. it was unbelievable to get an offer from all the sharks and get them fighting, but i feel like i got the best. i've got the two billionaires backing me. see you tomorrow "the news with shepard smith" starts now heightened alert for american troops and a big rebound in stocks. i'm shepard smith. this is "the news" on cnbc a historic day on wall street. >> what a turnaround more than 1,200-point swing for the dow. >> markets tanking the s&p hitting correction territory. what caused the panic and the rebound? >> the decision has been made to put these units on higher alert and higher alert only. the pong readying american troops nato sending reinforcements. tonight the new fears that russia and ukraine are on the

brink of war the supreme court taking up a challenge to affirmative action the two cases at hand and what it could mean for the future of college admissions. a deadly weekend for police. three officers killed, including a 22-year-old with the nypd. >> we will not surrender our city to the violent few. >> now the new york city mayor revealing a plan to fight back a criminal investigation into former president trump gets a major boost. beijing in full emergency mode ahead of the olympics and nbc sports peter king on the wildest playoff weekend in nfl history. >> announcer: live from cnbc, the facts, the truth, "the news with shepard smith." good evening thousands of u.s. troops could be heading to russia's doorstep. the pentagon today put 8,500 american troops or somewhere near that on high alert for possible deployment to eastern

europe has fears of a russian invasion of ukraine escalate quickly. >> it's very clear that the russians have no intention right now of de-escalating no deployment orders have been sent no missions have been assigned this is really about getting folks ready to go in case they're needed. >> the biden administration says they want to send a strong message that the u.s. has committed to nato and to helping our allies defend themselves it comes as the nato alliance reinforces its eastern flank, seen here in blue. ukraine is there in yellow and russia in red. today president biden held a video call in the situation room with european leaders as they coordinate a response to russian aggression the u.s. has sent shipments of lethal aid to ukraine to bolster its defenses, including ammunition for ukrainian frontline defenders. the kremlin has denied any plans to invade ukraine, but recent satellite images shown here have made it undeniable that russia

has massed troops, tanks, artillery, and other equipment in key locations near ukraine's border these images are from just last week russia continues to flex its military muscle, holding drills in ukraine's backyard. the state department has ordered the families of u.s. diplomats to leave ukraine because of the growing threat of an attack by russia the kremlin has been pouring military equipment and soldiers into belarus it's a russian ally that borders ukraine and is in close striking distance from ukraine's capital city of kyiv over the weekend, we saw russian fighter jets deploy to belarus the kremlin insists they're there for only military exercises. we're covering all angles tonight. perspective from former supreme allied commander at nato, admiral james deva reit es kayla kayla tausche. matt baudener.

>> reporter: from here in kyiv, the ukrainian capital, you can barely hear the drums of war they're a very distant sound saber rattling you just soendon't see it here. people here are relatively calm. we have seen some signals, mostly foreign governments we've heard the american embassy is starting to evacuate nonessential staff and family members of staff have been ordered to leave the ukrainian government, who addressed the nation this afternoon, called that excessive and said that this was a bit dramatic they have advised their citizens to remain calm but to stay strong in the face of a potential invasion looking around this city, it seems like most people are following that advice. nobody is loading their cars and heading off to the border. instead, everybody here seems very calm. shep. >> matt bradley, thank you russia is blaming nato and the u.s. for these escalating tensions over ukraine. news team coverage continues with reaction from the kremlin

here's nbc's matt bodner in moscow. >> reporter: the kremlin today rejected essentially every accusation that has been thrown at it by the west in recent days, calling it information hils hysteria, denying intent to invade, essentially portraying this as entirely a figment of the collective administration. they also lashed out at western weapons deliveries to ukraine, saying all this is going to accomplish in the end is encouraging what they say are the hotheads in the government in kyiv. it's very important to follow that narrative if russia decides that it is going into ukraine, it will be painted as defensive. so this is something that i think later this week after the united states delivers its response to russia, we need to be watching out for. shep. >> matt bodner, thank you. we're now hearing from president biden after his call with european leaders cnbc's senior white house

correspondent ta kayla tausche live for us. >> reporter: president biden spoke with european partners for nearly 90 minutes this afternoon as that security situation intensifies. he addressed the call briefly this evening. >> i had a very, very, very good meeting. total unanimity with all the european leaders we'll talk about it later. >> reporter: but the alliance is coming off a week of mixed messaging. french officials today denying reports that france disagrees with the u.s. and uk that a russian invasion could be imminent after a comment from mr. biden suggesting a minor incursion could see a lesser response, secretary of state antony blinken said any short of a ground offensive would still see steep consequences. >> we've also been clear that there are other things, we were just talking about this, that russia could do short of sending forces into ukraine again to try to destabilize or topple the government

cyberattacks, hybrid means, et cetera there we've also been clear. there will will be a swift response, a calibrated response, a united response. >> reporter: on capitol hill, top senators are meeting tonight to discuss a path forward on a wide-ranging sanctions package that needs bipartisan support for passage. a bill with white house backing allows president biden to pull the trigger only in the case of invasion republicans want congress to have a say, and they want some sanctions now as a stronger deterrent. shep. >> kayla tausche live at the white house. retired four star naval officer admiral james da vitas, senior nbc news international security and diplomacy contributor. admiral, thanks as always. thousands of u.s. troops now on heightened alert to assist in the defense of nato allies, at least potentially. practically speaking, what does this help? >> well, this is cnbc, so let's kind of do the numbers we already have 50,000 u.s.

troops forward stationed in europe our nato allies have several hundred thousand troops along their borders. so 8,000 troops from the united states is not an enormous response, but here's the point, shep these 8,000 troops are a symbolic presence. they're coming from the u.s. to europe number two, they come with specific skill sets in cyber communications, intelligence, special operations they create real leverage with the already significant nato and u.s. forces that are there and thirdly, they are a signal to vladimir putin that the united states will remain engaged in europe. i think it's a pretty significant step we haven't pulled the trigger and deployed them yet, but i think it's the right move by the biden administration to put them on alert. >> so, admiral, a signal but a force deterrent, or is that a

situation that's already passed? >> yeah, great question. i think it's a bit of both and, no, i don't think that moment has passed. when you couple it, shep, as you know, with the significant economic sanctions that have been clearly communicated, when you couple it with nato troops moving toward the borders from western europe, and, above all, the fairly unified responses from the allies. as your report pointed out, you know, there's a few discrepancies here and there but by and large, nato is standing together on this. those three things we hope will have a deterrent effect on vladimir putin. >> we've talked for decades about these sorts of back and forth maneuvers and how what you really worry about is some sort of mistake, where things get out of control or out of hand. what's the point where that's all we can do? >> i think we're getting pretty

close to that, and if putin really rolls his tanks across that border, that's when the moment of potential miscalculation occurs. frankly, shep, it could be in cyber. it could be a russian offensive cyberattack that elicits a u.s. cyber response those can be very significant actions. that's where this kind of shadow world could erupt into a very significant conflict so you're right. we ought to be worried not only about the physical and the strategic effect here, but the potential for a miscalculation at the end. >> one last thing before we go everybody knows there's a pipeline from russia into germany. how in the world are europeans and the west, for that matter, going to unite when he could cut the energy off >> hey, here's the good news you're right to raise this, but so far, that pipeline has not been energized nothing is flowing through it.

and so it becomes kind of leverage going both ways frankly, and i will tell you this if those tanks roll into ukraine, shep, nord stream 2, that pipeline, there will be nothing but air whistling through that pipe. that's going to be pretty hard on vladimir putin and his natural gas sales. europe will be able over time to compensate and make up that energy i'm not sure if putin can make up those markets that one cuts both ways. >> i hear you. admiral james stavridis, thank you. market rally what a wild day on wall street major markets mounting a dramatic comeback, not seen really since the heart of the financial crisis the s&p 500 briefly hit correction territory in a white-knuckle session that played out all day here on cnbc. the s&p and nasdaq rallied their way back to the green after dropping by more than 3% biggest comeback since 2008.

the dow closed positive after it plummeted by more than 1,100 points early in the session. the dow's biggest comeback since march of 2020. it happened with crypto too. bitcoin bounced back today after it plunged to its lowest level in six months. bitcoin off to a rocky start this year. it's lost nearly half its value since it peaked last november. one of the factors that drove the sell-off, nervousness around the federal reserve. investors looking for any signal on how aggressive the central bank will be in trying to beat back inflation the fed chair jay powell scheduled to speak on wednesday. in a moment, we'll speak to the squawk box co-host on the crazy comeback first to the big board and cnbc senior markets correspondent dominick chu. >> you mentioned some of those superlative stats with regard to the comeback when it comes to the nasdaq composite, this is arguably the one that many triggers are looking the most at because it's

become the home for many of the stocks at the heart. names like apple and microsoft and alphabet, tesla among others if you take a look at the overall picture for apple, microsoft, and alphabet, overall, the reason why you're seeing the pull backs happen, these are the three biggest stocks in not just the s&p 500 but the nasdaq as well if you look up these three stocks they make up 17% of the s&p and a whopping 29% of the nasdaq 100 these downside moves here, albeit a little bit more modest than some of the other components, carry a lot more weight that's why a lot of traders are watching these three names in particular by the way, if you're looking for some of the biggest moves, check out the intraday action we saw today. you mentioned the nasdaq and the recovery we saw there. we came down from almost down 5% to close up by over half a percent here these are some of the stocks that really kind of led the way higher in terms of big bouncebacks. first of all, take a look at this stock tesla shares on an intraday

basis, at the lows that we saw here, going back up here, you talk about a 9% gain just on an intraday basis that's one big one also check out what's happening in other parts of the market one big one is netflix a streaming video company that's come under some at least scrutiny over its possible subscriber growth in the future. it rallied by about 10% off the intraday lows. one other one to watch, a big move in on peloton shares on an intraday basis on red here, up 15% on an intraday basis. some big wild moves. >> it was incredible to watch all day. thanks a lot of attention on what chairman powell is going to do obviously. does today's market swing influence the fed in any way >> my suspicion is no. had it continued to collapse and fall and maybe fall for days on

end, jay powell would make have to rethink things in that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy but he is really intent on fighting inflation, and what's happening in the stock market right now is not having a real impact in the world when it comes to the issue of inflation. so i thinkfor now, he's going to be watching and waiting having said that, our great colleague steve weissman had commented today when you look at the bond market, investors now seem to be betting that maybe he's not going to be raising interest rates at the same rate or at least the expectation that had been there even just this morning. again, we're going to have to see what he says on wednesday. >> for retail investors, andrew, everyday folks who maybe are a little new to the market, today might have been -- i don't know -- a learning experience? >> i'm sure it was we have a lot of new investors that have joined in this market,

especially during the pandemic, and hopefully if there's a lesson, it's when things are going either great or things are going terribly, to hang on and hold it has never been a great decision to try to time the market having said that, there are a lot of folks who try. >> what did kramer say today are you that good? are you really that good the answer is obviously no much more on today's wild ride coming right up. a live report, cnbc special report hosted by halftime report's scott wapner. jim cramer joins in right after "the news" on cnbc. police officers gunned down in several cities across the country. in new york city, one still clinging to life now the new mayor unveiling an ambitious new plan and vowing not to surrender the city. an hours-long rescue operation in baltimore after a burning building partially collapsed on top of firefighters tonight, the flags lowered to

half-staff as we learn not everyone survived. a criminal investigation into the former president takes a significant turn a judge today issues a ruling in georgia that just gave a district attorney a critical new tool as a dj, i know all about customization. that's why i love liberty mutual. they customize my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. how about a throwback? ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ napoleon was born and raised to conquer. but he was just kind of over it, you know. watching prime video he realized he should follow his dreams. so he ordered a microphone with prime next day delivery. now the only thing he cared about conquering was his audience.

prime changes everything. police departments nationwide on edge in some areas after several officers were shot over the weekend in houston, a man shot and killed a sheriff's deputy during a routine traffic stop in d.c., an officer was wounded after a man opened fire on him in the street. and in new york city, two officers shot as they responded to a domestic incident at an apartment. one of them later died the other seriously hurt and still in a hospital. it's part of a broader spike in violent crime playing out across the country right now. and local leaders are trying to handle the crisis.

eric adams is new york city's new mayor. he's also one of the city's former police captains today mayor adams rolled out his new blueprint to try to cut down on gun violence. cnbc's perry russom now with the details of his plan. >> we're going to get trigger pullers off the streets and guns out of their hands >> reporter: new york city mayor eric adams unveiling a list of changes to fight the city's gun violence it includes putting more officers on patrol, creating new neighborhood safety teams focused on gun violence. adams says the nypd will work with state police to start spot checks for guns at entry points in the city. >> we would avoid mistakes of the past these officers will be identifiable as nypd they will have body cameras, and they will have enhanced training and oversight. >> reporter: police say this is the gun that was used to kill officer jason rivera on friday, a modified handgun

in new york city, five officers have been shot so far this year. yesterday rivera's body was moved to a funeral home. the 22-year-old is being remembered as positive and caring here he is senior year of high school with a message to classmates >> when i was a freshman, i didn't have no one to motivate me i want to motivate you. >> reporter: in november of 2020, rivera wrote an essay called "why i became a police officer. it reads, growing up in manhattan, the relationship between the police and the community was not great. over time, he saw the department pushing for change, adding, this is when i realized that i wanted to be a part of the men in blue. better the relationship between the community and the police candles are burning outside of the building where he grew up. >> the entire building is mourning he cared about the community he just wanted to do better. >> my fellow new yorkers, we are going to do a lot more than prayer we're going to turn our pain into purpose we're going to yunite and take action. >> reporter: police say lashawn

mcneil was the shooter and they also found a loaded ar-15 under his mattress they have no idea how he got his hands on that. the mayor confirming he died today after being shot on friday our investigative team in new york is reporting mcneil has a history of being a conspiracy theorist with anti-government ideas. shep. >> perry russom live tonight, thanks we got late news today of three firefighters killed after the burning building they were in partially collapsed it happened in baltimore an official says a fourth firefighter is on life support at a hospital in critical condition after he was pulled from that wreckage they were all battling a fire in a three-story row home it was vacant at the time according to the fire department two of the firefighters killed were 15-year veterans with the department the other had served for seven years. oxford high school has reopened in michigan nearly two months after a deadly school shooting there the principal of that school in

a suburb of detroit told students they're reclaiming the building after the tragedy >> we know it's going to be really difficult for our students and our staff to come back because we're still grieving throughout the last several weeks, we've been reminded again and again of one important fact. our community is strong. >> the principal said the school will provide students with mental health resources. school officials released photos of renovations to the school they include some upgrades because of the damage from the shooting new paint, carpeting, and wall graphics featuring the school's mascot they said younger students in the elementary and middle schools wrote encouraging notes that have been hung on the students' lockers. police say a 15-year-old opened fire in a hallway, killing four students, hurting six other students and a teacher he's facing murder, assault, and weapons charges. prosecutors say his parents bought him the gun they're facing involuntary manslaughter charges all three have pleaded not guilty the suspect's next hearing is

set for february 22nd. an update now on a story we reported here last week about an overdose death in a middle school in connecticut. at least two school districts in that state just announced they're making narcan available in classrooms. narcan is a medicine that can reverse an opioid overdose the districts include both hartford and new britain, connecticut. the announcements come after cops say a 13-year-old hartford student died of a fentanyl overdose it happened at the school earlier this month investigators are still trying to figure out how the seventh grader got the drug. cops say they found about 40 small bags of fentanyl in powder form inside that school when they searched. officials for both school districts say they'll train school nurses and staff to use narcan and recognize signs of overdose the future of college admissions in america set to go

before the supreme court what the justices will consider that could change affirmative action for public and private universities nationwide. the official start to tax season is today, and it's expected to be the worst one ever the reason has little to do with thn e hewhat you'll dli with his citi custom cash℠ card, dan earns cash back that automatically adjusts to where his spending is trending. just ask stepping outside his comfort zone dan... okay, i don't- i don't know where the hole for this is. ...or fourth time streaming that period drama dan... you just made me miss her best line, so now i'm going to have to start it again ...even insisted he didn't need directions dan. okay, i'm not lost. i'm exploring. that said, do you know where i am? earn 5% cash back in your top eligible spend category, up to $500 spent each billing cycle. with the citi custom cash℠ card.

the supreme court taking up a case that could change the admissions process at colleges and universities all across the country. the court agreed today to hear a challenge to affirmative action. it's consolidating two cases they've both been filed by a group called students for fair admissions one accuses harvard of discriminating against asian american students. the other accuses the university of north carolina of discriminating against both asian americans and white applicants lower courts have ruled harvard and unc were making legitimate efforts to diversify their student body by considering race

in admissions. nbc's justice correspondent pete williams now pete, the court has changed considerably since the last time we heard a similar case on affirmative action. >> reporter: yes, and i think that may make all the difference because this is going to be the most serious threat in decades to the practice of considering a student's race in admissions, and it could result in a decision that either bans it completely or vastly scales it back the supreme court has repeatedly ruled, most recently just six years ago, that schools can't use quotas to make racial admissions goals but they can consider a student's race as a plus factor, looking at it among other qualities in helping schools achieve the educational benefits of a more diverse student body the challengers, though, say that is a vague concept and that if the schools want diversity, then they should consider a student's background and experiences directly without using race as a proxy. but the change that you're talking about is the fact that two justices who ruled in favor of affirmative action in the

past, anthony kennedy and ruth bader ginsburg, are gone, succeeded by trump appointees brett kavanaugh and amy coney barrett. they haven't written much about affirmative action has lower court judges, so we don't know much about their views on this but i think it's fair to say they'll be more skeptical than kennedy and ginsburg will. >> pete williams, thanks. three former police officers from minneapolis on trial related to the death of george floyd. today prosecutors say they made a conscious decision not to protect him. why the defense says it didn't have a choice. tensions mounting between russia and ukraine u.s. troops now on high alert. so what is president putin's endgame? we hear from a man who spent years in the high-stakes region serving as u.n. ambassador to ukraine when we get to the bottom of the hour and the top of the news on cnbc. we're getting destroyed out there. we need a plan! i have a plan... right now at t-mobile,

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the developing situation between russia and ukraine up to 8,500 u.s. troops are now on high alert to possibly deploy to eastern europe. the pentagon insists no final decision has been made on deployment and that it's only a precaution as fears rise of a russian invasion of ukraine. john herps now, senior director of the atlanta council's eurasia center, former ambassador to ukraine. mr. ambassador, you spent several years there. is the u.s. doing enough to deter putin from invading? >> no. the biden administration deserves credit for talking about major sanctions if russia invades, talking about sending additional arms to ukraine if russia invades but that's reactive, they need to be proactive. the weapons need to flow to ukraine now. the additional weapons need to flow to ukraine now. now, the administration made the first delivery of such new weapons last week, which is a

step in the right direction. but they need to send more weapons. they need to send some of the more sophisticated weapons ukraine is asking for. also the news today about 8,500 troops who might move to eastern europe is good news, but not enough the troops have already been heading in that direction, and we should be working actively within nato to move nato forces more to the east this will let putin know that if he invades ukraine with these new forces, his geopolitical position will weaken >> and then if he does invade, which even our own president has said he believes he will -- i think the quote is, he's got to do something -- then what do we do >> well, president biden was ill advised to say that. we don't know putin is going to invade, and i think the measures we are threatening may persuade him not to but if we take those measures now so he knows crystal clear that huge sanctions are coming if he invades, the chances of him actually invading go way down but we need to be stronger

we need to be more proactive. >> i know that putin would like a sort of land bridge to crimea. there are a lot of things he might want in the east but does putin want to get to kyiv and begin re-establishing sort of an old soviet union look, or what does he want >> at a minimum, he wants to persuade ukraine to change its foreign policy and do what moscow demands he can't do that unless he takes a major military action that succeeds but it's unclear if a major military action would succeed. he can seize anyplace in ukraine he wants his military is powerful enough to do that but the ukrainian people will fight, and he will find he has a war of occupation which will be very damaging to him >> what do you see happening >> i believe that the ukrainian people will rise up. at the end of world war ii, ukraine fought an insurgency against the soviet union that lasted years

at this point in time, maybe 75% of the ukrainian people despise for the kremlin for the war it's been conducting against ukraine since 2014 if they try to establish a land bridge to crimea, if they try to take kyiv, they can probably do that and then find they have a war on their hands that will be hard for them to win. >> ambassador john herbst, thank you very much for your time. a special grand jury, we learned today, will investigate whether former president trump broke the law when he allegedly pressured election officials in georgia to find votes for him. today a judge in fulton county approved that request from the district attorney there, willis. she has been looking into the infamous phone call between trump and georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger on january 2nd, 2021. in that call, the then-president asked mr. raffensperger to find 11,780 votes that was the exact number of ballots needed to overturn joe

biden's win in the state's presidential election. the d.a. said she needs this special grand jury because witnesses haven't cooperated with her office. witnesses including m mr. raffensperger. the grand jury will come with subpoena power and will solely focus on this case the former president hasn't responded to cnbc's request for comment on today's decision. but in a statement last week, mr. trump said, the call with raffensperger was perfect, and repeated false claims about widespread ballot fraud in the state. prosecutors accusing three former minneapolis cops of choosing not to intervene as their colleague killed george floyd. opening statements began in st. paul today in the federal trial for the officers who were on-scene when floyd was killed by the former cop, derek chauvin, back in may of 2020 they're facing accusations of violating his civil rights by failing to give him medical aid. today a federal prosecutor said it was their duty to intervene,

but instead said, when george floyd was in the custody of the defendants, they watched as george floyd died a slow and agonizing death. a lawyer for one of the former officers, officer tou thao, argued his client's actions were not criminal he said the death of mr. floyd is indeed a tragedy. however, a tragedy is not a crime. the trial comes about nine months after a jury convicted their former colleague, derek chauvin, of murder and manslaughter video showed him kneeling on george floyd's neck for more than nine minutes as floyd said dozens of time he could not breathe. a lawyer for one of the officers said he plans to show the jury chauvin called all the shots and that his client did everything that he could with the training that he had. let's bring in david henderson, civil rights attorney, cnbc contributor. david, how difficult a case is this particular one for the prosecution to prove >> you know, shep, in terms of proof, this is not a difficult

case if we've learned anything from watching january 6thth prosecutions, he's cautious, he's meticulous. but persuading a jury is something different altogether. >> the jury has been chosen. does that group that's been put together give either side an advantage as you know of it? >> you know, shep, overall i have to give the advantage to the defense, and that's just because of the makeup of the jury you've got a 12-member jury and six alternates 16 of them are white two of them are believed to be asian based on reporting we've received but the bigger issue is the judge told a prospective juror, and the judges pick the jury in federal cases, this case has absolutely nothing to do with race if the judge truly believes that, that probably influenced the way he chose this jury. >> do you see derek chauvin testifying in this trial or no >> i don't, shep, and that's because i think he is a wild card for either side he's agreed to go serve his 20-plus years, and you don't know what's going to come out of his mouth. it could hurt either side.

so i would not call him regardless of who i had to represent in this case. >> is there ground to plow here that's going to be new to those of us who followed the case so closely before >> there absolutely is, and that's because of the nature of the charges. so the prior case with derek chauvin was on trial was about what he did. this case is about what the officers did not do. we always hear the bad apple defense when we talk about policing there are just a few bad apples. this case is saying even if that's true, the good ones are responsible for policing the bad ones that's new territory. >> david henderson, thank you. the countdown is on to the winter olympics, and tonight we're talking to team usa curler nina roth. in madison, wisconsin, she's also known as nurse roth throughout the pandemic, this olympian has also been helping patients recover from covid. her story next plus four walk-off games three upsets two star quarterbacks out and

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olympic organizers say they just detected the first known case of covid among olympic athletes local officials say the athlete tested positive yesterday at an airport in beijing officials have yet to identify the athlete or their nationality. two more people also just tested positive inside the strict olympic bubble then there's people scheduled to work at the games. so far, organizers say they've detected more than 70 covid cases among that group, both at the airport and inside the olympic bubble with the winter games less than two weeks away, cities across china are scrambling to contain covid outbreaks. today a city in thenortheaster part of the country started testing its entire population, roughly 10 million people, and officials in beijing now urging

local districts to stay in what they call full emergency mode. cnbc's eunice yoon is there. >> reporter: memes like this one are extra popular today on chinese social media what this again, it jokes china has a sense of deja vu almost two years to the day from the first covid lockdown in the epicenter of wuhan cities here are in a renewed fight to control the coronavirus. shanghai detected an infected cargo worker at the airport. juhai reported a cluster at a school but the real hot seat is in beijing with the winter olympics just days away " "we must go all out, seize every second, be strict and resolutely on guard," this official says. more districts in this city of 21 million are requiring residents test for covid 2 million were tested on sunday

alone. authorities are tracking down anyone in the city who has bought medicine in recent weeks that could be used to treat fever or other symptoms, even something as simple as ibuprofen and sending text messages ordering them to get covid tests. entire buildings are being locked down, sometimes without warning to the people inside residents are instructed in local media videos to disinfect deliveries from overseas after the government suggested infections may have arrived in international mail, an idea not endorsed by the greater scientific community officials are especially nervous because the lunar new year break, which starts in a week, is the biggest travel time on the chinese calendar and could mean big spread. this local official threatened to detain those coming home even if vaccinated with a negative covid test he was later criticized, but beijing's fight looks increasingly like a feature of the holiday and the olympics beijing isn't only fighting the

virus, but pollution too the smog around the capital is currently at around ten times the level that the w.h.o. deems healthy. so the authorities are warning that they'll take action against cars and companies to ensure that they'll have cleaner air for the games. shep. >> eunice yoon reporting live in beijing. not all olympians have the luxury of training full-time for the beijing games. take nina roth, for example. by day she's a supervisor and a nurse working three 12-hour shifts a week at select specialty hospital in wisconsin. she's been nursing intensive care patients back to health amid the pandemic. the rest of the time, she's a mom. oh, and also a u.s. olympic curler training for the games. nurse roth balances long hours in the hospital with long hours on the ice nina roth joins us now nina, it's an honor. great to meet you. the olympics just days away. how are you preparing like mentally >> mentally we've done a lot of

work with our sports psychologist, and i've been spending a lot of extra time at home lately to kind of just rest up and get ready. >> how hard has it been to train for the olympics, i can't even imagine, while still working in these conditions as a full-time nurse? >> you know, nursing is another passion of mine, so juggling both of them is something that i've always done, and i wouldn't feel complete if i didn't do both >> well, i don't know where you find the time. thank you for that service to the people there in wisconsin. you know, the u.s. women's team won the bronze at the 2021 world championships in calgary what needs to happen for you guys to take home a medal in beijing? >> we've been on a steady increase in the last four years, and we've done a lot of work to elevate women's curling in the u.s. and we're really ready i can tell you we are very ready and ready to put on a show. >> i don't know if you were

watching just a moment ago, but the chinese doctors and medical workers head to toe in what looks like spacesuits. incredible conditions for the olympics what's on your mind outside of the competition the most as we relate to these crazy times? >> covid's been a big part of our lives in the last few years, and we've been isolating ourselves to stay safe in the u.s. and not get sick before we leave for the games. and we are confident that the united states olympic committee is doing everything that they can to keep us safe up until we leave and while we're there. >> well, nina roth, good luck in the red, white, and blue we'll all be watching. winter olympics opening ceremony now just ten days away, and you can watch starting february 3rd on the networks of nbc universal and streaming on peacock the irs has as many workers today as it had in 1970 even though the u.s. population has grown by 60%

that's fine, right the computersare doing all the work except at the irs, they're still using software technology from the 1960s. so you might be able to guess why this tax season could be the worst one ever plus, prices are high. mortgage rates rising. first-time buyers are pushing to make their move. why the housing rush we normally with her citi custom ℠ card, rashida earns cash back that automatically adjusts to where her spending is trending. just ask overly confident diy rashida... wait, was this the right wall? ...or last-minute gift shopping rashida... i'm putting a bow on it! wow... ...even sneaking away for a vacay rashida. shhh! i've earned this, okay?

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the nfl conference championships obviously but they're not the ones a lot of the analysts predicted. all games this weekend with dramatic comebacks and they were all won and lost in the final seconds. cincy, the clear underdog as it went into its game but the bengals knocked off tennessee with a game-winning field goal san francisco did the same just hours later at snowy lambeau the 49ers' defense really too much for aaron rodgers and the packers. in tampa bay, the l.a. rams came in and upset the bucs, denying tom brady another shot at the super bowl will he go again and in the most high-flying game of the weekend, wow, kansas city and buffalo went back and forth before patrick mahomes and the chiefs won it in overtime. nbc sports nfl insider peter king now we've been calling it the greatest playoff weekend ever. agree or no? >> i think it was. i called it that last night and wrote it again this morning. the best -- i thought it was the best playoff weekend in the

102-year history of pro football and i think what made it that is not just games were decided at the end, but you had young players, the future of the nfl, josh allen, buffalo quarterback, patrick mahomes, kansas city quarterback, 25 and 26 years old respectively, playing totally in the moment and totally clutch, clutch playing and with 31 points scored after the 2:00 warning of the fourth quarter, it was just a phenomenal football game. >> it was incredible we were watching on cell phones, waiting for a plane to take off. at the end, you know, you see the coin toss. i'm like, well, you know, the coin toss just decided the game. is it time for a rule change >> i've been screaming about the unfairness of overtime it's absurd that when both teams

are beat, when the offenses have totally ruled this game, everybody said, oh, when people are critical of proposing a rule change for overtime, they will say, hey, listen, play defense because the rules for overtime are as follows it's a ten-minute period if the team that wins the coin toss and takes the ball first scores a touchdown, the game is over but if they either kick a field goal or don't score, the other team gets a chance this same thing happened three years ago to kansas city. >> yeah. >> when tom brady drove the patriots the length of the field on the opening drive of overtime and every kansas city fan was totally bitter that they didn't get a shot and i would assume that every buffalo fan -- i certainly would be it is absurd that a coin flip has so much determination of who wins a football game.

>> yeah, i hear you. you know, before the playoffs started, you were on this program one night. you called the bengals a contender for the super bowl here they are a year away. is it finally their year >> i mean they got to go to kansas city and beat the great mahomes. mahomes the magician you know, i'm not carnac here, but i think -- i think, you know, bet against joe burrow at your own risk. he just simply doesn't care what you think. he doesn't care what the history says he doesn't care that a rookie quarterback has no business -- not a rookie quarterback, a second-year quarterback -- has no business being this deep into the playoffs but, again, going to kansas city and beating mahomes even though cincinnati beat kansas city in the regular season in cincinnati, i just think this is going to be a tough one for burrow. >> i was watching brady like all

of us were like a hawk as he was shaking hands with friends and opposition players and all the rest when the game was over. like everyone else, i'm wondering, well, is that it? what's your call >> i don't think anybody knows. >> yeah. >> really. shep, i think -- i will just say this tom brady has always said -- he told me when he was 33 years old -- or when he was 35 -- i'm sorry, when he was 35 years old -- i want to play until i'm 45 essentially now he basically has because he turns 45 in august. so there isn't another game, you know, this year until he turns 45 but he's always said he wanted to do that but i do think sometimes in life, your life changes. your priorities change he's got three children. he's got a wife who hates watching him take punishment and i just simply think as a friend of his told me yesterday,

he said last friday, i would have said, yeah, i think he's coming back. today, i don't know. so, shep, i think this is very much tbd >> i'm pumped for a super bowl in sofi. can't wait to have it on nbc we'll see you then peter king, thank you. >> okay, shep. thank you. so are you planning to buy a home it just got more expensive sorry. mortgage rates continuing to rise according to mortgage news daily. the average rate for a 30-year fixed now 3.7% about a year ago, it was 2.8%. now desperate buyers rushing to get a home before they get priced out here's cnbc's real estate correspondent diana olick. >> reporter: there were already three offers on this three-bedroom home in waldorf, maryland, before the first open house on sunday. not exactly what the robinson family wanted to hear. >> we're stuck between a rock and a hard place. >> reporter: stuck between high prices and fast-rising mortgage rates. >> we thought because of the

winter months that it would slack up a little bit. prices would start to come back down to normal, but it's not happening. and it's anguish it's pain. it's agony >> reporter: and it's precisely why buyers are coming out in the cold, hoping to get a jump on the spring market. >> we don't want to wait because probably more than likely when it does get warmer and more houses go on the market and the rates are up higher, it's going to be kind of like a worse situation, like a perfect storm for everything to just really go up. >> reporter: this home is priced at $375,000, right around the national median. but rising rates mean the monthly payment is about $200 more than it would have been a year ago $100 more than just three weeks ago. loan officer duke walker says that's why his phone is now ringing off the hook >> 100%. everybody's concerned that they're going to -- 2020 is going to repeat itself from a market standpoint and

competition is going to make it so that especially first-time home buyers don't have a leg up. they're not going to be able to compete. >> reporter: mortgage applications to buy a home jumped 8%, and another report from the realtors showed price gains are heating up again after cooling a bit in the fall. >> it feels like we're going to see a lot of similar bidding wars if you're ready to buy now, you should buy now because between rates, prices aren't getting lower. >> reporter: the overwhelming problem in the market today, even worse than rising mortgage rates, is low supply we expected it to improve over the holidays when houses generally stay on the market longer, but it just got worse. builders are still not stepping up enough because of higher costs, supply chain issues and a labor shortage without more supply, home prices, shep, have nowhere to go but up. >> and so it goes. diana olick, thank you also tax season is officially here now. today marks the first day americans can file their tax returns from last year, but if

you're expecting a quick refund, maybe not. irs already warning about backlogs, outdated tech, and a lack of funding. cnbc's senior congressional correspondent ylan mui with us worst tax season ever, is that right? >> reporter: shep, if you thought last year was bad, you better brace yourself for 2022 because the irs is still processing millions of returns from last year in addition to gearing up for what we're expecting to be a complicated filing season this year. take a look at these numbers there are still 9.8 million individual returns in the pipeline from last year that have errors. there are 2.3 amended returns and 2.8 billion business returns. almost all of those have to be processed by hand. i talked to the number two guy at the treasury department today, and he told me the problem is the irs needs more workers and more money >> today the irs has as many employees as they had in 1970 while the u.s. population has

grown by 60% this is because we have failed to fund the irs adequately until that money is approved by congress, which we expect to happen this year, the irs is doing everything they can to help taxpayers deal with what's going to be a tough filing season >> reporter: the biden administration wanted $80 billion to help modernize the irs, but it's unclear whether that money will materialize this year or ever. in the meantime, the irs is running on technology from literally the 1960s. i've been told it's so old, it's hard to find people who still know how to code in those languages. >> everybody knows that the older your technology is, the harder it is for you to serve your customers that's exactly what we need to do with the irs. taking those steps to invest in technology will mean that people, when they call, will get their questions answered faster. it will mean we can use things like machine learning to help process tax returns more quickly. >> reporter: the best thing you can do to get your refund quickly is to file online. you should get your money in about 21 days.

and, shep, file early because the irs has no plans to extend the april 18th deadline. >> ylan, thanks. tomorrow, the worst tax season ever, part two. the reason one woman is still waiting for her refund from last year that's tomorrow on the news. but right now, after a wild market day, a cnbc special report here's live, scott wapner. in their own companies. - that wasn't as easy as it looks. - here we go! - lift me up! - i'm about to just flip out here. - i would almost swear you look like somebody else. - right here, right now, we're gonna shut the restaurant down. announcer: more than $20 million have been awarded to employees. - i'll write up a check for $250,000. - oh, my god. announcer: and millions of lives... - i'm gonna pay off the mortgage. announcer: changed forever. - for real? - this is real. the greatest reward is to see people live their dream. - that's a life changer.