ron allen starts us off from columbia. ron, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. all that remains of the confederate flag here now is the concrete slab behind that monument on the ground that the flag pole used to stand in. a flag that for more than 50 years as one editorial writer put it signaled to about a third of the state's population, the black population, that they did not matter and that there was absolutely nothing they could do about it. now today largely because of the massacre at mother emanuel church in charleston south carolina took that flag down. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: a massive outburst of emotion as south carolina brought down one of the most divisive symbols in the nation. as many as 10,000 jamming the streets around the state house for a dignified six-minute ceremony, there to bear witness. >> finally! >> a new chapter in south carolina's history. >> reporter: many wiped away tears, including governor nikki haley. an epic moment that happened many believe because nine innocent souls were massacred in their church and their relativ

>> ron allen, thank you. what started in south carolina forced a broader examination over the use of the confederate flag symbol in official places elsewhere in this country and that fight spilled into the house chamber of the u.s. capital with a shouting match broke out. it was an angry, chaotic scene among protesters. kelly o'donnell is there for us. >> reporter: listen carefully, a roar of protest and passion sweeping the u.s. house today. >> gentlemen. >> reporter: the sound of raw division. >> the flag of the united states of america, this is not that flag. >> had this confederate battle flag prevailed in war 150 years ago, i would not be standing here today as a member of the united states congress. i would be here as a slave. >> reporter: congress is battling over new restrictions to remove confederate battle flags from federal property like national parks. democrats say there is no room for debate. >> don't republicans understand that the confederate battle flag is an insult to 40 million african amer

nbc's ron allen is there. >> ask that mrs. jennifer pinckney have access to the floor. >> a somber appearance by jennifer pinckney, widow of state senator and pastor clementa pinckney gunned down at mother emanuel church three weeks ago. to thank his colleagues after voting overwhelmingly to remove the confederate battle flag from the state house grounds. >> we would keep our arms wrapped around you and this family forever. it's the least that we can do for our brother, clementa. >> reporter: families of the nine massacred among the growing core us demanding the rebel banner be removed. >> this can be your heritage if you fly it in your backyard. >> reporter: today's senate vote was 36 to remove the flag, 3 opposed. >> what they've done is taken people who respect their southern heritage and will have kicked them in the teeth. >> reporter: the vote the same day a grand jury formally indicted dylann roof on nine counts of murder, three attempted murder, one weapons possession. >> recalled for a second reading tomorrow. >> repor

ron allen, nbc news, columbia, south carolina. >>> a moving moment from the pope's eight-day visit toth america. an elderly woman in a wheelchair was lifted up to greet pope francis, who kissed her during his swing through ecuador. before he departed that country today a dad brought his son up to say good-bye. the little boy will never remember it because he was asleep the whole time. the pope's tour now continues to bolivia, where he received a warm welcome despite the chilly weather. when we come back, kids saying the darnedest things. the gems from campers practicing the lost art of letter writing. ===take vo=== how law enforcement finally caught him. ===janelle/radar=== plus: we're tracking summer storms. the unusual weather that could hit your neighborhood. ===next close=== the news is next. ==janelle/take live== we begin with breaking news in >>> finally tonight, for kids today nothing is ever more than a text away. but what happens when a generation raised on the instant gratification of the digital world collides with the old-fashioned customs of summer camp? here's nbc's rehe

ron allen, nbc news columbia south carolina. >>> a moving moment from the pope's eight-day visit to south america. an elderly woman in a wheelchair was lifted up to greet pope francis, who kissed her during his swing through ecuador. before he departed that country today a dad brought his son up to say good-bye. the little boy will never remember it because he was asleep the whole time. the pope's tour now continues to bolivia, where he received a warm welcome despite the chilly weather. when we come back, kids saying the darnedest things. the gems from campers practicing the lost art of letter writing. of letter writing. nobody told me to expect it... ...intercourse that's painful due to menopausal changes. it's not likely to go away on its own. so let's do something about it. premarin vaginal cream can help. it provides estrogens to help rebuild vaginal tissue and make intercourse more comfortable. premarin vaginal cream treats vaginal changes due to menopause and moderate-to-severe painful intercourse caused by these changes. don't use it if you've had unusual vaginal bleeding breast o

nbc's ron allen has more. >> chief representative pitts is recognized on the amendment. >> reporter: representative mike pitts is virtually a one-man wrecking crew in the south carolina house. offering amendment after amendment, at least 25 and still counting dominating the emotional debate about a bill that would remove the confederate flag from the state house grounds. >> yellow jazzman has a good smell. >> reporter: he wants a bed of state flowers planted if the flag and its pole are removed. or a granite monument with the flag cast in bronze. or the flag in a glass case. what his critics call filibuster by amendment. >> the bill you're trying to thwart this process. >> no. i am trying to reach a compromise and find one amendment that can do that. >> reporter: he hails from a rural community in upstate south carolina a manufacturing and farming hub. >> why is this flag so important to you? >> i grew up with that flag. the current flag. being almost a symbol of reverence because of my family's service in the war. it was not a racial issue. >> are you concerned that you're on the wr

nbc's ron allen is joining us now from the main medical center in portland. l be in the hospital? >> reporter: they're saying several days, alex. good morning to you, too. they're saying several days. they're also saying the injury is not life-threatening and they're not worried about paralysis. but it certainly sounds painful to break a bone in your neck. and that's the distinction that they're making is that not a broken neck but a broken bone in one's neck if that's in fact what they're trying to say. we don't know. but it sure sounds painful and it sure sounds like it could be something that could be very complicateded. but we're not getting a sense of alarm here because, again, they're saying he's in stable condition and that this should be treatment for a few days and he should be gone from here but we just don't know. we did something of an update from jenna bush hager, granddaughter, earlier today. >> he's doing okay. he's not the typical 91-year-old that jumped out of a plane.

. >> nbc's ron allen joins me live now. msnbc national reporter joy reid is also here. they have been covering the story here with me in columbia. ron allen has been in south carolina so long my mother is going to be upset if you don't stop by for macaroni and cheese. >> i would be delighted to. let's talk about the fact not just the fact the flag is coming down, that's history we'll be talking about the next few hours, but the speed with which it's coming down. that's something that has surprised a lot of folks. you were in the chamber wednesday night when the debate was in -- they were in the full throws of the debate. are you surprised at all based on what you saw and heard in there that it's coming down. >> to some extent, i'm surprised it's taken so long since the massacre at mother emanuel because that changed everything and that was so profound. i told people over the weeks i have seen a lot of things in my life around the country and the world, but that was an avent that was really disturbing, at so many levels obviously, but disturbing to me as well. so i'm not

back to you. >> that was nbc's ron allen reporting. we hope to soon have an official update on the former president's condition. when we do we'll bring it to you when we get it. >>> the suspect in the charleston church massacre faced a judge. dylann roof was in court for a hearing. roof was presented with indictments. attorneys were expected to discuss releasing documents to the news media. the 21-year-old faces nine counts of murder for the june shooting spree inside the emanuel ame church. he also faces three counts of attempted murder and a weapons charge. >>> today president obama will do something no or sitting president has done before visit a federal prison. the president is expected to meet with officials at el reno federal correction center in an hour. he'll sit with an interview with with vice media to be included in a documentary on the criminal justice system. >>> new developments in greece where people in greece are still not able to visit their banks but that could soon change. the european union agreed today on a short-t

ron allen, thank you very much.ng this speech the president -- comes in a week the president focused on criminal justice reform. he commuted the sentences of 46 mostly nonviolent offenders and becoming the first sitting president to siz it a federal prison. we have an all-star panel, to talk about the president's push and fits into what's been a legacy bolstering summer for him. first, nbc news political reporter perry bacon. also nbc news's presidential historian michael beshlos and michael miller and f. michael higgen higgenbottom. professor, we start with you. presidents are always thinking about what language they can use that will be persuasive in speaking about the 46 communations and criminal justice reform the president is using a language of the fairness and second chances of communations saying i believe it's at heart america is a nation of second chances and i believe these folks deserve their second chances. that sort of language able to get americans on his side on this issue when they have been trained

nbc's ron allen is on the story. >> reporter: 8:30 p.m. the mount zion a.m.e. church erupts in flames along a remote road after a violent thunderstorm. after early concerns it might have been arson, late today the governor said the cause was lightning. >> i'm just grateful that no lives were lost here. this is manmade. and that can be rebuilt. >> reporter: pastor john taylor remembers 20 years ago this church was torched by the ku klux klan. president clinton attending its high-profile reopening a year later. mount zion is the seventh fire at a black church in the south since the massacre at mother emanuel in charleston and widespread criticism of the confederate flag. some wonder if it's more than a coincidence. five fires still under investigation. two determined to be accidents. no evidence of a hate crime, authorities say. nationally, 34 fires of various causes are reported at religious institutions each week. most frequently involving synagogues and mosques. the naacp is warning churches to take necessary precautions. and on social media the hashtag who is

we go right to ron allen he's at the hospital in portland maine. what is the latest. >> good morning. a hospital spokesperson told us he hoped to have a update in a few minutes or so within the hour. we understand his injury is not life threatening. we understand there's no concern about paralysis. there's a lot of concern about the overall well being of the former president who this morning is listed in stable condition. former president george h.w. bush is in the hospital after falling. the 41st president who celebrated his 91st birthday on june 12th was hospitalized edd for a week in december in houston after being admitted for shortness of breath. as the oldest living former president bush lives with a form of parkingson's disease. last year bush celebrated his 90 thd birthday while sky diving with the retired u.s. theirnavy golden nights. >> overnight words of support started pouring on to social media. chelsea clinton tweeting sending all my thoughts and good wishes. larry king saying sending good vibes and well wishes to my friend george h.w

nbc ron allen is there following the very latest developments. >> reporter: we hope to learn more about the condition of the former president sometime later today. he has now been in the hospital almost 24 hours since that fall at his home. the summer home in kitty bunk port. early yesterday afternoon. with he don't know what happened. it sounds likeent. he was rushed here to the hospital where he is still in stable condition. some of the most revealing information has come from his granddaughter, our own jenna bush hager. he is doing okay. he is not your typical 91-year-old. if he jumps out of airplanes, he can manage a major neck injury. we know from the hospital stock exchange person that they do not think the injury is life threatening or a cause for paral significance. they think he will be here for perhaps several days for some kind of treatment that we don't know about. we know he has had some visitors. family, friends. we can only assume that, because there were obviously other people there at the family home about 45 minutes from here. at this hour most of the news is encouragi

ron allen is in portland with this update. >> reporter: good day. we hope to learn more about the condition of former president, sometime later today. he's been in the hospital almost 24 hours since his summer home early yesterday afternoon. we don't know what happened. it sounds like an accident. rushed here to the hospital where he's still in stable condition. some of the most revealing information came from her grand daughter who said he's doing okay. he said that he's not your typical 91-year-old. he jumps out of airplanes and if key do that he can manage what she calls a minor neck injury. we know from a hospital supposed person and doctors that they do not think the injury is life threatening. they don't think it will be a cause for paralysis. they think he'll be here for perhaps several days for some kind of treatment we don't know about. we know he's had some visitors family friends, we can only assume that because there are other people there at the family home about 45 minutes from here. at this hour those most of the news is encouraging.

that's where we find nbc's ron allen in maine. ron, you just got new details about the former president's condition. what do we know now? >> reporter: indeed we did. and the office of the president is now saying that he is in fair condition, that he broke one of the. seven bones in his neck, which is called the c-2 vertebra. they say that he never lost consciousness, that the injury did not impinge or pinch his spine. there's no neurological damage. that he still has the normal use of his limbs, so no for ral sis. they expect the injury to heal on its own without surgery required. that he's going to be fitted with a neck brace of some sort to immobilize the injured area. and continue physical therapy. and that they are not going to discuss a discharge date or time but they do not expect this to be a, quote, prolonged recovery period. we're expecting to get a briefing about 3:00 local time here this afternoon for more detail by one of his attending physicians. earlier the medical staff emphasizing that they did not think this was a

ron allen, can you hear me?ve me a sense of what you're hearing. >> i hear a lot of emotion, a lot of teary eyes. people straining to take in every moment of this. >> last night we talked about how that flag only went up in 1961. not 1861. 1961 as a note of defiance and rejection aimed at the civil rights movement at that time. that was put up just a few months after civil rights activists were jailed for their sit-in. for 54 years those activists have had criminal charges on their record from that sit-in. until this past january. january of this year when this south carolina judge moved to clear their names more than a half century after their arrest and prosecution for that sit-in. those sentences for those activists were finally vacated this year. this was really interesting. instead of destroying the record of their kwuctconvictions. instead of expunging the record they decided to keep the arrest record on file so no one would forget and no one would be able to deny what they went through. >> this will remai

. >> ron allen has been watching this unfold from the state capital, and he brings us more. >> morning, frances. an amazing night, and we expect nikki haley to sign the bill and order the flag over there to come down ending what's essentially been a 50-year fight over whether it should be here on the state house grounds or not. the flag of course is a symbol of confederate pride and heritage to many here i a symbol of hatered and oppression to many others. especially after the shooting at brother emanuel church where nine worshiper lost their lives and after that images of the flag appeared with a gunman posing with it. now we expblthssectpect the flag soon to come down. >> i cannot believe that we do not have the heart in this body to do something meaningful such as take a symbol of hate off these grounds. >> that scolding by a lawmaker from charleston, demanding erespect for the nine massacred at mother emanuel church. >> we're telling the people of charleston we don't care about you. >> intense passion surrounding the flag as the house considered a bill already overwhelmingly approv

nbc's ron allen is down there in that crowd somewhere. ron, we were getting the aerial view. give me a sense of the size of the crowd, the security, and are there people on both sides of this issue present? >> this is an incredible moment. people are starting to chant, take it down. take it down. there are thousands upon thousands of people here on the state house grounds. and crowding the streets around the capitol. people have been coming here since early this morning to be a part of this and to witness it. we can see that honor guard is in place, a small honor guard will march out to the flag and take it down. this will be a small brief dignified, quick ceremony that's not going to last very long. also, on the steps of the capitol, question see a large contingent of relatives of those who lost loved ones so tragically at mother emanuel church a few weeks ago. this is so much about them. i can seat governor there. i can see nicky haley shaking hands with the relatives at the top of the steps there. that is a cue this is about to begin. when the governor arrived, we were tol

nbc's ron allen is down there in that crowd somewhere. ron, we were getting the aerial view.question see a large contingent of relatives of those who lost loved ones so tragically at mother emanuel church a few weeks ago. this is so much about them. i can seat governor there. i can see nicky haley shaking hands with the relatives at the top of the steps there. that is a cue this is about to begin. when the governor arrived, we were told the ceremony will begin. there is very, very heavy security here. the area is closed off for blocks. there is a ban on carrying personal weapons within 250 yards of this place as a precaution because people are concerned about the passions that are on both sides of this issue. there are protesters out for the past few days. there was an epic, epic debate in the house of representatives here that lasted for 12, 13 hours, well into the night a few days ago. debate wlg this flag should come down or not after 54 contentious years here in south carolina. and now that is going to happen in a brief, dignified ceremony that should be getting under way

ron allen, can you hear me?a sense of what you're seeing and hearing. >> i hear a lot of emotion. i see a lot of teary eyes. i see a lot of people straining to take in every second of this moment. >> last night we talked about how that confederate flag on the grounds of that state capitol, it only went up in 1961 not 1861 in 1961 as a note of defy defiance and rejection aimed at the civil rights movement at that time. it was put up just a few months after civil rights activists were jailed for their sit-in to try to i want great an all white lunch counter in rock hill south carolina. for 54 years those activists from that lunch counter had criminal charges on their record from that sit-in. until this past january, january of this year when this south carolina judge finally moved to clear their names, more than a half century after their arrest and prosecution for that those sentences for those activists were vacated this year. and when they decided to do that instead of destroying the record of their convictions

thank you so much ron allen. >>> another developing story we're following weeshgs, we're awaiting president obama's arrival at a prison in oklahoma. he's set with meet with law enforcement officials and inmates capping off a series of events this week he's taken focusing on criminal justice reform, including commuting the sentences of 46 drug offenders. and his address at the naacp's national convention tuesday where the president called for reducing or eliminating mandatory sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. in his news conference yesterday, the president said he is optimistic that there is bipartisan support for meaningful reform. >> i think people recognize that there are violent criminals out there and they've got to be locked up. but we've noticed a huge spike in incarcerations it's also driven by nonviolent drug offenses where the sentencing is completely out of proportion with the crime. and that costs taxpayers enormous amounts of money. it is debilitating communities who are seeing huge proportions of the young men in their communities finding themselves with a criminal record.

ron allen is at the hospital in portland, maine. what's the latest? >> well, good morning, savannah. we hope to get an update some time later this morning about how things went for the president overnight. now at the hospital some 24 hours or so. we're told the injury is not life threatening and we're told doctors are not concerned about paralysis, but there's a lot of concern concerned about the health of the president who is listed in stable condition. >> former president george h.w. bush is recovering after falling wednesday at his summer home in maine. his spokesman tweeting, 41 fell at home in maine today and broke a bone in his neck. his condition is stable. he is fine, but he'll be in a neck brace. the 41st president who celebrated his 91st birth on june 12th was hospitalized for a week in december 2014 in houston after being admitted for shortness of breath. as the oldest living former president, bush suffers from a form of parkinson's disease that requires him to use a wheelchair or scooter to get around. last year, bush celebrating his 90th

let's bring in cnbc contributor ron allen. ron, thanks for joining us.at can come out of it. >> we're not quite sure. greece is supposed to present a new proposal to the leaders in brussels today, and they're waiting for this proposal. most people believe it's not going to be materially different from what's been discussed before which could lead to an irreparable separation of europe and greece. if that happens, there will likely be more consequences to come particularly in greece where they're effectively already in a depression. the one thing i caution about looking at the u.s. markets, they may be responding to the weakness in china which we've seen over the last three weeks. the chinese government has pulled out the stops to halt a 30% decline, and it's not working. last night they froze trading in 20% of all the stocks that trade in china to keep the market from going down further, and it fell. some of the pressure we're seeing in the u.s. today is the uncertainty of the outcome of this greek negotiation, some and maybe even more is the worry about

>> ron allen, thank you very much. >>> coming up on "the rundown," we have a whole lot more for you.storic deal with iran from vienna to the white house to london. plus the conversation moves to capitol hill. president obama is a tough sell to congress. that's next, on "the rundown." we're also going to be hearing from house speaker john boehner and the house committee on the agreement with iran. we'll have it all for you on msnbc. ♪ i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i havthe spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. ♪ and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet? nervous whitening will damage your teeth? introducing listerine® healthy white™. it not only safely whitens teeth... ...but also restores enamel. lose the nerves and get a healthier whiter smile that you'll love. listerine® healthy white™. power to your mouth™! moderate to severe crohn's

nbc's ron allen is there. good morning. >> good morning, matt. just an amazing night in the state legislature and this morning, we expect governor nikki haley to sign the bill and order the removal of the confederate flag that hangs there, ending essentially what has been a 50-year fight here. the flag a symbol of heritage and pride to so many southerners and a symbol of hatred and oppression to so many others, especially since the massacre of nine worshiper in charleston, and then images of the alleged gunman posing with the confederate flag. now, this one here on the state house grounds appears headed to a museum. >> i cannot believe that we do not have the heart in this body to do something meaningful such as take a symbol of hate off these grounds. >> that scolding by a lawmaker from charleston, demanding respect for the nine massacred at mother emanuel church. >> we're telling the people of charleston we don't care about you. >> intense passion surrounding the flag as the house considered a bill already overwhelmingly approved by the senate

ron allen in charleston this morning. thank you very much. >>> to the computer glitches the major ones that brought the new york stock exchange and united airlines to a halt. the unrelated problems have been fixed, but the fallout is just beginning. we have it all covered including the security concerns being raised beginning with gabe gutierrez at the new york stock exchange. good morning. >> hoda good morning. for nearly four hours the epicenter of american capitalism was brought to a stand still and no one could figure out why. now today it is back to business as questions linger about what went wrong. this morning the new york stock exchange is trying to bounce back after wall street hit a wall. >> while we were in commercial break traders at the nyc say whoa. >> without warning at 11: 32 on wednesday all trading was shut down. >> essentially the floor has been frozen. >> the floor was stunned, frustrated traders with no access to stock prices had to manually cancel about 700,000 orders already in the system. at 12:09

ron allen is outside the hospital in