nato is not threatening russia. reporter: russia amassing more than 100,000 troops near ukraine s borders, including fighter jets and tanks, the tools for a massive military offensive. russian weapons have been rolling into belarus ahead of joint exercises there next month which some analysts worry could be the cover for an invasion of ukraine. the kremlin spokesperson said the risk of couldn t afflict is very high. higher than before. but blamed the west for the tension. the map looks set for war. even with diplomacy still on the table. france, germany, russia and ukraine are set to meet for talks on wednesday. the u.s. has been in near constant communication with its european allies. but concerns of conflict are growing. the state department authorized the depart you of nonessential u.s. person and he will families from ukraine. england did the same one day later. ukraine said the move is premature while russia has accused the west of hysteria. the pentagon has made clear
enough day continues right now. and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. it is monday, december 27th. i m kaitlan collins in with john avlon this morning. good morning. the extraordinarily contagious omicron variant is surging across the u.s. cases are likely to climb much higher. years into this pandemic, testing is still a major challenge. now with lines around the block at testing sites and shortages of at-home tests at drug stores. there is some promising news as dr. anthony fauci expects things will improve next month. testing much more extensively than we have. even in a situation where you have people who are vaccinated or boosted. we ve obviously got to do better. i think things will improve greatly as we get into john. that doesn t help us today and tomorrow. dr. fauci will join us here on new day in just a few minutes. as omicron cases are surging, health experts are waiting to see if hospitalizations will too. right now
vaccination, which i disagree with. i think for part of caring from one another, the dictum of jesus is love one another, show compassion, show mercy to each other, sending the message is that if we want to act like jesus in these kind of times, we take care of each other. if we gather in celebration, we have to do so safely, comfortably, and we have to give to one another that gift of peace. and part of that is health. and feeling like we re gathering in a healthy environment. and so i really hope as people gather in celebration, to celebrate the birth of christ, who was about mercy, and compassion, and love of one another, that we keep that in mind. it is not about us. i don t think there is a reason to say i m not going to get vaccinated today, you know, maybe a health reason, but then you can t come to church. you have a responsibility to one another. father edward beck, rabbi ann brener, thank you for joining us this morning. thank you, both. thank you. and new
thank you. good morning to viewers in the u.s. and around the world. it is friday, november 19th. i m braun wianna keilar with jo berman. you re looking at live pictures of the house chamber now, in minutes speaker nancy pelosi is expected to speak ahead of a vote on president biden s build back better social agenda. the bill is poised to pass along party lines. it is a major milestone for the president. a vote was planned for last night, but kevin mccarthy had some other ideas about that. the republican leader taking to the floor, he started talking and then he didn t stop for the next eight hours and 32 minutes. he swerved from one topic to another during a record-breaking talk-a-thon that did force democrats to delay the vote until this morning. beyond that, it is not really clear what was accomplished. so assuming the bill passes today, and democrats do think they have the votes, the burden falls squarely on president biden to sell it to the senate and ultimately th
at this hour, protests in akron right now. a special grand jury in ohio declined to charge eight officers who fatally shot a 25-year-old black man last year. the city s response and the live report from akron as well as legal analysis plus, caught in the cross fire secretary blinken confirming a u.s. diplomatic convoy was attacked in sudan as two rival militaries fight for control quote, when hell freezes over that s the timing for one republican reogting to the possibility that democrats will try to replace dianne feinstein. plus, with more and more parents saying it s just financially out of reach, any minute now, president biden is set to speak in the rose garden about his administration s plan to make childcare more affordable our nbc news reporters are following all the latest developments and i want to start with cnbc s senior white house correspondent. kayla, we are going to hear from the president any minute now he wants to make childcare cheaper. how s he going