on this saturday night, on the run. an intense search for the killers still on the loose. and an inside look at one of their last hiding places as we learn about the gunfight that killed one of the escapees. terror at the beach. new video of the deadly attack on a tourist resort pictures of the gunmen emerged, we're on the ground with the latest. >> flag fury in south carolina an activist scales the flag pole and pulls down the confederate flag. both sides converge at the state capitol in protest. twist of fate. he spent 12 years on death row for a crime he never committed. now, one man is working with the system that kept him locked up for so long. nightly news begins now.

good evening, and across far northern upstate new york it's been another stressful day for people living with the fear that an armed escaped killer could be nearby in the woods with authorities warning he may be growing more desperate by the hour. david sweat is still on the run after his partner in crime fellow escapee richard matt was shot and killed by a u.s. customs and border protection tactical team on friday. we're getting new details about how that team tracked matt down and where the two men have been hiding. stephanie gosk has been covering the story since their brazen escape. where does the search stand right now? >> they're hopeful tonight, kate, the search area is 22 square miles. the number of boots on the ground has been

held to 1200. canine units and tactical teams searching the words. we asked if they thought they were getting close. today is the day but he says that every day. >> the relief that richard matt was shot and killed did not last long. there's still another killer on the loose. >> it would be better when they're both gone. >> david sweat is now on his own, after a 911 call friday afternoon from a vacationer whose camper was hit by a gunshot. at that same moment bob willis said his son was being interviewed by state police. after noticing some items were missing and a liquor bottle was out of place in his hunting cabin in malone. >> they thought maybe it was a gunshot. >> when troopers went to inspect the cabin, they smelled gun powder.

>> we have no reason to believe that mr. sweat was not with mr. matt at the time. we have no confirming evidence that he was either. >> there was renewed momentum in the search for the two brazen escapees this weekend. when a leakal hunter stumbled upon them in this cabin. >> they have basically everything they could need. sleep, shelter, they could have been here for weeks if no one called them. >> search teams closed in on atv's, choppers. authorities say they believe the convicts fled together. >> the state police have evidence that inmate sweat is within that perimeter. they've done grid searches within that perimeter today. if he's in there, we're going to find them. >> now that sweat is alone, they worry he's more dangerous, because he's growing more desperate. one of their biggest concerns is that sweat will slip through their fingers and head

to the border there are places where it's really easy to cross. >> residents say there are cameras on this road that border guards on the other side of the river keep an eye on. they are still nervous. >> i'm glad one's gone the other, hopefully he'll find him soon. >> law enforcement has benefited from two straight days of great weather, that's about to change. torrential rain is in the forecast, that's going to ground aircraft and considerably slow this search down kate. >> not helpful. there was so much excitement last night they were closing in on david sweat too. what happened? >> law enforcement thought they were together. they were traveling together but no one actually saw david sweat yesterday. a couple things could have happened. they could have been separate in different places. the other option is, when they left that cabin, sweat's a lot younger than richard matt he could have just been that much faster slipping through their fingers and richard matt couldn't get away. kate? >> stephanie goszing

in upstate new york thank you. the deadly terror attacks that played out across three continents yesterday. we're learning more about the massacre in tunisia, 39 people were enjoying vacations at a beach resort when they were gunned down in a terrifying scene. it's where we find kelly cotonight. >> good evening, can you see the crowds behind me gathering at the gates of this hotel, there are hundreds here on a march against terrorism in this country. many of the witnesses we spoke to were convinced there was more than one attacker. there was one gunman a university student dressed for the day on the beach. hiding an assault rifle in his beach umbrella. >> one attacker one gun and dozens slaughtered on the sand. the horrifying attack captured on cell phone. >> that was an explosion.

>> matthew and his girlfriend diane darlington barricaded themselves in their hotel room recording the chaos below. >> hear screams and it sounds like an absolute horrid scream. >> the lone gunman had four clips and a grenade. witnesses say he was able to move from the beach to the pool area and a side street before he was shot and killed. >> at the airport today, some survivors were at a loss for words. >> shocked. it was a complete -- >> overcome with emotion, and clearly desperate to get home. >> it was so sad. >> at least 15 of the victims were british, according to the british government. joel richards was a college student. carly lovett a fashion blogger. there were german belgium, ukrainian and tunisian victims. isis claimed responsibility calling the 23-year-old tunisian

gunman a soldier of the califate. at this moderate mosque the gunman preached. at another mosque, this one in kuwait where 27 people died yesterday in an isis inspired suicide bombing, a mass funeral today. this kind of attack has rarely been seen in that country. >> what's disturbing about the attack in kuwait is that it appears to be the work of a cell of operatives that are loyal to isis that are based in the arabian peninsula, and active in nearby saudi arabia as well. >> back in tunisia, the gates were locked and guarded. the smell of bleach in the air. crews washed away the blood blood. the memories will be harder to erase. >> tunisian media is reporting the gunman's parents have been detained for their own

protection. and documents seized from the family home. gay pride celebrations are taking place across the country this weekend against the backdrop of yesterday's historic supreme court ruling on gay marriage. it's a decision that's already having a wide impact from households to the campaign trail. we get more now from nbc white house correspondent kristen welker. >> with same sex marriage now legal, gay pride celebrations took on new meaning today. from cincinnati. >> the fact that we can celebrate together and there are no barriers. >> to san francisco. >> it's like we're on a level playing field now. >> historical like forever, this is forever now. >> i have a great partner, we've been together three years, we take care of each other, we always have each other's backs, this means we can do it legally now. >> couples across the country rushed to make it official. >> you are joined in marriage as wife and wife. you may kiss your bride. >> and they are celebrating the

possibility of new financial advantages same sex couples are eligible for expanded social security benefits. couples will be allowed to file joint federal tax returns, often lowering taxes, and most fully ensured medical plans will create same sex spouses. and it creates an easier path for adoption. >> suddenly we have a lot more opportunity to have married couples -- >> the ruling has become a lightning rod on the campaign trail, with democrats firmly backing it. >> love triumphed in the highest court in our land. >> they live in the real world, they know that times are changing. the american people want to end discrimination in all forms of life. >> republicans were unified in their opposition but divided in tone while conservatives like ted cruise called for a constitutional amendment, moderates like chris christie who's expected to announce his candidacy

on tuesday, had a more measured response. >> i think this is something that should be decided by the people of each state. >> i'm informed by my faith about this and i believe in traditional marriage. >> still, the ruling reflects the mind set of most americans who support same sex marriage. a sea change in american justice and culture. >> i just think we'll only get better and better and freer and freer as a nation. >> advocates say there are big battles to be won, including equal protection for jobs in housing. there will be more marches for gay pride month tomorrow with one of the largest set to take place in new york. let's turn to our political director chuck todd when you think about what a week this has been for the president, first a victory for health care then the court makes same sex marriage the law of the land. congress handing him a win on a trade agreement as well this week does this go down as the week that defines his presidency? >> i can tell you how the white house feels.

they believe they are calling this the best week of the obama presidency here in year seven. i think when you look at it in many ways candidate obama said the type of presidency he wanted was like ronald reagans, he wanted to be transformational not transitional transitional, he wanted to move the country, shift the country i'd yo logically logically. reagan moved it from the center to the right. he wanted to move it from the right back to center or even center left. i think what we saw this week is a massive progressive shift to the left. in that case, i think it does cement a president obama legacy as being transformational at least the obama era. >> same sex marriage a major victory for the democrats, a really tricky issue for the republican presidential candidate? >> they are. they're unified in condemning the ruling but their tone is different. i think you're going to see the presidential primary campaign particularly the early stages you

know a lot of evangelicals who are upset about this ruling. you're going to have candidates particularly ted cruz bobby jindal who are pretty defiant about this ruling. i think it's going to cause, it could cause eventual pain for the republican nominee to be because of the tone and the rhetoric that we could see in the fall. i think that's going to be a real challenge for the republican party as a hole. >> chuck, we'll look for your show tomorrow with a lot more on marriage equality. a lot of talk today about a dramatic act of protest in south carolina. for more than 50 years, the confederate flag has flown at that state's capitol. this morning it was briefly removed after an activist scaled a flag pole and pulled it down. here's nbc's ron allen. >> south carolina's

confederate flag came down today. an activist took matters into her own hands, saying she could not wait any longer. she was quickly arrested along with james tyson there to help her. both from charlotte, north carolina. both charged with defacing a monument a misdemeanor. the flag was back up within an hour. in time for a rally by defenders who insist it's there to honor the sacrifices of confederate soldiers. >> it's my heritage my right to keep this flying on our capitol grounds. >> they were quickly confronted by protesters demanding the flag be removed. >> we want this for all of our people all of our children to get hatred out of our society. we get here, and we come to a solution and involve this country to a better one together. >> these images of the

alleged gunmen growing by partisan chorus has been calling for the flag's removal. president obama said taking the flag down would not be an insult to those who served. >> it would simply be an acknowledgement that the cause for which they fought -- the cause of slavery was wrong. >> reporter: the flag is so contentious, it takes a two thirds vote to remove it. tonight this emotional debate rages on. ron allen, nbc news columbia south carolina. when "nightly news" continues on this saturday he spent years on death row for a crime he never committed. why is one man working for the system that once failed him? and later, how a business lesson is really paying off for a group of schoolkids.

we're back now with a fascinating twist of fate for a man who spent years on death row. after spending nearly half of his life behind bars anthony graves is a free man. what he's doing now that's so unexpected. he's working for the system that worked against him for so long. here's mark potter. >> anthony graves appointment to the board overseeing the houston crime lab

makes absolute sense to him. >> i became a criminal justice expert through my own experience. my universe death row university. i'm well qualified. >> capital murder? me? >> graves was convicted for a crime he never committed. as an accomplice in the brutal 1992 murders of a woman, her daughter and four grandchildren. at a home in somerville texas. he was sentenced to die and spent more than 18 years in prison. 12 on death row. >> i had two execution dates. i witnessed over 350 men getting executed around me. >> in the year 2000 the man convicted with graves confessed he committed to murders alone, right before he was executed. but it took another ten years for graves conviction to be overturned and to be released. the prosecutor was disbarred. >> for the first few moments, few hours, i thought that i will wake up and be right back in the cell. >> it just wasn't real to me.

>> in the years since then graves has advocated for better prison conditions and reforms in the criminal justice system. >> i watch the system fail me from top to bottom. >> he'll watch over the houston forensic science center which helps police analyze firearms fingerprints crime scenes and computer data. fellow board member who for year ss said he'll add a better perspective. >> anthony was convicted because the truth was not achieved. so he understands the importance of always looking for truths and being mindful of our mission. >> graves says that despite nearly two decades behind bars he's not bitter. and will serve the people. >> i'm just making sure that the i's are dotted t's are crossed and everybody's getting justice. >> for a man who received extreme unfairness. up next the

diamond she found and it didn't cost her a scent.

the u.s. women's soccer team headed to the semifinals of the world cup. the victory over china was decided by a single goal a dramatic ledder in the 51st minute. this marks the seventh straight world cup where americans have reached the semis. how is this for a souvenir every year thousands of people descend on the crater

of diamonds state park in arkansas hoping to find someone shiny. this week a woman discovered an eight and a half karat diamond, she had only been searching for 20 minutes when she came across it. more than 75,000 diamonds have been found at the site. if you're making summer vacation plans add arkansas to the list. if you're headed to disney this summer leave your selfie stick at home. starting next week they will be banned at disney theme parks, the crackdown is for safety reasons. one of the park's roller coasters was stopped for more than an hour this week after someone pulled out a selfie stick mid ride. another surprise in store from the ceo who doubled many of his workers salaries.

you might have heard about ceo dan price, he's the guy who made headlines this year with a stunning announcement he was giving his workers a big raise with money out of his own pocket. that decision won him a lot of fans including a group of sixth graders who got a surprise all their own. here's joe fryer. >> it's hard to find much glamour in the world of credit card processing. yet gravity payments in seattle is wrestling with overnight fame. >> i feel like we're almost kind of celebrities getting stopped on the street and asked about it. >> asked about that

staff meeting in april, when dan price made a surprise announcement. >> we're going to have a minimum $75,000 pay rate for everyone who works here. >> it took a moment for the news to sink in. >> that's quite a big raise to get in one day. to say the least. >> to help pay for that raise, price dropped his own salary from about $1 million to 70,000. >> it is by no means certain that this is going to work out, but it's 100% true that it's worth the risk because it could really change the world if it does. >> his daring proclamation went viral. he received hundreds of messages most striking a stack of 33 letters that arrived by mail. >> i know some people might give you some criticism, but my class and i look up to you for all the sacrifices you've made. >> they were written by hillary's sixth grade class in irvine california. >> for the most part the kids saw him as

being generous. >> price had another surprise up his sleeve. >> hi i'm dan. nice to meet you. >> it's so nice to meet you too. >> the class was as stunned as the employees who got that big raise. >> he's so amazing, he just walked in here. >> i read every single one of your letters. >> for an hour price answered questions about his business. >> how do you feel when you made that decision for your company? >> i felt so happy, because i knew it was the right thing to do. >> in return he asked each student to keep writing him. >> so nice to meet you. if you write one letter every year i'm going to set aside $1,000 scholarship for college for every one of you. >> it's a business lesson with an unexpected bonus. >> joe fryar, nbc

news irvine california. that is nbc news for this saturday i'm kate snow for all of us here at nbc news, have a great weekend, good night. whooooo! runs=:08 ==cont vo== a spectacular start indeed... nbc bay area news starts now. we have a spectacular start to this pride weekend after the supreme court yesterday. how cool is that?

>> this year pride week is running high same-sex marriage couples have the right to celebrate. one of the big celebrations is under way right now. and christie silly question but how boisterous is it right now? >> reporter: yes, it is very boisterous last year they say on saturday the crowd was already gone home. well this year you can see they're not. but this wrapped up at 6:00 of course, added reason to celebrate this year at a number of locations in the city. and this was one of them. where musicians and artists took the main stage starting at noon of course it will be even bigge