today's announcement comes just days after officials at google said they'll wait until next year to decide when it's safe for workers to come back to their offices. we have coverage from all angles tonight. cnbc's valerie castro tracking the fallout. and meg tirrell. meg, we heard some optimism from dr. fauci on omicron what more do we know >> reporter: yeah, shep, dr. fauci's words came from a report from south africa with encouraging signs. though hospital admissions have risen there, the majority of patients in the covid wards haven't required oxygen. a number of the patients were admitted for reasons other than covid and happened to test positive in the hospital for the vi virus. they say this is very different from previous waves in which, quote, the covid ward was recognizable by the incessant sounds of oxygen machines. patients are staying in the hospital for less than three days compared to 8 1/2 days for the past 18 months there are a number of caveats here first, severe disease and deaths lag case increases by a few weeks so the picture will become clearer as time goes on. second

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today's announcement comes just days after officials at google said they'll wait until next year to decide when it's safe for workers to come back to their offices. we have coverage from all angles tonight. cnbc's valerie castro tracking the fallout in new york over this new strict vaccine mandate. cnbc's health and science correspondent meg tirrell. meg, we heard some optimism from dr. fauci on omicron what more do we know >> reporter: yeah, shep, dr.eah, fauci's words came after a report from a hospital in south africa with encouraging signs. over the last two weeks, though hospital admissions have risen there, the majority of patients in the covid wards haven't required oxygen. and in fact, this report says a number of those patients were admitted for reasons other than covid and happened to test positive in the hospital for the virus. they say this is very different from previous waves in which, quote, the covid ward was recognizable by the incessant sound of oxygen machines or beeping ventilator alarms. they also note patients are staying in the hospital for shorter periods, an averag

cosentyx could help you move past the pain of psoriasis. if cosentyx could help you move ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> the brigrinch bots who stol christmas or at least presents the so-called grinch bots are grabbing items like the playstation 5 in a matter of milliseconds sometimes they sell online at a higher price some shoppers are saying if you can't beat them, join them cnbc's courtney reagan gets to the bottom of the bots. >> reporter: grinch bots are computer programs built to search and buy a specific typically high demand, low supply item online commonly used for hot sneaker drops and gaming con suls like the playstation 5. >> it works the same way the tickle me elmo ran away 25 years ago, which is mom is earn running around, going to a store, picking up hot item, either selling it, gifting it. >> reporter: these programs are particularly active this time of year cloud works to block bots. it's detected more than 1.5 trillion grinch bots at work on black friday this year in many cases the goods are resold on marketplaces including emay, amazon, and others helping

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nearly lost his leg ten months ago today he played a round of golf with his son the golf ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ what does a foster kid need from you? to be brave. to show up. for staying connected. the questions they weren't able to ask. show up for the first day of school, the last day at their current address. for the mornings when everything's wrong. for the manicure that makes everything right, for right now. show up, however you can, for the foster kids who need it most— at helpfosterchildren.com >>> covid crisis on the gridiron as we reported earlier, the nfl was postponing games for the first time this season due to covid outbreaks. the las vegas raiders and cleveland browns, they were set to kick off tomorrow instead they're rescheduled to play on monday the league also moved two sunday games, seahawks and rams and the washington football team and the philadelphia eagles. both games now scheduled to kick off on tuesday, 7:00 eastern this comes as the nfl tightens its covid rules in response to the surge of infections starting this week. everyone must wear mask

. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> the family behind the company that makes oxycontin will not get immunity from lawsuits over the opioid pandemic a federal judge in new york overturned a bankruptcy deal that shielded the sackler family from civil claims. the judge said the provision that granted them immunity was inconsistent with the u.s. bankruptcy code. that goes against a september ruling a u.s. bankruptcy judge had approved a deal that would have seen the sackler family pay $4.5 billion to the states and in return they'd get sweeping immunity from civil cases. the sacklers own purdue pharma which makes the highly addictive opioid oxy koint the family and the company have faced lawsuit after lawsuit, accusing them of fueling the nation's drug crisis the opioid epidemic has killed roughly half a million americans over the last two decades, according to the cdc the sackler family has denied any wrongdoing bob ferguson is here he's the attorney general for the state of washington. mr. attorney general, thank you. you're one of only a handful of a.g.s who fought this ruling why? >> well, i

. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, you're an owner with access to financial advice, tools and a personalized plan that helps you build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. >>> in 2013, a british man accidentally threw away a hard drive. it contained 7,500 bitcoin fast forward today the crypto in the hard drive is worth more than $350 million his name is james howells, an i.t. worker from wales over the past eight years he has been digging through the local dump but so far no luck he once told nbc news it's soul destroying to be honest. every second of the day i think about what could have been in a last-ditch effort earlier this year, howells offered the local town tense of millions of dollars to help him find it. in the interview with the new yorker he said, quote i hope i and feel it can be done. as long as i feel that i will keep trying. the journalist who interviewed him now d.t. max, staff writer for "the new yorker," also an author d.t., thanks great to have you here tonight he has hope. or he thinks he has hope bu

. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> two teenagers went missing in indiana nearly five years ago now. cops said they found the bodies of abigail williams and liberty german in the woods of their hometown of delphi, about an hour and 20 minutes north of indianapolis, but they never found the girls' killer. now they say they're looking for any information connected to a fake social media account, uncovered during the investigation. they say somebody created accounts on instagram, snapchat and possibly other platforms under the name anthony underscore shots they say the person used the accounts in 2016 and 2017 to post and send to underaged girls images of a male model, asking as if they were the model. the person allegedly used the accounts to solicit photos and try to get girls to meet up. police say they identified the model featured in the photos and confirmed he was not behind the accounts our local nbc station reports a man behind an anthony shots account was charged last year in a separate child exploitation case the station confirmed he's in custody, but police would not say whet

and helping you plan for future generations. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ where's mom? she said she would be home in time for the show. don't worry, sweetie. she promised she'd be here for it. ooh! nice shot! thanks! glad we have xfinity, with wifi speed faster than a gig! me too! woah, look! mom is on tv! she's amazing! (cheers) xfinity brought us together, after all! power your whole home this holiday with wifi speeds faster than a gig. click, call, or visit a store today. sing 2 >>> christmas eve ten nights away you'll likely see lights and decorations most everywhere. but there's something special about the ones strung up at a senior apartment building in minnesota. they showed up last christmas during the pandemic and the display got even bigger this year an act of a self-admitted grinch whose heart is no longer small local reporting now from our minneapolis nbc affiliate, kare 11, and their reporter, boyd hoopert. >> reporter: as different as light and dark. >> we were total opposites. >> reporter: darwin bond and his wife of 58 years, rosie. >> oh, she went nuts

. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ where's mom? she said she would be home in time for the show. don't worry, sweetie. she promised she'd be here for it. ooh! nice shot! thanks! glad we have xfinity, with wifi speed faster than a gig! me too! woah, look! mom is on tv! she's amazing! (cheers) xfinity brought us together, after all! power your whole home this holiday with wifi speeds faster than a gig. click, call, or visit a store today. sing 2 >>> tonight, or today, some families across the nation are receiving their last monthly child tax credit payment that means parents will no longer receive hundreds of dollars every month per child, that is unless democrats manage to pass president biden's massive social spending pack today the house speaker, nancy pelosi, called the payments essential. she warned that american families will suffer without them as time runs out, there's a group of grandmothers rallying to save the benefit. here's cnbc's senior congressional correspondent elin moore. >> come on, guys does everybody have a mask >> reporter: meet mary beth cochran, a 52-year-ol

hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ this is called momentum. and there's no off-season. just work that builds on itself over and over and over again... becuase the only way is through. (burke) this is why you want farmers claim forgiveness... [echoing] claim forgiveness-ness, your home premium won't go up just because of this. (woman) wow, that's something. (burke) you get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. [echoing] get a quote today. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ mom, hurry! our show's gonna start soon! i promised i wouldn't miss the show and mommy always keeps her promises. oh, no! seriously? hmm! it's not the same if she's not here. oh. -what the. oh my goodness! i don't suppose you can sing, can you? ♪ the snow's comin' down ♪ -mommy? ♪ i'm watching it fall ♪ watch the full story at www.xfinity.com/sing2 >>> christmas eve ten nights away you will likely see lights and decorations most everywhere. but there is something special about the ones strung up at a senior apartment buildingin minnesota. they showed up last chris

. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ with relapsing forms of ms... there's a lot to deal with. not just unpredictable relapses. 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. >>> a push to legalize cannabis. now places of business getting together forming

>> got to do better than google glass, remember those? i don't either steve, thank youer have much appreciate it. >>> all right. meantime, u.s. holiday sales overall booming. that is what is topping cnbc's "on the money. holiday shoppers slugging off higher prices. product shortages and another covid surge. retail sales from november 1st through christmas up 8.5% from last year. if that sounds big, it is. in fact, it is the biggest annual jump in 17 years. clothing, jewelry, electronics, all, fueling the holiday-shopping spree it was a merry christmas for spider man and sony. the web slinger swinging past a billion dollars in global box office receipts. spidey doing it in just 12 days, the third fastest film to cross that mark and the first in the pandemic era >>> and elon musk tweet sending another dog-themed crypto coin soaring on christmas, he tweeted a picture of his shiba ini the creators of a newly created coin named after musk's hound pounced on the opportunity to promote it it paid off. jumping more than 3,000% since musk's tweet

can they do it with these vr headsets >> got to do better than google glass. remember those i don't either appreciate it. >>> u.s. holiday sales overall booming. that is what's topping cnbc's on the money. holiday shoppers shrugging off higher prices. product shortages and another covid surge. retail sales for november 1, through christmas up 8.5% from last year. if that sounds big, it is. in fact, it is the biggest annual jump in 17 years. clothing, jewelry, electronics all fuelling the holiday shopping spree it was a merry christmas for spider-man and sony. the web slinger swinging past a billion dollars in global box office receipts. spidey doing it in just 12 days. the third fastest film to cross that mark and the first in the pandemic era >>> and elon musk tweet sending another dog themed crypto coin soaring. on christmas, he tweeted a picture of his dog in a santa costume. where the creators of santa floki, a newly created coin, pounce on the opportunity to promote it it paid off. the coin jumping more than 3,000 percent since musk's tweet be careful out

. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> the sex trafficking trial of ghislaine maxwell could be nearing its end. federal prosecutors announcing they intend to rest their case on thursday. that means it's possible the jury could get the case before christmas. today, jurors heard from a third woman allegedly abused by the convicted sex offender jeffrey epstein. she testified using only her first name, carolyn. she says she met ghislaine maxwell and jeffrey epstein when she was 14 years old carolyn testified that she was introduced to them by her friend, virginia giuffre she's become one of epstein's most vocal accusers. carolyn says mr. giuffre asked her if she wanted to make money by giving massages to epstein at his palm beach, florida, home. when they got there, carolyn testified that ghislaine maxwell told them to go to epstein's bathroom carolyn said she kept her bra and underwear on, but that ms. giuffre got fully undressed. she said epstein then entered the room and lay on the massage table. carolyn testified that 45 minutes later, epstein turned over and that he and ms. giuffre had se

. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> welcome to the shark tank, where entrepreneurs seeking an investment will face these sharks. if they hear a great idea, they'll invest their own money or fight each other for a deal. this is "shark tank." ♪♪ with smart light bulbs for a new generation. hello, sharks. my name is corey egan. and my name is swapnil bora. we're from dallas, texas, and our company is ilumi solutions.

coverage - make the right call and go with the general. and nearly 60 years of quality coverage ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> united states on the verge of topping 800,000 deaths of covid-19 the majority 65 and older. they're closely tracking the omicron variant with what some fear could be another winter surge. governor kathy hochul says everybody will have to mask up in all indoor public places unless they're required to show proof of vaccination california just announced a similar move starting tomorrow but other states in the northeast not following suit the governors of connecticut, massachusetts and new hampshire all say they have no plans to issue new mask rules meantime, the u.k. just reported the world's first known death of a person with the omicron variant. no details of the person's age, vaccination status or if they had any underlying conditions. prime minister boris johnson now urging all eligible adults to get a booster shot. >> there is a tidal wave of omicron coming and i am afraid that it is not clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the l

go to autismspeaks.org ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> a new blood test scans for different types of cancer, and the start-up said it could even help doctors locate where the cancer is. nbc's senior international correspondent kate snow spoke to a man, who says that test may have saved his life. >> reporter: cancer was the last jim ford was worried about were you in good health? >> very good health. >> reporter: through sutter health in california, he volunteered to be part of a study on a blood test that can screen for more than 50 cancers. he was shocked when the results came back, and scans found stage 2 cancer in pancreas. >> she literally collapsed on the living room floor and sobbed we were both thinking it was a death sentence. >> reporter: but the death probably saved his life, because the cancer was found early dr. josh offman is president of grail, they created the gallery test >> most are happening in cancers we're not screening for at all. >> reporter: nobody is finding them >> yes ot five major cancers have screening tools. 71% of cancer deaths are caused by other canner

. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> daring rescue attempt, responders trying to save a woman inside that car floating near the edge of niagra falls. you can see how close it was to going over the swift water team wasn't able to get it to safely. they called in coast guard chopper. the woman bereaved to be in her late 60s pull from the driver's seat by this brave person. it was too late. the woman was already dead authorities say they are not sure how and when she died or how that car ended up in the river. >>> violent crime rising across parts of america ae cording to data from police departments, homicides are up in big cities at least a dozen have already broken annual records with more than three weeks left in the year in austin, cops have reported 88 homicides. that's a record and 100% increase from last year's total. in portland, police reported 69 homicides this year through october. a 21% increase from last year's overall number new york city police actually reported murders were down last month but overall crime was up the city's police kpcommissioner blaming some of it on repeat

hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> it is 5:00 a.m. in new york city, and here is your top five at 5:00. tech stocks continue to come under pressure, down big in a few days is it the fed or is it something else >>> deal news, oracle reportedly in talks to buy an electronic medical records company for $30 billion. >>> fed ex taking off helped by higher shipping rates. >>> the cdc making a new recommendation on covid vaccines and which one you should get. >>> and as the elizabeth

hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> it's been almost ten months now since one of the worst winter storms in texas has known history. the deep freeze left more than 200 people dead. millions of texans lost heat, water and electricity. in some cases the power was off for days in all, the damage estimate totalled more than $195 billion. that's according to data from the university of texas. officials across the state say they're better prepared this winter to deal with another storm but the experts warn if a big one hits, it won't be enough cnbc's brian sullivan live in houston. brian? >> reporter: that storm was classified just as a natural disaster, it would have been the most costly storm in american history but humans plan to roll. can it happen again? there have been some changes that have been made, proposed or started to be enacted which could help out the bad news is that those changes either are not under way yet or still just being talked about or may not be enough to prevent another major blackout from happening if texas is hit by another deep freeze this winter >> preventing it from occu

shop pandora jewelry and receive a free ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ this is called momentum. and there's no off-season. just work that builds on itself over and over and over again... becuase the only way is through. >>> the federal government building on the green movement that's what's topping cnbc on the money. president biden today ordering federal agencies to drastically cut green house gas emissions. the president signed an executive order to make the government carbon neutral by 2050 the white house says it's planning to spend billions to expand the federal fleet of electric vehicles and upgrade federal buildings. the plan sets the government on a path to run entirely on carbon free electricity by 2030 and net zero emissions 20 years later. >>> the federal trade commission ordering the former company of the pharma bro to cough up $40 million. the settlement for allegations the company fleeced patients by jacking up the price of a life saving drug by 4,000%. he's in prison after an unrelated securities fraud conviction he's set to stand trial for the price gouging schem

as we approach the bottom of the hour and the top of the news on a friday on cnbc ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> buy now, pay later we've reported the program some online shoppers use when they check out is booming it lets people pay for their items over several-month installments kind of like the old layaway plan the program has exploded in popularity, especially among young americans. according to cornerstone advisers the percentage of gen z-ers using buy now, pay later programs has grown sixfold from 6% in 2019 to 36% this year but now a consumer watchdog is taking aim at the program. cnbc's kate rooney now kate, why is that? >> shep, the consumer financial protection bureau has some concerns about the rising popularity of these loans. the cfpb, as it's also called, is especially worried about shoppers racking up debt through these plans. a lack of regulatory disclosures. and how companies are using customer data. this week the agency opening an inquiry around five of the biggest names in the space clarna, afterpay, paypal and zip all say they are cooperating it comes

with long life to watch his legacy take effect >> may senator dole rest in peace as he deserves hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ welcome to allstate. where everything just seems to go your way. ♪ ♪ you're in good hands with allstate. click or call for a lower auto rate today. >>> we reported at the top of this news hour the actor and musician jussie smollet convicted today on five of six counts again >>> we reported at the top of this news hour the actor and musician jussie smollett convicted of five of the six counts against him in the criminal trial in chicago. we've been waiting for him to walk out of the courtroom, and moments ago he did >> i thought it was going to be as he was coming out but his entourage was there. this happe i thought it was going to be just as he was coming out, but his entourage was there. this happened during the commercial break we presumed smollett was booked. that would be sort of standard operating procedure after he was found guilty by the jury here let's listen the stand >> watch you >> did you lie on the stand?g oo sides on january 27th. se

. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. our friend sold their policy to help pay their medical bills, and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned we could sell all of our policy, or keep part of it with no future payments. who knew? we sold our policy. now we can relax and enjoy our retirement as we had planned. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance. >>>

that's going to be the metaverse question next year >> got to do better than google glass, remember those? i don't either steve, thank you very much appreciate it. >>> all right. meantime, u.s. holiday sales overall booming. that is what is topping cnbc's "on the money. holiday shoppers shrugging off higher prices. product shortages and another covid surge. retail sales from november 1st through christmas up 8.5% from last year. if that sounds big, it is. in fact, it is the biggest annual jump in 17 years. clothing, jewelry, electronics, all, fueling the holiday-shopping spree it was a merry christmas for spider-man and sony. the web slinger swinging past a billion dollars in global box office receipts. spidey doing it in just 12 days, the third fastest film to cross that mark and the first in the pandemic era >>> and elon musk tweet sending another dog-themed crypto coin soaring on christmas, he tweeted a picture of his shiba inu the creators of a newly created coin named after musk's hound pounced on the opportunity to promote it it paid off. the canine coin jumping more than 3000% sinc

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