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Thirty Hostages Held After Mall Massacre; Government Shutdown Possible; Floods Isolating Tourist Towns in Colorado; Obama To Speak at Memorial; Clinton Weighs Run for President; The First Day Of Fall

Aired September 22, 2013 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. This breaking information as it relates to that hostage situation and that shopping mall massacre in Kenya, we are now understanding information coming in, that three of the people believed to be part of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group, carrying out this hostage situation, are Americans.

We understand that two of them originate from St. Paul, Minnesota, and one from Kansas City, Missouri. Of course, we've got the identities of them, young 20-year olds. One is 22, one is 24 and one 27 years old.

We don't know anything more about that or how we've learned this information, just that Al-Shabaab representatives have told CNN that these are three of the up to 10 people who are associated with Al- Shabaab, who are American and part of carrying out this attack in Kenya of that shopping mall.

We also have learned that now 68 people have died from this attack and more than 100 people have been injured.

And we also understand that this is ongoing situation of a hostage standoff there involving people being held against their will at that shopping center. So, again, three of the Al-Shabaab members who have carried out this attack are from the United States, two from Minnesota, one from Missouri, from Kansas City, Missouri, and others are from London, Canada, Finland and Somalia.

The ages of the attackers that CNN has learned range in ages from 20 to 27 years old. As for the victims now, 68 people killed, according to Kenya's Red Cross, and we know that 175 more were hurt. Today, Kenya's president vowed to punish those responsible.

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UHURU KENYATTA, PRESIDENT OF KENYA: They shall not get away with their despicable and beastly acts. Like the cowardly perpetrators now cornered in the building, we will punish the masterminds swiftly and indeed very painfully.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Today President Obama called President Kenyatta and offered condolences and a U.S. official says the Pentagon has reached out, but so far, there have been no requests for assistance. We have reporters on the scene and we'll get an update in just a few minutes.

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WHITFIELD: So Kenya's government says about 30 people are still being held hostage by 10 to 15 gunmen, but the gunmen say they won't negotiate about freeing any of the hostages.

So how does this crisis end? Joining me now from Washington to discuss what we know about this situation, CNN military analyst, Rick Francona.

So, Rick, first off, before we talk about the negotiating, non- negotiation, let's talk about what we know of the makeup of some of these Al-Shabaab members, three that we understand are Americans from Minnesota as well as from Missouri.

I think it was you who said earlier, we're talking about a terrorist group that has recruited a lot in the United States, particularly from Minnesota.

So, how does this sound to you, learning that three are Americans?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, three of maybe 10 or 15, that's kind of surprising, kind of a high number. But we've known for some time that there are at least 15 to 20 remaining in the senior leadership of the Al-Shabaab organization.

You know, there's two parts of Al-Shabaab. There's the people that are primarily interested in what's going on in Somalia and then there are those that have come from the outside, using Somalia as a training base to mount the global jihad.

That's the ones we're concerned about. That's where the Americans are. We've always been very concerned that they're going to return to the United States to conduct some operation. Here we see them operating in Kenya.

WHITFIELD: And we talk about a death toll now of 68. And we understand that many people are being held against their will by this terrorist group within the mall. If they're communicating, Al- Shabaab, there is no negotiation.

What is going on here, potentially?

FRANCONA: Yes, this is a real problem. If there's no negotiation, there's nothing that the Kenyans can give them to diffuse this situation. So this is probably not going to end not very well. They're probably going to have to do some sort of military assault, either with lethal weapons or with some sort of nonlethal gas or something like that.

But right now, I think they're trying to gather information on how many people are being held, where are they, what condition are they in, how many gunmen are there, where are they? What condition are they in? They need to gather all this information. And I think that's why we're seeing all this increased helicopter activity and a lot of, probably, military units using whatever sensors they have to figure out what's going on inside.

WHITFIELD: And we understand that the Pentagon has offered to give whatever assistance Kenya wants. Kenya has not requested it.

However, we understand that variations of Kenyan law enforcement are on the ground, working, alongside Israeli forces. This Westgate Mall is owned by an Israeli.

Give me an idea what kind of cooperation is taking place here, as they try to end this standoff taking place, involving Kenyan authorities and Israeli authorities there in Nairobi.

FRANCONA: Yes, the Israeli special forces bring unique capabilities and expertise. They have years of experience doing this and they have worked with the Kenyans for decades on just these sorts of things.

So it's not surprising that the Israelis are on the ground there and assisting. And of course you've got a lot of Israeli business interests in Kenya, including this mall. So the Israelis will give them capabilities that maybe the Kenyans don't have, some expertise they don't have. But I think they're in an advisory role. I don't think we're seeing Israeli special forces in any kind of assault mode yet.

Rick Francona, thank you so much for your insight. Appreciate that.

Back here in the U.S. now, just about two hours from now, President Obama will honor the victims of last week's Navy Yard massacre at a memorial this afternoon. The service will be held at the U.S. Marine barracks in Washington.

On Monday, 12 people were killed when former Navy reservist Aaron Alexis opened fire inside a building at Navy headquarters. We'll have a live report coming up on that memorial service.

And could we be headed for a government shutdown?

If there's no budget compromise by October 1st, the answer is yes.

And the battle lines are being drawn in the sand over the president's health care law. Top Democrats and Republicans took to the Sunday talk shows to make their cases.

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JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: How far are you willing to push?

If the Senate does not go along in eight days, are you still going to insist, no funding for the government unless ObamaCare is defunded?

REP. TOM GRAVES (R), GEORGIA: We are united around a simple goal, and that is keeping the government open while protecting our constituents from the harmful effects of ObamaCare. So we're going to do everything we can to protect our constituents and we have eight days to do that. And my hope is that the Senate is going to act in a very positive way.

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: I don't think in America we should throw tantrums when we lose elections and threaten to shut down the government and refuse to pay the bills. The American people had a choice last November. They had a choice between someone who said repeal ObamaCare and President Obama.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): House Republicans passed a stopgap budget plan on Friday, but it takes all the money away from the president's health care law. That plan is expected to be rejected by the U.S. Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It has been more than 17 years since the last government shutdown. The 28-day budget stalemate then cost more than $1 billion.

A huge week expected at the United Nations. World leaders gather for the General Assembly and the U.N. Security Council will debate a U.S.- Russian deal that forces Syria to hand over its stockpile of chemical weapons.

But there is a hang-up, and it centers on the threat of force if Syria does not follow through with the deal. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is keeping an eye on the developments and all the pending developments out of New York.

So the stakes are very high, aren't they?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly. This dispute between Russia and America, Britain and France really inside the kind of inner core of the Security Council isn't anything new, because Moscow has always wanted to back off Damascus to the far extreme.

But what we've seen, of course, is Syria stand forward recently and say, we will give up our chemical weapons. Now, the Americans and the Russians agreed last weekend that they should give a declaration within a week.

They did that, to the surprise, I think, of some U.S. officials to a pretty reasonable, wide-ranging extent yesterday, saying, look, these are all the chemical weapons we actually have, at a much faster pace than they're, in fact, required to, under the convention they have agreed to give up their chemical weapons.

The question is, how does this agreement between America and Russia, the timetable and technical way in which Syria would hand over these weapons, how do you kind of get that backed up by a resolution of the United Nations?

That's been a sticking point, because the Americans want to see in that resolution some sort of language that might suggest if Syria didn't move fast enough, that potentially force could be on the table. The Russians don't want that.

So while we're still seeing Damascus, it seems, going along with all its promises to give up chemical weapons, but Russia put them in that spot. It's still this big sticking point, Fredricka.

Can Washington and Moscow bridge their differences and get this through the U.N. Security Council? Big challenge.

WHITFIELD: We'll be watching all week, of course. Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much in New York.

Back to our breaking news involving that hostage situation at a shopping mall in Kenya.

Nima Elbagir is on the scene for us in Nairobi.

So Nima, what more can you tell us about all that's taking place? Does there seem to be any movement involving the release of these hostages?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, after some 12, 14 hours with an extraordinarily tense but quiet situation, we have seen a lot of movement. Just before dusk, you can see, it's nightfall here now, but just before dusk, there was an extraordinary amount of activity, low-flying military and police helicopters, alongside them, circling military fighter jets.

It does seem to be in keeping with what we've later learned is, according to Kenyan police, an unfolding major assault. Sources we're speaking to say that they believe that what we saw earlier in terms of all of that low-flying noise and aerial presence, that that was designed to camouflage movement closer to the compound.

The hope is that we're going to see some sort of resolution. It's already been well past 24 hours, Fredricka, and we understand that there are some 30 hostages remaining inside.

It's just -- it's really difficult to describe what it feels like to be here. Just about half an hour ago, one father tried to break through the military and police cordon, screaming to be let through, because he said his children and his wife were still inside. Nobody that I have spoken to here has been untouched by this. Everybody knows someone who was either hurt or injured or has lost a loved one.

So for the Kenyan government, Fredricka, this is such a delicate balancing act. How do you resolve this, while trying to make sure that you can get as many of the remaining hostages out as you possibly can?

WHITFIELD: In fact, Nima, you talked about everyone being touched, even President Kenyatta saying his nephew and nephew's fiancee are among the dead, among the 68 now killed.

And so, Nima, is it the case, is it true that authorities feel like these hostage takers, these terrorists, are inside the mall, watching live television coverage and that is in large part why law enforcement wants to be very careful about its strategy and the type of information that's disseminated?

ELBAGIR: Absolutely. We've continuously been told to be very, very careful about what we've been putting out on air, because there does seem to have been a direct link between the Al-Shabaab, the Al Qaeda- linked militant group fighters inside that shopping center, and the people who have been putting up the tweets on the Al-Shabaab Twitter account, people who have been operating on the Al Qaeda in its forums.

A lot of what we've been seeing Al-Shabaab put out in terms of their press strategy, and they have had an extraordinarily sophisticated press strategy, as quickly as Twitter was able to take down their account, they were able to have another one up there and they posted that account on all of the Al Qaeda forums and we've seen so much noise and following of that account.

As soon as, you know, as that momentum has been created, we've heard some eyewitness corroborating what's been going out on those accounts. So it's obvious that there is some kind of connection.

And you know, we have now been hearing, Fredricka -- I don't know if you've seen this, but we've been given a list of names of those that Al-Shabaab are claiming are inside that shopping center, three of whom appear to be ethnic Somalis, that carry American passports, one from Minnesota, one from St. Paul.

There's also a Canadian, they say. One's from Finland and an ethnic Somali from London. We were in contact with a source within Al- Shabaab and they told us these names were about to go out.

And just before their Twitter account was taken down by Twitter for the second time, we were table to grab some screen grabs and grab some of those names. So we're going to be following up with law enforcement agencies over there in the following hours and days to see how much we can confirm about that, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Right. We can corroborate that same kind of information, Nima, three of those on that list who are believed to be holding people hostage, or at least part of this group to carry out this attack, are indeed Americans according to this information, too, from Minnesota and one from Missouri. And as you mentioned, other parts of familiar territories from London to Canada as well.

Thanks so much. Nima Elbagir, we'll check back with you. Appreciate that.

So a terror group ramps up its deadly mission in this form. Al- Shabaab going after so-called soft targets, this time in Kenya, killing at least 68 people. And the group says, indeed, three Americans are among the attackers inside Al-Shabaab. We'll be coming right back.

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WHITFIELD: In Colorado, the rain has stopped, but floodwaters have washed out many roads and bridges. Entire towns have been cut off. And for a state that relies on tourism as one of the biggest industries, it could spell disaster. Dan Simon joins us now.

Dan?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Fredricka. We are in Estes Park, Colorado. As you can tell, this is a very scenic spot. A lot of tourists come here. But two of the roads to get to this town have been destroyed and that's making any kind of recovery difficult.

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JULIE PIEPER, RESTAURANT OWNER: We've lost a lot of drywall.

SIMON (voice-over): Julie Pieper and her staff are working furiously to get her restaurant reopened.

PIEPER: It hurts. And this is a good time of year.

SIMON (voice-over): But getting the repairs done is only part of the challenge for her and other small businesses in the town of Estes Park, Colorado. The worry, according to the town administrator, is how long it will take for customers to return.

SIMON: You have an event like this, what does it do to the town?

FRANK LANCASTER, ESTES PARK ADMINISTRATOR: Well, we've never had an event like this. This is the biggest event Northern Colorado has ever had.

SIMON (voice-over): The town sits at the foot of Rocky Mountain National Park. Elk graze out in the open. It is a tourist mecca. The sidewalks normally bustling on a weekend are virtually empty.

CHARLEY DICKEY, OWNER, RUSTIC MOUNTAIN CHARM: Unfortunately, this is a real shot in the solar plexus and it takes the air right out of you.

SIMON (voice-over): And it may be a while until merchants like this are busy again.

To understand why, you need to take a drive.

SIMON: This right here is the biggest problem; roads like this one have completely caved in. Just look at the chunks of concrete in there.

This is a major artery, and it's preventing folks from getting into the town and spending money and it could be like this for many months.

SIMON (voice-over): There's no timetable yet for the major highway repairs. An alternative route exists, but it's not as convenient and it's not yet known how many people will use it.

LANCASTER: Some of those marginal businesses, this might be enough to push them over the edge.

SIMON (voice-over): Despite the hardship, Julie says there is no place she'd rather live.

PIEPER: A lot of people can say they live someplace beautiful. And a lot of people can say they live in a wonderful community. And the people in Estes Park know that they have both.

SIMON (voice-over): A community will come back, the question though is when.

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SIMON: Well, the hope is that those major roadways will be repaired by December 1st and with more than 40 percent of the jobs here directly related to tourism, it's pretty vital that that take place as quickly as possible.

WHITFIELD: That really does mean working very fast. All right, thanks so much, Dan Simon. Appreciate that. We'll have much more in the NEWSROOM, right after this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

WHITFIELD: Hostages are still being held inside a shopping mall a day after armed militants stormed in, killing almost 70 people.

Terror group Al-Shabaab has taken responsibility for the attack in Kenya and now we have learned that three people who lived in the United States are allegedly among the attackers, according to sources within Al-Shabaab. The terror group is based in Somalia, right next door to Kenya, and as Jim Sciutto reports, this could be an alarming new step for them.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, we could look at this as the disturbing debut on the international stage of a new international terror threat.

Al-Shabaab has been around for a number of years in Somalia, has carried out some smaller attacks outside of Somalia's borders, but nothing on this scale. And in fact, African Union forces, including Kenyan forces, had in recent years had success pushing Al-Shabaab out of many of its strongholds in Somalia.

This would seem to indicate the possibility of a comeback, but also a greater intent on having an international impact. Al-Shabaab is, in effect, an affiliate of Al Qaeda with a similar brutality and a similar focus on spectacular attacks like this one.

There had been a recent split in the leadership about whether to focus its attacks inside Somalia, against the government there or abroad. And this would seem to indicate the ascendency of the latter of particular interest for Americans. Al-Shabaab has had success recruiting Somali Americans into their membership, by some accounts as many as 50, some of whom have gone on to carry out attacks including suicide bombings. And while it may not have the capability of carrying out attacks on American soil, it could very well strike U.S. interests abroad. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Jim Sciutto.

And we'll have much more in the NEWSROOM, right after this.

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Breaking news this hour, we have learned that three of the alleged attackers in that deadly mall shooting in Kenya have lived in the United States according to sources within the terror group Al-Shabaab. Two lived in Minnesota and one in Missouri and they are all in their 20s.

A senior U.S. State Department official says they are still trying to match the names, but they are becoming more confident that American citizens may have been involved. Right now, about 30 people are still being held hostage at that shopping mall in Nairobi; 68 people were killed in that attack yesterday.

Number two, another story crossing our news desk. Three people were killed, four others hurt in a shooting outside of an Elks lodge in Michigan. Witnesses say the gunfire started just after 2:00 am at the hall in Muskegon, about 40 miles west of Grand Rapids, according to our affiliates. Police aren't sure how many shooters were involved and have not identified any suspects.

And a huge storm is bearing down on China's coast today. At least 50,000 relief workers are standing by as Typhoon Usagi gets ready to make landfall. The storm has been downgraded from a super typhoon status that would have been the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane. Usagi is still expected to pack 100-mile-an-hour winds and could cause flooding and landslides along coastal areas.

And police in France say they found 1.3 tons of pure cocaine stashed on an airplane. It was stuffed inside 30 suitcases, traveling from Venezuela to France. They got suspicious when the bags arrived without being registered to any passengers. Authorities estimate that that much pure cocaine has a street value of about $270 million.

And folks driving along Chicago's Lake Shore Drive got quite the surprise this morning when they spotted a small airplane sitting just off the road. The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing after his two-seater plane started having mechanical problems. The pilot simply walked away uninjured, but says that he was pretty shaken up by that experience.

Now, back overseas to that mall massacre in Nairobi, Kenya. The leader of the terrorist group who claims responsibility for the killings has previously threatened a direct attack on the United States. CNN's Margaret Conley has more.

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, we've seen these violent attacks on civilians in crowded public places overseas, the Madrid train bombings in 2004, the London public transport bombings in 2005.

In Kenya, Americans were involved. They were in the mall and some of them were wounded and this raises questions about security here in the U.S.

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CONLEY (voice-over): It may be more than 7,000 miles from Nairobi, Kenya, to the United States, but the mall massacre halfway around the world couldn't bring the tragedy any closer to home. Washington, D.C., resident Sara Head (ph) was inside the mall when shots were fired. She kept hidden in a stairwell with dozens of others as the chaos unfolded.

SARA HEAD, WESTLAKE MALL SURVIVOR: So we just waited in the stairwell for about an hour and a half. There were two individuals with me who had superficial gunshot wounds. Well, individuals in the stairwell with me, they were not with me. But there was about probably, I don't know, 60 of us. There were a few floors worth of people.

The attack on these so-called soft targets raises the question about mall security on U.S. soil. Could what happened overseas happen here?

FRANCONA: Soft targets are always attractive to terrorists, because they're usually not defended. It's a very effective way of causing a lot of panic, a lot of damage very quickly, and achieving the objective of terrorizing people.

CONLEY (voice-over): Back in this country, one mall that puts its security front and center is Minnesota's Mall of America, one of the largest enclosed shopping centers in the country, visited by 42 million people a year.

DOUG REYNOLDS, MALL OF AMERICA: I think that if you're looking for 100 percent safety, you should probably wrap yourself in bubble wrap and never leave home.

CONLEY (voice-over): It even has something many government facilities do not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a drill. Mall of America is now going into lockdown.

CONLEY (voice-over): Twice a month, without fail, its tenants and its customers participate in a lockdown drill, practicing how to shelter in back rooms of stores to try to prevent casualties in an attack.

REYNOLDS: If something bad should happen here, we don't want our response to start with, "And law enforcement will be here and they will protect you." We want to know what can be done until law enforcement gets here.

CONLEY (voice-over): Even with heightened security, an awareness of your surroundings may end up being your best defense.

TOM FUENTES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: For the average American citizen, you go to the grocery store, you go to the gas station, you go to the shopping mall, you go to a movie theater, you take walks in your neighborhood. Any one of those situations could make you vulnerable, if other people or another person is out there, determined to conduct an attack.

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CONLEY: Tom Fuentes went on to say that you could just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Margaret.

President Obama tries to heal a nation after another deadly shooting in this country. In the 5 o'clock Eastern hour, he's honoring the Navy Yard shooting victims. We'll talk to our Candy Crowley about what the president might say.

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WHITFIELD: We're expecting to hear from President Obama in the next 90 minutes or so. He's going to honor the victims of last week's Navy Yard massacre at the Marine barracks in Washington. Let's bring in CNN chief political correspondent, Candy Crowley.

So, Candy, it seems that it's really becoming the norm more than the exception for this president, having to help heal the nation with all these mass shootings.

What can we expect from him today? He'll be at the Marine barracks, even though that shooting took place at that Navy Yard.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. I think this is always a bit of the same thing. The president somehow needs to capture the emotions of a nation, speak to the deep loss of the people present that he's talking to, and somehow also try to bottle a lot of the anger that will be in that crowd, as well as elsewhere, without becoming too political.

The president has certainly, in these previous incidents in Newtown and in Colorado, has been very easy with scriptures and has no problem at all with that.

So he's kind of a preacher and a consoler and it's just, it's a very hard line to walk, particularly after you've done it so many times. I think that we are increasingly sort of seeing with the president a little more push in these sermons or talks or whatever you want to call them, to say, we've got to do something about weapons and keeping them out of the hands of the mentally ill and the criminals, et cetera.

WHITFIELD: And of course the president has an awful lot on his plate. There's that today, and then later on this week, he'll be going to the U.N. to talk more about Syria, perhaps, even, meet with the Iranian president. The White House is saying that's not scheduled, but it's a possibility, it hangs out there. So --

CROWLEY: They may share an elevator, who knows.

WHITFIELD: Who knows?

Is this something the White House wants to push for? Particularly since this president said very early on in his presidency and during his run, why not the president meet up with the Iranian leader and meet face to face and talk?

CROWLEY: Of course, but there is a, you know, there is a difference between, yes, actually, I spoke with him. We mentioned that we have many things in common, that our nations have not seen eye to eye for three decades. And it was a very nice five-minute chat.

And then having a, let's just sit down and talk. Presidents of any country don't tend to just sit down and wing it.

These meetings like this take months to plan. So I don't expect some big, let's change the world as we know it meeting. And -- but, certainly, some kind of, you know, hello, how are you; we disagree, we should continue to move toward, you know, talks.

You know, there's a lot of diplomacy involved. Neither one would surprise me if he did or he didn't, but I can assure you, it's not going to be some big, groundbreaking policy wise meeting between the two of them.

WHITFIELD: It will be, indeed, an interesting week. All while what also hangs in the balance is the potential government shutdown and then talk of the debt ceiling. A whole lot on the president's plate and on America's plate.

Candy Crowley, thanks so much for joining us from Washington.

CROWLEY: Thanks!

WHITFIELD: So with only eight days before that deadline for that government shutdown, who are Americans holding most accountable? As our political editor Paul Steinhauser finds out, both sides have reason to be concerned.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Fred.

In the battle over a government shutdown, public opinion seems to be giving both sides plenty of ammunition.

If the government runs out of money at the end of the month, President Obama says some in the GOP who are pushing to defund the health care law will be blamed.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You have some Republicans in the House of Representatives who are promising to shut down the government at the end of this month if they can't shut down the Affordable Care Act.

STEINHAUSER: So who would you blame if there's a government shutdown? Half of those questioned in our recent CNN ORC poll say congressional Republicans with a third pointing fingers at the president. The health care law is front and center in this political game of chicken.

JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: And the law's a train wreck. And it's going to raise costs. It's destroying American jobs and it must go.

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: We aim to put a stop to ObamaCare before it costs one more job or raises a family's out-of- pocket expenses one more dollar.

STEINHAUSER: Our survey finds that support for the measure is dropping; 39 percent say they favor most or all of the provisions in the law, down 12 points from the beginning of the year. With polls bolstering each side's arguments, there may be even less incentive to compromise.

Fred?

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Paul Steinhauser.

A photojournalist gets some of the first images of that horrible massacre in Kenya. He documents all of it. The images will simply shock you and break your heart. The photographer shares his story, next.

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WHITFIELD: We continue to follow the latest on an ongoing hostage situation after that deadly massacre at a mall, a shopping mall in Kenya. We have just learned that three people allegedly among the attackers lived in the United States. That's according to sources within the terror group, Al-Shabaab, which has taken responsibility.

Today, the State Department said they are trying to match those names.

And deputy spokeswoman Marie Hart released this statement saying, quote, "The United States condemns in the strongest terms the despicable massacre of innocent men, women, and children at the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. We stand ready to assist Kenya in finding those who did this and in holding them accountable," end quote.

While most people fled the scene of that deadly massacre at the mall, "New York Times" photojournalist Tyler Hicks ran actually toward the danger. Hicks shouted "Police," and took chilling photographs of the scene. He spoke to CNN earlier today about his experience.

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TYLER HICKS, PHOTOJOURNALIST: I happened to be close by to Westgate Mall when the violence broke out yesterday. And as I approached the mall, I could see lots of people running away. And as I got closer, it was clear that there were people who had been shot.

I saw people who had been shot in the stomach and the leg. Dozens of injuries streaming out, among just terrified civilians. The police and the army who were working there were desperately trying to get people evacuated out of the building.

I saw this as an opportunity to get inside. It became clear within a few minutes of getting inside the mall that no one really knew where the gunmen were.

While we were getting from place to place, you could see that there were people who had been killed, who were laying in different parts of the mall. Even after being there an hour, an hour and a half, two hours, people continued to suddenly come out of shops. They had barricaded themselves inside, either by locking the doors or pulling the metal gates down in front of the storefront windows.

Every 15 or 20 minutes, suddenly it seemed, you know, 20, 30, 50, 100 people would come out of another place that were just terrified. Even though they could hear that there were people outside, they couldn't really tell who was the police or the army. They were just petrified and staying low, which is really the right thing to do.

I never saw any of the armed militants. However, there was shooting going on, there was exchange of gunfire while we were in the mall. There are six floors of the Westgate Mall. So as you can imagine, this is a pretty big area to try to contain.

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WHITFIELD: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says it's a deplorable act and everything is being done to reach out to Kenya.

Meantime, the former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, she continues to be asked the question, is she going to consider a possible presidential run? Hear what her husband thinks about the idea and what she thinks about the current state of our political process. That's next in the NEWSROOM.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) WHITFIELD: The presidential election is three years away. But it looks like Hillary Clinton may be in the running. Polls now show she would be the Democratic front runner. The former secretary of state reveals her thinking in a new interview with "New York" magazine today. CNN's Erin McPike reports.

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ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Denials no more.

Hillary Clinton admits it. She's thinking about running for president in 2016.

JOE HAGAN, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: She's come out for the first time here and said I'm thinking about it. So she's weighing it.

MCPIKE (voice-over): She said as much to Joe Hagan in a wide-ranging interview featured in next week's "New York" magazine.

Here she is in her own words about whether she wrestles with the idea of jumping into the ring again.

"I do, but I'm both pragmatic and realistic. I will just continue to weigh what the factors are that would influence me making a decision one way or the other."

It's a far cry from what she said every time she's been asked the last three years, including in January by CNN.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I have absolutely no plans to run.

MCPIKE (voice-over): Her inner circle is making different plans.

HAGAN: The most fascinating part of the experience for me was talking to many of her former staffers from the State Department and some of her closer friends. And they are much more open about here's why she's qualified. Here's what happened at the State Department that gives her the experience. Here's how she learned from the mistakes of 2008.

MCPIKE (voice-over): Because of that role, she's more popular than ever.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was the first time a country had ever gotten to see her as somebody who just, what you see is what you get. She shows up to work every day and gets stuff done and is very strong about it.

MCPIKE (voice-over): And she's getting some encouragement to run from another glass ceiling cracker, the first female Speaker of the House.

NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: I know that if she does, she will win.

MCPIKE (voice-over): But if you're chomping at the bit for campaign season to begin, hold your horses.

Her warning? "I'm not in any hurry. I think it's a serious decision not to be made lightly, but it's also not one that has to be made soon."

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WHITFIELD: And Erin joins us now live from Washington.

So, Erin, does Hillary Clinton believe that she is more prepared this time around than the last time she ran?

MCPIKE: Well, Fred, it certainly sounds like that. She talks about how the killing of Osama bin Laden was a bonding experience for her and President Obama. And she has an interesting quote that I don't think we've given much attention to today. And I want to read that to you. It's about her experience as a Cabinet member.

She says, "I've had a unique, close and personal front row seat. And I think these last four years have certainly deepened and broadened my understanding of the challenges and the opportunities that we face in the world today."

And, Fred, I don't know about you, that sounds to me like and answer to a debate question about what has prepared you to be commander in chief, don't you think?

WHITFIELD: I guess so.

And I wonder why she decided that now is a good time to reveal a little bit more about her thinking, reveal a little bit more about her preparedness?

MCPIKE: Well, Fred, that's a great question. I've talked to a number of Democratic fundraisers who say they want her to get out front a little bit more because they want to start raising money. This coming week in New York City, there will be an annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. And of course, there are lots of Democratic donors who will be there.

And I'm sure they will all be buzzing about this on Wednesday.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, interesting timing, then, after all. Erin McPike, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

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WHITFIELD: Did you check the calendar? Does it feel like it outside? Today is the first official day of fall. And for many places across the country, it can be the most beautiful time of year. Trees begin changing their leaves in an explosion of color.

But why, exactly, does this happen?

Here's meteorologist Alexandra Steele. ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Alexandra Steele with "The Science Behind," and we're talking about fall foliage.

It is the autumnal equinox coming in at officially at 4:44 in the afternoon. And between now and the winter solstice, we actually lose three hours and 43 minutes of daylight. And of course with fall, everyone talks about and looks at the beautiful leaves and the changing of the colors. And, of course, our weather influences to how bright or how dull the leaves are on a particular season.

So, of course, temperature, how warm it is during the day or how cold it gets at night. Sunlight, how much we see, precipitation, how much rain that falls or doesn't fall, a drought, perhaps. Or soil moisture, as well.

So the recipe for just vibrant, beautiful colors, no matter where you are watching us from, the Green or White Mountains or the Appalachians, what we need is a wet growing season so rain when we should have it.

But then a dry autumn, sunny days and cool, clear, frostless nights. So it's got to be cool, but it can't get cold. We can't have it go below 32 degrees.

So what happens, this is the science of it, how it changes. During the course of the warm growing season, the leaves produce chlorophyll to help plants create energy from light.

Now, that green pigment is dominant. That's all you see. It hides the colors beneath it. What happens, we see that green chlorophyll stop being produced and the leaves' green color fades. What happens is it fades and shows us the color underneath.

There are four primary pigments -- chlorophyll, which is green, right?

We know that, xanthophyll, also carotenoids and that's actually in carrots. You see that also, and also anthocyanins. And actually berries, like blueberries and raspberries have those in it as well.

So it just depends what's under there and how the weather will impact the green and the chlorophyll and it'll allow us to or not to see the beautiful colors beneath. So let's hope it's a beautiful season. So enjoy your leaf peeping.

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WHITFIELD: It never disappoints. Thanks so much, Alexandra.

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