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Terrorists Attack Kenyan Mall; Chicago Random Shootings; E. Coli Outbreak In Colorado Floods

Aired September 21, 2013 - 16:00   ET

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

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: You are in CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Martin Savidge in for Don Lemon. And we are looking at two horrific stories in very different parts of the world. One here at home in Chicago and the other overseas. There are innocent victims in both places.

We begin in Kenya with the act of terrorism that is still ongoing. That's where men with guns wept on a shooting rampage inside an upscale shopping mall that looks like any here in the U.S. Many people are dead, many others are hurt including Americans. So far police don't know for sure who did it or why. This attack happened in Nairobi. And, again, it is not over yet. We are told that there are hostages. More than 30 of them. And the mall is still an active and dangerous police scene.

Here's what we know about the casualties so far. A Kenyan government official says at least 31 people are dead and more than 100 are wounded. And the U.S. State Department is now telling CNN that several American citizens are among those that have been wounded. We've talked to people who were there when the shooting started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden we heard some shots and people rushing. So we realized that we were under attack or something - you know, somebody was holding the supermarket up or something similar. And we rush to the back trying to hide. And we heard random shots from everywhere, upstairs, downstairs. And then we were there for quite a while. People were petrified, crying, you know, praying.

But after half an hour, 40 minutes, I was told that there were some hostages being held. So we realized it could be a terrorist attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Just a short time ago a group known as the, well, the extremist group that's linked to Al Qaeda called Al Shabaab is reportedly part of this deadly attack. It's a group that is based in Somalia and frequently threatens to launch attacks inside of Kenya. They posted this on a Twitter account that is believed to be theirs. "The Mujahideen entered Westgate Mall today at around noon and are still inside that mall."

Earlier CNN spoke with an American who was in that mall when the shooting began.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA HEAD, AMERICAN WHO WITNESSED SHOOTING: People are telling us to be quiet. I was pretty afraid that it was unsafe to exit, but I did anyway. There were still employees of the supermarket who were sort of standing there and to some degree directing us to exit. There was blood on the floor. I mean, not a substantial amount, but drops that looked like someone who had been wounded had either walked or been carried out of the supermarket, the same path that we were taking.

We walked through the hardware section and the grocery section and then onto their sort of storeroom or stock room. And then out the loading dock area where we eventually saw crowds of people sort of milling about. I saw two or three police officers with weapons. There were definitely cameramen. Once we made it to the street, I just continued to walk and picked up running after I got, you know, where I didn't feel like I had to stay quiet any longer. I guess I picked up running at that point with my colleague and my - the driver who was with us.

I didn't trust anyone. Not that I was suspicious of anyone either. I just didn't feel like anyone knew what was going on. And I also really didn't know that exiting through the supermarket was OK. I lingered in the stairwell before I actually did decide to go out. And I'm not - since I wasn't at that door when it opened and people originally decided to exit the supermarket - into the supermarket, I'm not sure who made the decision or who originally guided us out there. But, no, I just felt like no one really knew what was going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: One of the Americans caught up in this horrific attack that is going on in Kenya. Peter Bergen is a CNN security analyst. He tells us about the group which is now claiming responsibility for that attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST (OVER THE PHONE): when we look at this attack, we think about who has capability and who has intent. And take that together with the indiscriminate attack on civilians in a shopping mall frequented by westerners like Sara Head who you just had on the show and I think you do the math and you end up with Al Shabaab which is of course an Al Qaeda affiliate in Somalia that has in the past attacked outside Somalia.

In two cases in 2010 attacking a group of people watching World Cup soccer match in Uganda killing more than - killing several dozen. And then also trying to kill the cartoonist who did the cartoon of the prophet Mohamed that was deemed offensive by many Muslims, somebody associated with Al Shabaab broke into his house in Denmark and tried to kill him. Luckily the cartoonist had a safe room and was able to survive the attack.

So Shabaab has done attacks outside Somalia and has frequently also done attacks in Kenya although much, much smaller scale than the one we're seeing today. And Shabaab itself, if it is Shabaab and of course, we don't know that yet, why are they attacking in Kenya? There's a short answer to that. You know, the Kenyan military has been very effective in fighting against Shabaab. Shabaab regard the Kenyan military and Kenya in general as an enemy.

When they attacked in Uganda, it was basically to protest the role of Uganda in African Union troops fighting in Somalia against Al Shabaab. So you know the motive here, it's a target that is associated with westerners. It's a soft target. It's civilians. It's the fact that Kenya's played a role in fighting against Shabaab in Somalia along the coast. And, I mean, very hard to think that would have the intent to do this or the capability other than Shabaab.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And we are continuing to follow what is of course a very fast moving story. The terror group claiming responsibility is using Twitter. And here's some of what they're saying. "Only nonbelievers were singled out for this attack. All Muslims inside the Westgate Mall were escorted out by the Mujahideen before beginning the attack."

And then another quote from them is "They Kenyan government is pleading with our Mujahideen inside the mall for negotiations. There will be no negotiations whatsoever at Westgate."

Again, those are tweets allegedly coming from the group that has begun this attack in Kenya.

Let's move on now to this country, Chicago and a city that at times must seem itself under siege. Gunfire wounded 11 more people last night and into early today. Five people have died in shootings in the last 20 hours. Chicago police suspect gang members are behind the most violent acts. And according to one witness gang drive around looking for people to shoot. In his words "it's what they do."

Thursday night 13 people were wounded including a three-year-old Deante Howard (ph), when someone opened fire with an assault rifle at a south side Chicago park. No one has been arrested in that shooting.

In our next hour of NEWSROOM, we will delve into what could be behind this relentless gun violence that's plaguing Chicago. The panel will include our own Don Lemon, psychologist Wendy Walsh, attorney Holly Hughes and "Chicago Tribune" reporter Peter Nickias. That's next at 5:00 Eastern on CNN.

From violence in Chicago to this week's deadly mass shooting at the U.S. military's Navy yard in Washington. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been taking a look at the shooter's background. Sanjay, what have you been coming up with? He'll be telling us about that at the half hour.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Martin, we're going to be talking as well about the mental health of the shooter in this D.C. Navy yard shooting. You know, this comes up over and over again every time we hear about one of these shootings. What is really happening in the mind of someone who shoots like this? And are we jumping to too many conclusion and we're also going to talk about the stigma of mental health and how that affects all of us? You got much of that and much more on that, Martin, 4:30 Eastern.

SAVIDGE: All right. Martin, thanks very much. We look forward to it.

Meantime, could the government and government offices, even some of our iconic landmarks end up with padlocks on their doors? The budget panel, Democrats versus Republicans, Republicans versus Republicans, Congress versus the president, but who's on our side? We go live to Washington next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: The government's inching closer to a possible shutdown in just nine days. That's how much time there is left to reach some kind of a deal on the budget. If there's no deal by September 30th, the government which should shut down October 1st, House Republicans along with two House Democrats passed a plan yesterday and that includes a big snag for President Obama.

The House plan would strip funding for the health care reform law, which is pretty much known as Obamacare. Erin McPike is tracking this story in Washington. And Erin, the House plan may be soon dead in the water as that battle moves to the Senate. But what are we expecting to see in the coming week?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this coming week, Martin, what we will see is the Senate will take up that House bill. And Senate Republicans have said they will vote on that bill. They will vote to move forward with debate. There's a procedural thing that's involved here. Once that happens and the Senate then debates it, it only takes 51 votes for Democrats to restore funding for Obamacare and then 51 votes to pass it back to the House after they've passed the full bill.

So then we're going to be looking at much the same situation that we were in just yesterday because the House has to pass it again. Earlier today Republican Congressman Peter King was on our air as well as Democrat David Scott, and here's a little bit of a preview about what that might look like next weekend when we go through this again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: I know a solid majority of House Republicans do not want the House to shut down in any way. And we will do whatever we can. Now, whatever has to be done, we'll see. But I am confident that the House will not shut down. And if it does, then it's real black eye for all of us.

REP. DAVID SCOTT (D), GEORGIA: Here is a party that wrote in a bill to close down this government if you do not take the health care away from the American people. That is desperation. There's something at work here where there are people - I left the capital today and I saw a bunch of signs that said shut her down, shut her down, shut her down. So I'm worried.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: So what we don't know is how long it will take the Senate to debate and pass a bill and send it back to the House. But basically we expect that the House will be in session next weekend and the votes will go down to the wire just before October 1st. Martin.

SAVIDGE: Erin McPike, thanks very much. We'll continue to follow it.

There hasn't been a government shutdown in more than 17 years. The escalating political battle has people on edge. A government shutdown could rattle the nation's bottom line as well. Officials in New York City, the number one tourist destination in the nation, are keeping a very close eye on developments in Washington. Here's CNN's Margaret Conley.

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Martin, from California to New York millions of Americans could be affected if there's a shutdown. National parks across the country would be affected. The Statue of Liberty behind me, that could be closed. That's a major tourist destination in New York City which has a tourism business of about $55 billion. In 1995 and 1996, those government shutdowns, they cost taxpayers over $1 billion.

And we talked to the government, the Department of Interior, they said that they are reviewing all the various budget scenarios so that they can be prepared. In terms of what will be closed, passport services, visa applications, those will all be shut down. Veteran benefits, they may be held up. And government employees that are waiting for paychecks, they might also have to be on hold. But what will stay open, all of those critical services. Critical services like air traffic control, national security and border protection.

Martin, we'll be able to count on those staying open.

SAVIDGE: All right. Margaret Conley, thank you very much.

And we are learning today that the U.S. was just a flick of a switch away from nuclear disaster. Just declassified papers talk about two bombs, nuclear bombs, much more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima that were accidentally dropped on the East Coast. We have the details just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: The Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta is now speaking regarding the terrorist attack today. Let's listen.

All right. Well, apparently the president has finished. When we know exactly what was said and what new information he has, we'll bring it to you. Again, that is the terrorism attack that is ongoing in Nairobi, Kenya. And Americans are among the victims.

Moving onto this country. The pictures don't lie, well, actually this is a story that is affecting far away as well. The strongest storm on the planet this year is pretty scary to look at. It is Typhoon Usagi. And it's spiraling toward Southern China. It is putting millions of people living in the Hong Kong area in a very dangerous situation. The winds have weakened slightly, that's the good news. But they're still at 115 miles per hour, equivalent to a weak Category 3 hurricane. That storm is still expected to make landfall Sunday with a category 2 strength. Taiwan and the northern Philippines have already seen some of the wrath of this storm. High surf and damaging winds are impacting coastal communities in both of those countries.

And sticking with weather now and turning to Colorado. A new health concern is developing in Colorado's flood zones. E. coli was found in tap water in the flood-drenched town of Lyons.

And that means the people there may not be able to return home for months. Floods ripped out or wiped out sewer lines and septic systems which of course, were leading to the E. coli contamination. Officials say the problem must be solved before the residents can go home. When they do go back they'll begin that long process of rebuilding.

And CNN's Dan Simon talked to a couple who lost just about everything in Colorado's historic floods.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It's still pretty surreal when you go into some of these neighborhoods, so much damage and destruction. As you can imagine it's been an emotionally draining week for a lot of these residents, especially those who didn't have flood insurance. Why didn't they have it? Put it simply, they felt they didn't need it.

JESSICA BEACOM, FLOOD VICTIM: So this was a finished basement.

SIMON (voice-over): Jessica Beacom and her husband built and moved into this house only 18 months ago.

SIMON (on camera): What did it look like down here? When you had all the water in here?

JESSICA BEACOM: Armageddon. Total devastation.

SIMON (voice-over): These pictures show part of the aftermath. They estimate the damage to be about $100,000. But Beacom and her husband had opted against flood insurance.

(on camera): When you moved to this area, did you ever think if you had heavy rains that the home could flood?

DEAN BEACOM, FLOOD VICTIM: Not a chance.

SIMON (voice-over): That's because they live in what's called a 500- year floodplain. That means the chance of this area flooding was less than one percent each year.

JESSICA BEACOM:: When we asked about it, just to make sure we covered our bases when we moved in, they almost laughed. You know, like, ton of money. You don't need that.

DEAN BEACOM: We would have had it if we knew this would happen or even had an inkling it might happen. Really I don't think we even had that.

SIMON: The Beacoms likely represent a significant portion of flood victims. Authorities say it's still too early to know how many affected homes didn't have flood insurance. But the devastation was so widespread that it went beyond places prone to flooding.

GARRY SANFACON, RECOVERY MANAGER, BOULDER CO., COLORADO: Something that's kind of beyond our imagination, beyond something you could even fathom. So it's understandable that people didn't sign up for flood insurance in those cases.

SIMON: But the Beacoms right now aren't thinking about their lack of insurance. They're still trying to keep more water from getting into their house. And hoping to find any precious belongings.

JESSICA BEACOM: Oh, I found it. I found it, I found it.

SIMON: A priceless memento but one that won't be able to pay for all the repairs their home is going to need.

(on camera): That family and others of course have homeowners insurance, but that doesn't cover flood damage. They can apply for assistance from FEMA, but that only goes so far. It's really limited in scope and won't even begin to pay for all the repairs.

Dan Simon, CNN, Boulder, Colorado.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: Thank you, Dan, very much.

And here is a story that you simply have to say wow.

For the first time we know about a near-nuclear disaster in the United States in 1961. The "Guardian" newspaper got hold of this declassified document. And it says that two hydrogen bombs fell harmlessly to earth in North Carolina after an Air Force B-52 broke up in the air. Each bomb was 260 times more powerful than the one that was dropped on Hiroshima. The document says there were four safety mechanisms on each of them and three of those mechanisms failed. In other words, they didn't work.

Only one prevented an absolute catastrophe, in addition to the devastation on the ground had either bomb detonated, it would have put millions of people from Washington to New York under the risk of radioactive fallout.

Well, the death toll now from that attack on the mall in Kenya, it is continuing to climb. This is a very fast-moving story. A terror group now claiming responsibility. And they say that their members are still inside that mall right now. And that there will be no negotiations. We'll update next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: We are continuing to closely watch the breaking news in Kenya right now. That's where a group of armed men have burst into a shopping mall. That began earlier today. They opened fire. The Kenyan president's office has now just released a new casualty report. And we are told that there are at least 39 people who have died so far. 150 or more people are wounded. And some of those wounded include Americans.

An extremist group with ties to Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility. And the attack as we say is not over. Gunmen and police are still in a face-off situation inside of that mall. We'll go live to Kenya in just a few minutes.

Last week our Don Lemon spoke with comedian and education advocate Bill Cosby. Mr. Cosby was joined by the president of Miles College where the comedian has just spoken a few hours earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: How do you think the students, how is he received and how do you think his message will be received by the students? And because I just wrote an op-ed saying that, you know, in these times, sometimes it appears that our leaders or at least our influencers are people in the entertainment industry more so than the rap and music industry and their message isn't always quite the same as the message that Dr. Cosby espouses to. How do you think his message will be received?

GEORGE T. FRENCH JR., PRESIDENT, MILES COLLEGE: Don, they are extremely receptive to Dr. Cosby. They were extremely receptive to the message of Dr. Cosby because this is the message that's been espoused at Miles College anyway. We have a mantra of culture, class and civility. So it's about more than just academics. It's about more than just what they learn in the classroom. But we teach civility. What it is to have a social conscience.

BILL COSBY, COMEDIAN: Miles College, which started - founded in what year?

FRENCH: 1898.

COSBY: 1898 and was called normal. OK. That's where the Negroes, the coloreds, the whatever, go. OK. That's today - that's today, Miles College. I went out to see his baseball team. 5:30 in the morning. He takes me to see his baseball team. There in the dark 95 percent of his baseball team happens to be what color?

FRENCH: White. 95 percent of the baseball team is white.

COSBY: I said to him who did - how did - this is a Klan meeting?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: I'm Martin Savidge. CNN NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour. First, trying to make sense of murder, Dr. Sanjay Gupta does that now talking about the Navy Yard shooter.