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U.S. Will Overcome Terror Threat, Obama Tells Nation In Primetime Address

President Barack Obama says he understands why Americans are worried about the threat of terrorism but is reassuring Americans the U.S. will overcome it.

Obama says "we will prevail by being strong and smart." He says Americans cannot give into fear.

Obama says it's clear the two killers in the California shootings had gone down the "dark path of radicalization."

Obama on Sunday night gave an Oval Office address on terrorism and the U.S. response following attacks in California and Paris. He's calling it an "act of terrorism designed to kill innocent people."

Obama says the killers had stockpiled weapons and ammunition. But Obama says there's no evidence the killers were directed by a terrorist organization overseas. He says there's also no evidence they were part of a broader network in the U.S.

The president said the U.S. can and must make it harder for would-be mass shooters to kill by making it harder for them to obtain guns.

Obama says he knows some people reject all gun safety measures. But he says no matter how effective law enforcement and intelligence is, they can't identify every would-be shooter. Obama says it's a matter of national security to prevent those people from getting guns.

Obama has urged stricter gun laws following the California shootings, but like previous mass shootings, those calls have met resistance from gun control opponents. Gun rights advocates oppose the no-fly list proposal because they say it violates the rights of people who haven't been convicted of a crime.

Our earlier post: Tune in at 7 p.m. Central as President Obama gives a prime time address from the Oval Office. He’s scheduled to discuss the San Bernardino shooting, as well as fighting terrorism.

We'll livestream the address here at KERANews.org. You can also listen to the address on KERA 90.1 FM and watch it on KERA-TV, Channel 13.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGxh_NU1KUs

The Associated Press reports:

President Obama has scheduled a rare Oval Office address to the nation this evening to talk about last week's shooting rampage in California and the country's efforts to combat terrorism.

Administration officials say Obama will urge Americans not to give into fear, without announcing any major changes in policy toward the Islamic State group.

Obama has made televised statements from the Oval Office just twice, the last in 2010.

His speech comes amid criticism that he has underestimated the threat from an extremist group that claimed responsibility for last month's deadly attacks in Paris.

PBS NewsHour has more details.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hblk3U_ionM

NPR reports:

The mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., which killed 14 people [last] week, is currently being investigated by the FBI as an act of terror. The president will provide an update on the ongoing investigation, the White House says. He will also discuss "the steps our government is taking to fulfill his highest priority: keeping the American people safe," according to a statement, as well as "the broader threat of terrorism, including the nature of the threat, how it has evolved, and how we will defeat it."

Here's more from NPR

Photo: Saul Loeb/Reuters/Pool photo