taking that kind of rich with your entire portfolio unless you're perfectly willing to set all of your money on fire. i think it's better to chase slow and steady gains in quality common stocks like apple who can pay off gradually over years and years and years. you can do options but must invest in common and much more common in calls. i promise, you will not regret that i like to say there's you monday "the news with shepard smith" starts now president biden with a surprise announcement, as tensions rise with russia. i'm shepard smith. this is the news on cnbc the grim assessment of what putin's war in ukraine would look like from america's top general. >> it would be horrific. it would be terrible >> tonight, how the pentagon is preparing forces, bracing for a blizzard snow, bitter cold, hurricane-force winds set to hit the east coast why forecasts warn this one could be an imp monster disaster in pittsburgh >> the bus went over

>> hours later, the president visits to talk about infrastructure were warning signs missed? a sea of blue honoring one of new york's finest killed in the line of duty >> he was everything the city and the nypd needed him to be. >> the emotional farewell and the grieving window's takedown of the city's district attorney. selling kidneys for cash the desperate measures in afghanistan. a new patent-free covid-19 vaccine. and welcome to the big leagues -- for pillow fighting live from cnbc the facts. the news "the news with shepard smith." good evening in the last hour, from president biden, he'll be moving american troops in the eastern european and nato countries in the near term the president didn't say how many but did add it won't be a lot, as he put it. the u.s. does have up to 8,500

troops on alert and ready to go. it's a significant escalation tonight, and it comes as the pentagon warned today that russia has enough troops along ukraine's border to launch a full scale invasion of the entire country america's top general says russia has not mobilized troops on this scale and magnitude since the cold war >> the russian federation has amassed upwards, at this time, of over 100,000 ground forces, air forces, naval forces, special forces if that was unleashed on ukraine, it would be significant, very significant. it would be horrific it would be terrible and it's not necessary and we think a diplomatic outcome is the way to go here. >> today russia continued military exercises near ukraine, on land and at sea russian warships held target practice in the black sea. they fired at floating and flying targets to simulate

shooting at other ships and aircraft in a region near eastern ukraine, russian artillery squads practiced firing off rounds russia holds military exercises every year but the pentagon says this, this is very different and the number of troops assembled far and away exceeds what they typically see. and this is important. reuters reports russia has moved blood supplies near ukraine that could potentially be used to treat wounded soldiers ukrainian troops have not been sitting idle british instructors have been teaching them how to use antitank missiles. the united states continues to ship weapons and lethal military into ukraine and another shipment arrived just today meanwhile, the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelenskiy is trying to bring down the temperature. he says he told president biden in their phone call yesterday that there should be no panic.

jeffrey edmunds joins us jeffrey, is the president's move meant to deter, is this a signal send >> there are two aspects to the announcement one is the fact that the u.s. government clearly thinks it's more likely than not that russia will actually follow through with an invasion of ukraine. second, it's kind of a scary indicator that they believe -- i mean, biden has been pretty clear he doesn't want to fight russia in ukraine but this likely means they assess there's a possibility this conflict could broaden outside of ukraine. >> if russia invades, the pentagon suggests it has plenty of resources to take the whole country. so how long would the u.s. have to respond >> so i think the response would depend on what you want to actually do. if the conflict stays in ukraine, then i think what the president is doing is sufficient and we can get there fairly quickly. i think the concern here is that i think one of the reasons he

said that the deployment is rather small is because you don't want to deploy so much that you trigger the thing you're trying to avoid if you deploy too much, you might incite the russians into expanding. >> it's a fine line. how do putin's actions now and specific troop placement differ from how he's threatened ukraine in the past? >> it's both what he has said -- this has gone on for over a year you have to look at his political statements and military deployments the political statements started a year ago the troop deployments started seven to eight months ago. it's the amount of time they've been building up troops. they also haven't been as vocal about the deployment as they usually are. they are usually very vocal about troop deployments. what we've seen in this deployment is some deception and moving troops in and out, but a slow, gradual increase

and to general milley's point, a force deployed larger than we've ever seen before this is very different than previous deployments >> jeffrey edmonds, thank you. a dangerous and potentially historic winter storm is bearing down now on the east coast nearly 70 million americans in its path forecasters say this storm could strengthen and become a bomb cyclone tonight, slamming parts of the northeast with near hurricane-force winds and two feet or more of snow in some parts. blizzard warnings now in effect from virginia all the way to maine. these are the first blizzard warnings that most of the east coast has seen in four years governors have declared states of emergency, in virginia, maryland, rhode island, new york, and new jersey rhode island just announced a travel ban, the governor there ordering everyone to stay off the roads tomorrow, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m >> we are expecting snow totals between 18 and 24 inches

we're fully expecting whiteout conditions tomorrow. this is serious. >> the national weather service reports the combination of strong winds and heavy snow and extreme temperatures could make travel nearly impossible at times. so far, airlines have canceled more than 1,300 u.s. flights just today another 4,000 delayed, and thousands more cancelled tomorrow, according to fl flightaware tracking service and others the storm could cause power outages and flooding along the coast. boston's mayor says people need to prepare for record snowfall in boston. areas around the city, they say, could get more than two feet of snow we're on the ground there on a dark night in just a moment. first, to accuweather. adam del rosso is with us

tonight. >> we're expecting heaviest snow coming down in dc, philadelphia. we'll get in on some of that as we head overnight. you mentioned the rapid strengthening overnight tonight. that's when the winds are going to pick up and the snow is going to pick up in intensity you mentioned those blizzard warnings from the delmarva peninsula all the way up the coast into maine, a little farther inland where the winds won't be quite as bad. still strong, though winter storm warnings. travel will be a mess across virginia, north carolina, into kentucky that's where we have those winter weather advisories. the path of the storm, a little bit more solidified by the models here. still close to the coast still throwing that heavy snow onshore. strong winds to upwards of hurricane force gusts. that's what's going to make the travel dangerous and perhaps impossible, especially along the i-95 along the coast and new england. in boston, two to three feet of snow expected. new york, 8 to 12 inches for us.

2 to 4 for dc and baltimore. even if things change, it will be heavy amounts of snow our winter cast for new york city, upwards of 8 inches of snow and that's combined with these wind gusts that would reduce the visibility to blizzard conditions we're talking gusts upwards of 70 miles per hour along the coast. those winds strong enough to lead to power outage issues and coastal flooding, especially into new england those northerly winds also bringing in plenty of cold air accuweather real feel temperatures across the northeast through our saturday morning, in the teens and 20s below zero some of that chill making it down to florida, shep. vero beach, down to 30 for sunday morning bundle up for sure in massachusetts, towns along the coast have been preparing for the storm for days, many people shoring up properties with sandbags and some even boarding up their

homes. after all, hurricane-force winds are possible cnbc's perry russom is live outside boston for us. perry? >> reporter: shep, we're in scituate, massachusetts right now. we're expecting some flooding here tomorrow. this house is right on the ocean. the windows have been boarded up the porch has been taken up as well, the steps of the porch, so they do not get washed away. >> this is going to be a very big storm. >> reporter: boston declaring a snow emergency >> this has the potential to be an historic storm, a huge one. >> reporter: towns up and down the massachusetts coast are preparing for feet of snow, flooding, and strong winds on plum island, there are areas with no sea wall >> the last storm, i got three feet of water in the basement. >> reporter: homes are fully exposed to the waves >> 12 homes that we're really concerned about. >> reporter: south of plum island, the coastal city of

revere is draining sewers to prepare for floodwater in the town of scituate on the south shore, sandbags are being handed out and generators tested the final screws are twisting in the town administrator is asking people who live at or below sea level to evacuate. how many of your friends are leaving? >> no one. >> reporter: marge bates says she is not sure whether she'll stay or go the final decision will be tomorrow morning >> we're just crazy old new englanders >> reporter: crazy is one word to use now we're two houses away. shep, check this out, over the years people have had to raze their homes because of the flooding this is the most recent home that's been raised that's 20 feet off the ground and the ocean will be going right underneath there tomorrow. >> perry reduce on me in scituate, thank you. it looked like a scene from

a movie. a bus dangling from a collapsed bridge president biden pushing his infrastructure bill hours after the disaster we're live from the scene in pitt pittsburgh. a new york city police officer laid to rest his widow describing their final moments and what she says is the biggest mistake they made. after concerns about airline safety, the agreement announced today to expand 5g service around airports. eew verizon and at&t got the grn light. "the news with shepard smith" back in 60 seconds. 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? earn 5% cash back in your top eligible spend category,

up to $500 spent each billing cycle. with the citi custom℠ card. and it's easy to get a quote at libertymutual.com so you only pay for what you need. isn't that right limu? limu? sorry, one sec. doug blows a whistle. [a vulture squawks.] oh boy. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty♪ a bridge in pittsburgh collapsed this morning, sending cars and a city bus plummeting into a ravine. city officials say ten people were hurt but all are okay the bus and five other vehicles

fell 150 feet to the ground. you can see a massive crack in the middle there the bus partially smashed into part of that bridge. city officials say rescuers rappelled into the ravine this morning, forming a human chain to save people below hours after the crash, president biden toured the damage. he had already planned to visit pittsburgh today to talk infrastructure the president pointed to the collapse as proof the nation's bridges and roads are in drastic need of an update. >> we saw today, when a bridge is in disrepair, it can literally threaten lives >> in pittsburgh, the city of bridges, officials say this should serve as a wake-up call local coverage from our nbc affiliate wpxi and their reporter amy hudak, live from the scene. amy? >> reporter: shep, this is an unbelievable sight the bridge crumbling into massive pieces of concrete, hundreds of feet below into a

ravine there are still five cars and a city bus on that bridge, they were trying to go over at the time neighbors say their homes rumbled and they heard a noise like a jet engine whishing by. it was nothing short of a miracle that nobody was killed the ntsb will begin a lengthy investigation looking into structural deficiencies. the bridge was last inspected in 2021 and had consistently been list ined in poor condition some neighbors reached out to our newsroom saying they tried to sound the alarm in 2018, sharing pictures of a rusted beam at the base of the bridge this is of course a main road that leads to a major highway. it will cause major disruption on people who take it each day the bridge collapsed just hours before president biden landed in pittsburgh to talk infrastructure pittsburgh's mayor saying he's

prev appreciative of biden's visit to pittsburgh, saying money is badly needed to ensure our bridges and roads are safe, adding this could have happened to anybody, in any city, in any town in america, shep. >> amy hudak live in pittsburgh, thank you. for months, of these have been ransacking freight trains in the l.a. area, ripping apart packages, stealing big screen tvs, clothing, anything, really. we're now learning one of the heists, burglars stole more than 80 brand-new guns. only two of them have been recovered. that's what local officials tell nbc news they say back in august, of these broke into a container car that had dozens and dozens of newly-manufactured pistols and semi-automatic shot guns inside. a spokes person for the union pacific railroad says the company has brought in special agents to help investigate overall police have arrested more than 120 suspects in the rash of train burglaries officials say gang members are

suspected to be involved thousands of police officers packing the streets of new york city today to honor one of their own. 22-year-old nypd officer jason rivera, killed in the line of duty outside st. patrick's cathedral, thousands of officers lined up for as far as you could see. they stood shoulder to shoulder for hours, listening to officer rivera's funeral service over loudspeakers as snow fell onto their uniforms many from new york, of course, but others from all over the country. and all there to honor the officer who was just into his second year on the job a week ago, officers responded to a call from a woman asking for help with her adult son. police say when they got there, a man swung open a bedroom door and shot them. rivera died that night his partner, officer wilbert mora, died days later. and a third officer shot the suspect, who also later died the shooting comes during a

violent month for law enforcement. 25 police officers have died in the line of duty this month, according to the officer down memorial page which tracks deaths and just yesterday in houston, police say a suspect shot three officers in a standoff before cops arrested him. they say doctors released two of the officers from a hospital today. the third listed in stable condition. president biden is now set to visit new york city next week to talk gun violence with the mayor as the city mourns two fallen officers cnbc's hallrahel solomon with te emotional eulogy >> reporter: officer rivera's widow speaking through tears, recalling the final moments she spent with her husband >> this friday was different we had an argument >> reporter: her words echoing within st. patrick's cathedral, a sea of blue inside and out

>> because i didn't want to continue to argue, i ordered an uber you asked me if you are sure that you don't want me to take you home it might be the last ride i give you. i said no. and that was probably the biggest mistake i ever made. >> reporter: that night, a response to a domestic disturbance call would end officer rivera's life, and actually that of officer wilbert mora >> i saw that two police officers were shot in harlem my heart dropped i immediately texted you and asked you are you okay please tell me you're okay i know that you're mad right now but just text me you're okay, at

least tell me you're busy. i get no response. >> reporter: she then got a call notifying her to go to the hospital >> i said to you, wake up, baby, i'm here the little bit of hope i had that you would come back to life just to say goodbye or say i love you one more time had left. >> reporter: her emotions raw. she ended her eulogy with a message for the city's new district attorney, alvin bragg >> we are not safe anymore not even the members of the service. i know you are tired of these laws, especially the ones from the new d.a. i hope he's watching you speak through me right now >> reporter: bragg, facing controversy after he released a memo suggesting his office would only seek prison time for the most serious of crimes bragg later admitting the memo

was confusing, unclear, and legalistic >> i've been clear i've been clear that people walking around our city, they're with guns, will be prosecuted. >> reporter: in a statement today, district attorney bragg says he is grieving for officers rivera and mora and added, my office will vigorously prosecute cases of violence against police and will work to prevent senseless acts of violence like this governor hochul met with him to make sure they are, quote, in alignment. >> rahel solomon, thanks so much in beijing, the olympic bubble is very serious athletes and visitors completely cut off from the general public. and their hotels guarded around the clock. but covid is covid and cases in the bubble have already begun. what happens to the athletes who test positive? plus the next big name entering the space race isn't a billionaire or celebrity y yoomnyar cpa

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the opening ceremony for the winter olympics less than a week away in beijing. athletes are arriving in china to some strict covid rules they're barricaded inside a bubble the chinese officials say there's already been an outbreak of cases and some athletes and team members among those testing positive one, a snowboarder who has taken home a silver and two bronze medals at past olympics. he's from slovenia he was set to carry the country's flag at the opening ceremony next week athletes who test positive could still have a shot of competing if they test negative twice before their events. cnbc's eunice yun in beijing tonight. >> reporter: the chinese government is doing its best to

ramp up excitement for the coming olympics for the public and the world. but the reality is more like this olympics venues hardly accessible teams of police scrutinizing all going in and coming out. the opening ceremony will takes place in the arena behind me, constructed for the winter olympics in 2008 today, this is as close as most chinese can get. president xi jinping is marketing this olympics as a big international event, important for china. but because of human rights and covid issues, the games are turning out to be more trial than triumph athletes are driven in guarded vehicles and tested in hotels.

participants won't be allowed outside the closed loop bubble to interact with the locals. no tickets are being sold for the chinese. foreign spectators are banned. even with the controls, there's already an outbreak of more than a hundred inside human rights issues hang over the games, over beijing's alleged abuse of hong kong democracy advocates and its muslim minority, the uighurs >> the upcoming games will be forever remembered as the genocide games >> reporter: the u.s., among other governments, decided on a diplomatic boycott, prompting beijing to accuse washington of politicizing sport china denies all the claims. despite all the drama, the chinese leadership continues to sell the show as a celebration as best it can the government announced today that president xi will host a welcoming banquet for foreign dignitaries and hold bilateral ceremonies throughout the weekend.

one of those dignitaries is expected to be russian president vladimir putin >> eunice yoon live in beijing the opening ceremony is six days away. you can watch starting february 3 on the networks of nbc universal and streaming on peacock. tonight, inside afghanistan. desperate for food, body parts used as currency the crisis deepens five months after american troops pulled out. a tense standoff on the ukraine border more than 100,000 troops in place. the u.s. sending military supplies to ukraine. and now, the president says he'll soon move troops to the region tonight, warnings of a different type of front line that needs protecting as we approach the bottom of the hour and the top of the news on cnbc. thanks for bringing me with you guys today, mr. and mrs. lopez. not a problem, josh. hey, you two.

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and needs a plan with a mobile hotspot. we cut to downtown, your sales rep lisa has to send some files, like asap! so basically i can pick the right plan for each employee. yeah i should've just led with that. with at&t business. you can pick the best plan for each employee and get the best deals on every smart phone. the reading on last year's inflation is in and it continues to run white hot that's what's topping cnbc "on the money. the cost of goods and services soared 5.8% last year. that's the biggest spike in nearly four decades. the new data from the customers department's personal consumption expenditure price index is the fed's key measure of inflation the central bank likely to use it to justify hiking interest rates for the first time in more than three years concerns about high speed 5g

service hindering airplanes is now easing verizon and at&t have gotten the green light from the faa the two telecom giants agreed last week not to turn on 500 towers near airports toyota, weeks after being crowned america's top selling automaker, has now reached a little higher, all wait to the moon toyota, working with japan's space agency, is developing a lunar cruiser to explore the rock surface by 2040 it hopes the cruiser will help people live there. on wall street, the markets rallying to wrap up a wild week. the dow up 565 the s&p up 105 nasdaq up 418. i'm shepard smith on cnbc.

it's the bottom of the hour. time for the top of the news the cross-examination of stormy daniels continues in michael after avenatti's fraud . testimony about paranormal entities inside her home the cheap, patent-free vaccine described as a silver bullet against covid first, fears growing of potential russian cyber attacks against the west as tensions escalate over ukraine. there are multiple media reports that the department of homeland security believes russian hackers could target the united states if russia feels threatened by the united states and nato today the british government warned big companies to brace for russian cyber attacks and boost their defenses we've seen how disruptive these hacks can be last year the biden administration blamed cyber criminals based in russia for

ransomware attacks that crippled one of the world's biggest meat packers as well as the colonial pipeline it supplies nearly half the east coast fuel cnbc's correspondent eamon javers has more. eamon? >> reporter: shep, the pentagon today said the u.s. is prepared for any cyber blowback over the russian invasion of ukraine if that comes to pass >> we've got a significant amount of capabilities, won't go into them here at the microphone, to defend and do whatever is necessary to protect the homeland >> reporter: cybersecurity experts tell me the russians are likely to keep any initial cyberattack as tightly confined to ukraine as possible so as not to draw in the united states to the conflict i talked to general keith alexander, the former head of the national security agency, this week. he says the russians could keep the cyber option in reserve as a potential response to any new

u.s. sanctions >> if they make a move and the u.s. starts to push sanctions, that will cause then russia to look at using, in my mind, potentially hackers to go in and make things happen and they'll say these are just russian sympathizers that don't agree with whatthe united states and europe are doing and give them a little bit of carte blanche to create problems. >> reporter: now, that plausible deniability probability won't convince everybody but the russians like to work in the gray zone and generate uncertainty. general alexander told me any russian cyberattack could look a lot like the colonial pipeline attack that shut down gas supplies on the east coast last summer, except the russians have the capability to execute several attacks like that at the same time. so imagine gas lines much longer than the ones that we saw last summer shep, all of this is speculative. certainly not guaranteed to happen but the cybersecurity world is thinking hard about the implications and what if anything they can do to protect

americans now. >> eamon javers, thanks. afghanistan is facing a humanitarian crisis. people with no jobs, no food, no health care. the united nations reports half of the country's population is facing acute hunger. and 1 million children in danger of dying of malnutrition nbc's kelly cobiella is there. she began her trip inside afghanistan 13 days ago. and here is what she found >> reporter: tonight, afghanistan is in crisis aid agencies like unicef the only source of food for millions this taxi driver told me he can't feed his family because he can't find work. and he blames the u.s. >> this bad situation, only factor is usa. >> reporter: it's been five months since the chaotic and deadly u.s. withdrawal >> it feels strange to be back the airport almost looks normal. >> reporter: but on the streets, people are desperate

some selling their kidneys for cash >> the situation is very bad we are in a fast-unraveling humanitarian crisis. and the level of suffering is quite unparalleled >> reporter: the new taliban government has no money. $9 billion in afghan assets are frozen, most by the u.s., because the taliban is a designated terrorist group the taliban leadership is trying to show the world it's changed, announcing women and girls will be allowed back into classrooms. yet many women are living in fear this was posted last week. women's rights activist tamana paryani screaming for help, saying the taliban had come to her restaurant she and her sisters haven't been seen since taliban leadership says the video is fake. at this beauty salon, this work said the taliban posted a sign telling women to wear burqas

do you feel safe "absolutely not," she says "every minute we are scared. the u.n.'s special envoy saying there's compelling evidence of intimidation and a deterioration in respect for human rights. meanwhile, americans are still stranded here along with thousands of america's afghan allies one former army translator now in hiding told us he applied fo a visa in august, and he's still waiting. you've heard nothing >> nothing >> reporter: many have turned to nonprofit veterans groups like project dynamo which says they've evacuated more than 2,000 people >> how many are left, i have no idea but i can tell you people call us every single day and say, help me, help me >> reporter: left behind in a country now falling apart. the u.s. has already donated more than $700 million in humanitarian aid to afghanistan. but shep, aid agencies say they now need billions. shep >> kelly cobiella, thank you

10 billion covid vaccine doses. that's how many have now been administered around the world. but the distribution is far from equal. look at this in wealthy countries, about 77% of people have received at least one dose but in low income countries, fewer than 10% that's according to research from the our world in data project at the university of oxford researchers in texas say they've been working on a way to close the equity gap they just created a brand-new cheap vaccine, and it's patent-free. that means it's easier for developing countries to make it and distribute it. nbc's morgan chesky spoke with the doctors behind the vaccine >> reporter: at texas children's hospital, there is much more than meets the eye inside this lab, what they believe to be the potential silver bullet for taking down covid-19 >> our lab is the united nations of science

>> reporter: a team of doctors led by dr. peter hotez has dedicated their careers to finding a vaccine to fill the gap. >> omicron arose out of an unvaccinated population out of southern africa. mother nature is telling us what's going to happen as long as we refuse to vaccinate the world's low and middle income countries. >> reporter: with $7 million mostly provided by philanthropists, the duo turned to an old answer to solve a new problem, crafting a vaccine inside texas children's they're calling a game changer, one they say they don't own the intellectual property for. >> it's a similar property that's used to make the recombinant hepatitis b vaccine. it's known as microbial fermentation in yeast. no human cells, no animal cells, no animal proteins >> reporter: the technology is important because it's existed for decades, allowing multiple low income countries to produce their own vaccine without

intellectual property obstacles or waiting for donated shipments for pfizer or moderna's vaccines that often arrive to late to make a difference. >> they get a recipe, a toolbox of tests to make sure of the quality, the yield, and the purity then they get us plus our team if you have a question, you just pick up the phone. >> reporter: what sets the vaccine created in this lab apart isn't just how it's made but why. there is no patent that means that a company anywhere in the world can scale it, unlike anything we've seen in india, the vaccine received authorization after completing two out of three trials. it's being distributed outside the u.s. and is currently not fda approved perhaps most important at all is the accessibility it offers, by not having a patent. paving the way for partners worldwide. >> what makes the patent-free

vaccines unique is that companies can produce the vaccine without worrying about legal challenges and huge financial losses and we can't let this happen again. we have to have a world that is much more effective against preventing and responding to pandemics. and we have to have a world that's fairer, more equitable, and just and that's a global imperative >> reporter: for the news, i'm morgan chesky. a college degree might help you get a bigger salary, get your family off your back, and put you in debt. the results of a new survey showing how many students are second-guessing their choice to go to college. ghosts, dark portals, a haunted doll named susan just a few of the many things michael avenatti asked stormy daniels about during his fraud trial today. he's defending himself and c

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nearly 94 million americans have some type of college degree for a lot of them, those degrees come with a lot of baggage the total amount that students owe in the united states is a staggering 1.6 trillion bucks. that from the federal reserve bank of new york now a new survey of students shows they're wondering whether the degree is really worth the debt here is cnbc's sharon epperson >> reporter: after taking out student loans and working her way through school, kate burnick earned a master's degree and owed $100,000 in debt. >> i don't think i went in understanding how long i would be paying those loans back >> reporter: it's been nearly 20 years and the 39-year-old senior communications specialist still owes over $30,000. was it worth it for what you're doing now? >> i used to be really proud that i had a master's degree but now it feels a little foolish.

>> reporter: she echoes the sentiment of many borrowers. a new survey by cnbc found half of those with federal loans, 54%, say taking on student debt was not worth it >> it's a mortgage without the house at the end of it >> reporter: many borrowers said once the government's pause on student loans ends in may, they'll have to delay buying a home and other financial goals to pay down their debt economist kristen brody says that can create an endless cycle. >> you have less money to pass to your own children which means they're more likely to take out student loans if and when they get ready to go to college forgiving student loans could help mitigate some of that cycle. >> reporter: the national survey found 57% of adults believe president biden should make student loan forgiveness a priority >> broad loan forgiveness will forgive the loans not just of people who are experiencing economic distress but also people who are perfectly capable

of repaying their student loans. >> we should be forgiving $10,000 minimum in student loan debt >> reporter: president biden campaigned on this proposal. for kate, who held jobs in nonprofits and government for over ten years, there may be another solution last fall, the biden administration made it easier for certain borrowers who have worked in public service to get credit for past repayments and had their remaining debt forgiven >> we appreciate your patience >> reporter: but it may take some time. kate and other borrowers have until october 31st to take advantage of the changes to the federal government's public service loan forgiveness program. the department of education says over 70,000 student borrowers have qualified for debt forgiveness since it overhauled the program last fall. shep >> sharon, thanks. things got weird again during michael avenatti's fraud trial today.

the former celebrity lawyer is representing himself in federal court. today he once again cross-examined his alleged victim and ex-client stormy daniels. michael avenatti is accused of swiping 300 grand from that former adult film actress and repeatedly lying to her. avenatti picked up where he left off yesterday grilling stormy daniels about the paranormal he asked her if, years ago, a dark entity entered her home through a portal daniels replied, that's what i was told by a medium she also testified that she can speak with the dead, and once saw the image of a woman crying over a dead child in her kitchen. michael avenatti has said he is completely innocent of the wire fraud and identity theft charges against him. he says he's very strongly leaning towards taking the stand himself and testifying in his own defense. but he hasn't made a final decision

nbc news legal analyst danny cevallos is with us again tonight. danny, another day of odd topics discussed during this trial. is he trying to make her look like a kook or what's the legal strategy here? >> you took the words right out of my mouth. it's a two-pronged legal strategy number one, make the complainant look kooky and therefore not credible number two, avenatti appears to be arguing, which is a common argument in criminal defense, that this is a contract case, it's not a criminal case this is a dispute that belongs in civil court, not criminal court. she says i owe her money, let her sue me look for him to make that exact argument in closing. it now appears to be part of his theory of the case and then of course also just that she's generally wacky and you shouldn't believe her, ladies and gentlemen of the jury >> avenatti says he's considering testifying in his own defense while representing himself. i've never seen that >> it's very rare.

it can proceed one of two ways and the judge has a ton of discretion here. the judge will either let the defendant just speak in narrative form, or he may even make the defendant question himself and then answer his own questions, even more awkward but in all likelihood, i don't see michael avenatti testifying. in his mind, he's effectively testified when he's cr cross-examined the jury has heard him speak, heard him battle it out with witnesses like stormy daniels and other witnesses. avenatti may be able to conclude he's been able to do that without ever being cross-examined and he may have gotten his story, he thinks, out without ever exposing himself to the crucible of cross-examination from the government >> michael avenatti, you never know what he'll do danny cevallos, thank you. they call him the king and tonight the rangers will retire his jersey at madison

square guararden. hockey legend evan lundquist, his career cut short because of open heart surgery, tells us he's still full of gratitude, and what's up next and our jane wells has a softer sport hey, jane. >> shep, pillow fighting is fun, it's therapeutic but can it be profitable we talked to a guy spending $350,000 saying yes. so i came to miami for se rdomha soft journalism, when we come back just ask stepping outsie 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.

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hockey legend henrik lundquist is one of the greatest goalies of all time. he's had more than 450 wins, 23,000 saves and 60 shutouts but tonight he's joining the select few to be remembered in the rafters at the mecca of sports, madison square garden. the new york rangers set to retire lundquist's number 30 jersey the goalie has the sixth most wins in nhl history. his career made him an icon around the league. but it's his philosophy off the ice that he says has guided him through some of life's biggest challenges here's cnbc's contessa brewer. >> good save >> reporter: for 15 years, henrik lundquist lived and breathed hockey with the new york rangers >> it's been my home it's such an important place for me in my life.

>> reporter: in march 2020, the national hockey league suspended games because of coronavirus just as play resumed, lundquist's team bought out the last year of his contract and the legendary goalie accepted an offer with the capitals in washington, dc >> i realized i still love the game so much that even though it was hard to see myself playing anywhere else, i wanted to try and go for it. in the end it was not meant to be the heart said no. >> reporter: literally lundquist needed open heart surgery, prompting his decision to retire from the ice it was a lot in little more than a year the loss of his team, his health, his career and like everyone else, the pandemic >> when you play, achieve, achieve, achieve, and then you have moments in your life where things start to change, i had a moment where i had to just stop a little bit and reflect on a lot of things i had in my life >> reporter: no matter the challenge, lundquist says mindset matters. >> gratitude is by far the best feeling you can have

and it made a huge difference for me i ended up in a very big gratitude phase where that made me so happy to think about everything i experienced, everything i have, but also it made me excited about moving forward. >> reporter: always a popular "tonight show" guests. >> can you stock pies? >> piece of cake >> reporter: he'll be a brand ambassador for caesars sports book and will try his hand at broadcasting whatever is next, lundquist is focused on the journey, not the goal contessa brewer, cnbc, new york. professional pillow fighting, the game you used to play at slumber parties, is going pro. the first ever professional pillow fighting league holding its first live pay-per-view event tomorrow they're promising good competition without bloodshed. steve williams created the

championship he describes the sport as hard-core swinging with specialized pillows. a patent pending, two-pound, queen-size, rip-proof nylon pillow with three holster straps for more leverage. so it's crap, right? or is it worth watching? who better to investigate than cnbc's jane wells? ♪ >> reporter: it's the one sport we've all played now you can get paid for it. >> oh, that was a hit to the face >> reporter: there is a professional pillow fight league in florida fighters win by hitting an opponent in the head the most times with a two-pound pillow during three 90-second rounds. >> the world needs a pillow fight right now. so we're doing it. here we are. >> reporter: telecom entrepreneur steve williams launched the league with $350,000 of his own money. >> we've made this much. >> reporter: that may change videos of his fighters have gone

viral. saturday night, he's gambling on a live pay-per-view at $12.99 a ticket >> the fighters get $250 just to fight. the winner will get $5,000 >> a lot of people think it's dumb but it's fun and challenging. >> what surprised me is the amount of cardio you need to outlast. >> you can do 360 rounds, which is a twist when you twist, you get more points >> reporter: what's it like? well, yours truly may be a grandma, but i still got game. sort of. fighters come from all backgrounds. boxing, reality tv, the military, even kids. did somebody laugh at you, your parents or somebody -- >> absolutely. >> reporter: it's really popular with local mma and ufc fighters like marcus perez because he can practice hard. >> it's good because it don't

hurt i'm an maa fighter, i take elbows in the face, the knee so i know the pillow is really better >> reporter: steve williams thinks he can take this thing global there's interest in brazil, japan, korea >> one of the craziest things is we've got a big base in kabul, afghanistan. it's the only sport in the world that everybody has done. >> reporter: okay, it's on at 9:00 p.m. eastern tomorrow night on fight tv. it's a lot of fun. maybe it will save some marriages. they've already got a sponsor for the pillow not who you think. and up next, selling the pillows. shep >> you knew there had to be merchants. be careful with our jane don't make me come for you jane wells, get outta there! we gotta go. roll the animation thank you. 55 seconds on a race to the

finish new tonight, president biden says he'll move american troops into eastern europe and nato countries in the near term as russia masses more than 100,000 soldiers, tanks, artillery and other near the border. president biden wouldn't say exactly how many troops, but as he put it, it won't be a lot up to 8,500 service members are on alert for possible deployment a dangerous and potentially historic winter storm bearing down on the east coast 70 million americans in its past forecasters say the storm could strengthen into a bomb cyclone with hurricane-force winds and dump two feet or more in some parts. enjoy that for your saturday now you know the news for this friday, january 28th, 2022 i'm shepard smith. follow us tonhe graham and on twitter. have a good weekend. all these other things too. it can all add up. kesimpta is a once-monthly at-home injection...

that may help you put these rms challenges in their place. kesimpta was proven superior at reducing the rate of relapses, active lesions, and slowing disability progression vs aubagio. don't take kesimpta if you have hepatitis b, and tell your doctor if you have had it, as it could come back. kesimpta can cause serious side effects, including infections. while no cases of pml were reported in rms clinical trials, it could happen. tell your doctor if you had or plan to have vaccines, or if you are or plan to become pregnant. kesimpta may cause a decrease in some types of antibodies. the most common side effects are upper respiratory tract infection, headache, and injection reactions. ready for an at-home treatment with dramatic results? it's time to ask your doctor about kesimpta.

narrator: in this episode of "american greed"... how wework went wild. the story of an office space company with cosmic ambitions... man: wework is using desks and coworking to enter into the larger category of life. narrator: a ceo with a messianic vibe... woman: he can manifest anything. man: mm... he can literally make things appear out of thin air. narrator: and the investors who gave him $12 billion and turned a blind eye. man: he was like the cocaine that silicon valley venture capitalists were just waiting to snort. narrator: "american greed" has the inside scoop on how the company nearly collapsed... -we! -work!