that's it, because i almost didn't have the opportunity to do it. >> paris and the world pausing to honor the victims today, monday, november 16th, 2015. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today," terror in paris with matt lauer live from studio 1a and savannah guthrie live from paris, france. >> and good morning, everyone. welcome to a split edition of "today" on this monday morning. i'm matt lauer in new york. savannah is in paris, and savannah, as i say good afternoon to you. i'm always stunned by the silence standing at the sorbonne standing in a moment of silence, more moving than any words. >> that's right. not only a moment of silence, you think there's a kwai tote this city right now.

yes, people are going back to work, but there is something different. there's a feeling in the air of something that's changed, but also, matt, i would say a resilience, a feeling among the preeshiens and larger people while so much was shouted on friday night, that the way of life and thing they treasure here can never be attacked and i really feel that sense of defiance from people after their moments of grief which they are still experiencing. they want to say to the world we're here and we're not going to change. we're here at the place de la republique, a meeting place for hundreds of years, just down the street from the bataclan theater where the massacre unfolded and where they gathered after the attacks in january after "charlie hebdo" and so much worse has mentioned. >> you mentioned "charlie hebdo," the people of france have been through this before. let's get to the overnight developments. as we mentioned, french officials now believe the suspected mastermind is a 27-year-old pell jan man linked to previous thwarted terror

international manhunt is now under way for possible accomplice accomplices, among them a 26-year-old brother of one of the gunman who apparently rented a car used by the other attackers. >> and just two days after france's president called this an act of war, france launched air strikes in racca. we're told they were carried out forces. all of this is covered for you this morning from across europe to president obama overseas right now. we'll also talk to former republican presidential nominee mitt romney who is urging the obama administration to step up its strategy against isis. i want to start here in paris with nbc's chief global correspondent bill neely. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. as you were saying, there's a somber nervous air in this city this morning, not least because warning more attacks and the

has been named. france, there is revenge in the air, both here and abroad. france, it seems, is striking back. the raids were extraordinary. at least 150 targeting known islamists, guns seized, a rocket launcher found. france vowing this is only the beginning. but its prime minister also warned maybe only the beginning of more attacks, more, he said, are being planned in france. raids of a different kind blitzed isis in syria. a dozen french warplanes hitting their stronghold in raraqqah, u.s. forces also involved. among the targets trucks carrying the oil that fund the isis war chest. isis claims eight men carried out the attacks. french authorities named the man they believe was the mast mind, abdelhamid abaaoud who they

believe was in syria and they are still looking for this man salah abdeslam, an accomplice they believe, also in belgium. police say he's dangerous and do not approach. they had stopped him at a checkpoint after the attacks but let him go because he had no criminal record. new video has emerged of the deadliest massacre filmed by an eyewitness. the gunfire clear, an injured man on the sidewalk, bodies on the street, crying all around. this was the moment it began. the band playing to a sellout crowd when suddenly gunfire. a guy tarrist rushes off stage. most were trapped. the faces of the dead stare out at the places where they died. many here can't put their grief into words. >> my best died here. >> reporter: paris today is

still traumatized by those it's seen. french police have just given more details of those raids carried out across the country this morning. 127 people either formally arrested or being questioned. 31 guns seized. remember, the prime minister saying you've got to expect more attacks. we'll have to live with this, he said, for some time. >> we're seeing such an aggressive response here, bill. thank you very much. as you mentioned, an international manhunt is now under way for a 26-year-old belgian man whose brother was among the attackers. he was stopped by police in the wake of that violence but then somehow let go. let's go to nbc's keir simmons in brussels with that part of the investigation. keir, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. there are ongoing raids across this bruce els suburb. the prime suspect that you talk about that police are hunting for, his family lived across this square. i've just been talking to the local mayor, and she tells me

they are looking for him in this very community. police raids this morning in a suburb of brussels that a suspected isis mastermind behind the paris massacre once called home, according to the associated press. the same community where police have been hunting salah abdeslam who was stopped at the border with belgium but freed. early this morning a man came to the door of salah's family apartment but would not come out. two others watched us from a nearby window. in these streets, heavily armed police arrested suspects through the weekend, raiding homes on morning. police believe two brothers from one family are connected to the terrorist attacks in paris. one died detonating a suicide vest and another is salah, a third was arrested in the past few days. a man who claims to know them will only talk in our car. they will kill you, if you find them, he warns. you think his brother will put a bullet in our head.

>> i walked past the best. >> reporter: back in paris a witness to the shooting tell me the killers operated like paramilitary. >> he was jumping, putting his machine gun over his head. >> reporter: those who escaped were tracked down to here, the heart of europe, a small country that's said to have sent 500 extreme lifts to syria and isis, a community linked to a series of terrorist attacks, madrid in 2004 and the massacre at the french magazine "charlie hebdo" and now friday's killings. i don't mix with the people here, this mother tells me. the attack in paris was not good. but a minority here believe the men who murder in cold blood are martyrs. and the belgian prime minister says they are putting in extra security at key venues, key events, because as you can imagine, matt, they are worried for their own security in this country. >> keir simmons, keir, thanks you very much.

assistant director for the fbi. good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> i want to start by talking about this alleged mastermind abdelhamid abaaoud. they know allotted about this guy, one of the isis executioners in syria, reported to be from the molenbeek district of brussels and they know this guy. he brings together these radicalized muslims, form these three teams and they carry out and plot the attack and no intelligence alarms go off. how could that be? >> you know, matt, there's disparity of information across multiple countries here. you're talking about syria, france and belgium. the attackers here have coordinated clearly off the radar. there was aninability to intercept communications apparently. we don't have any of that information coming back, and the ability to coordinate across multiple countries is difficult

for intelligence agencies to look through these disparate organizations. >> you're thinking if something could have hipd intelligence off they have carried 168 raids all around france. they have made these arrests and seized all these weapons. you would have to think if they had had that information earlier they may have been able to prevent something like this. >> well, matt, i think we've got two things going on here. first of all, since these attacks there's been a lot of intelligence that's been developed as they have identified who the terrorists were, so they are following up. they are executing searches, and they are developing information from that, but there's also, i'm certain here, people who were under investigation who might not have risen to the level of being able to be arrested. the french authorities, the belgium authorities and even here in the u.s., we're likely to see, going out trying to disrupt these types of attacks to prevent others from doing copycats, et cetera, so they are not all connected. all these arrests and searches are not all connected to this weekend's attack.

being focused on belgium right now, shawn. they have a big problem with radicalized muslims. do they have the intelligence apparatus that can keep up with it, or are they a weak link considering they are centrally located? >> you know, matt, i think the weak link is across western europe and even here in the united states. the pure numbers of people that have become radicalized the, those who have the intent to harm innocent civilians is so large. law enforcement and the intelligence agencies do not have the resources to keep up with all of this. they are doing everything that they can. they are trying to sort out the leads and be as thorough as possible, uncovering every stone, but, still, the number of people that have come in to these western european countries and those looking to harm innocents is too large really to cover all of them with 100% certainty, matt. >> shawn, thank you very much. as i'm about to throw it back to savannah, i want to put a picture up right now. this has just come in. this is the man that officials believe is the mastermind of

this is this 27-year-old abdelhamid abaaoud believed to be in syria and with roots in belgium said to be one of the chief executioners of isis. you're looking at the face of 27-year-old abdelhamid abaaoud and with that lets turn it back to savannah in paris. >> we'll be hearing a lot more about that face and that name, and these terror attacks have more or less taken over the g-20 summit in turkey where president obama is joining world leaders. let's get the latest on that from nbc's national correspondent peter alexander. he's at white house this morning. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. what will the u.s., what will president obama do now? there is no indication the white house is changing its strategy towards isis. instead, vowing to do essentially what they have been doing and to do it weather and harder and stronger. senior administration officials are already ruling out one thing with a to be obama adviser saying we don't believe u.s.

troops are the answer to the problem. it's the question now dominating the g-20 summit, how will the u.s. and its allies respond to isis' most brutal attack yet? president obama vowing to hunt down those responsible. >> it's an attack on the civilized world. >> reporter: high stakes underscored by the president's impromptu hallway meeting with russia's vladimir putin, the global rivals at odds over how to defeat isis and end the syrian war looking to bridge their differences. under fire at home, the administration strategy blasted as ineffective by critics who point to the president's comments just hours before friday's attack about successfully halting the spread of isis in the middle east. >> i don't think they are gaining strength. what is true is that are from the start our goal has been first to contain, and we have contained them. >> reporter: over the last year the u.s. has been dragged deeper into the fight, sending advisers, and then launching air strikes, and last month announcing up to 50 special forces would go to syria, america's first boots on the ground there.

the u.s. must do more. >> clearly there will l have to be an intensification of our efforts. >> reporter: the president's former secretary of state hillary clinton is coming under fire by republicans for her refusal to say the u.s. is in a battle with radical islam. >> i don't think we're at war with islam. i don't think we're at war with all muslims. i think we're at war with jihadists >> reporter: republicans' 2012 nominee mitt romney arguing in an op-ed we must wage the war to defeat the enemy, not merely to harass it, a message echoed by the top gop contenders. >> this is a threat to western civilization and we should consider it that way. >> this evil, radical islamic terrorism, needs to be called out. >> this is a clash of civilizations, and either they win or we win. >> reporter: in another significant point of contention here, the president's plan to accept 10,000 syrian refugees next year. the white house rejects the idea that the refugee exodus is to blame for these attacks with

shut our doors to those people, but republicans are strongly blasting that position. they call it a huge mistake. savannah. >> all right. peter alexander at the white house, thank you so much. governor mitt romney is with us exclusively this morning. governor romney, it's good to see you. >> thanks, savannah, good to be with you. >> you wrote in the "washington post" that the president should wage war to defeat isis, quote, not merely to harass it. that is pretty tough language. let me be direct with you. are you saying the president is dabbling at war with isis? >> well, it's clear that he's pulled his punches there. he laid out a tactic now a couple years ago. it's very obvious that his tactics there have not worked. he said that isis had been contained. it is obviously not contained. paris is evidence of that. libya evidence of that, lebanon, north africa. we recognize that it has not worked. isis has become stronger, and they have metastasized. it's a cancer that's metastasized much more broadly

in the world, and if we don't change our course and take this seriously and go to war against isis, we're going to see what happened in paris happen in the united states. >> you wrote we must do what it takes, and you said that might include u.s. boots on the ground, so let's be specific. how many, lindsey graham has said maybe you need 10,000. i've seen military experts say 50,000. if you were sitting in the oval office, would you be ready to commit a significant amount of u.s. combat troops, tens of thousands? >> well, the answer to that is yes. i think you don't take things off the table at the beginning. when you're fighting a war you say we're going to win. we're going to do whatever it takes, and the president has not been willing to do that. he needs to sit down with top advisers in our military as well as leaders from nato and their militaries and lay out an effective strategy that encompasses not just our capacities but also the capacities of our allies within nato as well as our friends in the region, put together a complete and comprehensive

approach to taking down and eliminating isis. look, he calls afghanistan the good war, and that's what happened. we went after afghanistan and took them out. >> what do you say to those who say we do not want to see the u.s. sucked into another huge conflict, huge intervention in the middle east that potentially has no end? >> that's the last thing we want to have done, but what we're seeing right now is the u.s. being attacked and our friends being attacked, and it's going to get worse unless we recognize, just like the president said, by the way. he called isis a cancer and when there's a cancer you if at it heavy and hard at the beginning. if you don't, and if it metastasizes like this has, the consequences can be very, very severe for decades. so it's time for us to get serious about this, for us to come together as nato and finally eliminate isis. >> you say call it what it is. we're at war with radical islam. hillary clinton rather pointedly did not use that terminology over the weekend.

is that a mistake? do these words matter? >> well, the words do matter because this is not just a military conflict. it's also an ideological conflict. and we have to understand that there are people in the world who don't think the way we do. the president keeps talking about our shared values throughout the world. that's not the case. these radical islamists, they do not share our values. they have very different values, and this means we're going to have to rely on the world of islam, the major islamic nations, to take the lead in helping promote a very different view of islam, peace and understanding as opposed to the radicalization that's going on. the saudis and uae and qatar and others are going to have to take a leading role changing hearts and minds in the world of islam. >> governor, perhaps once a presidential candidate, always a presidential candidate, the fact that you wrote this op-ed, the fact that you're talking to us this morning, a lot of people will wonder do you want to be in this race. i'm going to put it as bluntly

would you run in 2016 under any circumstances? >> savannah, i've said it -- and i'll say it again today. i'm not running. i'm not planning on running. this is an issue of great consequence, and the fact is i care about the country. when you run for president as i have and you lose, it doesn't mean you stop caring. i care very deeply, and i'm concerned that what the president is doing is not conducive to america remaining safe, and we have to change course. this situation is not acceptable. >> and how do you feel about the slate of candidates running on the republican side? you have two front-runners who have no foreign policy experience whatsoever. are they ready to be commander in chief? are they credible commanders in chief potentially? >> you know, i think we have with the 15 or so republicans running, among them maybe two or three that could potentially become our nominee and also win the general election, and i think those people will be found

to lead our country at a very, very importantthis isis thing is a major issue, and hillary clinton is wrong on it. she was wrong over the period when she was secretary of state, and that's going to harm her candidacy quite significantly. and that's g >> who would be petter on isis, donald trump or hillary clinton? who would be more experienced? >> well, i'm -- there's no question that hillary clinton has a lot of experience. she just has very bad experience. she's the bun that pressed the reset button with russia. she's the one that called assad a reformer. she's the one that has helped lead with decisions that have established isis. she didn't do that on purpose obviously, but she's just been wrong time and time again. i'd like to see a new direction taken to make sure america's interests are protected and that we're able to know that isis has been eliminated. >> governor, i'll let you go, but i have to ask you. is there anything that would

>> no. i'm -- i'm very much engaged in the political battles, but i'm doing it as a supporter of rather than as an active candidate. >> appreciate you getting up early and speaking with us this morning. governor mitt romney, thank you very much. >> thanks, savannah. >> and, matt, we'll send it back to you in new york. >> savannah, thank you very much. in other news this morning, we're following the threat of some very severe weather, joined now by natalie and al. what's going on? >> well, we'll get to that in a little bit. let's take a look at what's happening in your local forecast the next 30 seconds. it's our day... to shop small at the places we love... with the people we love. for stuff we can't get anywhere else. and food that tastes like home. because the money we spend here... can help keep our town growing. on small business saturday, let's all shop small. for the neighborhood, the town, the home we love.

>> and that's your latest weather. matt? >> all right, al. thanks very much. one of the chilling aspects of the paris attacks, there was no chatter pointing to them ahead of time. coming up, the apps, even a video game system, that may have helped the terrorists stay below the radar. savannah? >> yes. from here in paris, we'll also talk about the powerful reach of radical groups like isis, their ability to attract young followers. why is that happening?

we'll talk to a man who was once drawn in himself and is now fighting streamism. but first this is "today" on

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we are back now at 7:30 on a monday morning. it's the 16th of november, 2015, and you're seeing some of the poignant images from here in paris. this is another day of mourning, another day in which the country is in a state of emergency. 129 people were killed friday night, hundreds of others injured. these terror attacks that have changed so much here, tributes large and small pouring in. we've seen makeshift memorials grow in front of the

terror struck. also here at this public square where people have met so much in times of joy, but now also in times of sadness and, matt, as i was saying to you at top of the show, there is this feeling of resilience and solitude and also there are very frayed nerves, that it's just right under the surface. i have to tell you. just in this very place last night we were here, i had just done an interview with someone. i had just left, got in a car to go back to the hotel when something alarmed the crowd, and people started running. they looked like they were running for their lives. our camera years were still here. i called and was worried things were okay. in the end it was a false alarm, perhaps a firecracker, but in an instance people standing there quietly coming out to mourn the victims suddenly feeling that terror themselves, matt. >> well, savannah, you have to remember there's precedent for that. a day after the "charlie hebdo" attacks there were further attacks in that city, so anybody

might be suspecting that there could be a situation where this comes in waves. so you understand exactly why those nerves are frayed. >> exactly. >> we'll get back to you in paris in just a moment. some other stories making headlines today. the fbi searching for weapons stolen from an army reserve center in massachusetts. that discovery was made after a break-in at the lincoln army reserve center. it's in worcester. officials say terrorism is not suspected. every effort being made to recover the weapons immediately. and a manhunt is under way for three inmates who escaped a juvenile detention center in texas. one of them who was in custody for capital murder attacked a guard, then let out the other two. the beaten officer who received stitches in his face has been released from the hospital. and the rare tornado in central california touched down sunday, damaging several homes,

no injuries were reported. i want to now go back to the attacks in paris. one thing investigators are trying to figure out is how did these terrorists go undetected as they planned the attacks? "today" national investigator jeff rossen has been looking into that side of the side. good morning. >> good morning to you. it's a new battlefield for sure and a challenging one too. this morning intelligence officials tell nbc news isis is using everything from the deep web to video games to plot their attacks. when we grew up, it is a atari and nintendo, but video games today are a whole lot different. you can chat with your friends in private groups and send hidden messages live. now isis may be using sony playstations and even iphone encryption apps to plot attacks off the grid, including this latest siege in paris. intelligence sources tell nbc news the french were caught completely off guard. their agencies seriously weak at detecting terrorist chatter online. today investigators are honing in on this gaming system,

isis has been known to use it. this accused isis militant now in jail for downloading bomb plans on his ps4. so did isis use it to plan the paris attacks too? officials believe the plot may have been hatched in belgium. just days ago the interior minister spoke at a political forum. >> the most difficult communication between these terrorists is the playstation 4. >> reporter: cyber security experts agree. why playstation? >> it's a playground where you can hide in plain sight. you can literally put together a working group of members such as terrorist organizations, communicate on your plans, and dissipate and it's gone. >> reporter: let me show you how this works. i'm on a playstation right now and i'm inside of a game. i'm connected directly to the internet, which means i can play live with anybody anywhere in the world privately. i have to invite them to the game or they have to invite me

all you. you can text on the playstation 2. my producer stephanie is on another playstation in another section of the building. hi, stephanie. >> hey, jeff. >> reporter: show me how this texting works. >> all right. i'll send you a message. hi, jeff. how are you? and remember, this doesn't go through your phone company. okay. sent. >> reporter: there it is. i just got it. and it's literally that simple. >> sony, the maker of playstation telling nbc news we take our responsibilities to protect our users extremely seriously, and when alerted to suspicious conduct, we are committed to taking appropriate actions, and experts say it's not just playstation. terrorists can choose from any of the private messaging apps out there, apps including as whatsapp, signal, and silent phone. there's also an app called telegram and stephanie and i have downloaded it. you hit new secret chat and then you click on this little self-destruct timer and set it to -- i'll have my message self-destruct in five seconds. done. i write, hawaii, stephanie. send.

>> got it. >> reporter: count it down. five, four, three, two, one. >> it's gone. >> the secure privacy platforms encrypt end to end, which means only the terrorists can see them and they self-destruct. >> reporter: what's the takeaway here? what do we need to change? >> information sharing across our allies and the world. >> reporter: it will take days, even months before we know how isis pulled this off but the old way of gathering intelligence alone doesn't work, monitoring communications, hoping to catch wind of something ahead of time. now those expect perte private message groups on these games, on these secure ex-perts say it's all about going undercover and getting inside and infiltrating the private message groups on these games, on these secure apps to instead of looking at it as a third person. >> technology is a two-way track down people and plots, but the criminals stay one step >> or two or three. >> jeff rossen, jeff, thanks

very much. let's go back to savannah in paris. >> all right. matt, thank you. i'm joined by the co-founder and chairman of the quilliam foundation. he spent part of his youth as a member of a radical islamic group and is now a leading voice against extremism. good morning. it's good to have your perspective. >> good morning. >> you have said fully blown jihadism is now a fact of life. in your mind is it worse than ever? is this form of extremism more virulent than it's been before? >> yes. i think we've gone through three phrases when it comes to terrorism. back in the '80s terrorism was probably -- had state backers, the soviet union, rogue states like iran and others that were backing organizations for specific purposes through funding, and it wasn't as easy for these organizations to function on their own right. they needed diplomatic smuggling routes to get through and smuggle explosives and what have you. in the '90s terrorism moved to another phase which i call the hierarchal model, a bit like organized crime. there were terrorist organizations. we knew who they were, al qaeda. they had a central command and control structure and we knew that they needed a base, needed a headquarters from which to operate.

the phase we're in now is the phase in which terrorism is atomized. it's spread across the world, and, of course, there's isis, but there are other groups as well. you no longer need that hierarchy to be drawn to these organizations. >> and why are they finding such willing participants in western capitals? you yourself were a part of a group like this, albeit a nonviolent one as i understand it, but what is appealing about the message? >> well, i think it's reached a stage where it's become a brand, and the new zeitgeist of anti-establishment youth has become, unfortunately, jihadi extremism, and i said this is a new normal, and i'm fully expecting more attacks such as these, and, unfortunately, we even allowed the problem of islast propagandaizing within and among communities across europe to continue for decades.

from a vacuum. 6,000 european born and raised citizens to join the worst terrorist group history has ever known unless there's been a support for that ideology and grass roots. >> as so often discussed you can't kill your way out of this. >> absolutely. >> something you've often said. you can't kill an ideology. what do you think the responsibility is within the muslim community, if any, to deal with this extremism that exists? >> so i think all of us have a responsibility. you don't have to be african-american to care about racism. you don't have to be gay to care about home phobia, and you don't have to be muslim to care about islamist extremism. all of us, which also includes our muslim communities, have to stand up in solidarity. it's not enough for me to say i don't want anyone to be killed. i don't support isis. i don't deserve a pat on the back to say i don't want to kill you. see how low the bar has sunk. we need to take the conversation beyond that to the level of ideas that is appealing to the young people, notions of islam over society, notions of a caliphate within the mosques and across europe these are the conversations we need to be having, around democratic

us today, and secularism and, unfortunately, too few people are able to have the direct conversations, and it would also in involve talking about religion and talking about islam even if it makes us uncomfortable. >> it's a conversation that we need to have. thank you for that voice in that conversation. appreciate it. send it back to you, al in, new york. >> savannah, thank you so much. we're watching a snow storm develop in the rockies, but we're also watching severe weather that's going to be making its way through the central and southern plains. slight risk, 30 million people at risk for severe storms and we also have an enhanced risk from oklahoma city to dallas, tornadoes possible. large hail, damaging winds. we're going to be watching that. tomorrow it moves to the east. we've got an enhanced risk down through southern louisiana, up to 20 million people at risk for severe storms, damaging winds. the primary threat, and look at the flood threat. we've got a lot of moisture. this storm system is closer to the south, so it's bringing up all this moisture from the gulf,

rain, could be >> get that weather any time you need it. go to the weather channel on cable, go to weather.com online. matt? >> all right, al. thank you very much. coming up, the paris attacks reigniting a debate over how to deal with the refugee crisis in europe and here at home. we'll talk about that, but first these messages. about where their electricity comes from. they flip the switch-- and the light comes on. it's our job to make sure that it does. using natural gas this power plant

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over the syrian refugee crisis as migrants continue to stream west. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel has more on that side of the story. richard, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. if these attackers managed to use that mostly unregulated migrant trail from the middle east to europe to sneak in one or two or more of the gunmen, it would link this attack to the migrants, and that would have huge implications for the people who are legitimately trying to find safety, trying to find shelter. already officials in this country say there aren't adequate controls in place. today the french prosecutor revealed that the deadly paris attacks were plotted at least to a degree in syria, and greek officials say that a passport found near one of the attackers was presented by a migrant who arrived in greece, one of the thousands of asylum seekers who wash up every day on europe's

shores. french authorities have questioned the authenticity of the passport. we were just in greece last week and saw boats filled with iraqis, syrians, and others arriving from nearby turkey. some had no passports at all. greek coast guard cutters do patrol the waters, but aren't allowed by international law to stop the boats or turn them around. instead the coast guard merely provides assistance so people don't drown. the link between the vicious terror attacks and this stream of migrants and refugees is going to further inflame an already growing tide of anti-migrant sentiment in europe. >> anyone imagines -- >> reporter: a video posted online by a user who called himself the death of nations got over 2 million views on youtube before being taken down. it depicts the refugees and migrants as a horde rushing into europe, bringing hatred and violence with it and aiming to change europe forever. >> we are not them.

>> reporter: that has human rights groups worried. >> these are people that need protection. leaving parts of iraq because they want to become terrorists. they have been victims of terrorism. >> reporter: but as paris counts the dead and europe struggles to deal with an unprecedented influx of migrants, the argument is increasingly being drowned out. while most of the tens of thousands a week who are arriving in europe do go unscreened, they are forced to register. the migrants at the united states and the refugees that the united states has said it will take in will go through a much more elaborate screening process, so they are really two completely different situations. >> all right. richard engel joining you go this morning from paris. coming up we'll if back to live savannah for moren the twists in the investigation and of the victims, but, first, these messages. when the flu hits, it's a really big deal. the aches. the chills.

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..fresh off the debate stage in des moines... two democratic presidential hopefuls headed to ames. but they brought the same message with them.. hillary clinton and martin o'malley headlined the "central iowa democrat fall barbeque." the paris attacks and terrorism dominated the conversation. but the candidates also took time to differentiate themselves on issues like college education. they will share the stage... with bernie sanders... next month for another debate in new hampshire. bernie sanders is trying to win college... sanders and local leaders addressed a packed room there last night. he touched on several issues... including legislation that would not make marijuana use a federal crime. that's when he admitted to using the drug two times in his younger

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>> 8:00 now on a monday morning, a moment of silence across france this morning as that nation mourns the victims of friday's unprecedented terror attacks. after self days of a lockdown schools, museums, other landmarks like the eiffel tower reopening for the first time since the violence. but a state of emergency does remain in effect, strict security measures are in place. i'm matt lauer along with al roker and natalie morales in new york. savannah made her way to paris

good morning to you. >> good morning. good to see you guys. you can imagine every newspaper this is the front pain and self of the weekly magazines, published early, all special issues talking about these attacks. there is so much going on. the investigation moving very quickly on several fronts this morning. i'm joined by nbc's bill neely. now we know the suspected mastermind has been identified. we don't know where he is. >> no, we don't. there is a somber and nervous air in this city, the french prime minister warning this morning of more attacks to come, attacks he said being planned in syria but also planned here and the possibility that there might be attacks in other countries. also, raids this morning, france is striking back, 168 raids, on the homes across france. 23 people arrested, 104 others questioned.

31 guns seized. so really quite serious. france naming the mastermind behind these attacks, called abdelhamid abaaoud. he was involved in events in january in brussels. police have been hunting him. it's believed he was in syria last year so clearly, an isis leader, france saying he is the mastermind. they are hunting an accomplice, someone who drove the car away from paris just after the attacks. a man called salah abdeslam, warning the french public not to approach because they say he is dangerous. also, in syria, france striking back, its warplanes hitting the isis stronghold of raqqa, 12 planes involved. u.s. forces also involved we understand they hit among others a training center and some oil trucks, oil of course providing the life line, the war chest if

you like, for isis to carry out attacks like this. this is france striking back, revenge in the air. but as i said at the beginning, it's a nervous city as well. >> the french president promising the response would be merciless. bill, thank you so much. we're also learning more this morning about the victims of these atabs, at least 129 lives cut short including at least one american, other lives changed forever. this morning in paris, tributes pouring in for the victims, as we learn more about the harrowing stories of those who managed to survive. thomas was in the massacre at bataclan concert hall. before the shooting started he worked his way to the front of the crowd to hear his favorite song by the band which likely saved his life. >> because you were in the front row you were closer to an exit. >> yes. >> you could make a run for it. >> yes.

because of that song. and the chorus of that song you have to hear it, it's save me, you get to save me. that's what it says. save me you get to save me. i was there. >> another survivor says the gun men killed any one whose phone rang as loved ones called. >> phone call inging was killed. >> dennis hid under a table for three hours. >> would be several sounds of machine guns shooting, and then silence, and then again shooting, then silence. >> when you walked out and you left the concert hall what did you see? >> with them all the body and

>> among the victims inside marie, a native of niese who worked in entertainment. also tragically killed mckelly gill originally from mexico, she announced her engagement on facebook three weeks ago. asta was a kiz sin of lassana who mourned her death on twitter. he was playing in the soccer game that a suicide bomber attempted to attack. one account of the brutality friday night has gone viral on social media, isabelle described the horror inside the bataclan along with the picture of her blood stained shirt, writing in part, as i lay down in the blood of strangers waiting for my plut to end my mere 22 years i envisioned every face i have ever loved and whispered i love you over and over again. on sunday, the loved ones of american victim nohemi gonzalez

lives lost in acts of mind hatred. but thomas told us he wants the survivors to transcend that and help others. >> if anyone has reason to be angry or want revenge should be you. >> i don't want that. i don't want revenge. i'm glad to be alive and i don't want revenge. i wish i can influence people to love people and not to hate people. >> matt, guys, we're heard a lot of that sentiment from people who nearly lost their lives, survivors i have spoken to who came so close to death who saw it first-hand, who really want to tell the world that the soul of this city is intact and they want people to remain positive. that's clearly the message i'm hearing from people here. >> generally speaking, the goal is for hatred to breed more and that's not what the people of paris have shown.

a wonderful image in one of the newspapers this morning on a wall near one of the restaurants where the attacks took place, someone had drawn a simple heart on that wall as a message of hope. it's a difficult time no question about it. savannah, thanks very much. >> i have to say -- i was going to say i took a walk by the river and saw tourist shops with the signs and the shirts that say i heart paris. i felt suddenly that bumper sticker phrase felt so profound. >> certainly does. thanks very much. back with you in a couple minutes. there is a lot of other stories making news. >> right. former republican candidate mitt romney is blaming president obama's policies for letting isis spread. in exclusive interview earlier here on "today" he told savannah that more u.s. ground troops should be sent to the middle east if that's what it takes to crush the islamic state. >> when it's a cancer you go at it heavy and hard at the beginning.

if you don'tant it ma lass ta sizes like this the consequences can be severe, for decades so it's time for us to get serious about this, for us to come together as nato and finally eliminate isis. >> romney said he is speaking out because he's concerned about this country and insisted he has no plans to seek the republican presidential nomination in 2016. the fbi is searching this morning for weapons stolen from an army reserve center in worcester, massachusetts. officials haven't revealed what type of weapons were taken during the break-in or how many. however, the fbi says there is nothing at this time to tie the theft to any specific terror threat. police in the houston area are pressing their hunt for three teenagers who escaped from a juvenile detention sunday. one of the funltives, 16-year-old, accused of killing a man during a carjacking in march. all three are considered very dangerous. a probation official says one of

opening his cell done, then beat him and took his keys. two visitors got to see a bit of philadelphia before they were safely corralled an hour into their adventure. this pair of zebras broke away from a circus performing down town. they brought traffic to a crawl as amused police officers followed them in a slow speed pursuit. not hard to spot them running around. >> something you don't see every day. coming up, hoda will kick off our season of kindness which we could use with an extraordinary event celebrating the good things in life. on trending the rarely used function on facebook, turned to by millions of people in the aftermath of the attacks on paris. and a live performance from country star chris young on a monday morning. first, these messages. yeah. that's the one right?

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good time to take a little breath, change of pace. a season of kindness. big or small we enkurng everyone to share acts of kindness throughout the holiday season. hoda is here to get us started. >> hi, kids. we need this today, don't we. we officially launched the season of kindness on friday, national kindness day. lucky me, i was able to get the party started early when i participated in the fourth annual dance for kindness. it was an extraordinary day. why is being kind important? >> because if you don't respect people it would be bad and if you show respect it would be really good. >> more than 10,000 people. >> the small act of kindness can help so much. >> including a few super heroes. >> will you tell me what kind of a super hero you are.

>> gathering worldwide in 100 cities in more than 50 countries for a dance in celebration of kindness. >> why did you come here? >> because it inspires other people to be kinder. >> a message through dancing instead of just speaking. >> show and not telling. >> inspiring people is exactly what the organizer of dance for kindness and the founder of the nonprofit life vest inside had in lipd when she launched with the video kindness boomerang. it's viewed by 80 million people and shows that when you are kind it really does have an effect and spread. it's the small moments that leave the biggest impact. >> her movement came out of one of the darkest points in her life. when she was 15 a fire destroyed her home, sending her into a deep depression, unable to go to school. >> what hurt me the most is that being home from school those

couple months, not one person called. not one person came to visit. >> but she turned her mitzry into a mission, hoping to make sure no one felt the way she did. >> what i realized is that the more i gave the more i healed. when i became in love with this idea and concept of giving. >> according to the nbc news state of kindness poll most americans we ask agreed. 9 in 10 say they are happier when they help someone. today, she sprends kindness daily through her nonprofit and once a year for the fourth year in a row she gets the world to dance. >> the purpose of dance for kindness is show people that regardless of the differences in race and religion, background, the things that separate us, kindness is a common thread that unites us. and kindness being so universal, universal language, dance is also very much a universal language. >> i had the honor of gathering in times square along with

world to spread that message. >> put out more light into the world. oh, yeah. >> that dance was not simple to learn. and there was some poll that said new york was one of the unkindest cities. >> i don't believe it. >> not true. especially after that. >> that was awesome. >> your mantra, this pay it forward for a long time. >> which we love. >> thanks, kids. >> tamron has more on our season of kindness. good morning to you. >> good morning. natalie, you mentioned we need that. we kicked off our season of kindness campaign online by asking you at home to share a photo of the kindest person that you know. matt, you've gotten in on it. you tweeted out mohammed ali, always has been, always will be. joining in on it is one of our viewers, johnny. mr. leo watts, one of my junior high school teachers, one of the kindest people i know.

a lot can relate to a teacher. and chanell, one of the kindest spirits, i love my manny man. many man is awfully dapper there bringing a smile. so today we're asking you to put kindness into the world by giving someone a compliment or telling someone you love them. you can share it with us, using the #share kindness. i'm sending one to my nephew in college. he calls every sunday to say hello. >> sweet. >> i'm going to do it here also. al, i'm digging the mustache and goatee look. >> thank you very much. >> natalie, i like that little top you have cooking. >> i compliment your dress. >> thank you. >> we digress. a check of the weather. >> today's weather is brought to you by kay jewelers, the number one jewelry store in america, every kiss begins with kay.

>> everybody watching now you look marvelous. i love it. we've got some snow getting itself together in the rockies, in fact, right now denver under a blizzard warning. heavy snow, blowing snow. near zero visibility developing as the day wears on. storm warnings, watches, winter weather advisories, about 30 million under that now. in fact we could be looking up to 24 inches in western colorado, 4 to 10 inches around denver, and another big storm moving into the pacific northwest, several fronts, we're talking about the risk of land slides, rainfall amounts from three to five inches but locally could be as much as 8 to 10 inches in the mountains.

the >> and that's your latest weather. >> al, thanks so much. we were just talking about acts of kindness. coming up, we're going to talk about people committing uplifting acts from all around the world in the wake of the attacks on paris, but, nexium 24hr is the new #1 selling frequent heartburn brand in america. i hope you like it spicy! get complete protection with the purple pill. the new leader in frequent heartburn.

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and we are back now. it's 8:22. let's talk about something that is trending today but in a bit a different way. the talk of social media. those terror attacks in paris prompting an about face from facebook. the site just reactivated a rarely used feature that was first used last year. it's called safety check. >> and it allows users in paris to notify friend and family if they were okay.

more than 4 million people marked themselves as safe. the tool, of course, winning praise across the web. some are wondering why it wasn't used after other recent terror incidents. >> facacook said the feature was intended for natural disasters like earthquakes, and the paris attacks convinced it to change its policy. sounds like a good idea. >> i think they should keep it because you never know when something is going to happen, a natural disaster or, you know, an attack like this. >> think about when we were younger, if something had gone wrong, we had none of this technology. we had phones and they were land lines. had you to rush and people would have to line up and make a phone call to try to tell their loved ones that they were okay. this is where technology certainly is a huge improvement. >> absolutely. >> brilliant idea. >> tamron is over in the original room with how other companies are responding to these attacks. tamron. >> good morning again. matt, great point. think about technology before when you needed a helping hand and if you didn't have a cell phone available what would you do? well, this time around several websites and apps made an effort

to reach out to those in paris who needed help. aramonybnb. we talked so much about it, launching an disastrous tool asking people to open their home free of charge to anyone stranded. i'm controlling up and there are several homes asking for nothing. they want nothing but to help you get to safety. by the way, the car service uber joining in to help. they cut out their surge pricing in the area. google offered free calls to france and several purposeful hashtags trended on twitter, some helping people find lodging and others useful in locating loved ones, similar to what we saw with facebook and this is something if you were on social media over the weekend, likely saw this. beautiful. this sketch shared hundreds of thousands of times on social media. the french artist behind it said it was a raw and spontaneous response to the need for peace, and it says so much. obviously this is what we also

say. pray for pairis. people placing flowers, candles. you talked about, earlier, matt, that heart that said so much and it speaks to where people are right now, but the app that we're reaching out to people find housing, that did not exist, you know, ten years ago. >> i know. >> so necessary, too. >> tamron, thank you very much. coming up, we will change gears, rising -- not rising, he's a bona fide country star. chris young will perform live in

news. jeb bush: we do not have to be the world's policeman. we have to be the world's leader. who's going to take care of the christians that are being eliminated in the middle east? who's going to take care of israel and support them - our greatest ally in the middle east? the united states has the capability of doing this, and it's in our economic and national security interest that we do it. i will be that kind of president and i hope you want that kind of president for our country going forward. announcer: right to rise usa is responsible

we're back now. 8:30 on a monday morning. 2015. we have finally come outside on this beautiful monday morning to say hi to an enormous crowd

gathered on our plaza. and by the way, it's going to be a really cool musical week around new york city, and especially here on the show. tomorrow night adel is going to have her first concert in the united states in four years. it is a one-night only sold out performance a block from us here at radio city music hall. it's being recorded for an nbc special that will air next month and in honor of her new album 25, guess what? >> what. we have 25 pairs of tickets to hand out. >> cool. >> and i think we have some fans here. you say i'm adele's biggest fan. give me a reason y.prove it. >> today's my day off and i did not sleep in because i wantedtics. >> yes, i'm so excited.

she's amazing and fabulous and we're just going to see her. >> congratulations to all of you. congratulations. 25 fans there. >> all right. wait, there's more because we've lined up another huge surprise. tomorrow morning and all we're going to say about this is if you think you're adele's biggest fan come down to the plaza right here tomorrow and prove it to us. >> that's all we're going to say. >> that's all we're going to say. >> but it's going to be huge. >> so that concert is tomorrow and then on wednesday justin bieber is back for another concert live on plaza. that is wednesday. this time he's bringing some friends with him so we look forward to that this week as well. >> and don't forget we've lined up some great music for "today" as well from country star chris young. >> all right. let's get to an important question. do you have a favorite cookie? >> yes. >> good assortment here to help us make another big announcement that the "today" food team is on the hunt for the country's best cook toe showcase in our "today"

food holiday cookie swap. you're supposed to show them, not eat them. >> i'm all about the plain sugar cookie myself. >> really. >> i'm a chips ahoy girl. where's the chips ahoy. >> we want you to cast your vote for your safe, most delectable cookie, and we might just taste them right here on our show and head to today.com/food for more information, and while you're there don't forget to join the "today" food club. >> why do you say we might just taste them. we're going to commit to them. >> you might say where is one of our chief cookie eaters al roker? he's across the street with a very special guest. al? >> i decided to try to take myself away from the temptation. i'm standing in front of this beautiful 78-foot norway spruce getting ready for next month's lighting ceremony and supermodel amanda kerr is here to unveil this morning's swarovski star. >> good morning. how are you doing?

>> great. >> and this year we probably need the star more than ever. >> aim poll of thoughts and peace and my thoughts and prayers go out to all those being affected. >> right now there's 25,000 swarovski crystals on that. >> and it weighs 550 pounds. >> man. >> heavy. >> that's a heavy star. >> we can't lift it ourselves. >> no, no. in fact, we've got this giant grain here. you'll be involved with the ceremony topping -- topping the tree today. >> i know, and what an honor to be a part of that for this holiday season, the start of this holiday season. >> it's a really special time, and when you -- when this thing gets up there, are you up there with it, or are you staying down here? >> that's a very good question. >> i'm pretty sure i'm down here. >> they are not putting me on the top. >> that would be two stars up there, miranda kerr, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> catch the tree lighting right here on nbc december 2nd.

well, >> don't forget get your weather any time you need it weather channel on cable and weather.com online. miranda, thank you so much. >> thank you so much. >> back to you guys. >> you now i know why you pass on the cookies, al. nice job. with the tree and star here it's officially the holiday season. >> and that also means holiday movies, and i recently sat down with the all-star cast of the new movie "love the coopers" where four generations gather together to face the ghosts of

christmas dinner, where families come together and the place where we met the cast of the new movie "love the coopers." it's a phenomenal cast. must have been so much fun and so much joy on set. >> it was. >> yeah. >> we bring our own misery to the party. >> for me, you know, that really was what was so great about this and the fact that, yeah, because we're all just -- we're part of this family. >> john goodman and diane keaton play a struggling couple hoping for memories of one last perfect christmas with their dysfunctional family. >> well, you know what, you can just leave now! >> olivia wilde plays their daughter eleanor and jay glacy is her surprise guest. >> merry christmas. >> mom, dad, this is joe. >> olivia, how would you describe the cooper family. >> totally dysfunctional and very loving. you get older and you realize you don't have to go home for christmas. the thing is they all do show up at that table.

what the movie coins the antisapoint mentment of christmas. what does it mean? emma is everything about her. >> i don't think she's even trying to make it towards amtisappointment. >> you spend a lot of quality time in a police car together. >> i'm the ghost of christmas past, present, future and incarceration. >> thanks for the ride. >> anthony mackey doesn't make christmas dinner in the movie, but he was able to join us here. >> so this is your first christmas feast with the cooper family. >> it is, it is. >> and the star of the sequel so that makes up for it. >> that's right it. the cooper goes o the jets. >> how did you ever end up here today? >> that's a great question. that's a very good question. i have no idea. >> we are family. >> we were talking about this film being about the pressures of family. do any of you feel that still to this day? >> when i was younger. >> yeah.

>> they used to bring a great deal of resentment to the table and now that i'm older and wise ter feels a lot better. >> we're missing a member our family though. come on in, rag ss. >> yay. >> good boy. >> the only actor in hollywood that eat on screen. >> isn't that the truth. >> i want to go around the table to see if any of you have any family holiday traditions. >> we usually change stories while we ice down our fresh holiday tattoos. >> my folks both have stockings from when they were kids. >> amazing. >> my mom's is 6 inches longer than everyone else's so it's huge, laughbly large. >> story of my life. >> it's about the family, and i think sort of the last line in this film says a lot about it. it's all right there in front of you the whole time. >> it's a complete movie, and the fact that it's not focused on any one in particular.

it's focused on family and all the ups and downs and, you know, thaeg that's really the core of everything in all of our lives. >> it really is such a great cast, and they had such a fun time shooting it last winter in pittsburgh. it was sub zero temperatures and blizzards, but they were in a hotel all together, so they really bonded, they said. >> i'm an animal lover. i'm not sure i like dogs eating from the table. >> that's acting. >> the idea maybe "today" show holiday tattoos. >> we'll ice them down. >> turkey on the arm. >> "love the coopers" in theaters, by the way, next. >> up next, chris young performing live in studio 1a with the gang. they woke up early for us. we appreciate that. first this is "today" -- maybe

this is "today" on nbc. i owe about $68,000. i owe $44,000 in student loans. my plan, the new college compact, says you should not have to borrow money to pay tuition if you go to a public college or university. and you ought to be able to refinance student debt. and i don't believe the federal government should be making a profit off of lending to young people who are borrowing to be able to get their education. we have got to make college affordable.

now it's 8:41. country star chris young joins

us now. he's known for that classic baritone, romantic ballads and is out with his fifth studio album called "i'm coming over" and is gearing up for a big u.s. tour. chris, good morning. nice to have you here. >> hey. >> what a pleasure. >> pleasure is all mine. happy to be here. >> fifth album, i know you're excited about t.is it different, a different feel and sound? >> it is. it's a little bit different sonically for me and i co-produced this one with a buddy of mine cory crowder so first time i've been in the producer's chair as a project. had a lot more guests on this album, vince gill, cassadee pope on the track, and -- and it's just a lot of fun for me to get actually into a fifth record. i mean, it's hard to believe this is my fifth album. >> and you are about to head out on a tour. "i'm coming over" is a great way to kind of inirspy you to get out on the road and you know what else, chris. "i'm coming over" just this morning became the number one song on the billboard country charts. did you guys know that? >> there it is. >> you didn't know, that did

you? >> no idea. wondering about this all night long and no one would tell me anything. i hate all of you. i love you, but i hate all of you. they wouldn't tell me. >> because they told me, that's why. >> so i could tell. >> thank you. >> it would be really good if you did that song now. >> we should probably sing it. >> ladies and gentlemen, chris young. i'm coming over on every red light

and save it for another time trying not to think about you, but it ain't working why put out a fight when it's still burn just when i think moving on is getting closer i'm combing over i'm all alone, burr you're on my phone telling me you miss me and that you're at home who knows what we are in the morning all i know is i want you so i'm combing over, running every red light to hell with the closure, save it for another time try not to the think about you but it ain't working why put out a fire when it's still burning just when i think moving on is

i'm combing over oooh, i'm combing over yeah, we said that we're done and i know that it's late but you already know i'm on my way i'm combing over, running every red light to hell with the closure, save it for another time try not to think about you, but it ain't working why put out a fire that's burning i'm combing over, running every red light to hell with the closure, save it for another time try not to think about you, but it ain't working why put out a fire when it's still burning just when i think moving on is

getting close i'm combing over i'm combing over >> chris young. chris, thanks very much. he's going to have more music coming up with kathie lee and

morning this is "today" on nbc.

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wishes from our dear friend mr. willard scott. willard, scott. >> good ole "today" show with the birthdays and everything else happening. virginia geist, what a wonderful lady, from naperville, illinois. 100 years old today. a breast cancer survivor. hallelujah. god bless. good old myrtle. myrtle hazelton of charleston, south carolina. she loves to sing. she's 100 years old today. herb donald, we love you, and in the great state of florida, lovers butterflies. quite a hobby down in florida. hey, happy anniversary lester and lillian thompson, an they have been in love since grade school. isn't that romantic. how about that. we hear that every once in a while. happy anniversary, 78 years married. okay, gang. we'll send it back to new york pause we love new york so much we're going to share our show with you. >> oh, thank you very much. >> good to see you. >> still to come this morning, keeping our ultimate

thanksgiving rolling. world. can't wait. >> i hear it makes a great gridled french toast as well so it's kind of like a two-for. >> i just had a cookie, i may have to make room. >> save yourself some room. this thing. >> but first, this is "today" on nbc. who coined the term "side bread?" because there's nothing "side" about this bread. it may look like the moon. but it's the star of the show. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. it's always worth remembering... that icing the cinnamon rolls is a privilege not a right. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. report.

>> good day from paris. president obama is about to hold a news summit. obviously, the events in paris have been on the minds and part of the discussion at that summit. the president expected to take questions on the impact of this in regards to the war on isis which claimed responsibility for friday's attacks. yesterday france struck back with hitting some 20 bombs on racca in syria. it's islamic state strong hold. acting on the notion this is an act of war. the terrorist attacks killed 129 people here on friday. i'm joined by richard angle. things have been moving quickly on the front. a lot of folks on the investigation in belgium. >> this seems to be a combination of home grown terrorist, extremist from france, belgium and a connection back to isis in syria. so france has had a long problem with domestic terrorism, the

issue of foreign fighters, people who have been leaving europe going to fight in iraq and syria now that they've been energized, financed by isis. they've been able to come back middle east but bring it back. isis is saying it's going to do much more of this. >> looking at the pictures from a number in belgium today, no major arrest today. they are looking for the, we're going do going to go to the president right now. >> i want to thank by thanking the president and people of turkey for their outstanding work in hosting this g 20 summit. it's beautiful and the hospitality

to our turkish friends, i've been practicing that. at the g 20 our focus was on how to get the global economy growing faster and creating more jobs for our people and i'm pleased that we agreed growth has to be conclusive. the address arising in a quality around the world. given growing cyber threats we committed to a set of norms drafted by the united states where our governments should conduct themselves in cyber space including a commitment not to engage in the cyber theft of property for gain. as we head into global talks, all countries are targets and we pledge to work together and pray for successful outcome in paris. of course, much of our attention has focussed on the heinous attacks that took place in paris.

states, american flags are at half staff in sol dare with our french allies. we're working closely with our french partners as they pursue investigations and track down suspects. france is already a strong counter terrorism partner and today we're announcing a new agreement and streamlining the process in which we share intelligence and operational military with france. this will allow personnel to pass information to your french partners. we need everything we can to protect against attacks and protect our citizens. tragically, paris is not alone. we've seen outrageous attacks by

shared at the g 20, our nations send on unmistakable message. we are united against this threat. isil is the face of evil. our goal, as i've said many times is to degrade and ultimately destroy this barbaric terrorist organization. as i outline this fall at the united nations we have a strategy using all elements of our power. military, intelligence, economic, development and the strength of our communities. we have always understood that this would be a long term campaign. the terrible events in paris were obviously a terrible and sickening set back. even as we grieve with our french friends, we can't lose site there has been progress

being made. on the military front we're taking out isil leaders, commanders, their killers. we've seen when we have an effective partner on the ground, isil can and is pushed back to local forces in iraq backed by coalition air power recently and iraqi forces are fighting to take back. in syria isil has been pushed back from much of the border region in turkey. we're cutting off supply lines to isil's strong holds in and around rocca. isis controls less territory than it did before. i made the point to my fellow leaders if we want this progress to be sustained more nations need to step up with the resources this fight demands.

remind us it will not be enough to defeat isil in syria and iraq alone. the nation has therefore committed to strengthening bordering patrols and prevents the fighters in and out of syria and iraq. as the united states just showed in libya, isolators have no safe haich anywhere and continues to stand with leaders in muslim communities including safe leaders for the best voices to discredit isil's warped ideology. on the humanitarian front, our nation agrees we have to do more individually and collectively to address the agony of the syrian people. the united states offer aid to the syrian people, some $4.5 billion in aid so far. as winter approaches we're

through the united nations. the u.n. appeal for syria still has less than half the funds needed. today i'm giving a calling on the resources and demands. in terms of refugees, it's clear countries like turkey, lebanon and jordan which are baring an extraordinary burden cannot be expected to do so alone. at the same time all of our countries have to insure our security. that's why even as we accept more refugees including syrians, we do so only after subjecting them to rigorous screening and security checks. we also have to remember that many of these refugees are the victims of terrorism themselves. that's what they're fleeing. slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our vls. our nations can welcome refugees who are desperately seeking safety and insure our own

we can and must do both. finally, we've begun to see some modest progress on the diplomatic front which is critical because a political solution is the only way to end the war in syria and unite the syrian people and world against isil. the vienna talks mark the first time all the key countries have come together. as a result i would add american leadership and reach a common understanding. this weekends talk, there's a pass forward with the syrian opposition and regime. a transition toward a more conclusive representative government and a new constitution followed by free elections and alongside this political process a cease fire in the civil war as we continue to fight against isil. these are obviously, ambitious goals. hopes for diploma in syria have been dashed before. there are a number of ways this

push could falter. there are still disagreements with the parties including the most critically over the fate of who does not have a role in the syrian future. his war against the syrian people is the primary root cause of this crisis. what is different this time and gives us some degree of hope is that as i said for the first time all the countries on the sides of the syrian conflict agree on a process needed to end this war. while we are clear eyed about the difficult growth still ahead, the united states in partnership with our coalition is going to remain relentless on all fronts, military, human tear and diplomatic. we have the right strategy and we we're going to see it through.

some questions and i'll begin with jerome of afc. mr. president, 129 people were killed friday night. isil gained responsibility for the massacre sending the message. equation on security change. >> keep in mind what we have to do. we have a military strategy that involves putting enormous pressure on isil through air strikes that has put assistance and training on the ground with iraqi forces and we're now

working are syrian forces as well to squeeze islil and cut off supply lines. we've been working to reduce their financing capabilities, the oil that they're trying to ship outside. we're taking strikes against high value targets including most recently against the individual who was on the video executing civilians who had already been captured as well as libya. it's not just iraq and syria. so on the military front we are continuing to accelerate what we do as we find additional partners on the ground that are effective we work with them more closely. i've already authorized additional special forces on the ground so we're going to be able to improve that coordination.

keep in mind since i came into office we have been worried about these kinds of attacks. the individual lens that the united states government maintains and the cooperation that we're consistently expanding with our european and other partners in going after every single terrorist network is row bust and constant. and every few weeks i meet with my entire national security team and we go over every single threat string that's presented and where we have all that information we shared immediately with our counter parts around the world including our european partners. on aviation security, we have over the last several years been working so that at various airport sites, not just in the united states but overseas, we are strengthening our mechanisms to screen and discover passengers who should not be

boarding flights and improving the matters in which we are screening luggage that is going on board. and on the diplomatic front we've been consistently working to try to get all the parties together to recognize that there is a moderate opposition inside of syria that could form the basis for a transition government and to reach out not only to our friends but also to the russians and the a yan canadians on the other side of the equation to explain to them ultimately, an organization like isil is the greatest dapgnger to them as well as to us. so there will be an intensification of the strategy that we put forward but the strategy strategy we are putting forward is the strategy that's going to work. as i said from the start, it's

going to take time and what's been interesting is in the aftermath of paris as i listen to those who suggest something else needs to be done, typically, the inc.things they suggest needs to be done are the things we need to be doing. the one exception is that there had been a few who suggested we should put large numbers of u.s. troops on the ground and keep in mind that we have the finest military in the world and the finest military minds in the world. i've been meeting with them intensively for years now discussing these various options and it is not just my view but the view of my closest military and civilian advisers that would

not because our military could not march into mosil or rocca or ramadi and temp clear out isil but because we would see a repetition of what we've seen before which is if you do not have local populations that are committed to inclusive governments and who are pushing back against idea logical extremes that they resurface unless we're prepared to have a permanent occupation of these countries. let's assume that we were to send 50,000 troops into syria. what happens when there's a terrorist attack generated from yemen? do we then send more troops into there or libya, perhaps? or if there's a terrorist

anywhere else in north africa or in southeast asia. so a strategy has to be one that can be sustained and the strategy that we're pursuing which focuses on going after targets, limiting wherefore possible the capabilities of isil on the ground systematically going after their leadership, infrastructure, strengthening shia or syrian and iraqi forces and curdish forces to fight them and cutting off the boarders and squeezing the space they can operate until we're able to defeat them, that's the strategy we're going to have to pursue. we'll continue to generate more partners for that strategy and there are going to be some

some strategies we try do work. when we find strategies that work we'll double down on those. cbs. >> thank you mr. president. more than a yearlong bombing campaign in iraq and syria has failed to contain the ambition and ability of isis to launch attacks in the west. have you underestimated their abilities and will you widen the rules of engagement for u.s. forces to take more aggressive action? >> no, we haven't underestimated our abilities. this is precisely why we're in iraq as we speak and operating in syria as we speak. it's precisely why we have mobilized 65 countries to go after isil and why i hosted at the united nations an entire

discussion of counter terrorism strategies and cushing the flow of foreign fighters and why we've been putting pressure on those countries that have not been as robust as they need to in tracking the flow of foreign fighters in and out of syria and iraq. so there has been an acute awareness on the part of my administration from the start that it is possible for an organization like isil that has such a twisted ideology and has shown such extraordinary brutality and complete disregard for innocent lives that they would have the capabilities to potentially strike in the west and because thousands of fighters have flowed from the

west and are european citizens, a few hundred from the united states but far more from europe that when those foreign fighters returned, it posed a significant danger. we have consist presidentently worked with our european partners disrupting plots in some cases. sadly, this one was not disrupted in time. but understand that one of the challenges we have in this situation is if you have a hand full of people who don't mind dying, they can kill a lot of people. that's one of the challenges of terrorism. it's not their sophistication or the particular weaponry they possess but the ideology that they carry with them and their

in those circumstances tracking each individual making sure that we are disrupting and preventing these attacks is a constant effort of individual lensvigilance of vigilance. what we do in iraq and syria makes it more attractive the groups. when i said we're containing the control in iraq and syria, they're controlling more territory than last year. the more we shrink that territory, the more we can predend they're a functioning state and the more it becomes

apparent they are simply a network of killers who are brutalizing local populations. that allows us to reduce the foreign fighters which will over a time lesson the number of terrorists who can carry out the terrible attacks like in paris. that's what we did with al qaeda. that doesn't mean by the way that al qaeda no longer possesses the capabilities of striking the west. al qaeda and the peninsula that operates primarily in yemen, we know has consistently tried to target the west and we are working to disrupt those acts but despite the fact that they have not gotten as much attention as isil, they pose a

so our goals here consistently have to be to be aggressive and to leave no stone unturned but also recognize this is not conventional warfare. we play into the isil narrative when we act as if they're a state. and we use routine military fight a state that is attacks another state. that's not w wt's going on here. these are killers with fantasies of glory who are very savvy when it comes to social media and are able to infiltrate the minds of not just iraqis or syrians but diseffected individuals around

those individuals, those individuals can do a lot of damage. so we have to take the approach of being rigorous on our counter terrorism efforts and consistently improve and figure out how we can get more information and how we can infiltrate these networks and rekus their operational space even as we also try to shrink the amount of territory. ultimately, to reclaim territory from them is going to require an end of the war. it's going to require an effective iraqi effort that brinls the differences which is why our diplomatic efforts inside of iraq are so important

>> thank you, mr. president. in the days and weeks before the paris attack, did you receive warning in our daily intelligence briefing that an attack was imnant? if not, does that not call into question the assessment there's no credible threat to the united states today. secondly, if i could ask you to address your critics who say you're reluctant to enter another middle east war and your preface of diplomacy preface of diplomacy to use our military. >> jim, every day we have threat streams coming through the intelligence transit. as i said, every several weeks we sit down with all my national security intelligence and

military teams to discuss various threat streams that may be generated. and the concerns about potential isil attacks in the west have been there for over a year now and come through periodically. there were no specific mentions of this particular attack that would give us a sense of something that we need, that we could provide sensitivity on or act on ourselves. but typically, the way the intelligence works is there will be a threat stream that is from one source. how reliable is that source? perhaps some signal intelligence gets picked up.

it's evaluated. some of it is extraordinarily vague and unspecific. there's no clear timetable. some of it maybe more specific and folks chase down that threat to see what happens. i'm not aware of anything that was specific in the sense that would have gave a premonition about an attack in paris that would allow for law enforcement or military actions to disrupt it. with respect to the broader issue of my critics, to some degree i answered the question earlier. i think that when you listen to what they actually have to say, what they're proposing, most of the time when pressed they describe things that we're already doing. maybe they're not aware we're

already doing them. some of them seem to think that if i were just more bellicose in expressing what we're doing that that would make a difference because that seems to be the only thing they're doing is talking as if they're tough. i am seeing particular strategies that they would suggest that would make a real difference. the primary exception is if those who would deploy u.s. troops on a large scale to retake territory either in iraq or now in syria and at least they have their honesty to go ahead and say that's what they would do. i just addressed why i think they're wrong.

well meaning and i don't doubt their sincerity when it comes to the issue of the dyer humanitarian situation in syria who will for example call for a no fly zone or safe zone of some sort and this is an example of the kind ofd issue where i will sit down with our top military and intelligence advisers and we'll pain stakingly go through what does something like that look like and typically, after we've gone through a lot of planning and a lot of discussion and really working it through, it is determined it would be counter productive to take those steps. in part because isil does not have planes so the attacks are on the ground.

set up ground operations and you know, the bulk of the deaths that occurred in syria, for example, come about not because of regime bombings but because of on the ground casualties. who would come in and out of the safe zone, how would it work? would it become a magnet for further terrorist attacks and how many personnel would be required? my only interest is to end suffering and keep the american people safe. if there's a good idea out there, then we're going to do it.

i don't think i've shown hesitation to react whether it's ben laden or acceptedingsending additional troops. what we do not do, what i do not do is to take actions either because it's going to work politically or it is going to somehow in the abstract make america look tough. or make me look tough. part of the reason is every few months i go to walter reed and see a 25-year-old kid that's paralyzed or lost him limbs and some of those are people i've ordered into battle so i can't afford to play some of the

political games that others may. we'll do what's required to keep the american people safe. and i think it's entirely appropriate in a democracy to have a serious debate about these issues. folks want to pop off and have opinions about what they think they would do, present a specific plan. if they think that somehow their advisers are better than the chair of my joint chiefs of staff and the folks actually on the ground, i want to meet them. we can have that debate. what i'm not interested in doing is posing or pursuing some

america winning or whatever other slogans they come up with that has no relationship to what is actually going to work to protect the american people and to protect people in the region who are getting killed and to protect our allies and people like france. i'm too busy for that. jim. >> thank you very much, mr. president. i wanted to go back to something you said to margaret earlier when you said you had not underestimated isis' abilities. this is an organization you once tribed as described as a jv team that's evolved to forces in iraq and syria and able to use the safe haven to launch attacks in the other parts of the world. how is that not underestimating their capabilities and how is

i think a lot of americans have frustration that they see the united states has the best military in the world and has the backing of others when it comes to taking on isis. i guess the question is forgive the language, why can't we take out these bastards? >> i just spent the last three questions answering that very question. i don't know what more you want me to add? i think i've described very specifically what our strategy is and i've described very specifically why we do not pursue some of the other strategies that's been suggested. this is not as i said a tradition traditional military opponent. we can retake territory and as long as we leave our troops

there, we can hold it. but that does not solve the underlying problem of eliminating that dynamic producing these kinds of violent extremist groups. and so we are going to continue to pursue the strategy that has the best chance of working even though it does not offer the sasks satisfaction i guess of any headline or an immediate resolution. part of the reason is because there's cost to the other side. i just want to remind people this is not an abstraction. when we send troops in, those troops get injured and killed and our country spends hundreds

again the fact there are enormous sacrifices involved in any military action, it's best that we don't shoot first and aim late erp. it's important to get the strategy right and the strategy we're pursuing is the right one. >> i think a lot of people around the world and america are concerned because given the strategy that you're pursuing and it's been more than a year now, isis' capability seems to be expanding. are you concerned and do you think they have the same ability to strike in the united states? do you think given all you've

year or so and given all the criticism about your underestimating them, do you think you really understand this enemy well enough to defeat them and to protect the homeland? >> all right. so this is another variation on the same question. i guess, let me try it one last time. the, we have been fully aware of the capability of them carrying out a terrorist attack. that's why we have been mounting a very aggressive strategy to go after them. as i said before when you're

hand full of people with not wildly sophisticated military equipment weapons they can kill a lot of people and preventing them from doing so is challenging for every country. i assure you that not just the united states but france and turkey and others who have been subject to these terrorist attacks would have implemented those strategies. they set up a whole series of additional steps to protect aviation and apply lessons

we've seen much better cooperation between the fbi, state governments, local governments. this is some advantages to geography with respect to the united states. but having said that, the possibility of terrorist attacks on our soil. there were the boston marathon bombers. it was not on the scale of the deaths in paris but that was a serious attempt at killing a lot of people by two brothers and a crock pot. it gives you some sense of the kinds of challenges that are

going forward. so again, isil has serious capabilities. we're going after all of them. they have a great effect on social media to attract groups and carry out attacks in the homeland and in europe and other parts of the world. our ability to shrink the space

reduce the freedom with which they feel they can operate.

[ inaudible ] >> i'm sorry, i can't hear you. >> this is something we spoke a lot about in the g20. the overwhelming majority of victims are themselves muslims. isil does not represent islam. it is not representative in any way of the attitudes of the overwhelming majority of luz minimums. this is something emphasized by muslim leaders whether it's the president of indocountries that are majority muslim but have shown

work to be inclusive in their political process. so to the degree that anyone would equate the terrible accident that took place in paris with the abuse of islam, those kinds of stereo types are counterproduct evidence counterproductive and wrong. they will lead, i think, to greater recruitment if this becomes somehow defined as a muslim problem as opposed to a terrorist problem. now, what is also true is that the most vicious terrorist organizations at the moment are

the ones that claim to be speak speaking speaking on behalf of true muslims. i do think that muslims around the world, religious leaders, political leaders, ordinary people have to, you know, ask very serious questions about how did these extremist ideologies take root. even if it's only effecting the population, it is real. and it is dangerous. i think the muslim community has to think about how we make sure

children are not effected by the twisted notion they can kill innocent people and that is justified by religion. to some degree that is something that has to come from within the muslim community itself. there have been times there has not been enough push back against extremism. there's some who say we don't believe in violence but are not as willing to challenge some of the extremist thoughts or rationals for why muslims people oppressed and i think those ideas have to be changed. i have to take a flight to manilla. i'm looking forward to seeing manilla but i hope i can come back to turkey when i'm not so

one of the places you're seeing this debate play itself out is on the refugee issue both in europe and i gathered it started popping up back while i was gone to the united states. the people who are fleeing syria are the most harmed by terrorism. they are the most vulnerable by a consequence of civil war and strife. they are parents, children, orphans. it is very important.

again by the g20. we do not close our hearts to this. you know, in europe, i think people like chancellor has taken a kour rashs stance in saying it's our moral obligation as fellow human beings to help people who are in such as a rule you arable situations. i know that it is putting enormous strains on the resources of the people of europe and nobody has been carrying a bigger burden than the people of turkey and the people of jordan and lebanon admitting refugees.

boarders open to the refugees is a signal. so we have to, each of us do our part and the united states has to step up and do its part. when i hear folks say that maybe we should just admit the christians and not the muslims, when i hear political leaders suggests that there will be a test for which person is fleeing from a war torn country is

folks themselves come from families who benefitted, that's shameful. that's not american, that's not who we are. we don't have religious test to our compassion. when pope francis came to visit, the united states gave a speech before congress. he didn't just speak object christians being persecuted. he didn't call on those who just add miz those of the same religious faith. he said protect people who are vulnerable. i think it's very important for us right now, particularly those in leadership and particularly

can be heard not the feed the impulse inside of us. i had a lot of otheragreements with george w. bush on politics but i was proud of 9/11 when he was adamant and clear about the fact this was not a war on islam. to notion that some of those would ignore all of that, that's not who we are. on this, they should follow his example. it was the right one. there's the right impulse. it's our better impulse. whether you are european or american, the values that we are

fighting against isil for are precisely that we don't discriminate against people because of their faith. we don't kill people because they're different than us. that's what separates us from them. we don't feed that kind of notion that somehow christians and muslims are at war. if we want to be successful defeating isil, that's a good place to start by not promoting that kind of ideology, that kind of attitude. in the same way that the muslim community has an obligation not to in any way excuse anti christian christian sediment. we have the same obligation as christians. we are, it is good to remember that the united states does not

have a religious test and we are a nation of many people's of different fates. which means that we show compassion to everybody. those are the universal values we stand for. that's what my administration intends to stand for. all right. thank you very much, everybody. >> president obama speaks at the end of the g20 summit in turkey for americans not to turn their backs on syrian refugees especially in the wake of what happened here in the wake of what happened here in paris friday that killed 129 people. the headline here in this news conference, the president essentially saying stay the course. there will be no change in overall u.s. strategy in the war against isis. he was defensive at times as reporters croppedontinued to ask him questions about a possible change in strategy. chuck todd has been watching along with us.

the president feeling pressured to do something new in the wake of this. but he really held his ground here. >> he did. i was struck by how defensive he was and how much he's paying attention to his political critics. he answered about six or seven specific charges or ideas that various critics of him, presidential candidate critics or otherwise have made and he used them as strong. i was surprised by his tone and defensiveness. he didn't channel what i think a lot of americans are feeling right now with a little bit of anger and resolve and recivil yancey. i get the policy argument that he's making that hey, this is the policy that's going to work and i don't think these other ideas are going to work. i was again, i go back to the tone of this press conference. extremely defensive and almost not yet realizing that many of the reporters in that room,

in this case, lester, as you know being in paris and we know where the public is there, but it's a lot of similar feelings here in the united states right now. so that's the part of this that just struck me as frankly an odd decision. not odd that he's sticking to his policies, odd in the tone he chose to use today. >> let me turn to an green i can't mitchell now. andrea, yesterday a sizable era attack against rocca. at the same time president obama was speaking and noted this attack was planned in syria, organized in belgium, carried out in france. so it makes you wonder whether a military operation would work against that kind of a threat. >> well, what the president is saying, just to continue on what chuck said, he is not going to put in ground forces. he's going to intensify the effort. like france, these are air strikes.

training and equipping iraqis and working more closely with syrians on the ground. we know that the syrian piece of this has been a total failure and the iraqis have turned and runned every time they've been changed. the iraqi forces have not been stood up and the syrian forces have not been stood up and without people on the ground most military experts say this will not work. he also defended the intelligence. he said there's not been an intelligence gap and there's a robust in constant individual lens. he meets with the advisers. he said no gap but just an hour or two ago cia director in washington said it's time for the u.s. and u.n. to look and see if there's cracks or gaps in the intelligence gatherings. look and see if they missed something before paris. >> richard angle seen in the streets of paris and syria even

watching along with me. you noted that the president acknowledged something that was murky in the question of responsibility? >> he acknowledged this in fact was an isis attack. he called isis the face of evil. he said isis will be degraded and defeated which is reaffirm reaffirming his old policy. there have been talks this was al qaeda. some of the counter officials i spoke to in paris said there's no way this could be isis. isis isn't that good. he's acknowledging yes, this is an isis attack and we're going to do more and share more intelligence with france and intensify the current strategy. i think some of the defensiveness we've all seem to denoted came from the anger you can feel here in paris. you can read from the statements that are coming out of american politicians politicians. there seems to be once again this desire to do more and send troops in and go to war and i think the president was trying to dial that back saying we're

going to do more strategy but not going to war. >> you and i were speaking and here on this plaza 10 months ago watching people do what we did lighting candles. it's a different atmosphere. at the time we were here because there's an attack on a newspaper publication people respond somewhat differently. >> very much differently. it's nice to say france is being resilient and these people are here. we are hearing that. it's different. when charlie's attack happened, people came out in the streets and there were tens of thousands, couple thousand people who marched in this square and holding up pins and it became a zem administration for the freedom of the press. charlie was them. it was a target against a magazine and french people came out and said we are with that magazine.

against us. >> people sitting in cafe and theater. >> concert. that has people scared. >> let me quickly go back to chuck todd again talking about the political pressure that will mount at home. the president holding his standing fast here. what kind of pressure will he face? >> i tell you in the last point of what he made, he was passionate on the refugee issue. that's where the political pressure is going to heat up early and first. frankly, it's out of sort of the easiest thing for the public to di jest. it's where the republican primary is going to head. it's this issue of where we take in syrian refugees is going to be the first thing, first amount of political pressure that gets forced upon the line up. >> chuck todd, thank you very much. we are here in the square that's become the memorial site in paris. we'll have full coverage on nbc nightly news and what the

that. >> could you use any other pumpkin? >> yes, sometimes it's hard too

so we first just ripped it up and we're just going to put it on the baking sheet. it doesn't have to be anything. just big chunky bread. make it evenly spread. we're going to pour 6 tablespoons of melted butter. i like to sort of -- >> butter and bourbon. >> that's just butter. we're going to bake this for 20 minutes. ic lie to stir it half way through so it doesn't burn. here it is all crisp and golden. now we're going to cook our pumpkin. you have to skin it and dice it. make sure it's nice and sharp. two more tablespoons of butter. >> you have no idea. i'm surprised the bumppumpkin is not blue. >> that's a really sweet pumpkin. we're going to saute this until it cooks.

then we're going to pour 3 tablespoons of sugar. this is where the caramel part comes in. it caramelizes the top. you cook it for three more minutes and get nice and soft. >> that's what it looks like. now we have four eggs. pour in some of the cream and the milk. >> all of it? >> all of it. you need to coat all the bread. >> i love that recipe. >> and we're going to add the bourbon. you can add the sugar. >> more sugar. >> and all our spices. and then we're going to put the pumpkin in here. i'm going to grab the bread. >> al has a backup of bourbon. >> double the bourbon in this recipe. >> nice, kid-friendly recipe. it cooks out. we'll put all this bread in here. we're going to let that soak for like ten minutes. and then i have one cooking in

then we put it in this buttered dish. so it's cooked for about 25 minutes covered. then we're going to uncover it and throw our pecans on top. you can skip that if you have a nut allergy. it gives it a nice little crunch. then we're going to bake it a little more uncovered. for like another 20 minutes. >> you said it makes great leftovers. >> that's fantastic. >> let's grab a bite here. >> if you have a cooking question, go to today.com and she'll answer your questions. we're back in a moment. this is "today" on nbc. this is violet. she's been waiting for this moment for awhile. a moment other kids wouldn't think twice about.

because now that cheerios are gluten free, violet, and many others are enjoying their first

happy you said something naughty. no, no, no.

>> we're going to be talking

>> there's a lotfresh off the debate stage in des moines... two democratic presidential hopefuls headed to ames. but they brought the same message with them.. hillary clinton and martin o'malley headlined the "central iowa democrat fall barbeque." the paris attacks and terrorism dominated the conversation. but the candidates also took time to differentiate themselves on issues like college education. they will share the stage... with bernie sanders... next

month for another

>> annou nc from nbc news, this is "today" with kathy lee gifford and hoda kotb. >> it is monday, it's november 16th. usually we call it funday monday, but we're heartsick today as we remember the victims of the terror attacks in paris. >> we did want to bring you a story that will put a smile on