growing fury over the

wildfires. hawaiian residents set their sights on the state's biggest energy provider as recovery efforts continue in the deadliest whievildfire in moder american history what the trials and legal tribulations could mean for former president trump's 2024 campaign the u.s. soldier tee detaini north korea allege lid dly breag his silence for the first time why alec baldwin could face charges once again in the fatal shooting on set of the movie and why work from home when you can make the office your home developers find a blueprint to fill some empty buildings. it's wednesday, august 16th, "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm jessica layton >> and i'm frances rivera. we begin in hawaii where

devastating confirmations are reaching desperate families. officials have begun identifying the lost the death toll has climbed to 106. and the governor warned that teams could find as many as 20 bo bodies a day and while locals deal with this grief, some tell tom llamas that outsiders are now trying to cash in on their land >> reporter: realtors, people in the real estate industry are calling your family and friends to buy their plots of land >> it's disgusting it's a land grab and i know our lahaina community is resilient and will do what have it takes to protect lahaina. >> the cause of the fire is still under investigation. but at least three class action lawsuits have been filed against hawaii electric, alleging that turning off the power lines would have saved lives the company's ceo says they are

looking the an all the information and the focus is on helping the community. former president trump and his allies are already on the defensive following monday night's sweeping indictment over alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election in georgia on truth social tuesday, trump called for his crowded schedule of trials to be pushed until after the 2024 election. trump is facing 13 of the charges listed this this 41-count indictment. for more on this we go to chris pollone in washington. good morning so it's been a day to absorb the indictment what's been the reaction from the political world on all of this >> reporter: yeah, jess car, good morning former president donald trump and his allies continue to attack the georgia prosecutor who brought these charges against him. mr. trump, along with 18 others are charged with trying to overturn the 2020 election in georgia. he posted yesterday he'll hold a news conference next week where he'll prove fraud in that

election similar claims have been repeatedly tee bunked in the past and georgia's republican governor posted online quickly that the 2020 election was not stolen and we've now heard from trump's attorney rudy giuliani he helped pioneer the use of racketeering laws to prosecute the mafia in new york during the 1980s. now he's being prosecuted under the same type of law giuliani calls the charges the next chapter in a book of lies >> interesting twist we know 19 of the defendants, one of them has been pushing for a change in the jurisdiction tell us what you know about that >> reporter: that's right. former chief of staff mark meadows became the first defendant in this case to file for a change of venue, asking for the trial to be moved from the fulton county state court in georgia to federal court we expect to see several others do that, including possibly former president trump

less publicity generally there are no cameras in federal courtrooms. that would be advantageous to the defendants and the jury pool would spread much farther out to parts of georgia turning now to new developments out of north korea. the country's state media commenting for the first time about a u.s. soldier who crossed over the dmz into north korean custody in july. josh letterman is following this for us what is north korea saying about private travis king? >> reporter: north korea is breaking its silence about whether it even has trafs king and what happened the day he crossed into north korea, the st state-run news agency is saying he admitted that he crossed illegally, that he invaded, essentially, north korea, using their words, and they say he has also claimed that he faced

racial discrimination and inhumane treatment within the u.s.military before deciding t go into north korea. remember, he was in the military he was actually on his way home to the u.s. to face disciplinary action when he instead left the airport and crossed into north korea. now we cannot confirm those details of what he has claimed and in fact the u.s. military says they also cannot confirm that but they do say the pentagon spokesman, that they are working through all available channels to try to bring him home just as fast as possible including working with the u.n. command which oversees that demilitarized zone between south korea and north korea. we're also hearing overnight from claudia gates, the mother of travis king who says she's following these reports very closely. she's concerned about whether her son is being treated humanely she is thanking the u.s. military for its efforts to try

to bring him home but is very eager for a phone call from her son which indicates she has not yet had a chance to speak to her son while he is in detention in north korea. we know the u.s. government is also trying to get a chance to speak with him >> josh, thank you a philadelphia teenager is in custody this morning, facing allegations of supporting terrorist ideologies the suspect who has yet to be identified is charged with what the district attorney calls the most serious alleged terrorist activity in the recent history of philadelphia. ken delainian has more >> reporter: an fbi tactical team raiding a home, arresting a 17-year-old resident on terrorism charges. >> the young man who's under arrest is, was an aspiring terrorist who was not merely thinking but was doing things that are deeply disturbing and presented a grave danger to everyone

>> reporter: jaclyn mcguire, who once investigated the 9/11 attacks and now heads the philadelphia fbi office says the suspect was sending and receiving terrorist propaganda and instructions, including guidance on how to build a bomb. >> the individual appeared to be taking steps to travel overseas for the purpose of joining or supporting terrorist activity. most concerning, however, was the evidence that he had access to firearms and had purchased items and materials commonly used in the explosive devices. some of these purchases had just occurred in the last few weeks >> reporter: mcguire says the fbi had learned he purchased tactical gear, wiring, and remote detonation devices. >> this quickly escalated this case in threat and priority for our office and this was now a situation where we believe public safety was at risk. so we quickly took appropriate steps to mitigate that risk. >> reporter: the suspect has

been charged under state law >> he is currently charged with the following offenses weapons of mass destruction. criminal conspiracy. arson. causing or risking catastrophe attempt to commit criminal mischief possession of an instrument of crime and reckless endangerment of another person. >> reporter: fbi officials say the teen had become radicalized online >> this individual had communicated with "ktj", which was designated as a global terrorist terr terrorist group by the united states government in 2022 and is affiliated with al qaeda >> reporter: the threat from terrorism has diminished in recent years but hasn't gone away >> it would be easiest to conduct that by radicalizing those already inside the country. >> reporter: officials say the

investigation is ongoing, and the teen remains in custody. >> our thanks to ken dilanian for that report. >> reporter: new fallout for the virginia mother of the 6-year-old who shot his teacher. deja taylor pleaded guilty to felony child neglect which carries a maximum prison sentence of up to five years her attorney saying she feels responsible for what happened. taylor had previously pleaded guilty to using marijuana while possession a firearm the injured teacher has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the school district for failing to act on warnings that the boy had a gun. newport news public school said that it cannot comment on legal actions. now to yet another twist in the deadly shooting on the "rust" movie set alec baldwin may once again face involuntary manslaughter charges after a new report reports that it would only fire if the

trigger was pulled the gun fired killing halyna hutchins in october of 2021. the film's armorer was charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering the special prosecutor on the case said a decision on whether to re-file charges on baldwin is forthcoming. and ji angie is tracking potential relief >> we have a couple of spots seeing warm and comfortable conditions check out all the alerts for the pacific northwest. these temperatures unprecedented for this area. spokane headed to 101 this afternoon. 100 degrees for baker city medford headed to 107, potentially tying a record there. we look ahead to thursday, friday and saturday, though, and that's when we start to see temperatures coming down back to the 90s for eugene for

thursday by friday we're in the mid-80s and stay there for saturday. places like reno end up back into the upper 80s by the time saturday rolls around. if you live across parts of the gulf coast, warm and above normal for this time of year cooler conditions for the midwest and northeast. by the time we head into the weekend temperatures are turning up warm tempera wa warm temperatures. and more 90s for cheyenne and denver and that's a look at your forecast, ladies, back over to you. "early today" is back in 60 seconds with the real estate trend giving new meaning to work-life balance. and brian chung will break down how corporate headquarters are

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there could be a single solution to a pair of problems plaguing a lot of america's cities the housing crunch and office buildings sitting empty because of the rise in working from home brian chung looks at how some cities are solving the issue >> reporter: from these floors in downtown kansas city, leaders used to call shots in their battle for movie theater dominance, but the company moved out in 2013. and now the meeting rooms and executive suites are becoming living rooms and on-suites >> this could be the kitchen >> i could be making dinner right here >> reporter: there are 21 floors in this building seven have already been converted no ointo over 1into at units. what has been the big challenge for converting a building like this, that's, that's his tor sn

historic? >> you walk into the buildings, and it's beautiful >> reporter: it's one answer to the rising problem of empty offices fueled in part by work from home trends real estate firm cbre says 18% of office space sits empty, a 30-year high cities like san francisco, denver and atlanta dealing with vacancy rates well above that. developers are getting creative to fill the space. old offices turned into classrooms and biotech labs. >> nobody wants a city backdrop that has unoccupied buildings that are decrepit and not attractive for the city. this is somewhat afof a watershd moment >> reporter: reinventing isn't easy zoning laws and the cost already

an obstacle. one study says 15% of office buildings are convertible. back in kansas city at sky on main, the uniform shape of the building allows for a copy and paste approach >> avenue oevery one of the flos the exact same layout. >> reporter: an example what could be when conditions are just right do you expect to see more buildings downtown make conversions? >> i do. >> reporter: why >> once they see we've been successful >> reporter: even though this office is s in a house, itit can become a home. post malone brings rock star energy to a smaller stage. and we don't really think pink floyd had this in mind when theyey wrote "we don't't need no thought t control. the musisical findinings comingp nenext e mumusical findndings cop next qualality ingrededients. anand when grereat tastste meets lolow prices.

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it starts streaming on december 206789 d 20 >> there's high hopes, since he's directing that one as well. the study says it may not just be another brick in a wall. they were able to recreate it by using the sounds electrical signals make in the brain. it could help create more expressive devices in the future to help people without the ability to speak and another way music is just so powerful. >> tapping into the deepest part of the brain and just like a brprayer, madonna is on the mend officially rescheduling her tour after suffering a serious bacterial infection earlier this summer she has thanked fans for their support on social media during her recovery and, again, we didn't really learn a lot. we just knew it was a bacterial

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the jen rgenerosity of local organizations. a young patient has more accessibility. >> reporter: it's a smile that will be sure to brighten your day. meet niko, the boy who stole everyone's hearts and cannot wait to start the fourth grade >> i'm looking for great things, like good classes, a good teacher, and i can learn a lot more >> reporter: on tuesday, his family was surprised with a wheelchair accessible van just in time for school niko has a degenerative muscular condition. his family did not have access to transportation that could fit his motorized wheelchair >> now you don't have to pay, and i have a ramp and stuff. >> reporter: it's a gift that was almost two years in the making and started with the chance meeting between niko and personal trainer shannon decker in 2021.

>> like everybody else, i fell in love with him and what do you do when you fall in love with somebody? you make big promises. i wasn't sure if i was going to be able to keep it but we came together with so many organizations so many of my followers on social media donated money and it really truly was a group effort >> reporter: she teamed up with nicolas children's foundation, the woody foundation, it's for the kids and the zamora family who donated the van in memory of their son. >> thank you everyone. i love this gift, and i can travel anywhere now. >> and our thanks for introducing us to niko and i love his perspective makes you realize how much you appreciate, especially when this little boy just loves being able to get a ride to get where he needs to go. >> simple. you can't help but fall in love with him coming up on the "today" show, a look at whether pet insurance is

worth the price. what you should consider before you get a policy for your pooch. and al roker has a preview of what else is coming up. >> this morning on the third hour of "today", we're talking gut health then we've got comedian jo koy live in studio and new ways to get life out of second hand clothes. >> we will see you soon, and thanks for kicking off your morning with "early today. i'm jessica layton >> i'm frances rivera. that should be a fun hour. jo koy is so much fun. meantime v a have a great wednesday. we'll see you right back here tomorrow here tomorrow

team trump on the defensive this morning