as of this morning russia has amassed about 120,000 troops along the ukrainian border our erin mclaughlin is in kyiv with the latest. >> reporter: top u.s. defense officials are issuing dire warnings, saying that russia has amassed enough troops and weapons on the ukrainian border for a full range of military options, though they say they do note believe the kremlin has made a final decision. this as the united states has been sending weapons and supplies directly to ukraine president biden announcing that the u.s. will deploy troops as well in the near future, though the troops will not be sent directly to ukraine, but rather to bolster nato allies some 8500 u.s. troops have been placed on a heightened state of alert. this as there is a real tense situation unfolding between the united states and ukraine with the ukrainian president calling out the west for some of these dire warnings, saying they're alarmist, and creating panic and fear unnecessarily and in some case, disputing u.s. intelligence, saying for example there is a report citing three anonymous u.s. officials that blood suppl

your reporting live on the ground we hope to get to see your continued coverage this week erin mclaughlinc. >>> cnbc will speak to ukraine's foreign minister dmytro kuleba we will bring you that interview on friday. >>> julianna, staying with the politics, but bringing uk into the picture. prime minister boris johnson will hold a call with vladimir putin this week ahead of the visit to eastern europe. johnson's trip coming as anticipation is fever pitch of the report into lockdown parties at 10 downing street to get more, let's bring in tobias great to have you with us this morning from the conservative party. i want to start with the culture issues at number 10. is it time in your mind for a military style shakeup what do you make of the former army man putting his hat into the ring over the weekend? >> thank you for having me on. i think it is a reflection of talent in the conservative party. the fact we are discussing about it first before turn to ukraine shows how it continues to distract from the big issues of the day. we are waiting for the gray report to land i think many mps will

oh, we just don't think you can enforce it right now. >> maya wiley and erin mclaughlin, it's so nice to see both of you and i thank you so much for being with me this morning. >>> now to some other major headlines out west. this week, the biden administration will expand the trump-era remain in mexico program to san diego's border industry point. this as immigration court hearings begin under the policy with the administration bringing 36 migrants back to the u.s. from mexico for their proceedings. the administration says that it's against the program, we've been asking the supreme court to allow its end, but it's currently under a court order to care on. a court order does not mandate it to be expanded, however. >>> and seattle-based coffee giant starbucks has ordered all of it workers across the country to be fully vaccinated by february 9th or face a weekly covid-19 testing environment. starbucks will require its 2,028 employees to reveal vaccination status by next monday. >>> meanwhile, a flurry of smash and grab robberies have hit california in the recent months. nbc's jake ward

nbc's liz mclaughlin is joining us from raleigh, north carolina.tting as they prepare to send their kids back to class? >> reporter: alex, the protocols vary widely at schools from coast to coast. in washington, d.c. they are asking for a negative covid test for all students before they return from winter break. a lot of schools relying on testing or leaning on it to keep kids safe. new york city if a child tests positive they'll send them home with a week's work the of at home tests -- week's worth of at home tests. in wake county the school system including the capital city of raleigh they are providing weekly tests on campus for staff and students. and a lot of places, health officials say testing can be really important but those tests can be hard to get your hands on. but many schools also encouraging masks. doctors and health officials saying that cloth mask though you may have used last year won't hold up as well against this highly contagious variant really wanting kids to go to school with an n95 or 3 ply surgical mask. there are fun unico

let's bring in david mclaughlin for more on this. microsoft obviously went through the ringer a couple of decades ago when it came to antitrust. with what we know about the biden edit ministry and effort to be more scrutiny this of these deals in the announcement that we learned today, what is the environment right now? >> the important context is that there is a lot of criticism right now in washington directed toward the big tech companies. primarily, that criticism is directed at apple, amazon, facebook and google. microsoft has largely avoided that scrutiny and that's partly because it went through its own antitrust lawsuit two decades ago. i think this deal, given that it is so big, and it is a big consumer brand, it comes in this environment where we have just how much microsoft is able to avoid the spotlight -- if this did win approval, i think this one is going to be tougher. taylor: what about the types of deals and if they are able to avoid scrutiny? you think facebook, meta, amazon -- these are so apparently consumer facin

nbc's erin mclaughlin joins us from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. erin, welcome to you.oing in terms of diplomacy efforts into the lead-up of this meeting? >> reporter: hey, alex. in just the last hour, we've heard from ukraine's foreign minister on twitter, calling on russia to withdraw the forces that it has built up on three sides of the ukrainian border. let me read you what he had to say. he says, if russian officials are serious when they say they don't want a new war, russia must continue diplomatic engagement and pull back military forces it amassed along ukraine's borders and in the temporarily occupied territories of ukraine. diplomacy is the only responsible way. and this is a slight shift in tone of late for ukrainian authorities who have been very critical with some of the rhetoric coming from washington, saying that that rhetoric is alarmist, that it's been causing panic and economic uncertainty. but here you see the ukrainian foreign minister drawing a correlation between a potential, quote, new war and forces built up on its borders. and this tweet coming

yasmin. >> erin mclaughlin for us in ukraine.n alexander vindman. he's also the author of the book "here, right matters, an american story." thanks for joining us on this. we appreciate it. i first want to play for you some sound, lev parnas joined ali velshi earlier today, talking about what is happening on the border with ukraine. let's take a listen to what he had to say. >> very important question that people might have missed but it's very important. he asked how long would ukraine sustain without our help. if they had gone to war with russia. and the answer was not too long. i answered him, ukraine would fall really quickly. they need american support. he already understood that ukraine needed america so badly, and that's why i think he put that pressure on them to make that announcement. that's why we're here today. this has nothing to do with joe biden. he's clearing up the mess that trump put us in. >> could you react to that for me? >> frankly, i don't have the full context, but i could comment on the fact that ukraine

some of them containing an octopus that a suit sheltered for the night inside. mclaughlin, this method of fishing is fairer when, but by the ot thomas gets into the jug to sleep and can swim back out again in the time. yeah. them with the plastic or minor pot tramps. but traps like these not actual parts are in use more and more often. mauricio. blame them for the gradual decline in octopus in the region. yeah, the b. 540 years ago there weren't any traps. only clay jugs. well, i'm not a law. my father told me that they used to be octopus, the whole year round, so like ya to day more and more, the jugs are being replaced by the traps locked and some nights. i hardly catch anything at all till may. thank you. no problem. the fisherman of santa lucia, the hub of octopus fishing in the l. gov. no, all about the different methods. 57 year olds, rockin olivera, decided to use the traps and set them with bait. he's looking for efficiency and convenience. he can even bring up the traps during the daytime or winter, but in the octopus goes out here and can't get out again. one blade mill that

and on mclaughlin avenue, it appears to be the same one as the one at the smoke shop. at the santa clara smoke shop crews spent the day making repairs. >> they did a lot of damage for -- we work every day, like all day long just to make a couple dollars, and they do this. that's wrong. >> reporter: especially says joe since the store doesn't even have an atm. don's liquors does, but it appears the thieves couldn't get past the medal window bars protecting the store so the cash inside the atm was saved. no such luck at branham liquors where the thieves struggle but get the machine onto the truck. >> they destroy the business and you can see what's going on over here. they take the atm machine, which has maybe $500 in there. >> reporter: police say it appears to be a ring that struck overnight. they credit the many security measures some of the stores have in place. >> one of the businesses when the burglary started to occur, these guys were scared off because some lights got turned on. it sounds like these business owners are taking all the necessary precautions. >> rep

we are also doing what we're doing on dial on mclaughlin. kirkland is a do strategic prize duel in the baltic. c, a central for nato's access to its baltic allies and its swedish and finish partners. from this island you cannot control both of the air and sea waste in the region. garland was a key military asset for sweden, for centuries, until 2005, when the swedish government assessed post cold war tensions as so low that it disbanded all the permanent military units here in what turned out to be just wishful thinking. that's why the swedish government has been re arming the island since shortly after russia's seizure of ukraine's crimea region and has intensified it in recent weeks. that glockland could be next in the kremlin site is no longer unthinkable. for swedes watching the russian government continued to escalate a bit like a game of chicken were one of the drivers rush on this case as you're strong. the. ready steering wheel out the window, so we're having to unfortunate to some kind of crash in my view, defense minister hook this believes the country has enough friends to f

we are also doing what for doing owned island. mclaughlin. kirkland is a do strategic prize jewel in the baltic sea, a central for nato's access to its baltic allies and its swedish and finish partners. from this island you cannot control both of the air and sea waste in the region. garland was a key military asset for sweden, for centuries, until 2005, when the swedish government assessed post cold war tensions as so low that it disbanded all the permanent military units here in what turned out to be just wishful thinking. that's why the swedish government has been re arming the island since shortly after russia's seizure of ukraine's crimea region and has intensified it in recent weeks. that glockland could be next in the kremlin site is no longer unthinkable for swedes watching the russian government continue to escalate. a bit like a game of chicken were one of the drivers rush on this case as you're stronger steering wheel out the window. so we're having to unfortunate to some kind of crash and my view defense minister hook this believes the country has enough friends to feel sa

when ever oh i love mclaughlin there all the top stories here on al jazeera and you images who revealed the scale of destruction in tongue following subsidies. volcanic eruptions, unami large parts of the pacific nation are covered in ash. the government says several small islands where nearly all hopes were destroyed to being evacuated tor again, because this report satellite images show a thick layer of ash on the wrong way of tongue is main airport on the left is how it looked before the eruption. the ashes, delaying deliveries of international aid flights the ashes proving.

as hale sat, space to deliver your vision. lou mclaughlin, doha, the top stories here on out 0 and $5.00 flights is, is still battling to contain a fire at south africa's palmer buildings. in cape town, the blazes badly damaged the national assembly chamber and part of the roof of the parliament building has collapse. presidents or i'm opposed to says a man is being held and questioned in relation to the fire. we need to go a lot deep on and lots deeper into how this type of event can take place and what measures we will need to take going forward. but for now, i think we should be grateful that the national assembly parliament has not been raised to ashes and to the floor. i live pitches from amsterdam with thousands of people, a rallying against the country. strict current of ours measures at the netherlands imposed a nation wide locked down 2 weeks ago, shutting all non essential stalls, balls and restaurants. it is expected to last until january. the 14th. a campaign has been launched in bangladesh to vaccinate $40000000.00 people each month. less than a 3rd of the population are vac

. >> reporter: paige mclaughlin is program emergency for "city kids." >> they are using social and communication skills because they're locked up inside. >> the message to kids was don't go outside. >> that's unfortunate because the outdoors is so healing. >> reporter: the healing powers of nature is documented, blood pressure, diabetes, attention deficit disorder all improve with some time outside. most kids aren't getting it. studies show kids spend only four to seven minutes a day of unstructured play testimony outside versus seven and a half hours on electronic media. the lockdowns made it worse. >> i wasn't able to even try to do things because the pandemic was so hard. >> i even cried at my home. >> reporter: cried? yeah, cried, because "city kids," it brings a lot of stress. >> reporter: as they get ready to head out to college they see the struggle of stepping back into the world. >> going back to the normal routine has been really hard. >> it's been strestles because we're used to being virtual. >> being at home. , by yourself, not really doing anything. >> reporter: i know the answer i

mclaughlin. garfield do you any more, really bright? what's more, 3 to ms. history do what else you could do that or if i wish left of the family thought a book with me in your school without it really is a football it quick which it can you? yes. saturday. yeah. can with is if one that with me and he is back with me more. no, i should post or would that to sit out so got it. yeah, i learned mr. blessing. yeah. it does. so he's the plaintiff's him the school order . he didn't, i me, the speaker. neither you wish you see a photo. bush, nice lucky brush, nickel, reason would look over the portal. i'm glad you a by promotion, by the honest we do this by yet. can you pretty well in a little chicken number to pick me up before i leave? to log in. we'll go neela moodle for the new video and come to connect. you didn't get here when you're back with you in your much with ashley. with us martin, you got a little slow to shoot him. a coach, you got a tough one. it was him earlier. ready was east, but she knew the world wildlife fund estimates that 110th of all loggin

he has cold in the military and he says, no matter what, he will stay in the capitol or the mclaughlin as the head of state and from today. yeah, the president of the security council last year, i intend to act as tunnel as possible. oscar extends authoritarian government usually tolerates little real opposition. but this time the protest this anger seems to have the authority of god. but on him and i was journalist bruce pannier, central is asia specialist is following the story for us from prague. bruce, the internet has been shut down in kazakhstan. now, what is the latest that you're hearing from your sources on the ground? them? well, there seem to be some partial restoration of the internet, but last night, late late. i don't know if they tried to block it out again. you know, you mentioned that russia agreed that they were going to send some troops over there to help out. and there's, there is a, what they're calling in context on a counter terrorism operation underway and all my t at the moment. so i'm sure that the internet is down and all my see. and there's probably a block

and at the guide, our forums we consider these told bacon and our famous economists to run mclaughlin on east of a reputable liberal economy was she'll pull against her now very clear that we cannot be relying on ourselves. we can use them regularly. she strategy, those mechanisms offer economic ties that depend on west control structures for good 3 scheme of the truth of forests improved with risks. and we are getting rich leaders of those resources in a consistent manner, including 1st and foremost in high tactile. i love her, let us get back to online questions. we have family management questions, and that is that we have mainly journalist from germany. they let us start with our d. i hear the dancing um from us. mm. good afternoon, german television. my question is going to be about a couple if we take in luke oh, at the nozzle. oh, it's in ukraine regarding join in nater, even if it's not rarely realistic at the moment. we have an impression that they're more thrasher, ukraine is suffering from russia. up to the more people in ukraine, they'll see that they would like ukraine to

and those 2 guys, mclaughlin and william arrow, they are true true wars of spirit they survived, and they're still humble. and i think that's why emergency services obviously, are always respect that even when they don't get the pay rises, that austerity demands of them. arguably, you did then tackle that big a geopolitical angle, as well as the personal upper class angle of george w bush and his response. and, and you, you firmly believe that in the us response was, was based on imperialism, emotionalism and imperialism. yes. very emotional. their revenge oriented. we got to get, we got to get them for. that's who's them. we didn't even know them were, you know, they were saudi arabian saudi arabian, mostly saudi arabian terrorists. but they were land really by chic muhammad. and the more you investigated his story, the more you realized that he organized all things in his brain. he was the guy put it together from, from, from scratch. he knew people from the 93 bombing and he went back there and he travel the organized that he only made one or 2 trips to see osama bin line it to wh

after the jury told the judge it was deadlocked on multiple counts we get more now from erin mclaughlin. >> reporter: elizabeth holmes once celebrated as an entrepreneur set to revolutionize medical testing leaves tonight a medical felon. a jury found the 37-year-old guilty o four counts of federal fraud, acquitting her of three others, while deadlocking on the three remaining charges. after the prosecution alleged she conned investors and patients into believing her blood testing start-up could perform hundreds of diagnostic tests with just the pick of a finger >> it is a big deal for silicone valley because you fake it until you make it. i don't think they're going to be living by that anymore. >> reporter: fooling some of the world's most powerful to invest millions of dollars. as well as patients that testified they received faulty test results. >> it was witness after witness telling us, corroborating the same statements, the misrepresentations that she made. >> reporter: the closely watched trial the subject of podcasts, books and an upcoming series, lasted for more than three mon

ready hello mclaughlin there, how the toaster is here. amount 0 aust bishop doesn't to, to has been remembered as the moral conscience of south africa and for his service against social injustice throughout the world of south africa's president several rem, oppose delivered the eulogy for 22 at saint george's cathedral, in case time he was not content to preach about social justice from the pulpit. he was with the homeless the helpless they persecuted, the sick and the destitute.

let's hear some of what he had to say. mclaughlin will, will proof. as for the main issue, there is no positive reaction in this document. i will remind you that the main issue is our thumb position about unacceptability of michael's folder proliferation to the east and place him of a salt equipment which can represent danger for the russian federation. closing. well, all sides have said that diplomacy is very much still a path that they want to pursue, given the differences they still have. it appears that the russians and the americans have come to some kind of an understanding about the secondary issues that there is room for negotiations there, but it appears the problem is in the main issue that russia has about nato's expansion. and that is something that cannot agree on. ah ok to fossil new military rulers have warned former government ministers not to leave the capital or obstruct offices. 3 days after taking control of the west african nation in a qu, situation in burkina faso will be discussed by west africa leaders at an emergency meeting o

we will listen to party music, nope, we are blasting sarah mclaughlin cruising down lake michigan.i love your dad, because you are so right come everybody is expecting a different playlist and i love that all of a sudden it is sarah mclachlan, it's great. she is great, that's why. any season. >> i am hooked now too. >> kelly: you had to be, you got forced to listen to it. >> yes. >> kelly: i love your dad, what's your dad's name? >> wt. >> kelly: that's your dad's name come he goes by wt? he sounds like a character in a novel. i'm into it. thank you so much, allie, i love sarah mclachlan and singing her music, but there is just a ton of goodness today to get to come everybody. we have a new surge-friendly segment called interview alfresco the very funny chris kattan is joining us for and to start things off our first guest is an emmy golden globe award-winning actress entertaining us and being kind doing it since she was a kid. a new book out now called "enough already learning to love the way i am today" to say hello to valerie bertinelli! [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> valerie:

maybe with the but you are more data, gather more carriers, adama mclaughlin. by them villette, they have alex or you might go me and we movie, jeremy, you my good that. that could be, that couldn't even probably lead and i want to to make that going to get better like levy to mike brian, but he'll be with you mike. than normal, i'm bo without a gun. you know, i need to only get on here with which i rode together. we could get on one of our marketing. um, maybe you might get that can document that were willing to make that can get a . 6 legit you follow? yes, we follow as well as to offer a footboard it yes. okay. and would we put them on the 2nd mortgage so by check on the ship which i would be able to do about it. well, where douglas? gotcha. gotcha. so that you can look at it. sure, we'll go back out. almost with that in mind. you know to be sure about glenn. oh, i'm the only other thing with him, but i did it on no. my dad told coming would i know that i you me that can. i only got to can you get a nicer than i'm thinking home with the call you just have to

but you are more data, gather more carriers at alma mclaughlin. but um bill it there my legs. are you my go me and the movie, jeremy you my good that that could that couldn't exactly, luna. and i wonder can you make that going to get him look better like levy you might bramblewood. he'll be with you my than normal. i'm well, i started now, i could only get on it will be on which, which i won't get to where you get. i'm one of them are good. now maybe you might get that can document that were when asked. you might, can get a. 6 sub i killed you follow reels, we fall out of your policy to offer you another hyundai footboard, a dog or killer, a psychology miser more so by sharon page it was why would be a terrible incident where, where douglas got to share with you? i so called the guy that should will got to go park i them are. so with that in mind, you know that to be sure. i got to talk about gun. oh no . and the young with came sugar it. oh no my dad told coming with i know i you me that can i only got the can you i kid a nicer than i had fun talking home with the call you, y

liz mclaughlin is covering this for us. it is a difficult decision for both parents and administrators to send the kids to school or not. keep them remote or not. school districts are making that decision for them. what are you hearing? >> reporter: yasmin, it varies widely from coast to coast. schools across the country are ramping up those safety protocols and seeing more lean on testing. a negative test is required for students to return. here in wake county with raleigh they are having testing access expanded for every week staff and students. they resume in-person learning here. educators on edge with the sharp rise in cases why in north carolina more than 1.5 million cases statewide. nearly 20,000 deaths. now nationwide the majority of these new covid cases are the highly contagious omicron variant. educators are trying to think how can we keep classes in person and do so safely. the majority of large school districts said they're committed to keep kids in the classroom thinking they can do that safely and outweigh th

i followed up, vivian, maybe the siding, but you are more data, gather more gary as it alma mclaughlin. but um, really there my legs. are you my go me and the movie, jeremy. you my good. that good night factor, negatively, luna. and i wonder can you make that going to get him look better like levy? you might bramblewood. he'll be with you, my phone number i bought, i started now i can only get on it will be on which, which i won't get to where you get. i'm on. i'm ok with baby you might get that can document that were when asked your money that can get a . 6 sub i killed, did you follow really follows your caller to offer a dog or kelly lloyd. we bought the psychology miser more so by sharon page it was why would i know about it? well, what doug? we've got to share with her so called the guy that she will got to go park. i them a suit with my mind, you know to be sure. i got to talk about gun. oh no. and the other thing is with came should have it. oh no my dad told coming with i know, don't get up on that. i you me that can. i only got to can you, i can and i still been on the phone t

of engineers was responsible assess whether you filed them for an infrequent taking a gun in the mclaughlin figure on her 1st bargain, avery, social media of the management insisted they'd been completely in the dark who knew what to when will now be told in court for the 1st time. will those responsible continue to shift the blame to each other but to leash like it's only human to try and delegate responsibility for criminal action lee part you have to work with that and see what emerges in court off and whether the story is ultimately credible and believable are not as hostile, some claim to date, issued repeated warnings, while others denied ever having heard about the scamp. we gained access to internal documents and interviews, and we're able to talk to some of the 100 or so people linked to the scandal. we then had 3 actors read what these individuals told us, one for executives and to act as representing engineers, associates wish to remain anonymous, but at the same time, tell us their stories. as a minor, multi virtual is let's at least what is my motivation is that after doing so

we will start with liz mclaughlin in raleigh, north carolina. these are big decisions for families across the country? >> absolutely. by and large, educators and parents want to keep kids in the classroom and they want to do so safely. many of the largest school districts in the country making the decision to keep kids in the classroom but putting in other safety measures, some putting in vaccine mandates, some with mask mandates here in wake county. they stopped short of putting in a vaccine mandate, but indoor masks are required and an expansion of testing was announced last week, and in many school districts across the country they are requiring a negative covid test in order to come back, and parents are on edge especially those who are just seeing the insane numbers with this omicron wave. north carolina also posting record-breaking numbers of coronavirus cases last week, and many other places across the country also breaking pandemic records. we are seeing a sharp up rise in pediatric hospitalizations. that's also putting fear into parents

. >> reporter: paige mclaughlin is program manager for city kids. >> they're losing like social skills and communication skills because they are locked up inside. >> in d.c., the message to kids was don't go outside. >> it's unfortunate because the outdoors is so healing. >> reporter: the healing powers of nature are well documented. blood pressure, diabetes, attention deficit disorder -- all improve with some time outside. but most kids aren't getting it. studies show kids spend only four to seven minutes a day of unstructured play time outside versus some 7 1/2 hours on electronic media. the lockdowns made it worse. >> i wasn't even able to try to do things because the pandemic was so hard. >> i even cried at my home. >> you cried? >> yeah, i cried because like city kids, it brings a lot of stress off. >> reporter: now as they get ready to head out to college, they see the struggle of stepping back out into the world. >> going back to your normal routine, it's been really hard. it became stressful because it's like we're used to being virtual. >> being at home? >> being at home, bein

let's turn now to nbc news correspondent liz mclaughlin in raleigh, north carolina. many americans gathered, some in close quarters, to ring in the new year, liz. how big are the lines you're seeing there so far in raleigh? >> reporter: joe, it's more of what we've seen all week since before the christmas holiday. long lines, hours long wait. this particular testing site, i've actually tested here a couple of times and just easy breezy, was able to drive in, get a test and go. now it's appointment only. a lot of other testing sites are doing that too to try to control the line and congestion. some of those lines into the street and disrupting traffic. police needing to come and sort of control the situation. and that's, you know, it's happy new year to you, but we are in the third year of this pandemic. and just seeing daily case numbers break pandemic records. some new numbers, the nbc news tally showing we see more than 54.5 million cases since the start of the pandemic here in the u.s. and more than 820,000 deaths. in north carolina, more than 1.5 million cases. n

. >>> reporting on the latest developments, liz mclaughlin is in raleigh, north carolina.nd mike memoli is with the president in delaware. liz, what's happening where you are? >> joe, good afternoon. you can see behind me a steady stream of cars rolling into this testing site. it's a scene that we have seen all week. in fact, sometimes dozens of cars in line this. testing site actually switching to appointments only after just a few days ago there was a line that went all the way in the street. almost 100 cars that was blocking traffic and had to get the police involved to manage it. now they have moved to appointment only. so it is move pretty quickly here because of that structure. but it is still days until folks can get an appointment. if you signed on today, sometimes, two, three, four-day waits to get there. i spoke with a man in line who said that was tough for him. he had a potential exposure, tried to get tested as early as wednesday and had to wait day asks days to be able to do that. he planned to go to a new year's eve party last night but he had to sit at home

on the covid watch for us this hour, nbc's liz mclaughlin in north carolina, scott cohn joins us froma. and many states across the u.s. are seeing record covid cases. north carolina is certainly high on that list, liz. so i know you're in charlotte, where the covid positivity rate is more than 30%. let's talk about that, things have gotten worse, it seems, since the new year's. >> reporter: absolutely, alex. sad to say, doctors that i've spoken with say that they're overwhelmed and under staffed. they described it as a tsunami of cases, not just here, but nationwide. let's take a look at those numbers really quick. we're edging towards 60 million confirmed covid cases in the u.s. and around 840,000 deaths. americans have died from covid-19. new case loads are really nearing or surpassing in some areas pandemic records. so many parts -- i mean, just look at this map. most of it red here. we're seeing a spike over the last two weeks in most states. and that does not spare north carolina here. that is part of that red. now, the death rate is relatively steady right now, but hospitalizati

nbc's erin mclaughlin is on the store for us this morning.rin, good morning >> savannah, good morning. 37-year-old elizabeth holmes was stoic as the verdict was read. she hugged her parents before leaving the courtroom to confer with her counsel after her nearly four-month trial ended in dramatic fashion elizabeth holmes once celebrated as the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world left court a convicted felon, clutching the hands of her parents and husband. late monday, a jury found her guilty of four fraud related counts for conning some of her investors into believing her blood testing start up theranos could perform hundreds of diagnostic tests from everything from cancer to hiv to pregnancy with just a prick of the finger. some of the world's most powerful invested close to a billion dollars in holmes' company, including the family of secretary of education betsy devos. prosecutors allege holmes defrauded patients one woman said she was wrongly told she was miscarrying her baby but the jury found holmes not guilty on multiple

that would look and for more on all of that, the latest cdc messaging, nbc news correspondent liz mclaughline've seen so much with the cdc messaging, hard to keep up, where are we with all of that? >> it's hard to follow indeed and that telebriefing on friday was the first of its kind since july, cdc receiving some criticism for not communicating -- or communicating relatively inconsistently directly with the public, scientists telling reasoning for the guidance instead of handing that guidance out. as you mentioned we are in this ice pick, a strong surge in the united states, new covid cases up more than 204% compared to two weeks ago, and about 95% of those cases are the omicron variant. it's highly contagious, it's putting a lot of places on edge as we start this new year with the new strain, and folks are returning to school and work, the cdc did issue some new guidance for k to 12 schools, reiterating the importance of getting young students back in classrooms and how to do so safely, recommending vaccination as the strongest tool here to end the pandemic, really encouraging folks to ge

with me are liz mclaughlin in raleigh and dr. kavita patel. happy new year's day, everybody.nks for joining us on this holiday weekend. we appreciate it. liz, let me start with you on this one and just kind of walk me through what's happening in north carolina, seeing some of the highest numbers throughout this pandemic so far. folks scrambling to get tested as we're returning from holiday break. what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, that really goes hand-in-hand, this testing demand is at an all-time high and more and more of those tests are coming back positive in north carolina alone, more than 1.5 million cases now since the start of the pandemic, nearly 20,000 deaths here, and across the country, states breaking pandemic records. take a look here behind me at this line. it just stretches all the way down the street, and earlier this week, we saw traffic that needed the police to be able to control the flow of traffic because it was going all the way out into the main roads. now it's appointment only. it used to be able, you could drive up and at least wait hours for th

let's go to erin mclaughlin in kyiv. how is this effort of diplomacy going?> reporter: a short while ago we heard from the ukrainian foreign minister calling out russia, saying if russia really wants to avoid a, quote, new war as it says it does, it needs to withdraw its massive troop presence from the ukrainian border and engage in diplomacy. and this tweet from the ukrainian foreign minister amounts to a slight shift in tone. from what we've been hearing, other ukrainian officials calling out washington for its rhetoric, trying to down play the situation, saying that some of the dire warnings that we've been hearing from washington and the biden administration is amounting to panic and economic consequences here in ukraine. now earlier today, john kirby, the press secretary for the pentagon, was asked about that on fox news sunday. take a listen to what he had to say. >> we're in constant communication with our ukrainian counter parts. secretary austin has spoken to his as well. we're making sure we're sharing information and content as best we can. i can't

nbc's liz mclaughlin is joining us from the university of north carolina at charlotte, so big welcomeng up for the spring semester there? >> reporter: alex, a new year, a new strain bringing up familiar problems for the nation's millions of college students. here on campus, even though classes are about to start in 48 hours, it's pretty quiet, and it will be for the next couple of weeks. classes going virtual, at least temporarily, until the 24th of january as we move through this omicron spike. residential universities especially prone to an outbreak at the beginning of the semester when people are returning from all sorts of geological locations and after holiday gatherings, so not just this university, many others making the decision to go online, also having some protocols encouraging those residential students to delay their return to campus to at least the 19th or later, even getting a credit on their account if they decide to do so, and those returning in-person need to show proof of a vaccination, a booster, if eligible, or a negative covid test. this morning, i spoke with a s

let's go to nbc's liz mclaughlin from raleigh, north carolina. hi, liz. welcome. how is the omicron surge impacting all the plans to return to class? >> alex, the timing of this wave really couldn't be worse here. we're seeing records or case counts that surpass pandemic records just as schools and parents are bracing to return to work and school transitioning from the holidays to get back into the classroom and north carolina, for instance, here breaking pandemic records over the past few days. 16 states and d.c. showing a sharp surge in cases. more than 100%. and so that's something that schools are grappling with here. they're changing protocols as soon as friday. as recently as friday. so parents in a lot of places across the u.s. doing that as well. reacting and updating as they get more information and, you know, make decisions on these things. parents, check those emails. check your voice mail messages for what they're planning. here, looking at an indoor mask mandate and expansion to testing. a lot of schools nationwide leaning on testing to keep kids safe

senate, clara smoke shop, the crooks hit three liquor stores, one on east capitol expressway near mclaughlin avenue. another near camden avenue and ken elaine and another on brandon lane. the centers, a police department believes they were done by the same people using different vehicles as they roam the city over a span of one hour. some of the tactics they used as they actually use some straps to pry open some of these stores and some of these businesses and in other cases, police say they smashed their vehicles right into the front door. at g n a color nail salon on ricky road and francis drive. the crooks reportedly wrapped a chain tied to their getaway vehicle around the atm, but abandoned that plan when an alarm sounded at one of the other locations. there was an atm there was actually broken open. we don't know how much money was taken from that atm. small businesses, though, weren't the only targets in these overnight capers. they attempted one final score just after 4:30 a.m. this safeway grocery store. on various erode that effort, though on successful in most cases, the thieves ei