104, returning to honor the fallen. How hes inspiring america. Nightly news begins right now. This is nbc nightly news with lester holt. Reporting tonight from oakland. Good evening. There are so many reasons why the tragedy that happened here in oakland friday night shouldnt have. From the illegal Living Spaces to a make shift stairway electrical cords and stacks of flammable materials. By all accounts, it was a disaster waiting to happen. As we come on the air tonight, the number of bodies recovered as reached 36. Authorities believe there will be more. The victims were here for a party in a warehouse known as the ghost ship. An Art Collective where the very things that made it avantgarde may have also made it a fiery death trap. Now tonight, the man who ran the place is talking to nbc news. Coverage. Good evening. Firefighters had to stop recovery efrths because the walls of the warehouse threatened to collapse on them. This is now a criminal investigation. Murder charges could be filed. Firefighters are trying to recover bodies and also possibly preserve evidence. This is where the heartbreak began. Buried underneath ash and rubble, bodies of at least 36 victims. Solemnly removed from the warehouse where they died. I cant reporter derek almena leased the warehouse. In his first sitdown interview, he tells us, his family was not there during the fire. Hes spoken to investigators and has not been charged. Do i take blame or responsibility for this . Like reporter his home, this warehouse, is where nearly a hundred gathered for a dance party when flames exploded. A building not permitted for residential use. Almena says their Art Collective, a group of tenants, covered the 5,000 a month rent. Almena says he made repairs to the electrical system without permits, after he says, the landlord refused. Weve done everything that we possibly could afford to do. Reporter known as the ghost ship, the building was cluttered with a maze of Wooden Furniture and art. Cited multiple times. Those who live he, roughly 25 people, tell us the warehouse had two access points. A main door and a make shift emergency exit. There were two sets of stairs. One made of wooden palettes. The fire began on the first floor. Upstairs where the crowd listened to a deejay is where most of the victims were killed when the fire spread. It happened so fast. Reporter the blaze broke out next to carmen britos room. The victims were young, creative and brito remembers the faces of those who died. She survived the fire, but cant escape the grief. And i wish i could give a reason im alive when so many other people arent, and i cant. I dont know. Reporter miguel almaguer, nbc news, oakland. Reporter this is Stephanie Gosk in oakland. As firefighters continue the grim search for remains, anger builds. How did this happen . Who was responsible . Documents obtained by nbc news, complaints against the property since 1999, including two as recently as last month. Citing a ton of garbage piling up and an inlegal interior building structure. Officials say they were looking into it. We had an inspector attempt to enter the building, and at that time, was not able to secure access to the building. Reporter the warehouse was not supposed to have residents, but it had dozens, including reporter nicki said there were rules. If your ideal situation is living in a warehouse versus living on the street, youre going to life in the warehouse. Reporter john darman is a retired San Francisco fire captain, he says fire inspectors can get overwhelmed in a city like oakland, where real estate prices have risen. In a place like oakland, thats a big job. Its a huge job. The the inspection itself. Reporter records show she owns at least eight properties in the county. In a statement, the family says, we are also trying to figure out whats going on like everybody else. Were sorry to hear about the tragedy. Our condolences go out to family and friends. The couple who ran the property say theyre being unfairly blamed. A lot of people have turned their backs on us. Most expressly, the landlord. One. Their concern tonight is that moving forward, efforts to prevent a tragedy like this one happening again could mean they find themselves out on the streets. Lester . Stephanie gosk tonight, thank you. Lets turn now to the breaking news from charleston, where a judge has declared a mistrial in the case of officer michael slager. Seen on video, fatally shooting an unarmed motorist, walter scott, in the back. It was a shooting that gripped the nation and tonight the jury was unable to reach unanimous verdict. Nbcs Gabe Gutierrez has details. The court therefore must declare a mistrial in this case. Reporter after more than 23 hours of jury deliberations, tonight a mistrial in the murder case against former North Charleston police officer, michael slager. Theres no unanimous verdict, then were back to square one, and thats where we are in this case. Reporter by this afternoon, their final note that the panel of 11 white people and one black man couldnt reach a unanimous decision. Being that we did verdict, its a little disappointing. But the good thing is, that we have two more tries. Reporter the dramatic cell phone video shocked the nation, walter scott, shot in the back multiple times in april of 2015. During the monthlong trial, slager told the court, he was in total fear for his life and shot scott in selfdefense. Slager said scott ran from a traffic stop and grabbed his stun gun during a struggle. I dont care how it looks. Reporter scotts family, who had already won a 6. 5 million civil settlement from the city, says, this is only round one. Were firm, and we believe that at the end of the day officer slager is going to pay for what he did to walter scott. Reporter friday, a sign this was coming in an extremely rare move, a dissenting juror sent this letter to the judge. I still cannot, without a reasonable doubt, convict the defendant. Reporter in a followup note, the that juror needs to leave, hes having issues. Theyre had a practice run, theyve gotten a sense of what arguments might work, and they both come to the battlefield with that experience. Reporter slagers defense team declined to comment tonight, but local prosecutors say theyll retry this case and slager also faces a federal civil rights trial next year. Lester . Gabe gutierrez in charleston, thank you. Now to the thats left a washington, d. C. Neighborhood in fear. It started with a dangerous internet hoax that caused a gunman to open fire at a d. C. Pizza shop. Swept up in a Conspiracy Theory pushed on social media, even by a member of president elect trumps inner circle. We get the latest from nbcs tom costello. Reporter under arrest in washington, 28yearold edgar wells, accused of firing a weapon inside investigate pizzagate, an internet rumor alleging a Clinton Campaign child sex ring. These stories are completely is entirely false. Reporter the pizzagate conspiracy began with a wikileaks and email stolen from Campaign John podesta about a fundraiser involving the restaurant. Users are the board for chan, known for rogue political discussion, suggested without any proof whatsoever that the word pizza was code for child sex restaurant. The Conspiracy Theory quickly spread to reddit and youtube, feeding fake online news stories, then jumping to facebook and twitter. Eventually reddit banned the thread. Both d. C. Police and federal agents say the story is false. The website also claims theres a secret tunnel running up to the book store to traffic children. But the book store says, there is no tunnel. Have received dozens of threats each day. This is not a leftright thing, a democrat, republican thing. This is truth versus fiction. Reporter discredited rumors about sex trafficking, even spread by general michael flynn, who last month retweeted the link writing, must read. Flynns son, his chief of staff, had been pushing pizzagate on twitter. Neither man responded to our request for store owners met with d. C. Police commanders has a fake news story has turned into something very really. To politics now, president elect donald trump has announced hes nominating onetime rival ben carson for secretary of housing and urban development. Meanwhile, nbc news has learned that the president elects controversial phone call with taiwan last week, was long in the works. Reporter new signs tonight president elect donald trump knew exactly what he was doing when he held a call with the leader of taiwan last friday, breaking decades of u. S. China protocol. While top officials publicly insist the call was merely congratulatory. This was a moment of courtesy. Reporter a high level source familiar with the issue tells nbc news, mr. Trump talked with top advisers about the possibility of establishing contact with taiwan for months. Those talks intensified after elti john huntsman, a former ambassador to china, nou being eyed as a possible secretary of state, says, its a smart move. You have a businessman who has become president of the united states, andr who understands real leverage and how to find real leverage in that relationship. Reporter for his part, mr. Trump has tweet said, did china ask us if it was okay to devalue their currency . And as a candidate, he frequently took aim. We cant continue to allow china to rape our country. The staterun newspaper writing, creating troubles for the chinau. S. Relationship is creating troubles for the u. S. Itself. China policy experts say, this is a shakeup. Trump is trying to change china policy, and it is a major reset. He is challenging the assumptions that are decades old. Reporter but others warn the move is risky. It doesnt make sense to me, that donald trump should want to start his presidency with a serious crisis with china. I dont see where that gets us. Ep the call with taiwan was likely no blunder. For donald trump, this is classic art of the deal. Put china on warning, you better watch out, things are going to be different now. Reporter tonight Trump Officials are disputing reports that trumps team was exploring potential business dealings with taiwan. Meanwhile, an interesting visitor here at trump tower today, former Vice President al gore meeting with the president elect to discuss climate change. Lester . Extreme weather is pushing across the country tonight, a violent threat in the south has millions on alert, and in the north, folks are bracing for a winter blast. Nbcs Kevin Tibbles has more. Reporter a wintery whitewash, from the specific to the plains, midwest, and northeast. I love snow. Its just, i dont like shoveling it. Reporter dangerous conditions. Two deaths reported after a crash on a snowy michigan road. And temperatures are poised to plummet. Up to 30 degrees below knocks thermometers down to the single digits. Along the gulf coast, high winds, down trees, and flooding. We really were scared. Reporter near san antonio, texas, the saturated ground, contributing to a massive sink hole that took the life of a local sheriffs deputy. More Severe Weather on the way tonight. Damaging winds and isolated tornadoes, the biggest threat, the storms will spread severe storms tomorrow morning. Reporter winters official start is still two weeks off, but for many, its already here. Kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. Still ahead, fighting insomnia, the new way people are using their computers to find a better nights sleep without ever seeing the inside of a doctors office. Also, how would you like to skip the grocery line . Wh only new alkaseltzer plus free of artificial dyesf. And preservatives liquid gels delivers the powerful cold symptom relief you need without the unnecessary additives you dont. Store manager clean up, aisle 4. With new developments for the treatment of insomnia. Up to half of adults experience the symptoms and treatment can be both expensive and timeconsuming. But a promising solution for many can now be found online in the comfort of your own home. Nbcs Kristen Dahlgren has those details. Reporter for as long as she can remember, Claire Wolf Smith had trouble falling asleep. I tried warm baths. I tried warm milk. I tried antihistamines. Reporter the answer, it turns out, was right at her fingertips. An Online Program called shut eye, one of many now available. Users keep a daily sleep diary. The software uses that information to make custom suggestions. Claire started by pushing back her bedtime to 1 00 a. M. To reflect how much she was actually sleeping. Then she changed her behavior. I never, never take my phone in bed. I never take a tablet i never thabeg a book in bed. And if she doesnt fall asleep in 15 minutes . Never lie awake in bed trying to fall asleep. Reporter a story published in the journal of the American Medical Association found it works. Researchers reported 70 of the Customized Program users saw improvement, versus 27 who used generic sleep tips. We have good interventions, we just need to make them available. Repr witter brand helped develop shut i, which costs 136 for six weeks. Money well spent for Claire Wolf Smith, now sleeping two more hours per night. A big difference. Just ask her husband. So im less irritable . Yeah. Among other things. 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