Obama to address nation about terrorism Sunday night; N.Y. Times wants some rifles outlawed

WASHINGTON — President Obama will speak to the nation from the Oval Office on Sunday night to address the threat of terrorism in the wake of Wednesday's mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif.

Obama has canceled his planned appearance at Sunday's Kennedy Center Honors evening ceremony, an annual ritual for presidents for nearly 40 years. Obama will still address the Kennedy Center Honors reception event at the White House around 2 p.m. PDT.

The White House said Obama's address to the nation will run from 5-5:30 p.m. PDT. Fox confirmed it would carry the address, bumping the regularly scheduled seg of "The Simpsons." ABC said it would slide back its regular schedule to accommodate the address.

According to a statement from the White House, the President "will provide an update on the ongoing investigation into the tragic attack in San Bernardino. He will also discuss the broader threat of terrorism — including the nature of the threat, how it has evolved, and how we will defeat it."

In addition, "He will reiterate his firm conviction that ISIL will be detroyed and that the United States must draw upon our values — our unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and freedom — to prevail over terrorist groups that use violence to advance a destructive ideology."

The primetime address comes as the FBI has confirmed it investigating the massacre committed by a married couple as an act of terrorism. The female attacker, who was killed along with her husband in a shootout with police, is said to have pledged her allegiance to ISIS via Facebook prior to the attack at the office complex where her husband worked. The attack left 14 people dead and 21 injured. Moreover, it further rattled the psyche of the nation that was already grappling with a recent string of mass shootings and the fear stoked by terror attacks in the heart of Paris last month that left at least 130 people dead.

Obama's 5 p.m. address will surely jumble the primetime schedules of the broadcast networks on the East Coast. NBC's live coverage of "Sunday Night Football" is likely to be affected although it's possible that the Indianapolis Colts-Pittsburgh Steelers game will be postponed for the duration of Obama's address.

CBS planned to air two episodes of "60 Minutes" from 7-9 p.m. ET followed by its "Sinatra 100: An All-Star Grammy Concert" special. ABC has its regular drama lineup anchored by "Once Upon a Time."

In related news:

N.Y. Times calls for outlawing some rifles in rare front-page editorial

The New York Times, in its first front-page editorial in nearly a century, on Saturday called for outlawing the kinds of rifles used in the California shooting massacre this week that left 14 people dead.

The newspaper's editorial comes three days after Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, a married couple, carried out the mass shooting in San Bernardino with legally purchased, .223 caliber assault-style rifles. The couple also had semi-automatic pistols. FBI officials say they are investigating the shooting as an "act of terrorism."

U.S. officials have said Malik is believed to have pledged allegiance to a leader of the militant group Islamic State.

"Certain kinds of weapons, like the slightly modified combat rifles used in California, and certain kinds of ammunition, must be outlawed for civilian ownership," the New York Times editorial said.

The editorial went on to argue that an act to outlaw such weapons would "require Americans who own those kinds of weapons to give them up for the good of their fellow citizens."

Republican presidential candidates dismissed the editorial, with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie calling it "typical liberal claptrap." In excerpts from an interview with CBS News "Face the Nation" airing on Sunday, Christie said instead, more should be done to institutionalize the mentally ill.

Republican front-runner Donald Trump, asked by reporters in Iowa where he was campaigning about the editorial, cited the shootings in Paris and California, saying the victims "could have protected themselves if they had guns."

Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., said the editorial was placed on the front page "to deliver a strong and visible statement of frustration and anguish about our country’s inability to come to terms with the scourge of guns."

President Barack Obama has called for legislation making it harder for criminals to get guns. He has noted mass shootings do not happen as frequently in other advanced countries and said the United States should address the problem.

Republicans in Congress have mounted heavy opposition to gun control measures.

The debate over gun control has long been one of the most contentious political issues in the United States, with the right to gun ownership protected in the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.

It is the first time The Times has run an editorial on the front page since 1920, when the newspaper expressed dismay at the nomination of Warren G. Harding as the Republican presidential candidate. Harding went on to win the general election that year.

Reuters reporter Alex Dobuzinskis contributed to this article.