next a special news edition with lester holt and "nightly news." tonight the flag fury explodes in south carolina, and a dramatic turn late today from the governor. >> it's time to move the flag from the capitol grounds. >> this as president obama stuns many by using the n word in a frank discussion about racism in america. a major break in the manhunt for two escaped murderers after weeks without a trace. have authorities finally found their hiding place? we're on the front lines in the fight against isis in iraq, not with the americans but with the militias backed by iran as bitter adversaries fight a common enemy. and swift action. apple changes its tune in a hurry after one of the most powerful women in the entertainment world takes a stand over music and money. "nightly news" begins

right now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news with lester holt." good evening. in a state still reeling from the massacre of nine black worshippers, the effort to remove from the south carolina state capitol grounds a racially charged symbol wrapped in a painful history gained a powerful voice today. the state's governor, nikki haley, a republican, joining a growing chorus of those now calling for the removal of the confederate battle flag, the same flag embraced by the young white man accused in the charleston church shooting. ron allen leads off our coverage. >> reporter: few symbols in american culture evoke such intense passion. emblem of southern pride and states' rights or the scourge of slavery and racism. today governor nikki haley weighed, in flanked by a bipartisan group of state leaders. >> today we are here in a moment of unity in our state without ill will to say it's

time to move the flag from the capitol grounds. >> reporter: south carolina's house and senate must approve the removal of the flag. and the governor urged them to do that as soon as possible. haley previously defended the flag when running for re-election. >> i spend a lot of my days on the phones with ceos and recruiting jobs to this state. i can honestly say i have not had one conversation with a single ceo about the confederate flag. >> reporter: a growing chorus has been demanding the confederate flag's removal. hundreds at the state house over the weekend. today south carolina senator lindsey graham, running for president, and republican candidate jeb bush both added their voices to that chorus. as did democratic candidate hillary clinton. today in charleston calls for a rally tomorrow at the state house. >> take away mr. roof's symbol, a misguided idea of racial superiority and bigotry. >> reporter: the flag

first flew atop the dome in 1962. a symbol of defiance during the civil rights movement. in 2000 a compromise moved the flag to the war memorial on the state house grounds. defenders, few will go on camera, say the issue is preserving history, not hate. >> one more step in the direction of killing the southern culture. >> reporter: pat hines' organization is listed as a hate group by the southern poverty law center. >> south carolina is south carolina. we don't mind gradual change that's beneficial. we don't think that's beneficial, and we don't think it should change. >> this is a moment in which we can say that that flag, while an integral part of our past, does not represent the future of our great state. >> reporter: the governor said she hopes the flag can come down perhaps as soon as the 4th of july. independence day. meanwhile, later this week the funerals for the worshippers who so tragically lost their lives at mother emanuel, are set to begin. the first this

thursday. the first of nine. lester? >> ron allen, thank you. the uproar over the events and their fallout in charleston has led president obama to talk about race in the most blunt language the american public has ever heard from him. in doing so he used a controversial word, one steeped in a legacy of hate, to make his point. nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker has that part of the story. >> reporter: the massacre in south carolina shocked a nation and jolted the first african-american president to speak with unprecedented candor about racial tensions and gun violence. >> racism. we are not cured of it. >> reporter: in an interview with podcast host marc maron, a frustrated president obama used the n word publicly for the first time as president. out of sensitivity nbc news has decided to bleep out the word. >> and it's not just a matter of it not being polite to say [ bleep ] in public. that's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. it's not just a matter

of overt discrimination. societies don't overnight completely erase everything that happened two to three hundred years prior. >> reporter: the reaction raw from south carolina today. >> he wasn't trying to sugar-coat anything. >> i think everything he said was spot on. >> i really thought we had progressed beyond that. >> reporter: at historically black howard university callers took to the airwaves. >> what has to change is the hearts and mind of the people. >> so true. >> he shocked us into an awareness, and i think it was so effective. as the person who is the president of the united states of america trying to lead us and guide us through these treacherous waters of race in our own time. >> reporter: in 2008 mr. obama rode a wave of hope and change into office, but statistics show for african-americans significant problems remain. the unemployment rate among blacks has dropped. but at more than 10% it's still double the unemployment rate for whites. blacks are

incarcerated nearly six times the rate of whites. and while hate crimes have declined, more than 2/3 are directed at african-americans. dylann roof's actions in south carolina also renewed the president's call on guns. >> i don't foresee any real action being taken until the american public feels a sufficient sense of urgency and they say to themselves this is not normal. >> reporter: as emotions run high over these issues, the president is acutely aware his window for action is quickly closing. white house officials say the president wasn't planning to use the n word but has no regrets and they note he has used the word before in his book "dreams for my father." as for guns, top officials indicated today there are no new plans for a legislative push before he leaves office. lester? >> kristen, thank you. i want to turn to our political director, the moderator of "meet the press" chuck todd. it's become apparent the president's more willing to tackle race in a way we didn't see earlier in his presidency. what should we make of that?

>> well look part of it was triggered, the initial decision to do this and where he felt more comfortable doing it was right after the trayvon martin incident down in florida. from then on he has felt more comfortable. but he's still a little bit reticent. you talk to his closest friends and aides and they'll tell you he feels when he speaks on race the whole country doesn't necessarily listen to the message he wants to deliver. that said, those same friends and aides say you know what? the most important thing is a simple presence. as one person noted to me, the rising teenagers of america in 2016 will have only known an america with an african-american president, and that alone may be something of a legacy for him that matters in the future when it comes to racial reconciliation, lester. >> all right. chuck todd in our los angeles newsroom tonight. thanks. tonight, 17 days since two convicted murderers broke free from a maximum security prison virtually without a trace, investigators had their first major clue as to their potential whereabouts. nbc news has learned dna found inside a cabin deep in the

woods matches the killers. now that their hiding place has been found, the manhunt has intensified around it. nbc's stephanie gosk has late details from owls head, new york. >> reporter: police say they are on to something roughly 20 miles from the prison where the inmates escaped more than two years ago. >> law enforcement is maintaining a strong and visible presence in this region, and that will continue until we bring this matter to a close. >> reporter: sources familiar with the investigation tell nbc news that dna recovered in a remote mountain lodge matched both david sweat and richard matt. and the two are likely still on the run together. the owner contacted police after seeing someone run from the cabin saturday. he told restaurant owner terry bellinger what he saw. >> went inside and there was a jug of water on the kitchen table. he said -- which is never there. something they don't use. >> what about the peanut butter? >> open jar of peanut butter. >> right on the table? >> on the table. >> reporter: bellinger isn't surprised they came this way. >> how difficult would it be to search these

woods here for someone? >> oh, i don't know where you'd start. it's dense. >> reporter: this is the most direct way back to the prison. 13 miles of dirt road. and all along this stretch are dozens of access trails just like this one that lead to hunting cabins that are unoccupied for most of the year. as the investigation into the escape continues the department of corrections announced prison officer gene palmer has been put on administrative leave in connection with the escape. nbc spoke with his lawyer. >> he has fully cooperated with law enforcement. he's answered all their questions. he was interviewed for 14 hours. >> reporter: tonight owls head is bracing for a night of intense searching. heavily armed law enforcement are pouring into the woods. rugged, difficult terrain. flushing out two convicts won't be easy. in just the last couple of hours we've noticed our own ability to move around town significantly restricted. just down the road the fire department has been turned into a

staging area with humvees, command centers, and busloads of law enforcement being brought in. turning this normally sleepy mountain town into the center of the manhunt. lester? >> all right. stephanie, thank you. it could be an extremely dangerous night ahead in the midwest, right in the bullseye of this massive storm. packing winds that blow in straight lines known as a derecho. as many as 40 million in the danger zone as the system moves east with possible 75-mile-an-hour winds, two-inch hail, and the threat of even more tornadoes. nbc's anne thompson has more on that. >> reporter: the derecho stormed across the northern plains today. as this time lapse video shows, it brought heavy rains to cedar falls, iowa, sent this tree through brock burmeister's home in southern minnesota, pinning the teen to the floor. >> i was pretty shook up at the time. and kind of looked like -- sounded like a bad dream. >> reporter: a close call in portland, michigan. people trapped inside the goodwill store

where a possible tornado touched down. >> i had a huge beam miss me by just -- >> most of the damage today was from what we call a derecho. that's a long-lived wind storm that puts down a swath of damage at least 250 miles. >> reporter: it produced hurricane-like wind gusts. 72 miles per hour in sioux falls, south dakota. 95 in sheldon, iowa. and an astounding 122 miles per hour in hayes, south dakota. as the storms pushed east, in its wake a trail of destruction. and it's not over yet. >> we could have tornadoes in wisconsin and iowa tonight. that will head east through chicago, detroit, cleveland overnight, reform along the east coast. >> reporter: millions tonight still in the storm's danger zone. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. there is alarming news this evening about an alleged isis-inspired plot to attack the u.s. a 19-year-old from north carolina, justin sullivan, is in fbi custody, accused of plotting a terrorist act "on behalf of isis." he allegedly told an undercover operative

that he wanted to kill as many as 1,000 people, either with a large car bomb or chemical weapons. sullivan's own father tipped off authorities about his son. moving now from the threat of isis at home to the battle against isis overseas. tonight we have a ground-level view in iraq with the forces on the march to try and take that territory from isis. here's the rub. they're not american or iraqi troops but rather militias trained by iran, who in a twist now find themselves fighting the same enemy as the u.s. nbc's bill neely is on the front lines on the way to ramadi. >> reporter: on the road from baghdad it's not long before the signs of battle appear. smoke from the isis front line. religious fighters armed by iran. we're with a shia militia that's pushing isis back in anbar province, where a third of american troops died in one iraq war where another is now raging. anbar's capital ramadi fell to isis last

month when iraq's army retreated. the militias aim to take it back with iran's help. these are the holy warriors of iraq that washington doesn't trust and won't support with air power. but they are effective shock troops against isis. they fought them here and won, and they're not stopping. >> reporter: and they say they'll go it alone. >> do you want any american help? no. not even air strikes, nothing? nothing? they don't all agree. ? i need more help. airstrikes. >> air strikes? >> yes. >> reporter: there have been dozens of u.s. air strikes this month. but isis still holds ramadi. the militia leader tells me he'll drive them out. "we're fighting the world's battle," he says, "but we don't want more american troops or bases here." suddenly a gunshot. not an isis sniper or an assassin. just one of his poorly

trained men. the commander was trained by iran and fought for iran. he's seen here bowing to iran's supreme leader. his militia, an iranian-backed weapon to gain power in the middle east. he claims he takes orders from iraq's prime minister, not iran. but many fear iraq now relies on militias to beat isis and that iran may end up the winner. bill neely, nbc news, near ramadi. and in afghanistan the taliban are claiming responsibility for a brazen attack on parliament. it began when a suicide bomber blew up the outside gates. the moment of the blast caught on live tv by cameras inside while parliament was in session. an hour-long gun battle broke out as the attackers attempted to storm the building. all seven were killed according to officials. two civilians were killed, a woman and a 10-year-old girl, and at least 31 injured, none of them members of parliament. a lot more still ahead to tell you about tonight, including a major

fight over music and money. taylor swift takes on apple and wins big. the ripple effect being felt tonight. also word of a change coming to your breakfast. a lot of adults and kids will care about this one. we'll tell you what's about to disappear.

one of the biggest music stars in the world is victorious tonight. taylor swift being hailed after picking a fight with apple over music and how much money she and other artists are getting paid. nbc's hallie jackson

reports on what she did and what it means for the future of music. ♪ say can you believe it ♪ >> reporter: when taylor swift sings, her fans hang on every word. when she speaks, so does the music industry. the proof? apple's about-face as it gets ready to roll out its new service that will stream music online. >> we're making the first three months free. >> reporter: the company wasn't planning to pay artists for their music during that free trial. until swift released an open letter on tumblr, writing, "we don't ask you for free iphones. please don't ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation." less than 24 hours later apple changed its tune. >> she's 25. she made the biggest company in the world reverse course in 24 hours. >> that's astounding. >> reporter: last year she pulled her songs off the streaming site spotify because she says it didn't pay artists enough. >> her power is in her massive fan base, her

very loud megaphone, which is her social media following, and the business smarts that she has by being a part owner in her own record company. >> reporter: that has other musicians now singing her praises. like gene simmons from kiss. who writes, "if more artists insisted on being paid for their work, new bands might have a chance." >> doing what you love. >> reporter: that includes newcomers like eilen jewell. >> we all need to earn a living. >> but many of jewell's fans discovered her on free streaming sites. >> i can see how someone of her caliber would real not benefit from having her catalog on spotify, whereas me being an up-and-coming artist i see a lot of benefit. >> reporter: still, at just 25, swift is cementing her position as an advocate for artists. ♪ shake it off ♪ demanding the industry shake it up. hallie jackson, nbc news, berkeley, california. we're back in just a moment with a spectacular sight caught on camera in space.

an amazing image captured on camera in space. an aurora glowing red as well as green. snapped by astronaut scott kelly, who's spending a year aboard the international space station. what an incredible shot. he tweeted today, "i've never seen this before. red aurora. spectacular." and he's right. a damning new report may have sunk pete rose's hall of fame dreams for good. espn says it uncovered evidence showing that rose bet on baseball games while he was a player from copies of his own bookie's logs which had been sealed under court order. rose has always claimed that he only gambled when he was a manager, not a player. tonight, rose's lawyer issued a statement saying he would not comment on the espn story due to his pending request to remove his lifetime ban from baseball, which could make him hall of fame eligible. and a change coming to your breakfast. general mills today became the latest company to announce it's removing artificial colors and flavors. taking them out of its cereals, responding to calls for more natural foods. the company says that

means trix will now be made with four colors instead of six. blue and green will be gone because they couldn't find natural alternatives with similar taste and color as the artificial stuff. when we come back, their city was struck by a crime intended to divide them. the people of charleston have other ideas.

next at 6: a bay area construction crane... hijacked. ===take vo=== when the man finally came down... we asked him why he did it. ===take vo janelle=== plus, brown lawns and short showers are paying off. the

incredible amount of water the south bay conserved. ===next close=== next. ==take sot== today's feeds h we want to take a moment now to show you some of the incredible scenes from charleston. days after a massacre that violated a sacred place and threatened to break apart a community, thousands in charleston showed they would not be divided. here's harry smith. >> reporter: william faulkner said it best. "in the south the past is never dead. it's not even past." and so the arguments over the flag will continue. but charleston has moved on. >> we pray your blessings on them. >> reporter: what strikes us most about these last few days is the absolute absence of malice from the people of charleston. >> you are not in this alone at all. ♪ >> reporter: for years it's been well known that the most segregated places in america are our houses of worship. yet this event laid waste to that old

truth. in charleston the horror of wednesday night drew this town closer together. black and white. >> we are more than just this day. we are charleston strong. and i am truly proud to be a member of that. >> reporter: and sunday night showed that no matter what your religion, a faith that together we will be a better people was on display for all the world to see. thousands climbed the span of that bridge to bear witness to a better today and a better tomorrow. it was america as we wish it could be. and in charleston the people said this is in fact who we are. harry smith, nbc news. before we go, as of tonight this program has a new name, and i'm honored to say a new anchor. your loyalty and viewership during a difficult time has been appreciated by all of us on this program. and i want to express

my sincere thanks to my friend and colleague brian williams for his kind words of support. we hope to see all of you each and every night. that's going to do it for us on this monday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching. and good night. today's feeds hd -- south bay drought latest -- 7:47 this makes me feel really bad it's kinda sad thing to see it go on. ==janelle/cont vo== right now at six --t' this is -- makes me feel really bad, it's sad to see it go on. >> right now at 6:00 taking its toll in many ways. tonight we're learning that the push to conserve water across the south bay is paying off. good evening, thanks for joining us. >> we are getting the message, people are cutting back and the proof is right there in the water. the latest numbers from the santa clara county water district show the most recent conservation numbers were the best in more than two years.

mary ann favreau has a closer look. >> the biggest things is with land scaping. the district awarded this condo complex behind me the water saving hero award, because they found all their leaky pipes and broken pipes and then fixed them individual homeowners are doing their part too. just a few months ago, this bone dry front lawn in san jose used to be a lush green carpet not any more, after 30 years of watering the grass perry decided to stop. >> this is the first year i decided to let it go. she stopped watering her backyard too. >> it used to be a functional foundation. >> even turned her fountain into a work of art. >> i think everybody's doing