. I thought, well, let me just start coming out here on my own.

This is pretty right here. I never wanted to leave. Yes, I have a lot of wigs. I'll save you one, Queen.

My dress is kings and queens because that is who they are. We want to make them feel beautiful.

COOPER (voice-over): And in 2021, she was named CNN Hero of the Year.

RAINES: I am a mother without a son. And there are a lot of people in the street that are without a mother. And I feel like it's a fair exchange.

I wanted to bring that recognition to the community. Good morning you all.

COOPER (voice-over): With more than six million followers on social media, she helped the public understand the people she served. RAINES: Instead of saying, hey, they're homeless because they're inebriated, how about, hey, they're inebriated because they're homeless?

COOPER (voice-over): Her mission expanded to Las Vegas, where she was at work as usual earlier this week. Her death at 58 announced on Wednesday, is mourned by many, including Lizzo, a friend and supporter.

LIZZO, AMERICAN SINGER & RAPPER: She overserved the underserved.

COOPER (voice-over): Shirley Raines's nonprofit hopes to continue her important efforts. She'll be remembered for inspiring people to see the real beauty in others.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know something about you.

RAINES: I know something about you, too. I don't do hero stuff. You know what I mean? I do human stuff. Look at you. Change can happen.

[16:55:28]

JIMENEZ: May she rest in peace. Thanks for joining me today. I'm Omar Jimenez. There's more CNN NEWSROOM with Jessica Dean straight ahead.

But tonight, Nimesh Patel, Tara Setmayer joins as guests on "Have I Got News For You." Tonight at 9:00 on CNN and next day on the CNN app. See you all.

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