enrichs people's lives. hurricane matthew is bearing down on haiti with category-4 winds of 145 miles per hour. dropping heavy rain and the southeast u.s. braces for the intense storm. >> ahead of tonight's and hillary clinton going head to head over his taxes and trump taking heat over comments about veterans. >> julian assange speaks ow about thepede yeah and elections. >> an illness paralyzing kids. a word of caution for anyone who uses facebook, and leonardo goes south by south lawn. "early today" starts right now.

>> i'm ayman mohyeldin. hurricane matthew at this hour pounding haiti with relentless rain and wind. matthew, the most powerful atlantic hurricane in nearly a decade grows in strength. the storm now packing 145-mile-per-hour winds as haitian officials and international authorities bracing for a potential humanitarian disaster. thousands of coastal res dnltsz homes. many still struggling to recover from a devastating earthquake six years ago. now, with up to 40 inches of rain, they face flash flooding. >> at least three people have been killed in the storm, now as the storm moves north, the central bahamas and cuba are bracing for a major blow. the governors of florida and north carolina are taking zero chances, declaring a state of

>> right now, the projected path is a little off the coast. it can change in a moment's notice. when that happens, we're not going to have a lot of time to get ready. be prepared ahead of time. >> let's get an update with bill karins. >> good morning. the eye is now making landfall in haiti, and prayers for haiti is trending on social media for a good reason. this city about 70,000 res dependents live there, about 10 mile storm surge, 140-mile-per-hour winds in the last hour. they're still in the eye. i can only imagine the destruction taking place in that portion of the country. cuba is on the eastern tip of landfall, likely a storm just likely weaker than this. 145-mile-per-hour storm, very impressive that it's kept its intensity for this long. then it weakens toward the bahamas and then the forecast goes near the southeast

impacts in north carolina. north carolina and south carolina, today is the day for preparation. they may start evacuations as early as tomorrow. >> bill, thank you very much. >> ahead of tonight's vice presidential debate, another financial cloud over the trump campaign. new york attorney general eric schneiderman has ordered the foundation to immediately seize seeking contributions. they said the charity lacked required new york satisfaction k a notice of violation letter obtained by nbc warned that the charity shall be deemed a continuing fraud upon the people of new york unless it requires the requires paperwork in the next 15 days. the trump campaign responded. wile we remain very concerned about the political motives, the trump campaign will cooperate.

him as a hack in the past. >> the trump campaign got new criticism after trump implied vets with ptsd can't handle the war. he seemed to suggest they're not strauj. >> when you talk about the mental health problems when people come back from war and combat and they see things that maybe a lot of folks in this room have seen many times over and you're strong and you can handle it. >> speaking about newly tax records, he said he brilliantly used tax laws to his bftd. >> the unfairness of the tax laws is unbelievable. it's something that i have been talking about for a long time. you have heard me talking about it. despite being a very big beneficiary, i must admit. my understanding of the tax code gave me a big advantage over those who didn't have a clue, including many of my competitors who lost everything they had. never to be heard from again.

i'm here and i'm ready to turn things around for our country. >> now, hillary clinton has adopted the trump tax controversy as a large part of her campaign speech as she hammers away at the important electoral state of ohio. here she is talking about this and how donald trump reported a loss of nearly a billion dollars in 1995. >> in the debate, he said it was smart to d yard, his campaign was bragging, it makes him a genius. here's my question. what kind of a genius loses a billion dollars in a single year? >> and hot off the presses, released an hour ago, the new nbc news/survey monkey poll has clinton ahead of trump six points. in the swing states, the latest poll shows clinton up five in

north carolina, although the latest bloomberg poll shows her up one, a statistical tie, while trump is up in ohio. clinton maintains a commanding advantage in colorado. >> hillary clinton has two campaign events in pennsylvania. bill clinton is in ohio. michelle obama travels to north carolina, and bernie sanders is in minnesota. meanwhile, elizabeth warren travels to las vegas. donald trump has one event in arizona, and mike pence and tim kaine are both in virginia for tonight's one and only vice presidential debate. our coverage begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern on nbc. >> breaking news overnight. julian assange made a special appearance at wikileaks' tenth anniversary celebration. well, it turns out it wasn't quite the leak everyone expected, but he did promise this. that you can expect new documents every week for the

rected to the election will come out above november 8th. lucy has more. no big bombshells coming out of this. >> that's right. not the leak we were expecting. no leak revealed today. there were rumors of another possible data dump, and so many of us tuned in only to catch what was a long and rather rambling speech that touched on everything from the philosophy of voltaire to advertisements for a 40% discountf wikileaks will be publishing what he described as significant information before the end of the year, involving three governments and the u.s. elections. that speculation about a so-called october surprise largely coming from right-wing media as well as trump supporters including roger stone who tweeted earlier that the new revelations would destroy clinton's campaign, and documents released by wikileaks over the summer were quite damaging to the democrats.

conspired with clinton's campaign to undermine bernie sanders, but assange bristing at the notion he was trying to hurt clinton's campaign. he said there will be election related documents released before november 8th but did not release details. he also claimed to be misquoted in the past, saying he didn't go after clinton. he was asked if he had a personal affinity for donald trump, but he kind of question. he said he had affinity for all humans. that's the gist of it. it looks like we're going to have to wait longer for the documents to be releeesced. >> going to make it another ten long weeks. thank you very much. >> overseas,tections between russia and the u.s. are escalating with the white house suspending diplomatic talks over syria. according to the syrian observatory for human rights, more than 1400 civilians have

aleppo two weeks ago. the u.s. blames russia for preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid. >> our main points were also clear. humanitarian access, the reestablishment of a cessation of hostilities. we felt that we came to the point with russia where we weren't reaching the same goals. >> and russia is firing back, moscow has withdrawn from an ar both countries are to dispose of certain material used in nuclear weapons. >> there's a dangerous medical mystery baffling doctors and millions of children could be at risk. the centers for disease control and prevention said 50 confirmed cases of afm have been reported this year. that's nearly double the cases reported last year. in 2014, the polio-like illness paralyzed 120 children.

against the virus. >> new, pope francis has made a surprise visit to amatrice. kicking off the morning, the pope first visited a makeshift school and then met with survivors now living in tents. later today, he's expected to visit the so-called red zone, the town center closed off to the pub all for safety reasons. the vatican kept the trip a secret until the pope's arrival because he wanted to be alone and close to the pe central italy claimed the lives of nearly 300 people and displaced thousands more. >> just ahead, facebook's nigh marketplace created to compete with craigslist and already used to sell animals, drugs, and adult serves. >> bill karins is back with your day ahead. >> we're watching of course what's going to happen with matthew. good day for preparations with clear weather in the southeast. thunderstorms, possibly a tornado in kansas, oklahoma, and

have that umbrella ready in seattle. now here's a closer look at your weather. well, we're going to continue to watch the areas of greatest concern, in the middle of the country, the tornado threat. many areas of the northwest could see a shower. california will stay dry during the day. "early today" is back in two. when you are suffering from chest congestion but you have got a full day ahead of you, only mucinex has a unique bi-layer tablet. the white layer releases immediately. mucinex is absorbed 60 percent faster than store brands. while the blue extended release layer lasts a full 12 hours.

more "stay" per roll. more "sit" per roll. more "who's training who" per roll. bounty is two times more absorbent. so one roll of bounty can last longer than those bargain brands. uicker picker upper. and try bounty napkins. there's a bazillion ways to top your kids' rice krispies. what's yours? ?a dash of fruit in their favorite color.? ?a bunch of pineapple 'cause hey it's summer!? ?bananas and berries 'cause the letter b rocks.? ?a little bit of yogurt?? ?sure! why not?? the fun never stops! how many ways can you snap, crackle, pop?

is he gone?? finally, i thought he'd never leave... tv character: why are you texting my man at 2 a.m.? no... if you want someone to leave you alone, you pretend like you're sleeping. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. tv character: taking selfies in the kitchen does not make you a model. kim kardashian is n we have stunning details about the reality tv star's night of terror in paris. kardashian said she knew she had to be calm in order to stay alive during her encounter with five masked men. she was bound and gagged and put in a bathtub. she thought she was going to be killed and two of the gunmen

estimated at $10 million. husband kanye west is stepping up security for his wife and family. the women of poland prove strength does come in numbers. a massive show of defiance against the conservative government and the powerful catholic church. dressed in all black, thousands of women took to the streets on monday to protest a proposed law that would make all abortions illegal, even in the case of rape or incest. if the women fail t who seek abortions would be a five-year prison term, and doctors who assist an abortion would also be punished. >> prince harry teaches us a smile is contagious. he met with kids to honor kids who inspire others by living life to the fullest despite suffering from a serious illness. the prince, who sponsors the charity, said the children's positivity and humor took his

well, they were, as you can see in that boy's face, just stunned to have the prince with him. >> fast forwarding today. a public memorial will be held for iconic golfer arnold palmer. thousands are expected to attend the service at st. vincent's college basilica in latrobe, pennsylvania. >> russian tennis star maria sharapova will learn the fate of her appeal against a two-year doping ban. she tested positive in january's australian had been added to the list of banned substances at thecalenda. it's national taco day, and this year, it lands on none other than taco tuesday. check out your local mexican restaurants for deals and specials. you dont want to miss those. you're watching "early today."

ning who" per roll. bounty is two times more absorbent. so one roll of bounty can last longer than those bargain brands. so you get more "life" per roll. bounty. the long-lasting quicker picker upper. and try bounty napkins. cking up for kyle. here you go. you wouldn't put up with part of a pizza. um. something wrong? so when it comes to pain relievers, yes, yes!

dangerous street lights. scientists say they're l.e.d.s and a blue light that could be associated with serious health risks. >> stocks overseas are in the green at the moment, but wells fargo facing new backlash to its business practices and was facebook surprised by what they got with their new marketplace or now. landon dowdy is here to make sense of it.

>> good morning. i have news on google, expected to take the wraps off new smartphones today aimed at the mass market, and the company is holding an event in san francisco where it could show off two devices under the pixel brand replacing its nexus line, and they could cost more than $600 at the high end of the market. where the iphone dominates, and google may unveil a system to compete with echo. that facebook story has its marketplace site so users could sell items to each other in the facebook mobile app, but that's already caused some problems as people starting selling stuff that facebook said they can't, such as drugs, weapon, and even body parts. facebook issuing an apology saying a technical issue preventing it from finding posts that violated its standards. >> illinois is suspending

the state's treasurer said wells will no longer be the broker for $30,000 in investment funds a year. a move he said will cost the company millions in fees. >> thank you. >> just ahead, president obama and leonardo dicaprio team up to combat climate change. >> plus, a scary thought. why seismologists are warning californians the big one may be coming. you're watching "early today." see me. don't stare at me. see me. see me to know that psoriasis is just something that i have. i'm not contagious. see me to know that... ...i won't stop until i find what works. discover cosentyx, a different kind of medicine for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. proven to help the majority of people find clear or almost clear skin. 8 out of 10 people saw 75% skin clearance at 3 months. while the majority saw 90% clearance. do not use if you are allergic to cosentyx.

and lowered ability to fight them may occur... ...tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms... ...such as fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. if you have inflammatory bowel disease, tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. see me. see me. see me. on my way. find clear skin... and a clearer path forward. for a different kind of medicine, ask your dermatologist about cosentyx. ?? lots of vitamins a&c, good morning, indeed. v8. veggies for all. there's a bazillion ways to top your kids' rice krispies. what's yours? ?a dash of fruit in their favorite color.? ?a bunch of pineapple 'cause hey it's summer!? ?bananas and berries 'cause the letter b rocks.? ?a little bit of yogurt?? ?sure! why not?? the fun never stops! how many ways can you snap, crackle, pop?

people are both soft and strong... yey! which is why our products are too. angel soft. i asked my dentist if an electric toothbrush was going to clean better than a manual... he said sure, but don't just get any one. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's rounded brush head cups your teeth to break up plaque and rotates to sweep it away. and oral-b crossaction delivers a clinically proven superior clean vs. sonicare diamondclean. my mouth feels super clean! oral-b. know you're getting a superior clean.

on saturday, the "new york times" released some of donald trump's old tax returns, which they say were leaked from someone inside trump's camp. or as trump's lesser known daughter tiffany called it, want to pay attention to me now, dad? tiffany, by the way. >> poor tiffany. to be fair, "snl" picked on eric trump over the w so -- >> i think sometimes candidateschildren should be off limits. >> the president shared a stage with leonardo dicaprio at the white house south by south lawn event. they discussed the challenge of combatting climate change and what the obaumpa administration was able to accomplish during his turn, and dicaprio issued his two cents about how the issue should affect the election.

if you do not believe in climate change, you do not believe in facts or in science or empirical truth, and therefore, in my humble opinion, should not be allowed to hold public office. >> kind of know who he's talking about. >> i think that line is going to stick with a lot of people for the foreseeable future in politic. if you do not believe in climate change, you do not believe in fact. >> this is for all you harry potter fans. theaters for a limited time. it's in celebration of fantastic beasts and where to find them. they screened the series across the country, and for one week only, fans can cost their favorite hogwarts trio in theaters once again. the event starts october 13th. you're watching "early today." little dakota's nose was quivering in fear. because it knew an ordinary tissue was near.

puffs have pillowy softness for dakota's tender nose. with lotion to comfort and soothe when she blows. don't get burned by ordinary tissues. a nose in need deserves puffs, indeed. now get puffs plus lotion in the squeezable softpack. (?) (?) when you are suffering from chest congestion but you have got a full day ahead of you, only mucinex has a unique bi-layer tablet. the white layer releases immediately. mucinex is absorbed 60 percent faster than store brands. while the blue extended release layer lasts a full 12 hours.

doctors found cocaine in their baby -- but these two former reporters avoided jail time. the details are just minutes away.. in your hot headlines. do you have your halloween costume picked out? team 12's jen wahl is checking the stores for out with the old - in with the new. a popular disneyland ride is being replaced by "guardians of the galaxy" -- but once you see the ?new? pics -- you might not feel so bad. that's coming up in the morning juice.