the president says he is goingn earl to speak to manchin personally early next week. >> kayla tauschehould say kayla thank you so much tonight. >>> a major ruling today from the supreme court on the texas abortion law the court allowing the law to stay in effect for now but it also gave abortion th providers the greenlight to sue and challenge it the texas law bans most abortions after about six weeks into a pregnancy no exceptions for rape or incest here is nbc's justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: this is a modest victory for supporters of abortion rights and is the sba the law texas wanted to make impossible to challenge. allowing anyone to sue abortion providers that violate it. state officials don't enforce it so the question for the supreme court was, who can be sued the court ruled unanimously that challengers of the law cannot sue state court judges since they don't enforce anything. ruling 5-4 that challengers can't sue state court clerks or the texas attorney general either but it voted 8-1 that the challengers can sue members of the state medical board. that's

. >>> good morning, that's frightening, just me welcome to "squawk box" here on cnbc i'm not kayla tausche, but i will be soon i'll be with joe kernen. becky and andrew are off today looking at u.s. equity futures to start we'll have kayla when we get things squared away. stocks off to a strong week. you can see adding to some of the gains we saw yesterday dow jones indicated up 80 points for 2021 1% already and the -- yesterday and the s&p surging 1.4% to the record close the index is now up four days in a row for the first time since an eight-day winning streak back in early november. year-to-date the s&p is up 27.5%. if it ends up more than 28.8%, that willmark its best annual performance since way back in 2013 the nasdaq also coming off a banner day, closing up more than 1.3% that's the fourth positive day in a row for the nasdaq. but it's still around 2% below its all-time high. well, you would think treasury yields would be participating, but not really i'm talking about not the bonds, but the yields themselves, 1.47% at this point. can't even get above 1.5 i'm hearing some good news

first live to cnbc's senior white house correspondent kayla tausche on president biden's call to president zelensky kayla? >> reporter: shep, the 90-minute call by the white house described as warm, updated president zelensky on his call with russia and european allies and next steps to be taken from here in that call president biden expressed support for a diplomatic path to uphold ukraine sovereignty according to a senior administration official and reaffirmed u.s. security assistance which congress just increased to $300 million this year. biden told zelensky his messag to mr. putin was one nation can't force another nation to change its border. today the state department denying the u.s. pressured ukraine to give up russian-held territories. >> absolutely not. there have been absolutely no deals cut. there have been no concessions made, no such elements even discussed. >> reporter: while mr. biden has ruled out unilateral u.s. military force, today he spoke to nato's so-called eastern flank member, the arc of european countries closest to russia where the white house has pledged to bol

shep >> kayla tausche, thank you. >>> biden meets putin.ly warn the russian president vladimir putin about the very real costs if russia invades ukraine. that's according to a senior administration official. the high stakes call comes as russia amasses troops along the border w bo border with ukraine. satellite images show russian forces gathering at key strategic points so far russia has deployed nearly 100,000 combat troops along with tanks and artilleries. u.s. intelligence warns the kremlin could potentially ramp that up to 127,000 troops by next month "the washington post" reports president putin is expected to lay down an ultimatum for president biden tomorrow it's this, either guarantee that ukraine will never join the nato alliance or russia may indeed launch a military offensive against ukraine. today they went to the front lines to meet with ukrainian soldiers he said he's confident they can repel a russian invasion nbc's richard engel is on the ground in kiev, the capital of ukraine. >> reporter: maybe this is all an elaborate bl

biden expressed the view that ukraine is on the agenda ukraine is at the table shep. >> kayla tausche thank you. >>> a top ukrainian general outlined what he called his nightmare scenario he did it for "the new york times. and here it is he said he says the invasion could start with russian airstrikes and rocket attacks. targeting ammunition depots and troops in the trenches supply lines steroid military leadership incompass eighted. soldiers on the front lines left to fight alone until bullets run out. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel reports from the trenches of eastern ukraine. >> reporter: the front lines along ukraine's border with russia harken back to world war ii are even earlier miles of narrow paths flanked by land mines and trenches. muddy today, often frozen. these zgss. >> we'll get back to that report in just a moment first jussie smollet's entourage i'm told is walking out of the court now. we believe one of his lawyers is here we don't know were we'll see jussie smollet himself let's listen there at the courthouse this is actually right there is the pros

i'm kayla tausche in for sara eisen.gest winner in the s&p 500 today after announcing very strong guidance. we'll discuss that outlook in an interview with the company's ceo. you will not want to miss that plus, we'll get a read on the consumer, we are joined by the ceo of ebay. all of that coming up. but we have to talk about what just happened in the markets with the dow losing and then regaining about 100 points just in the last ten minutes of the session. josh brown still with us and mark lehman is the ceo a citizens company also joining the conversation, and earlier today during the fed's news conference chair powell was asked if he thought the fed was behind the curve on getting inflation under control. here's how he responded to that question >> i think that the data that we got toward the end of the fall was a really strong signal that inflation is more persistent and higher and that the risk of it remaining higher for longer has grown. and i think we're reacting to that now and we'll continue to adapt our policy

. >>> good thursday morning, everyone i'm kayla tausche in for brian sullivan this morning. we start with breaking news. the white house with new steps to fight covid this winter as officials confirm the first omicron case in the u.s. a nine point plan to keep covid in check these new plans include stricter travel requirements, expanded testing and booster programs and a focus on keeping schools open. first on travel, beginning early next week. international travelers will be required to test negative within one day of departure, that's a change from three days no testing or quarantining on arrival will be mandated at this point. but the mask for transit and public transport will be extended until march 18th. the white house is also requiring private insurers to reimburse for at home tests under the c.a.r.e.s. act we're told the reimbursements will not be retroactive. they're looking at getting more shots in arms of five to 11-year-olds and opening new clinics. and instructing pharmacies to schedule shots as family units it's unclear how these efforts will move in needle wit

. >>> good morning, that's frightening, just me welcome to "squawk box" here on cnbc i'm not kayla tausche, but i will be soon i'll be with joe kernen. becky and andrew are off today looking at u.s. equity futures to start we'll have kayla when we get things squared away. stocks off to a strong week. you can see adding to some of the gains we saw

let's go to kayla tausche to narrow that down for us. >> today's call is taking place at russia's requesthead of talks between the two countries that will be led by the state department in jen eva on january 10th a. senior administration official says president biden will communicate to president putin that russia must deescalate the situation at the border of ukraine in order for talks to proceed the talks between u.s. and russia are going to take place in person january 10th on january 12th, the russia nato council is going to have its own talks. then on january 13th the organization for security and cooperation in europe is going to be meeting as well. ukraine is represented at that meeting also now, the situation remains a tenuous one. whether president putin intends to invade ukraine remains a wild card two weeks ago the national securities adviser told me already limitations to what the white house can know but i put that question to the former supreme allied commander of nato and he put that at a 20% chance. >> the pooids will be deeply concerned about vladimir putin he will contin

kayla tausche with the details a new biden appointment. >> sara, that's right.ador to kenya. whitman is of course the former ceo of ebay, hewlett-packard and streaming service quibbe she supported biden during the 2020 campaign even though she is a republican historically. there was a sense that perhaps during the transition she could get a cabinet position because president biden said that he wanted to make his cabinet bipartisan but we are learning today that president biden is anonynominatg meg whitman to ambassador to ken that >> kayla tausche for us with the update there >>> up next, charles schwab chief investment strategist liz ann sonders on how investors should position their port foles amid increasing ceaiunrtnty heading into the new year. esg into your investments? at pgim, the pursuit is on for outperformance. as active investors, to outdeliver with customized strategies, integrating esg best practices into our investment decisions. as asset managers and fiduciaries, to outserve, with our commitment to better esg outcomes. join the pursuit of outperf

kayla tausche with the story what should we expect?ged firm counter measures in the u.s. and the allies pursued this the foreign ministry said this the winter olympic games is not a stage forpolitical posturing and manipulation u.s. politicians keep hyping a boycott without being invited. from michael mccall, mike gallagher and senator mitt romney to democrats tim cane and nancy pelosi last weekend at the united nations, 20 people withheld signatures from the olympic truce. more allies are under pressure to make a boycott official a decision from the united kingdom is up coming in 1980 a u.s.-led coalition blocked athletes and officials from attending the soviets swept the medals and refused to come to los angeles for the next summer games. for alana myers taylor greeted by then vice president biden, the development is disappointing but not a distraction. >> our job is to go out there and represent our country as best as possible whether or not there are diplomats there. i realize the u.s. is in a difficult position but as athletes we'

i'll send it back to you >> interesting stuff, kayla, i appreciate that breaking news and that's kayla tausche in washington i'll delve into the repricing of risk with the valuation and some of the high-flying stocks. i do want to highlight a note that dropped within the last hour from someone you follow closely and that's michael kolanovic from j.p. morgan jason snipe i'll throw this to you. he said a short squeeze rally is taking everything into consideration. fed policy, this policy change, a more hawkish fed if you want to character a it as that, the omicron variant that's drawing a lot of concern, the sell-off is related to omicron and the fed while it comes from deshorting from macro and for short-selling campaigns to succeed, there have to be positioning, liquidity and often systematic amplifiers of the sell-off we believe these conditions are not met and hence this market episode may end up in a short squeeze and cyclical rally into year-end and january omicron's mortality rate is very low. this is consistent with omicron being a bullish rather than bearish market development i have a

will have reporting from ukraine, in a moment first, cnbc's senior white house correspondent, kayla tausche. >> tonight, a standoff over the sovereignty of ukraine in a two-hour video conference with vladimir putin of russia, president biden calling for deescalation and a return to diplomacy. >> and the measures we have put on the table are designed to show the russian government that, should it choose to engage in such an invasion, there will be those consequences. and we also believe that there should be an alternative pathway, by which we can make progress on diplomacy. >> reporter: in a statement, the kremlin accused nato of a dangerous incursion into ukraine. again, demanding a legal guarantee the alliance won't economic sanctions that russians expand there but pledging to keep talking meanwhile, western leaders pledging a united front with the white house. >> that makes the u.s. a lot more credible when it comes out and says that there will be severe economic sanctions that russia will have to pay, um, if they do, indeed, reinvade ukraine. >> reporter: the white house national securit

i guess we have to get to the aforementioned kayla tausche >> kayla, in three words, answer all the questionsed no, i'm joking >> i think i will comment briefly on your conversation it's an important one. but i think the quiet part that the banking executives say behind the scenes, they're not saying it out yet. the bufrs helped during the covid and keep the u.s. system sound that's one of the reasons why it's been a safe haven relatively they won't say that publicly that's the backdrop we saw play out over the last few years. >> it's an important part, steve, i was going to say, as these regulations, dodd-frank and the rest were imposed in the first place, they were, of course, crying, murder this is terrible this will kill the banking system are you right, maybe around the edges things went too far or the rule was necessary and helpful, net-net it is banking has bend they might be free drops >> regulators know the shadow banking system they're looking at the non-bank financial institutions and a meeting between the top financial regulators in recent weeks. the minutes from that meeting mean

on carl quintanilla with kayla tausche and scott wapner david faber and morgan brennan have the morning off s&p all-time high today on this final trading week of the year as the bullish narrative from some strong holiday sales overshadows the omicron worries and the space of cancellations in travel. kayla? >> we're 30 minutes into the trading session now, carl. three big movers we are watching this morning airlines under pressure after more than 1500 u.s. flights were canceled over christmas weekend with more delays expected this week united, delta, american, and jetblue citing a surge in covid cases among flight crews and operation staff. you see those stocks down nearly 2% or more than 2% at this hour. cruise liners giving back games after a third florida-based ship had passengers test positive for covid-19 over the weekend and those stocks down in the 3 and 4% range finally keep an eye on oil, volatile as all these travel headlines continue to impact demand expectations into the new year wti down about a fraction of 1%. it is giving back some of its losses from earlier today off the

playing tial good morning, welcome back to "squawk box" here on cnbc i'm joe kernon along with kayla tausche becky is off. it isn't christmas it isn't new years u.s. equity futures isn't down today, they aren't they're up five and change you can see on the s&p dow jones up about 20. the nasdaq up 41 ten year close to 1.5. kayla, if we were going to do predictions for next year, i guess that would be in every single list of things to try to figure out i don't know what i'd say either given up >> i think a lot of investors would probably not want to hazard to make a guess on that one after what we've seen in the last five years for how unpredictable in that sense. we'll see. we'll see the market get down a little bit here's what else is making headlines at this hour tesla ceo elon musk sold another billion dollars worth of company holdings published yesterday musk exercising options to buy 1.6 million tesla shares at a strike price of just over $6 per share. continuing the month selling spree, which started shortly after he polled twitter users whether he should sell 10% in tesla, even though

kayla tausche joins us right now with the details good morning. >> good morning, becky the white house is unveiling a 9 point plan to try to keep covid in check as these virus variants emerge in the u.s. and the winter virus season gets under way. they're focussing on tightening travel requirements, expanding booster and testing programs and crafting a game plan to help keep schools open. on travel, beginning early next week, internal travelers will be required to test negative one day from departure a change from three days no testing or quarantine on arrival will be mandated the mask mandate will be extended until march 18th. and they're using authority under the c.a.r.e.s. act to make insurers reimburse americans purchasing at home tests the administration is also focussing on getting more shots in arms of five to 11-year-olds, dispatching fema to host clinics beginning in hot spots, and scheduling shots as family c clusters it's unclear if any of these methods will move the needle with the omicron variant seen as inevitable the coming weeks. if any additional measures are recommend