it's monday, november 16th. france launches massive air strikes on isis in syria, while police carry out nationwide searches for suspected islamic terrors. president obama is in turkey pleating with world leaders on a coordinated response to the or attacks and hunkering down with president putin. tributes pour in as the americans get behind the french aga again. the presidential candidates weigh in on keeping america safe. and much more. "early today" starts now. good morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. we start with the latest on the terror strikes in paris. within this last hour, france held a moment of silence to

congressm commemorate the victims. france launched air strikes against raqqah, syria. 12 aircrafts, including 10 fighter jets, dropped 20 bombs. the bombing targets included an isis command post, jihad recruitment center, arms depot and a training camp. the operation was carried out in coordinate with u.s. forces. the french interior minister announced an emergency meeting in brussels for this friday to coordinate european action and response to the attacks. the french prime minister says police conducted more than 150 raids across france, searching for suspected islamic extremists. police in leon arrested five people and seized a rocket launcher. the international community is coordinating its response, as well. the syrian conflict was a main topic in a tense meeting between president obama and russian

president vladimir putin. they spoke for 35 minutes on the sidelines of the g20 summit. right now, 129 people are confirmed dead from friday's coordinated attacks. 352 people were wounded, 99 of whom are listed in serious condition. among those killed, american citizen nohemi gonzalez, a 23-year-old cal state, long beach student studying in paris during a semester abroad. seven attackers are dead and french authorities have identified five of them at this time. belgium officials confirmed two were french nationals living in brussels. authorities are continuing their raids throughout the country. meanwhile, there is a growing international man hunt for one accomplice directly involved in friday's massacre. nbc learned that he was recently checked at the border of france and belgium and let go because france hadn't yet put an alert on him.

richard louui is live in paris r us. >> alex, good morning. that's the developments this morning. salah, 26 years old, a belgium resident, is where we're getting the new information today. he was stopped at the border and let go because, at the time, they didn't have the man hunt on. the man hunt continues today for abdeslam salah. they are now naming four individuals, attackers, those seven they say were killed, the french ministry earlier today, saying they were all killed. so this eighth individual, they believe to be logistics involved. it could be a driver, perhaps. that is related to the black car, identified yesterday in an area east of this location, downtown paris. there is a second car. the second car involved in the investigation is in belgium. they believe that this

26-year-old may be the person that rented it. now, belgium, you mentioned, that is the new focus of interest. it happened on sunday. that is where we are just getting confirmation at nbc news that there are seven individuals that have been arrested. here in paris and across the country, we heard this morning that they had undertaken anti-terror raids over the last 24 hours. may or may not be related to this case. we do not have that information. a lot of activity here. then there is the interior ministry, which came out yesterday, that said he would like to consider dissolution of certain mosques that are teaching hateful messages. i want to show you some of the newspapers and their headlines. it's always instructive of what they're thinking in the country. this has a picture of the 26-year-old i'm talking about here, and it reads, "the hunt." there's also this from le monde. it reads, "terror in paris."

this is le figaro, hollande, the french president, faces the challenge of reaction. he must give a response. that was the question, alex, yesterday. you and i were talking about this on air. what would the french president, fr hollande, say, in response to the attacks. a lot has been undertaken. this, as we believe, he has to face his congress and give them his plan in terms of how he would like to address this issue, as well as future challenges when it comes to terrorist attacks. alex? >> richard, to your point, 150 raids conducted. thank you so much for that. furthering that, france launched the air strikes against isis in syria. nbc news's amman is joining us.

>> it's always difficult to get confirmation from inside syria, particularly during wartime, but we have been able to get some incite from an activist inside raqqah, who have been tweeting on social media about what the experience was like throughout the course of the night. these social media activists have been credible and reliable in the past. around the same time the french fighter jets started to carry out the fighter jets in raqqah, we started seeing the information online. according to the activists, the french air strikes targeted the eastern part of raqqah. they've also targeted the command and control center of the isis command centers as well as a training and recruitment center. there has been an operation led by the peshmerga forces in iraq, to try to break up isis' stronghold along the eastern front. it'll be interesting to see whether the french air strikes and now the u.s. air strikes

that targeted some of the oil convoys carrying isis oil, are going to be able to weaken isis' hold on raqqa. meanwhile, in beirut, lebanon continues to mourn its dead. the country's minister announces there have been arrest s. there's been disappointment that the international community has not been focusing on their struggles with terrorism in the same way they have been in paris. alex? >> showing no signs of letting up. thank you very much. at the vatican sunday, pope francis condemned the paris attacks, calling it blasphemy to use the name of god for hatred. he also expressed his condolences to the french people and to president hollande. meanwhile, the lights on rome's trevi fountain were turned off last night in memory of the victims. major cities across the u.s.

are also increasing security follows last friday's attacks. the new york police department dispatched a critical response group and has increased security throughout new york city. on abc's "this week," the new york police commissioner was confident in the city's response. >> first off, we're always on the offense, in terms of our intelligence gathering capabilities, joint task force. almost 1,000 people assigned to anti-terrorism. we do have with 35,000 personnel, the capability to ramp up very quickly, as you saw over the last 48 hours. >> football fans around the country notice and increase in security at the nfl games yesterday. with counter terrorism vehicles and officers outside of stadiums. some fans had to go through extra metal detecters. many states are talking security matters into their own hands. alabama governor says his state will refuse syrian refugees relocated there by the federal

government. migrants are still wopouring ou of the middle east, fleeing mainly to europe. in a statement, bentley wrote, i will not place alabamians even at the slightest possible risk of an attack on our people. sny he's postponing relocation efforts until the government reviews procedures. bobby jindal is hearing for the same in louisiana. many in california's central valley are cleaning up this morning. a rare tornado touched down on sunday, knocking out tower and damaging several buildings. no injuries were reported. nbc meteorologist bill karins has the latest on the severe weather that's expected. good morning to you. >> big storm going through the west. dumped heavy snow in the northern portions of the cascade, which is what we needed. the storm system will be moving through the four corner region today. behind it, the winds are going

to be whipping in southern california today. that's one of the issues. then eventually, this will all come out the central plains and we'll deal with the possibility of severe weather. we have high wind warnings, including the mountainous areas of l.a. 60 miles per hour wind gusts. there will be gusts for the advisory areas, including san diego, of 35 to 55 miles per hour winds. now for the snow portion of it, a lot is ending in nevada. even in utah and also northern arizona. what a snowstorm we'll get in southwest portions of colorado today. now, we're watching blizzard watches and warnings issued for areas from denver out to the plains. possibility of a foot of snow in denver, their biggest storm of the winter season so far. it's typical for them to get these early season storms. early tonight, we have a severe weather outbreak. oklahoma city, wichita falls, possibility of tornado.

the big storm i the last couple days. potential of flooding, too. there's the snowy weather north of flagstaff. we have the new storm coming to the northwest. we'll have details on that coming up. >> i know most people don't enjoy it, but for skiers, our hearts start racing at that news. the presidential candidates weigh in on defeating isis. u.s. officials released five gitmo detainees. you're watching "early today." it's just what you do for family. but it's hard to build a future if you can't see past today. that's why walmart is investing in the most important part of our company - our people.

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inmates still at the base. they were transferred after authorities determined they no longer posed a threat. the detain yesdetainees were ca 2001 and held for 13 years. in massachusetts, the governor made a shocking announcement yesterday. the army reserve center in wooster was broken into saturday night and weapons were stolen. authorities believe the break-in was not connected to any terrorist threat. >> nothing at this point in time that would tie this to any specific threat or anything else at this point. >> according to the "daily beast," six assault rifles and ten pistols were among the stolen weapons. the attacks in paris are reigniting an important conversation among the 2016 presidential candidates. namely, how do we stop isis? a day before the attack, president obama said isis was contained. at this weekend's democratic debate, hillary clinton put herself in contrast with the

president. >> we have to look at isis as the leading threat of an international terror network. it cannot be contained. it must be defeated. >> as for hgop candidates, they are condemning president obama and slamming hillary clinton. donald trump said paris has, quote, the toughest gun laws in the world. >> if our people had guns, if they were allowed to carry, it would have been a much, much different situation. >> then or "meet the press," jeb bush went after president obama, like hillary clinton. he used president obama's containment remark to frame his answer. >> this is not something you can contain. each day that isis exists, it gains new energy and new recruits around the world. >> president obama is even hearing it from past opponents. senator john mccain, who lost the election to obama in 2008, says the president's failed policies and lack of leadership

led to the growth of isis. and president obama's 2012 opponent, mitt romney, wrote a scathing op-ed in the "washington post," saying president obama must wage war on the islamic state, not harass it. emotional moments in the sports world to honor the victims in paris and why one's fans during the moment of silence has a star player fired up. are admiring their beautiful nails. they have good reason... introducing the latest innovation from amopé, the new electronic nail care system specially designed for your toenails and finger nails with 3 heads for filling, buffing and shinning. an easy way to have natural looking shiny wow nails. wow! the new electronic nail care system from amopé. love every step. wfrom your cold & flu. you give them a case of the giggles. tylenol® cold helps relieve

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from college athletes to the pros in the nba, nhl, nfl, many teams around the nation took time out for a moment of silence in honor of those who lost their lives and who were injured in the paris terror attacks. on the gridiron, the lions managed to roar past green bay, handing the packers their third straight loss. following the game, quarterback aaron rodgers had this to say during about a fan's nasty comment during a moment of silence. >> it's important to do things like that. we're a connected world, six degrees of separation. i must admit, i was disappointed with whoever the fan was who made a comment that i thought was really inappropriate during the moment of silence. that kind of prejudicial ideology, i think, puts us in the position that we're in today. >> peyton manning became the

nfl's all-time passing leader, surpassing brett farve. it was one of his worst outings on the field. the broncos were defeated and manning was benched after throwing 35 yards and 4 intercepts. it was a wild one between the patriots and the giants. tom brady connects with rob gronkowski. in the end, it was a field goal that sealed what was the pat's toughest challenge this season. finally, the carolina panthers beat tennessee to remain the nfc's only unbeaten ten at 9-0. ahead, adele is on a roll. can you guess what billboard has called the greatest of all time? madonna's emotional tribute to the paris victims. it's up next.

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the attacks in paris resonates throughout the entire world. even here at 30 rock. "saturday night live" delivered a solemn offering of support before saturday's show. >> paris is the city of light, and here in new york city, we know that light will never go out. our love and support is with everyone there tonight. we stand with you. [ speaking french ]

and now, live from new york, it's saturday night. >> perfectly said. the show continued as usual, but without the traditional cold open sketch. at her concert in stockholm on saturday, madonna paid tribute to the victims of paris. she considered cancelling her show but decided against it. >> they want to shut us up. they want to silence us. and we won't let them. >> the singer later broke out in tears after leading the crowd in a moment of silence. "billboard" magazine declared adele's 2011 "21" the greatest album of all time, based on the performance on the "billboard chart." it beat out michael jackson's "thriller" and "the sound of music." nine, ten ♪

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as global powers are uniting to strike back against isis, world leaders are gathered in turkey for the g20 summit, whose agenda shifted from the economy to eradicating isis. tracy pots joins us from washington. good morning. president obama had a pretty big meeting off on the sidelines. >> with vladimir putin, alex. they talked about syria and how to go after isis in syria, while people in france and the united states are mourning what happened. >> really big shock. and it really hurts me that this happens. >> reporter: this vigil in california overnight for 23-year-old nohemi gonzalez, the only american known to have died in the paris attacks. >> right here. >> reporter: across the nation,

support from new york to the french embassy to the u.s. c capital and boston. >> we stand with france. >> reporter: security at football and nascar games. >> i'm happy for it. >> there's going to have to be a reintensification of our efforts. >> reporter: at the g20 summit, president obama spoke with president putin, and he's urging more allies to get on board. >> the killing of innocent people based on a twisted ideology is an attack not just on france, not just on turkey, but it's an attack on the civilized world. >> reporter: back home, lawmakers are demanding more. >> we cannot contain isis, we have to destroy them. >> reporter: blaming intelligence failures. >> unless that changes strategically, we can expect more attacks like this. >> reporter: and presidential candidates are weighing in.

>> we should declare war. >> we need to wage a counter war against them. utilizing social media. >> we must have american boots on the ground. >> reporter: there's growing concern about bringing more syrian refugees here. >> the problem is, we can't background check them. you can't pick up the phone and call syria. >> that's why people, like the governor of alabama, saying this morning that if any syrian refugees are sent his way, sent to his state, he will reject them. he will not let them in. alex? >> politician haves a lot of working decisions to make. as was expressed in that package, it is the sentiment echoes around the world, we all stand with france. thank you so much, from washington. keep it all here for the latest developments on this breaking story. i'm alex witt. thanks so much for watching "early today." see you back here tomorrow morning. an 'international manhunt'

playing out across europe -- as officials track the mastermind of the paris . an international manhunt playing out across europe as they track the mastermind of the paris attacks. while the search so does connections to other terror us. i'm sam brock. =laura/2shot= and i'm laura garcia cannon. boxes ad-lib toss to weather kari/wxcenter