Caught selling americas top secrets to israel. Jonathan pollard walked out of prison amid a heating debate over the damage hes done. Nightly news begins right now. Good evening. The deafening drum beat of terror struck in mali, in west africa today, and the state department has confirmed an american is is a mong the dead. 20 people were killed after a gunman burst into a hotel firing at all directions. At one point more than 100 people were held hostage, freed after a assault by government forces. It comes on the heels of several major terror attacks blames on isis, from the plane bombing in egypt to the attacks in paris. But this may bare the marks of an older foe. Richard engel has the latest. Reporter just a week after paris, another terrorist attack. In mali, targeting the capitals most luxurious hotel. An Al Qaeda Linked group, not isis, claiming responsibility. Mali swat teams cautiously approach the hotel. Inside, at least three gunman armed with grenades and assault rifles holding some 170 hostages, including about a dozen americans. The terrorists released those who could reprove prove they were muslims. A body under a blanket those who cant. They killed anyone, anyone who was moving, said the hotel staff. Upstairs, terrified hotel guests barricaded themselves in the rooms. Reinforcements arrives, helped by two american soldier forces who were nearby an joined the effort. The siege continued all day until Security Forces finally managed to overpower and kill the gunman and free the rest of the hostages. But by then, at least 19 hostages, including mali soldier were dead. The group claiming responsibility, an africa an jihadist association linked to al qaeda. There is to secret that al qaeda off shoots to continue to exist and metastasize in africa and that is why we are working in International Community to find back nbc news cant verify the claim but the group has attacked werners in mali before and fought the frenchbacked government of mali, a former french colony. This might not have been isis but now Islamic Militant groups are flying the flag of global jihad. Reporter u. S. Officials say the american killed worked for a nongovernmental organization. Lester, a peace conference was about to begin at the hotel which is why diplomats and military personnel was in the area. That highprofile event could have been explain the timing. All right, richard. It was one week ago tonight we came on the air with news of a series of Violent Attacks in paris. What we didnt know is the full extent of the horror unfolding. The ring lead ser now dead and as the manhunt for others possibly involved continues there are new developments in the investigation from the scene of wednesdays dramatic raid on a Terrorists Hideout outside of paris. Bill neely has new details. Reporter new video outside of the paris apartments stormed by police shows the moment a suicide bomber detonates. In the rubble, they found a third body, still unidentified. After examining it, police now say this woman killed in the raid was not the bomber, as they previously thought. They followed her to the apartment with the ringleader of the paris massacres, abdelhamid abaaoud. Today the man who led that raid described the terror group they faced. They shot just enough to be dangerous. We didnt see them. It was very difficult to know where they were. They knew what they were doing . Yes, exactly. Reporter he said the woman shouted to them, im scared. Im scared. They believed she wanted to trap them. Suddenly the suicide bomber detonates. A big flash and big lights an the building, it shook. The terrorists fired to the head. Bullets come came by this way and you could see the exits. So the bullet went through the helmet and came out here. Yes. He was very lucky. Yes. Very, very lucky. Reporter new images emerge for the paris massacres and sounds of the moment inside of the concert hall. [ gunfire ] reporter today that terrible screaming was replaced by silence. The rain falling hard on the faces of the dead. 130 now. At the concert hall where most victims died, they sang their national anthem, exactly a week after the killers struck. A song of courage amid terror. And police were storming this concert hall exactly a week ago a week that has changed france. The Aircraft Carrier now nearing iraq and syria, tripping its capacity to strike isis. Revenge for all of this. Lester. Bill neely in paris tonight, thank you. Here at home, the fallout from those attacks have been swift on the campaign trail. Heated rhetoric among the republican the frontrunner, donald trump, going so far as to say he would implement a data base to track muslims in america. The backlash has been intense as Hallie Jackson tells us tonight. Reporter today, after suggesting support for a data base tracking muslims in the u. S. , donald trump backtracking. Tweeting, i didnt suggest a data base. A reporter did. But trump isnt ruling it out. I would certainly implement that. Specifically, how do you get them registered. It would be Good Management. You have to do Good Management procedures and we can do that. Reporter now the backlash building, from muslims like this marine, his tweet going viral who said he already has special i. D. And from the first Muslim American in congress. So, i think that the historic record is clear, religious bigotry is bad. Its a wrong. Why would data bases not be the same jews to register in nazi germany. What would be the difference . Is there a difference between muslim and jews. You tell me. Critics say there is not much difference. Before the holocaust, jewish germans were singled out because of their religious and japz americans because of their race. And when they did not support political refugees entering the u. S. Polling now shows similar opposition to syrians. Today calling trumps remarks reminiscent of darker days in a gut check moment for his republican rivals. You are talking about closing mosques people. And that is just wrong. Donald trump but not a fan of government registries of american citizens. Reporter ben support it. Hopefully we have a data base on every here. Reporter donald trump now surging in the survey Monkey Online Poll taken attacks. The terror overseas raising the rhetoric here at home. This is a clash of civilization. Allow us to determine who the mad dogs are. I would encourage you, mr. President , come back and insult me to my face. Reporter tough talk, some call fiery, and others over heated. I think the rhetoric has gone too far. Reporter and while the islamic faith is the focus, tonight it is christianity. Seven republican candidates are attending. Many in the audience, seen as key to winning this voting state. Lester. Hallie, thank you. Lets bring in chuck todd. Chuck, the whole idea of a data base, it has chilling connotations. What is happening here. It has. I think in many cases we see what happens when the politics of fear mixes in with an actual fear of terrorism. I mean, you look at how our political discourse was conducted after the paris attacks, one week later and you cant help but wonder what would happen if god forbid, something happened here. Could our political stem as it is structured right now, could washington, could the media handle it in a sober way . Could we put ourselves above toll picks right now. Politically, it is clear that what has happened here is that donald trump is successfully con sky rocketed him to the top of the polls. And replace the word mexicans with muslim. So he has taken a National Security issue and turned it into an immigration issue. That has helped him. He has solidified himself again. I think a lot of us thought National Security would take over the campaign and become sort of a new test. Trump changed it and he is back to, in his successful lane and a whole bunch of candidates trying to catch him are now following him and they may pay a price. The party will, in a general election if they are not careful. Chuck, thank you. Well see you this weekend for meet the press. Much more on the fallout from paris and examining the questions so many people are asking, how do we defeat isis. One of the most emphasis skies in america was released. Jonathan pollard was convicted of giving suitcases classified material to the israelis and if he Stephanie Gosk reports, he wont call america home for much longer. Reporter jonathan pollack, convicted spy, sentenced to life in prison, is now a freeman. Can you comment . I cant. Released after 30 years in federal prison for handing over hundreds of thousands of sensitive documents to the israelis in the mid 80s. He is appealing the conditions of his fiveyear parole and hopes president obama grants clemency so he could move to israel. There is absolutely no logical reason to think he would throw his life away, risk going back to jail for the rest of his life, simply to disclose 31yearold stale information. A u. S. Citizen born in indiana, he was a officer in the naval service. This video obtained by nbc news shows him at a cubical stuffing so many documents in a suitcase, he actually struggles to close it. A mostly redacted cia Damage Assessment clues that the espionage put at risk important u. S. Intelligence and Foreign Policy interest. But for decades there has been a heated debate over the extent of the damage pollard caused. We spoke to the governments chief prosecutor in the case over skype. He had access to the highest caliber of intelligence. He stole it. He sold it for money. He was not remorseful. I would have been happy to have seen him rot in a federal prison zbrfrnlts but the Justice Department didnt object to his parole. Now critics worry what message his release is sending to the rest of the korld. Stephanie gosk. We are still a month out from winter. But tonight winter storm warning for the people in the midwest. Coming down in iowa, making for a dangerous commute. Chicago and detroit will see the first significant snow of the season tonight and into tomorrow. Some parts of the region could see up to a foot of snow. The cdc has warned that the e. Coli outbreak has spread to three more states. New york, california and ohio. One case in minnesota was reported earlier this week. The outbreak began in washington and oregon but the cdc has still yet to identify which specific food or ingreedent is making people ill. Still, attackers versus terrorists. The group anonymous. Wreaking havoc, now fighting on the same side of the u. S. Government it is so often targeted. But declaring war on isis propaganda. Believe it. At t and directv are now one. House, in a treehouse, or even in miss pepperpies house. Pause in your pjs and hit playr during a pb j. Nice and enjoy some cartoons instead of listening to dads car tunes. dad meet you all the way get the best of both worlds. Directv at home and 2 wireless lines. From directv and at t. dramatic music centrum brings us the biggest news in multivitamin history. A moment when something so familiar becomes something so new. impact on metal introducing new centrum vitamints. A multivitamin that contains a full spectrum of essential nutrients you enjoy like a mint. New centrum vitamints. Go to centrum. Com for a 4 coupon. Hey im here on the red carpet where our next arrival is. With jublia. Medicine used to treat toenail fungus. Use jublia as instructed by your doctor. 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Videos, the Hacker Group Anonymous said it is now on the government side. Declaring war on isis. We will retaliate, not with violence, but with our intelligence about hacking. Ed videos in many languages went viral, support. It is about sometime someone has a good, effective plan said one tweet. Keep up the fight. I hope the World Governments are doing their part offline said another. The target, the isis Propaganda Campaign on social media. Some anonymous members claim to have gotten accounts suspended with more than 100 isis websites shut down since the group first went after isis more than a year ago. But experts say making a dent in the isis social media machine wont be easy because banned accounts could be quickly renamed. Someone could easily change their name on twitter or facebook or the social media identity. It is whack a mole andin tesktive. But an expert said what anonymous is doing could be a useful nuisance. When you get harassed, you are let effective in doing your work. And so while they are recovering from the harassment, they are not doing as many bad things as before. The government welcomes anything that weakens terrorists but some dont want them taking off social media because it is a place where potential recruits could be tracked. Pete williams, nbc news, washington. Were back in a moment with a young veteran who wrote to us with concerns for his family, which now woman its been a journey to get where i am. And i didnt get here alone. There were people who listened along the way. People who gave me options. Kept me on track. And through it all, my retirement never got left behind. So today, im prepared for anything we may want tomorrow to be. Every someday needs a plan. This is brad. Knee pain, when. Hey brad, wanna trade the all day relief of two aleve for six tylenol . Whats the catch . Theres no catch. Two aleve for six tylenol . No. For my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve. 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Reporter the plains of gettysburg, pennsylvania, are haunted, to this day, by the deaths of more young soldiers than any other battle on american soldier. It is a rewarding career. But it is here where trucker and former soermd rich philip winds the local roads. He sees a change in the wind. I think Foreign Policy has become a huge benchmark for our candidates. He wrote to us out of concern for his family. What is the government going to do to keep us safe. The people want to know about today. Reporter the carnage in paris brought the horror of 9 11 in reality back to this town. Dwight thomas works in a local hotel. They are always going to retaliate against the United States and i think it is almost impossible to really think what they are going to do. Reporter in gettysburg and elsewhere, concern about the United States should do about isis is growing. We should help, but we should be i say secondary secondary. The french should take the lead. Reporter gina spent eight years above subs in the navy. Now she makes subs. And her dilemma, how to keep america safe without sacrificing values, especially when it comes to refugees. I was online trying to find a family i could help, because that is what america is about. Reporter rich philip believes compassion should be shown at home first. We have homeless veterans, people that are struggling and we need to take care of the american people. Reporter as winter approaches, stark, difficult choices are weighing heavily on the voters minds. Kevin tibbles, nbc news, gettysburg, pennsylvania. . If you would like americas correspondent to come to your town to talk about issues important to you in this campaign, send us a message on our facebook page. When we come back, the emotional letter from plan well and enjoy life. Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company, of course, how you plan is up to you. For more than what just medicare pays. 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Words instantly shared around the world. Why the letter did so much, because we all want to be hopeful for the word. Reporter a message that was also a love letter to his wife, written the day he identified her body. I saw her this morning, wrote. She was just as beautiful as when she left on friday night. Just as beautiful as when i fell hopelessly in love over 12 years he said he is like any father, now trying to comfort his 17monthold son. This is the pain, the missing he misses his mother. We are just two, my son and me, he wrote. But we are stronger than all of the armies in the world. For his whole life, this little boy will threaten you by being happy and free. And he has a message for all of us. Live life, dont let them win. Go play and listen to music and drink some beer. We are opportunistic, so lets go and play. Reporter tonight, people are strolling the streets, shopping, drinking wine, just as antwan hoped, bringing back life to the city of life. Nbc news, paris. And that will do it for us on a friday night. Im lester holt, for all of us here at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. Nbc news, thank you for watching and good