it was child sexual abuse. >> the church asks you for forgiveness. >> a damning grand jury report is out with graphic details about some 300 catholic priests who sexually abused boys and girls over decades. >> an apocalyptic scene as a massive bridge collapses and this morning the death toll rises to at least 35. >> new omarosa accusations lobbed at the administration as the press office cannot confirm whether or not the president has ever used theword. >> democrats in vermont rally behind the nation's first transgender nominee for governor. plus the rest of the primary winners. >> today is the first d at marj

stoneman douglas high school where new security measures have been put in place. >> words were exchanged and that's when things got a little out of hand with some late-night base-brawl. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm marlie hall. >> and i'm phillip mena. the catholic church is reeling following a scathing new report including 300, quote, predator priests of abusing more than a thousand boys and girls for decades. the report alleges church leaders in six roman catholic diocese in pennsylvania executed a massive cover up of sexual abuse claims to avoid scandal. >> at 1,356 pages, the report is being described as the largest and most comprehensive investigation into child sex abuse within the catholic church in the.snbs ann thompson has th details. >> reporter: in searing damning language, the grand jury report revealed the dark secrets of the catholic church in pennsylvania. priests were raping little boys

and girls and the men of god who were responsible for them did nothing: they hid it all. >> it was child sexual abuse, including rape, committed by grown men, priests against children. >> reporter: the report found over a thousand child victims identified in the church's own records. the alleged crimes often described as inappropriate contact or boundary issues. >> i am so angry. >> reporter: julianne abobort s the church was hiring a private investigator. >> it wasn't him they were looking at, they were looking at me. >> reporter: the report finding a pattern among bishops and church leaders. the main thing was not to help children, but to avoid scandal. it names more than 300 predator priests in six diocese, from one end of the state to the other, home to more than 1.7 million catholics. almost every instance of abuse

too old to be prosecuted, but the investigation did result in two priests being criminally charged with sexually assaulting children during the past decade. from the diocese, apologies. >> i ask you, the church asks you for forgiveness. >> reporter: but for some, words are not enough. >> people want total transparency. they want the bishops to report what happened, why it happened, and how they're going to make sure that it never happens again. >> reporter: many of those same bishops and their past handling of abuse cases are implicate ed in this investigation, including cardinal donald wirl, the former bishop of pittsburgh. wirl now in washington said he acted with diligence to protect victims and prevent future abuse. the grand jury had recommendations four of them, including removing the statute of limitations which thendrote predators than victims. and it also wants to get rid of

those nondisclosure agreements in criminal cases. marlie? >> thank you, ann, for that report. >> the search for survivors continues in italy after a freeway bridge collapsed in the city of genoa. this morning the death toll rising to 35 with at least 15 others injured. it happened on a major highway connecting genoa to beaches on the italian riviera and france's southern coast. all of this happening on the eve of a major italian holiday. nbc's chapman bell joins us now from london with the very latest. chapman, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, fep. and as you say, that death toll has now risen to at least 35 according to local authorities in genoa. but they have found survivors. rescue teams working through the night -- take a look at this drone video released by the fire service in italy. this shows teams digginghrou the rubble using heavy machinery, but searching very carefully, lighting up the area surrounding that pile of concre.yeerday, part of that fr bridge. also using thermal imaging from that camera as they search for

survivors. that search operation continues this morning as hundreds of emergency workers including sniffer dogs methodically search for survivors. it's been described as a search similar to that following in earthquakes, something these italian emergency services will have experience in using winches and cutting tools and crawling through tight spaces amid the tons of concrete and twisted metal from the bridge, as well as vehicles that were caught up in that collapse. there are reports that authorities believe more than 30 vehicles were on that section of road when it came crashing down in the heavy storm. one survivor describing the scene on italian tv as something out of a film like an apocalypse, and saying as the roadbe alive. phillip? >> devastating to see those images. chapman, thaourumps lashing out against his former white house aide omarosa manigault newman over her explosive

allegations in her tell-all book. the president pushing back on charges he's been caught on tape using a racial slur by calling her a dog. but that's not the first time the president has used this insult. >> we have a dirty dog like that who is no good, who is a failure. they were fired like dogs. you got rubio doing poorly and he sweats like a dog. i'm watching marco sweating like a dog. >> romney choked. he choked like a dog. mitt romney couldn't run for dog catcher. hillary clinton couldn't be elected dog catcher. i'm watching television and i see her a dog. she's barking like a dog. what was that, is that a dog? >> we now go to nbc's susan mcennis with more on that escalating public feud. susan, good morning. >> hey, good morning, marly. that's right, this fiery back and forth between the president and his former top staffer just seems to continue most recently as you said, the accusations by

omarosa that the president regularly uses the "n" word. omarosa saying this time she actually heard it on tape, although she will not name the source. the president's spokesperson saying firing back quickly saying she can't guarantee there is no such tape, but says the president's comments are not racial. >> this has absolutely nothing to do with race and everything to do with the president calling out someone's lack of integrity. >> reporter: and the president's comments have come in the form of tweets saying that that word, the "n" word is not in his vocabulary. again, resorting to name calling, calling her a low life and as you said, a dog. the president's special counsel into the russia investigation has now taken an interest in omarosa. this has sparked an interest in the russia investigation. oma with the special counsel. this could have to do with those hillary clinton e-mails and what the president knew about them wn

she says he knew they were going to be released by wikileaks before they were. marlie? >> susan, thank you. >> a new school year starts today at marjory stoneman douglas high school. six months after a school shooting that killed 17 people. dozens of newportable classrooms are installed this year since the building where the shooting took place will not reopen. the school has also enacted several new security measures including 18 officials fa trolling the campus every day. the south florida reports metal detectors were supposed to be in place, but those plans have been put on hold as administrators workout the logistic. >> the polls have closed adds four more states complete their midterm primaries. in vermont, voters made history nominating democrat christine for governor, the first transgender to win the party's nomination for office. she faces governor phil scott in november. >> an easy win for governor scott walker who earned the gop nomination as he seeks a t faces

who won an eight way primary race. and two contenders emerged for paul ryan's 76-seat. democrat randy bryce will face-off against republican bryan steil. for more on the highlights let's go to nbc national political correspondent steve kornacki. >> another night of headlines, big one. minnesota tim was a presidential canned dapt in 2012. he wanted his old job back, but he will not. pale palenti losing to jeff johnson for the primary of minnesota. who will johnson face on the democratic side? tim wall, the congressman. it will be wall versus johnson for governor of minute minuneso. another headline race. the national committee giving up his house 76-seat in congress to run for attorney general. he was hit with accusations of .omestic violence in the final

t story figures election and one ominently in other headline from this primary night, it is the race for governor of kansas. the voting took place a week ago. but now tonight jeff kohlier, the governor conceding a very close race. he concedes to crisco back. that happened and kobak candidate for governor. back to you. >> thank you for the update and your enthusiasm, steve. >> some new york city residents got a scare this morning when they spotted this smoking manhole. officials now saying there wasn't an explosion. energy company con edison says the smoking manhole caused a failure in their underground delivery service that resulted in unconfirmed outages in the mid town manhattan area. >> and the only thing we can take it happened in the middle of the night. would have made the traffic that much worse. let's hand it over to nbc meteorologist bill karins. ver it.

>> you go the opposite direction. >> exactly. today we'll be watching flash philadelphia, new york and new jersey, now we're heading to the middle of the country. we had heavy rain in oklahoma city last night. now that rain threat is moving into areas of missouri, illinois and eventually from chicago to indianapolis. that will be later this afternoon towards this evening. here is the rainfall forecast. it's not all that high, but fort smith, a lot of rain yesterday in the ozarks. a chance for a little more there. maybe an inch of rain possible from evansville to showers and thunderstorms threat from chicago to st. louis. and also watch out in south dakota. temperatures will be very summer-like. it's either soggy and warm sounds like august and feels like it, too. >> thank you so much, bill.

a family at newark liberty airport had more fun bgained fo. a dance battle erupted. tsa officer joshua mccaul was getting the family through security. one of the three children started busting up in dance moves. then he challenged the airport worker. the new jersey director of tsa says mccaul was all too happy to accept and kept the family flying safe. >> a dozen people missed their flight because of that. >> but it was fun. >> university of maryland speaking out about the death of one of their football players. m. i just want to find a used car without getting ripped off. you could start your search at the all-new carfax.com that might help. show me the carfax. now the car you want and the history you need are easy to find. show me used trucks with one owner. pretty cool. [laughs] ah... ahem... show me the carfax. start your used car search and get free carfax reports

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scents from gain. leading the news, in colorado an endangered missing alert has been issued for a pregnant mother and her two young daughters. 34-year-old shannon watts and her daughters ages 3 and 4 were reported missing monday. watts is 15 weeks pregnant. they were last seen in the frederick area. police say the children may have medical concerns. the epipen, one of the girls needs for her severe allergies

was found at home along with watts' car, phone, wallet and i.d.s. right now police say they don't have enough information to say whether this disappearance is suspicious. >> as the search continues for a missing university of iowa student, 20-year-old mollie tibbetts, investigators are now focusing their attention on five locations. the locations are in and around brooklyn, iowa where mollie went missing after going for a job on july 18. they include a travel centers of america truck stop and a dnm car wash. investigators say they have not ruled out any scenario including the possibility that fowl play was involved. >> the university of maryland under fire this morning for the death of a college football player. the school's president wallace low apologizing for the tragedy and admitting to mistakes that led to the heat stroke death of jordan mcnair who collapsed at practice in may. the team's coach d.j. and members of his staff were all placed on leave. nbc's miguel almaguer has more

on this tragic story. >> reporter: as the university of maryland's football team resumed practice, the president of the university says the school accepts legal and moral responsibility for mistakes made in the death of a star player. >> you entrustrd jordan to our care, and he is never returning home again. >> reporter: in may, 19-year-old jordan mcnair died of heat stroke following the preseason workout in college park. the school says trainers never took mcnair's temperature or iced him down. both steps some experts say could have saved his life. the university investigating the football accusations head coach d.j. durkin and members of his staff berated players when showing signs of exhaustion. >> we have >> reporter: with durkin and members of his staff placed on leave, the school is parting

ways with conditioning coach rick court amid allegations of a toxic culture. the university president meeting with mcnair's family today to apologize. >> university of maryland killed my nephew. that training staff, them people, they killed my nephew. >> reporter: with the mcnair family attorney calling for the firing of the head coach, the team's first game is next month. a season dedicate today a stand-out freshman who had a promising future on and off the field. miguel almaguer, nbc news. >> just ahead, paying tribute to the one and only aretha franklin as she battles illness while fans plan vigil s for her later this morning. stay with us. you're watching "early today." ♪ and i'll be your friend ♪ ♪ i'll help you carry on ♪

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♪ darling, darling, darling, darling, you are ♪ ♪ >> celebrities and fans pour out their well wishes for aretha franklin. her hometown church in detroit will gather to pray for the queen of soul. preparation is underway for a vigil this morning at 5:00 a.m. at the new bethel baptist church. there the pastor of the church where franklin got her start and the community are expected to fill the pews as they wait for word on the singer's illness. >> actress jennifer hudson returned home to c school back pack giveaway. the event known as hatch day is in honor of her nephew julian

who was a victim of gun violence at 7 years old. julian was fatally shot with hudson's mother and brother in 2018 in their chicago neighborhood. hudson and her sister julian's mother gave out school supplies and back packs to low income families. the event is part of the julian d. foundation and is held annually on his birthday. >> still ahead, southwest airlines grounding some emotional support animals. plus relentless rains drenched the northeast. when will those storm finally move out in so at johnson's, we improved everything. we used 50% fewer ingredients. took out dyes, parabens, phthalates and sulfates. beat the top safety standards in the world and added one handed pumps. gentle means pure, gentle means safe, gentle means love. the new johnson's®.

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continue to plague large swaths welcome back. torrential storms and flooding of the east triggering more high-water rescues from swamped roads and neighborhoods. and in pennsylvania the flood waters are so powerful it ripped a local library off its foundation, pushing it onto the street. the water has begun to recede in some areas where residents are cleaning up the debris after some homes were left in ruins. >> bill karins is back. tell us more about the stormy weather. >> yes, thankfully not in the east any more. we got a break for two days. northern new england has a chance of a strong storm. same for little rock, paduka, and indianapolis. a little area of northern nebraska and portions of south dakota. >> bill, thank you. just ahead we have the buzz on the denver broncos freshman class. ♪ call on me brother,

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♪ ♪ some exciting news for you. the legendary group aerosmith will be rocking the today show stage with a live performance as part of the citi concert series starting 7:00 a.m. eastern. you can join the classic experience using #aerosmith today. >> now to our top stories. closing arguments are set to begin this morning former trump campaign chairman manafort. they rested without putting any witnesses on the stand. they vad they didn't present a defense because the prosecutors didn't meet the bar to prove their case. after closing arguments, the case is in the jury's hands.

manafort is facing tax and bank fraud charges that predates his time with the campaign. allchars against him. >> a family mob who threw a $25,000 party is facing the feds. she is accused of collecting nearly $37,000 from social security informing them she had been too disabled to work. she goes by prom mom after that costly dubai-themed party for her son which featured live camels. prom mom also runs a restaurant, but the u.s. attorney claims she didn't disclose that income following her stroke and cancer battle. the philly mom also threw this r the community and reportedly had a six-figure budget and an actual "black panther." >> southwest airlines is the latest t craanims. under the new policy which goes into effect september 17th, emotional support animals will be limited to dogs and t one

support animal and it must carrier at all times. royal caribbean cruise lines is taking it a step further by banning all emotional support animals on its ships. the new rule applies to all reservations made after july 30th. however, the company says trained service animals will still be allowed to sail. >> becoming a member of the denver broncos takes years of practice and athleticism and also this here. so, keeping with their tradition, the broncos gave each of the rookies a hideous haircut during training camp. the players, of course, busted out their phones and recorded the damage. it is generating quite the buzz online. you get these are all in good fun haircuts free of charge, of course. the good news it's all going to grow bac it's hazing. >> those really are hideous. >> they'll be under day ad lib live picture-- san jose

good morning and thank you for joining us. i )m marcus washington. and i )m laura garcia. toss to traffic. . good morning to you. it's hump day. i'm marcus washington. >> we have a crash out there, a deldly crash on the peninsula. i'll take you up here. the bottom of the screen, these sensors turning in towards the red