Mall Fight: Gunfire and explosions are still being heard from inside the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi as Kenyan forces close in on Somali the terrorists who attacked Saturday. Smoke is pouring out of the building. The military said they have freed most of the hostages, but 68 are dead according to the Red Cross. Among the dead are the president of Kenya’s nephew and the nephew’s fiancée. Four Americans were reported injured. The terrorists put out a steady stream of announcements on Twitter, including, “no matter what happens today well (sic) make sure you pay the ultimate price!”

National: Speaking at a memorial for the Washington Navy Yard victims, President Obama noted that it was the fifth such event he had attended. “Sometimes I fear there’s a creeping resignation that these tragedies are just somehow the way it is, that this is somehow the new normal.” Obama said he’ll examine security on military bases but, “what makes us so susceptible to so many mass shootings, is that we don’t do enough — we don’t take the basic, common-sense actions to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and dangerous people.” Meanwhile the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre said on NBC that “there weren’t enough good guys with guns” at the Navy Yard the day of the shooting.

Politics: Former Secy. of State Hillary Clinton admitted to New York Magazine that she is “wrestling’ with a decision whether to run for president but would not announce soon if she does. “I think it’s a serious decision, not to be made lightly, but it’s also not one that has to be made soon. The election is more than three years away and I just don’t think it’s good for the country.”

World: An Egyptian court has issued an order banning all activity by the Muslim Brotherhood. The government has cracked down on the Brotherhood since President Muhammed Morsi, a member of the Brotherhood, was removed from office.

• Hopes are up this week for improved relations with Iran as the country’s new leader Hassan Rouhani visits the United Nations. Considered more moderate than his predecessor, Rouhani has vowed to improve Iran’s economy, which has been damaged by international sanctions intended to discourage nuclear development. Rouhani seems open to negotiations. There’s speculation that he might have a meeting with President Obama.

Small Screen: The cable channels ruled the airwaves last night at the Emmy Awards. Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Movie, Best Drama … it goes on. Last night’s awards mark a turning point at which the broadcast networks no longer dominate the best and brightest of television entertainment. And in a mashup of fiction and reality, the new cover of The New Yorker features a cartoon of Breaking Bad’s Walter White in a chemical lab with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.

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