ings. right now at 11:00 a.m., dangerous cold grips our region and the wind is making it feel even more frigid outside. here's a live look at center city, philadelphia. see the flags whipping at the air mark building. nbc 10 first alert chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz is here with our forecast. glenn? >> vai, fortunately, that flag isn't whipping as much as it did yesterday. it's not as brutally cold. just cold you have no make snow 24 hours a day is the blue mountains in the pocono mountains. we got down to one below zero. single digit lows in allentown,

quakertown, doylestown, trenton, pottstown. 12 in philadelphia. that's 14 degrees shy of the record so these temperatures are not that unusual for january, it's just that it's been so mild around here. we've been spoiled. right now temperatures have rebounded into the 20s in most of the areas, only 19 in wildwood. 16 in mount pocono and it feels like it's in the single digits still in reading, trenton, mount holly, but nobody is close to zero or below zero and that's the end of the below-zero windchills from what we saw this morning. as we go through the afternoon, you can see the wind is not nearly as strong as what we saw yesterday, temperatures barely getting above 30. i'll let you know when the wilder air will be coming in here and when we're likely to see rain with the seven-day in a few minutes. >> glenn, thank you. before venturing out in this bitter cold weather, be prepared with the nbc 10 news app.

you'll find the nbc 10 first alert forecast there, weather advisories and a list of resources to make sure everyone has a warm place to stay. we have breaking news out of afghanistan this morning. defense officials say a number of u.s. special forces have been killed or wounded in fighting. a chopper carrying american forces came under fire. at least one american service member is dead, two others are confirmed wounded. the department tells nbc news that it happened during a counterterrorism operation. the chopper was part of the medevac operation. we are working to get more information. as we learn more, we'll be sure to bring that information to you. skyforce 10 over breaking news in newcastle county. police are searching for the driver of a deadly hit-and-run in newark on route 1 at the ramp to i-95 near the christiana mall just before 7:00. a person was hit and the vehicle took off. we're trying to find out why the

victim was on the busy road. and we're following more breaking news, this time from delaware county. skyforce 10 was over the scene of an accident there on route 1 in middletown township just about an hour ago. officials are telling us a subcontractor for penndot was picking up trash in the roadway when he was hit by a passing ford pickup truck. we're working to find out his condition and if any charges will be filed. an exclusive new video and story we're following today. a six-year-old boy is back with his family after the car he was sleeping in was stolen from a 7-eleven parking lot in philadelphia. nbc 10's katy zachry is live in frankford. katie, you've gotten your hands on surveillance video showing the moment the car was stole within the boy inside. >> reporter: vai, you'll be able to spot the boy's stepfather running after the car as ill peels out of the parking lot with his stepson inside.

fortunately for the family who lives on this block in frankford, police found the car and the boy is unharmed. a strong piece of evidence aiding police at this hour. surveillance video from a frankford 7-eleven showing the exact moment thieves stole a car left running outside the store with a six-year-old boy sleeping inside. >> due to the fact it was 2:30 in the morning and really cold, a monday night going into tuesday it wasn't that busy so we were able to broadcast that description city wide over and over and over. >> reporter: within a half hour, philadelphia police found the missing honda civic. it was parked on leaper street around two miles away, engine running, heater on, young by still sleeping in the back. we were there to see him reunited with his mother and stepfather inside the 7-eleven. >> joy, tears, a lot of emotions, but they were really, really happy. and so were we because it was about a half hour which is a long time. anything can happen in a half hour. >> reporter: police say the boy,

who suffers from asthma, slept through the whole ordeal. investigators are still looking for the people involved. in this surveillance video you can see a white car pulling up next to the honda then seconds later both cars pull away. the boy's stepfather runs from the 7-eleven store trying to stop his car as it leaves the lot. harrowing moments for the family, indeed. police say while this may not have been an intentional kidnapping, while the people behind this were caught, they will not only be charged with stealing a vehicle but also kidnapping. reporting live from frankford, katy zachry, nbc 10 news. meanwhile, an overnight fire damaged the clubhouse at the cobbs creek golf course in overbrook. ful this fire started just aftermidnight and crews fought the flames for hours. no one was hurt and investigators are looking for a cause. in montgomery county, a home is destroyed after a fire there. skyforce 10 showing the flames ripping through the house in

landsdale late last night. serve made it out safely. no one was hurt. this morning investigators will r looking for a cause to that fire. at this hour, the philadelphia police department officially has a new commissioner. >> will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity. >> congratulations. [ cheers and applause ] >> commissioner richard ross was officially sworn in a little more than 30 minutes ago. the ceremony took place at ross' alma mater, central high school in olney. the mayor's office says the location is important since students across the city attend central. he is philadelphia's 30th police commissioner. he succeeds charles ramsey who announced he would step down. ramsey has held the position for eight years. ross served as deputy commissioner under ramsey. philadelphia's new mayor jim kenney made a casual connection with supporters at his block party last night. nbc 10 was at the pennsylvania

convention center where no tuxedos or gown were needed. money raise willed go to the public school. the city's top educator says that move sends the right signal. >> public schools and our teachers and our staff members, it hasn't been like that since i've been here so this is very exciting to see. >> kenney's inaugural block party raised more than $650,000 for philadelphia's public schools. mayor kenney wasted no time after his inauguration in taking his first actions, including making philadelphia a sanctuary city. the designation limits cooperation between philadelphia police and federal law enforcement in holding undocumented immigrants. kenney's action reversed the policy of former mayor michael nutter. it also followed a series of federal raids across the country targeting undocumented immigrants. we spoke to an official with the mexican consulate in philadelphia. >> the targets are people or families that hold any kind of

final removal order and that they didn't comply with it. so we need to keep in mind that it's not like they're trying to deport everybody. >> the mexican consulate has a 24/7 hotline available for anyone seeking legal advice: today a member of the pennsylvania supreme court from philadelphia will be inaugurated. kevin dockerty is one of three new justices taking the oath of office. dougherty was a common pleas judge for 14 years. jim kenney will attend his swearing in at the national constitution center a little bit later today. police hope newly released surveillance video can help them catch the thief who robbed a man at a tioga county convenience store. the suspect walked over and swipe it had cash right out of a

man's hand. state financial relief will arrive for some today even as pennsylvania's budget battle continues. the state is sending out more than $3 billion to school districts, county governments, and social service providers. it's the result of partial budgets signed by governor tom wolf last week. lawmakers are back at work with n harrisburg working to tend seven-month stalemate. funeral services will be held later this week for a boy with autism found during allentown. the celebration for jalil vega batista's life will be held friday at 2:00. services will be scheduled f calvary temple in allentown. the lehigh county coroner has not confirmed the cause of death. he said the child did not have any injuries. his body was found a canal on saturday. he had been missing since thursday when he ran from a party. police believe his death was a

tragic accident. happening today, members of the delaware air national guard will return home with a tour overseas. about 20 men are expected to arrive in their base in newcastle in a few minutes. they just completed a 60-day mission in southwest asia. the airmen are from the 166th operation and medical squadron. also happening today, parents in camden will have a different way to pick a public school for their kids. camden superintendent, mayor and other city leaders will go door to door to let people know about an application. organizers say it allows families to learn more about the schools. up next, gun battle. president obama's about to unveil a new initiatives but in an effort to stop gun violence. the flak he's already getting from his critics. plus, nfl teams on the move? the football franchises that want to relocate to l.a.

>> sick of the cold weather already. i've got good news for you. i am tracking warmer weather, also wet weather on the way. i'll break down the timing of it all just ahead.

within the hour, president obama kicks off an effort to tighten the nation's gun control laws without congress. he's already getting flak from republicans. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with more on what we've learned about the

president's plan. >> reporter: after getting the o.k. from his attorney general and fbi director that it's constitutional, later this morning, president obama plans to announce new measures he's taking on his own to tighten gun laws. >> it won't prevent every mass shooting. it's not going to keep every gun out of the hands of a criminal. it will potentially save lives in this country. >> reporter: the president's executive orders will partially close the gun show loophole, requiring more people who buy weapons at gun shows to get background checks. >> unfortunately, we need things in place now because people have just gotten out of control. >> reporter: republican candidates accuse president obama of gutting the second amendment. >> president obama's executive actions limiting gun rights will restrict ourm;çd law-abiding citizens, not the criminals or the terrorists who or the get them. >> we don't beat the bad guys by taking away our guns, we beat the bad guys by using our guns.

>> but you know, what the president will be doing in the next week is an executive order. the next president on the very first day could wipe it away. >> reporter: the political stakes are high. the president is doing several public event this is week to gain public support. now, part of what the president wants to do will require the approval of congress, including adding 200 atf agents and $500 million for mental health. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. president obama's announcement on gun control is coming up in about 30 minutes and we'll bring the president's remarks live to you with a nbc news special report when it happens. now to decision 2016. a new nbc news poll shows donald trump and hillary clinton are way ahead of their competitors. trump has 35% support among republican registered voters. the next-closest candidate is ted cruz at 18%.

is third with 13%. on the democratic side, hillary clinton has 53% support while bernie sanders is at 36%. the same poll found hillary clinton also has a significant lead over her rival, bernie sanders. clinton leads sanders by a 17-point margin, 53% to 36%. the former secretary of state also commands strong support from female voters and black voters but sanders and clinton are nearly tied among white voters. >> thank you for sponsoring this, thank you for this forum and thank you for coming. jeb bush is trying to rally support in new hampshire. he was at the greater derry chamber of commerce talking to voters there. the candidate is rolling out a new set of policies aimed at curbing addiction and stopping the flow of illegal drugs. he'll be talking to an addiction forum in new hampshire later today. meanwhile, marco rubio is

campaigning in cedar rapids, iowa. he's playing up his foreign policy abilities. rubio is painting himself as the best candidate to tackle isis. the iowa caucus is scheduled for february 1. and it's really starting to get cold in iowa and also new hampshire over the next couple of weeks. it's going to turn bitter, bitter cold. we've been bitter cold at least relative to what we've seen in december but we have a late week warmup on the way and some rain falling over this weekend. you remember the way the flag was flying yesterday, whipping like crazy. it's not doing that now. there's still some wind out, but now it's only 10 miles an hour so the 22 degrees temperatures make it feel like 11. plus 11. we were feeling like below zero this morning. 16 degrees in mount pocono, 22

in allentown, 20 in trenton and mount holly right now. 18 glassboro, 22 in atlantic city, millville, 24 degrees in dover and in wilmington, in delaware. these are the lowest windchills reported this morning. four below in philadelphia, five below in allentown. mount pocono 25 below zero. that's definitely in the danger zone there. you can't stay out for very long without getting frostbite in exposed skin. it feels like temperatures now of course not nearly as bad. we've gone from minus four to plus 11. cold but not as bad as it was a few hours ago. reading, trenton and mount holly feeling about nine degrees. tonight the wind will go nearly calm. so these temperatures are pretty close to what the windchill is going to be.

i'm expecting single digits in reading, allentown, pottstown, trenton, mount holly, atlantic city. the coldest spot millville, one of the places with clear skies and calm wind and low humidity that goes the lowest. now, the arctic air still with us right now. it's going to be retreating. by wednesday, the arctic air is just off the map. it's so far away. and then you can, you can't to warm up a little bit as we go toward thursday and friday. but then things will be changing again. now, by the weekend it's going to be warm enough to be rain as the next system comes in. you can see the green there indicating milder weather by sunday especially. but there's another round of arctic air, bigger area that's coming down next week and it also looks like it's going to hang around a lot longer. so if you don't like this stuff, you won't like what's coming

next week. look how much the wind diminished in the last few minutes. sunny and very cold today, high temperatures around 30 or into the low 30s, very little wind compared to yesterday and by tonight the wind goes dead calm. and by tomorrow we're up around 40 degrees. that's right around average for this time of the year. so by thursday and friday we're going above average with the temperatures again: some rain coming in by friday night and more rain over the weekend. but you can see it's much milder then. thank you, glenn. with the cold weather here many of us are turning up our heaters but keeping warm could cost you. up next, simple tips to save money on the price of your energy bills and some of them won't cost a dime.

the cold winter weather is here and everyone is turning up the heat to stay warm and we're all looking to save on heating and energy costs, especially this time of the year. we have helpful tips for all of you. heather far efarber is the managing director of nrg. this saturday is national energy cut your costs day. what's the biggest mistake people make? >> i'm happy to be here to talk about that. you mention that it's finally cold and people are cranking up the heat and i would say that's the number one mistake people are making these days.

you wraelly shou really should t at 68 because for every degree you go above that, you're increasing your heating costs by about 1%. and that can add up. so one thing we recommend to people is that they think about getting a programmable thermostat, ones that just learn on their own that you just set it, forget it, it learns your habits, it knows when you're here. >> it calibrates itself. >> and you don't need to think about it. >> you've brought props here, but check your air vents regularly. why is that? >> if you have an obstructed air vent, your heating system is going to have to work overtime and work to compensate for that. i had a problem myself that i found this weekend. i had the christmas tree out, it's right near an air haven't and i had a box over top of it, one of the christmas presents, bad. so check for those types of things. keep it clear. >> sometimes people put furniture over it. you mentioned the lower your

thermostat, you said 68 degrees is where it should. be next up, weather strip around your doors and windows. you have props here that you bring. >> so check for anything where there's going to be air that can either go into your loam or go out of your home. so caulk, check for caulk, that's for anything that's kind of a natistationary surface. if it's a door or window check for weather stripping. look for anything that's a visible crack going through there. you can do smoke tests at home, you can learn about that on the internet or get a professional in, somebody who can really check for places like your attic, your basement which are common problems. >> i have to confess, sometimes during the winter it's easy to do this. i just run my hand along the side of the door, you feel it. you feel air coming in and so that's why you have to use weather stripping. >> if you can feel it, your energy is going out the door. >> this is something that is soaring in popularity. you recommend using l.e.d.

lights when possible. >> we do. that's what's here. l.e.d. lights are so much more efficient than traditional incan says sent bulbs. they can save you 75% and they last so much longer. the ones -- they can last 25 times longer than a traditional bull sob you really can't get your money source out of them. >> they're just more expensive. >> they are but they use much less energy and last a lot longer. >> people use space heaters. what would you say about space heaters? >> space heaters can serve their purpose if it's a small kind of isolated room. it can be good. one easy tip we recommend on a day like this that's really sunny, open your curtains during the day, get that free natural sunlight in. clo close them up at night. >> heather fare farber, thank yr being here. we are following breaking news. an attack on u.s. forces in

afghanistan. what the department is saying about the incident that led to more american casualties. plus, changing their mission. militia members occupying a federal building in oregon and now making new demands.

don't let the subtrick you today. we're dealing with the brutal cold out there. here's a live look at philadelphia's boat house row. it's frigid out there. nbc 10 chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz is here with that cold forecast. glenn? >> vai, at least it's not going to last a real long time. we're already starting to see the wind diminish and by this time tomorrow the temperature will be going up close to the average for this time of the year.

the flags aren't flowing anywhere near as strong as it did yesterday. this is just outside our studios. it got bitter cold this morning. one below zero at mount pocono. these are actual temperatures, not windchills. seven degrees in doylestown and eight in potstown and allentown. nine degrees in trenton. 10 in mount holly and coatesville. 12 in wilmington, also officially in phil full and in millville, atlantic city airport 11. a couple places will be lower than that tomorrow morning but without the wind. the temperatures now have rebounded into the low 20s across much of the area and it's still feels like it's in the single digits in reading and trenton and mount holly but getting into the teens in other parts of the area. so we're already seen the worst of this air mass as we go through the afternoon you can see the wind not all that strong and the temperature barely above the 30-degree mark. i'll tell you how much more it's

going to warm up as we go through the week and when the next storm is coming with the seven-day in a few minutes. >> thank you, glenn. businesses in the poconos are welcoming the cold weather. the warm december has camelback ski resort playing catchup on the season and now they're making snow around the clock there. skiers and snowboarders will be able to hit the slopes starting on thursday. >> your last year winter started in october and ended in april. now we're waiting and waiting and waiting and nothing. >> people looking to go snow tube willing get their chance starting on saturday. before venturing out in the bitter cold, make sure you are prepared not only with gloves and mittens and hats, also the nbc 10 news app. you'll find the first alert forecast and weather advisories and a list of resources to make sure everyone has a warm place to stay.

we're following breaking news out of afghanistan. defense officials say one american is confirmed dead, two others are hurt in the fighting. it happened during a counterterrorism combat operation and then a medevac chopper called to help came under fire. it's unclear if anyone was hurt there in that chopper but as we get new information, we'll pass it along to you. police in delaware are searching for the driver in a deadly hit-and-run. this happened on route 1 at the ramp to i-95 just before 7:00 this morning. a person was hit and was killed. police say the vehicle took off. surveillance video shows a car being stolen from a 7-eleven in philadelphia's frankford neighborhood. in the backseat is a sleeping six-year-old boy. his father can be seen here chasing the car as he comes out of the 7-eleven. the car was found about an hour later abandoned roughly two miles away. the child was still asleep in

the backseat. police say the car thief, when caught, will be charged with kidnapping. investigators are looking for the cause of an overnight fire that damaged the clubhouse at the cobbs creek golf course in overbrook. the fire started just after midnight and crews fought the flames for hours. no one there was hurt. happening today, prosecutors will ask a los angeles judge to extradite the mother of the so-called affluenza teen to texas. tanya couch was deported from mexico last week. her 18-year-old son ethan remains in custody in mexico city, there he is. ethan couch was sentenced to ten years probation for a deadly drunken driving crash after his attorneys used the affluenza defense and blamed the crime on his privileged upbringing. authorities tracked him south of the border after he missed a mandatory meeting with a probation officer. the los angeles freeway is back open this morning hours after police shot a murder suspect on the road as he tried to get away.

the police chase ended on the golden state freeway after the driver, going the wrong way, struck a car with a woman and a child inside. that's when the man got out of his vehicle and tried to escape on foot. police shot and wounded him. he is wanted for murder, carjacking, and robbery. a union pacific train bound for texas derailed in kansas last night. the train had more than 160 rail cars and six locomotives attached to it when it went off the rails in the small town of parker, kansas. officials believe it was hauling grain. there was no threat to the public or the crew. the cause of the derailment is still under investigation. an armed group occupying a federal wildlife refuge in oregon is laying out new demands. authorities, meanwhile, are looking for a peaceful end to the standoff with the armed anti-government protesters. nbc's joe fryer has an update on day four of the siege. >> reporter: the siege now entering day four, those

occupying a wildlife refuge in oregon received a strong message from the sheriff -- >> it's time for you to leave our community. go home to your families and end this peacefully. >> reporter: the armed anti-government protesters are controlling buildings on the ground while keeping an eye on the land from a watchtower above. they call themselves citizens for constitutional freedom and feel the federal government has too much control over western land. >> i've spoken to many ranchers in utah, nevada, and arizona and they are all feeling the same thing. they're all feeling this oppression that's coming down upon them. >> reporter: they point to the case of ranchers dwight and steven hammond who reported to a california prison surrounded by family. >> the circumstances we here in now are just unfathomable and it's certainly an american tragedy. >> reporter: the father and son were convicted of starting fires on federal land near their ranch in eastern oregon and already served time but a judge ruled it wasn't enough so they're returning to prison.

the hammonds are angry, they say they are not connected to what's happening at the wildlife refuge in oregon, an occupation that has closed schools for the week, impacting much of this community. >> i've grown up here all my life and i can't believe it's happening. >> that was nbc's joe fryer reporting. meanwhile, france is marking the one-year anniversary of the deadly attacks on the "charlie hebdo" newspaper offices and a paris kosher market. french president francois hollande unveiled a series of plaques honoring the victims. it's the start of a week-long remembrance of the attacks which began at the satirical newspaper's offices and continued for several days as authorities search for the killers. "charlie hebdo" will mark the january 7 anniversary of the attack with a special edition this week. the front page features a caricature of a bloody god wielding an assault rifle predicting more violence is yet to come. the paper's surviving writers and cartoonists declared that

"charlie hebdo" is still alive but the murderer is still at large. 17 people died at the "charlie hebdo" offices and at a kosher supermarket two days later. they were among the first victims of a string of attacks by islamic fundamentalists in france last year. tensions are rising in the middle east fuelled by saudi arabia's decision to cut ties with iran and the saudis's kux of a prominent cleric. richard engel is in istanbul to show us what it means. >> reporter: it's the worst -- or at least most public -- crisis between saudi arabia, its allies, and iran in decades and a major setback for the white house which which has been pushing for unity in the fight against isis. >> we're urging all sides to show some restraint and to not further inflame tensions that are on quite vivid displays in

the region. >> we reiterate the need for leaders throughout the region -- >> we are going to take you to the nation's capital for an nbc special report from the white house. lester hold will take over. senior white house correspondent chris jansing is on the north lawn. chris, give us details of what the president is about to announce. >> the biggest thing is to try to expand background checks. we know in states that have universal background checks gun deaths have gone down. he's expand the definition of what it means to be a gun dealer. that means you have to be licensed. if you're licensed, you have to do a background check. right now 40% of gun sales don't require that. so by really toughening up these regulations they can have more people checked out before they're able to get a gun. to do that, they'll have to add

new fbi agents. they're looking for money from congress for more atf agents as well. that's something that could be setting up a fight because republicans in congress, republicans on the campaign trail, have been very much against this. they say this is the president taking matters into his own hands. chris christie called him a petulant child. so this is going to set up a political fight. but today this is the president making his case to the american people who largely support background checks in general. lester. >> chris, the president about to speak in a moment. he's being introduced right now by newtown father mark barden. he lost his seven-year-old son daniel in the massacre at sandy hook elementary in 2012. as i said, he will introduce the president. let's listen to some of what he's saying.

our feelings of despair where replaced with feelings of hope and i remember thinking "who's going to help him with this? that's a tall order." since then i've come to know and respect and learn from many amazing individuals and organizations who are doing good, smart work in this space and many of you are right here, right now. many of the folks in the gun violence prevention, including sandy hook promise, have had numerous meets with vice president biden and president obama and their top advisors to address this issue but we can't do it alone and the president can't do it alone. the thing is, every gun-related death is preventable. and we need your help. we need everybody engaged in this. president obama made a promise

promise as a father that he would do everything in his power to protect our nation's children to make our communities safer and curb the loss of life to gun violence in america. so today we celebrate another example of how president obama and vice president biden continue to keep that promise. it's with such great honor that i introduce to you the president of the united states, barack obama and vice president biden. [ applause ] >> the president entering the room now to applause. again there are family members here who have lost loved ones.

mark barden the father of a seven-year-old killed in the newtown massacre. former congresswoman gabrielle giffords there. she was wounded in a mass shooting at an event in a shopping center. [ cheers and applause ] thank you. thank you. thank you, everybody, please, have a seat. thank you, everybody. [ cheers and applause ] thank you, everybody. please, please, have a seat. thank you so much: mark, i want to thank you for your introduction. i still remember the first time we met and the time we spent together and the conversation we

had about daniel. and that changed me that day and my hope earnestly has been that it would change the country. five years ago this week as a sitting member of congress and 18 others were shot at at a supermarket tucson, arizona, it wasn't the first time i had to talk to the nation in response to a mass shooting, nor would it be the last. fort hood, is binghamton, aurora, oak creek, newtown, the navy yard, santa barbara, charleston, san bernardino.

too many. thanks to a great medical team and the love of her husband mark, my dear friend and colleague gabby giffords survived. she's here with us today with [ applause ] it's thanks a great medical team, her wonderful husband mark who, by the way, the last time i met with mark -- this is just a small aside. you may know mark's twin brother is in outer space. [ laughter ] he came to the office and i said "how often are you talking to

him?" he said "i usually talk to him everyday but the call was coming in right before the meeting so i think i may have not answered his call." [ laughter ] which made me feel kind of bad. [ laughter ] that's a long distance call. [ laughter ] so i told him if his brother scott is calling today that he should take it. [ laughter ] turn the ringer on. [ laughter ] i was there with gabby when she was still in the hospital and we didn't think necessarily at that point that she was going to survive. and that visit right before

memorial, about an hour later gabby first opened her eyes. i remember talking to mom about that. but i know the pain she and her family have endured these past five years. and the rehabilitation, and the work, and the effort to recover from shattering injuries. and then i think of all the americans who aren't as fortunate. every single year, more than 30,000 americans have their lives cut short by guns. 30,000. suicides, domestic violence, gang shootouts, accidents.

hundreds of thousands of americans have lost brothers and sisters. or buried their only children. many have had to learn with a disability or learn to live without the love of their life. a number of those people are here today. they can tell you some stories. in this room right here, there are a lot of store rhys. there's a lot of heartache. there's a lot of resilience, there's a lot of strength but there's also a lot of pain and this is just a small simple iin

the united states of america is not the only country on earth with violent or dangerous people. we are not inherently more prone to violence. but we are the only advanced country on earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency. it doesn't happen in other advanced countries. it's not even close. and as i've said before, somehow we've become numb to it and we start thinking that this is normal. and instead of thinking about how to solve the problem, this

has become one of our most polarized partisan debates. despite the fact that there's a general consensus in america about what needs to be done. that's part of the reason why on thursday i'm going to hold a town hall meeting in virginia on gun violence because my goal here is to bring good people on both sides of this issue together for an open discussion. i'm not on the ballot again, i'm not looking to score some points. i think we can disagree without impugning other people's motives or without being disagreeable. we don't need to be talking past one another but we do have to feel a sense of urgency about it. in dr. king's words, we need to feel the fierce urgency of now. because people are dying.

and the constant excuses for inaction no longer do, no longer suffice. that's why we're here today. not to debate the last mass shoot bug to do something to try to prevent the next one. [ cheers and applause ] to prove that the vast majority of americans -- even if our voices aren't always the loudest or most extreme -- care enough about a little boy like daniel

to come together and take common sense steps to save lives and protect more of our children. now, i want to be absolutely clear at the start. i've said this over and over again. this also becomes routine. there's a ritual about this whole thing i have that to do. i believe in the second amendment. it's there written on the paper it guarantees a right to bear arms. no matter how many times people try to twist my words around, i taught constitutional law, i know a little bit about this. [ laughter and applause ] i get it. but i also believe that we can find ways to reduce gun violence consistent with the second amendment.

think about it. we all believe in the first amendment, the guarantee of free speech. but we accept that you can't yell fire in a theater. we understand there's some constraints on our freedom in order to protect innocent people: we cherish our right to privacy, but we accept that you have to go through metal detectors before being allowed to board a plane. it's not because people like doing that. but we understand that that's part of the price of living in a civilized society. and what's often ignored in this debate is that a majority of gun owners actually debris. a majority of gun owners agree

we c respect the second amendment from keeping irresponsible few from inflicting harm on a massive scale. today background checks are required at gun stores. if a father wants to teach his daughter how to hunt he can walk into a gun store, get a background check, purchase his weapon safely and responsibly. this is not seen as an infringement on the second amendment. contrary to the claims of what some gun rights proponents have suggested, this hasn't been the first step in some slippery slope to mass confiscation, cob trar to claims of presidential candidates apparently before this meeting -- [ laughter ] -- this is not a plot to take

away everybody's guns. you pass a background check, you purchase a firearm. the problem is some gun sulers have been operating under a different set of rules. a violent felon can buy the same weapon over the internet with no background check. no questions asked. a recent study found one in 30 people looking to buy guns on one web site had criminal records. one out 306 had criminal records. we're talking about individuals convicted of serious crimes, aggravated assault, domestic violence, robbery, illegal gun possession. people with lengthy criminal histories buying deadly weapons all too easily. and this was just one web site within the span of a few months. so we've created a system in which dangerous people are allowed to play by a different

set of rules than a responsible gun owner who buys his or her gun the right way and subjects themselves to a background check. that doesn't make sense. everybody should have to abide by the same rules. most americans and gun owners agree. and that's what we tried to change three years ago after 26 americans, including 20 children, were murdered at sandy hook elementary. two united states senators -- joe manchin, a democrat from west virginia and pat toomey, a republican from pennsylvania, both gun owners, both strong defenders of our second amendment right, both with a-grades from the nra, that's hard to get -- worked together in good faith consulting with

folks like our vice president who's been a champion on this for a long time to write a common-sense compromise bill that would have required virtually everyone who buys a gun to get a background check. that was it. pretty common-sense stuff. 90% of americans supported that idea. 90% of democrats in the senate voted for that idea but it failed because 90% of republicans in the senate voted against that idea. how did this become such a partisan issue? republican president george w. bush once said "i believe in background checks at gun shows or anywhere to make sure that guns don't get into the hands of people that shouldn't have them." senator john mccain introduced a bipartisan measure to address the gun show loophole saying "we need this amendment because criminals and terrorists have

exploited and are exploiting this very obvious loophole in our gun safety laws." even the nra used to support expanded background checks. and by the way, most of its members still do. most republican voters still do. how did we get here? how did we get to the place where people think requiring a comprehensive background check means taking away people's guns? each time this comes up, we are fed the excuse that common sense reforms like background checks night not have stopped the last massacre. or the one before that. or the one before that. so why bother trying? i reject that thinking. [ applause ]

we know we can't stopve we know we can't stop every act of violence, every act of evil in the world. maybe maybe we can try to stop one act of evil, one act of violence. some of you may recall at the same time that sandy hook happen ed a disturbed person in china took a knife and tried to kill with a knife a bunch of children in china. but most of them survived. because he didn't have access to a powerful weapon.

we maybe can't save everybody, but we could save some. just as we don't prevent all traffic accidents but we take steps to try to reduce traffic accidents. as ronald reagan once said, if mandatory background checks could save more lives, it would be well worth making it the law of the land. h making it the law of the land. the bill before congress three years ago met that test. unfortunately, too many senators failed theirs. [ applause ] in fact we know that background checks make a difference. after connecticut passed a law requiring pack groubackground c gun safety courses, gun deaths decreased by 40%. 40