then this weekend talking with my wife, i tried to imagine what it must be like to be a black south carolinian, their state house as much as it is mine, and as much as it is anybody else's in south carolina, and to see that symbol that causes so much pain. and i think that we just reached the realization that when you have something that's been misappropriated and is used and now widely seen incorrectly but still seen as a symbol of hatred, it's time to move on from that and let's figure out another way to celebrate our heritage and our ancestry and our history. i thought governor haley put it very well today. >> senator, let me just say, and i think i'm like a lot of people welcome this change that's happening in south carolina. i think it's -- it takes a certain amount of political courage to do what you did. it does seem a little odd to say it's misappropriated insofar as the confederacy in the writings of the people who founded it who declared it at the time very frankly was about the preservation of maintenance and slavery and white supremacy and white domination. i'm sure folks who feel

an overwhelming majority of south carolinians, especially white south carolinians, african-american southians disagree but the others support the flag where it is. why do you think they support the flag where it is? do you think they are primarily motivated by racism or by heritage? >> i think the premise of the question is a little bit off because you can't generalize all white south carolinians as such. there are many younger generation people in my age group, millennials, who want it to come down. whether or not they're business people or elected officials. we saw doug brannen come out and say he'll file the bill to bring it down. >> that's a republican state legislator. >> for my my journey is to understand faith without works is dead. so as we move forward, we have to have faith, but our work has to be to come together to remove this symbol of hate and i believe that we will. >> and david, your argument -- you wrote very long op-ed for "national review". >> i read it by the way. >> it was well written. you granted a lot of bakari's point about why people could and should be offended

that is not what it is to many south carolinians. the statehouse belongs to all of us. their voices will be heard and their roles will be respected. we have made progress on south carolina on racial issues yes, but on so many others. the 21st century belongs to us because we have chosen to seize what's in front of us to do what is right and do it together. i have every faith that this will be no different. it is what we do in south carolina. it is who we are. second i understand that what i have said here today will generate a lot of interest. what i ask is that the focus still remain on the nine victims of this horrible tragedy. their families the mother eplan family the a.m.e. church family the south carolina family we all deserve time to grieve and to remember and to heal. we will take it and i ask that you respect that. we know that bringing down the confederate flag will not bring back the nine kind souls that were taken from us nor rid of us of the hate or bigotry that drove a monster through the doors of mother emanuel that night. the evil we saw last wednesday co

and, you know, i'm always proud to be a south carolinian. but i have an even deeper and greater sense of pride today in hearing what she had to say about the need to take this divisive symbol down. you know i'm a native south carolinian. i'm a son of the south. and i even had ancestors that fought for the confederacy. but the time is past for us to take away the symbol and to move it into a museum of proper location and to move forward. you know, governor haley has done an outstanding job along with her secretary of commerce in recruiting 21st century jobs to south carolina. and this only enhances our reputation and our ability to continue to attract top flight businesses. and for people to move here. because this is a great place to live. >> harold you watched that line up that bipartisan, multiracial line up. women and men standing flanking the governor in that statement. and i cannot imagine -- first of all i didn't imagine this was going to be happening on a monday right after what was said last week about the flag and the sort of equivo

>> i'm not a south carolinian these are decisions to be made. i don't think federal candidates should be making decisions or opining. >> sreenivasan: like many all black churches in the south charleston's a.m.e. church has faced racially motivated violence throughout its 200-year history, forcing its doors to be shut several times. newshour's ivette feliciano reports. >> reporter: it's one of the most historically significant religious institutions in the south with a formation is closely tied to charleston's history as a major slave trade port. in the early 1800s a freed slave left his methodist church in protest of discriminatory rules against its black members. morris brown became the first ordained minister of the african methodist episcopal church and aligned the group with the "free african society" founded three decades earlier in decades earlier in philadelphia. thousands of the charleston's black worshippers followed him. in 1822 the building was burned down by an angry mob of white supremacists after church leaders were accused of tryi

confederate flag is unclear to me. 45% said they had negative feelings about it. 50% or more south carolinians have negative flags about the flag than positive feelings. >> what do you think? >> this has been a politically fraught debate going on in south carolina for years. this was thrust in the 2012 race republican we-- this has been a debate that's been going on especially among gop primaries for cycle after cycle. what this has done now with the push to move the flag from the state grounds is allowing many of the candidates who otherwise might be stuck in a tough position here who might want to speak out against the flag being displayed but not want to step on toes. it puts them in the position of saying the state of south carolina is speaking with this. the governor has spoken. i'm going to standby what the governor says. it puts a little bow on this issue in a way that is going to potentially be less divisive. >> i think the governor in 1961 said it needed to be taken off the state capital. there are many other flags in the south that have a part of the confederate flag. where do you th

that's not a flag of south carolinians forth under. that flag never had any official status. in fact when they tried to get that flag adopted for the whole confederacy the daughters of the confederacy rejected it. >> rose: officially to act to the governor to take this action will then go, be taken down and moved to a museum, is that correct. >> no, sir. she is calling for it to be done. the legislature has to do it. now the legislature's coming back into session tomorrow to deal with the budget. they'll be checking up her vetoes. what she's asking them to do is to amend the resolution that they are operating under in order to take the flag up and dispose of it as an issue. she said in her speech if the legislature refuses to do that, she will then use her authority to call them back in a special session to achieve that. so her speech today is the first step in what could be a pretty long drawn out process. but i would hope that legislators could codified to heal. a lot of ming needs to take place here in south carolina and across the nation. i would hope what she said to do

confederate flag is unclear to me. 45% said they had negative feelings about it. 50% or more south carolinianse negative flags about the flag than positive feelings. >> what do you think? >> this has been a politically fraught debate going on in south carolina for years. this was thrust in the 2012 race republican we-- this has been a debate that's been going on especially among gop primaries for cycle after cycle. what this has done now with the push to move the flag from the state grounds is allowing many of the candidates who otherwise might be stuck in a tough position here who might want to speak out against the flag being displayed but not want to step on toes. it puts them in the position of saying the state of south carolina is speaking with this. the governor has spoken. i'm going to standby what the governor says. it puts a little bow on this issue in a way that is going to potentially be less divisive. >> i think the governor in 1961 said it needed to be taken off the state capital. there are many other flags in the south that have a part of the confederate flag. where do you think

poles have shown a majority of south carolinian south carolinians would like to keep the flag in place. >> i believe it represents history and heritage. >> reporter: the controversy over the flag loomed large. taking down the flag from the statehouse requires a two-thirds supermajority in the statehouse and senate. the house approved a resolution that calls a special session that caused a debate over the future of the flag. it became front and center after last week's tragic shooting when it showed the alleged gunman dylann roof posing in front of it. new dash cam video showing dylann roof's arrest. seven southern states use confederate imagery in their flags. in florida mississippi and tennessee, there are calls for change. karen travers, abc news washington. >>> just last year governor jerry brown signed a measure to ban the state from displaying items marked with a confessed rat flag. that does not apply to those in books that are being use forward educational or historical purposes. >>> a check on our weather. >> warm n getting warmer. >> spencer christian joins us. >> it's going t

problem is that this flag that they have so much affinity for never had any real relevance to south carolinians. that flag that is flying on statehouse grounds just happens to be the battle flag of northern virginia. that is not a flag of south carolina. that flag never had any official status. in fact when they tried to get the flag adopted for the whole confederacy, the daughters of the confederacy rejected it. charlie: officially, after the governor takes this action, it will gobe taken down and moved to a museum? rep. clyburn: no s sir. she is calling for it to be done. the legislature has to do it. they are coming back into session tomorrow to deal with the budget. they will be taking up her vetoes. what she is asking them to do is to amend the resolution that they're operating under in order to take the flag up and dispose of it as an issue. she has said that if the legislature refuses to do that, she will use her authority to call them back into a special session to achieve that. so, her speech today is the first step in what could be a pretty long, drawnout process. i would hope the leg

it say chance for south carolinians to pay their respects. pinckney was one of nine people killed last week when a gunman opened fire at an historic black church. we'll have more on those stories but first, good morning to you, i'm eun yang. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist. a big shift in the weather starts today with cooler air and change in humidity. >> what a welcome change. let's go to chuck bell for a forecast we like, chuck. >> yes, yesterday morning, just too thick outside. this morning a much prettier picture. this is over reston town center in northern virginia. the last of the rain and thunderstorms that we dealt with yesterday are now moving off the outer banks of north carolina. good riddance to them. 8 inches of rain here in the month of june. skycast 4, this is what your sky is going to look like today. lots of blue out th definitely good news. the temperatures are a whole lot more usable than yesterday. 84 by noon time. highs getting up near 88 degrees. a really big improvement from yesterday. >> much better than yesterday. especial

>> i'm not a south carolinian and i think -- >> it's beyond south carolina. >> i would say that theses that should be made by people. i don't think the federal government or federal candidates should be making decisions on everything and opining on everything. this is a decision that needs to be made here in south carolina. >> all right. before we goat to the deeper question here because really the real question is should we really be focusing on a flag or are we skirting more important issues? with me now is charles and tara. whenever i hear a politician say, oh it should be up to the individual states to decide i look upon that as a punt. what about you, charles? >> well i mean there's a big states rights strain in the republican party. that is a big part of the platform and they default to that -- >> but surely they have an opinion. >> that would be my take. you have tara here to talk about whether or not that should be the republican party's opinion, but my opinion is you should be able to take a stand on anything just to say your opinion. you can say i believe it should be in the

hundreds of south carolinians rallied on the steps of the south carolina state house. while inside state lawmakers. >> the world is watching us. >> our ancestors were literally fighting to keep human beings as slaves and continue the unimaginable acts that occur when someone is held against their will. i am not proud of this heritage. >> the controversy is not a new one. the flag was removed atop the capitol dome in 2000. after last week's massacre nicky haley, a republican made it very clear where she stands. >> it's time to move the flag from the capitol grounds. >> many prominent republican politicians have followed suit. some with a long held relief that it represents southern heritage. >> this is a circumstance where the people led the politicians. i came to conclude after going to charleston that we had to act and sooner rather than later and god help south carolina if we fail to achieve the goal of removing the flag. >> the rallying cry is sweeping the south from south carolina to mississippi. one of the few states where the fred flag still flies. lawmakers who

>> i'm not a south carolinian i think this is a decision -- >> this is beyond south carolina. >> theseould be made by people. i don't think federal government federal candidates should be making decision on everything. this is a decision that needs to be made in south carolina. like everybody else i have my opinion. i think the opinion of people here in south carolina and having them work through this difficulty is much more important than politicalizing it. >> what is your opinion. >> let the people of south carolina go through the progress of making this decision. >> quickly, campaign politics donald trump officially jumped into the race do you take his candidacy seriously? >> well i have the affliction of liking donald trump. he's a good man. and you know four years ago at the end of my campaign i talked about what a wonderful experience it was running for president. i quipped, everyone should run for president. little did i know that people would take me up on it. it looks like everyone is running for president. it's not a bad thing to have a whole bunch of different points of view

i think it's absolutely horrendous the act that took place, as do all other south carolinians. i don't believe that there is any desire on the part of anybody within south carolina to cause problems for other people because of their beliefs or their skin color particularly. i will say about the specific question at hand with the governor's support of taking the flag down from the monument it probably will happen but it still requires a two-thirds vote of each side. i think it's unfortunate at the very least though that we are taking it, it seems to me taking advantage of the grief of nine families one of our own from the senate senator clementa pinckney and his family and it's unfortunate that it would appear to some that we're leveraging their grief and that this matter should be taken up -- >> sir, let me -- >> -- five months -- >> -- ask you about that. i want to ask you specifically about that because reverend pinckney's body will lie in state on the capitol grounds. his funeral is on friday and that confederate flag will still be flying on the capitol grounds. shouldn't it

that is not what it is for many south carolinians. the statehouse belongs to all of us. their voices will be heard, and their role in this debate will be respected. we have made incredible progress in south carolina on racial issues, yes, but on so many others. the 21st century belongs to us, because we have chosen to seize what is in front of us, to do what is right, and do it together. i have every faith that this will be no different. it is what we do in south carolina. it is who we are. second, i understand that what i have said here today will generate a lot of interest. what i ask is that the focus still remain on the nine victims of this horrible tragedy. their families, the mother emanuel family, the ame church family, and south carolina family, we all deserve time to grieve, and to remember, and to heal. we will take it, and i ask that you respect it. we know that bringing down the confederate flag will not bring back the nine kind souls that were taken from us, nor rid us of the hate and bigotry that drove a monster through the doors of minor -- of mother a manu

>> well, at the end of the day i think what was appreciated by south carolinians is that they gave us chance to work on this problem. if we had ignored it, i would imagine everybody would have to answer this question. this is a question that needs to be talked about. we need to discuss, you know, washington, d.c. is named after george washington who was a slave owner. when you add up all the contributions he made to us as a nation, the fact he owned slaves, should we change the name of washington, d.c.? no, i don't think so. at the end of the day we got to embrace the fact we've come a long way. i never went to school with an african-american child until i was in late middle school. my parents owned a restaurant, a liquor store, a bar, and our bar was segregated. african-americans bought beer but they couldn't sit -- they took it to go until the early '70s. i have lie elived this. we've come a long way and we have a long way to go. it is what it is. i'm a child of south carolina. i have seen things change in my life much for the better. as long as i'm going to be the senator of south

breathing contradiction of everything we stand for as americans, everything we stand for as south carolinians, everything we stand for as african methodists and most certainly everything we stand for as members as supporters of the national association for the advancement of colored people. this crime is not merely a crime perpetuated against a church not merely a crime perpetuated against a pastor not merely a crime perpetuated against nine congregates, it is a hate crime. and as such it is a crime perpetuated against the conscious and soul of the country and our values collectively as a country. a hate crime is a crime in which all of those who yet believe that we can confront hate with love are victims, all of those who yet believe we can confront violence with non-violence, we are victims, all of those who believe in the values of the reverend dr. martin luther king in the values of ben mark vesce, who believe in the values of a church, this is a crime perpetuated against us and we are all as such victims. but make no mistake, if one were to survey the history of the naacp, it's clear tha

it doesn't make me feel good about being a south carolinians.been proud to be a south carolinians until this past week because i see how great people are in charleston. there china fight for love. i don't want my children to have to grow up in south carolina and see that flag that represents so much turmoil for african-americans. i understand people want to say it is not a race thing, but to me, it is. >> [indiscernible] >> what the flag means to me we're standing on a street now if you cross over that bridge right? you are known not to be there at night. if i cross over that bridge, i know not to ask for help if i have a flat tire. i just know that. i'm not saying it is true, i'm saying i know that. the right? i'm saying i know that. for a fact. so what we have to do is stop acting like we don't know that when some of the has a confederate flag in their yard don't stop there. take it down. >> take it down. >> it is the first stepping stone. amy: what does your signs a? >> i'm going to let it show for itself. amy: for people who are listening on

dunmore's proclamation said a south carolinian congressman, did more to work an external separation than any other expedient than could be thought of. and can so they began moving as they were radicalized moving steadily toward independence. there were i think a couple of things that were especially important in moving the colonists toward independence. thomas paine's "commence" came out -- common sense came out in january 1776, and paine's "common sense" gave a meaning to what was going on. this wasn't a conflict over taxes merely or regulation of commerce alone. something more majestic was involved in this. americans had within their grasp the opportunity to start world anew -- the world anew, to remake the world, thomas paine said. the american revolution with american independence was nothing less than or would be nothing less than the birthday of a new world. no one had really thought of it in those terms before. and so paine's "common sense" changed the thinking of a great many people. but if i had to put my finger on any one thing that would explain the timing of independence in j

that is what south carolinians really understand. we have folks that come down here that do not have school kids in the school system that particular the school boards. you will see in the next few weeks a seachange. it is coming. host: jim is up next from south carolina. your thoughts this morning? caller: am i being heard ok? host: yes, sir. caller: it is rather difficult for me to speak after all of that hatred and nonsense that i just heard from georgia. the flag is coming down, the governor has already announced that, and she has power to do that. there is no need for rabble rousing. i've over 80 years old and born and lived in south carolina most of my life. that means you are listening from someone who grew up in a totally segregated state. i never want to school in public school or lived alongside any of the blacks. i want to say, since i was never told to hate and fear, i have always had a love for all of my black brothers and sisters, just the same as our white ones. i very happy the flag is coming down. it is like the swas

. >> reporter: south carolinians have been fighting over the flag for decades. but this time, the opponents point to 21-year-old dylann roof accused in the church murders, seen holding a confederate flag in a manifesto online. in their christian faith so many families of the victims are forgiving them. but the family of ethel lance told me, not them all. >> i know forgiveness is a process and i know with god's help, i will get there. but i'm not there yet. i ask for time. >> reporter: no matter how much south carolina's governor would like this flag to go, a super majority of lawmakers would need to approve. and the families here know that won't come easy. david? >> steve, thank you. >>> and one more note on this. president obama giving an interview making national headlines tonight, because of a word he used. something we have not heard from the president or any other president in recent times. jonathan karl with what the president said. >> reporter: president obama used the "n" word as he invoked the long history of race in america from slavery to jim crow tha

it does not represent the majority of south carolinians or all of south carolinians and it certainly't represent all of america. >> the public though seems more divided. an nbc news poll confided that 49% see it as a symbol of southern pride while the other 49% see it as a symbol of racism. joining me now is jason johns, professor of political science at hiram college and joel sawyer former director of the south carolina republican party. gentlemen, welcome to you both. jason, i'll ask you this question. is it possible to have regional pride without being proud of all the history of that region? >> yeah of course it's possible. but it's also possible that somebody can murder a bunch of people and be mentally ill and still be a racist. i think the problem that we often have in this discussion of the flag is that everyone wants to focus on one part of the symbolism instead of just being honest. this is a flag of a former enemy of the united states that was based on the abuse and death of a certain kind of people. there's no place for that in modern political discourse. never has been.

i mean, the south carolinians did not rise up as this young man, dylann roof, hoped and start a revolution ousting african-americans from the state. >> there's always a miniscule percentage of young males who are losers and who have to blame their failure on somebody else. and that's probably true in every society, but in the united states, they have access to guns, so that, i think, is the particular problem. i mean, i'd like to see the federal government put as much investigative effort into tracking racial terrorists as religious terrorists. why aren't we doing that? >> president obama certainly was at the funerals on friday, along with the first lady and the vice president. it is a very disturbing issue for so many of us, and he spoke out on a radio broadcast. listen to what the president had to say in his disappointment over this. and there became a furor over him using the "n" word. so, separate from the "n" word itself, are we making any progress, nia? have we gotten very far? he went on in that interview actually, to compliment some of the progress in america and say, "look, we're

. >> i think we've absolutely seen all those pictures of white and black south carolinians coming together all upset about what happened. renee, i want to go to you as a g.o.p. official, because the nra, which tends to support the party, has been very clear. they are anti-background checks. brian pointed out if this transaction had happened at a gun store, he wouldn't have gotten the gun. they'd have done a background check, found the felony, charges pending. the private sale, it could happen. does the party say to the nra, "come on. let's back down a little bit. this is just a little bit of wiggle room saying that if his father wanted to give him the gun, he needed to take him to a gun store or take him somewhere, get him a gun owner's license -- that's what some states do -- to say this sale is okay"? >> got to do something. we got to come together and do something, and i think it's time for the party to move on it and have those discussions. let me be real clear about that. because this has got to stop. it has to. look -- not just this incident. look at all the other incidents that have

most south carolinians fought under the flag with the white crescent and palm tree but the citadel flag has the red field. now other soldiers fought under regimental flags. this whole notion that the confederate battle flag was some flag that all of these people lost their lives under, they ought to stop telling that myth. that is absolutely not true. that is a flag of rebellion. it is a flag that when they took the flags off the state house dome they put up this square flag in front of the capitol. please i want your readers to know, that is not the compromise spot. i co-chaired the compromise along with judge alex sanders of charleston submitted our recommendations to governor jim hodges and it was to put that flag on the state house groundsed a jaygrounds ed a ja adjacent to the monument. some of the civil rights community objected to that compromise. the legislature out of defiance put that flag where it is today in front of the state house. that was not the compromised position. and i wish our legislators will own up to that. now, let me say this so-called heritage act they have pa

>> i'm not a south carolinian. >> there are many others. was it fair for the media to point out most candidates are sidestepping? >> i think so. if you're going to run for president of the united states you're going to be asked about things happening in the united states. in some ways that's sidestepping by the candidates. this is just a states issue. just a states issue. gay marriage was just a states issue until this weekend and candidates were happily discussing it. it's important to ask these questions. one of the reasons we don't have a clip of hillary clinton being asked this is because she's doing less media and less press. for someone like huckabee or santorum out doing interviews every day -- >> that's a fair point. she's come down against the confederate flag. you were in charleston when president obama delivered the eulogy at the church for reverend clemente. i know you disagree with the president on many things but do you think the coverage captured that moment and it was a time when media coverage was able to come together in t

>> i'm not a south carolinian. t think a federal candidate should be make decisions on everything and opining on everything. this is a decision that should be made here in south carolina. >> mitt romney says the flag should be taken down but nearly every republican running for president this time around says the debate on this issue should be reserved for the state. south carolina has a crucial early presidential primary and many republican candidates obviously fear offending south carolina's republican primary voters. let's go back now to del walters in charleston. del clearly more republican candidates would rather punt than risk offending south carolina voters. but give us a sense of this lathest controversy over the confederate flag. >> actions speak louder than words, the old saying goes. people taking to social media to demand the flag come down. one person tweeting, if ronl reagan told mikhail gorbachev to tear down that wall, my goodness members of congress are loud to take down the confederate flag. to hono

. >> reporter: hundreds of south carolinians rallied on the steps of the south carolina state house while inside lawmakers debate the confederate flag and its place on capital grounds. >> it's extremely important issue for our state. >> reporter: tonight the fate of the controversial piece of southern heritage hangs in the balance. >> our an chesters were literally fighting to keep human beings as slaves. continued unimaginable acts that occur when someone is held against their will. i am not proud of this heritage. >> reporter: the controversy is not a new one. the flag was removed from atop the capital dome in 2000 and raised on the state house grounds. last week's massacre governor nikki haley, a republican made it clear where she stands. >> it's time to move the flag from the capital grounds. [ applause ] >> reporter: many prominent republican politicians have followed suit some reversing long-held belief that the flag represents southern heritage. >> this is the circumstance where the people led the politicians. i came to conclude after going to charleston that we had to act sooner r

south carolinians did not fight under that flag. for people to run around talking about all of their ancestors that fought and died under that flag they're not telling the truth. what's so unfortunate about it they don't even know that they're not telling the truth. they have been perpetuating this myth that someone told them just like this young man got all this stuff off the internet and somebody has told him and started living by it. so i was pleased that the governor took a position because it does two things. it allows all of us black and white together to march into the future celebrating only the american flag and that proud blue with the palmetto tree and crescent state flag of south carolina and secondly it will allows a lot of my friends to top -- >> and it will have to pass by two thirds the legislation that would be required to remove that battle flag from the grounds of the state capitol. do you have any doubt it will pass congressman? >> i don't think it requires two thirds. it requires two thirds if you remove the fla

. >> south carolinians lay to rest 2 of the 9 victims. ethel lance was 70 and enjoying requirement.or 34 years at gill yard auditorium. her daughter nadine collier describes her as a strong whom worked hard to keep her family together and worked for the ame church. she spoke to her mother's killer at his first court appearance. >> you took something precious from me but i forgive you. and have mercy on your soul. >>> sharonda singleton, just 45 years old, a speech therapist and high school track coach. her oldest son, chris, plays baseball for charleston southern university. >> love is stronger than hate. we love the way my mom would. and the hate won't be anywhere close to what love is. >> also today, the body of reverend and state senator clementa pinckney. he had been laying in state where just outside the confederate flag still flies. though governor nikki haley called for the flag's removal, she acknowledges she doesn't have the authority to do it herself. she says doing so would likely leave her open to a lawsuit. supporteders of the flag and history it represents defending it

. >> reporter: hundreds of south carolinians rallied on the steps of the state house while state lawmakersfederate flog and its place on the capitol grounds. >> it's an important issue for our state. >> reporter: today the fate of the piece of southern heritage hangs in the balance. >> our ancestors were fighting to keep human beings as slaves and continue the unimaginable acts that occur when someone is held against their will. i am not proud of this heritage. >> reporter: the controversy is not a new one. the flag was removed from the capitol dome in 2000 and raised on the state house grounds. but after last week's massacre, nikki haley, a republican, made it clear where she stands. >> it's time to move the flag from the capitol grounds. >> reporter: many prominent republican politicians have followed suit. >> this is a circumstance of where the people led the politicians. i came to conclude after going to charleston that we had to act and sooner rather than later. >> reporter: the rallying cry is sweeping the south from south carolina to mississippi, one of the few states where the conf

the governor saying she will have south carolinians allow themselves to grieve, to pray, to question and to heal. >> we are still waiting to hear from president obama. we understand he is going to speak to this particular event and we will bring that to you when it happens. >>> everybody very, very happy to know that this has come to a conclusion. the governor announced or actually it was the mayor, joe riley, announcing a fund has been set up for people around the country to be able to donate to help with the families of those nine people who were killed. >> absolutely. of course, all of our hearts go out to everybody involved. right now we're going to toss it over to amelia segal with one last look at the we they are. >>> a high today of about 89. between 2:00 and 8:00 p.m., scattered showers and thunderstorms. some storms could have very heavy rain strong winds. shower possible tomorrow morning and a shower or thunderstorm possible by the afternoon. >> we are following this story. you want to stay tune right here on channel 4 for the nbc news special report. you can also watch it

this is an ongoing conversation that south carolinians have talked about for a long time and it is now forced back into the situation. how can this flag be flying not even at half-staff for fellow citizens of south carolina that have been killed? >> troy, as we were talking, this is so much bigger than one person. a lot of people are wondering, i can't get this out of my mind, asking the question was this guy, roof, raised on racism and hate? what about the parents? and how pervasive is this stuff among organizations and online for kids and young adults? >> well it certainly seems that way. listeners definitely tell me they feel that when you see the flag of rhodesia the old flag of south africa this is a young man who is wearing emblems that didn't even exist, they were outlawed essentially before he was born. so obviously, symbols matter to him and they certainly matter to those that are being hurt by them. >> troy, thanks so much if or coming in and sharing your perspective. we appreciate it. good to follow along this week on your facebook page, always but this week in particular. t

that famous south carolinian was on display. they were all sharing fans bottles of water. it was a day of unity and respect for their friend senator clementa pinckney. and a similar message last night in charleston where a bible study group reclaimed that church. the parking lot was full bible study resuming in the same room where the massacre took place one week earlier. the interim pastor claiming this territory belongs to god. earlier in the day thousands lined up in the sweltering feet as a horse drawn caisson carried senator clementa pinckney's body back to the state house where he had served since the age of 23 to now lie in state. >> senator pinckney was a good and kind man. he was sensitive to the needs of others. >> many waited to see if governor nikki haley would use a legal loophole to temporarily bring down the flag for the day. but her office releasing a statement saying she does not have the authority to remove the flag herself. alabama's governor did order that the flag be removed from their grounds. and in idaho they removed the mississippi flag from a disp

reporter: south carolina governor nikki haley said it's time to have the conversation and allow south carolinians to decide. back to you. >> we'll cover the news on this as it happens. thank you very much. 16 days on the run and no sign of two convicted killers. but there is a focal point at this hour. an area near the new york slap pennsylvania border. u.s. marshals police officers k-9 units concentrating efforts there after a possible sighting yesterday. investigators say a woman called in early in the morning say she saw two men on a railroad line who looked like the fugitives. road blocks are up near the town of friendship new york about 350 miles from the maximum security prison where the men escaped. david sweat, richard mat who you see in this picture were doing time for murder one of them dismembered his victim. david lee miller is live. how credible do they think this lead is? >> reporter: based on the resources being deployed it's clear that the authorities believe that this lead is a credible one. keep in mind that so far the authorities have received over 1500 leads in this case. they

>> i'm not a south carolinian. >> those running for president, everyone is baited with this question somehow that has anything to do whatsoever with running for president and my position is it most certainly does not. >> are you comfortable displaying the confederate battle flag in public? >> i don't personally display it anywhere. it's not an issue for me so that's an issue for the people of south carolina. >> i think she'll do it. >> what wants to be a diehard on this? who wants to fight for the flag? >> i hope not. they need to ask the question about the mind set in that state holding on to that flag. is she going to have conversations to get to the bottom. >> i lived through the kennedy assassination, i knew it was a left winger who did it. most felt so bad it changed a lot of hearts for the same time. lbj didn't have a tough campaign because nobody wanted to fight against the kennedy legacy at that point, nobody. >> i agree, look, i wasn't surprised by governor haley. i was down in charlton from the night it happened and she walked into the hotel and went to the second floor and

hearing all this rhetoric about how we're coming together and we're healing, we're united united south carolinians. how can you make sense of your state actually fully embracing you and seeing you in this moment of grief when that flag is flying on those grounds? >> what i'd say, as with any other political compromise, it will be imperfect. so if you go back in time, what you'd find is a guy named john rainy, a guy named lonnie randolph. lonnie randolph was head of the naacp. they worked together with the business community and business community and church community saying how do we take it off the state house which is where it was at the time. >> no, i know. >> and they put up an african-american memorial. they put it on the grounds. it was imperfect. so i think it easy from afar. bible says worry about the log in your own eye before you worry about the splinter in somebody else's to say why didn't you guys get it right or more right. i think that was the best it could be done at the time. it does not make it a perfect political solution. >> this is to many people a symbol of tyranny, a symbol o

those south carolinians view the flag as a symbol of respect, integrity and duty. they see it as a memorial, a way to honor ancestors who came to the service of their state during time of conflict. >> senator thurmond ripped apart that respect, integrity and duty. >> ripped it apart and showed the kind of leadership from frankly -- not only a white politician but as you so -- so skillfully pointed out, the son of the most -- one of the most famous southern segregationist of the 20th century and the longest serving senator in terms of 100 years old. he showed leadership with that speech and was very honest about saying, what is my purpose? i think he found his purpose in that moment on the floor to repudiate, once and for all, as i would hope that all republican politicians were to do and white republican politicians would do today to say the flag is not about heritage, pride or anything else, it is about a stain on our national soil in terms of treason, slavery. it respects the opposite of freedom. it respects slavery and treason and session. to say that they had a

. >>> the south carolinian church shooting has had repercussions in texas. a volunteer firefighters was fired for side with the shooter he put on facebook the suspect needs to be praised for the good deed he came. that sparked an investigation costing his job >>> a manhunt in sorl after a police officer was shot and killed. authorities are surgeoning for travis boyce. despite being handcuffed boyce was able to use a gun and shoot the officer. boyce took off when the car crashed. it's not clear if the gun was the officer or the one they had on them. the chief of police explained how boyce managed to get free. >> that prisoner somehow was able to get his hands from behind his back where he was handcuffed, where he was then handcuffed from the front. he's double jointed, able to do that in the back of the car, and was able to produce a firearm, came through the back seat to the front seat through a port opening on the came and shut off the holloway. >> in upstate new york police confirmed reports of sitings of two convicted killers that broke out of prison the