france's president and says he wants his country to join in the air strikes against syria. >> on friday, the united nations unanimously backed action against isil in syria and iraq. later this week, i will set out in parliament our comprehensive strategy for tackling isil. i firmly support the action that president hollande has taken to strike isil in syria, and it's my firm conviction that britain should do so, too. >> and this is only a test, at least for now. new york city carries out an anti-terror drill and they ramp up security across the country as americans relive the jitters of post 9/11. let's start in brussels. a city at its highest security in years, bracing for an imminent threat. fred flanpleitgen is there with more. >> there were some major raids that went on here in brussels over the past 24 hours. netting at least 21 subjects. that was announced here by the authorities a couple hours ago. i want to give you a little bit of the scene around here. there really is a military deployment here on the streets in full force. you can see these troop carriers that have been around for the better part of the day. there are soldiers patrolling the streets, a lot of cops patrolling the streets, as well. as you've said, the subway is on lockdown. the schools are not open. also, quite frankly, a lot of people not going to work. a lot of shops not opening, as well. simply because on the one hand, people don't know what to do with their kids because the schools are closed, but also because they are, of course, afraid to go out because of the security situation here. it certainly is the case that this city is under at least a virtual, de facto state, of lockdown, as the man hunt continues for salah abdeslam. of course, the raids we've been seeing over the past couple days, also aimed at trying to catch him. the authorities believe he might be somewhere here in the greater brussels area. again, at this point in time, they say they're simply not sure. that's why you're seeing raids in many places, in brussels and other towns, as well. >> fred pleitgen reporting live from belgium. france launched the first air strikes from the charles de gaulle. after the paris attacks, france scrambled the ship to the mediterranean to pound targets in iraq and syria. president obama welcomes france's president to the white house tomorrow to talk about the coalition, to bring down isis. >> they're a bunch of killers with good social media. the most powerful tool we have to fight isil is to say that we're not afraid. >> president obama's tougher talk may not be resonating with many americans. they are anxious, quite frankly. 19% of americans trust their government always or most of the time. disturbing when isis is threatening to strike here. a "washington post"/abc poll taken after the paris attacks, 83% said they thought a terror attack in the united states was very likely or somewhat likely in the near future. this is what it looked like in atlanta last night. police protecting people from a dubious threat at phillips arena. the group anonymous claiming isis was targeting a wwe event. the fbi found absolutely no evidence of that. still, this show of fire power and defiant fans. >> they want us to hide behind the curtain in fear and i'm not going to let that happen. we're a free country for a reason. come out and do our thing. >> i pride myself on being a vigilant person, so i'm being very cautious. any time i'm in a group setting, i'm cautious. more so now. looking for exits, being completely honest, and aware of my surroundings at all time. >> we were coming no matter what. >> that's right. paid good money for these tickets. we have to make it. we're here. >> got to love their t-shirts. isis fears ambrose, who is a wwe fighter. in chicago, a southwest flight to philadelphia was delayed because one passenger complained about being afraid to fly with two palestinian men. both had been in the united states for 15 years. they were finally allowed on the flight after going through security again. here in new york, preparations are underway for thursday's annual macy's day thanksgiving parade. deborah is here for the security angle. >> over the weekend, the nypd had a big tactical drill with long guns, the assault rifles, because although, as the fbi says, there's no sort of credible threat, a propaganda video is not credible intelligence, clearly, there is a threat. law enforcement is taking precautions in the meantime. what you're watching now, you see the long guns, those are assault rifles. those rifles give police much better access, much better accuracy. they're stronger, clearly. they may not be the first ones to arrive on scene. it may be a police office we are a block. these are the people who will respond within minutes if there is an active shooter situation. the goal, as you see here, is these men and women, they move towards the sounds of gunfire. they have to neutralize the threat and neutralize it as quickly as possible. it takes a couple of minutes for a gunman, a triggerman, to keep shooting. that's what they're trying to counter. it's very real, very serious, but the nypd knows about it. they've planned this for a year. they're going to be ready. this is what we're seeing now, certainly here in new york, because of the fact it's a threat, is there is an increase militarization. you can't deny it. now, they're not only up against possible active shooters, but people who may have a device like a suicide belt. that's what isis has threatened. again, the nypd saying we're here, we've got your back and we'll do what we're trained to do, supposed to do. but you have to be cautious. over the weekendweekend, everyb talking about an exit plan. where's the exit door? how will you get out? >> i went to dinner at a nice restaurant near the museum of natural history. before i could go into the restaurant, i had reservations, they checked my bag. it's never happened to me in new york city, even after 9/11. >> right. that's the new paradigm. one of the nypd officers i spoke to say, in america, we check bags going out of malls. now, we'll check them going into l malls. we have to be aware of that. you don't know who might walk in with something. doesn't mean to be to exit in a climate of fear. it means you have to exist in a realistic climate. >> i ran through central park and saw a man running with an american flag. i'm like, you go. it was awesome. deborah, thanks so much. the department of homeland security confirming five syrian refugees have turned themselves in at the texas border. officials say the group, which includes a man, woman and child, were part of a family that arrived in loredo on friday. the group was handed over to officials for processing. records show no ties to any terror group. this is the second time in one week a syrian family has presented thepresent ed themselves at the loredo entry point. as close as you can get to isis headquarters, cnn is there. our report from the front lines in syria, next. some cash back cards love to overcomplicate things. like limiting where you earn bonus cash back. why put up with that? but the quicksilver card from capital one likes to keep it simple. real simple. i'm talking easy like-a- walk-in-the-park, nothing-to-worry-about, man-that-feels-good simple. quicksilver earns you unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere. it's a simple question. what's in your wallet? kurdish fighters in syria moved within sight of the isis stronghold of raqqah. from their trenches 20 miles away, they can see and hear the bombardment of the city by coalition air strikes. u.s. special forces are giving them training and equipment as they prepare to advance. our cnn senior international correspondent nick paton walsh traveled to the kurdish front line to see the situation firsthand. >> reporter: after paris, the sinai in the crossha-hairs is here, raqqah. lost in the haze, yet, they can hear it. loud thuds, heaviest at dusk. three days ago, says this man, we saw 14 air strikes suddenly hit just nearby. then the french said they started bombing. we'll do our best to avenge paris. he, like the other young kurdish fighters here, lost friends, but say fighting isis is a duty for humanity, rather than vengeance, as they man a series of trenches and outposts 20 miles from the city. we have heard the distant thuds of what could have been two air strikes. from where we're standing, here is the kurdish front line, trench dug as far as we can see, and then all in this direction, flat, open land until you reach the outskirts of raqqah, the capital of isis' self-declared calipha caliphate. four air strikes hit today, but otherwise, it's the silence of the desert. this man carries the ak-47 of his friend who died eight months ago. out here, in the flat, open ground, with isis in the next village, they still scorn isis' leaders, and welcome help. if french, russian or american fighters, this commander says, come here to fight, we'll cooperate with them, as we are all fighting to clean the area of isis for humanity. isis left their mark on nearby an locations. the mosque littered with mines. the silence here is breathtaking. this is directly the road down to raqqah. you can just hear the complete absence of human life. there is little in victory left to fight for. on the way out, we meet these guys, not looking like white knights, but that's what the pentagon hopes they are. syrian forces getting american aid saying they've secured sunni tribes to fight isis. we weren't expecting this large number to join, but there are now 4,000 tribesmen, he says. when we want to move, all of them are ready and we've already managed to sneak weapons to them. we're moving forwards. western leaders call this a global fight, but here, you feel the dust, death and determination. >> amazing report. nick paton walsh joins us live frommer bi erbil, iraq. does anyone know what's going on in raqqah, syria? >> little information about the impact of the strikes. we hear from activists, large buildings are hit, but questions are asked as to how the targets, after the u.s. being in the skies over the city for months, looking for targets to hit, how suddenly, what must be dozens became available in the last week or so. concerns about civilians, as well. we know isis are presenting people from leaving. they have done that in the past. there have been suggestions some are tried to leave. it's hard to work out the reaction on the ground. isis released videos that suggests civilian targets have been struck. clashes have been occurring in the last 24 hours in the area you were seeing in that report. it seems as though isis may have launched an attack on those kurdish positions, but also, coalition air strikes, four of them since, hiing in th insitti area. you see the terrain. it's hard for either side to move forward in the area. but coalition air power can be making a difference in keeping isis back from the occur tikurd trenches. >> amazing reporting. thank you. many americans fearing isis could strike at home. the pope recently said the paris attacks are part of a, quote, piecemeal world war iii. is it time for cool heads and not hot rhetoric? the mayor of new jersey calls donald trump shameful for saying american muslims cheered as the twin towers came tumbling down on 9/11. >> people were cheering on the other side of the new jersey where you have large arab populations. they were cheering at the world trade center was coming down. it might not be politically correct to talk about it, but there were people cheering as the buildings came down. that tells you something. it was well covered at the time, george. i know they don't like to talk about it, but it was well covered at the time. there were people in new jersey watching it, heavy arab population. >> all right. no one could remember that. no one. new jersey governor chris christine couldn't remember it. still, he skirted the issue, telling a reporter on sunday, quote, i do not remember that. so it's not something that was part of my recollection. i think if it had happened, i would remember it. but there could be things i forgot, too. i don't remember that, no. to be clear, there are no reports, no reports, and no video that matches trump's claims. let's talk about this. cnn military analyst is here. i'm also joined by cnn political commenta commentator, a political anchor at new york 1 news. welcome to both of you. >> good morning. >> general, is such rhetoric helpful in the fight against isis? >> not at all, carol. i can tell you from times when i was in combat and some politicians or some reporters would say things that we knew were contrary to the truth and, in fact, debilitating. even when bad things do happen, the continual drum beat on something like this would cause challenges to the campaign plan. they certainly are. especially when they're not truthful. many reports have shown that the "new york times" and both local television stations in the new jersey areas have done an extensive scrub on this information. there are no indicators that this ever happened. again, this is mr. trump stoking fear, which is not helpful to the commanders on the ground or those who are trying to execute a campaign plan against isis. >> but even chris christie couldn't bring himself to definitively say no, that's not true. why? >> you'd have to ask governor christie. in the back of your mind, you might perhaps think, well, maybe there's video i don't know about. that's probably the kindest interpretation. do donald trump is forceful about it. saying, thousands and thousands. he said to george stephanopoulos, it was well reported at the time. not by the "washington post," not by the associated press. they all conducted investigations to try to figure out what, if anything, happened. there was even a report, carol, about a federal investigator going to look, because there were rumors going around this had happened. they couldn't substantiate it. let's keep in mind, donald trump has a curious relationship to the truth. he's never renounced all of the things he spouted years ago and said other things that are plainly false. things like, john mccain wasn't a war hero. three years in captivity and so forth. so donald trump is not dealing in facts the way candidates normally do. he sort of gets away with murder, so to speak. any other serious candidate, front runner for a nomination, anybody as sort of key to the whole process as he has, because of the position he holds in the polls, would be held to serious account. i think all we can do is put forward that this is yet another case where he is saying something we know is not true. >> general, in the military, you deal in facts, correct? >> right. >> but people these days don't really want to believe facts or data from the government or from the fbi or from the police. >> yeah. >> they just want to believe stuff out there that people say. >> that's the important piece of who we are and what we do. depending on our values, trying to bring a little calm to all this, carol, there are some things we can do, some things we shouldn't do. one of the things we shouldn't do is stoke fears. we should approach this in a measured way. other governments are doing that. i think, as i said before, none of this is helpful to the campaign. in fact, it runs quite contrary to defeating isis. it plays into their dialogue and what they want people to believe, countries across the globe feel about them. this stokes the fear, but it also stokes their passion there, isis' passion, to deliver more horrible acts. it just plays into their dialogue, saying, see what the west feels about it? they hate us all, so let's continue to attack. again, all i'd say from a commander's perspective, a military inter speperspective, not helpful. it's debilitating to what we're trying to do. >> i would suppose mr. trump would disagree and say what's needed now is tough talk, the toughest talk possible. so is it that, or is it about mr. trump's desirecttracts a cef the population who believes that. >> a certain portion of the population will believe whatever he says because they like him. he's not ranked highest for being trustworthy but he's in the lead. he isn't rated highest for the experience to run the government but he's in the lead. people like him for reasons other than he's honest and trustworthy and has the experience. he likes to promote his poll numbers. let's look at all of them. we know he is very popular with people who don't have a college degree. more so than with republicans who do have a college degree. lesser educated republicans who love donald trump for reasons other than his honesty, other than his experience. you combine that with the statements he never renounced. like the current president wasn't born in the united states. you have an odd and unusual candidate who is the republican front runner. >> thanks to both of you. >> thank you. still to come, mali in mourning and in a state of emergency after that deadly hotel attack. we'll have the latest from there, next. i'm only in my 60's. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. 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[ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now - and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. countries around the world are on high alert over terror fears. brussels in a terror alert, setting a serious and imminent threat. the french extending their state of emergency follows the paris attacks. in west africa, mali has declared a state of emergency in the wake of a deadly rampage on a luxury hotel. the united nations says at least 22 people died in that siege. cnn's david mckenzie has been talking with survivors. he joins me live from the capital. good morning. >> good morning, carol. yes, some days after this horrible attack here at the radisson hotel behind me in bamako, mali, there have been incredible tales of survivor and people managing to barricade themselves in for hours, as they went through on that murderous rampage. i spoke to an american specialist from the centers of disease control. she believes she was going to make it home. >> i e-mailed my husband and i just -- i said something like, there is something going on, and i want you to know that i love you. then when -- a few hours later when the fire down the hallway, i wrote another e-mail and said, i do believe there are shooters here. if i don't make it, i want you to know that i love you. and my family and my cdc. but i am coming home. i do this because i love doing this work. where we are in the world, we need to continue on. >> you're committed to the work, no matter what? >> no matter what. this wasn't about mali, it's about what i call idiots. >> when the signal came, what went through your head? >> oh, gosh, i'm so glad to see you guys. i don't know much french, but i could say merci beaucoup. merci beaucoup. i said it down the hall and i'll say it again. these guys, every one i mentioned, put their lived on the line for me that day. i so appreciate that. there is a group of people who didn't make it out, and my heart goes out to their families. but i believe they were here doing what they love and what they're committed to. if that day were to come for me, someone would be saying that about me, as well. >> she's deeply thankful, carol, to the malian special forces who came in quickly, managed to save more lives and the american security teams in constant contact with giving her instructions. she said her training, the way she locked the door behind her put some barricade around her. didn't go when people knocked on the door until the secret code came. that's why she's alive today. >> david mckenzie reporting live for us this morning. good morning. i'm carol costello. thanks so much for joining me. senator marco rubio will be hosting a town hall this hour in carol, iowa. new poll showing the presidential candidate has had one of the best months in terms of the points gained. he's tied for third with ted cruz, after jumping five percentage points since october. but he's going to have a lot more to catch up with donald trump, who is holding on to a double digit lead in new polls by fox news and the "washington post" and abc news. trump's strong numbers come as the millionaire rackets up his rhetoric about american muslims. saying there's precedent for monitoring mosques amid the terror wave. athena jones is live in washington with more on the polls. good morning. >> good morning, carol. it looks like his heated rhetoric, trump's, is serving him well so far. there were a lot of questions after the paris attacks about how the attacks might reshape the republican race. would primary voters begin to give the candidates a closer look, begin to gravitate toward someone with political experience or foreign policy experience, to be more specific? it looks like right now, the case -- that's not the case. trump is still on top. carson is still in second. this comes as this new "washington post"/abc poll shows that 83% of registered voters say they fear another terrorist attack. so that is the background against which trump is performing so well. this poll also found that republican primary voters feel that trump would do best when it comes to handling the threat of terrorism. it's possible that some of his tough talk may be part of the reason he's doing so well. take a listen to what he had to say on abc's "this week" about surveilling mosques. he was talking about being a precedent in the city of new york that was changed after bill de blasio came into office. take a listen. >> i don't want to close mosques, i want to surveil mosques. i want them august vail surveil. the people in the mosques, they know who the good ones are and the bad ones are, but they don't talk. we have to surveil the mosques. we were doing it. >> there you hear him arguing for surveilling mosques. he's also talked before large crowds saying, if i become president, we'll kick out any of the syrian refugees who have been admitted. the crowds where i've seen him speak seem to respond to that. i don't think this tough talk is going to change any time soon. >> athena jones from washington, thank you. mr. trump's popularity stems in part from the tough talk on muslim americans. he's in favor of surveillance on certain mosques to combat terrorism. after 9/11, new york city police did surveillance on mosques. what did they find? according to a 2007 report on nyc.gov called rad kicalizationn the west, these are the findings. some mosques can be incubators for radicalization, but so can cafes, the internet and prisons. any meeting place can breed terrorism. even bookstores. keep in mind, the city has reportedly reached a settlement with muslim groups who said they suffered discrimination when the nypd spies targeted them, based on their religion. so what should authorities do? let's talk about that. joining me now, mayor karen who represents the a city in michigan. the first majority muslim city in the united states. i'm also joined by cnn pliolitil commentator buck sexton. he worked for the unit that produced the report i referred to. thank you for being here this morning. >> yes. can i please make one correction? >> yes. >> my last name is pronounced miefsky. >> i apologize for that. >> you govern a majority muslim city. are you afraid? >> actually, no. i'd like to make another correction. we have, as of our last election, which was a couple weeks ago, we elected a muslim majority council. whether the demographics of the city say we're a muslim majority city, i don't think we're there yet. we're probably somewhere in the 40% muslim for the city overall. but our city council that will take office in january will be a majority muslim council. >> so does that concern some of your citizens? >> you know, the issues, we're a small city. we're 23,000, 24,000, 2.2 square miles. the issues for most of our residents are, are we fix the streets? will the street lights -- the street light out in front of my house, can we get that fixed? they're local issues. there's not a kind of level of fear that we hear when we talk about this on a national level. really, our city council and residents are most concerned with the day to day issues that affect their life when they walk out their front door. >> okay. that is small town america. stick around, ms. mayor. i'm going to turn my attention to buck now. last year, the nypd disbann edi the unit with carrying out surveillance on muslim communities. was that a good idea? >> the nypd intelligence division and count terrorism division have to act within established legal guidelines. in new york city, the guidelines try to balance out first amendment rights and protections with the need to protect the city. when we talk about mosque surveillance, it's a misnomer. you're looking at radicalized individuals who could be gathering at any number of places. if they are gathering at a mosque, and this happened numerous times in recent years in new york city, where there have been individuals who plotted terrorist acts in new york city who spent time at a mosque, law enforcement is not going to be barred from the premise because they're in a place where the religious services take place. the nypd has no interest in the vast majority of the muslims who will pray and go about their business at a mosque. if there is reason to believe that there is some sort of jihadist plotting underfoot, which has happened in recent years, then they'll have to surveil and follow, use informants or any number of tactics. but it's always within a legal framework. that's not always the easiest thing to determine, where it stops and where does infridgement of the first amendment begin? but the nypd has done an excellent job of this and have disrupted plots on new york city that were in process. it's serious business they're dealing with and they have to get on the edge of, where do we decide we're going to actually pull back because we don't want to offend people? you can't let political correctness dictate this. >> what does surveillance mean? >> it's the same if you're looking at a terrorist investigation as if you're dealing with drug dealers or any number of possible criminal conspiracies. members of law enforcement, the nypd, who are watching the individual, perhaps member an infor mai informant, talking to individuals they believe are being radicalized. if somebody is saying, where do i get a machine gun because i want to go and shoot up a synagogue, for example, or blow up a synagogue, which was a plot the nypd disrupted, that becomes a very obvious criminal issue. then you have to have the fbi and nypd working together to disrupt that plot. again, there is this balancing act. i think the nypd has done a particularly good job of trying to reach out to the muslim community and say, look, we're trying to keep you safe and the whole city safe. this has to be a collaborative effort. the nypd has done a good job. hence their willingness, in a case where maybe they were being more aggressive -- but trying to prevent terrorist attacks. not because they have animosity against muslims. there are many muslim americans in the nypd intelligence unit. there are fellow muslims involved in this process, who hate the fact they believe their religion has been hijacked and want to prevent the small minority from doing these things. the nypd is willing to work with people. >> that was impassioned. i got it. i'm going back to you, karen. still with me. there you are. >> yes. >> when the muslims in your community hear talk about surveilling mosques in the city of new york, what goes through that you are mind? >> well, i haven't discussed the issue of surveilling the mosques with muslim residents in my community, but i would imagine that they would be concerned. they would be concerned simply from the issue of their own civil liberties and religious liberties. but they, i can tell you, they are as concerned as the rest of the nation about any potential terrorism attack. of course, they cooperate, as far as i know, fully with the police and the fbi, in the case of any investigations. but i don't know that there's any sort of that going on in hamtramck. i would be surprised to hear if there were. >> some of the rhetoric in our political world, how is that affecting your town, if at all? >> well, you know, of course, the people are aware of it. people are sensitive to it, and people are -- muslim and christian and buddhist and hindu and atheist and everyone else we've got in hamtramck is the most diverse city in michigan. some of us are shocked by the rhetoric. but it's not -- and we're sensitive to the fact that folks like to look at hamftramck as a microcosm of the nation as a whole. if that's so, because we, as i say, we're 2.2 square miles, we have multitudes of languages, folks from all over the world, more than half our residents speak a language other than english at home, this is the face of america. kind of in this hat house of this one little corner of michigan. of course, we're aware of the scrutiny that gets put on our city as a kind of metaphor for the united states as a whole. we're very sensitive to the way our diversity and the interaction of our different communities plays out on a national stage. but as far as the kinds of fears, i think, that the -- and the kind of fear mongering that goes on in the u.s. as a whole, that really has no place in the daily conversation in hamtramck. >> mayor majewski, thanks so much. buck, i want you to get in a last word of the rhetoric. is it a help or hindrance? >> depends whose political rhetoric we're talking about. the focus is making sure we are secure across the border and we prevent the next attack. less on who is saying what at any given time. that would be my sense. again, it depends on whose rhetoric we're talking about. i assume you're referring to donald trump. he doesn't have a governor on his rhetoric. he likes to take it to 11, as they say. >> buck, thanks so much for stopping by. mayor, thank you for stopping by, too. i'm sorry i messed up your name at the beginning. i feel really bad. still to come, a break in the case of a pastor's wife killed in indiana. who police have placed under arrest, next. the great beauty of owning a property is that you can create wealth through capital appreciation, and this has been denied to many south africans for generations. this is an opportunity to right that wrong. the idea was to bring capital into the affordable housing space in south africa, with a fund that offers families of modest income safe and good accommodation. citi got involved very early on and showed an enormous commitment. and that gave other investors confidence. citi's really unique, because they bring deep understanding of what's happening in africa. i really believe we only live once, and so you need to take an idea that you have and go for it. you have the opportunity to say, "i've been part of the creation of over 27,000 units of housing," and to replicate this across the entire african continent. checking our top stories at 47 minutes past. indianapolis police making an arrest in the murder of amanda blackburn, a pregnant mother shot and killed during a home invasion. officials naming an 18-year-old suspect in her death. the suspect is facing a preliminary charge of murder. blackburn was 12 weeks pregnant when she was killed. her husband is a pastor at a local church. iranian court sentenced "washington post" journalist for spying. ian lee has been following the case and has more. >> reporter: "washington post" bureau chief jason has been sentenced to prison. he was tried on espionage charges. the iranian american has been detained in a prison for almost 500 days. what we don't know are the details of the charges or verdict against him, or the length of his sentence. this comes amid ongoing domestic tensions between moderates around president ro -- rouhani. there was hope tensions would resolve, leading to his release. officials suggested a prisoner swap in the past. the "washington post" is aware of this development and added, every day that jason is in prison is an injustice. he has done nothing wrong. even after keeping jason in prison 487 days so far, iran produced no evidence of wrong doing. his trial and sentence are a sham and he should be released immediately. his sentencing comes amid a crackdown on other journalists in iran. united nations human rights investigators have called on iran to cease arresting, harassing and prosecuting journalists. they also urge iran to release all journalists, including jason. ian lee, cnn, cairo. still to come in the newsroom, smiling faces at the bataclan moments before the terrorist attack. now for the first time, we're hearing from the band that was on stage. ♪ i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. ♪ and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet? 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"newsroom" -- a promise to stamp out isis. >> together we will destroy this evil threat. >> tomorrow, france's president comes to the united states to meet with president obama. >> we're not afraid. >> but u.s. cities drilling, preparing, not taking any chances this holiday week. plus, on the ground outside raqqah, the capital of isis. >> we have just heard distant thuds of what could have been air strikes. >> cnn takes you inside the fight. and trump in his own words. >> well, i don't want to close mosques. i want to surveil mosques. >> on what he claims happened in a new jersey city after 9/11. >> they were cheering as the world trade center came down. >> on a black protester shoved and kicked during a rally. >> it was absolutely disgusted what he was doing. >> inside the gop front-runner's headline-grabbing weekend. let's talk, live in the "cnn newsroom." good morning. i'm carol costello. just within the last couple of hours, we've learned france launched first air strikes. france scrambled the charles de gaulle there to better target isis. britain's prime minister says he wants his country to join the air strikes against isis in syria. today he and france's president paid respects at the concert hall, the site of the deadliest paris massacre. authorities launch more raids overnight in belgium. 21 people arrested, but not abdesl abdeslam. american cities also on edge. this is an anti-terror drill in new york city. but security also ratchets up sporting events across the country as many americans relive the jitters of post-9/11. president obama returns to the white house after a nine-day trip abroad. tomorrow he welcomes france's president to the white house to discuss the coalition to bring down isis. cnn senior washington correspondent joe johns is live at the white house this morning with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. francois hollande is coming here to the white house tomorrow to meet with president obama. the united states and france have shared interests in eliminating isis. listen to what president obama said over the weekend just as he was leaving malaysia. >> we will not accept the idea that terrorist assaults on restaurants, theaters and hotels are the new normal or that we are powerless to stop them. after all, that's precisely what terrorists like isil wanted. because ultimately that's the only way they can kin. it's the nature of terrorism. they can't beat us on the battlefield so they try to terrorize us into being afraid. >> reporter: now, that's one thing, but this gets more complicated as it goes along. it's important also to say that hollande is going on to meet with russian president putin after he finishes here in washington, d.c. holla hollande has expressed some interest in trying to get russia and the united states on the same page when it comes to isis. the question for the united states is whether, number one, hollande will also be seeking to get the united states and russia to agree on the end game for the syrian president assad. president obama has said, he is pretty much committed to getting rid of assad. there's also, carol, i think another important question. and that's about sanctions on russia for its handling of ukraine. that's a very sticky issue here in washington, d.c. and just last week, the leaders of four countries, italy, the united states, france and others were in the room and had a conversation about this. and made up their minds, they say at that point, including france, that they would keep the sanctions in place against russia for ukraine. so, a lot of sticky issues here when hollande comes to washington, d.c. and is not all just about isis. >> joe johns reporting live at the white house. thank you. on the subject of russia, for our people and for paris, new video shows those are the messages russian pilots are riding on missiles tar getting isis in syria. as vladimir putin meets with ayatollah khomeini, the ultimate authority in iran. he supports syria's is the bashar al assad. as you heard jose, the united states does not. still, russia is bombing syria and so is france. it just launched new air strikes this morning. with me now to talk about this, cnn military analyst colonel rick francona. how are you this morning? >> confused. joe is exactly right. this is so complicated. >> i know. i was listening to joe and it is confusing. what should we make of this? americans are currently in a high-anxiety state about an attack on the homeland. >> exactly. what's going on, and i think we're seeing the discussions in washington centering around what is the end game in syria? what do we want out of this? the french president will be here. he's visited with other leaders. he's going to meet with the russians. what he's trying to do is bolt together sort of a grand coalition where all of the countries will fight against isis. it would be nice to get the united states and the russians on the same page as joe suggested to go after isis. that would give us a lot more capability. we could synergistically bring all these military forces to bear at one time doing things sequentially and more effectively. the problem with that is the united states and russia have different goals in syria. we would like to see assad removed. the russians would like to see assad remain. you know, we are die memetrical opposed on that. if there's a way to come up with a diplomatic way, a cease-fire, and not throw the rebels the under the bus, which i'm afraid that's going to happen. >> i'm trying to distill this and make it so people can understand. the french president is going to play mediators between the united states and russia? >> yeah. his position is we have to go after isis. and the status of the syrian government, whether it's assad or not, is a secondary concern. we can address that later. in the united states will agree to that and russians agree to that, we could come up with some much broader coalition. the problem is, what happens to the syrian rebels? if we ail lout syrian government to remain in power, who protects them? is there going to be some protection for them built into this agreement? that's our concern. that we don't want to throw over the rebels by propping up bashar al assad. so, we've got a decision to make. the other countries are very clear. iran, iraq, syria, france, russia, they know what they want. it's the united states that needs to determine, are we so hung up on getting rid of bashar al assad that we will not cooperate with these other countries against isis? >> we'll see what happens. colonel rick francona, thanks. let's head to brussels, belgium, at the highest security level bracing for what officials call an imminent threat. hi, fred. >> reporter: hi, carol. yeah, that threat level is ongoing. what you're seeing on the ground is something i haven't seen in a western european city, that is soldiers on the ground here patrolling the streets. a lot of police officers on the ground here, armed with submachine guns as well. we saw a lot of patrols on the streets. trying to show a presence and prevent anything from happening. the belgium government seems to believe something bad is in the works. they say a threat appears to be imminent. that's the terror threat level number four, the highest one this country has for this city here. of course, that means schools are closed. a lot of businesses are closed as well and public transport is all but closed. the subway system isn't working. buses are working. but only entintermittently. people aren't going to work. at the same time, have you this manhunt going on for the final suspect in those paris attacks that happened at the end of -- or that happened friday about ten days ago. that person is still on the loose. salah abdeslam. there have been raids here in the past 24 hours that netted 21 suspects. however, authorities are telling us, he's not among those 21 suspects. he is still on the loose and that's causing a great deal of concern here in the belgium capital. >> reporting live from brussels this morning. still to come in the "newsroom," america on alert. terror fears growing but are we overreacting? 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(vo) beneful healthy weight, a delicious, low-calorie meal your dog will love. with wholesome rice, real chicken, and accents of vegetables and apples. this bale of hay cannot be controlled. when a wildfire raged through elkhorn ranch, the sudden loss of pasture became a serious problem for a family business. faced with horses that needed feeding and a texas drought that sent hay prices soaring, the owners had to act fast. thankfully, mary miller banks with chase for business. and with greater financial clarity and a relationship built for the unexpected, she could control her cash flow, and keep the ranch running. chase for business. so you can own it. americans trust hillary clinton to handle the threat of terrorism more than any of the leading republican candidates for president in the wake of the paris attacks, according to a new poll from the washington post and abc news. tops donald trump by eight points. poll's not all bad news for the gop front-runner because the poll, along with the new fox news poll, shows trump holding onto double digit leads over ben carson in the republican presidential race. all of this comes, though, as donald trump faces yet another controversy. over the weekend the real estate mogul suggested the half dozen white attendees at his campaign rally may have reacted appropriately when they shoved, tackl tackled, punched and kicked a black protester who disrupted trump's speech. athena jones live in washington. >> reporter: good morning. it's remarkable watching that video. i've been at various trump events where there have been protests but i haven't seen many of them dealt with in that way. this happened as the black lives protester began to shout, dump the trump and black lives mattered. they were tackled, punched, kicked and shoved. this is how donald trump responded to what happened on "fox & friends." take a listen. >> the man that was, as you say, roughed up. he was so obnoxious, screaming. i had 10,000 people in the room yesterday. 10,000 people. and this guy started screaming by himself. i don't know, rough up. he should have been -- maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing. this was not handles the way bernie sanders handlings his problem. i have a lot of fans and they were not happy about it. this was a very obnoxious guy, a troublemaker looking to make trouble. i didn't get to see the event. >> reporter: so, it's interesting to hear him defending the supporters who roughed up this guy. this protesters said he was punched inned face, kicked in the neck, kicked in the chest, kicked in the stomach. he said someone stepped on his hands and some of these supporters called he and his fellow protesters the "n" word and also monkeys. trump warned last summer, after black lives matter protesters disrupted a bernie sanders event, he said that will never happen with me. we're going to have a fight on our hands if that happens. i don't know if i'll be doing the fighting myself or if other people will. so, in some ways, it seems like he sort of predicted this would happen, carol. >> so, where was the security? where was trump's security? >> reporter: that's a good question. he has secret service protection, his own folks. they didn't step in. we know those protesters were escorted out but it doesn't look like trump was concerned about his own safety. he was more mad at the fact these protesters were trying to disrupt his event. he's been talking tough about these protesters since the summer when you saw them disrupt the bernie sanders event and basically take away his microphone. he said, that will never happen to me. and it didn't. and he seemed to back up the folks who treated these protesters so badly. >> just so i get the whole picture, how many black lives matter protesters were there in the crowd of 10,000, according to donald trump? >> reporter: well, we understand there were only a handful, but he's really talking about this one person who was roughed up by these supporters. saying that he was being obnoxious. he was being loutd. as if to justify the violence that he says was perpetrated against him. our cnn video shows he was roughed up. donald trump seems to think that was appropriate. carol? >> athena jones reporting live for us. with me now is robert kieger. welcome back. >> hey, carol, thanks. >> your thoughts on what happened over the weekend. >> i haven't seen any of the video, but i can tell you -- >> it was just odd. >> from my perspective, i'm sick and tired of the black lives matter thing. i think it's a farce. i think they're just there to disrupt. >> what do you think is a farce? >> look, if they really care about black lives, they need to pick up a banner and go to the south side of chicago where black lives are being slaughtered on a daily basis f they really care about the african-american community. get up there and do something about it. >> so, they don't have the right to protest at a trump rally? >> well, no, they don't, really. nobody needs -- >> it's america. >> i wouldn't -- look. i wouldn't go -- i wouldn't go into a black church and start screaming, white lives matter. i mean, people are trying to elect a president -- >> would you be afraid they would beat you up? >> yeah. i know i'd get beat up. >> really? >> people are trying -- >> in a black church? >> i'm sure if i disrupted their sermon and was obnoxious as this guy apparently was, yeah, i would probably be afraid i might get at least thrown out and roughed up, yeah. >> did you miss what the members of south carolina at the church said about the man who open fire inside a church? >> excuse me. >> never mind. i won't go there. >> i'm sorry, i didn't hear that. >> so, there was this one man in the center of what donald trump called a crowd of 10,000 people. and the crowd turned on him. do you think they were right to do that? >> look, donald trump has been -- i went to the trump rally in miami. donald trump has been very polite with these people. he had some disrupters in miami. and he said, please, don't hurt them. just make them leave. get them out of here. but don't hurt them. so, enough is enough. we're trying to elect a president of the united states here. we don't -- these guys are just doing this purposely to disrupt. they don't really have a cause. they're trying to bring to the forefront. i don't think they really care. if they did, they'd go to baltimore or they'd go to chicago. >> but doesn't donald trump, as possibly the president of the united states, have a duty to calm things down? >> i saw him firsthand try to calm things down in miami. and it was a latino group that was disrupting and you would have been amazed because there were so many young latinos in that crowd that were supporting donald trump. donald trump will win the hispanic vote. and i bet -- >> let's just stick to the matter at hand. let's stick to the matter at hand. why not let security handle it or secret service? why kind of -- >> they did. >> -- think it's okay for the crowd to take care of it, as mr. trump did on "fox & friends". >> the secure, i guess, did take care of it. i haven't seen any of the video, so i can't be very specific about that. but it certainly wasn't donald trump that went out and kicked him out. and, again, those security guys are up front with donald trump to get through a crowd of 10,000, it probably took a few minutes, i'm guessing because once again, i didn't see the video. >> so, you think one guy shouting in a crowd of 10,000 people was so disruptive and obnoxious that the crowd had to take care of it themselves? >> well, i can till in the room that i was in in miami, there were 3500 people. the ball room was absolutely packed. there were 3500 people. and four people holding banners screamed at the top of their lungs and, yes, it very much disrupted the whole thing. >> all right. i don't know where -- i don't know where this guy was. maybe he was -- maybe he was in the back of the room. but certainly once again, being in birmingham, alabama, going in and disrupting that thing, that's no place for black lives matter to try to bring their issues to the forefront. try to go to chicago and baltimore. >> thanks for stopping by. i'll be right back. i brto get us moving.tein i'm new ensure active high protein. i help you recharge with nutritious energy and strength. i'll take that. yeeeeeah! new ensure active high protein. 16 grams of protein and 23 vitamins and minerals. ensure. take life in. a major european city on alert and in a partial lockdown. brussels shuts down schools and shopping malls amidsaying a terrorist attack is imminent. 21 people were arrested but not salah abdeslam, a key suspect in the paris attacks. paying respect at the concert hall. britain's prime minister visiting with france's president, saying he wants his country to join the air strikes against isis in syria. the french president visiting the white house tomorrow. the ripple effect making people anxious all over the world. a new pew survey shows just 19% of americans trust their government always or most of the time. disturbing when isis is threatening to strike here, at home, in the united states. in a washington post/abc news poll taken off the terrorist attacks in paris, 83% said they thought a terror attack in the united states was very likely or somewhat likely in the near future. and this is what it looked like in atlanta last night. heavily armed police protecting people from a dubious threat at the arena. the isis was targeting a wwe threat. the fbi found no show of that but still defiant fans. >> they want us to hide behind the curtain in fear. i'm not going to let that happen, you know. we're a free country for a reason. we'll do our thing. >> i pride myself on being a very veg lent person, so i'm being very cautious. any time i'm in a group setting, i'm cautious, but more so now. looking for exiting, being completely honest, and being aware of my surroundings at all times. >> we were coming no matter what. we paid good money for these tickets. we're here. >> you have to admire their t-shirts. take a look. isis fears ambrose. can you take that banner away so we can see it? take the banner away. isis fears ambrose. of course, ambrose is a wwe wrestler. to chicago, a southwest flight to philadelphia was delayed because one passenger complained about being afraid to fly with two palestinian men. both men have lived in the united states for many years. they were finally allowed on the flight after going through security again. here in new york, preparations are under way for thursday's annual macy's day thanksgiving day parade. deborah feyerick is here with more on the security angle in this city. >> it's fair to say, the air of complacency, people understand they need to be on alert. there's no credible threat but a presumed threat. the stakes are different now that you have multiple active shooters, possibly the threat they may have suicide bombs on them. that is what law enforcement is dealing with today. the nypd conducted a drill over the weekend, something they had been planning for more than a year. they had tactical teams going into the subway, with assault rifles long guns. speed is critical when you have an active shooter situation. they have minutes to respond in order to minimize any potential damage. you see the tactical teams. they move toward the sound of the gunfire. they want to neutralize the threat. that is their goal. and you've got to keep in mind, with what we saw in paris, there could be multiple incidents. it could be happening at the same time, different locations. so, that's the new mind set of the nypd as they mobilize these specific teams. you're going to see a heavier presence during the thanksgiving day parade and throughout the holiday season because, again, while there is no credible intelligence, and the fbi director will tell you a pop began da video is not a threat. it's simply propaganda. now we've got to sort of look at it in the context of paris. that's what people are dealing with. >> people will be coming in from all over the country, into new york city, to watch the parade. should they know anything special? >> the air of complacency is over. everybody has to be on alert. everybody has to be aware something is happening. speaking to people over the weekend, now people are, in fact, acting a little differently. they're looking at crowded places. they're not going smack into the center of places. people may be staying and walking kind of on the edges of streets as opposed to going where there are large crowds. when people go into movie theatres or restaurants, they are making sure they see who's around them. when i go into penn station, carol, it mazes me, having covered the boston marathon attacks that people are either looking at the big board or on their iphones. there's no situational awaren s awareness. that's what police are asking people to do, you've got to be aware. the dhs secretary saying they're increasing security, tsa doubling efforts, looking at things going through. there is a threat, it's the new reality, but people have to be smart and make sure -- they really need to stay cognizant of what's going on around them. >> deborah feyerick, thanks so much. the department of homeland security confirming five syrian refuse geese turned themselves in at the texas border. the group, includes a man, woman and child, were part of a family and arrived at a checkpoint in the city of laredo friday. they were handed over to immigration officials for processing. records show no ties to any terror groups. this is the second time in one week a syrian family presented itself at the laredo entry point. while many are worried isis could infiltrate their community, the community is banning together after a local mosque was desecrated. in austin, texas, the message, everyone is welcome, after an islamic center was defaced by vandals. they found feces smeared on the sidewalk and torn pages of the koran. they say their community won't tolerate that behavior. >> it's disgusting. it's gross. it doesn't matter what you believe or i believe or he believes or anybody believes. all faith is important. >> when swanson's 7-year-old son heard about what happened, he wanted to help. so he drained his piggy bank and donated 20 bucks to the mosque. with me now the mosque board member who cede that donation. welcome, sir. >> hi. >> what did you mean to you that thatless boy, jack, made that donation? >> i have a son about the same age of jack. what it means to me, outside the media sound bites, there are still people, kids, next generation -- my son is a born american. they can get together, they can get beyond the headlines and have that understanding. so, it means a lot that we can still -- when we step away from our computers and devices and build those relationships, person-to-person, point-to-point, that the love and the understanding of your neighbor can still flourish regardless of what may be going in the global scale. >> so, are we making too much of the rhetoric that's out there at the moment? >> i think so, because, like i said, hairs nothing that beats personal roolgsships. whether that's in sales, whether that's in your career, whether that's knowing your neighbors, whatever have you. if you don't know the other person, then i can come and paint a picture, which may not accurate, which is -- it could be somebody else's picture i'm trying to superimpose. i think if people just walked to their neighbor, and i mean both -- i'm specifically talking about united states, but it's applicable globally, the muslims walk to the non-muslim neighbor. the non-muslim neighbor walk to their muslim neighbors. find out who's sick, what's wrong, can i help? that will beat any recruitment of any nasty ideology that may be trying to recruit. maybe trying to be painted as, well, this large body of people is the same as a few handful of individuals. that's only going to get defeated at the grassroots level. it's knowing the neighbors around you. everybody does the same and that will work. >> what would your message be, then, to whoever vandalized the mosque? >> we've already given this message. the mosque community, the islamic community, we have forgiven them. he did what he did or -- he or they or whatever, in a moment of rage and emotions. we would like for him or her to come and talk to us. understand the real islam. not what's presented on the news media. not what some -- every group has their looneys, every group has the fringe. if you take the fringe group and try to paint the whole group as them, there's no real practitioner of islam would do what these terrorists have tried to do -- have done and tried to claim it under the name of islam. there is no real practitioner of islam that would do that. even the most ignorant but basically taught somebody with a very basics of islam would know that. these guys don't even meet that criteria when they claim this thing in the name of islam. and my message would be that, you know, just get to know each other. for that person to come and talk to us. come talk to us. we have already forgiven them. we want to understand what fueled his rage and how does that reflect upon us? you know, somebody did something in paris. that doesn't reflect upon me. just like this person's actions do not reflect on pflugerville, greater austin, texas or the united states. do i paint all texans defy places of worship? absolutely not. if this is one guy's act, so come talk to us. forgiveness is our message. >> all right. thanks so much for being with me this morning. still to come in the mousse room, ma -- "newsroom." mali still mourning. i'm chris bosh. when i was sidelined with blood clots in my lung, it was serious. fortunately, my doctor had a game plan. treatment with xarelto®. hey guys! hey, finally, somebody i can look up to... 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mali as the country mourns the reported 22 lives lost in friday's deadly rampage inside a hotel that was hosting delegations attending peace talks. victims include people from china, from russia and america. cnn's david mckenzie has been talking with survivors. he joins me live from the capital. hi, david. >> reporter: hi, carol. that's right. they were survivors, many of them, some say because of the swift actions of the special forces from mali, and they were assisted by americans and french in that operation. i spoke to one american who is senior member of the centers for disease control, and she said she was determined to make it home. >> i e-mailed my husband and i just -- i said something like, there is something going on and i want you to know that i love you. and then when a few hours later when the fire down the hallway, i wrote another e-mail and i said, i do believe there are shooters here. if i don't make it, i want you to know i love you and my family and my cdc, but i am coming home. i do this because i love doing this work. and where we are in the world that we need to continue on. >> reporter: you're committed to the work no matter what? >> no matter what. this wasn't about mali. this is what i call idiots. >> reporter: when the signal came, what went through your head? >> oh, gosh. i'm so glad to see you guys. i don't know much french but i could say -- [ speaking french ] i said it all the way down the hall. every one of them i mentioned put their lives on the line for me that day and i so appreciate that. and there's a group of people who didn't make it out. and my heart goes out to their families. but i believe they were here doing what they love and what they're committed to. if they were to come for me, someone would be saying that about me as well. >> reporter: carol, kathy is back in atlanta at her home. and she certainly wanted to give her family a hug and just be back there. but extraordinarily, she's committed to coming back to mali and finishing the work she began. she says her extended family, the cdc and others she worked have become like family to her through this ordeal. carol? >> david mckenzie reporting live for us this morning. time now to check some other top stories for you. it's 44 minutes past. a new video into the "cnn newsroo newsroom". france launching its fir air strictionz from an aircraft carrier. france scrambled the charles de gaulle there. a bloody end to a video shoot at a park in new orleans. 16 people rushed to the hospital after someone shot into the crowd of hundreds, including kids and teenagers. investigators trying to track down surveillance video of the shooting and suspects who ran off on foot. the victims are all expected to be okay. iran's state news agency reports washington post journalist jason rezaian has been sentenced to prison for espionage. it did not say how long he would be in prison. his lawyer says he was charged with being a spy but "the washington post" says he was only doing his job and called the sentence a sham. the u.s. state department is calling on iran to vacate his sentence and send him home. he's been locked up now for nearly 500 days. still to come in the "newsroo "newsroom," chicago on edge. any day now, the city releasing video of a white police officer shooting an african-american teenager. we'll take you to chicago next. this bale of hay cannot be controlled. when a wildfire raged through elkhorn ranch, the sudden loss of pasture became a serious problem for a family business. faced with horses that needed feeding and a texas drought that sent hay prices soaring, the owners had to act fast. thankfully, mary miller banks with chase for business. and with greater financial clarity and a relationship built for the unexpected, she could control her cash flow, and keep the ranch running. chase for business. so you can own it. chase for business. ♪ it's the final countdown! ♪ ♪ the final countdown! if you're the band europe, you love a final countdown. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. in chicago, a lot of anxiety right now over the pending release of a video showing a young african-american man fatally shot multiple times by a white police officer. community leaders are urging calm ahead of that release. cnn's ryan young live in chicago with more. good morning, ryan. >> reporter: good morning, carol. 16 shots were fired. i can tell you community members are worried about it. in fact, over 200 community members met and discussed this and more meetings are planned today. the video is said to be very disturbing. police dash cam video shows 17-year-old being fatally shot 16 times by a white officer. it's ordered to be released to the public no later than wednesday. many who have already seen the footage from october of last year say it's tough to watch. even when he was on the ground, the officer was still shooting him. >> reporter: in october 2014, police were called to investigate a man with a knife trying to break into vehicles. authorities say mcdonald had a four-inch knife and was acting erratically, slashing a tire's officer. mcdonald, who had pcp in his system, ignored orders to drop it. officer unloaded 16 rounds. >> there was a police officer had to shoot him in self-defense. he was approaching a police officer, lunged at a police officer with a knife. it's not true. he was shot while he was walking away. >> reporter: the autopsy shows that some of the bullets entered his back. officer van dyke says he shot mcdonald in self-defense. >> we're confident that my client's actions were not only lawful, but also within department policy and within his training. >> reporter: now the city of chicago is bracing for the possibility that the video of mcdonald's death will ignite violent protests. activists are calling for calm. >> you know, we have the right, the first amendment right, to assemble peacefully and express our grievances against our government. >> reporter: in april, the city reached a $5 million settlement with the mcdonald family. now, the officer has not been charged but he has been placed on desk duty. a lot of people in this community have been talking about this, the family. mcdonald's family says they don't want to see the video. a lot of people are bracing themselves because everyone that's talked about this video or seen this video says it's pretty disturbing to watch. >> ryan young reporting live from chicago this morning. checking some other top stories at 53 minutes past. new protests in minneapolis overnight following the fatal shooting of an african-american man by a police officer. hundreds of people now calling for the release of video showing the death of jamar clark. the 24-year-old was gunned down by police. officers say he was interfering with paramedics during an assault call. they say making the footage of the shooting public would compromise their investigation. and could this be a papal miracle? the little girl kissed during the pope's visit to philadelphia has a rare inoperable brain tumor, but her parents say the girl's tumor has been shrinking ever since their daughter received the pope's blessing. see for yourself. the family says this scan is from august, before the pope's visit. you can see the tumor circled. this scan is from this month, the tumor hardly visible. the parents credit divine enter convention. still to come in the "newsroom," the capital of belgium may have been placed under the highest possible terror alert, but rather than give into feeshgs the country's responding, well, in an inventive way. 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"at this hour with berman and bolduan" starts right now. i'm pamela brown. this is cnn special live coverage of the attacks in paris and the hunt for the people behind them. france has launched new air strikes on syria and iraq from an aircraft carrier that recently arrived in the mediterranean. now, after meeting with french president francois hollande, british prime minister david cameron is ready to make the case to parliament to have the uk join the air strikes against isis in syria, this comes as belgian authorities conduct more raids, 21 arrests. the terror threat in brussels hit its highest levels.