it's monday, december 7th. right now on "first look" terrorism is evolving but beatable, says president obama. as he works to reassure americans that the nation is ready to take on terror's evolving threats. >> this was an act of terrorism designed to kill innocent people. our nation has been at war with terrorists since al qaeda killed nearly 3,000 americans on 9/11. in the process we've hardened our defenses. >> new details this morning on a couple behind the san bernardino shooting spree and who else may have been involved. an attacker at a london subway station causes new

security concerns. u2 paid respects to the 130 killed in paris and the victims of san bernardino. the kennedy center honors five amazing americans, the eagles upset the pats, and much more on a busy monday. "first look" starts right now. good morning to you. thanks for being with us. president obama addressed the nation in only his third primetime address. speaking from the oval service office the president said although the threat of terror is real we should rely on our american values to overcome it. >> the threat from terrorism is real. but we will overcome it. we will destroy isil and any other organization that tries to harm us. our success won't depend on tough talk nor abandoning our values nor giving in to fear. that's what groups like isil are hoping for. instead we will prevail by being strong and smart. resilient and relentless.

and by drawing upon every aspect of american power. >> the president didn't offer new strategies but went on to talk about what is being done to combat the ongoing isis threats. >> we're working with friends and allies to stop isil's operations. to disrupt plots, cut off their financing, and prevent them from recruiting more fighters. since the attacks in paris we've surged intelligence-sharing with our european allies. we're working with turkey to seal its border with syria. we are cooperating with muslim majority countries and with our muslim communities here at home to counter the vicious ideology that isil promotes online. >> nbc's tracie potts joins us live with more. good morning to you. >> hey there, good morning. there was really nothing new in this speech from the president. it was designed to reassure americans after that shoot income california last week, which he clearly called an act of terror.

>> the threat from terrorism is real. but we will overcome it. >> reporter: president obama admits the isis threat is evolving. his strategy, air strikes, arming iraqis and syrian rebels, special opes forces, cutting off finances, ending the syrian war. but not treating muslims differently here. >> we must enlist muslim communities as some of our strongest allies, rather than push them away through suspicion and hate. >> reporter: he's urging congress to end gun sales for those on the no-fly list. >> what could possibly be the argument to allow a terror suspect to buy a semiautomatic weapon? >> reporter: reaction. >> we're assured every time he said it. >> i don't necessarily feel safer i watch the speech and i wish he would do more. >> reporter: reaction on capitol hill. >> for god sakes, mr. president, strange your strategy, come up with a ground force to go in and destroy the caliphate before we get hit here at home. >> every gun regulation president obama has advocated

for, california has already, and it didn't stop this. >> reporter: as mourning continues in california, this morning's new york daily news headline mocks both sides. the u.s. battling isis, the public battling fear. more reaction as of this morning from paul ryan, the house speaker, calling the president's speech a disappointing and half-hearted. from outside washington new york bill ba blasio said he'll back the president and is really urging congress to pass those gun restrictions. >> all right, thank you. reaction to the president's address has been swift across the political landscape. republican presidential front-runner donald trump criticized the address writing on twitter, is that all there is? before saying, well, yoem refused to say we are at war with radical islamic terrorists. speaker of the house paul ryan tweeted the address with disappointing. bernie sanders issued a statement saying the president is right and we should not undermine our constitutional rights as we fight to destroy isis.

parts of president obama's address last night was to try and calm the fears some americans have in the wake of the paris terror attacks and last week's san bernardino shootings. nbc's chris jansing has more. >> reporter: good morning, shannon. this was the president first and foremost who wanted to calm the fears of the american people, acknowledging those fears in the way of what happened in paris and of course here in san bernardino. he started by talking about the 14 lives that were lost here in a very personal way, but also moved on to what the administration is doing to counter the threat posed by isis. even as it's not clear what role isis may have played in inspiring these attacks. he talked about more air strikes in syria and iraq, increased cooperation and things like intelligence-sharing with our partners. he promised that the americans would be strong, smart, resilient, and relentless, hunt down everywhere, disrupt plots wherever they are found. of course a lot of this in reaction to what has been an

unrelenting set of attacks by a lot of republicans, especially on the 2016 campaign trail. and he chose a setting that showed the gravitas of the moment. the oval office. only the third time he has given a speech there as president of the united states. >> chris jansing, thank you. this morning there are security concerns as well in hon done where counterterrorism police are investigating a stabbing attack in which two people were wounded by a man with a knife at a london tube station and a suspect is in custody. we get more now from nbc's keir simmons. >> reporter: two police officers take down an assailant with a knife who had just attacked an apparently random victim in a subway station. video of the dramatic moments posted on social media. >> he was shouting, somebody help me, somebody help me. >> reporter: with britain on high alert for terrorism there was panic. the words witnesses say the

attacker used spreading fear. >> i heard him say, this is for syria. >> reporter: just last week britain's lawmakers voted to join the u.s.-led air campaign against isis in syria. as the attacker was led away members of the public shouted, you're no muslim. the slogan began trending on social media. we are treating this as a terrorist incident, a police commander said in a statement. >> the subject has been arrested, in custody, we need to examine the evidence. >> reporter: if it was terrorism it appears to have been another lone wolf attack. just days after san bernardino. the 56-year-old commuter suffered serious knife wounds. doctors say his injuries are not life-threatening but in these anxious times one man with a knife caused terror. keir simmons, nbc news, london. the assailant has been charged with attempted murder and will appear in court this morning for the first time. attorney general loretta lynch plans to announce this

week the justice department will open an investigation into the chicago police department. officials tell nbc news a broad investigation will focus on whether chicago police engaged in a practice of violating civil rights. this comes after the illinois attorney general called for a federal civil rights investigation following the release of dash cam footage showing the shooting death of laquan mcdonald. some have called the ensuing police investigation into the shooting a cover-up. the officer involved, jason van dyke, has been charged with first degree murder. the justice department already has a separate investigation in the shooting. last night irish rock band u2 returned to paris to play the first of two shows. originally scheduled for last month, the shows were postponed following the tragedy at the november 13th terror attacks. bono included heartbelt tributes to the victims, both of san bernardino and paris terror attacks, during the performance. >> tonight, we are all

parisians. we have a few words to speak to the loss that you are feeling in this city tonight. what an honor and a privilege it is to serve you this evening. >> it was the first large-scale event in the city since the attacks. security was tight at the venue which held a sold-out crowd of about 17,000 people. all right, time now to get down to business with cnbc's kate rogers, good morning to you. the markets may cause, a volatile week saw stocks pose modest gains following the strong jobs report on friday. that likely reforms the fed is almost certain to raise interest rates when it meets next week. we get data on consumer credit and americans' borrowing hants today. fed ex will be busy today, one of the peak holiday days. it expects more than double its average volume, shipping a

record 317 million packages between black friday and christmas eve. prices at the pump moving lower. the average price of gas falling 4 cents in the past two weeks to $2.10 a gallon, the lowest since january. oil prices dropped on friday after opec said it would keep pumping crude at record levels. shannon, back over to you. >> thank you, have a wonderful monday. sports now. the carolina panthers remain perfect after surviving a close call in new orleans. last-minute touchdown pass from cam newton to jerricho cotchery helped preserve the panthers' pursuit of perfection with a 41-38 victory and a 12-0 record. next, a stunner in foxborough. patriots up 14-0 as the eagles battled back. sam bradford for the score. next the eagles' special teams block a pats punt and come up big-time with the return for a touchdown. later on, tom brady picked off by eagles' malcolm jenkins who

goes 99 yards for the touchdown to give the eagles the lead, and yes, he really is that fast. eagles simply too much for the patriots who suffered just their second loss of the season, final score philly 35, new england 28. late last night the pittsburgh steelers made easy work of the indianapolis colts, including this late-game punt return by antonio brown who takes this back 71 yards for the touchdown. but in the end these flags are what the refs says are out, using the goal post as a prop. steelers win 45-10. hope it was worth it. unlucky day for ravens quarterback matt schaub. dolphins intercepted a pair of deflected passes from schaub and scored two touchdowns 20 seconds apart late in the first half. not good. dolphins win 15-13. college football playoff brackets are set. the semifinal games on new year's eve. number one clemson will face number four oklahoma in the

orange bowl. number two alabama goes up against michigan state in the cotton bowl. the winners will face off for the national championship january 11th in glendale, arizona. nba champion golden state warriors remain perfect after crushing the brooklyn nets 114-98. the warriors are 22-0 this season and have a 26-game winning streak dating back to last season. finally some of the most exciting action of the day took place in hawaii where surfers faced massive waves. some as high as 50 feet. it was part of the world surf league big wave tour held on maui in a location nicknamed jaws for its unpredictable surfing conditions and unusually large waves. i would say so. some surprising news from our 39th president. that's ahead. fighting for their rights. the 9/11 responders call on congress to renew expired health care benefits. you're watching "first look."

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welcome back to "first look." what a weekend. so warm for this time of year in so many spots. it continues this morning. we have a little bit of rain miami southward. a rainy weekend there. everybody else, really nice. we're still at 51 nashville. montana is almost 40 degree degrees. this is very unheard of. above-average temperatures continue. the jet stream is far to the north. all the cold winter air is up in alaska, northern canada. for today a very mild day. kansas city at 60. montana in the 50s. we're going to be 55 in new york city. raleigh at 57. even atlanta almost near 70 degrees today. so here's how we're going to go this week. we are going to watch a lot of stormy weather, the worst by far in the pacific northwest, they'll have five storms in seven days. the potential for flooding there. we'll watch that. showers in the middle of the week especially ohio, maybe along the mississippi river valley. as we go toward the temperatures, these are just -- there's no sign of any winter. we have very warm temperatures going from the middle of the

country to the east coast this upcoming weekend. it's just the ski resorts and snowmobilers are hating it. people that like warm weather? >> the rest of us are doing okay. former president jimmy carter had some stunning news. >> i went this week. they didn't find any cancer at all. so i have good news. >> great news. you heard him right, the cancer is gone. earlier this summer cancerous spots had been found in his brain and liver. the 91-year-old nobel laureate had undergone radiation therapy and a new drug the fda approved last year for patients with advanced melanoma. jill len brand and chuck schumer rallied for 9/11 first responder benefits on sunday. the fourth grader jack mcnamara held a sign saying, don't let other dads die, i miss my dad. supporters are calling for congress to renew the act before leaving for the holidays, the act provides health benefits for first responders who became sick

following the 9/11 terror attacks. after three days of weather-related delays nasa successfully haunched ed ed a c cargo spacecraft carrying supply toth the international space station. previous launch attempts this last year had failed. a university president encourages his students to bring guns to campus. details on that next. [meow mix jingle slowly and quietly plucks] right on cue. [cat meows] ♪meow, meow, meow, meow... it's more than just a meal, it's meow mix mealtime. with great taste and 100% complete nutrition, it's the only one cats ask for by name.

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welcome back. jerry falwell jr., president of liberty university, is encouraging students to legally carry guns on campus. in the wake of the recent shooting in san bernardino, california, falwell made some controversial remarks during the school's convocation on friday. one of the nation's largest christian colleges, the institution offers a free conselled weapon permit course. secretary of state john kerry is heading back to paris to resume talks on a climate change agreement where progress has stalled. he'll join other top officials to create a universal pact to fight global warming. yesterday marked the start of hanukkah, the eight-day jewish holiday commemorating the triumph of religious freedom. each day at sundown a candle is lit in a menorah. other traditions include spinning a traspin ing a dreidel and making latkes. we've got to talk about the president, of course. a rare oval office address, only

the third time we've seen that in his presidency. i think the question is what was it do you think that he aimed to accomplish in this? >> this is really about common sense, hearing from the white house saying, it's going to be okay. what struck me the most is how he spoke to muslims in america saying, you are oar ol lies in rooting out extremism and this is part what was you need to do in your communities. he's been hit really hard on the right for not characterizing this kind of terrorism as islamic terrorism. he says, i'm not going to vilify a whole religion, religion is an ally in this fight. i think america needed to hear part of that, to understand why he uses those terms. it does give his party a playbook for how to approach that conversation going forward. >> do you think it was successful in allaying people's fears? >> we're going to have to see. before the attacks he talked about terrorism is contained. it will depend how comfortable people feel this holiday season. >> an interesting poll says

americans are split on their biggest worry, 36% say it's a terrorist attack, 31% say gun violence. with that many people very concerned about terrorism, did he need to have a bit of a stronger tone? because we didn't learn anything new here, he just reiterated the course he'd been on. >> yeah, really i think he was speaking to the broad swath of americans who have both those priorities. i imagine the second fears the other one. i think he was trying to speak to the problems we have with guns in america and the problems we have with terrorism. i think it's really early to say whether or not the strategy he's laid out is going to work. he said very clearly, it's a very long-term strategy. i think it's hard to tell. i think calming people down and saying, we're going to be calm and vigilant, is what a commander in chief needs to do right now. >> lastly, responses from donald trump obviously and from the right, from bernie sanders on the left, but nothing from hillary. is that telling? >> she's going to work to align herself to the president in this election. so far she's kept pretty silent.

she laid out her own plan earlier right before that speech to say, let's look what hillary says, keep her out of the fray. >> we shall see if she says more, we appreciate it. can you guess who brought president obama to tears at the kennedy center honors? that's ahead. actor morgan freeman had a big in-flight scare in the air. we have details coming up. the flu virus. it's a really big deal. and with fever, aches, and chills, mom knows it needs a big solution: an antiviral. don't kid around with the flu, call your doctor within the first 48 hours of symptoms and ask about prescription tamiflu. attack the flu virus at its source with tamiflu, an antiviral that helps stop it from spreading in the body. tamiflu in liquid form is fda approved to treat the flu in people two weeks of age and older whose flu symptoms started within the last two days. before taking tamiflu tell your doctor if you're pregnant, nursing,

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scary situation for morgan freeman. a private plane carrying "the shaw shank redemption" actor from houston to mississippi was sporesed to make an unscheduled landing because a tire blew out during takeoff. no one was hurt. carol king, george lucas,

cicely tyson were among five recipients of the kennedy center honors last night. host stephen colbert was able to add a little political humor. >> good evening, ladies and gentlemen. distinguished honorees. elected representatives. diplomats, dignitaries, and the small handful of you not running for president right now. >> the touching moment as well. aretha franklin brought president obama to tears with her singing. this weekend's "snl" host ryan gosling could not keep it together during an alien abduction sketch. >> one by one they'd step up, slap a knocker, and then goo to the end of the line, wait for another turn. >> how could the aliens return you all to earth?

>> they have to stay in character too. >> i love it. >> you love fallon. >> that's what made me laugh, he could never keep it together. it's fun to watch it. i don't know. this is "first look" on msnbc. like outside facebook at facebook.com/firstlookmsnbc. "way too early" starts right now. here's what else we cannot do. we cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between america and islam. that too is what groups like isil want. let's make sure we never forget what makes us exceptional. let's not forget that freedom is more powerful than fear. >> hoping to calm nerves and quiet its critics, president obama gives a rare oval office address in primetime on terrorism. the question this morning, did it work? we're learning new information about the wife in the san bernardino massacre as

police in london take down a suspected lone wolf terrorist over the weekend. we'll have the latest. and the "new york times" calls for gun control in its first front-page editorial in nearly a century. by the look of these bullet holes that didn't go over so well. it's 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west, this is "way too early." good morning. it's monday, december 7th. i'm jonathan kayepar. those stories and water drinking by marco rubio. the president spoke in primetime from the oval office seeking to reassure a country left uneasy after a wave of attacks led by or unspired by the islamic state as