I had concerns. I had some grave concerns. And her candid thoughts about the trump administration. There was a lack of diversity that i will acknowledge. And at times it was very lonely. Whoopi holidays. The hostess with the most gifts. Throwing a festive Christmas Party for children in foster care with a surprise special guest. But first the nightline 5. As soon as i became a parent i changed as a person. Drastically. I tried hard to quit smoking. But when we brought our daughter home, that was it. Now i have nicoderm cq. The patch with extended release Technology Helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. The best thing thats ever happened to me. Say thanks, nicoderm cq. Every great why needs a great how. Number one is coming up in just 60 seconds. Good evening and thank you fare joining us. Tonight inside the often abusefuelled and sometimes deadly world of college fraternities. The rituals in the name of brotherhood allegedly claiming another young life. Tonight one young mans heartbroken parents speaking out demanding answers and hoping for change. Heres abcs amy robach. I mean, this shouldnt have happened. Shouldnt happen to anybody. Reporter the tragic news of the death of ray ann and steven grubers 18yearold son max came with a phone call. They said they had worked on max for 45 minutes, but there was nothing they could do. Its the worst call anyone could ever get. You never expect it. Reporter it was september 14th. Police say hours earlier, gruber was at Louisiana State universitys Phi Delta Theta house, going through a ritual where if you dont answer questions correctly you drink alcohol. He had a blool alcohol level of. 495 . And that was the next day. So that night im sure it was its enough to kill you. Reporter a few weeks later, 10 current and former members of that fraternity arrested. According to officials potentially facing charges ranging from misdemeanor hazing to felony negligent homicide. Was your son murdered . Yes. I believe so. Nobody can physically drink that much. You cant. You have to be forced to drink it. Senseless. Its terrible. How is making your brother do all these things, humiliating somebody, a brotherhood . How does that bond you . Thats what i dont understand. Reporter the irony is that the groovers had done Something College dont do. You were parents who also investigated. And didnt just say, sure, join a fraternity. Tell me what you did. You did a lot of due diligence. We went on the computer. We looked up on their national chapter. There was no hazing. No hazing. There was an alcoholfree house. We thought, thats great, thats awesome. Great, max really did a good job, we were hook, line and sinker. Like, our son made a great decision with this fraternity. Reporter they werent aware of two complaints made to the school by a concerned student and alumnus nearly a year before maxs death, reports some members of that fraternity were excessively drinking, using drugs, and hazing pledges. Following an investigation by the university, the practice te fraternity was given a onemonth suspension in 2016. Did you know of any past complaints about that fraternity . No. Because if we had found out, just a year ago a fraternity had had a mazing incident, we know that this is the one for you. Reporter they offered this advice to other parents. If youre thinking about a fraternity, ask around about them. Dont look at their marketing pieces. Because theyre showing you all the positives there. Ask older students. Ask kids that have been around that school for a long time. Reporter but they did believe lsu was the right school for their son. This photo showing them dropping max off at school, together for the last time. Little did i know. I actually have a picture of the last hug. Reporter after maxs death, Phi Delta Theta wants the authorities to prosecute those responsible to the fullest extent of the law. A spokesperson from lsu told abc news that after maxs death, the fraternity was placed on interim suspension by the university and that later the fraternitys National Organization revoked the charter at lsu. The University Also created a Greek Life Task force to review the culture and environment present on lsus campus in order to highlight eliminate any negative or potentially harmful behavior. The potential charges facing the ten former Fraternity Brothers are pending a grand jury. You have tennessee people arrested on a pretty minor crime, maximum 30 days. In jail. But one of them with a serious crime where he could face up to five years. I think there needs to be a much better job done of reminding freshmen in college that hazing can be criminal. Reporter abc news reached out to attorneys for the arrested young men. Some didnt respond. Others declined to comment at this time. But the defense attorney for the student potentially facing the negligent homicide charge told us in a statement, i cant imagine the pain that mr. And mrs. Groover must be going through. I think we should let the grand jury hear all of the evidence, apply the law, and render the decision. And a lawyer for another student told us his client was hardly present at the house that whose responsibility is it ultimately . Is it the university, is it the chapters, is it both . I think its a combination of both. I think even at the state levels, some states have where you can call 911 and not get in trouble if youre in that situation. Because they shouldnt be trying to cover it up, hide it, not call, lets see what he does. Reporter and ray ann and steven created these purple bracelets to remind kids to speak up when they see excessive drinking. They say its already helped save lives. Whats your message to students . That they need to step up. If they see something is wrong. Feel empowered. You could possibly be saving somebodys life. Reporter they say they draw strength from an essay max wrote when he was 15 years old. They found it in his room after he had passed. He says, god works in funny ways. Sometimes he does bad to ultimately create good. He wrote that. He wrote that. So thats given us a lot of strength. Yes, a lot. And perseverance to really try to reporter also helping ray ann and steven through this dark time, a family with a tragically similar story. Evelyn and jim piazza lost their son timmy last february. A beta thetapi pledge, timothy was at a fraternity ant where he allegedly participated in a drinking challenge called the gauntlet. They bring the pledges and make them drink Copious Amounts of alcohol quickly. Reporter prosecutors say he consumed at least 18 drinks of beer, wine, and vodka, all in just an hour and 22 minutes. Its awful how much of a coordinated effort that this crew kind of took upon themselves to get him and these other pledges so drunk. Reporter piazza eventually suffering a catastrophic fall, tumbling 15 feet down a flight of stairs. But according to a grand jury report, no one immediately called for help. And when someone finally did call 911, 12 hours after the fall uh, we have we have a friend whos unconscious. He hasnt moved. Probably going to need an ambulance. Reporter it was too late. He was covered with warming blankets. We were trying to find a spot of skin to touch. The nurse told me to kiss him goodbye. It was hard. Reporter 26 members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity face charges connected to the incident. Abc reached out to all the defendants and those that responded deny the charges. Piazza and groover, just two of the four young men who have died in alleged Fraternity Hazing incidents this the year. The groovers say the parents of those young men have been a tremendous support for them as they cope with the unimaginable. Well Say Something to each other, like i hate that we met this way but im so happy we have each other. Theyve guided me a lot. In just a little amount of time. Weve gotten very close. Reporter for Nightline Amy Robach in roswell, georgia. Thanks to amy robach for her reporting. Coming up next, amerosa leaving the white house, getting candid about the president and what she calls his racially charged comments. Sease. Youre more than just a bathroom disease. Youre a life of unpredictable symptoms. Crohns, youve tried to own us. But now its our turn to take control with stelara® stelara® works differently for adults with moderately to severely active crohns disease. Studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. 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Hurry, the 2017s are almost gone. Lease the rogue family for 159 per month. See star wars the last jedi in theaters dec 15th. Feel the power of thenew power. Smax. To fight back theraflus powerful new formula to defeat 7 cold and flu symptoms. Fast. So you can play on. Theraflu expressmax. New power. If you watched the apprentice, you know that omarosa is,s to the least, quite a character. In just 13 years, she has made an astonishing climb from reality show contestant to senior white house staffer. So it is no surprise that just a day after announcing her exit fr she is already taking her next steps. Heres abcs Deborah Roberts. Donald trump has famously said to you many times, youre fired. Is that what happened this time . Did he say youre fired . No, no. You know, i the president found out about my resignation by watching the news. Reporter when it comes to omarosa, the reality show star turned white house staffer, it seems theres always two sides. She insists she resigned her position from the trump administration. But white house officials tell abc news that she was pushed out by chief of staff john kelley. Youre saying you resigned, werent fired this. I resigned after a conversation i had with general kelley, one on one, in the situation room. In the situation room . Well, you know, yes. Thats the most secure, private place to have a conversation like this. Was it a tense conversation . Absolutely. Because i raised issues that i had concerns. What kind of concerns . I talked to him about some concerns that i had about issues, about one very urgent issue and pressing issue that would affect the president. In a big way. Reporter and thats all shell say on that. Part of the story shes not ready to tell. At least until after january 20th when her job ends. The white house is not my ceiling, deborah, its just the beginning. Reporter with omarosa theres always a story. Omarosa manigault has many chapters. Once portrayed as the villain on the apprentice. Parlayed into success in her job, the old boss becoming the new boss, office of the public liaison, one of the highestranking blacks in the white house. Omarosa admits her lone position in the white house isnt easy. I know what its like to be the only black person at the table. What was that like for you to sometimes be the sitting there at a table . At times it was very difficult. I worked with 30 assistants to the president. I looked to my left, looked to my right, and the only people who were there were folks that didnt look like you and i. There was a lack of diversity that i will acknowledge. And at times it was very lonely. Reporter today the white house insisting that its team is very diverse. President trump offering praise. I like omarosa. Omarosa is a good person. When did you speak to the president last . Yes, midafternoon. You said this morning he wanted you on his tell. Is he upset that youre no longer going to be on his team . He was sad to learn about my departure. Reporter she calls the president a friend since he first fired her on the apprentice. Omarosa has to go. Youre fired. Reporter thrusting her into the national spotlight. Controversial on reality tv, omarosa brought her penchant for a fight into politics, working briefly as an aide in the Clinton White house. Republican side. Quick to defend her friend, thencandidate donald trump, as many saw on frontline. Every critic, every detractor, will have to bow down to president trump. Reporter and today still defending him. Even against longstanding accusations of bigotry. Does the president understand that a lot of people in minority communities see him as racist . I cant speak for what he understands or what he knows. Do you think this president is racist . Absolutely not. I would never sit nor work for someone who i believed to be a racist. White lives matter reporter but she says there are some incidents that are hard for even her to defend. When selfprofessed neonazis marched on charlottesville, virginia, the president offered these inflammatory comments. You also had people that were very fine people i believe that america collectively looked at the images of white men with torches marching down a southern street, and we all were shocked and repulsed by what we saw. Yet the president said they were fine people in that crowd and there were bad folks on either side. Yeah, and i know that did that concern you . Absolutely. Reporter his words set off a wave of critique from all races and both political parties. Congresswoman Maxine Waters saying the president has turned the white house into the White Supremacists house. Many people feel that the president at worst is a racist, at best is a sympathizer for White Supremacists. Is he . Donald trump is racial. But he is not a racist. Yes, i will acknowledge many of the exchanges, particularly in the last six months, have been racially charged. Do we then just stop and label him as a racist . No. Reporter for many people of color, thats a deal breaker. Truth be told, shes really a pariah in the africanamerican community. Reporter this cnn clip of rejoicing at omarosas departure going viral. Bye, honey, you have never represented the community. Some black people label you a sellout, oh, shes a joke. How tough has that been for you . Deborah, first of all, in this business you cant take anything personal. Reporter now omarosa is another name in a list of highprofile departures from the white house. Do you worry that you leave somehow tainted by this administration . Um no. Thats a very interesting assessment. I hadnt thought about tainted. Serving your country should never taint you. Reporter after january, omarosa goes back to her personal life. She is a newlywed, after all. Married to jacksonville pastor john allen newman. I love you, baby. You too. Reporter dont expect her to stay put for long. Omarosa says tell when the time is right. Were you concerned at all sometimes by the president s tweets . I cant wait to talk about his tweets in the future. But i wont do that until im out of this office. I cant wait. Because theres so many. Is there a book in the works . Sounds like a book. Its been 24 hours. Youre way ahead of me. Or a reality show . Reporter for nightline, im Deborah Roberts in new york. Next here, inside the Christmas Party of the year hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. That cough doesnt sound so good. Well i think you sound great. Move over. Easy booger man. Take mucinex dm. Itll take care of your cough. Fine ill text you in 4 hours when your cough returns. One pill lasts 12 hours, so. Looks like im good all night. Ah david, please, listen. Still not coughing. Not fair you guys why take 4hour cough medicine . Just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. 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Every year i read the night before christmas for nightline. They said, we want to do something different. We went with whoopi to the bronx where she spread holiday cheer. Many kids do not have magic every day so were making a little magicod reporter partnering with the nonprofit one simple wish. And disneys share the joy campaign. To bring early Holiday Gifts to nearly 50 foster children. This is about just being a kid and ripping paper. And getting stuff. Foster children are fairly invisible population in our country. We wanted to amplify those voices so they knew their Simple Wishes were just as important as every other childs. Reporter there were stories. I was asked to read this by my friend santa claus. He said, hey whoopi, can you do me a favor . I would like you to read this story to some young people. So i said i would. twas the night before christmas when all through the house not a creature was stirring when did i become trends with santa . About about 70 years ago. Reporter music as well from special guest major genie from disneys aladdin on broadway. Aladdin sir reporter most importantly of all its a present reporter there were presents. For more totion about one simple wish and how they make childrens dreams come true, you can visit onesimplewish. Org. Thanks to Whoopi Goldberg and all those children. Were wishing them and you a happy holidays. Thank you for watching nightline. As always were on 24 7 on our Nightline Facebook page. Thank you for watching and good night. Coming to you from Caesars Entertainment studios, its beginners luck week. Our players today are visiting las vegas for the very first time, and i cant think of any better souvenir than a check for a million dollars. So lets play who wants to be a millionaire. [cheers and applause] [dramatic music] welcome to millionaire. Are you guys ready to play . Its beginners luck week. [cheers and applause] well, all week long, were playing with folks who have never been to las vegas before, so were doing something extra special for them. Every time one of our players successfully answers the 5,000 question, they not only get that money. They also get this free tickets to see Jennifer Lopez light up the axis with her headlining residency, Jennifer Lopez all i have, at Planet Hollywood resort casino. Voted best production show by the las vegas reviewjournal, the concert includes j. Los biggest hits like on the floor, jenny from the block, and love dont cost a thing. So our returning contestant, while shes not gonna go to Jennifer Lopez cause shes already passed that 5,000 threshold, lets bring her back and continue her game. From brooklyn, new york, please welcome back beth donovan. [cheers and applause] hey, beth. Hey, chris