vladimir putin is primarily targeting isis in syria. >> if putin wants to go ahead and knock the hell out of isis, i'm all for it 100%. and i can't understand how anybody would be against it. they blew up -- hold it. wait a minute. they blew up a russian airplane. he cannot be in love with these people. he's going in and we can go in and everybody should go in. >> donald is wrong on this. he is absolutely wrong on this. the idea that it's a good idea for putin to be in syria, let isis take out assad and putin will take out isis. that's like a board game. that's like playing monopoly or something. that's not how the real world works. >> you should note, the bomb that trump mentioned has not been definitive linked to isis, and a bomb has not been definitively established at all. jeb bush is lying, that's not how the real world looks. a sober recognition of the complexities of that region and a comment that could also apply to ben carson's quote fairly easy strategy to defeat isis. >> we're talking about global jihadists and their desire is to destroy us and destroy our way of life. so w

military presence in the middle east, in syria, that would be a very, very, very big deal. that would be all over the news. so big it's probably a safe bet that we have never heard about it. but asked about that comment by msnbc's tamron hall, armstrong williams, said carson knows something we just don't know. >> from your perspective, maybe that is inaccurate. but from our intelligence and what dr. carson has been told by people on the ground who are involved in that area of the world, it has been told to him many times over and over that the chinese are there. now, just because the mainstream media and other experts don't want to see any credibility to it, does not mean that some way down the line, within the next few days, that that story wouldn't come out and be reinforced and given credibility by others. >> in a radio interview yesterday, carson said he wouldn't hesitate to shoot down russian aircraft, no matter the consequences. >> if they do come into that area, after you have given them adequate warning, after we have talked to putin, you shoot 'em down, absolutely. >> all right.

in places like afghanistan, syria, bosnia-herzegovina, than the united states, and it's much, much easier for these individuals to get back from these conflict zones to france than it is here to the united stat states. so the threat whether we're talking about individuals that are self-radicalized or week talking about individuals that have been trained abroad, it's much less the threat here. that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. i think what we're looking at here is the likelihood or the possibility that there are copycats out there, there are crazy vijds that might take it upon themselves to echo this attack in some way, shape, or form. i think if this was to happen, hopefully no one is that stupid and foolish, but it's not necessarily that they will go after a french target because i don't think here the real target was france. the real target was the west. and so you know, look, just because the target was in france today or in paris today, individuals could carry out attacks in any western target and would have resonance among supporters, the same type of propaganda value to the

propaganda video showing him once jailed in belgium, now believed to be in syria. what you can't see behind his vehicle are the bodies he's about to drag on ropes. he was close to at least two of the paris killers. police are still hunting for this suspected accomplice, salah abdeslam, his brother believed to be a brother, and the other brother questioned and released after raids. more attacks in france are planned, the french prime minister warned today, which is why police raided more than 160 homes, arresting two dozen suspects and seizing dozens of guns and a rocket launcher. the french president addressing lawmakers vowing to destroy isis. ordering a french aircraft carrier closer to iraq and syria. a dozen french war planes hit isis overnight bombing its stronghold of syria in the biggest french raid so far. in paris today, not the noise of war, but silence for the city's victims. millions remembering, those they can't forget, praying, too, for the critically ill. dozens of victims remain critically ill, clinging to life at this and other paris hospitals, shot multiple times an

to turn syria over to somebody. if we had syrians playing a rightful part in the liberation of their country, they would be taking it over. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. all in with chris hayes starts right now. >>> good evening from paris. i'm chris hayes on a day when the investigation into the brutal attacks here has focused on the response to those attacks keeps widening. a new threat shut down a huge sporting event in germany, a soccer stadium in hanover, germany was evacuated after what was described by german police as a credible threat 90 minutes before kickoff, a friendly match between germany and the netherlands expected to begin approximately at 8:458 p.m. angela merkel had been expected to attend the game. the match between france and england at wembley stadium nupd england went forward amid some concerns but british fans joined their french counterparts in singing the french national anthem as a display of solidarity. the you have suspect sal la abdeslam is still at large. today men reportedly shared in his getaway car, one of them a suspecte

weeks ago in egypt. russia intensified air strikes of isis targets in syria. the russians said they were coordinating their campaign with france as it launched air strikes of its own. secretary of state john kerry met with french president francois hollande on a day when holland called on the u.s. and russia to overcome divisions in an effort to defeat isis. france invoked a never before used article 42 obliging members of the 28-nation bloc to give aid and assistance by all the means in their power to a member country that is the victim of harmed aggression on its territory. all of it further evidence that france is fully entering war footing as the citizens suffer with their own mourning. today i visited a restaurant that was one of the scenes in the crime. later in this hour, i'll speak with a governor in the u.s. about the refugee hysteria sweeping the u.s. as domestic politics turns ugly. we begin with two reports tonight. to the cairo for the russian announcement that it was isis that is brought down their airliner and the news from germany today. claudio, good evening. >> rep

who were in there? one of the people who has been watched very closely. he went to syria in 2013. he was radicalized, disowned by his family, who thought he had been killed over there. and then when police realized that he had not, that he had returned to europe, it really started an intensive manhunt that predated what happened here in paris on friday. he's important for any number of reasons, obviously the mastermind behind what happened here, but he's key to what isis's success has been. he's somebody who not only had a network of people back in belgium who he could call on, who were willing to be suicidal, to die for the cause, but he has been featured in many of the videos, many of the recruitment videos, and one of the most difficult things for people fighting isis has been their incredible ability to recruit online. very sophisticated videos. there's one of him where he's dragging mutilated bodies behind a van, and just to give you an idea of the mind-set of someone like abdelhamid abaaoud, he recruited his 13-year-old brother to join isis, to the point where his own famil

iraq and syria. they're very prevalent in iraq and syria, but not out in the west. on the other hand, they did a very, very slick propaganda production today, and it's really interesting how they play very quickly upon our fears, by putting out this video, using the live feed from the president of france, president hollande. french warships and then bringing out isis members who are from france, to speak and then showing how to do a suicide bombing plays very quickly into the psyche of the population today and that's why we have people afraid of something that actually wasn't present in the video, and that was a direct threat to the united states. >> yeah, i mean, we've got to be clear here. obviously, isis has, for the last 20 months, at least, two years, put out a string of propaganda. there was a picture of the white house at one point. there was someone speaking english, saying we're coming for you, barack obama. i mean, a huge part of what they are trying to do right now is create this sense, right, of this kind of unstoppable force across the world and these videos are intended

, you know, we're not in a position to take everybody from syria. but connecticut should take its share. >> joining me now, democratic representative, andre carson of indiana, one of two muslims serving in the u.s. congress. representative carson, your response to your governor, mike pence's actions, in essentially blocking the door for these people that are trying to get some safety. >> well, i certainly agree with governor pence, who is also my former congressional colleague, with regard to this matter. look, there are serious national security concerns that we have to take into consideration, without question. i can tell you, as someone who is a former law enforcement officer, who has worked in an intelligence fusion center, keeping our country safe is a tremendous task, not only for law enforcement officers, but for mayors, governors, and certainly the president. what we're seeing now is the syrian refugee crisis being used as a justification for xenophobia, islamophobia and all kinds of destructive phobias you can see. what we have to do is deal with the threat at hand. a gro

is dead. abdelhamid abaaoud, who many believed was in syria, was identified today by the french prosecutor as one of the two dead bodies from the saint-denis raid two nights ago. the belgian national had reportedly gone to syria last year to fight with isis. according to the french interior minister. and at some later point returned to europe. authorities have now identified the female suicide bomber in the saint-denis raid as hasna ate boul tchen. police have arrested seven people. seven known attackers dead. and the eight suspects linked to that attack, salah abdeslam remains at large. the dailymail.com has security video from inside one of the cafes that the terrorists hit. it shows customers run for cover the moment a gunman begins firing. today's parliament's lower house in france voted overwhelmingly to approve a three-month extension of the national state of emergency, which includes increased capacity to block websites and social media sites they say encourage terrorism. also the power to immediately place people under house arrest if they are considered by the state a s

process for refugees from syria and iraq and that created a bit of a ruks, his colleagues surrounded him on the floor and asked him to switch his vote since it would give them a veto proof majority and he will have a seat on the table and once an agreement was met, he switched his vote. i guess we'll see if it is worth the price of his conscience. well, just put on a breathe right strip which instantly opens your nose up to 38% more than cold medicine alone. shut your mouth and say goodnight mouthbreathers. breathe right i'm in charge of it all. business expenses, so i've been snapping photos of my receipts and keeping track of them in quickbooks. now i'm on top of my expenses, and my bees. best 68,000 employees ever. that's how we own it. ono off-days, or downtime.ason. opportunity is everything you make of it. this winter, take advantage of our season's best offers on the latest generation of cadillacs. the 2016 cadillac ats. get this low-mileage lease from around $269 per month, or purchase with 0% apr financing. >>> in the week since the attacks, one clear thing is emerging in the po

russian warplane it says crossed from syria into turkish air space. russia insyss the jet was threeing over syria. those two countries have long seed to be on a collision course with turkey opposing the regime of syrian president bashar al assad, russia's main client in the middle east. tayyipered doe wan said the only reason worst incidents haven't occurred before is the cool headedness of turkey. vladimir putin called the incident a "stab in the back oirkts and vowed there would be consequences. meanwhile, two very different leaders were meeting today at the white house. president obama and french president francois hollande trying to build support for increased efforts against isis in response to the paris attacks. obama sounded a note of caution to russia and turkey. >> i think it's very important right now for us to make sure that both the russians and the turks are talking to each other, find out exactly what happened. and take measures to discourage any kind of escalation. >> that's a role obama played throughout his presidency to the chagrin of many critics, a kind of

iran's aggression in the region. as you know, iran is in iraq, syria, lebanon, libya, they are playing a very, very destabilizing role in the region. finally, terrorism. they are involved in terrorism. the iranians are involved in terrorism in asia, africa, the middle east, even terror cells in this hemisphere. all that behavior has to be checked. >> i was just going to say, i did not mean to interrupt, to your point, there are reports today they have stopped taking down centrifuges so the compliance with the iran deal which will lead to their sanctions relief still has to be verified and certified. >> 100%. >> but if you want to get along with the white house, why have a diplomatic spokesman, a communication chief, ron barratz, who has been posting on facebook things like that president obama is analogized to the modern face of antisemitism in western and liberal countries and also suggesting that john kerry, he wished the secretary of state success in the countdown to two years on the calendar with the hope that someone in the state department will then wake up and begin to see the wor

ops into syria, whether ben carson would support it. he said it's better to have them or not because russia and china are already in there. china is not but now his adviser armstrong williams saying on msnbc that he had a source telling him they are. very short on specifics. his campaign has known all along that the depth of experience on issues like foreign policy were going to be the biggest challenge for them but so far what we have seen in debates past, andrea, is it's not made a difference either in his poll numbers or in his fund-raising. both of them have continued to be on the rise. we'll see if that continues after all the the questions of his personal history and what we saw last night on the debate stage. >> and, in fact, jeremy, marco rubio and rand paul really showing the two blanranches of republican party. the isolation and strong military. let's play you a little bit of that. >> i know that rand is a committed isolationist. i am not. i believe the world is a stronger and a better place when the united states is the strongest military power in the world. >> marco, marc

of sending fighters to iraq and syria. the latest ahead. >>> immigration uproar. critics slam donald trump's idea about deporting millions of undocumented immigrants as the billionaire candidate likens his proposal to a controversial program from the 1950s. >> how would your plan be different? >> very humanely done. very important. >> how? >> it's a whole management thing. it's called good management. good management practices. >> it's 11 million undocumented immigrants. >> katie, it will be very, very humanely done. >>> and free speech debate as protests grow on campuses. can colleges be more inclusive and still protect the freedom of speech? >> there's a level of intolerance for things that are not so-called politically correct. people are so frightened of the politically correct police that they're willing to do things that are irrational. >>> good day. i'm luke russert in for andrea mitchell. we have a lot of developing news on the fight against isis to cover today. starting with a massive multi-national operation in europe to break up a recruiting ring linked to the terror group

drone strike overnight in raqqa, syria, targeted the isis executioner known as jihadi john. his real name, mohammed emwazi, the masked isis executioner with the british accent responsible for brutally beheading american hostages among other westerners. the pentagon tells nbc news the strike came from a hellfire missile launched by one of three reaper drones taking out jihadi john's vehicle. >> still a little bit early, but we are reasonably certain that we killed the target that we intended to kill which is jihadi john. it will take some time as it always does for us to be able to finally formally declare that we know we have had success. >> keir simmons joins me from london and ayman mohyeldin in beirut. ayman, given the horrific bombings in beirut claimed by isis, and isis apparently taking down the airliner out of egypt, the russian airliner, how important is this if in fact they did get jihadi john? >> reporter: well, i think there's going to be a long-terminals along-term analysis. in the short term, this is a symbolic strike because this is an individual certainly known to

syria but also to belgium and then of course carried out here in france, which shows the nature of this is not necessarily all hard targets. bombing would not have taken out the targets here, the terrorists that committed the attacks here on friday. it just shows what a complicated nature this all is. the bombings certainly showing a forceful resolve to strike back against isil but not necessarily getting at the root of the issue that struck here on friday. >> lester holt at the place de la republique, one of the public gathering places in paris. that's where we will see you from later tonight. we also want to bring in christopher dickey, a long-time veteran journalist first with "newsweek," these days with daily beast, an american who has been living and working in paris for some time. christopher, we heard the french president say this is war. it's been interesting to see those words kind of filter around the world, filter through america. americans get to try on what they think that means. do you believe this is the world's next war? >> well, i think that is the direction we are

hammering raqqah for the first time. the headquarters of isis of course in syria retaliating against isis after russia confirms suspicions that its airliner was brought down by an isis bomb last month. the strikes are raising concerns at the pentagon today which is doing a bomb damage assessment at this hour to see if the russian bombs have also been hitting hospitals and other civilian facilities avoided by u.s. air strikes. at the same time, back home, fierce political battles today by republican presidential candidates and governors. joined by the new house speaker, paul ryan. questioning how syrian refugees to the u.s. are vetted. to talk about all this and more, i'm joined by senator tim keane. senator, thank you very much. first of all, how significant is it that russia is now going after isis head-on? we had been questioning whether they were really going after isis, whether their bomb raids were against anti-assad groups that are supported by the u.s. and others, but now they are really taking on isis. >> i think it's very significant and it is positive. we don't have a lot of ove

failure on the intelligence of french authorities. he said he was in syria. that's what we have been told. it appears he was the target of this raid. >>> coming up here, france's top diplomat in the united states. and the former vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. >>> plus, this just in, isis publishes a picture purporting that this is the bomb that blew up the plane. >>> good morning to you. i'm andrea mitchell. french police now say there were three men in the car with the terrorists on friday. and the hunt for one of them brought them to the apartment outside of paris overnight. police were targeting abu hamid abaaoud. it is still unknown whether abaaoud was in france or somewhere in europe. joining me from paris with the very latest, bill neely and chris jansing, white house correspondent. bill, first to you, we'll talk about whether he got away, whether he was even in syria or saint-denis, what are they originally saying? >> reporter: yes, an drea, good afternoon. was this raid a success or failure? it depends where you put the bar of success. if the aim of this operatio

investigation since he left belgium to syria at the beginning of the year. this of course raises even more questions than answers. how is it possible that such a guy under surveillance, under investigation, could just travel back to europe maybe passing through belgium, ended up in paris. he cooperated in this very elaborate operation. he was able to obtain a suicide vest and activate it outside of the stade de france. now there were another three, so there's six raids, they weren't really raids, they were more like house arrests or house searches, if you may. there was no surprise factor, there was no breaking down of doors and there certainly was no exchange of fire. they were looking for his accomplices. they arrested seven people or rather, they took them in for questioning and they will let us know tomorrow whether anybody is going to be under arrest. there were three other raids or house searches again in the districts around brussels and this time the prosecutor is saying that these ones are definitely linked to the paris attack. >> what do we know about abaaoud and his movemen

into syria against isis, will it make a difference? is it too little? is it too much? i'm joined by senator ben cardin, ranking democrat on the foreign relations committee. thanks for being with us. >> good to be with you. >> your initial reaction to what the white house ultimately called just a change of tactic, not a change of strategy but which others are saying is definitely not just an adjustment? >> i'm very concerned about this. look, we all want to do everything we can to stop isil, to degrade it, to destroy it, but we have got to be very careful about ground troops in syria. there are two concerns we have in syria. one is isil, one is the aad regime. some players are playing both sides and it's very difficult for us to differentiate that mission with ground troops. i'm very concerned about the interjection of american troops. >> some have suggested there already have been quote, boots on the ground and that there have been special ops already, and that we have had people in but not as effectively calling in air support. >> well, there's no question that we have used our mil

terrorism. >> right now, you have a base and it really goes back to iraq and syria. you have islamic state, isis, which has set the tone and this attack in mali, very unlikely to be linked to isis but the reason i say you have to focus on iraq and syria is right now, islamic militants have a country of their own. and they are excited about it. they are active on the internet. they are carrying out attacks in paris. >> they are bragging about it. >> they are bragging about it. it's turned up the volume worldwide. so this group which is a relatively small group which has a grievance internally in mali which france is involved in because it was a former colony and france intervened to help save the government of bamako, it's really sort of a local grievance. they took over this hotel, there have been attacks in mali in the past. but what we're seeing worldwide is these islamic militant groups feel empowered right now. they feel like they are winning. they feel like they are getting the publicity and they are not all linked but they are all part of a similar fraternity, if you will. they

. but it is as you know also a city from where hundreds of people left to join isis in syria. so people here have every reason to truly believe that there could be a threat which still tonight is regarded as imminent. brussels for a third day on virtual lockdown. andrea? >> bill, just one brief follow-up here. i know nato pretty well and nato is a military, primarily a military organization. nato is still not engaged in this. the french have not asked for a nato meeting. i understand because they think they won't get what they are seeking so they are trying to create their own coalition. but nato militarily, this enormous military power right in brussels, is not engaged. >> reporter: that is correct. there is as you know, the united states invoked it after 9/11, there is a right for a nato country if attacked to call on all other nato countries for collective defense, to go essentially to war with a common enemy. france has not asked for that so far. nato has not invoked either chapter 4 or chapter 5. but today, the french aircraft carrier charles degaulle was within striking dis

from isil in both iraq and syria. we continue to work to choke off their financing and their supply lines. and counter their recruitment and their messaging. and even as america is already supporting air strikes in syria, yesterday president hollande and i agreed to step up our coordination on that effort further and do more of that work together. so we're stepping up the pressure on isil where it lives and we will not let up. adjusting our tactics were necessary until they are beaten. that's our first goal. second, we continue to do everything possible to prevent attacks at home and abroad and to prevent foreign terrorist fighters from entering the united states or other nations. since 9/11 we've taken extraordinary measures to strengthen our homeland security in everything from aviation security to border security to information sharing. we've improved upon these actions over time. any time there's an event, we learn something from it. and we continue to refine them. we continue to improve upon our approaches as we speak. now, right now we know of no specific and credible intellig

recently, though, is that isis has declared war on russia since the russian invasion into syria, so there are many indicators that seem to be pointing towards this being an isis related event, although we can't officially confirm that at this point in time. >> and would isis be working with bomb makers from other organizations? is this even more alarming? is this a situation where different terror groups are now working with each other? >> well, conventional wisdom is that al qaeda and isis are competing, if you will, for attention. zawahiri recently called for another 9/11 attack against the west and the united states. there has been an ongoing concern, potential just militant islamists in the region. i will say in egypt, it's predominantly isis based, not so much al qaeda. but the bleedover of these two groups, you can't underestimate that fact as well. but if this is an isis related event, the fact that it did involve bombs on airplanes, i agree with you, that's a significant departure, would be a huge victory for isis in terms of recruiting and a major departure to what they have been

bomb this plane, we know it's in direct response to russia's bombing of syria. president putin took that decision in order to make russians safe, his rationale was strike first before the terrorists strike us. well, now the terrorists have struck and killed perhaps if this is true, killed 220 russians and four ukrainians. bad news for russia and of course, very bad news for egypt as well. three million russians vacation in egypt every year. as i say, there are 50,000 here at the moment. it is a disaster for the russian tourist industry. you have got 20,000 british tourists here, they are being evacuated today and over the next few days on planes. so a disaster for egypt, certainly, but i think bad news for putin because even if this turns out not to be a bomb, i think in the minds of russians, this suspicion will linger that the bombing campaign in syria will have consequences. of course, look, let's be absolutely clear about this. we don't know, russia doesn't know, nobody knows at the minute whether this was a bomb or indeed a technical fault. we have heard all this background bri

capita members of isis in syria fighting right now, larger than the french per capita. that's why they chose that. and they have the same language in the southern part. >> meantime it's an al qaeda linked group, not isis, that's claimed responsibility for yesterday's attack in mali. do you think two totally separate attacks? or is there any reason to think that al qaeda was emboldened by isis' high profile attack? >> well, the way the terrorists, you know, team leaders actually have to plan these missions, it's very hard to go on a moment's notice and just drop what you're doing, get your weapons, go out to a target. they may have had these targets surveilled for a long period of time. and they may have been emboldened. they might have thought this is the time to strike french interests inside of mali. we've been set up for this for a while. we did it a few months ago at another hotel. let's try it again. so i think that what we do have is a sort of competition, maybe even some envy and jealousy going on between groups. but they still have to do it within the operational timelines

much more expanded role in syria against bombers who struck france based in belgium. europe has a massive internal security problem and the president's message is don't pay attention to the security problem and don't discuss it and focus the war in syria who is largely irrelevant to the problem in paris, brussels, london, germany and elsewhere. >> as a former speechwriter, if the president is going to come home and he's going to have a meeting with holhollande, if hes going to address the american people, what would you say? >> you can't come up with words to make it a smart policy. the problem is the policy. speech writing is like any kind of writing. you begin with truth and you express it forcefully. if what you're trying to say is makes no sense. the speech writers are the first to know because they have to struggle with it. we do not want to talk about the internal problem in europe where a very substantial part muslim minority is radicalize i izized substantial amount of the minority are dangerous and we're going to launch bombs in syria on a bombing program that what is it

refugees from syria and iraq and that created a bit of a ruckus, his colleagues surrounded him on the floor and asked him to switch his vote since it would give them a veto proof majority and he will have a seat on the table and once an agreement was met, he switched his vote. i guess we'll see if it is worth the price of his conscience. >>> in the week since the attacks, one clear thing is emerging in the polls, trump is gaining ground and a well connected gop operative is planning a guerilla campaign to secretly destroy his campaign and before attacks he appeared to gain ground on ben carson and his rhetoric, which has been condemned as horrifying has helped with republican voters. haze lead in new hampshire is sizeable and marco rubio and ben carson in second place in that state. and ben carson has pretty clearly decline over the last couple weeks leaving senator rubio and cruz to continue duking it out in first place to be trump's main rival. and josh, i feel like we've entered a new phase here. there was phase one, which was trump dominance, phase 2 where it seemed he may be supl

syria. and russia has made a habit of going their own way, particularly when the word syria gets mentioned and russia initially proposed their own resolution and they might insist on getting their own resolution pased instead. but in the end, the russians did not put forward their own competing resolution and when this happened tonight, it was a unanimous vote and that is not exactly a best new thing in the world but that sort of international unionimity, that solidarity against terrorism is heartening. after this hell of a week that we have just been through. on friday, of course, it was paris, the death toll has now risen to 130 and on friday, another suicide bombing attack. this one in nigeria killed at least 42 people in the market place and then another suicide attack, this time a pair of suicide bombers who blew themselves up again at nigeria, this time it was at a market for cell phones and other electronics. that was in a northern nigerian city. and not only were the attackers thought to be female but one is thought to have been 11 years old. so, it will not come as a sur

syria isn't elaborating on his debate comment that china is involved there. >> i would have to refer you to some other people to get you the actual data. >> reporter: ted cruz and marco rubio seem to be gearing up for a face-off. this was cruz in new hampshire last night, on rubio and immigration. >> when the fight was being fought, where did you stand? >> reporter: rubio doubling down on tough talk against russia's leader. >> and that's what he is, he's a gangster. >> reporter: jeb bush, who held his own amid struggling numbers, is targeting donald trump's promise to send syrian refugees home. >> wow. i'm thinking, donald, to their slaughter? is that the america that represents this extraordinary country? >> reporter: division, highlighted in this week's debate, now playing out on the campaign trail. >> and that was nbc's tracie potts reporting for us from washington. >>> a university of missouri student will appear in court this morning, charged with making terroristic threats. amidst all the racial tensions there over the past week, 19-year-old hunter n. park was taken into custod

john. the pentagon says the drone attack happened last night in northern syria, in the isis stronghold of raqqah. jihadi john is a kuwaiti-born british militant seen in a number of isis propaganda videos that show the execution of westerners. right now a senior u.s. counterterrorism official tells nbc news there's, quote, no definitive proof yet that he was killed. nbc seas keir simmons is in london with the very latest on this developing story. >> reporter: shannon, good morning. u.s. officials saying that they targeted the man known as jihadi john in a drone strike overnight in the city of raqqah. that is isis de facto capital in syria. held by isis for some years now. now the drone strike, according to tweets coming from people in that city, hit around 11:00 local time overnight near the clock tower, these tweets say. and according to u.s. security officials, the drone strike specifically targeted a car that the man known as jihadi john was said to be traveling in. his real name is mohammed emwazi. he was to be a man who was originally from kuwait, but actually grew up in

isis in syria, while french police carry out nationwide searches for suspected islamist terrorists. >>> president obama is working with leader osen a coordinated response to the attacks and hunkering down with russian president putin. >>> tributes continue to pour in as americans get behind the french yet again. >>> plus the presidential candidates weigh in on keeping the u.s. safe. that and much more "first look" starts right now. good morning. i'm dara brown. the latest on the terror strikes in paris. france lauchblnched its piggest attacks against isis in raqqah, syria. officials with the french defense ministry said the bombing targets included a command post, jihad recruitment center, arms depot and training camp. the operation was carried out in coordination with u.s. forces. the french interior minister announced an emergency meeting in brussels this friday to coordinate action and response to the attacks. the french prime minister announced police are conducting searches of suspected islamic extremists across france at this moment. >>> the international community is coordin

center, and a recruitment center in syria. also, more raids overnight by french police here in france. across the country, 128 more raids, more guns seized. that brings a total of nearly 300 raids since saturday. also, more arrests, just in the past few minutes, belgian authorities have said they have made two more arrests in connection with the attacks in paris. both men are not believed to have been directly involved. may have been involved in some sort of planning. finally, it's back to work on the second day for people here in paris, still a day of mourning, with flags flying at half staff, 109 victims have now been identified. but 20 families are still waiting for official word. shannon? >> all right, kelly, thank you for that update. >>> and as international powers map out a strategy halfway around the world, there are new worries here at home. a new propaganda video that directly threatens an attack on washington, d.c. but there's no change of course for president obama. nbc's andrea mitchell reports. >> reporter: new isis video says america is next. the terrorist says,

. >>> meanwhile, russia steps up attacks on isis headquarters in syria, joining the air campaigns of france and the u.s. but is it too early to call it an alliance? >>> and politics on full display. president obama lashes out as republican leaders push back at his plan to resettle syrian refugees. it is 5:00 a.m. on the east coast, 2:00 out west, this is "way too early." >>> good morning, it is wednesday, november 18th, i'm chris jansing, reporting live from paris for this special edition of "way too early." it is now 11:00 a.m. here and all morning long, we have been watching elite french police and military conduct raids in the saint-denis neighborhood. i know many of you have traveled here before, so for reference, i'm at the place de la republique. we are due south of where these raids have been going on and those raids are very close to the stadium where some of the initial attacks took place. suspects are in custody. at least one is dead, another still holed up in a raid that began around 4:20 a.m. local time. the reported target of the raid, the so-called linchpin, or mastermind, abd

remain in paris? is he in france? or is he in syria? the man who has been called the mastermind. and if he is not that, certainly someone who had the wherewithal to organize these attacks by recruiting, he is a master recruiter for isis, and remains the most wanted. this was part of the scene we can show from yesterday where we saw the huge response by police here as they converged on that apartment in the saint-denis area just outside of paris. and, again, who are the other eight who they have arrested? clearly being interrogated. what information did they have? all of that still hanging out there, as we are 24 hours plus on the other side of that raid. the other question that remains is, what about that soda can that you showed? and could something that looks that simple bring down a jetliner? the picture that is published by purportedly isis is grainy, it is clearly an -- an ied, an improvised explosive device. could it be something that could wreak that kind of havoc? there are a series of raids going on now in brussels, and a question is, where is the bombmaker? someone who maybe c

and tears. a nation in shock. >> that was nbc's bill neely reporting. now to syria. isis claiming another victory following fresh clashes with government forces. new criticism is erupting in this country over the change in strategy in syria. kristen welker has more on what the candidates are saying about putting a small number of troops on the ground. >> reporter: isis militants are moving closer to were capturing a key western city in syrian, under skrorg scoring the broader. 50 special ops troops will will be sent to syria. their mission, to train, advise, and assist but not engage in combat. >> how is that not a change in strategy? >> our tragedy has been on building local forces to fight fights against isil for themselves in their own country. >> a president who vowed to wind down the wars in the middle east. with more troops headed to the region he will pass it on to the next commander in chief. for democrats, a measured response. secretary clinton saying she sees merit in the plan. vermont senator bernie sanders more difficult. >> my nightmare is once again the united states

one country to another undetected. far fewer americans have gone to syria to join isis, and return. police in europe are overwhelmed trying to track the estimated 5,000 people there who've been to syria and back. compared to what comey said is a number in the teens of people from the u.s. who've gone overseas, associated with isis, and come back. comey said the pace of attempts by people here to get to syria slowed in the past four months. and officials say muslims in the u.s. generally feel more welcome here, better assimilated that in europe. their cooperation has been important in alerting u.s. police to potentially suspicious behavior. >> that was pete williams reporting. >>> now to some more breaking news. former spy jonathan pollard is scheduled to be released from federal prison today. the former u.s. navy analyst was arrested in 1985 for spying for israel. he was sentenced to life in prison two years later. pollard, now 61, is expected to settle in new york, where he'll spend at least the next five years on parole. he said that he hopes to eventually emigrate to israel wher

he's sending enough troops to syria to fight isis. >> a group of 50 is fine for what they're doing so far, but it's not going to solve the problem. >> reporter: republicans want more boots on the ground. >> this is not a return to iraq, we're not talking about 100,000 people or 50,000 armed soldiers. >> reporter: the most controversial ideas from donald trump, waterboarding, a database to register syrian refugees and monitoring muslim mosques here in the u.s. >> we have no choice. we have no idea who is being sent in here. >> we shouldn't monitor anything, mosque, church, school, shopping center, where there's radicalization going on, we should. >> reporter: republican candidates disagree on how far to go. >> should we target mosques and have a database of muslims? absolutely not. >> the idea that we're going to repel an entire group of people on the basis of their religion, it's nonsense. >> reporter: it's far from settled. in washington or on the campaign trail. >> thank you, tracie. >>> despite controversial comments since the paris attacks, donald trump holds a commanding lead sti

of anyone who was in the warplane. russia is an ally of syria's assad, and has been helping with the battle against isis. this all comes as president obama prepares today to host french president francois hollande at the white house where they're expected to discuss efforts to defeat isis. and of, course, a major part of that will be the discussion over russia's role in this fight. this is all part of a diplomatic blitz by the french president who's trying to bolster international support as his country steps up air strikes following the terror attacks in paris. obama and aides have pledged an intensification of their existing strategy. hollande met with british prime minister david come ran yesterday and later this week will meet with leaders in germany, italy, and very important russian president vladimir putin. now mean time in a paris suburb, a discarded explosive belt, similar to those used by the terrorists, was found in the trash. investigators are reportedly analyzing it to see if it may have been used in earlier attacks. this all comes as authorities continue an internationa

to carry out a bombing run in syria. turkey says it was simply defending its border when an unidentified aircraft was warned repeatedly and failed to acknowledge and respond to those warnings. russia has responded furiously, accusing turkey of being in bed with terrorists. russia insists its plane was targeted by turkey in syria and is vowing some sort of punishment, vowing some sort of response. >> i think it's very important right now for us to make sure that both the russians and the turks are talking to each other, find out exactly what happened. >> reporter: in moscow, president vladimir putin was furious. this was a stab in the back by the associates of terrorists, he said. it certainly does escalate a very tense situation already, at a time when president obama and others are calling for more unity. richard engel, nbc news, istanbul. >> russia says it will terminate all military contact with turkey and they won't retaliate militarily against turkey but warned in the future it will shoot down anything that threatens one of its aircraft. >>> meanwhile french president f