tonight, officer charged after a fatal shooting caught on camera. a diver killed while his girlfriend pleaded in the passenger seat. the four-year-old in the car. the aftermath streamed live on facebook. new emergency evagszuations as wildfires explode smoke blanketing big cities sending people rushing to the er. up in the air. trump tower as the president elect denies reports of chaos as a surprise name emerges for a powerful post. surprise medical bills. when a hospital takes your insurance, but the doctor who is treating you doesn't, a staggering one out of five patients paying the price in emergency. and attention poll holiday shoppers.

nightly news begins right now. >> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. >> good evening. in a year of several high profile shootings by police officers, few have stood out or generated more shock than the live image streamed across social media or sas till moments after a af july. we begin tonight with a major development on that case. that saint paul minnesota officer has now been criminally charged after prosecutors determined kas still did everything write complying with officers before he was fatally shot and key evidence in the case is that disturbing video captured by his girlfriend. nbc blake mccoy has details. >> oh, my god please don't tell me he's dead.

seen around the world. tonight the officer who fired the fielt fatal shots is being charged. charged with second degree manslaughter carrying up to ten years in jail plus who counts of dangerously discharging a firearm. each carrying up to five years. previously said he thought he was reaching for a gun. he had a permit to carry and warned the officer. >> i told him not to reach for it. i told him to get his hand off it. >> you told him to get hiir driver's license. >> said he was calm and complying with officers commands. >> his dying words were in protest that he wasn't reaching for his gun. there simply was no objective threat posed to officer ganez. >> the july shooting sparked violent protests with the police. camped outside the minnesota governors mansion for weeks and the girlfriend gave several passions and

>> it was god that made sure those bullets didn't ricochet. it could have been all three of us. >> the police union yan says it's disappointed with the charges adding no one can speak to what he encountered. with a not guilty plea expected, his mother warns it's just the beginning. >> it's a beginning to a different chapter and we all hope and pray the right thing >> reporter: she hopes the outcome will be felt nationwide. wildfires impacting half a dozen states. air quality alerts as smoke blankets big cities sending people to the hospital. we get the latest from nbc carry standers. >> in north carolina a heavy aerosol on the flames. water dumped as new

all my valuables. >> reporter: with his wedding photo in hand, david benson like hundreds of others now on the move. more than 80,000 acres ablaze. 5,000 firefighters from as far as alaska on the frontline. investigators still searching for what started the dozens of major fires. in tennessee two men charged in separate arson cases arrest in kentucky. police say that suspect admitted he set the fires to get more facebook likes. >> why would do you that? it's just sad. >> this part is hard. >> reporter: in athens alabama the cracked earth painful evidence of the record drought feeding the flames. 60 days without a drop of rain. >> we've been living here almost 37 years and the ponds have never been dry.

smoking cigarettes even parking off road for fear of igniing dry leaves below. >> there is a cold front coming. could bring gusty winds this weekend that might make matters worse. >> reporter: with that forecast, fears tonight these fires will only grow. across the south tonight, air quality levels are at a level red. that is unhealthy. it means anybody in the impacted area could be susceptible to breathing meanwhile firefighters plan to bottle the blazes overnight. hoping lack of wind giving them an upper hand, lester. now to drama surrounding white house transition of power. donald trump in a early morning series of tweets denying reports of turmoil inside his team as they race to fill key rolls. more on that and surprise name being considered to join the new administration. >> reporter: tonight,

countdown to cabinet selections. another name now in the mix for secretary of state. sources familiar with the discussion citing south carolina who backed trump even after constituents are embarrassed by her. >> governor, are you going to support donald trump. >> reporter: so far, no response from the governor's office. eight days in. president elect trump is looking like candidate trump did. much of what happened during his campaign, internal joiking, leadership changes, complaints privately and publicly. no one really knows who is in charge. >> there is some confusion going on about a chain of command coming out of new york. >> reporter: vice president elect, mike pence, the new transition team leader touring soon to be home today with vice president joe biden. trump's team blames the griping on sour grammys from people forced out as they

up there. i was at d.c. yesterday at boast transition offices. very engaged. >> reporter: made first cabinet nominations within a few days of potents conceding, it took president obama two weeks. president clint more than a month by that timeline president trump is on pace. >> every transition goes through chaos and turnover. >> reporter: trump is insisting his is snoothly in a tweet attacking the media. one day after dining with his family, but ditching the reporters assigned to follow him. breaking decades of protocol. his supporters slugging it off. >> i find it admirable. what he is saying there's a new way of doing things. there's a new sheriff in town. >> reporter: the white house correspondent association calls the move unacceptable. the point of the small

of national emergency. without that on a day like 9/11 president bush would not have been able to address the nation from the florida school. >> thank you. turning overseas where after a three-week reprieve, deadly new air strikes have been launched on aleppo syria. among the sites hit, an underground hospital built to care for children of war torn city. nbc news has gotten exclusive access into the hospital and for more on the attack, turn to richard. >> reporter: the only children's hospital was bombed by syrian helicopters. served 4,000 patients a month. no more. one of the doctors filmed the aftermath for us. hospitals are targets in syria and the regime has been bombing them ruthlessly. from the basement. the doctor spoke to us over skype. asked us not to show

are more than 90,000 children. these children are not terrorists. we are not terrorists. >> reporter: nbc news has been filming at the hospital for two months. had the only relatively advanced maternity ward in the rebel held section of aleppo. now it's out of commission. relaunched to take back the city. people there are not expecting help from the outside. what do you think the change ofer aleppo? >> for me, i'm not worried because of trump because mr. obama didn't do anything for the people. >> reporter: the bombs are still falling there. rescue workers pulled a girl from under rubble. she survived, but this offensive is gearing up for what some near is a final push on the city. richard engel, nbc

so many americans deal with after a health crisis. new report shows over 1-5 patients getting hit with surprise medical bills. after being treated in emergency rooms. why it's happening so often and how you can prevent it. >> reporter: a trip to the emergency room is fraught with worry. out doors man did not anticipate this when he shattered his ankle. >> never in my wildest dr about out of network doctors. i just needed help. >> reporter: he and his wife got a bill for almost $800 even though the hospital was in insurance network. >> in network hospital with an out of network doctor. makes no sense. >> reporter: in today's health care maize it's not unusual says a new study in the new england journal of medicine: finding patients get surprise bills costing an average of $623.

it's rent. it's food. the reason some er doctors contract independently and not the same hospital they work. >> we have to get out of the bizarre world where the network of hospitals and physicians don't match. at the end of the day, it's causing huge distress for the patients. >> patients are paying more and more. >> the american college of emergency physicians blames insurers who don't offer reasonable reimbursements. while insurance sign on with the same insurers they use. >> so what is a patient 20 do? >> best advice is do your homework beforehand. >> er doctor himself and others suggest know your network hospital. that cut $200 off davis's bill, but like many, he's whethering

trying to heal. we turn now to troubling new findings in the national highway traffic safety administration. in the first half of the year, climbed more than 10% compared to last year. after years of decline the rising rates could be linked to apps. apps designed to make your life easier behind the wheel, but 345i be putting your in danger. >> reporter: in corpus christi, three killed on the freeway, in minnot daughter. from florida to california, nearly 18,000 people have died on highways in the first six months of this year. a startling 10% spike compared to last year. >> turn left. >> experts say apping may be driving the troubling trend, taking away our attention from the road like never before. >> i knew she was gone, but you know, you don't want to accept it. >> reporter: bonnie lost her daughter

driving. >> so temps to just check my facebook status or let me send a tweet or check my e-mail. it can end in the blink of an eye. >> reporter: popular apps like snapchat let you post photos in current speeds. pokemon go let you search for create yours on the highway. and waze asks commuters to report accidents. >> you're trying to listen, watch for traffic and drive and maneuver and look your device. >> reporter: all of the app companies stress there are safe ways to use them. take waze which encourages drivers to easy them hand free with voice commands and put down phones. still experts worry it isn't enough. >> we know hands free is not risk free. it's not your hand that is distracted. it's your brain. >> reporter: commuters across the country may be losing sight of what's important.

and more enjoyable may be making the road more dangerous. nbc news, logs angle loss. still ahead as we continue tonight. ready to start holiday shopping. why now may be a perfect time to sign up for a new credit card. also tom hanks, diana ross, bruce springsteen and so diana ross, bruce springsteen and so many more. man: i accept i'm not the deep sea fisherman i was. i accept i'm not out on the ocean wrestling marlin. i even accept i have a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. but i won't go after anything with less than my best. so if i can go for something better than warfarin, i'll do that too. eliquis. eliquis reduced the risk of stroke better than warfarin. plus, it had significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis had both. that's what i wanted to know. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to,

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we're still a week out from thanksgiving, but retailers are offering black friday discounts. those are aren't the only deals. big competition among credit card companies to get your business. right now could be the best time to take advantage of these offers. nbc has details. >> reporter: the best way to save on gifts this season may be how you pay for them. credit card analyst say there's never been a better time to shop for especially rewards cards. >> we're seeing an arms race in the credit card business because people are spending. the great recession is in the rearview mirror. people are feeling comfortable. >> plus and capital one average $600 worth of rebates and travel points. >> banks feel more comfortable extending credit.

holidays, meeting the higher requirements of cards can be easier. for champl, chase sapphire requires spending $4,000 in the first three months. annual fees can be expensive too. 95-$450 of a yeemplt paying off balance every month is a must. interest rates are high. >> these rewards cards are a great thing for personal finances if you know you can pay them off. >> reporter: retailers may also off experts say it's best to skip it if you don't pay it off monthly. >> reporter: average retail rates are 24% versus 15% for regular cards. whatever you choose, shop around. >> the first thing that you should think about is how you want to use the card and what you want to get from it. if you're somebody who never travels anywhere, don't get yourself a miles card. >> reporter: in the season of giving, using credit wisely to

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we have an update tonight on the nobel surprise. bob dylan rewarded nobel prize for literature. went silent a few days after the announcement, but later told an interviewer the reward left him speechless. sa h stockholm to accept ward at the december 10 ceremony. wishes he could receive the prize personally, but other commitments make it unfortunately impossible. no word on who will scoop it up for him. the white house announced today the final group of recipients president obama will award the highest honor. all-star list among the names. ellen degeneres, robert de niro, bill

tom hanks, michael jordan. diana ross, vin scully. bruce springsteen and tieton. we put the full list on our website. caught on camera, a thing a lot of parents fear when a florida mom turned away from a changing table. her 11 month old baby boy suddenly fell off. only to be caught by quick thinking nine-year-old brother. the baby was injured, but now sharing video as a safety warning to other parents. when we come back, the police officer gaining fame for turning his his ride alongs into sing

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oh, what a relief it is. impressive linda. it seems age isn't slowing you down. but your immune system weakens as you get older increasing the risk for me, the shingles virus. i've been lurking inside you since you had chickenpox. i could surface anytime as a painful, blistering rash. one in three people get me in their lifetime, linda. will it be you? and that's why linda got me zostavax, a single shot vaccine. i'm working to boost linda's immune system to help protect her against you, shingles. zostavax is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults fifty years of age and older. zostavax does not protect everyone and cannot be used to treat shingles or the nerve pain that may follow it. you should not get zostavax if you are allergic to gelatin or neomycin, have a weakened immune system or take high doses of steroids are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. the most common side effects include redness, pain, itching, swelling, hard lump

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>> reporter: at his day job, phil is a school resource officer, but in moralton, an hour outside little rock, he's become a bit of a rock star. on duty not just to protect and serve, but also sing. he calls it cop car karaoke. inspired by jamesy awarding car pool karaoke ? oh, i love the way you ? >> so you started lip singing in the beginning. >> yes, two, three years ago. >> now you do sing. >> i try to sing. >> pretty or not, his videos have racked up tens of thousands of views on social media. now other officers around arkansas are providing backup. it's become a weekly

music can bring people together. >> he's at every ball game, every event. goes above and beyond to be a presence for these kids. >> reporter: a positive presence after he noticed growing mistrust of police officers nationwide. >> my favorite part of connecting with these kids are showing them just because we have a gun and badge that we're people. we're just like them. >> reporter: and for this father of two, the job can get peon >> love you too. >> we have kids we need to reach out to that haven't been given a fair share and these kids mean more than anything to me. >> reporter: it is that responsibility he says that keeps him singing. maybe off key, but on duty. gabe gutierrez, nbc news. arkansas. >> i don't know about you, but that leaves me with a smile on my face.

for us on a wednesday night. got you covered. thise news at six." now at six. hazards inside empty buildings. population is dodging danger along with the elements as winter quickly approaches. "it breaks my heart just to see them grieve and hurt so bad." an area family grieves -- after mother-of-two is killed in a car crash. more shots fired. a house is hit -- just days after a woman is killed by gunfire in the city. good evening everyone, i'm amanda goodman and i'm ron steele. thanks for

homeless people in the area are migrating into a large number of abandoned buildings for temporary cover. but -- those buildings can pose serious safety hazards. homeless people in waterloo say they're turning to empty buildings for shelter -- but danger has followed recently. on friday -- fire crews put out a fire within a former apartment complex in the 900 block of commercial street. supposed to be abandoned -- but crews rescued a man from a second story window. he was arrested after being pulled from the burning building. another fire happening in waterloo on monday -- this one at the corner of elm and mulberry. police say no one lives in the homeless might have been in the home. no one was hurt in the fire. kwwl's elizabeth amanieh is live in waterloo.