learning new details about his life. welcome to new day . it is saturday, may 21st. we re thrilled that you are starting your weekend with us. good morning, amara. good morning to you, boris. thank you, everyone, for joining us today. with he begin with the nationwide plight, testing the most basic function of parents. the ability to feed their child. the baby formula shortage is throwing the white house into crisis mode as parents face empty shelves. the situation is so severe, not only has the president invoked a war-time measure to increase production, but now a military plane will be used to carry formula from overseas. the defense department ordered the first flights to leave this weekend from germany. and just this morning, president biden signing a new bill into law in response to the severe shortage. it allows the waiver of certain program requirements in the special nutrition program for women, infant and children, also known as wic. they are trying to expla
announcer: this is nbc nightly news with lester holt good evening there is breaking news as we come on the air tonight. a federal judge has just blocked the biden administration s plans to lift covid-related restrictions at the southern u.s. border the trump-era rule known as title 42 was set to end on monday but will now remain in place. it allows border agents to expel migrants without a chance at asylum the case was brought by a large group of republican state attorneys general amid warnings lifting the rule would unleash even more people trying to enter the country. sam brock is along the border tonight with late details sam, what happens now? reporter: lester, good evening the dramatic ruling is a defeat for the biden administration just three days before they wanted to lift title 42 it means that a two-plus year freeze on asylum seekers continues. but the administration says it disagrees with the decision and plans to appeal as border crossings reach new heights
looming in the background, china, which has been flexing its military power in the region recently. north korea, which may launch a missile test during the president s visit to the pacific region. and, of course, the war in ukraine. president biden called out vladimir putin in his remarks today, and he s set to sign off on a major aid package while in asia to help ukraine. cnn s white house correspondent jeremy diamond is in seoul following the president. so, jeremy, what else happened on biden s first day there? reporter: well, alison, in his first remarks in south korea, president hailing the u.s./south korea relationship as a linchpin of peace, prosperity. there are heightened intention with north korea as u.s. intelligence indicates that north korea could potentially test fire an intercontinental ballistic missile and or a nuclear weapon while president biden is here in south korea or while he is in the region as he goes to japan next. that has, of course, heightened
top of a brand new hour on cnn newsroom. goold good to have you with me. i m victor blackwell. plunging stocks, rising prices, recession fears. the s&p 500 entered bear market territory, dropping 20% from recent peaks. one bear market in the last 50 years was not accompanied by a recession. cost of living keeps rising, home prices are driving rents to a high. 17% from last year. gas prices are soaring. the national average, 4.59 per gallon, $0.30 more to fill up the tank than the day before russia invaded ukraine. let s start with the s&p 500 now into bear market territory today. what could that mean for the economy at large? well, victor, this is a flashing red light about the u.s. economy. if the s&p 500 closes below 38 s 38.37, and you can see it s trading just above there, if it closes below, it s officially a bear market, a 20% decline from previous highs. this would mean that the bull run that began in late march 2020, would be over. this is a big deal because bear ma
crises on his first visit to the region as president. putin s invasion, china s rise, and threats of a north korean missile threat casting a shadow over his trip. here in the united states, the baby formula shortage throws the white house into crisis mode. the supply crunch is worsening tonight, raising serious questions over when parents will finally see relief. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. tonight, president biden confronting multiple challenges on the world stage, as he makes his first presidential trip to asia. cnn s melissa bell is tracking the latest battlefield developments from kyiv, our chief white house correspondent, kaitlan collins is traveling with the president in south korea. and cnn s barbara starr is watching the north korean missile threat from the pentagon. first, let s go to melissa and the ukrainian capital for us. melissa, it appears russia is about