Tornadoes on a tear. A dramatic new outbreak of twisters in the midwest. One taking down this starbucks in indiana as customers were seeking shelter. Incredibly, everybody got out alive today, thursday, august 25th, 2016. Announcer from nbc news this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from good morning, everybody. Its thursday. Nice to have you with us. Two big weather stories this morning. Al is about to join us. Hes keeping an eye on those tornadoes that you talked about. One in indiana, others in ohio. Then he has the storm hes looking down in the tropics. It will be here in a couple of minutes. Lets go right to this overnight investigation into the devastating earthquake in italy. As we just mentioned, the death officials now say at least 240 people have died. The search for survivors being slowed by hundreds of aftershocks that have shaken that region. One area of focus in amatrice where a hotel is expected to have dozens of guests trapped inside. Lets get to nbc correspondent bill neely in that hard hit town this morning. Bill, good morning to you. Reporter good morning, savannah. There are now thousands of all of the other small towns hoping for a miracle. Amid all of the death and destruction here, some of which you can see behind me, there have been moments of hope and of joy. From the rubble, a small voice. Rescuers find a little girl trapped in the ruins. Come on, julia, they urge her amazingly, uninjured. Beautiful girl they shout. Nearby, a little boy is carried away after 12 hours buried in a collapsed house. Life amidst so much death in the broken town of amatrice that woke this morning to aftershocks and a rising death toll from a massive quake that struck tuesday as everyone slept. They worked overnight to pull people out but mostly its bodies. Just visible under the concrete, an 80yearold woman, her daughter killed. A rescuer telling her to stay calm. Amatrice was hardest hit reduced to dust by a quake felt 100 miles away in rome. Like a bomb fell down on it. Theres nothing there anymore. Air lifted out swaying above a town thats shaking still. Theyre going through the rubble here by hand trying to match the bodies they found with the possessions here to more easily identify them but mostly theyre using these earth movers. It is now a case more of recovery than of rescue. This was amatrice before and after. An Historic Town nearly every building now cracked or many slept outside overnight fearing more buildings would collapse. Its a small place where everyone knows everyone and where they all know the death toll will rise again. The rescuers admit they dont actually know the exact number of missing because there were hundreds of tourists here as well as the locals. They are working amid aftershocks. There was one this morning. 4. 7 on the richter scale. Thats enough to bring down there have been hundreds of aftershocks so the danger here is still very real. Matt, savannah . Indeed dangerous work there as well. Bill neely, thank you. Meanwhile, here at home the cleanup is under way in the midwest where a series of tornadoes caused substantial damage. You can see one of them lifting up and destroying a building in ohio. Parts of indiana also very hard hit. Nbcs Tammy Leitner is surveying the damage. North of indianapolis. Good mornio good morning, matt. 15 people injured here, but no one killed which is Pretty Amazing when you take a look at the starbucks behind me, completely flattened. Except for the restroom, where the customers and employees were hiding. Reporter mother natures wrath caught on cell phone video in indiana. Oh my gosh, starbucks just got blown over. Reporter in the town of starbucks with customers still inside. We dont know. Reporter and then relief. Everybody got out okay. Three or four of us Work Together and got the doors off and got them off. Reporter eight tornadoes confirmed in the state. The intense storm system bringing loud cracks of thunder and spawning massive funnel clouds that left behind a twisted path of devastation. Glad youre already. Reporter george pena took i said, dear lord, make it quick and not very painful. Reporter he made it out unarmed but his neighborhood is nearly destroyed. Thankful my kids werent here. Reporter Late Wednesday indiana governor and republican Vice President ial nominee mike pence left the campaign trail and headed home. Well be here as long as we need to be. Reporter this morning a familiar heartbreak. A community again picking up the pieces. A residential neighborhood this neighborhood was also hit by a series of tornadoes that came through here three years ago. Were told about 22,000 people are still without power this morning. Matt and savannah . Thanks very much. We have that going on in the midwest and in the tropics some areas of disturbance. Well, you also heard, they always say the bathroom is the best place to be if you cant get into a basement. Thats good news. As you did mention, savannah, were watching the tropics. We have hurricane st were not worried about that. It will stay out to sea. But investigation area 99l, we expect this to become a tropical system over the next several days. Chance of formation is 50 in the next 48 hours. 80 in five days. Somewhere along this area, the fiveday formation zone and models are now coming more into alignment. Through saturday in better agreement over the bahamas between the european and the however, even though they both bring heavy rain, the european model is a little more aggressive makes this a stronger storm. Probably a category 1 hurricane. Whereas the u. S. Model keeps it more of a tropical storm. Look at the rainfall amounts. Water temperature at 90 degrees. That means there could be intensification and where the rainfall amounts are anywhere from 5 to locally 10 inches in southern florida. So were going to continue to track this. Again, right now were watching these models. They are coming closer and all right, al. Thank you very much. The death toll is rising this morning from a terror attack on the American University in kabul, afghanistan. Gunmen storming the campus leading to an hours long siege there. Nbcs kelly cove ya has the latest for us. Kelly, good morning. Reporter savannah, good morning. Students are attending funerals this morning for their classmates, at least 14 were killed. Six of them students and a and full bright scholar. The law professor was planning to return to the u. S. For his ph. D. In a few weeks. Instead he was killed in a terrifying ninehour siege. Students barricading themselves in classrooms. Some desperately calling family members. She was worrying and crying and telling me please pray for me because maybe this is my last time that i talk to you. Reporter two attackers firing a reporter the target the sprawling American University in kabul. A car bomb and then two men with grenades and guns stormed in. We didnt think it was safe so therefore we jumped from the second floor. Reporter Afghan Forces responded. U. S. Forces were there to advise. The security situation inside afghanistan is still one thats concerning. Reporter earlier this month in kabul, two professors, an american and australian, were security in the city is getting worse and the war now 15 years since the u. S. Invaded is intensifying again. This morning in kabul, more than 100 students trapped inside for hours were finally freed. Police say the two gunmen were killed. No claim of responsibility yet. It could have been either the taliban or isis. This morning at least three people are still in the hospital in serious condition and for now the university is closed. Matt, savannah . Thank you. Talk about the president ial race in this country. Hillary clinton is now firing back at that report claiming her work as secretary of state was influenced by her familys charity. Both sides covered this morning beginning with nbcs andrea mitchell. Andrea, good morning to you. Good morning, matt. Hillary clinton preparing to go on offense against donald trump today as her husband joins in in strongly defending the Clinton Foundation from trumps charges valley fundraiser with apple ceo tim cook Late Wednesday calling into cnn defending the Clinton Foundation from Donald Trumps attacks. What trump has said is ridiculous. My work as secretary of state was not influenced by any outside forces. I made policy decisions based on what i thought was right to keep americans safe. Reporter clinton also colin powell really advised her to use a private email account. Acknowledging her past answers about emails have gotten her into trouble. Ive been asked many, many questions in the past year about emails. And what ive learned is that when i try to explain what happened, it can sound like im trying to excuse what i did. And there are no excuses. Reporter bill clinton also in campaign mode, promising hell stop raising money for the saying thats different from her being secretary of state. I made it clear if she becomes president well have to do more than we did when she was secretary of state because if you make a mistake as president you cant. Reporter the democratic nominee shifting her focus today back to trump, planning to accuse him of letting right wing conspiracy theorists take over his campaign. Pointing to trumps new campaign populist website breitbart which has planned parenthood with the holocaust. Bill crystal a renegade jew and accused president obama of importing more hating muslims. Clintons message today will be that Donald Trumps new attempt to pivot toward moderation for the general election is a head fake telling those allimportant suburban swing voters Trumps Republican Party is still too extreme for you. Matt and savannah . All right. Andrea, thank you very much. Wednesday rally in mississippi. He called her a bigot. This morning the question did trump make a major reversal on his Campaign Promise to deport every undocumented immigrant . Nbcs Hallie Jackson following all of it from trump tower. Hallie, good morning. Reporter good morning to you, savannah. Hillary clinton firing back at that bigot line you mentioned that wasnt off the cuff. Trump and his team scripting it. Meanwhile the gop nominee is set gop africanamerican and hispanic leaders as he weighs what would be a dramatic change to one of his toughest immigration positions. Its one of Donald Trumps most amped up attack yet. Hillary clinton is a bigot who sees people of color only as votes. Reporter the reaction of this woman behind trump going viral. Watch. Who sees people of color. Reporter clinton in a phone interview on cnn previewing how shell respond in reno today. Donald trump has shown us who he is. We ought to believe him. Hes taking a hate movement mainstream. Reporter calling trump someone who is very much peddling bigotry and prejudice and paranoia. A surprise guest making a cameo. If i was an american citizen, i wouldnt vote for Hillary Hillary clinton if she paid me. The sentiment behind brexit, anger with the status quo if i wasnt an american citizen i wouldnt vote for Hillary Clinton if you paid me. In fact, i wouldnt vote for clinton if she paid me. The sentiment behind brexit, anger with the status quo similar to what many say fueled muddling the message as trump tries to Court Minority voters and trumps message on immigration apparently changing again. A year ago, here is what he told Nbcs Chuck Todd about deporting families of undocumented immigrants. Well keep the families together. We have to keep the families together. Youre going to keep them together they have to go. They have to pay taxes. Theres no amnesty as such. We work with them. Ive had very strong people come up to me and theyve said, mr. Trump, i love yo or 20 years and throw them and the family out, its so tough, mr. Trump. I have it all the time. Reporter at a town hall, trump getting advice from the audience. Who does not want them thrown out . If it sounds a bit murky about trumps deportation policy, hes promising clarity. The candidate saying hell reveal details of a flushed out immigration policy in a speech in the next week and a half to thank you. In other news, north Korean Leader kim jongun says the u. S. Mainland is in striking distance after a test fire of a submarine launch ballistic missile. Kim was shown smiling and hugging officials after watching from an Observation Deck calling it the greatest success that puts the country in the front of nuclear military powers. The south korean government says the launch showed technical progress in the norths missile was damaged on wednesday during a rough landing on a test flight in england. The air lander 10 is a hybrid blimp, helicopter and airplane and the developer is trying to figure out what caused this 302foot aircraft to nose dive as it came in for a landing. The front of the flight deck did sustain some damage. The crew was fine. It can stay aloft for days at a time and Developers Say it could obviously still being tested. Also this morning, soccer star hope solo has been suspended for six months from the u. S. Womens national team. After losing to sweden at the olympics, the goalkeeper called the swedish team a bunch of cowards. In his decision the president of the u. S. Soccer federation labeled solos comments unacceptable and counter to the organizations principles. In a statement on twitter, solo said shes saddened by that decision. Lets get a check of the weather now by mr. Roker. Thats right. We could see some more severe storms in the same area that we saw yesterday. Stretching from illinois all the way through indiana on into ohio. Two areas of Severe Weather today from oklahoma and kansas on into Northern Ohio and parts of eastern indiana. We could see some main threats of damaging winds, isolated tornado risk. Very, very slight. Well get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 thats your latest weather. Al, thank you very much. Still to come, how washington is know taking aim at the skyrocketing cost of lifesaving epipens, and wait until you hear who the father of the companys wellpaid ceos is. Can you tell the difference between an expensive outfit and one that came from an outlet store on our new rossen reports, how to dress for success without breaking the bank. First on a thursday rn coming coming i have cervical cancer. From an infection. Human papillomavirus. Who knew hpv could lead to certain cancers and diseases . Who knew my risk for hpv would increase as i got older . Who knew that there was a vaccine that could have helped protect me from hpv when i was 11 or 12, way before i would even be exposed to it . What will you say . Dont wait. Talk to your childs doctor today. Learn more at hpv. Com. Hugo and princess arent morning people. Princess isnt even people, but he hasnt told her. Still, they wake up for new meow mix brushing bites, tasty treats that help care for teeth. No wonder its the only one cats ask for by name. Breyers natural vanilla. Milk and fresh cream and only sustainably farmed vanilla. Breyers has fresh cream, our milk and cream come from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones. Americans. 83 try to eat healthy. Yet up 90 fall short in getting key nutrients from food alone. Lets do more. Add one a day womens gummies. Complete with key nutrients we may need. Plus it supports bone health with calcium and vitamin d. One a day vitacraves gummies. [bell rings] on the first day of school, i learned. It only takes some thing small make fit happen fit me Matte Poreless Foundation from maybelline new york. Beyond matching skin tone. Fits skins texture. Blurs pores. Controls shine. Our most natural look. Now, in more shades than ever maybellines fit me make it happen someones finally ready to start her day. Time to work some magic. Tada. Get gooeyflakyhappy. Toaster strudel. Clean food. Words panera lives by. No artificial flavors, preservatives, sweeteners. No colors from artificial sources. 100 of our food will be clean by years end. Thats food as it should be. Our invigorating ocean spray singleserve juice drinks go anywhere. Like on your commute. Or at the office. Ahh whered he go . Im in the break room. Enjoy the bold taste of ocean spray any time or place. Im in the break room. Kids, juicy fruit gum with starburst flavors . Yeah. mmm. baby rattle shaking juicy fruit. Dana hi, there. Its 7 26 on this thursday morning. Im dana wagner here at news 3. Palatable weaer kelly curran. Thats. The temperature is great but the air quality not so much. Look at all that haze, and we cant even see the Spring Mountain range and its we have an air quality advisory with elevated smoke and ozone levels so if you have lung ailments, stay inside as much as possible. Summerlin, 78, downtown, 80 and high, which is normal this time of the year. Were a chance of storms and thunderstorms tomorrow and saturday with the temperatures cooler, with highs in the mid to upper 90s. Overnight lows in the 70s but it will warm back up next week. Well do okay on the roads starting out with a major problem on the 95. That is the inbound 95 with the rancho exit blocked off. On the 15, not doing too shabby at all. [inaudible] no the overall travel times [inaudible] all the way from Summerlin Parkway to 215. Dana tom, thank you. We had a fire with flames could be seen here for miles. This happens very close to the Las Vegas Strip near polaris and harmon, not far from the aria resort. This is a warehouse that caught on fire of two nonprofits that started in the back of the point, they were concern had the the building would collapse on top of a pet motel in the building next door, so they removed 30 animals to a safer place. Nobody was injured. The fire is out. Good news to report. Im Catherine Cortez masto and i approve this message. Four years ago i was diagnosed with Breast Cancer but early treatment saved my life. So im really outraged that joe heck voted ten times to defund planned parenthood which thousands of nevada women depend on for can