[theme music] i'm jim cramer the last time prices were rising this fast john mellencamp was singing about jack and diane. i'm kelly evans. in for shepard smith this is "the news" on cnbc >> you walk in the grocery store and you're paying more for whatever you're purchasing it matters. >> inflation nation. americans paying more for gas, food and just about everything else the new economic numbers just out and how the white house is responding the supreme court issues a new ruling on the texas law that bans most abortions.

the decision and the impact to people on both sides of the issue. a possible deadly school shooting averted with just moments to spare >> once he was done at that firing range, he was going to campus to enact a columbine.icet >> who police credit with stopping the likely attack julian assange one step closer to the inside of an american courtroom after the: l the facts, the truth, "the news with shepard smith." good evening a new report out today confirming what millions of americans have been experiencing on a daily basis sky-high prices for just about everything

according to the consumer price index, prices jumped by 6.8% from last november to this one that's the biggest increase in nearly four decades. you see it clearly at the grocery store. the price of beef up more than 20% over the past year poultry and eggs up 8% fruits up 6% veggies lagging behind, up 2%. economists point to the pandemic recovery as a driving force. government stimulus also boosting demand. while the supply chain simply can't keep up. and labor shortages seem to be getting worse by the day americans taking notice. inflation is now a top concern for voters while some investors and politicians say inflation has peaked, 52% of the public thinks it will get worse next year, according to a "wall street journal" poll. the issue could very well shape the upcoming 2022 midterm elections where control of congress is at republicans pouncing, the rnc dubbing biden-flation. today president biden emphasized

the administration efforts in helping the overall economy recover, but even he acknowledged more needs to be done >> it's a real bump in the road. it does affect families. it matters to people when you are paying more for gas. although in some states we have the price down below three bucks a gallon but the point is it's not going down quickly enough. but i think it will. >> we have two reports on this tonight. cnbc's kayla tausche with more on the political fallout but first to senior economic correspondent steve liesman. >> the problem with the current inflation report is not just that it's high and rising or that it's sticking around longer than most economists forecast. it's that it's widespread. the answer to the question of what's going up is just about everything the gas in your tank, the heat in your home, the clothing on your back and the food on your plate whether you eat at home or go out it's all going up faster than we've seen in years. but those big gains are not actually the biggest concerns for economists

the larger worry is the much smaller number that for americans really hits home literally. the cost of housing is up 3.8% year over year including buying a home and renting. and it's one of the biggest expenses for most americans. forecasters think more is to come as the price increases from red hot housing markets around the country work their way into the inflation index. it could get even worse because employers are hiking wages to attract workers. and they're going to try to pass the costs along. boosting inflation more potentially in the months ahead. many forecasters still think inflation could ease by the summer turned out hav of course, they used to think it would be the winter but they turned out having that wrong well, if it doesn't happen look for the federal reserve to possibly raise interest rates more than expected throwing cold water on these hot inflation readings kelly. >> thanks. as inflation has gone up, the president's approval rating has gone down. cnbc's senior white house correspondent kayla tausche now. a tough position for president biden.

>> kelly, it is a tough position and no silver bullet but the white house is trying to show at least symbolically it's focused on the issue, blaming food producers, retailers, and energy companies for anti-competitive behaviors and demanding anti-trust agencies investigate. also weighing whether to take tariffs off goods coming from china and added cost passed on to consumers and also suggesting the data from today might be outdated >> what we've seen in recent days are gas prices coming down from their peak. and this obviously isn't -- is not captured in the data since the data was through the course of november. >> so far the public isn't swayed a "wall street journal" poll this week showed 44% of voters believed republicans would be better suited to fix inflation compared to 26% who thought democrats could solve it republicans are seizing on the issue. the top house republican tweets it's no accident biden's anti-worker anti-american energy agenda has you paying for virtually every time you check out.

mccarthy is hoping to flip 70 seats in the midterm with republican leaders foregoing any legislative platform expect these inflation attacks to figure prominently. kelly. >> kayla, republicans are attacking the president himself. are they offering any solutions here >> it's interesting you ask that, kelly, because today the white house slammed republicans for being quick to criticize but not offering any concrete solutions. but what republicans are trying to do is rally opposition to president biden's build back better act by producing alternative cost estimates if some of the programs were extended and using the inflation figures to try to pressure moderate joe manchin who raised concerns about the effects of the spending to vote against the package. the president says he is going to speak to manchin personally early next week. >> kayla tausche i should 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 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 their fight against 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 just barely enough to let the lawsuits go ahead. even so, the court said the state can enforce the law while the legal challenges play out. so abortion providers can still

challenge the texas law in federal court but can't sue anybody who actually has the power to stop enforcing it chief justice john roberts joined the court's three liberals in saying the abortion providers should be allowed to sue the court clerks and texas attorney general he said by leaving sb-8 pretty much in tact, today's decision allowing texas to, more or less, nullify the supreme court's previous rulings on abortion he said, quote, the supreme court ruling from 1809 that said this if the legislators of the several states at will annul the judgments of the courts of the united states, and destroy the rights acquired under the judgments, the constitution itself becomes a solemn mockery. end quote. today's ruling was about the structure of the texas law it was not about abortion. a ruling on that in a separate case from mississippi probably won't come for several more months

>> kelly >> nbc's pete williams tonight police in daytona beach, florida, say a 19-year-old college student was plotting a columbine-style attack his alleged target, the campus of emery riddle aeronautical university but police say they stopped him thanks to two students who flagged campus security. police say they reported concerning snapchat messages the cops were notified and made an arrest. they did and found this collapsible rifle and ammo in the backpack cnbc's perry russom now with the details on his alleged plans >> reporter: police in daytona beach, florida, say they stopped john hagen leaving his apartment yesterday. >> he said once he was done at that firing range he was going to campus to enact a columbine. >> reporter: in the charging a n affidavit, it reads that he wa arrested carrying a brown backpack with two magazines in the outside pockets. the backpack was unzipped at the top and you could see the firearm sticking out hagens is a student at embry riddle facing a judge for the first time today, police say it was

two friends who tipped them off after snapchat messages. in the affidavit it reads last week, hagins began talking excessively about purchasing a gun and the gun being able to fit in his backpack to take to the school and shoot it up one friend telling police, they became more concerned about hagins when he recently sold his truck to buy the gun >> by the grace of god they came forward. >> reporter: the arrest comes a week after the school shooting in oxford, michigan. prosecutors say the accused shooters parents did not do lico making comments about shooting up the schoo enough though stop the attack. in florida, police say hagin told them he bought the gun the night before on social media and police say he admitted to making comments about shooting up the school. >> it's something that happens and there is really not a way to fully eliminate that you just have to know how to mitigate it and how to tackle the situation when it arises. >> reporter: hagins' charges are

written threats to kill, attempted homicide and terrorism. he did not enter a plea in the courtroom. his friends told police he hasn't been doing well about a year he was failing in school and then he got a parking ticket the day he bought the gun. kelly. >> perry russom live, thanks. the prosecution rests its case in the sex trafficking trial of ghislaine maxwell what the final accuser to take the stand said in court today. and flying the unfriendly skies. a flight diverted and a passenger now under arrest the alleged assault on a flight attendant that has the fbi investigating. and he is accused of one of the largest classified government leaks in american history. what happened today that has julian assange one step closer to being extradited to the u.s t ♪have yourself a merry little christmas.♪ ♪make the yule-tide gay.♪ ♪♪ ♪from now on♪ ♪our troubles will be miles away.♪

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she testified that maxwell groped her during a nude massage when she was 16 years old. cnbc's valerie castro live outside the courthouse in downtown manhattan valerie. >> reporter: kelly, the fourth and final alleged victim in the "annie" farmer she has been public and case was a woom woman named annie farmer she has been public and outspoken about claims in the past so she was the only one of the four women who testified without using a pseudonym. some of the testimony came in the form of journal entries she read out loud for the jury annie farmer addressed the court friday telling the jury it was her older sister maria one of the jeffrey epstein's employees who introduced her at 16 she recounted an outing to a movie in new york where she says epstein sat between the sisters. she says it was a little weird we held hands and he caressed my arm, gave me a weird feeling farmer said it wasn't until epstein invited her to his property in new mexico she met maxwell.

she claims they took her on a shopping trip and later at the property maxwell encouraged her to give epstein a foot massage she said, i felt very uncomfortable. i wanted to stop and i hoped it would be over quickly. then she claims maxwell directed her to that room, told her to get undressed, and said maxwell massaged her, groping her chest. asked by the prosecution why she was in court today, farmer replied, i'm here to be a part of helping maxwell be held accountable for the harm she caused in cross-examination the defense zeroed in on farmer's testimony that maxwell was not in new york when she initially met epstein and also focused on the fact that farmer says she did not document what happened in new mexico in her journals instead relying on memory for that testimony. kelly. >> valerie, when does the trial pick back up >> reporter: well, kelly, there is no court scheduled the first half of next week. the defense will begin arguments on thursday. everything is moving much more

quickly than initially expected. at first it was thought this would take about six weeks now it's thought the jury will get the case some time before christmas. and it is still unclear if maxwell herself will take the stand in her own defense kelly. >> all right valerie castro tonight, thanks. kim potter was so distraught after she shot and killed duante wright that fellow cops feared she might harm herself that's what a police officer testified at the trial today after the shooting he says he swapped guns with potter to preserve evidence. you can hear potter say she wants to kill herself. >> take this. i'll give you mine >> no, just let me kill myself. >> no, that's not happening. i'm giving you my gun. i'm holding yours. all right. >> no -- i don't know what happened. >> the former sergeant testified that moments later he asked for his gun back so that he could discretely take the bullets out before returning it.

>> i was able to turn away from her with my firearm, remove the magazine from it and the one round in the chamber, so at that time there were no rounds in the firearm. >> did you do this in a way she could see it? >> she was not able to see. >> the defense says potter has, quote, everlasting and never ending regret. the now ex-cop says she pulled out her gun instead of her taser by mistake and did not mean to shoot wright during that traffic stop in april in brooklyn center, a minneapolis suburb police in oklahoma city say a flight from d.c. to los angeles was rerouted last night after yet another chaotic scene involving a passenger. >> you don't got it. >> sit down right now. >> police say this unruly passenger assaulted a flight attendant but didn't give details as to what transpired beforehand the video shows the air marshal using a zip tie to handcuff him. police arrested the passenger

after the plane landed in oklahoma city at the will rogers world airport. booked him for disorderly conduct and public drunkenness the fbi is now investigating a british ruling cracking the door wide open open for julian assange to face a u.s. courtroom. reporting from london next. and new information into that horrific crash involving migrates in mexico, as one of the survivors explains where they were headed

julian assange julian assange is one step closer to facing spying and conspiracy charges in the united states the u.s. won an appeal over the wikileaks founder extradition in a british court. assange is accused of carrying out one of the largest leaks of classified information ever. he has denied any wrongdoing nbc's keir simmons from london with the details on today's ruling. >> reporter: the british high court here in london upholding america's appeal against a ruling that would have not seen julian aassange extradited to th u.s. his legal team saying they will launch a fresh appeal. but this decision makes it more likely that julian assange will 250,000 diplomatic cable say peer appear in an american court. the julian assange story has so much history with the 250,000 diplomatic cables that were leaked about the wars in iraq and afghanistan. there is his engagement with the russian military intelligence,

the g.r.u. to leak lurid conspiracy theories about hillary clinton and the democratic party there the rape allegations in sweden that were subsequently dropped there was that time that he was holed up in the ecuadorian embassy. but what this case is about is an american charge, not of leaking information, but of hacking, that he conspired wit chelsea manning to try to hack pentagon computers what the appeal is about is about whether the british authorities can truly be confident that julian assange will be treated well enough in an american prison already julian assange's fiance stella morris says the ruling is dangerous and misguided and a grave miscarriage of justice. >> if julian is extradited and placed under extreme conditions of isolation, it will drive him to take his own life the extradition is oppressive. >> reporter: again, this makes it more likely julian assange will face trial in america keir simmons, nbc news.

london >> interesting. update on the deadly crash in southern mexico local officials raised the death toll to 55 a reporter spoke to a survivor today and asked him where they were headed. the man responded, quote, we were headed to the american dream. the crash happened last night in chiapa state a speeding trailer truck slammed into a bridge there. more than 100 people hurt. survivors say their location inside the truck determined who lived and who died they say migrants up against the walls cushioned them when the truck flipped. the sides of the truck ripped apart on impact pouring a tangled pile of bodies on the road the head of the mexico national guard says the driver escaped. local officials say most of the migrates were from the guatemala. but some from honduras and ecuador. the associated press reports the crash is one of the deadlies moments for migrants in mexico in more than a decade.

nearly half a billion dollars worth of bitcoin is sitting somewhere in a landfill tonight. the story of the man who wants to get it back and why he can't. michael strahan ready to blast off into space jeff bezos' blue origin giving him a ride what the former super bowl star is bringing for the flight. and michigan battling an unrelenting wave of covid patients one that has the state making a request that we haven't seen since last year. new reporting from a hard-hit hospital as we approach the bottom of the hour and the top of the news on cnbc. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly

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>> in 2013, a british man accidentally threw away a hard drive. it contained 7,500 bitcoin fast forward today the crypto in the hard drive is worth more than $350 million his name is james howells, an i.t. worker from wales over the past eight years he has been digging through the local dump but so far no luck he once told nbc news it's soul destroying to be honest. every second of the day i think about what could have been in a last-ditch effort earlier this year, howells offered the local town tens of millions of dollars to help him find it. in the interview with the new the journalist, quote i hope i and feel it can be done. as long as i feel that i will keep trying. the journalist who interviewed him now d.t. max, staff writer

for "the new yorker," also an author d.t., thanks great to have you here tonight he has hope. or he thinks he has hope but is there really any hope he recovers this bitcoin? >> yeah, i think there is hope i mean, there is two questions is the drive in a condition where it can be read will the town ever let him do the digging to unearth the drive? he has gotten a fairly positives response from experts on the first of the questions but as to what the town will do that's hard to see. >> why wouldn't the town be in favor of this? what could possibly be the issue if he is willing to offer money and there is global attention on the effort to help the poor guy cover the millions? >> that's always a hard question when a bureaucracy says no but the stated reasons is one the ecological damage from pulling the garbage out of the earth two, interesting question, how do we even know that that hard drive was in your garbage when

you threw it out where is your proof? and then three, more bureaucratic, we don't have a permit to unearth what we buried so we can't do it. kind of a "new yorker" cartoon from the 90s become famous where the guy on the phone and he is talking to a guy and has the date book out. how's never? is never good for you? i mean, maybe there is more to the story. >> but i would love to see a global diplomatic effort you know just send people to the town and please let the guy dig through the trash? how many people beg to dig through trash? this race as bigger issue for crypto there are people advocating for a better way to recover lost bitcoin. do you see that happening? >> the problem with that is the people reason people want bitcoin is you can't trace it. if you give people a backup outside their control, you have an offline wallet, what james had is he had it on the hard drive. people don't do that any more because of fear of hacking a lot of people keep it in an offline wallet the problem is if you lose the

key or recovery seed words, nobody else has the ability to get in there if they did it wouldn't be secure that's james's point in the article one thing he says is like he wouldn't want any other system in place because then he wouldn't have wanted the bitcoin in the first place. >> absolutely. gets right to the heart of both the appeal and its frustration d.t., thank you for chronicling it for us tonight. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. tv host and former nfl player michael strahan set to blast off to space tomorrow. one of six people slated for a blue origin launch from texas in the morning. it was supposed to take off thursday but it was pushed back because of high winds. flights like this typically last 11 minutes he is going as honorary guest so he dunlt doesn't have to pay seats go for millions of dollars. the ceo gave the football player a football to take with him and set to enter the football hall of fame after the spaceship returns to earth

he plans to take his retired jersey, hall of fame jersey, and sule bowl ring and shell casings from his father's military funeral. america's railroad is pulling the brakes on service. that's what's topping cnbc on the money. amtrak is set to cut service next month the reason, amtrak's president says they may not have enough workers to operate all the trains about 95% of amtrak workers are at least partially vaccinated but the rest face the january 4th deadline to get the shots under the mandate for federal contractors. the move also coming as amtrak tries to recover from the seed drop in passengers during the pandemic the better.com ceo firing 900 employees on zoom last week is taking time off he faced intense backlash after the video went viral the board announced the leave of absence in a memo to staff. all aboard the hogwarts express. harry potter conjuring major magic.

one of the first books selling for $471,000 auctioneers say it's a world record price for a 20th century work of fiction. the final price, more than six times the presale estimate on wall street today, the dow up 216 points. the s&p up 45. the nasdaq up 113. i'm kelly evans in for shepard smith. it's half past the hour. here what's making the news on cnbc. washington, d.c. pauses to remember a political giant and world war ii hero. the final and emotional goodbye to bob dole. millions in the path of extreme weather. forecasters warning of dangerous nighttime tornadoes. but first, brand-new data on covid omicron in america the cdc today reporting 43 omicron cases across 22 states in just the first 8 days of this month. so far almost all cases have

been mild. but one vaccinated patient ended up in a hospital so far no deaths the most common symptoms among patients included a cough, fatigue, congestion or runny nose it's encouraging news. but cdc officials caution the u.s. may see more severe cases, since hospitalizations and deaths lag behind infections, we have seen that trend play out several times over the course of the pandemic with the holidays weeks away, reporters asked the cdc director today about whether it's safe to gather with friends and family here is dr. rochelle walensky. >> we want people to be able to get together safely or the holidays that is going to require us to be vigilant in a time where we have rising number of cases. we know the right things to do and ask people as they think about holiday travel to really do all of those things, to protect themselves and their families so what is that? that is making sure you are fully vaccinated and boosted if you're eligible for boosting >> and even with the growing concerns about omicron many

states are still trying to slow the spread of delta. right now, michigan is among the hardest hit. the state's health department says it's worried about running out of ventilators it's asking the federal government to send more. that's a request we haven't seen since the early months of the pandemic nbc's ellison barber in a hospital in lansing. >> reporter: sparrow hospital broke the covid record this week more patients hospitalized because of covid-19 than since the pandemic began all of these rooms are filled with covid patients. this entire floor is a covid ward they have 33 patients on this floor right now. on tuesday alone, seven patients died because of covid-19 they lost another patient this morning. doctors, nurses here, they tell us that many of the patients they are seeing right now, they live in rural neighboring counties where the vaccination rate is lower than the state's vaccination rate

and they say many patients that they're seeing right now are talking about things that are misinformation, some refusing treatments because of misinformation things they have seen on the internet everyone we've spoken to say they didn't expect to be back in this place we met one woman who contracted covid-19 about a week and a half ago. she was unvaccinated >> don't make the same mistake i did. you get in there and you get that vaccine this stuff is deadly ooh. really, really bad so whatever you're contemplating, yes, no, indifferent, whatever, don't decide like that just go, do it >> reporter: 82% of the covid patients hospitalized at sparrow are unvaccinated the hospital says the majority of covid related deaths are among patients who are unvaccinated, or had co-morbidities, other r

preexisting conditions and pre-existing conditions an hadn't gotten a booster shot this is not the only hospital statewide 85% of all dealing with a surge of covid patients right now statewide 85% of all in-patient hospital beds and icu beds are full kelly? >> wow, ellison barber tonight. new york governor kathy hochul announced a sweeping mask mandate today. she says everybody will have to mask up in all indoor public places unless they're required to show proof of vaccination the new rules set to take effect monday, applying to all shops, restaurants, venues statewide. the policy may not have big impact in places like new york city where people already face strict vaccine mandates. but the governor says it will be, as she put it, a wake-up call for the rest of the state if businesses fail to comply they could face civil an criminal penalties up to $1,000. the mask mandate remains in place until at least january 15th. weather alert. a monster storm system barrelling through the midwest

and tennessee valley tonight more than 14 million people from arkansas to indiana at risk of strong winds, large hail and nighttime tornadoes. officials urge people to stay alert and plan to shelter. chief meteorologist rick mitchell from the local station nbc 5 dallas rick, a serious threat >> definitely, kelly this could be a busy night let's set the stage. you've got winter moving into spring, not feeling like december at all where the severe weather threat is the greatest you've got the cold front. as it pushes east it's going to produce a fairly widespread area with a severe weather risk in fact, a level 4 moderate risk on the scale that goes up to 5 from st. louis through memphis, surrounding that is enhanced risk the threat for severe weather including tornadoes is rather high with this system. got snow on the back side of it.

and you already have thunderstorms that are developing and moving across missouri we have seen tornado warnings occurring. and the conditions will be favorable for the thunderstorms to continue to intensify folks in these areas need to make sure they have a way to receive weather warnings after they go to bed, whether it be through a weather radio or smartphone you can see the red areas here, represent tornado watches that are currently in effect. and this will likely be extended a little farther east as we go deep they are the nighttime hours. this will be a computer model here we're going to show thunderstorms as they continue to intensify we're out to midnight tonight. okay so a lot of folks are asleep at that point thunderstorms from just east of chicago but they become more numerous south of indianapolis around louisville and then farther to the south and any of these will be able to tap into those ingredients that

spin in the atmosphere that could lead to severe thunderstorms and potential tornadoes. there is 2:00 a.m. and then the threat will begin to diminish as we go into tomorrow morning but, kelly, it's going to be a fairly busy night and folks need to stay weather aware. >> nighttime tornadoes sound absolutely terrifying. rick, we appreciate it thank you. the nation's capitol honoring and bidding farewell to bob dole the former senate leader presidential contender, and world war ii hero's funeral held at the national cathedral today. president biden delivering the eulogy for his long time friend and republican colleague >> bob was literally the master of the senate. we served together for 25 years. we disagreed, but we were never disagreeable with one another. bob will be with us always, cracking a joke, moving a bill,

finding common ground. >> now following the funeral, the motorcade with dole's casket made a stop at the world war ii memorial which he helped create. dole's body is now back in his home state of kansas for a memorial service there he will eventually be laid to rest at arlington national cemetery the pandemic transforming the american working experience. now calls to truncate the workweek altogether, four days instead of five. tonight, the push to make it happen by an act of congress and "shake it off. one of taylor swift's biggest hits, now the song has her facing trial by jury for fast-ace throat relief. wooo vaporize sore throat pain with vicks vapocool drops.

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with wifi speeds faster than a gig. click, call, or visit a store today. sing 2 the push to shorten the workweek from five days to four gaining momentum around the globe. this week the united arab emirates announced a plan to transition to a four and a half day work week starting january weekends in the gulf nation will now last from friday afternoon to sunday.

currently the uae weekend is friday and saturday which is the standard in many predominantly muslim communities advocates say it's better for work-life balance and increase worker performance now the change gains support among members of congress. this week the congressional progressive caucus with a group of nearly 100 lawmakers formally endorsed the 32-hour work week act. wouldn't eliminate the 40 hour work weeks but require the employers to offer overtime pa after 32 hours alox pong now, advocate an author of the book "work shorter better, smarter and less, here is how." alex, thanks welcome. seems like a sea change but what if it's a pandemic fad >> well, fortunately it turns out the shift to four-day week

is something happening the last several years. in fact, the pandemic proved to accelerate it rather than sort of slow it down. but while companies and people have become more interested in flexible work and shorter work weeks as a result of, you know, the experience of the pandemic, it's not a fad it's something that people have been talking about for decades and only recently really been able to put in practice at scale. >> wouldn't shorter workdays actually be better than fewer to take the 32 hours in other words and spread them over 5 days instead of 4. >> for some industries that makes a lot of sense i think that the -- you know, and companies have to figure out for themselves whether the benefits of having everybody in the office for four days or for five shorter days is sort of works better than let's say flexible work or hybrid work but i think that, you know, companies choosing four-day weeks do so because it is a clear set of goals, you know, everyone understands what a three-day weekend is and how great it can be. it means everyone is in the office together. you get all the synergies and benefits of collaboration and having people together but you also have a great

incentive to be effective, efficient, not waste time and to work together, so that everyone can leave the office on thursday afternoon and enjoy a three-day weekend. >> maybe fly halfway across the world if they want and come back on monday. i am curious if this would be good for competition as you have written. it would be pro competitive. what do you mean by that. >> so companies that move to four-day weeks don't do so because they are trying to interrogate capitalist ideas about time or something like this they are facing existential threats of massive burnout, recruitment and retention and especially for smaller companies, for start-ups competing with bigger firms, for example. a four-day week offers a quality of life for more experienced employees that can be attractive in a way that a high salary that they can't offer anyway, sort of will not be -- might not be. for the uae, the calculation is

that this will happen at scale, that the entire country has the potential to be competitive for global talent in a way that they might not be otherwise. >> all right that's it. we're going home thank you so much. appreciate it, alex pang. >> thank you. manatees dying at record rates lately more than 1,000 manatees died so far this year in florida alone according to the state's fish and wildlife conservation commission, nearly double from the same period last year. scientists say the main problem is starvation. manatees eat sea grass but climate change is causing algae blooms that leave them with nothing to eat advocates hope a recently approved federal plan may turn the tide with some help from romaine lettuce. here's nbc's kerry sanders. >> reporter: manatees, the gentle giants without a single predator, but this morning, they're in crisis. >> manatees need our help right now. >> reporter: the numbers tell the story. more than 1,000 manatees died in

florida this year. tragically most deaths from starvation often called sea cows, some manatees are so malnourished, they're too weak to swim after much debate a just approved federal and state plan, unprecedented measure, wildlife experts deploy teams to feed the manatees in the wild on the menu, romaine lettuce >> this unprecedented event worth unprecedented actions. >> reporter: biologists say this crisis is manmade. this lagoon is typically a winter haven for manatees. it's here where a significant number of the vegetarians survive on bottom-growing sea grasses. but in recent years waste and fertilizer runoff triggered massive algae blooms, the thick gunk on the top shades the grass below from the sun, causing it to die off and leaving the gentle giants without their usual food supply. >> we have had tens of thousands

of acres of sea grass die off over the last several years. so this is a pretty sobering moment for manatees in this part of the state >> reporter: experts warn feeding the wild animals is experimental and not without risk manatees could become habituated to the human feedings and rely on the routine when the crisis ends. >> the main focus of the efforts are to keep manatees in the wild and keep them healthy. >> reporter: the state of florida home to the nation's largest population of manatees in salt and freshwater now embarking on a precarious mission, to save the iconic creatures but some say we have only ourselves to blame. >> the ocean is in trouble we should look at ourselves, what are we doing that is causing the decline of these ancient systems? and species that were around long before there were humans. >> reporter: manatees can weigh up to 3,000 pounds and eat 10% of the body weight a day so that's a lot of food

while we feed the manatees here by hand, that is against the law in the state of florida. despite folks best intentions if they see a manatee, running to feed it, the authorities say, do not do it what they plan to do is put the lettuce on a conveyor belt and they will feed the manatees with the lettuce going down the conveyer belt. so the manatees don't look up, see a human face, and associate our faces with food. kelly. >> what a difficult challenge. kerry, thanks. taylor swift could be headed to trial the pop star accused of stealing lyrics for one of her biggest hits of all time and the classic musical premiering on the big screen. what the remake means for a rebounding movie industry. but first, singer/songwriter michael nesmith from the wildly popular '60s band the monkees died in the statement his family says he died of natural causes. they were overnight rock stars after the television debut in

1966 ♪ hey hey little monkeys keep monkeying around ♪ >> nesmith showed up for his audition with a bag of dirty laundry in hand. he could go to the laundry mat after. barged in the casting office harmonica around his neck and put his feet on a table. he got the job and eventually had a solo singing and songwriting career nesmith and his bandmate micky dolan finished a farewell tour last month dolan released a statement i'll miss it so much, especially the schtick. michael nesmith was 78 ♪ the closest is gone still the memory lives on ♪

mom, hurry! our show's gonna start soon! i promised i wouldn't miss the show and mommy always keeps her promises. oh, no! seriously? hmm! it's not the same if she's not here. oh. -what the. oh my goodness! i don't suppose you can sing, can you? ♪ the snow's comin' down ♪ -mommy? ♪ i'm watching it fall ♪ watch the full story at www.xfinity.com/sing2 . taylor swift is set to taylor swift is set to face a trial over whether she plagiarized lyrics for one of her popular songs, "shake it

off. the accusations made by song writers by the girl group 3 lw they released this song called "players going to play." ♪ players, they gonna play haters, they gonna hate ♪ >> i remember it well. 14 years later swift released "shake it off. ♪ players gonna play, play, pla and the haters gonna hate hate, hate, hate, hate ♪ >> in the lawsuit the songwriters say swift copied the lyrics in 2018, 3lw song writers appealed after the judge dismissed the case and yesterday the judge denied swift's request to dismiss the case the case will go to a jury trial. in 2019, a representative for swift denied the claim in a statement, quote, these men are not the originators or creators of the common phrases players or haters or combinations of them haters going to hate. in 1961, the movie

adaptation of "west side story" became a sensation 60 years later the new "west side story" appears poised to do the same. >> i never seen you before you're not puerto rican. >> is that okay? >> do you want to start world war iii? >> steven spielberg's highly anticipated remake of the iconic 1957 rivalry between two gangs, the jets and the sharks, officially hits theaters today the film stars ansel el gourd and rachel zigleer critics are raving and the movie industry hopes this could jumpstart a box office that's been hit hard by pandemic. turner classic movie host dave carger the reviews are strong is this the jump start the movie industry needs? >> wouldn't that be great? because it has been sluggish as people have been hesitant to go back to theaters the bad news is that older audiences who really are the target audience for a musical like this are the audience that is the most hesitant to go back to the theaters.

so i'm not expecting any record breaking box office this weekend for "west side story." might make in the $15 million range. but the real story here as you just alluded to is how special this film is directed by steven spielberg with a fantastic young cast that really feels more authentic than the original 1961 version did. >> you know, it's funny you bring that up. the original "west side story" has been criticized for enti inauthentic casting and cultural shortcomings does that version deal with the past? >> in a fun way it acknowledges the previous film as i'm sure you know by casting rita moreno in a wonderful role designed for the remake, and she won the best supporting actress oscar for playing in the 1961 version. her new character is so terrific

and performance is to great she could win another oscar for the remake of the movie she won for. that would be a first. and if she gets nominated which i think is a certainty she will be the oldest acting nominee ever because she will be 90. she turns 90 this weekend. but the movie also updatess things because, as many know the 1961 version cast mainly white actors with brown makeup on to play the puerto rican cast members. well that's of course not the case here. you have wonderful young latino and latina performers, particularly rachel zigler there. arunay dubois. they steal the show. along with rita moreno >> a lot of people are looking forward to in. i'd love to make my mom and see it but like you said with omicron there is hesitancy still. is there a way to watch it streaming? >> not yet for a movie like this i think you can expect it to be like disney plus, later after it's been out in theaters for a while, maybe january or february but for now, it's only going to be in theaters but if you are interested in

seeing the original "west side story," it just so happens we are showing it on turner classic movies in five minutes at the top of the hour so you can watch that tonight and then watch the new version and compare. >> that is a perfect tease dave, thanks for the time tonight. dave karger. christmas lights whether you hang your own, haven't gotten around to it, or appreciate the works of art next door, they are part of the holiday tradition. in new jersey one man uses them to literally brighten up his life it began while he was fighting to save it local reporting from nbc 4 new york and their reporter ida spiegel. >> reporter: lozure court is your average, quiet suburban road until you hit the russo house. ♪ where christmas is spilling out of every crevice and on every inch of the front lawn here in parimis. homeowner john russo said creating this wonderland of lights has become his life's work. >> i just fell in love with it she fell in love with it just kept going. buying more lights and putting

them up. ♪ ♪ wonderful christmastime ♪ >> reporter: the idea for this elaborate display came back in 2014 on a dare of sorts. it was a promise he made to his girlfriend after getting diagnosed with throat cancer she said, when you survive, build a light show and so he did. >> represents a long hard fight. you know it was seven weeks of torture with the chemo and radiation. >> reporter: not only did john survive, but he's had a clean bill of health every year since, which means every year he adds a new future new this year the dancing penguin. >> there is more downstairs that haven't come oh and put up. >> there is more to come. >> oh, yeah, always more >> reporter: john says he works on it all year round he personally programmed all 12,000 plus lights to match a playlist you can find on the radio. it costs hundreds of dollars in

electricity, not to mention th thousands he spent on the lights themselves but he says, it's worth it >> they're amazing >> they're amazing which is your favorite one >> the big christmas tree. >> reporter: hundreds of cars show up on the weekends. the only payment he asks is a donation to toys for tots. >> i love it i love it. i love listening to the kids outside, screaming and yelling ♪ am red-nosed reindeer ♪ >> so awesome. some art pranksters in san francisco took aim at the art basel. as art collectors flocked to the art basel. anyone was invited to the bark basel. even a red carpet and podium complete with a plastic case entries include not one but two mini chairs. one of these, a cat. maybe an egg and a piece of toast i don't know

one woman showing off a dog toys maybe it's a dog showing off its own toy. hard to tell it's a buff looking pikachu. why not? and no shortage of great fashion looks. the organizers suggested folks wear eclectic attire like from working from home. bart basel was likely a one-time event. 40 seconds now on a race to the finish inflation hit a 39-year high last month as consumer prices continue to rise for just about everything the supreme court has decided to let texas' new abortion law stand, but justices are also giving the greenlight for abortion providers to file suit federal prosecutors restin their case in the sex trafficking trial of ghislaine maxwell. the defense picks up next week and now you know the news on this friday, december 10th, 2021 i'm kelly evans. go put up some christmas lights.

♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ this is called momentum. and there's no off-season. just work that builds on itself over and over and over again... becuase the only way is through.

narrator: in this episode of "american greed"... karl karlsen considers himself a "country gentleman." i think he strived to be the center of attention. narrator: he runs a sprawling farm, he raises belgian draft horses... my father liked to keep them, and the bigger the better. narrator: ...and he does it all on a factory worker's salary. how? i mean, the whole thing just makes no sense. narrator: the answer may lie in the so-called "accidents" that keep happening. operator: 911, what's the location of your emergency? cindy: i think i need an ambulance. accidents that claim the lives of his son and wife... she's in there and she's stuck and she's going to die. i started screaming. i couldn't even stop. narrator: accidents that always lead to a hefty insurance payout.