Happening Today: Oakland Fire, Donald Trump, Standing Rock, Amazon

What to Know

  • Two people from the tri-state area were confirmed to be among 36 people killed in the inferno at an Oakland, California, warehouse fire
  • President-elect Donald Trump is continuing his victory tour a day after having an "extremely interesting" conversation with Al Gore
  • Days after they were celebrating a victory at Standing Rock, protesters of an oil pipeline feared their celebrations may have been premature

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Oakland Fire Claims Tri-State Lives

A New Jersey filmmaker and a Connecticut woman were killed in a deadly fire that tore through a warehouse in Oakland, California, during a music festival there on Friday night. Filmmaker Alex Ghassan, 35, was on a coroner's list of 10 additional identified victims put out by the city of Oakland on Monday. In Westport, Connecticut, the family of Feral Pines, a transgender woman, received a phone call from the coroner's office Sunday night saying that she had died, according to her father Bruce Fritz. The fire's death toll stood at 36 on Monday, with about 75 percent of the building searched. A guest of the artists’ enclave, nicknamed the "Ghost Ship," said that the warehouse was a place to "have interesting conversations about embracing different art forms," but that a makeshift wooden staircase was dangerous. Many of the bodies were found on the second floor and authorities believe a bottleneck may have formed on the stairs.

Trump Back on Tour

Former Vice President Al Gore met Monday with president-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower. Gore described the interaction as “an extremely interesting conversation.” While Gore has been well-known for his climate change activism, Trump has called it a hoax “created by and for the Chinese.” Gore also met with Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, who reportedly wants to make climate change a priority. On Tuesday, the president-elect is slated to hold the second stop of this "thank you" tour in North Carolina, less than a week after his bombastic return at an Ohio rally felt more like a raucous campaign stop than a traditional speech by a president-to-be. Meanwhile, Mayor de Blasio said that he's asking the federal government for $35 million to cover costs related to security for Trump. The security includes an NYPD detail at Trump Tower, the Fifth Avenue skyscraper where the president-elect lives and works.

Standing Rock Protests Continue

Protesters celebrated a major victory in their push to reroute the Dakota Access oil pipeline away from a tribal water source but pledged to remain camped on federal land in North Dakota anyway, despite Monday's government deadline to leave. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe, who lives on land adjacent to the construction project, and the thousands who’d gathered in Cannon Ball, N.D., to protest the pipeline saw Sunday’s news as a victory. But some say they’re celebrating with caution, because with a new presidential administration right around the corner, the federal government may change its position.

Mistrial in Walter Scott Case

South Carolina judge declared a mistrial Monday after a jury deadlocked in the murder trial of a white, former police officer charged in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist. Former patrolman Michael Slager was charged with murder in the April 4, 2015 shooting death of 50-year-old Walter Scott. It's the second time in recent weeks a jury has deadlocked in an officer-involved shooting. Scott's family called for peaceful protests. 

Muslim MTA Worker Attacked

A Muslim MTA worker was called a terrorist and pushed down the stairs at Grand Central Terminal on Monday, the latest in a string of alleged bias attacks sweeping the region, authorities said. The woman, wearing her New York City transit uniform, was on her way to work and had just gotten off the 7 train when the suspect shoved her, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office.

Amazon’s Checkout-Free Shopping

Amazon is testing a grocery store model in Seattle that works without checkout lines. Called Amazon Go, shoppers scan their Amazon app when they enter the store, and then sensors register items that shoppers pick up and automatically charge them to the Amazon app. See how it works.

“Role Mole” Latest Food Critter

The so-called Roll Mole is giving Pizza Rat a run for its money. A rat was recorded dragging a comically large dinner roll on the subway tracks on the Upper East Side, another sign of the determination the city's rats apparently possess when it comes to acquiring food bigger than them. Let’s not forget such legends as pita rat, pizza raccoon or bagel-wearing pigeon.

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