new detales on the devastating inferno at the warehouse known as the ghost ship as the death toll continues to rise. >> we believe that a lot of our victims were in their 20s that we have to tell you that we have 17-year-old victims. global reaction continues to pour in from donald trump's phone call with taiwan's leader, and the incoming president's tweets on trade. cheers from the dakota pipe liep as protesters celebrate a major victory, but not everyone is happy. a frightening incident involving a man who fires a

and kennedy center honors, eagles, james taylor, and others. "early today" starts right now. good monday morning, i'm ayman mohyeldin. >> i'm frances rivera. thanks so much for being with us. more grim news over the weekend with the death toll rising. now a criminal investigation has begun into that tragic warehouse party fire that claimed at least 33 lives in oakland, california, on friday night. officials say some of the victims were teenagers. one was the son of authorities are still identifying victims and have not yet made their way through the entire building, which had been housing artists. nbc's stephen luke has the latest in oakland. stephen, what's the latest that we know this morning? >> reporter: well, good morning. you mentioned that criminal investigation under way, and that has a lot of people wondering whether there is some specific piece of information that they have not yet released that's pushed them in that direction or whether it's just out of an abundance of caution.

west coast time, most people around the county have gone to sleep and are not waking up. but here behind me, behind those blue tents you see here, it is an around-the-clock recovery effort. the latest numbers, 33 bodies have been pulled from this ten-foot pile of rubble. the ghost ship warehouse basically a facade of unstable walls at this point. and everything inside is so dangerous for the investigators. they do think the death toll they still have about two-thirds of that building to search this morning. a very delicate and sensitive situation happening here in oakland. live in oakland, steven luke, nbc news. >> not to mention heartbreaking as well. steven, thank you very much. protesters at the dakota access pipeline are celebrating the federal government's decision to deny the controversial pipeline's current route. sunday's announcement is a victory for thousands of who have camped out in the cold near the construction site, arguing

threatened native american lands. but energy transfer partners, the company that's behind the project, claims the decision is purely political. nbc's tammy leitner reports from north dakota. >> reporter: thousands linked arms. cheers rang out. there were hugs, tears, and dancing as word spread across this sprawling camp in rural north dakota. >> we've gone through a lot, through thick and thin, through hot and cold. >> it's a good time to celebrate, you who have camped out for months have been waiting to hear. that an oil pipeline's planned route along the standing rox sioux reservation has been denied. it's a fight that began in the spring and in recent weeks escalated into violent clashes. at the heart of the balance, a $3.7 billion oil pipeline that stretches across four states and runs along the standing rock sioux reservation, including near sites considered sacred by the tribe.

economies, the tribe argued a potential pipeline rupture would pollute their drinking water and requested that the route be changed. >> and there's disturbing news overnight of a section corrections officer being the target of shooters while off duty in new york city. 25-year-old al stay sha brian was off duty at the time when a man walked up to her car and shot her five times. police say she died at the scene, and they're still investigating whether she was intentionally targeted or if the shooting was somehow random. this comes just a week after henry wright and his wife were both shot by home invaders. they were hospitalized after the shooting and were expected to survive. police are not sure if there's any connection between the two attacks at this time. d.c. police have arrested a 28-year-old north carolina man who they say opened fire inside a pizza restaurant with an assault-style rifle. police say that man, ed guard welch, told them he went to the comet ping pong restaurant to, quote, self-investigate what's being called pizza gate.

conspiracy theory that has linked that particular pizza parlor to child trafficking leld by hillary clinton of all people. it turns out the north carolina man is not the only person to have assaulted the restaurant. the owners say they have seen a spike in harassment since the election, largely due to fake online articles, and they're insisting the articles be taken down. no one was hurt in the shooting, and police were able to arrest welch on site. he's charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. this morning former utah governor and president-elect donald trump's list of contenders for the position of secretary of state. hunts mapp, who also served as president obama's ambassador to china, comes as mr. trump made news with a series of tweets that had china in the crosshairs. there was also trump's angry tweet against saturday night live and its lead star alec baldwin after the actor once again reprised his role as the president in waiting. >> next i'm going to do what i promised my whole campaign, and

>> okay. don't you mean drain the swamp and build the wall? >> no, that's too many things. just smush them together. smush. smush. >> trump responded, just tried watching "saturday night live." unwatchable. totally biased. not funny, and the baldwin impersonation just can't get any worse. sad. and not to be outdone, baldwin also responded, posting simply, release your tax returns, i'll stop. well, there was the major news from trump when he announced via several tweets that his administration would put a 35% tax on u.s. companies that moved jobs overseas. it stipulates that any company that, quote, leaves the country, our country for another and fires its employees is now forewarned prior to making a very expensive mistake. however, it was the news regarding trump's protocol breaking call with taiwan that's still making headlines.

u.s. policy and communicated with that country's leader. the call, vice president-elect mike pence says is not a big a headline as it would seem. >> i think the conversation that happened with the president of tief juan was a courtesy call. she reached out to the president-elect, and he took the call from the democratically elected leader of taiwan. it's one of more than 50 telephone calls that the president-elect has taken from and made to world leaders in midst of a historic pace in cabinet appointments and senior appointments, building a legislative agenda. >> and trump also managed to comment on politics here at home, specifically a michigan recount effort by green party nominee jill stein. it is expected to get under way today at noon. this as her pennsylvania effort hits a roadblock with the green party dropping its statewide suit there, instead taking the matter to federal court. and reacting to the news, trump

pennsylvania and is losing votes in wisconsin recount. just a stein scam to raise money. we now go to politics overseas where the trump phenomenon seems to have hit a bump in austria at least for the time being as the far right candidate there loses his fight to lead that country as a major shift in italy, as the prime minister in that country prepares to resign following a referendum. bill neely joins us now from vienna. what can you tell us two seismic political shifts in europe? >> reporter: good morning, ayman. good morning, frances. italy's prime minister, matteo renzi, was known as demolition man, and he pledged to kick start italy's economy. well, he's been demolished in a referendum, and he's being kicked out. he'll resign this afternoon after losing a referendum, and not just losing it, but losing it by 60% to 40%. it was really a howl of protest from italian voters against italy's stagnant economy.

there was some evidence that this was part of that populist wave. what happens next? well, it's widely expected there will be a financial, possibly even a banking crisis in italy. certainly there will be new elections and a political headache for the leaders of europe's establishment. they had been heaving a bit of a sigh of relief after the result here in vienna when a far-right candidate, norbert hofer, who had threatened to become the first far right head of state in europece defeated in a straight vote. but as i say, that sigh of relief didn't last too long after the vote in italy, which really does give europe's established leaders a bit of a headache. ayman, frances. >> bill, thank you. a lot of developments there in europe suggesting that it's still far from settled what's happening there in the political scene. it is a miracle in the air to tell you about, a southwest plane flying from philadelphia

one of the passengers shared a video on twitter capturing the baby girl's first cries. [ baby crying ] you can see all the heads in the plane. they're trying to figure out what's going on, trying to see something. medical personnel on the flight helped with the delivery before the plane safely landed in charleston, south carolina. mom, dad, and baby were all brought to a nearby hospital, and the other 132 passengers p the question when it comes to the birth certificate, where was the baby born? just ahead, one of the greatest bands in the world honored. first, bill karins with a rough commute ahead for those in new england and the southeast. bill, how bad is it looking out there? >> it's going to be slippery. it's one of the first slippery drives we've had on a school day so far. we're really talking about the light snow in the hudson valley. just starting now in massachusetts and also vermont. it's not a big deal.

during the morning commute. only an inch or two. from hartford and also right through the areas of the hudson valley up into the adirondacks. the rest of the country looks pretty quiet. that's the big national story. now, here's a look at the weather near you. so we'll quickly watch that rain and snow in areas of new england and the northeast exiting during the day today. so the afternoon will be just fine after a little bit of a slippery morning drive. we also have to deal with a chance of some strong storm ntz the deep tornadoes in alabama. i'll have more details on the severe weather threat later on tonight for areas of the southeast coming up. just ahead, influencing american culture. president obama's final kennedy center honors. plus could a couple's pet parrot actually testify against this woman in a murder trial? a parrot, the only witness apparently. a judge decides. that's next.

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the eagles, al pacino. join me in saluting our 2016 kennedy center honorees. >> stephen colbert introducing president obama's final class of kennedy center honorees in washington, d.c. the five recipients are recognized for their lifetime contributions to american culture through the performing arts and each of them signs of stopping yet. the full kennedy center honors airs on december 27th on cbs. leading the news, a suspect charged in the charleston church massacre is asking for his defense team to be allowed back on the federal case. with opening statements scheduled to begin this wednesday. dylann roof was granted permission last week to act as his own lawyer, but is now requesting help only on the guilt phase of his trial. he seeks to do the sentencing phase on his own. the 22-year-old is facing the

massacre of nine african-american worshippers at that south carolina church. a murder case we've been following is back in court in michigan. it involves a woman, her late husband, and a parrot. glen na durham faces first-degree murder charges for the 2015 death of her husband, martin. the couple's parrot, bud, is the only witness to the alleged murder. family members say that the african gray parrot mimics what is believed to be martin durham's last words, saying don't expletive shoot. prosecutors a there's enough evidence for the case without the bird, but they have not ruled out putting the parrot on the stand. a date has not been set for the second day or preliminary hearings just yet. wall street fallout from donald trump's weekend tweets. european stocks rise on political unrest. you're watching "early today." ,. so graceful. the corkscrew spin, flawless...

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now time for today's quick hits. foam pouring out on the philadelphia city streets after pepco's fire suppression system activated itself. no one was hurt, but it looks like a bunch of suds on the street. 2,000 customers lost power. an investigation is under way into what caused a massive blaze that has left 60 people displaced in cambridge, massachusetts. thankfully only a few people suffered minor injuries during that ordeal. a united airlines flight

evacuating via the emergency chute. luckily no one was hurt. european markets are in the green after early losses following the italian vote. that certainly sent some shock waves across europe. good morning, jeff. >> reporter: a very good morning to you. so initially we saw a 20-month low on the euro against the dollar on the back of this no vote, the italian referendum seen very much as a call on matteo renzi set to resign today on the back of that result. markets, though, recovering. i tell you what isn't recovering at this point. diplomatic relations between the u.s. and china. donald trump doing his bit for those relations, taking a phone call from the taiwanese president. the chinese immediately enforced their own diplomatic freeze, saying they were very unhappy about the phone call. donald trump, for his part,

it looks like this fight has a few more rounds to go. we'll be watching very closely to see how that one breaks down. and finally, how do you feel about driverless cars? well, we may go one step further. bae systems here in the uk is now designing pilotless planes. i don't know how comfortable people would feel with the concept, but they think this is a viable technology going forward. how do you guys feel about being in a plane with no the joystick? >> i have a feel we're going to get to a world where humans don't do anything about just sit and get transported from one place to the other. >> i don't know about that. >> i'm not ready to put my -- >> no. i have to say there's something reassuring about when the dingos off and your pilot says now you can unbuckle your seat belts. still ahead, the five things that will age you the quickest. maybe it's a pilotless plane. >> yeah. >> we've got the list for you next.

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things in common, escapism. what causes the most premature aging? soda, sitting in traffic, or your boss? can you guess? all of the above. don't say your boss, though. you don't want to get in trouble. soda, cola in particular, is bad for the bones, believe it or not. researchers found that older women that drank cola at least daily had lower bone density than those that drank one a month. drivers beware, traffic related accidents or pollution leads to age spots and overall skin aging. and of course a bossy make your brain shrink. while the brain shrinks naturally, stress from that, scientists say a study of -- finally researchers found that a lack of exercise also causes premature aging. three out of five for me. i'm not going to say whether it's the boss or not. you're watching "early today."

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good morning. i'm susan kim. here's what's coming up on "live at daybreak"...death trap.. after a fire ripped through a warehouse during a dance party in california. what investigators believe happened. also.. bold robbery caught on camera. the bank this many targetted.. and what people can do to help police

good morning. i'm susan kim. i'm vince vitrano. look at these photos - posted on facebook.the wisconsin state patrol already lost a cruiser .. thanks to the slick roads sunday.trooper dave