. >>> i'm sharon eperson, and here's your c nbsz news update for this hour.han soldiers firing on taliban fighters near the helmand province. this to keep the district capital from falling into taliban hands. helmand is a major center of opium cultivation and has been the scene of fierce fighting for months. >>> releasing video showing the iraqi defense minister visiting injured soldiers at a hospital in baghdad. the soldiers were injured in the battlefield fighting isis militants. >>> a small indian para-military plane crashed just outside of new delhi's main airport killing all ten people aboard. at least 15 fire engines were at the site. the plane belongs to india's border security force and an investigation is underway. space history was made overnight as the private company spacex managed to launch a resupply mission to the space station. then land the first stage of the rocket back on earth. spacex is the brainchild of elan muskalities behind tesla electric cars. that's cnbc news update this hour. back to you. >> all right. thanks so much, sharon eperso

(horse whinny) >>> i'm sharon eperson, and here's your cnbc news update for this hour.ational highway safety commission says an eighth u.s. death is linked to a faulty -- it's the first death record the since april. >> the mayor of a siberian oil town back in 1998. they were arrested in 2003 for tax evasion before being released in 2013. a cargo supply ship is arriving at the international space station carrying nearly three tons of food. it launched from kazakhstan. nasa calls it an early christmas delivery. beginning tonight at 12:01 a.m. the songs will stream across nine services, including apple music, google play, amazon prime, and spotify. that's your cnbc news update this hour. back to you, scott. going to get that? >> i might. i might. >> yeah. >> i think that's pretty cool. >> i think it's cool too. >> thanks. >> sure. >> sharon eperson. here's how stocks are trading this hour. we are at the highs of the day. it has been one wild ride for investors over the past week or so. looks pretty good to clock that one in the books today as well. given where we are, as i

sharon eperson back at headquarters.iday shopping is showing weakness in brick and mortar stores, but is growing moerp mobile more than expected? with us now tom, co-founder jan. it's great to have you. you guys are now showing that mobile is up between 50% and 60%. what's behind this increased push? >> well, it's not a surprise that it's been very, very strong season for mobile. we were expecting e-commerce sales to be up about 47% for the november-december period. we now expect it will be up slightly more than that, up to maybe 50% to 60%. a couple of things are driving it. first of all, the convenience of using these mobile devices whenever and wherever you are. that's a big, big push. the other fact this year compared to last year is the larger screen size on a lot of these mobile devices, which makes it easier, more comfortable for the consumer to buy off of a mobile device. then you've got more devices. you've got almost 200 million of these smartphones now and about 80 million, 90 million tablets out there. put al

our sharon eperson has the latest over at hq. sharon. >> yes, carl. we are looking at the nation's largest second largest school system here. the los angeles unified sool system cancelling classes after receiving what it called a "credible threat to students' safety." the threat was received in an e-mail message. it was broadly targeted at many schools. not just one or two locations. l.a. school police chief speaking at a news conference today explained where the school district took this action. >> in an abundance of caution as superintendent cortinaz has indicated, we have chosen to close our schools today until we can be absolutely sure that our campuses are safe. >> now, police and school officials plan to search schools and continue to evaluate the threat. the school has more than 640,000 students. we're talking about 900 schools that cover some 720 square miles. it is the second largest school district in the nation. parents have been asked to keep their children at home or to get them if they've already left school, and this is an ongoing situa

sharon eperson with the very latest on that situation out in los angeles. let's turn to the other big story today, and that is the market. rally mode right now. the fed beginning its two-day meeting today. could result in the first interest rate hike in nearly a decade. comes against the back drop of fears over high yield bonds. a warning from 3m and everything happening with oil prices, of course. there's your picture. 1% gain across the board for the markets. i mentioned our all-star cast that we do have today. steve liesman, i would be remiss if i didn't go to you first. it's the beginning of the two-day fed meeting, one in which everybody now expects a hike. is that your thought it? this is a done deal. >> not everyone, so the. our cnbc fed survey has 5% who don't think it's going to happen. >> merely most. entirely everyone. around 95%. this is the expectation. i think the story that -- there's the chart with the results that we brought in case you didn't believe me, scott, that it is indeed 95%. i think you turn to the question, well, what's next? our

. >> i'm sharon eperson, and here's your cnbc news update this hour. chicago medical students staging a 16 minute die-in this morning at he city hall. they are calling for the resignation of mayor rahm emanuel for his handling of the deadly shooting of laquan mcdonald. the 16 minutes represent the 16 times mcdonald was shot and killed by a chicago police officer. >>> northeastern university in boston announcing a controversial plan to arm campus officers with semiautomatic rifles. this is to provide more fire four amid heightened worries about mass shootings in any case wide. >> the fist lady and saturday night live comedian jay pharaoh star in a public awareness campaign urging students 14 to 19 to go to college. that's a cnbc news update at this hour. back to you. >> all right, sharon. thanks to much. >>> the u.s. dollar index gaining ground today snapping its two-day losing streak. hey, swraky. >> hey, scott. watching the dollar in positive territory for the first timed since monday. anthony, the move that we're seeing in the dollar here, there's tw

our sharon eperson has the latest over at hq. sharon. >> yes, carl.ing at the nation's largest second largest school system here.

let's go straight over to sharon eperson. >> hi. here's what's happening at this hour.eijing police tightening security around a bar and shopping area popular with foreigners as embassies issue warnings for their citizens to be on guard for possible threats against westerners. the american, british, and french embassies said they have received information of possible threats on or around christmas day. shinzo abe's cabinet is responding to the rapidly aging society and a jump-start of the nation's economy. it will submit the draft to the legislative body early next year. >>> it's been a quiet flu season so far, but the cdc says that it expects activity to pick up in the neck few weeks. flu season tends to peak in february, so health experts say it's important to get the vaccine as soon as possible. >>> the nba will begin running for and calling for the end to gun violence. it's time to reach billions of basketball fans during a series of marquee games on christmas day. the organization that paid for the ads was founded by former new york mayor michael bloomberg. and tha