breaking news in italy right now. a strong earthquake with powerful aftershocks has rescuers scrambling in a frantic search for survivors. a live report just ahead. and a major military offensive including military backed forces to clear isis militant from a syrian border town. missile. and a message for the u.s. and donald trump is softening his stance on immigration. >> and hillary clinton faces criticism over curious state department meetings. "early today" starts right now. good morning, everybody and thanks for joining us today. i'm betty nguyen. breaking overnight a 6.2 magnitude earthquake has rocked central italy.

than 100 miles away in rome. multiple aftershocks added to the chaos. but as dawn broke across italy officials warn the death toll is expected to rise. local media is reporting 13 deaths and people still trapped beneath the rubble amid widespread blackouts. chapman, what's the latest out of italy with 20 people have died with dozens still missing. this is in the town of amatrice. this brought down buildings and homes on people as they slept. this was the early hours of the day. many people are still missing and apparently one of the mayors in one of the local towns now says that daylight has come and they see the situation as even

trapped under the rubble and no sound of life, he said. really strong words from him. the italian ministry of defense has mobilized the army with special units in the area to search for people and betty, this is still an ongoing situation. many people still reportedly unaccounted for as emergency officials arrive in the affected areas and are dealing with the aftershocks. as you said, this quake was felt just over 100 miles away in rome. pope fis event. cancelled his speech he was to give today and instead prayed with the crowd for victims and survivors. >> i imagine a lot of prayers are going up right now. thank you so much. well 49 states down and just one more to go. the zika virus is now reported in south dakota leaving wyoming as the only zika free state in the u.s. florida remains the biggest concern after a third outbreak popped up in pinellas county.

two known transmission zones. florida's governor says he's not declaring a new zika zone there just yet. >> just because we have one case here doesn't mean we have local transmission. >> health officials say a serious epidemic is not expected in the u.s. but with 42 people now infected in florida's outbreak health officials are ramping up their warnings for pregnant women. a new study shows just how destructive zika is to beyond microcephaly. some health experts say the zika images show the worst brain infections that doctors will ever see and that even babies born with normal sized heads may have developmental problems. donald trump takes an abrupt about face on immigration. >> is there any part of the law that you might be able to change that would accommodate those

have kids here? would there be any room in your mind or -- because i know you had a meeting this week with hispanic leaders. >> i did. i had a great meeting with great people, great hispanic leaders and there certainly can be a softening because we're not looking to hurt people. we want people -- we have some great people in this country. we have some great great people in this country. >> that softening comment came shortly were trump's son said this regarding his father's proposed >> does that mean that mass deportation of the estimated 11 to 12, 15 million illegal is off the table? >> does it mean it's off the table? i don't know, you know, i don't know the exact details of it in terms of that, but he's always going to do something humanely. he's a good guy. >> it came the same day trump took his speech before an

most vital issues of all, border security. we are going to build the wall. and who's going to pay for the wall? >> after getting a quick hair cut on the trail, vp pick mike pence told cbs the immigration plans will be worked out in the days ahead. and nbc is trump will meet with african american and hispanic activists at his trump tower headquarters tomorrow, the very same day he was scheduled to hold an immigration speech in denver. the meeting is to shift his base beyond white voter support. african american support stands at 8% in our recent poll. he gets 22% of hispanic support in the same survey. meanwhile hillary clinton is

defense and republicans pouncing. new details revealed the extent to which she provided access to clinton foundation donors. more than half of the people outside of government who met or spoke to clinton while she was the nation's top diplomat gave money to the clinton foundation. donald trump is bashing clinton for that report. >> the specific crimes committed to carry out that speech. this is corruption. and this is why i have called for a special prosecutor to look into this mess. justice is supposed to be blind. it's never supposed to be for sale. >> now, mike pence said the new details were further everyday of the pay to play politics of the

they say it's relied on utterly flawed data. it cherry picked a subset of clinton's schedule. she faces more scrutiny for her high dollar fund raisers like the one she held tuesday afternoon at the private residence of justin timber lake. some sites are keeping a tally of just how long it's been since her last press conference and according to the washington stood at 263 days. well, today on the trail donald trump holds rallies in florida and mississippi. his running mate tours through north carolina. hillary clinton is expected to remain off the trail for another day focusing on fund raising on the west coast. new details coming in about a submarine launched missile fired by north korea early this morning. it was launched of the country's east coast. the missile flew for about 300

sea of japan. this is their third missile launch this year and in violation of resolutions. the mission is focused on the isis led syrian territory just south of where last weekend's deadly wedding attack occurred. military sources tell us they've carried out four air strikes on 63 isis targets have been fired at in syria more than 200 times with artillery and shelling. turkey forces have entered syria as part of this mission. and now to china. the cause of a massive sink hole investigation. it shows the pedestrian plaza suddenly give way swallowing up two people and two motorcycles. police and good samaritans helped the victims out of that

more than 30 feet long and 10 feet deep. they're being treated for serious injuries and there's still no word on what caused that frightening sink hole. why the the federal government trying to keep you from swimming with dolphins? but first, a look at the tropical wave threatening florida. >> right now it's heading for the virgin islands. it flared up overnight. still not a named system yet or even a tropical depression. 70% chance of that happening in the next five days and this is the area where development could occur. it's generally heading toward the bahamas and then to florida too. all of our computer models are carrying that to a sunday threatened florida. lit be weak or a strong storm that threatens damage? now here's a closer look at the day ahead. we'll continue to watch the heat

heat index will feel like 100 to 105 in many areas. there's your thunder showers from mobile to montgomery. that's what's ahead for today. "early today" back in two. tomorrow is not a given. but entresto is a medicine that helps make more tomorrows possible. ? tomorrow, tomorrow... ? ? i love ya, tomorrow ? in the largest heart failure study ever. out of the hospital than a leading heart failure medicine. women who are pregnant must not take entresto. it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren. if you've had angioedema while taking an ace or arb medicine, don't take entresto. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure... ...kidney problems, or high potassium in your blood.

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check out this adorable video trending today. it shows a 16-year-old cat that has adopted a baby squirrel monkey. he was abandoned by his mother at a russian back which is essential for the baby to survive. but the cat came to the rescue. he will stay with the cat for another month until he gets stronger. a proposed ban on swimming with dolphins on hawaii has the tourism industry there very concerned. spinner dolphins are being deprived of rest during the day

their act to reproduce. the proposed ban will cover waters out to two nautical miles. and that's where most dolphin tour boats operate. the federal agency expects to make a final decision regarding the ban next year. cleanup in louisiana this morning, a day after president obama visited the flood ravaged street. the president urged americans to rally around the community in need. he also defended the timing of his visit. >> sometimes once the flood waters pass, people's attention spans pass. this is not a oneoff. this is not a photo op issue. this is how do you make sure a month from now, three months from now, six months from now people are still getting the help they need? >> and just ahead and fast forwarding today classes begin at the university of texas at

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the nasdaq and a seand s&p closed high after the ball. the head of the ceremonial gavel popped off as you see right there it goes. he tweeted they told me to give it three good hits so i did. clearly. and now to what appears to be the biggest cheese head of the u.s. government. the detail from london. good morning. so explain this cheesy connection. >> reporter: well, apparently the u.s. government says they're going to pick up the tab for 11 million pounds of cheese. now, this cheese is worth about $20 million and the secretary of agriculture says it's going to be donated to charities and those in need. apparently the dairy farmers weren't able to get rid of the

work. and the company tesla says they're making a car that can compete with ferrari and porsche and it will be actually affordable. just about six figures. this will be a vehicle that goes from zero to 60 in two and a half seconds and they say it's a result of a lot of research they've been doing on batteries. and mcdonald's is feeling serious heat after parents took to social bracelets they'd received in their children's happy maeals hd been giving their children rashes. these bracelets themselves were actually made in china. >> rashes, huh? that's not a very happy meal. thank you. just ahead, who tops forbes list of highest paid actresses? the answer when we come back. you're watching early today.

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always discreet for bladder leaks i'm not surprised that he was able to diagnose hillary clinton so accurately without, you know, examining her. after all, juliani and donald trump are experts on female anatomy. it's true. look at this actual video the two of them made. >> you know, you're really beautiful and a woman that looks like that has to have a special scent. >> thank you. maybe -- maybe you could tell me

hey, oh! donald, i thought you were a gentleman. >> oh, clearly, he didn't need to run for president. >> of course we all have those moments that we didn't -- we didn't have cameras in college thankfully. >> are you telling us something about college? >> i was studying. >> and miss time to vote against donald trump. she claims donald trump bullied her. he allegedly called her miss piggy and ms. housekeeping and personally escorted her to the gym telling the howard stern show that she was an eating machine. she says the public humiliation caused her to have years of eating disorders. she took to instagram claiming that she will support none other

campaign didn't get involved. >> she jumped right on that saying congratulations on becoming a u.s. citizen, enjoy casting that vote. >> we love lists. right? forbes is out with their highest paid actress list for the last year and it goes from june to june and would you care to guess which of these three ladies is on top? >> i'm going to say her. 33 million for her, but topping the list at a little over 40 million, of course hunger games star jennifer lawrence. julia roberts was still on the list. >> what has julia roberts done lately? >> a big endorsement. >> and of course the big gender gap thing too. only three of these women would have been on the list compared to men.

>> people pay, right? >> that's what i say. give me that steady money. >> yeah, right. >> baby can't you see, i'm calling -- >> under those shades, britney spears. >> i love this car karoake, but here's the problem. some people were spears was lip syncing. >> you can't lip sync car pool karoake. >> look at the video, folks. all right. this is "early today." ? the sun'll come out tomorrow... ? for people with heart failure,

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a six-point-two magnitude eartquake hit central italy early this morning -- destroying and damaging homes and buildings in several towns. at least 37 people are dead. the mayor of a town called amatrice, says quote the town people started feeling tremors around 3:30 in the morning. the shaking could be felt in rome - about 100 miles away from the epicenter. italians are asked to give blood and donate emergency supplies such as blankets, medicine and water. good morning. i'm tarhonda thomas... here with gary shapiro and