a criminal investigation now being launched into the deadly warehouse fire in oakland. the death toll climbing with dozens still missing. the dakota access pipeline is being rerouted. protesters celebrating a big win against the federal government. but with trump taking office, will it be short lived? the president-elect launching another tweet storm. this time he is targeting china. good morning.

welcome to "early start." i'm alison kosik. john and christine are off this morning. in a few hours, officials in oakland will hold a news conference with an update on the huge blaze in the converted warehouse that killed 33 people during a dance party. criminal investigators are on the scene looking for signs of arson or criminal negligence. officials expect the death toll to rise. cnn's stephanie elam has more. >> reporter: it is too early to determine the cause of fire. officials have gone through the building and broken it up into quads. they found victims in all four quads of the building. some of the people who lost their lives were juveniles. 17-year-olds and some 30 plus. they are in touch with embassies

of people from other countries who lost their lives in the fire. at this point, they reached out to families, but still working to identify some people who died here. that's because some people, it is evident who they are, if they had identification on them, they can match with fingerprints. with others, nothing to identify, they are having to get some source of dna. they are asking family members, if you think you lost someone here, preserve a toothbrush or hair brush and put it in a clean paper bag and hold on to it so they can get to them. at this point, they are saying they would not be surprised if they actually do expect the number of people who died here in the oakland fire will increase. >> thanks, stephanie. overnight, fireworks lighting up the night sky in north dakota. thousands of protesters celebrating a federal government decision to reroute a proposed oil pipeline that was set to be

built under the lake on the missouri river. some supporters fear a leak could cause environmental danger. protesters say they are still worried that the incoming trump administration could reverse their victory. cnn's sara sidner has the latest. >> reporter: celebrations, tears of joy, chanting and drumming. that's the initial reaction when folks learned the army corps of engineers was going to ask for a rerouting of the pipeline. rerouted and kept from going under the missouri river. it is a big victory for the standing rock sioux and all of the people who have been here many months trying to stop this pipeline from potentially going

under the water and one day leaking. however, what we have also heard from the tribe is they are concerned this may not be permanent depending on which administration is in place and worried about trump's role when he takes the presidency. >> we need to stay here. everybody here needs to stay here until we know exactly the legal ramifications of what took place today. as far as, you know, into the future, there is no guarantee this is going to stand. if president-elect trump could override what happened today on january 20th and grant that easement, then we are in for a world of of hurhurt. >> reporter: we are hearing that from others. there is relief, but worry of what happens next. this camp is filling up and no one seems to be leaving. thank you. the corporations building the access pipeline say the federal

government decision changes nothing. overnight the companies released the statement saying the decision is purely political and they expect to complete construction without any rerouting in and around the lake oahe. a man wielding an assault rifle at a pizza place says he was investigating a fake news story. 28-year-old edgar madison welsh telling police he was investigating a probe of pizza gate. that claims hillary clinton and her campaign chairman peds pejo podesta would involved in a child predatory story. they praised the prompt response of police. just a short time ago, we got reaction from china to last night's new provocative tweet

storm two days after his controversial phone call. trump tweeted this, did china ask us if it was okay to devalue currency making it hard for companies to compete and heavily tax our products into their country? the u.s. doesn't tax them or to build a massive complex in the middle of the south china sea? i don't think so. and china responded diplomatically moments ago. joining us now is alexandra field. what was china's reaction? >> reporter: alison, officials are used to hearing tough talk on the subject of china from candidate trump on the campaign trail. they may not expect to hear from president-elect, but that is what they got. the tough line against beijing. he tweeted it out, but it is met

with tempered response. a spokesperson from the ministry was asked about the response from china. the response to reaffirm the importance of upholding the bilateral relationship to focus on the economic and trade ties with the two countries. the spokesperson went on to say china would not speculate what is motivated the actions of president-elect and his team. china doesn't comment on the character or style or personality of foreign politicia politicians. they respond to policy. that is the big question. what will the trump policy be toward china? if this doesn't suggest the policies will change under the trump administration, that is yet to be seen. state news has weighed in. one op-ed was penned and that up ended the protocol. the times writes china should

understand trump has two faces. one hand, he is bluffing and on the other, he had no plan to overturn international relationships. he will focus on internal affairs to make america great again. that is certainly the hope from beijing. they hope that campaign talk is just that. talk. they hope that phone call with the president of taiwan does not signal more significant changes to the longstanding relationship. >> something tells me this could be the beginning of the drama. alexandra field, thank you. donald trump is taking a unique approach to zeroing in on a new secretary of state. instead of narrowing the field of candidates, he is expanding. trump insiders tell cnn mitt romney and rudy giuliani are still under consideration and petraedavid petraeus is also a contender. now the former governor of utah is reportedly in the mix.

the president-elect's top aides say the search is getting wider. we get more from ryan noble. >> reporter: we had originally thought we would learn the next secretary of state, but it appears president-elect trump is expanding the field. listen to what kellyanne conway said this weekend. >> it is fortunate to have interests among men and women who need to understand the first responsibility as secretary of state is to i mplement and adhee to the president-elect's america first foreign policy and loyal to his view of the world. >> reporter: among the names trump is considering is the former governor of utah. jon huntsman. he was the former ambassador to china in the bahamas administration. he is one of a number of names the president-elect is

considering. and the president-elect also making news about one of his signature policy proposals. that is how he will handle companies that attempt to move jobs overseas. in a series of tweets, trump laid out his economic policy agenda for companies here in the united states promising to reduce taxes and regulations on companies, but also bound to penalize companies that move jobs out of the united states. including a 35% tariff on goods coming into the united states for these companies. of course, this is not something the president-elect can just do on his own. he will need congressional support. it will be a key issue to look for in the incoming trump administration. ryan, thank you very much. trump is stacking his cabinet with the rich business elite. they could be in for a huge tax break. an incentive built into the tax code for nominees who join the administration and leave lucrative private sector jobs.

section 1043. it allows them to defer paying capital gains tax as long as they reinvest in holdings within a certain period of time. those have to be government approved. u.s. treasuries or diversified mutual funds. this could be a perk for wilbur ross who with is worth billions. and treasury secretary steve mnuchin. a former goldman sachs partner and up until last week, sat on the board of a multibillion dollar company. they will have to divert millions to avoid conflict of interest. political up heefave al on e world stage. is this the final nail in the coffin for the eu? from his whatcha' doin?

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a federal judge has ordered officials in michigan to begin a recount of ballots cast during the presidential election. this beginning today at noon. this order issued by a u.s. d district judge. about 4.8 million ballots cast for president in michigan last month. jill stein is escalating her fight for the recount in pennsylvania after announcing she would abandon it. stein plans to file a federal lawsuit demanding a recount despite the $1 million fee imposed by election officials. stein says the people deserve answers claiming barriers to verifying the vote are so outrageous, seeking relief in federal court is the only way forward. austria has a new president. alexander van der bellen defe defeating norbert hofer.

hofer campaigned in the anti-immigration austria first platform. the race was closely watched across urine europe on the heel the brexit. the vice chancellor calling it a clear victory for good sense. a set back for the establishment in italy. matteo renzi confirming he will resign today. after suffering a resounding defeat in a referendum sunday. his plan to reform the constitution rejected by almost 60% of the voters. let's go live to milan and bring in nina dos santos. this comes as a shock to some, but not others. >> reporter: 60% of the people eligible to vote voted no.

even the 40% who opted to back matteo renzi and the plans will not be shocked if you speak to them as well. the turnout was significant here. alison, we are talking about a turnout of over 70%. a covered a couple of elections here into italy. that is the turnout politicians wish for in the course of a general election. it gives you an idea of how passionate these people were about vetting it down. this is more than that. it is about matteo renzi himself and what he has and hasn't done to shore up the economy. that brings me to the building behind me. the italian stock exchange. shares in the building are down 25% this year and continue to suffer in the run-up to the referendum. when it comes to the banking shares, they are down 50%. some in excess of 80%.

the fear is that will usher in political uncertainty and economics inertia and the next elections in 2018. we have a full-blown banking crisis which people have to sort out with the economy going nowhere fast and debts mount up. alison. >> we will see what happens around the world with the stock markets. u.s. markets are mixed at the moment. nina, thank you. new zealand's prime minister john key is resigning after eight years on the job. his announcement shocking the nation. he won a third term in 2013 and is one of the most popular leaders ever. he said the decision not to seek re-election was a hard one, but the need to spend more time with his wife and two children was a major factor. a terrifying landing for air passengers in san antonio.

the pilot declaring an in-flight new jersey becau emergency with issues with the landing gear. how it all turned out next on "early start." ♪

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the death toll from the tennessee wildfire is rising to 14. authorities confirms an 81-year-old woman died leaving the fire. she got into a car crash after suffering a medical event. gatlinburg area devastated by the fires. at least 134 people were injured and 1,700 structures damaged or destroyed. a scare for passengers

aboard a sky west plane forced to make an emergency landing at san antonio international airport where the landing gear collapsed. it took off from houston and headed to mexico when the pilot reported an in-flight emergency. no serious injuries were reported. soaking rains hitting the gulf coast with the blast of cold air waiting in the wings. meteorologist pedram javaheri has the forecast. >> good morning, alison. the weather pattern with additional rainfall for the southeast. more severe weather to be happened. for this afternoon, new orleans, mobile, panama city, montgomery, be on alert with the storms with the potential of damaging winds over 55 miles per hour and isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out as well. the damage has been done as far as rainfall. the amount of rainfall around portions of east texas.

galveston, 7 inches have fallen in the past two days. flood watch in the area that is fully saturated. you notice the storms migrate off to the east. you notice severe weather across the panhandle into alabama and the moisture eventually works into new england late this morning. light snowshowers in new england. temperatures warm up to 50 in new york. 55 in washington. the change in the forecast, alison, the four-day. look what happens in chicago. 20s. new york city, you drop into the 30s later in the week. pedram, thank you. tom brady is now the winningest quarterback in the history of the nfl after leading the patriots to a 26-10 victory over the rams yesterday. it was career win number 201. breaking a tie with peyton manning on the all-time list.

afterwards, brady told reporters this, i have been fortunate to be on a lot of great teams. congratulations to him. the death toll rising in oakland. 33 people killed in the warehouse fire. investigations are now under way, including a criminal probe. donald trump on another twitter tirade. this time he is targeting china. details ahead on "early start."

the death toll climbs in oakland where criminal investigators are now looking into what caused a warehouse to go up in flames. proptesters in north dakota claim victory, but the battle may not be over yet. president-elect trump slams china on twitter this morning. china responds. welcome back. good morning. i'm alison kosik. it is 30 minutes past the hour.

new information on the deadly blaze in oakland, oklahoma whca. the warehouse fire killed 33 people there to attend a dance party. criminal investigators are on the scene looking for signs of arson or criminal negligence. at least eight victims have now been identified. officials say they expect the death toll to rise. cnn's stephanie elam has the latest from oakland. >> reporter: officials saying it is too early to determine the cause of fire. they have said they have gone through the building and broken it up to quads. they found victims in all four quads of the building. no one place the victims were found. they are saying some of the people that lost their lives were juveniles and some in the 20s and 30s. they are also in touch with embassies for people from other

countries that also lost their lives in the fire. at this point, they reached out to some of the families, but still working to identify some of the people who died here. that's because some people, it is evident who they are, if they had identification on them, they can match with fingerprints. with others, they have to get some source of dna. they are asking family members if you think you lost someone here, preserve a toothbrush or hair brush and put it in a clean paper bag and hold on to it so they can get to them. at this point, they are saying they would not be surprised if they do expect that the number of people who died in the oakland fire will increase. >> stephanie, thank you. overnight, fireworks lighting up the night sky over north dakota. thousands of protesters celebrating a federal government decision to reroute a proposed oil pipeline that was set to be built under lake oahe on the

missouri river. members of the standing rock sioux tribe fear a leak to cause environmental damage. the protesters are worried that the incoming trump administration could reverse their victory. cnn's sara sidner has the latest. >> reporter: celebrations, tears of joy, chanting and drumming. that's what the initial reaction was when the folks here that the army corps of engineers was going to stop the pipeline by asking the dakota access pipeline to be rerouted away from the thing that has caused the flashpoint here. rerouted and kept from going under the missouri river. it is a big victory for the standing rock sioux and all of the people who have been here many months trying to stop this pipeline from potentially going under the water and one day leaking. however, what we have also heard

from the tribe is that they are concerned this may not be permanent depending on which administration is in place and worried about trump's role in all of this when he takes the presidency. >> we need to stay here. everybody here needs to stay here until we know exactly the legal ramifications of what took place today. as far as, you know, into the future, there's no guarantee this will stand. if president-elect trump could override what happened on january 20th and grant the easement, we are in for a world of hurt. >> reporter: we are hearing that from other members of the tribe that although this is truly a victory and people feel relief, there is worry about what happens next. this camp is filling up and no one is leaving. >> thank you, sara sidner. the corporations say the federal government decision changes nothing.

overnight the company released a statement calling the decision quote purely political and saying they fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around lake oahe. just a short time ago we got the first reaction from china to the tweet storm from donald trump. two days after his controversial phone call with china, trump tweeted this. did china ask us if it was okay to devalue their currency making it hard for our companies to compete? heavily tax our products into their country? the u.s. doesn't tax them. or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the south china sea? i don't think so. moments ago, china responded diplomat diplomatically. joining us from beijing is alexandra field. is there any indication there could be a retaliation from china based on indications of

how trump may operate once he is in office? >> reporter: look, we still don't know how president-elect trump will operate when he is in office. the signs he is sending out is closely watched in beijing. they have taken officials by surprise. the response has been somewhat measured. those actions. that phone call with taiwan's president. those tweets that have raised eyebrows. including some tough talk toward beijing. were met with responses from officials in beijing. in the wake of the phone call, officials did file complaint with washington. they urged president-elect trump to adhere to the longstanding one china policy through which washington and beijing maintain official diplomatic ties. no official relationship with washington, d.c. and t'aipei. officials here did not come out and respond to the tweets.

they did not fire off a response. a spokesperson from the ministry of foreign affairs was asked about the tweets during a briefing today. he responded and highlighting the relationship with china and the relationship and talking about the economic relationship which exists and trade partnerships that exists. he went on to say he would not speculate the pomotivations of trump. he says china does pay attention to the policies. the question is what will the trump administration policy toward china be and how much will it divurge from the precedent set. this is closely scrutinized by news outlets.

china should understand the two faces. on the one hand trump is bluffing and unpredictable and on the other hand, he has no plans to overturn foreign relationsh relationships. they are looking at the signs to see if this signals a policy shift or part of the rhetoric that donald trump did engage on the campaign trail. at this point, china is maintaining close contact with the transition team. >> donald trump is keeping everybody on their toes. donald trump is taking a unique approach on the of secretary of state. he is expanding the candidates list. trump insider telling cnn mitt romney and rudy giuliani are under consideration and david petraeus also remains a top contender. now jon huntsman is reportedly

in the mix. the top aides say the search is widening. we get more from ryan nobles. >> reporter: we originally thought we were going to learn the next secretary of state. it appears president-elect trump is expanding the field. listen to the senior adviser kellyanne conway said about the search this weekend. >> fortunate to have interests among serious men and women all of whom need to understand their first responsibility as secretary of state is to implement and adhere to the president-elect's america first foreign policy and be loyal to his view of the world. >> reporter: among the names that trump is considering is jon huntsman. a former candidate for president and ambassador to china in the

obama administration. huntsman not the frontrunner, but donald trump is considering. and a signature policy proposal is how trump will handle companies that move jobs overseas. trump laid out economic policy agenda for companies in the united states. to reduce taxes and regulations on the companies, but bound to penalize companies who move jobs out of the united states. including a 35% tariff on goods coming into the united states for these companies. this is not something the president-elect can do on his own. he will need congressional support. it will be a key issue to look for in the trump administration. >> ryan nobles, thank you. donald trump is stacking his cabinet with members of the rich business elite. they could be in for a huge tax break. incentive built into the tax code for nominees who join the

administration and leave lucrative private jobs. section 1043. it allows them to defer paying capital gains tax as long as they reinvest. they have to be government approved in u.s. treasuries or diversified funds. this could be a perk for wilbur ross who is worth billions and steve mnuchin, a former goldman sachs partner and until last week sat on the board of the multi billion dollar company. a leadership shakeup. two prime ministers stepping down. including the leader of italy. that's next.

just a short time ago, a

federal judge ordered michigan to begin a recount today of 4.8 million ballots cast in the presidential election. the ruling is a victory for green party nominee jill stein. also in pennsylvania, stein is escalating her fight for recount there. after she announced abandoning the effort there. she will move forward in pennsylvania despite the $1 million fee. she says the people deserve answers and claiming barriers are outrageous and seeking relief in federal court is the only way forward. the people of austria with the far right defeat. alexander van der bellen beating out norbert hofer.

voters favored h eed his pro eu rival. we have more on the closely watched election. it is interesting to see the anti-establishment catch on in italy where the prime minister announced he is resigning and the brexit. you saw the anti-establishment sentiment catch on. why didn't that happen in austr austria? >> reporter: what is interesting is both candidates are not mainstream candidates. one of them, norbert hofer, was very railing against immigration. this was his main campaign point. alexander van der bellen was basically campaigning for open europe to stay the course. then it was a decisive victory. van der bellen gained 53% of the vote. hofer only gained 46% of the vote. the deciding factor is women voters. 62% of women actually voted for

van der bellen. it was on the fears of change. britain exiting the eu was a factor. nobody wants to see austria leave the eu and the trump election also played into this. many people worried about populous coming into power as well. the trump bump did not help the populous party here. >> atika shubert, thank you. a crushing setback for the establishment in italy. prime minister matteo renzi confirming he will resign today after suffering a resounding defeat in the referendum sunday. renzi's plan to reform the constitution and revive the economy rejected by nearly 60% of the voters. let's go to milan and bring in nina dos santos. it became less about changing the laws and it became a

referendum of renzi's leadership, didn't it? >> reporter: that's right. it became a gamble he lost in spectacular fashion just as david cameron lost on membership of the eu for the uk when he tabled that brexit vote. a similar scenario. dangerous things to call for the politicians. that is the message coming from the italian people these days. for the investors in the building behind me, alison, the italian stock exchange. they are saying it was amazing. p p populism taking one step backward and one step forward overnight. this with 60% of the people eligible to vote voted against renzi as plans to the constitutional reform that he built here.

the turnout was significant. 70%. that is bigger than many general election turnouts. where does italy go from here? financial turmoil in markets like these behind me is very much in the cards. the bank shares down in excessive 2%. in the meantime, questions about what renzi does from here. we know he will resign later on today. that means does the president have to call in a caretaker government of economists rather than politicians or do they go for snap elections? everything at play for in italy today. >> nina, if there are elections, when would they be and are you getting an indication of the candidates? >> reporter: at the moment, the plan for elections is not before 2018. that is why one of the big possibilities here of the

outcome of the renzi decision to resign is a member of his party could be chosen by the party to push through the latest set of reforms and budget and end of the constitutional reform so they can call elections to try to get things ready for 2018. in the meantime, one party getting a lot of notoriety is the anti-establishment populous five-star moment. that party wants another referendum to take the country outside of the single currency area. it is that fear riding across europe that has the euro down to a 20-month low against the u.s. dollar today. >> lots of economic and political uncertainty for italy. nina, thank you. the world's biggest oil producers reaching a deal to cut production. that in an effort to push prices higher, but will that trickle down to u.s. drivers? you will get an early start on your money next. generosity is its own form of power.

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all right. let's get an early start on your money. dow futures lower this morning. voting in italy and austriavest. the u.s. stock market finished the week mixed. the dow managed to tick heigigh for the week. that extends the win streak to four weeks. the s&p 500 lost 1% last week. nasdaq was the big loser dropping 2.7%. two big corporate stories this week. ceos of at&t and time warner will appear before the sub committee on wednesday at the senate. they will discuss the mega merger. both have said the deal is a natural path forward, but

president-elect trump says it would put too much power in the hands of a few. time warner is the parent company of cnn and cnn money. starbucks is hosting an event on wednesday less than a week after starbucks ceo announced his plans to step down. the stock dropped on his news of departure and down 4% for the year. gas prices already beginning to tick higher after opec agreement to cut production last week. crude jumped 12% on that news. gas prices are not rising as quickly. the national average sitting at $2.18 a gallon. up 5 cents over the past week. it is 14 cents higher than prices this time last year. what we want to know is what drivers can expect this winter. stations have switched to the cheaper blend for the winter

months. oil is the biggest wild card here. if the opec deal goes through, it could push crude prices higher and that could mean higher prices at the pump. "early start" continues right now. a criminal investigation now being launched into deadly warehouse fire in oakland. the death toll climbing. the dakota access pipeline is being rerouted. protesters celebrating a big win against the federal government, but with donald trump taking office, will it be short lived? the president-elect launching another twitter storm. this time against china. welcome to "early start." i'm alison kosik. john and christine are off this morning. officials in oakland will hold a

news conference with the investigation of the blaze of the converted weaarehouse that killed at least 33 people. criminal investigators are on the scene looking for arson or criminal negligence. at least eight victims have been identified. officials expect the death toll to rise. cnn's stephanie elam has the latest from oakland. >> reporter: officials here saying it is too early to determine the cause of the fire. what they have said is they have gone through the building and broken it up into quads. they found victims in all four quads of the building. no one place the victims were found. some of the people that lost their lives were juveniles. 17-year-olds. early adults in their 20s. they are also in touch with embassies for people who were from other countries that also lost their lives in the fire. at this point, they have reached out to some of the families, but still working to