hello, i'm nor tkpwapb radford. at least 39 are dead and hostages remain. >> headed for hong kong, this year's most powerful typhoon is hours from making landfill. abusive power and now a live sentence. he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. and talk about thaop dreams. how the nba is working to put an end to the gang violence invy ka

go just one game at a time. some hostages have been freed but it's unclear how many more remain it's all taking place in kenya's capitol city nairobi. gunman opened fire inside the west gate mall. at least 39 people are dead and 150 injured. some americans are among the wounded. the state department said it's not aware of any american dead in the attack. earlier today we spoke with johnson director of africa around the motivation behind the

attack. >> i've taken the attack to kenya. they said they would spare those who are muslims and this particular attack and made it very clear that they singled oh out christians who were in one particular line and muslims in another. it's to drive a wedge between the society. i think kenyans will have to make sure that they that this doesn't happen in terms of the longer picture. they have to look thousand religionly. it's an ugly wedge. >> what is al shab. it all started in 20 2006.

al shabab had force allies to the government. they sent troops as part of an african union peace keeping force. uganda paid a heavy price an more than 70 people were killed in july 2010 when they planted two bombs in uganda's capitol. the group seemed to be on the defensive when they moved in to somalia in 2 2011. it was chased out. their contain has not ended. in june of this year they launched a bold attack on the u.n. compound in the capitol. there's been several bomb attacks targeting senior somali officials. >> reporter: it's one of the

biggest outside somalia it could not have come at a more improbable time. it controls -- the group has offered just enough from the leadership struggle. al shabab's leader who goes by -- many aligned to the group's leadership and by killing some of his main opponents. al shabab is violent of islamic courts which control in 20067. 2006. they invaded somalia to back in the government. after its hunt of theette ethiopian troops.

>> translator: it was all the way to iceland. were coming. >> reporter: al shabab is under islamic rule. in 2009, al jazeera filmed the foreign fighters. al shabab fought its biggest.

they used roadside bombs. today thousands of kenyan troops remain in areas of southern somalia where al shabab once was. the leadership said there's no less of the fight both inside and outside of the boarders. and to give you the latest on that story we'll have our very own catherine coming up live from nairobi. a bombing at a funeral in baghdad left at least 65 people dead. three explosion went off at a shiite funeral service on saturday. according to local police, a car bomb went off then a suicide bomber drove in and detonated his bomb. a third explosion kurd. at least 120 people were wounded. and an inside ser attack left three american soldiers dead in afghanistan. the shooting happened during a

military training. an afghan wearing a military-tile uniform opened fire killing two right there on the spot. the third died of his wounds and an american and afghan soldiers returned fire killing the attacker. kong hong kong is now bracing for most powerful storm of the year. the typhoon the bearing down on the southern chinese city expected to make land fall late sunday or early monday. the storm already left two people dead and two others missing when it passed through the philippines in taiwan. our tron joins us now from hong kong. we understand typhoon is head for the chinese central region. are businesses there preparing for this hit? >> reporter: well that's right. everybody here is taking all precautions as you would expect. this part of the world is used to typhoons but given the strength of this typhoon is a

little nor than normal. people have been prepared. businesses are closed or will be closing as this typhoon bears down. people are being evacuated from low lying areas. other people are securing the path of buildings. >> now, rob, it was downgraded from a super tie to a super typy but does that make it any less dangerous? >> reporter: it is. it is slightly less if you like some of the winds have been slightly mitigated. what happened with these typhoons is they build up in the pacific and come racing in. the first countries to get hit are philippines and taiwan. they will feel the brunt of this typhoon. they do lose some of their power. what happens with this typhoon

sit's going to the area between those two land masses. so the coast of south china, yes, the winds are the not as powerful as they were but the typhoon is still expected to hit hard, morgan? >> it's expected to hit hard, rob, bottom line is hong kong ready? they're as ready as they are going to be. that is to warm people and the mainland has one better. they have one given a red alert.

>> thrive from hong kong monitoring the so-called red alert. >> >> powerful storms have been hitting the different parts of the world. typhoons in asia and damage in the united states. there is a difference. meteorologist dave warren explains. >> reporter: tropical cyclones bringing damageing wind. both storms have the same damage and torrential rain and they are two different things. hurricane manuel. sure kraeupbs storms that develop over the warm waters of the atlantic, ka ri caribbean af

of mexico. once you start the international dateline in the pacific a similar storm would be called a typhoon. becomes a major hurricane in and will reach 111 miles per hour. while 150 miles per hour what we call category 4 hurricane in the atlantic is a wind speed called a super typhoon. >> more than 100 people have died in mexico after two tropical storms slammed in to the country. worst hit was the areas around the resort story of alcapulco where mud slides left a path of destruction. the mexican president toured the area today. helped rebuild in a safer location. al jazeera reports from la can t*e ra. >> reporter: rescue teams slowly unearth what lies. beneath a disaster zone. mudslide is huge and there seems

to be little chance of finding survivors. here they locate the body of a woman, one of many they expect to find in the coming days. survivors said the mudslide hit without warning. >> translator: i lost any nephew, my grandchildren, the whole house is gone. i lost my entire family. although people are safe here, they say it's impossible to see what happened. >> translator: i need to give her a proper burial. >> reporter: the government said

emergency aid is ready to be delivered. more than 50 communities have been without food or water for a week. the washed out bridges and flood damaged roads means the only way in to these mountain villages is by air. here, too, there are challenges. >> were doing all we can to bring much-need assistance to these renote villages. the biggest problem we face is the weather. >> on a thursday, a rescue helicopter went missing in stormy conditions. two days later, it was found crashed with no survivors but the operation will continue. and with help from the government, many communities in need could recover but for residents of la tinada, their town no longer exists. meanwhile, heavy rain caused flash flooding in houston. about six inches of rain fell. two teenagers are repoertd

missing after their truck was reportedly swept off a road. the reports of damage including these cars that had been valet parked at a downtown houston hotel. a once popular chinese politician gets life behind bars. plus, team work -- we will show you some nba stars who are helping to end the violence in chicago one student at a time. .

>> every sunday night al jazeera america presents gripping films, from the worlds top documentary directors >> this is just the beginning of somthing much bigger... >> tomorrow, the premier of "do the math" >> these companies are a rogue force... >> one environmentalist says fossil fuels equal disaster... will his movement add up add up to change? >> we will fight it together...

al jazeera america presents - "do the math" premiers tomorrow night, 9 eastern. american and israeli

security forces their working with kenyan forces. some hos stapbls have tpw-pb -- some hostages have been freed but it's unclear how many remain. catherine, can you tell us what's the significance of west gate mall? >> reporter: it's a mall that's frequented by wealthy kenyans. it's frequented -- it happened

on saturday. it's family day. the gunman targeted the second floor. there are children in there. there's a food court and there was also a competition going on. so, it's very important in that sense and it's a very good target for al shabab because this is what they have always threatened to do to target a mall like the west gate mall. so it sounds like they wanted to target the wealthy but wear also learning that they escorted the muslim clientele out so how were they able to a, i identify and b, escort out all the muslim shoppers before the massacre? >> reporter: that's something what we were hearing about.

they were asking people what their religion s what their nationality is. they were separating the muslims from everybody else. they were showing them some koran islamic work and asking people to read these words and if someone couldn't read the words, then they will decide and actually they are being probed by some witnesses that we spoke to that people were being shot because they couldn't read the islamic work and the muslims will decide and were told to leave the buildings. so, we don't know who is in there right now. we don't know whether there are still muslims in there but we know there are many people who are still in the mall hiding in different places. it's a big mall and police stay they have -- they have been able to secure some sections of the that mall but there's some cases that have not been secure where people are still hiding and the gunman are still being held up in a section of this super market. and they have hostages and the

they are making the police work very complicated because how do you deal with gunman who have hostages that they willing to use as human shaoerlds. morgan? >> thank you so much k live from nairobi. we will be sure to keep you updated. you can feel us online on al jazeera.com. >> reporter: we'll come back with that report soon. a new round of gun violence has left four men dead in chicago.

this is less than two days after a shooting spree at a park that injured 13 people including a 3-year-old. people in chicago are coming together to find ways to heal. >> on chicago's south side, just two days after gunman shot up a basketball nearby, they have battled on chicago streets face each other with basketball instead of guns. it's a blessing. >> reporter: andre johnson is one of the players. people get shot at.

that's messed up. >> former nba star and chicago bulls assistant general manager randy says it might seem like a strange concept. >> what makes this tournament so special are the nba stars comes to the court and mentor in life. among the stars, chicago bull centers. >> this tournament is the culmination of the basketball league at this church that aim the to keep young men like johnson off the the streets. . they will be out here and doing -- >> so one afternoon, the stars on the sidelines, the fans in the stands and the players kept the dream alive. andy rosen, al jazeera, chicago.

now why be a small fish in a big pond when you can with be a big fish in a small pond. some people are learning how they can make a bigger difference. millions who need assistance now. we appreciate you spending time with us tonight. up next is the golden age of hollywood going golden but elsewhere. why l.a.'s mayor has declared a state of emergency for the entertainment industry there. next. on august 20th,

kenyatta. the pay back about $# 4 million-dollars took in bribes as well as corruption and there are really no surprises. he was in the court house for just over two hours. there's no surprises in the verdict and not the sentencing because this is a high profile case that's really forced focused on crack down on skrupgs so we expected a heavy sentence. this isn't the end of this trial. we will probably hear more over the coming weeks and possibly the coming months because there's a strong indication that they are going to appeal this decision and elevateed to a higher court and will retrying this spire case it's over but right now he's found guilty on

all three charges. >> a 16-year-old student in southern california knead strides in there high school by being crowned the first transgender homecoming queen. she was honored in huntington beach. breaking down in tears right there in front of the crowd, you can see as she hopes her milestone can be a guiding light for others. >> i'm so proud the to win this. not just for me but for everyone out there and for every kid who is transgender, gay, straight, black, white, mexican, asian, it doesn't matter, you can be yourself. campbell began taking the hormone injection this year and documented her journey on you tube. >> >> some young people who left the big city are founding they can make a bigger difference in smaller towns. john talks to buding business owners who are returning to their roots.

>> reporter: mike bosh is the face to a new counter culture as millions trade in their small town roots to the lure of the city, he moved his web design company to the countryside. he's 12 1200 can 1200 kansasiand the group. >> we really lean on each other saying what you need to be successful in your town people a big believe hear the we have a competitive advantage. she work ethic. his staff lives out and nearly all of them are under 40. across the u.s., young americans are increasingly abandoning small towns. in 1970, nearly a quarter of 18 to 29-year-olds lived with less than 2500. now just 14% do. throughout the u.s., many small

towns are literally dying off. when young young people leave they become ghost towns. there are hundreds the like this across rural america. she runs a boutique. >> i really like the involvement from a retail shop to have with your customers. you're busy but yet you have that one basis with it. being a small community you really get to know those people and i worked in larger communities where the doors swing and you don't get to know anybody. >> reporter: going tpraour rurat defining the stigma of returning home. their friends call them loserss. there's no crime. there's family to help raise the kids that also a young person who is interested in making a

difference. you can do that in a small town of 200t500, 5,000 more than you can in a big city. >> reporter: for america's small town the difference they make can mean survival. al jazeera, quincey kansas. taiwan's first giant panda cub is growing by the day. she recently gained 11-pounds and starting to gain her hearing. she was born nearly two months a go and the staff said she has been biting things which show her teeth are finally coming out. she'll be cared for with regular check ups until she's ready to meet the public. that will do it for this edition of al jazeera news. i'm morgan rad ford. ali veshi is next. you can find us live on al jazeera.com. thank you for watching. be sure to join the conservation

because there's always more to it. .