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President Barack Obama to Address Nation; Former President Carter Cancer Free; Father of San Bernardino Killer Tells Italian Newspaper Son Shared ISIS Ideology; CNN/ORC Poll: Terror Is Key Issue With Registered Voters; Candidates Talk Terror Ahead Of Obama's Address; Schumer: San Bernardino Shooting Is A "Wake Up Call"; Church Member Killed In San Bernardino Shooting; U2 Talks Terror Before Paris Shows. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 06, 2015 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[14:00:19] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Welcome. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We are following two breaking stories right now. The father of San Bernardino killer Syed Rizwan Farook, tells an Italian newspaper that his son shared the ideology of ISIS leader al-Baghdadi.

But first we are also just six hours away now from President Barack Obama giving a rare address to the nation on terrorism from the oval office. This comes at very crucial time, three weeks after the terror attacks in Paris and just four days now since the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. Investigators have evidence those attacks may have been indeed inspired by is. Obama will speak from the oval office. This is a very significant occasion and location. He has only spoken from the oval office twice in his entire presidency, to announce the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq, and then following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Let's now turn to Washington and go to CNN's Chris Frates. He is at the White House now.

So Chris, what can we expect from president tonight, and what's the explanation as to why tonight and why from the oval office? And what might the message be?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. Well, I think what the president is going to try to do is he is going to try to reassure a nation that is on edge probably the most it's been on edge since 9/11. And we are really looking for the president to do three things tonight. The first thing he wants to, do he wants to provide an update on the FBI investigation into the horrific shootings in California this week. We know that the FBI is looking at this as an about of terrorism, so we will be looking to see whether or not the president calls this terrorism tonight or not.

The other thing we are looking at is a broader discussion on terrorism. How has the threat evolved since 9/11? What is the government doing to protect Americans? The third thing we are going to see is the president reiterate his

conviction that ISIS will be destroyed, and we will look to hear if we have any more details on the strategy or anything new there to do just that.

And on "Meet the Press" today, attorney general Loretta Lynch talked about what the government has done since 9/11 and even, more importantly, since those Paris attacks to make sure that Americans are safe. Let's take a listen and hear what she had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORETTA LYNCH, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think he will talk about the actions that we have taken not just since 9/11 but since Paris to help keep the American people and American interests safe. You may hear him call on Congress to review measures to take action as well. I think what you are going to hear the president say is to call on the American people to pull out the best in themselves and not give in to fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: So there you have Loretta Lynch talking about the president calling on Congress for action. Now, we know the White House has called on Congress to do a couple things, one, to reform the visa waiver program that brings people in on waivers. They have also said we need to increase funding for aviation, and they have called on Congress to reauthorize the use of force against ISIS.

Now, all of this comes at a time, Fred, where it's a difficult political context for the president. Even before these attacks in California, we saw that the president's approval ratings on how he is dealing with terrorism have been below 50 percent. So he really needs to come and reassure the public about what he is doing, present a plan for how he is going to move forward, and we are going to see how he is going to do that tonight.

But as you pointed out, this is a really rare thing from the oval office, and he is using his pulpit to try to calm the jitters of a country that is hit by what the FBI is investigating as a terrorist act.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chris Frates. Thanks so much from Washington.

We are going to talk more about this right now on the president's response, his ideas about combatting terror. Let's talk now with Jason Johnson, political science professor at Hiram College and Larry Sabato, he is the director for the center of politics at the University of Virginia. Good to see both of you, gentlemen.

All right. So this isn't the first time the president has addressed the public, you know, of course from the oval office, nor talking about ISIS. So let's look back now, though, for a moment before we discuss what needs to be said today, what should be highly anticipated, in this now infamous interview from January 2014. Obama compared ISIS to a JV sports team saying quote "the analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a JV team puts on Lakers uniforms it doesn't make them Kobe Bryant." And here is how the president's response has since evolved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As I've said, rooting out a cancer like ISIL will not be quick or easy, but I'm confident that we can and we will.

We will degrade and ultimately destroy ISIl.

In Iraq, in Syria, American leadership including our military power is stopping ISIL's advance.

And we have contained them. They have not gained ground in Iraq. And in Syria, it -- they will come in, they will leave.

Destroying ISIL is not only a realistic goal, we are going to get it done.

Russia is going to recognize the threat that ISIL poses to its country, to its people, is the most significant and they need to align themselves with those of us who are fighting ISIL.

ISIL is not going to pose an existential threat to us. They are a dangerous organization like Al -Qaeda was, but we have hardened our defenses, our homeland has never been more protected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:06:05] WHITFIELD: All right. So, Jason and Larry back with me now.

So Larry, you first, will this be a continuation of the president and his demonstration of an evolution of how he believes the U.S. is responding to ISIL or ISIS, or will this be something very different?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER OF POLITICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Well, whether it is an evolution or not, the president clearly has to focus on terrorism and not other subjects like gun control. He forgot for a while, in fact starting right after Paris, that the fundamental power of the presidency is the power to persuade. So the fact he is having it in the oval office and has given so few addresses there will certainly grab attention. But less important than the location of the speech is what he says. He need to make news. He need to convince Americans that he is really focused on both international and domestic terrorism.

WHITFIELD: Jason, how do you see this? How does the president need to make news? Is this a new commitment, something more specific about strategy, any changes, more promise, what?

JASON JOHNSON, PROFESSOR, HIRAM COLLEGE: The first thing that President Obama needs to do is he needs to empathize. He needs to validate people's concerns. I think the problem is that the president has kind of had this attitude of, look, I know this is a problem, I know it is a problem, but, look, we have got this fixed, we have got this handled, they tear JV squad, et cetera. And the problem is he has never done a particularly good job of making Americans feel like he actually know what is they are afraid of and why. And that is why you see someone like say Donald Trump doing so well post terrorism because Trump speaks to those fears. So if the president can spend more time on that and less time on policy, that is the best and most important thing he need to do tonight.

WHITFIELD: Well, I wonder, Harry, if this is what we are about to see because this is coming just four days after what happened on U.S. soil in San Bernardino, California. The president would have to at least if not address it, perhaps even open his dialogue this evening with that. Wouldn't you think?

SABATO: Absolutely. I would think that that is the preface, an important preface to discussing his policy, not just what he is done, not just what he is doing now, but what he is going to do in the future to make sure that the San Bernardino situation doesn't happen again and again and again, which it might. And that is the fear that Americans have. And, you know, it's a perfectly legitimate fear. I think we all have it.

WHITFIELD: And, Jason, right before thanksgiving, the president delivered a speech where he reassured the American people that they were safe from any credible terror threats, and then just one week later gunfire erupted in San Bernardino. The FBI has not yet found any credible threats that could have prevented that attack, but is this still being perceived as a weakness in the U.S. fight against terror, that these two simply slipped through the cracks and were able to carry out this massacre?

JOHNSON: And, Fred, you are making a great point here. This is the bind that the president is in. Mr. Farook did not slip through the cracks. He was born here. So the president is in this difficult situation of saying I can keep you safe or I have to keep you safe, but the reality is that what these two people did, what this married couple did could actually be done by anyone in the United States at any time. People can buy weapons. And if they decide that they want to follow some ideology that is a death cult they can do it. And so, the president is in this unenviable position of trying to tell even he can keep us safe from something that on a practical level is almost impossible to do. And that is a very difficult task.

WHITFIELD: And the inference made on slipping through the cracks that they were able to gather as much arsenal and perhaps even have dialogue, coordinate so as to carry out a massacre like this, regardless of the fact that, you know, Farook was born in the U.S. and that his wife came on a fiancee visa.

So I wonder, Larry, you know, this poll we are about to see was taken right after the attacks in Paris on how Americans approve of President Obama's handling of terrorism. It dropped 29 points since May of 2011, before ISIS was gaining ground, and following San Bernardino. Do you think that it's even lower now? Will it have, you know, taken a hit as a result of what happened in California? [14:10:28] SABATO: Fred, that is my guess. I think it probably is

lower. But whether it's lower or not, his ratings were bad. This President Obama has got to recapture the president Obama that got Osama bin Laden. That is the tone he needs to communicate. This isn't about containing ISIS. It's about destroying ISIS and its influence even on these homegrown terrorists.

WHITFIELD: Larry Sabato, Jason Johnson, we are going to leave it there. We will talk again. Thank you so much.

So again, the president from the oval office this evening. Our special coverage of the president's address begins tonight, 7:00 eastern, with Wolf Blitzer. The president speaking at 8:00 eastern time. And then after that at 9:00 p.m., an all-star tribute to our CNN heroes.

All right. Straight ahead, more on our breaking news. The father of one of the California shooters is saying his son supported ISIS. The latest in the terror investigation next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:14:48] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. Breaking news in the terror investigation in San Bernardino, California. The father of the male shooter, Syed Rizwan Farook, is speaking out, saying his son was a supporter of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

CNN correspondent Polo Sandoval joining me now from San Bernardino.

So Pol, what is the father saying specifically?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, this is what he told this Italian newspaper is true, what essentially confirmed what so many people had suspected here that despite that Syed Rizwan Farook was in fact radicalized. In that interview with the Italian newspaper "La Stampa," the father of Farook essentially told the newspaper that his son quote "shared the ideology of al- Baghdadi to create an Islamic state and also was fixed on Israel. Of course, that is a reference to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS.

So at this point this is something that has been a working theory for investigators that the husband and wife were radicalized and began at one point planning out an attack, stockpiling weapons and explosives, and then eventually planned to execute an attack. Of course there is stale lot of speculation on whether or not that actual shooting that we saw on Wednesday was the intended attack or if this was perhaps a rush job at this point. That is something investigators are trying to find out.

But again, I think the headlines right now coming out of that Italian newspaper "La Stampa" is that the father of the male shooter involved in Wednesday's incident is essentially telling his side of the story here saying that he believes that his son was in fact radicalized and likely may have sympathized with is, which by the way is something that we heard over the weekend from the radio station in which the terror group called these two individuals martyr, supporters, and essentially followers of ISIS.

WHITFIELD: So Polo, before I let you go, real quick, did the father say he tried to intervene in any way? Did he express that he was concerned that his son was indeed, you know, swearing allegiance to ISIS?

SANDOVAL: Interesting you mentioned that word because that is what he used. He said that there was a concern among the family because he began to essentially tear away from the rest of his loved ones. Once he got married, they didn't get to see him a whole lot. In fact, he also echoed what we've heard from Farook's family the last couple days that many of them did not know or hadn't even met Tashfeen Malik, the wife, the female who opened fire here. But then, this is still a working theory. If anything what this article does from this Italian newspaper is it offers a window into the mind of who this individual likely was and why he may have acted the way he did on Wednesday.

WHITFIELD: Fascinating and disturbing.

All right. Polo Sandoval, let us know when you learn more about this.

All right. Joining me right now to discuss the investigation, Mitch Silber, he is the senior managing director at FTI consulting and a former director of intelligence analysis for New York police.

All right, Mitch. Good to see you. So the shooter's father now saying that indeed this young man, Syed Farook, was a supporter of the ISIS ideology. You heard Polo even say that there was some distance created between he and his family members. So if that is the case, what are the circumstances in which intelligence officials would miss all of that? Would they only know if a family member had reported it? If they hadn't, there is no other way of detecting?

MITCH SILBER, SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, FTI CONSULTING: Well, Fredricka, you know, what we are hearing is very consistent with what in 2007 the NYPD studied in the landmark report on radicalization in the west. One of the first signatures you see when someone is radicalizing is moving away from their families or cultural heritage, and there off has a divide between family members. So a mother, a father, a brother, sister, they are often the first ones to detect that their family member is moving away from them.

Now, the problem is they care about these people so they are hesitant to turn them in or go to law enforcement. And that may be one of the reasons why law enforcement and intelligence were unaware. The father is trying to turn around his son without going to the FBI.

WHITFIELD: So they are torn. That is one end. But then how about in a case where the family members were concerned enough that they would go to law enforcement? Would law enforcement be receptive of a suspicion or concern about someone's belief? Is that enough to actively do something if the person hasn't carried out anything more sinister than just having a belief?

SILBER: Well, that is right. It's a very subjective and difficult situation. Obviously having the belief in and of itself even being a fan of ISIS isn't against the law. It's when that belief and interest in ISIS turns to action. And it's often difficult to be there at that precise moment when someone turns from affinity and being a fan of that ideology to action.

And the other issue with family members is that if they turn over family member to law enforcement, you know, there is a good likelihood it's going to go toward a prosecution. And, again, that is another reason for family members to be hesitant. In the UK and European countries, they are experimenting with other channels where you can bring someone to law enforcement's intelligence and there is some type of almost intervention, pre-criminal case.

[14:20:12] WHITFIELD: We still don't know what information intelligence may be able to gather by the crushed -- the damaged phones found in a garbage can that believed to be associated with the two or even the hard drive that was removed from the computer, what they can still retrieve from that computer.

How much faith do you have that there will be incriminating information that could help support who may have lend a support to this couple or whether they may have been part of a network or whether they got this arsenal by other means or other groups?

SILBER: Well, I think there is a decent likelihood that among these different devices there is evidence that shows their connectivity to other like-minded individuals. I think that is most likely where we are going to be able to find, you know, how did they interact with other people who were supporters of ISIS? And probably one of the things that they wanted to cover up as well as potentially some exchange of trade craft, that type of information.

WHITFIELD: OK. And now that the investigation is continuing and, you know, the president will be speaking this evening from the oval office. What are you hoping to hear yourself from the president tonight as it pertains to the advancement of this investigation or perhaps any efforts to try to weed out anyone else who may be influenced by ISIS on American soil?

SILBER: Well, to some degree I think the administration has been hampered, but what I like to call the Voldemort problem. If you are a fan of the Harry Potter books, this is the name that could not be uttered.

One of the challenges for the administration has been to talk about what is the type of ideology that is actually mobilizing these people to action? And I think unless we can talk about and start to put some detail around what that ideology is, that it's tough to rebut it and tough to identify it before it turns to violence.

WHITFIELD: All right. Mitch Silber, senior managing director at FTI consulting, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

SILBER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, more on the San Bernardino mass shooting investigation. But next, breaking news about former president Jimmy Carter's health. A stunning announcement that he made to his Sunday school today. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:26:14] WHITFIELD: All right, this breaking news which is quite incredible. Former president Jimmy Carter announcing he is cancer- free. Carter who is 91, made the announcement today at his Sunday school class.

Our Nick Valencia has been speaking to members of the congregation to get their reaction.

All right. So, Nick, you have spent time at that church. You know, you got a chance to report. We all learned from you when he conducts his Sunday service and they shared then that he had cancer and his outlook. And now this incredible news.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, this has to be the news of the day. Talk about elation being not strong of a word enough. People are saying miracle. President Carter, the former U.S. president, announcing at the start of Sunday school (INAUDIBLE) church that he is cancer free. It was an unexpected announcement. We caught up with the church leadership shortly after that announcement was made. They talked to us about the reaction of carter saying he is cancer free.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Totally unexpected. We knew that he was in Atlanta this week, but he said that he had a scan, I'm assuming from Emory, and that it showed no cancer. So, you know, I had a grin on bigger than even President Carter's grin. And the church erupted in applause. And I went running down the back halls to tell the folks who didn't get to hear him that no cancer was showing up. We have been praying hard, but we didn't know that -- we just didn't imagine that it could be gone and a miracle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: God.

VALENCIA: Yes. A lot of people calling it a miracle, Fredricka. And a lot of people were very worried, very concerned especially this summer when Carter announced that he had cancer, a small mass removed from his liver. Doctors then saying that found four spots of melanoma on his brain. And of course, the history that the Carter family has, his father died from cancer, all his siblings died from pancreatic cancer. And then of course, his age. He was 90, now 91. A lot of people feared the worst that this would be, you know, the worst for Carter. But now we are hearing the he is cancer free.

WHITFIELD: And he almost seemed during that press conference at the Jimmy Carter center, it seemed that he was even -- he was making peace with the fact that there was this malignancy and he may not have much longer to live. But he was still willing to go on with his projects. But he also mentioned at the time an experimental treatment. So is this part of the answer? VALENCIA: Well, it would be -- you know, maybe that is part of the

miracle. He did mention in a statement he released to the media this drug, (INAUDIBLE). I will read the statement here part of that saying, my most recent MRI brain scan did not reveal any signs of the original cancer spots nor any new ones. I will continue to receive regular three-week immune therapy, treatment of pembrolizumab. And as Fredricka mentioned, this was an experimental drug just approve by the FDA back in 2014. President Carter was taking it intravenously. And you know, we probably should get some doctors on to talk about this and see if this potentially could have led to this cancer this-free announcement.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I know you have been reaching out to quite a few doctors that are involved in this and beyond. So we are hoping that they are listening to our plea.

VALENCIA: Come on CNN.

WHITFIELD: That's right. All right, Nick. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

VALENCIA: Thanks, Fred. You got it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, terrorism is now the number- one issue with registered voter. Candidate from both parties are now telling Americans what they would do to destroy ISIS next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Tonight President Obama will give a rare address from the oval office on terrorism. This comes in the wake of the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, that killed 14 people.

Investigators have evidence those attacks may have been inspired by ISIS. Obama is expected to provide an update on the FBI investigation there, discuss the threat of terrorism in the U.S., and reiterate his pledge that ISIS will be defeated.

Tonight's speech will be only the third time in his entire presidency that he has addressed the nation from the oval office. And you can watch it right here live on CNN at 8:00 Eastern Time. Our coverage is beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Terror has become the number-one issue with registered voters according to a new CNN/ORC poll. Ahead of the president's address to the nation tonight, candidates went on the Sunday talk shows giving their opinions on fighting ISIS and terror in the wake of the California attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are definitely in conflict with ISIS, and I think we need a new update of military authorization. The AUMF, which was passed after the attack on 9/11, should be brought up to --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not declare war?

CLINTON: Well, declare war is a very legal term, as you know so well. I think what we want to do is make sure we have every tool at our disposal to, number one, destroy their would-be caliphate in Syria and in Iraq. Number two, do everything we can to dismantle this very effective, virtual jihadist network that they are using on the internet.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've got a growing crisis on our hands in the Middle East with ISIS. So I think it's important that the president begin to outline how they're going to be defeated. Air strikes alone aren't going to do it, certainly not the limited air strikes that are happening now.

Apart from air strikes there must be a ground force put together to continue front them and it must be made up primarily of Sunni Arabs from the region, including Iraqis and Syrians but also a contribution of troops from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt. The UAE has expressed some willingness to provide ground troops to such an effort.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, joining me from Virginia, Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

All right, so Larry, you heard two of the candidates, Clinton saying updating a military authorization is one route. You heard from Marco Rubio talking about the president and a need to outline a strategy that involves both air and ground forces.

[14:35:07]Do you expect that the president will be that specific about military operations tonight from the oval office?

SABATO: Fred, I doubt it. It's so much easier to be a candidate for president than to be president. A president's responsible for all of the consequences that come from every action, whereas candidates of course can propose anything and bear no responsibility for the consequences. That's one of the advantages of being a candidate.

WHITFIELD: OK. And underscoring that, let's talk about Donald Trump and his point of view here, because a new CNN poll showing that among Republicans Donald Trump is far away considered the best to handle ISIS at 46 percent. And this morning Trump has some advice for President Obama on fighting ISIS. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, we are having a tremendous problem with radical Islamic terrorism. I mean, you can say it or you don't have to say it, and we have a president that won't issue the term. He won't talk about it.

So we're having this tremendous radical Islamic terrorism, okay. A lot of people don't even want to say it. Not a lot of people. We have one person I really know of called President Obama. Until he admits this is a problem we're never going to solve the problem. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Larry, your point of view on that, is it about semantics, language?

SABATO: There is a kind of semantical fetish in the Obama administration about using the term, Islamic terrorist. Trump's great advantage is not just being a candidate, not responsible, it's also that by his very nature he comes across as extremely tough.

And in the wake of Paris and San Bernardino, that's actually what post people want. And the president may have learned a little from this. He may show that tonight.

Let me tell you something, Fred, you know this, from all the speeches given before by empting presidents, whatever President Obama says the Republicans won't like it. It will not go far enough. They will have another approach, and that's, again, the advantage of being the out of power party.

WHITFIELD: And I wonder in answer to that kind of criticism coming, you know, from that candidate and maybe other candidates on the GOP, the president needing to sound more firm, more authoritative on it and with specificity?

SABATO: That's absolutely the case. The president has got to go far beyond the comments that he's made so far, really ever since Paris. He's focused more on gun control than he has on terrorism. And right now people want to hear about terrorism and what he's going to do about it, both the international version and the domestic version.

WHITFIELD: And what about as it pertains to the candidates? Do you see that now the campaign trail will be dominated by discussions about terror, foreign affairs, et cetera?

SABATO: For the time being it's going to be, particularly on the Republican side. Now there is 11 months to go until the general election, we know how the agenda can change pretty rapidly. For the time being and for the initial caucuses and primaries on the Republican side, I think you're going to see a lot more discussion about national security and foreign policy than you will about domestic policy.

WHITFIELD: Larry Sabato, thank you so much. Appreciate it, from Charlottesville, Virginia.

Straight ahead, Americans on the U.S. terror watch list cannot fly, but apparently can buy a gun. Senator Chuck Schumer wants to change that by closing the terror gap on background checks. What that means next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:42:20]

WHITFIELD: All right. The mass shootings in Paris and San Bernardino, California, in connections to ISIS have heightened Americans' thoughts about security. Several politicians are demanding action to try to ensure everyone's safety here at home.

Today, New York Senator Chuck Schumer called for another Senate vote to close a loophole that allows people on the terror watch list and no-fly list to purchase guns and explosives in the U.S.

CNN correspondent, Cristina Alesci, was there covering that announcement for us. So Cristina, give us more details.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is not just a hypothetical situation. Chuck Schumer came to this press conference with some real statistics. He said about 2,300 people over the last ten years that were on that terror watch list applied to get weapons, and 90 percent of them actually were successful in getting -- in buying a gun.

So he's very adamant about seeing this loophole closed. Obviously, the opponents are going to say, look, that wouldn't have necessarily prevented this situation in the shooting in San Bernardino because though shooters were not on the terrorism watch list, so that is what the opposition is going to say in this case.

WHITFIELD: And you spoke to John Miller, deputy commissioner for Counterterrorism and Intelligence for New York City. What did he have to say?

ALESCI: He said it's a commonsense thing to do. This law should be passed. He was very much in favor of it. I asked him if New York City had changed its approach or added resources since San Bernardino. Listen to what he had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MILLER, NYPD DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, INTELLIGENCE AND COUNTERTERRORISM: Things we've built out over the last year and a half and the shootings in San Bernardino didn't tell us we need to change anything. It served so remind us that the changes we've been making are going in the right direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALESCI: And, look, they held this press conference in the middle of a very crowded area. It's the Bryant Park area in New York City where there's obviously a skating rink in the background to show that these areas are secure.

And what John Miller is talking about is the NYPD's efforts over the last year and a half to really enhance the anti-terrorism task force and capability that they have. They've trained more officers on how to handle active shooter situations.

Also more officers are now armed with a similar kind of rifles and, you know, assault-style weapons that these shooters are using. So from that standpoint he said, look, we always would love more resources, but you know, we're in pretty good shape right now. [14:45:03]And the presence of our Hercules team, the specialized team to deal with this, has been increased and we hope that functions in part as a deterrent.

WHITFIELD: All right. Cristina Alesci, thank you so much for that, in New York.

Straight ahead, a California church struggling with a huge loss today, one of their members was a victim of the San Bernardino shootings. Next, more about who she is and her ties to the church.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:51:00]

WHITFIELD: A church just outside of San Bernardino, California, is grieving. One of the Inland Medical Center shooting victims was a regular at St. Catherine of Siena Church.

Our Dan Simon attended a service this morning and he joins us now us from Rialto, California. So Dan, how are religious leaders there addressing this tragedy?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Obviously, faith can be important to many people during a time like this. And nowhere is that more evident than at this church, the St. Catherine of Siena Church in Rialto, California, less than ten minutes from where the shooting took place.

One of the victims who died during this attack was 27-year-old Yvette Velasco. She attended this church regularly with her family. She was a health inspector for the county.

Her family said in a statement that she was intelligent. She was motivated. She was a beautiful young woman who was loved by everyone who knew her.

As you can imagine today, church clergy addressing what is on everybody's minds -- the anger, the hurt, the feeling of hopelessness, and ultimately how to heal. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REVEREND ROGELIO GONZALEZ, ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA CHURCH: This week we have been witness of how evil can touch anyone anywhere, any given moment. There are questions, how can something like this take place? How can I reconcile my faith with what's happening? Why will god allow something like this to take place?

REVEREND STEVEN PORTER, ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA CHURCH: This is hard for me to do this because I'm angry at the moment. It's hard for me to do this. But the thing I'm saying to them and saying it to myself as well is that even the Muslims are my brothers and sisters, and we must love the Muslim people as much as we love Catholic people or Jewish people or even atheist people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: All across this community today in various churches similar words no doubt are being echoed. Fredricka, one interesting twist to all this that we should point out is that the shooter, Syed Farook, as we know, he worked as a restaurant inspector and he actually inspected the kitchen facilities at this church.

It took place actually not that long ago. Actually gave them the highest rating, in fact, and I can tell you that people who interacted with Farook, the shooter, say they didn't see anything negative that stood out. Just one of these crazy twists to the story.

WHITFIELD: Also perplexing. Thank you so much, Dan Simon. Appreciate it.

Next, two men who have become icons in popular music talk about confronting terrorism. CNN sits down with Bono and the Edge of U2 before they take to the stage in Paris.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think of music as the sound of freedom. We think that rock 'n' roll has a part to play.

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[14:57:40]

WHITFIELD: Right now in Paris, U2 is on stage. The tonight's show was scheduled for day after the Paris terror attacks. Tonight on stage with them is the band Eagles of Death Metal, the band playing in Paris the night of the attacks.

CNN's Fareed Zakaria talked to U2 lead singer, Bono, and guitarist, The Edge, and he asked what it was like to be in Paris on that night.

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BONO, U2 LEAD SINGER: It was obviously awful and chaotic and you immediately think of who know your crew and who's out in the city and the Eagles of Death Metal because they were still locked in at that time.

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "ZAKARIA GPS": The band playing at the Bataclan, where the largest number of people died.

BONO: We tried to help them the next day, tried to find them a plane to get out. The best way we could help them was finding their phones because their phones had been left in the venue and the venue had been sealed off. They were at a police station and back in the hotel. It turns out that was the most useful thing we did, find them some phones.

ZAKARIA: In a way this was an attack on the kind of life you guys represent, right? I mean, an attack on rock music, the single largest place where the people died was a rock concert.

THE EDGE, U2 GUITARIST: It seemed like the target was cultural and every kind of expression of the best of humanity, great, you know, music, restaurants, French food, everything that was -- that we hold dear seemed to be the target.

Of course, France is also the birth of the enlightenment movement, which gave birth to America. It's like the place where the modern western world was born. So I think the thing that we have to hold onto now in the aftermath is that we are not wrong.

The instant to start doubting, you know, these values and these ideas, it's like we're right, we're right, and that's why we're so determined to get back to Paris as soon as we can.

ZAKARIA: Did you think about even playing the next day? Was it even possible?

BONO: We had hoped we could play the next day, but then it dawned on us to just give up on that.

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WHITFIELD: We have so much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, and it all starts right now.