south carolina first in the south. right? it's iowa, new hampshire, south carolina. after that republican governor got turfed out in south carolina in 1998 as the naacp was coordinating a big economic boycott of south carolina over them fly that confederate flag, as state senator arthur ravenel was holding a rally in front of a 100 foot tall confederate flag. in the year 2000 george w. bush and john mccain were battling it out in south carolina to try to win the republican nomination for president. and so they very knowingly strolled right up to this rube con, right? would supporting the confederate flag remain just a political asset for south carolina conservatives or would it become a national conservative cause, too? john mccain in that heming and hawing way tried to refuse what he thought about the issue but at the same time played to the issues of politics when he was asked about south carolina's confederate flag, he made sure to reference his own role in opposing the martin luther king holiday being recognized in arizona. he then went on to say the issue of the

carolina and god bless them. >> was the shooting a hate crime in south carolina? in your mind, was the shooting a hate crime? >> well, there's nine people dead -- >> was it racially motivated? >> you read what they said about the guy, it sure appears that way. >> that's the ohio governor speaking to reporters following his remarks in washington d.c. today. jeb bush also addressed the tragedy at that same event today. in his remarks he said he didn't know what was on the mind or in the heart of the gunman who committed toes atrocious crimes. when asked later by reporters whether he believed that the shooting was racially motivated bush responded, quote, it was a horrific act and i don't know what the background of it is but it was an act of hatred. when asked again whether it was about race bush said, quote, i don't know. looks to me like it was but we'll find out all the information. it's clear it was an act of raw hatred for sure. nine people lost their lives and they were african-american. you can judge what it is. bush taking some heat today for seeming perhaps

carolina capital in columbia, south carolina. when we come back, we will also be joined by david goodman to talk about the anniversary of the death of his brother andrew goodman. sunday was the 51st anniversary of the killing of these three young civil rights workers who had just left a burned black church in mississippi. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are speaking on this day after the republican governor of south carolina nikki haley reversed her position and said that the confederate battle flag must come down off the grounds of the south carolina state capital, but she is putting it to the legislature first. i want to go back to president obama's interview with mark nairn on his podcast wtf. >> slavery, jim crow, discrimination in august every institution of our lives. that casts a long shadow and that is still part of our dna. that is passed on. we are not cured of it. racism, we're not cured of. clearly. it is not just a matter of

he's now back in south carolina. tonight we're learning more about who he is. >> that's right, john, a portrait of dylann roof is starting to emerge and it's a troubling one. his records show that he changed schools multiple times and dropped out entirely in ninth grade. he has a charge for felony drug use. this man now suspected of a hate crime. in his facebook photo dylann storm roof is standing in a swarm. his jacket has two flags on it. one from apart side era south africa and another from white-ruled rodicha what would become zimbabwe. he's sitting on a car the same car seen outside of the church. his uncle describes his nephew as quiet and soft-spoken although he worried that his nephew was too introverted. at 19 years old he still didn't have a job, a drivers license or anything like that. and he just stayed in his room a lot of the time. he had purchased a pistol, it's not clear if that's the weapon that he used wednesday night. i spoke to him on the phone briefly, he said, he said i'm outside target practici

he's from lexington, south carolina. he is the suspect in this shooting massacre at the emanuel ame church in downtown charleston, south carolina. senior law enforcement officials tell deborah feyerick he has been caught. they have been tracking him all morning as this shooting happened overnight. for more on this, let's continue to discuss all of this breaking news that is coming in right now. let's bring in two law enforcement officials that we lean on very heavily all the time, richard schwein, and also with us is cnn law enforcement analyst and former fbi assistant director tom fuentes. tom, a lot of information coming in. deborah feyerick is hearing from a senior law enforcement official that they have caught this 21-year-old, dylann roof. what in terms of the investigation, this intense manhunt that's been going on overnight for this suspect, what all will be going on right now, tom? >> well, i think first of all, kate, the fact they had a great photo of him in the first place and a description of the vehicle with

to south carolina, and then what? >> well, once he is transferred from north carolina to south carolina, there is a number of laws to the look at. the most important is the murder statue. and south carolina inflicts death by electrocution or lethal injection, and they have done it over 40 times since 1985 when the death penalty was ree stored, so they are not shy about using the death penalty in south carolina. >> the juries are not shy about bringing down that verdict? >> absolutely lyabsolutely. in this case, two things that would qualify as death penalty case, multiple homicide case, and two, that members of the public were endangered which the gun fire, and so it does qualify under south carolina statue, and another thing that is interesting as i have looked over the south carolina law, and it is one of the states that has no hate crime legislation on the books. so we have heard that it could turn out to be a hate crime, and certainly looks like one at this point, but it looks like south carolina does not have a s

to the south carolina state senate. he was elected when he was 27 years old. he was gunned down on wednesday night at the age of 41, married with two children. to talk more about the massacre in charleston, in addition to dr. warnock in alanna, we're joined in philadelphia by anthea butler associate professor at the university of pennsylvania author of "women in the church of god in christ, making a sanctified world." she has written a new piece for the washington post is called, "shooters of color are called 'terrorists' and 'thugs.' why are white shooters called 'mentally ill'?" anthea butler, would you continue on this point? talk about the issue of who we call terrorists and who we don't. >> thank you, amy, for having me. i really respect this show. the reason why, i believe, that whites are often are white shooters especially male white shooters, are always call mentally ill, is that it is the soft peddling of the structure of racism in america. whenever you hear about a muslim doing something or suspected of doing

charleston south carolina has been dealing with a lot. we can tell you a little more about this church emanuel church here in charleston. it is not just historic but symbolic for a number of reasons. this is a church that was burned down some years ago by slave owners here in charleston. more than 150 years ago. it was rebuilt then in the '50s '60s '70s it was a planning site of sorts. lots of civil rights marches and rallies that happened here in charleston and south carolina the northeast a lot of rallies were planned at the church behind me. the same church that was rocked by tragedy last night around 9:00. >> the breaking news that dylann roof has been arrested. thank you very much. we are expecting to hear from the president in the next half hour. we'll be back on the air when that happens. for now, this has been an nbc news special report. we'll have much more on "nbc nightly news" tonight and much more throughout the day on nbcnews.com. >>> we've been talking about the bethel a.m.e. in society hill section, a friend of reverend pin

even the governor of south carolina has said that. and that's why there has been bigger discussion about hate crime in south carolina. south carolina is one of five states that does not have any hate crime legislation. and there has been a renewed discussion about that in light of what has happened here. and many lawmakers are saying situations like this and other situations, it should underscore the need to have that here. >> great point. and continued great work down there, jonathan martin thank you for your time. >>> michelle obama talked about the charleston shooting earlier this morning. the first lady is in italy with her mother and daughter. she said saying her thoughts and prayers with are with people isn't enough to fully convey how she feels. >> my heart goes out to the people of emmanuel and the people of charleston. i pray for a community that i know is in pain and with the hope that tragedies like these will one day come to an end. >> reporter: the first lady said she was particularly pained by the fact that the shooting

that was south carolina's ampligen's history. black people celebrate the fourth of july along with other americans, but that was really the day that slavery was codified in this country. so we want to have a conversation about race in this country and the foundations of white supremacy and racism. it starts in south carolina and the ideology of white supremacy that permeates our nation today with the southern is asian -- southernization of american politics. when we talk about medicaid funding and medicaid expansion in the southern governors, like nikki haley, who fought against medicaid expansion because they did not want to give something to undeserving people who they see as black people. when you talk about voter id laws, trying to keep a group of people from having power, almost like literacy tests and knowing how many bubbles are in a bar of soap. they talked the game now about reconciliation, but everybody uses this code language, here and across the country, to deny black people and people of color rights. this whole idea

with the south carolina church massacre suspect? >>> the california raisin farmer that just beat the feds at the u.s. supreme court. ...and the wolf was huffing and puffing... kind of like you sometimes, grandpa. well, when you have copd it can be hard to breathe. it can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. so i talked to my doctor. she said.. doctor: symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections osteoporosis, and some eye problems. you should tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. grandfather: symbicort could mean a day with better breathi

lindsey graham's hopes rest on south carolina. the senator says if he wins in his home state he believes he could do well across the south and do well with the nomination. he fended off a number of challenges during the senatorial primary last year. won the general election by 14 points making national security the centerpiece of his campaign. highlighting membership on senate armed services committee. and thinks 33 years with the u.s. air force both active duty and a reservist. in greenville, south carolina, i asked the senator what he thought his biggest asset was? >> being the best qualified to be commander-in-chief at a time when the world is in complete chaos. understanding how we got into this mess and a way to get out of it. being a conservative that can relate to people throughout the country. >> reporter: being a conservative who can relate to people across the country. what he means is, he sees himself as pragmatic conservative willing to work with people across the aisle to get things done. while that served him well he

pelley" from south carolina next. >> remember the latest news and weather are always on our website, cbssf.com. >> pelley: the sanctity of the house of god shattered by violence. a white gunman opens fire on a historic black church. >> the heart and soul of south carolina was broken. >> pelley: nine people are killed. the suspect is in custody. >> at some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. >> pelley: as america mourns the words of a preacher echo from the past. >> we must not despair, we must not become bitter, nor must we harbor the desire to retaliate with violence. captioning sponsored by cbs >> this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley reporting tonight from charleston, south carolina. >> pelley: this is our western edition. so, here we are again, another mass shooting in america. our neighbors, this time ministers, a librarian and grandparents cut down for nothing. it happened in the church behind me. it was last night during a bible class at this historic black church here

it is not morning here yet in south carolina. certainly not in charleston, but the morning will come. the fact of the matter is that our hearts are broken but our spirits are truly strong. i'm looking forward to seeing this community still coming together and it has been fantastic to see the response from all aspects of our community this morning at the prayer service we had such a diverse group of south carry-south carolinaians. we will keep hope alive because we will stay together and we will be one community. >> you mention the term diverse. and, you know, and i'm so cloud you did because as you look -- look, the racial issue on this is obvious. it's a white guy goes into an african-american church and he shoots african-americans. we can't deny this race issue. you see so many white members of the community black members of the community, white cops black cops. we have got to focus that we're all in this together. >> absolutely, greta. and when you think about if you you want to know what south carolina looks like from a racia

a south carolina tag on it. white male early 20s with a bowl haircut. >> reporter: the dashcam shows police closing in epding the 14-hour manhunt. they ordered roof to step out of the vehicle, placing his hand on top of the car. he was checked for weapons but none found on his body. roof was traveling with a handgun in the backseat. now, officers found that gun underneath a pillow in the backseat suggesting that roof spent the night in his car following the shooting. meanwhile, a federal law enforcement source tells cnn roof purchased the weapon in west columbia south carolina not far from where he lived. alisyn? >> okay thanks so much for all of that background. we want to bring in a cnn contributor and former south carolina state representative. we want to talk about what's happening. thank you for being with us. >> thanks for having me. >> when is the flag going to come down? >> that's a good question. i'm optimistic about it coming down. there has to be a vote but hopefully -- >> that's the way you think it

this day governor haley of south carolina said in the capital of south carolina the flag should not be flown. she said we will do this in spite of what the state legislature feels. soy applaud her. i appreciate her courageous act. the confederate flag has no place in the future of south carolina. it belongs in the past every place in america not just south carolina. everyone who desires to fly that flag on private property can do so but no state in this great nation should allow this flag to soar above the capitol. we must always stand for what is right. we must stand for equality and justice, back and defend e. we must preserve the rights of every american not because it is the safe thing to do, not because it is popular. we must stand and defend equality and justice because it is the right thing to do. we must take meaningful action to ensure the safety of our citizens. once again our hearts are broken as another community stprug tkpwels to recover -- struggles to recover from a mass shooting. i want to mention a few of them, just a few of them. fort hood, 13 americans killed. this w

this is going to be a south carolina case. it's going to be a death penalty case under any circumstances. and the fact that federal hate crimes charges are a possibility is -- i mean is basically irrelevant. if i can just talk about one thing about the issue of patterns. you know dave cullen wrote a remarkable book about columbine. and that massacre has obviously some pair hesrallels here. the thing that is so chilling about that book, and he goes into this in some detail is that there is no pattern. that there are a lot of people on horrible hate websites and very, very few credit crimes. it is so hard to identify which ones of the people who have these horrible views actually put them into action. ask that's what makes these crimes so difficult to anticipate. >> heidi do you agree? >> yeah it is very very hard. but the one thing that i do know is that these places are literally dens of lone wolves. the number of kill there's come out of these places is very high. there have been several mass shootings. in kansas last year by

in south carolina. beat in up in police custody because of that. amy: i want to thank you, brett bursey for joining us. the hearse has just moved on. brett bursey, director of the south carolina progressive network. burned the confederate flag back in 1969. we will be back here in front of the mother emanuel church in charleston, south carolina in a minute. m♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting fro charleston, south carolina outside the historic emanuel ame church where nine people were gunned down on as they attended june 17 bible study. just minutes ago, state troopers brought reverend clementa pinckney's casket down the steps to a hearse. his funeral is being held just blocks from here at college of charleston with president obama delivering the eulogy. the church shooting suspect dylann roof is now jailed next to officer michael slager, the policeman who shot and killed unarmed african-american walter scott ea

carolina's house minority leader and south carolina state representative david mack. they both knew reverend pinckney very well. first of all i'm sorry for your loss. >> thank you very much. >> let me start with you, representative rutherford. how are you in the community doing well? >> we're not doing well not only democrats and republicans, and people who didn't even know him at all are in tears over the fact that he could be gunned down while pastoring people. >> we have seen a lot of battles together. i can't remember anything as horrific as this. >> the on thing ily thing i could go back to was the three little girls in birmingham alabama. the innocence in church in worship, where we can be safe. we tell our young kids not to go in joints in the more dangerous areas, but to go to church and this happens. we're going to have to go back to the drawing board and work across the board to really heal our community. >> now, tell us about reverend pinckney. he served with you, he served with representative ma mack. and from the encounters i had down through the years, w

and the heart of soul of south carolina was broken. and we have grieving to do and we have got some pain we have got to get to. parents have got to explain to their kids how they can go to church and feel safe. and that's not something we thought we would ever deal with. having said that we are a strong and faithful state. we love our state, our country, and most importantly, we love each other. there is a lot of prayer in this state, so you will see all of us try to lift these nine families up in prayer because they need us. these nine families need us. the emmanuel ame church needs us, the ame church family needs us, and the people of south carolina need us to come together and be strong for what has happened. i want you to know the outpouring of emotion from across this country has been overwhelming, from presidential candidates to citizens who have just traveled through the state, to any person in any walk of life, every single person has had to put their -- put their feet in the shoes of one of those nine families today, and they

it is south carolina's historic moment and this will be south carolina's decision. to those outside of our state, the flag may be nothing more than the symbol of the worst of america's past. 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 no

sumter in south carolina. this flag may go down last in south carolina. we have to understand -- >> it's really disturbing -- >> i understand that. >> i think this may be the final act of the confederate flag issue, and i'm hoping that the people of south carolina make the right decision and they came to the compromise back in 2000. you know, they moved it on the grounds, and i think after something like this i think that the people of south carolina will do the right thing. >> tara set meier, charles blow thank you so much. i appreciate it. still to come, the search closes in on those two escaped killers. yes, they found their dna in a cabin. we'll have more on that in a live report coming up next. ya know, viagra helps guys with erectile dysfunction get and keep an erection. talk to your doctor about viagra. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach and abnormal vision. to avoid long

south carolina's laws need to mirror the federal laws. the federal laws restrict -- are much tighter restrictions on gun ownership. in addition we need to repeal some of the gun law that is we have passed recently in the general assembly for example, we now have citizens who can carry guns in bars where there's alcohol. that's not good common-sense legislation. i opposed it at the time and will seriously consider bringing that issue up. we spend too much too many in south carolina advocating for gun right owners. don't get me wrong, i believe in the second amendment, right to carry, but there's also a constitutional right for a state to exercise its police powers particularly when we have a large violent deaths occurring here in south carolina. >> as you know senator, there's a photo of dylann roof setting in his car with a plate reading confederates states. today a supreme court ruled that texas is allowed to reject a license plate design but in south carolina at the statehouse they still fly a confederate flag. is it is it time to make

in south carolina. and maybe if i wasn't nearing the end of the run or this wasn't such a common occurrence maybe i could have pulled out of the spiral but i didn't and so i honestly have nothing. i don't want to get into the political argument of the guns and things -- what blows my mind is the disparity of response between when we think people that are foreign are going to kill us and us killing ourselves. we got to do whatever we can to keep americans safe. nine people shot in a church. what about that? hey, what are you going to do? crazy is as crazy is right? that's the part that i cannot for the life of me wrap my head around. the confederate flag flies over south carolina and the roads are named for confederate generals. and the white guy is the one who feels his country is being taken away from him. we're bringing it on ourselves and that's the thing, al qaeda, all those guy, isis they're not [ bleep ]. compared to the damage that we can apparently do to ourselves on a regular basis. i heard som

craig melvin is in south carolina, in charleston south carolina. craig, this is another moment where president obama has had to address the ravages of gun violence in our country. >> you know andrea we were trying to. count the number of times, or we've, you know had conversations like this on our air and we've stopped at five. i mean you think obviously you think about tucson and you think about newtown and you think about ft. hood you think about aurora and the list goes on. that will be part of the conversation i'm sure for the next few days. i can tell you a little bit more about reverend pinckney the president knew him and so did i. i worked in local news here in south carolina for a number of years. and he was a state house member back then. he was in the lower chamber. he was in the house. in fact, reverend pinckney was elected at the age of 23. when he was elected he was the youngest member to ever serve in the south carolina house of representatives. before that he was an intern and congressman jim clyburn's office. years later he would ha

he was also a south carolina state senator and a rising star in south carolina politics a real community leader. he knew president obama -- knew people at the bible study. she spoke to reporters and described the scene the suspect came to the church and asked for the pastor they showed him where the pastor was, he said next to my cousin for the -- throughout the entire bible study. at the conclusion of the bible study, they started hearing loud noises ringing out. and he had already wounded the suspect, had already wounded a couple individuals, including mys could enmy cousin. i spoke with one of the survivors, and she said that he had reloaded five different times. her son was trying to talk him out of doing the act of killing people. he said i have to do it you rape our women and you're taking over our country. you have to go. south carolina state legislature paid their respects to reverend pickney today. >> we came to honor one as i mentioned in my earlier prayer who has been such a fond presence in the chamber. i will miss that booming voice coming from one of the gentlest men i've e

unfortunately, it brings us to reality and a reminder of the way south carolina got to be south carolina, the things that south carolina has done throughout history. i am very hopeful and always optimistic and wish that things would change. we often criticize young people for their conduct. we, too, need to look and the mayor and tell, maybe the older folks, we aren't setting the kind of example that we should set for individuals, regardless of who it is and regardless of what they do, but i don't see the human aspect of life the way i would like to see it, that all people are treated in a fair, just, and equitable manner. this morning, one of our senators, a senator from claritin county, was one -- was on one of the earlier programs. he talked about just the climate in government and south carolina. and while we may think what we do only lasts tuesday wednesday, thursday and six onset of the year, the disrespectful things that we see that comes from government are things that we should work on and the reason that we should work on them is that the people who are voters in the state shou

carolina and south carolina alone will decide. [video clip] governor haley: this is south carolina's historic moment. this will be south carolina's decision. for those outside of our stay, the flag may be nothing more than the worst of america's past . that is not what it is to many south carolinians. the state house belongs to all of us. their voices will be heard. host: not just south carolinians, but national groups and companies are weighing in on this discussion. here is a headline. walmart said in a statement on monday that it is removing all items promoting the confederate fyke for sale from its stores and website. we want to get our viewers' thoughts this morning. melanie is up first and pennsylvania. melanie is not with us. you can call in if you support removing the flag from the statehouse grounds, (202) 748-8000. if you oppose it, (202) 748-8001 . a special line for south carolina residents, (202) 745-8002. we will get to your calls in just a second. i want to talk about the trade discussion that is happening today on

berman live in south carolina. right behind me is the ame church the pillar in this community and state for well over 150 years and it's where last night nine people were murdered. they were murdered by a man who police believe they now have in custody 21-year-old dylann roof was taken into custody this morning in shelby, north carolina which is a 3:45 drive from here. they

but i think in south carolina we have to send the right message to all of the citizens of south carolina. the state house is a public place. it's a place that is supported by citizen's tax dollars. african americans and others pay taxes in south carolina. we cannot tell the state that because you have a symbol that is disgraceful, and hateful to us as a people we're not going to pay taxes. we don't have that option. so what the governor said today is that the state house is a place for all south carolina ns and we should not have significant on the state house grounds that is divisive of the population. >> yeah. we will see -- i have to end it here. we will see what the legislature does in south carolina. it's good to have you on the program. thank you very much for speaking with us tonight. >>> violent crime has gotten so bad in venezuela that even the police have become targets. >> venezuela one of the u.s.'s largest oil providers faces a number of major problems. its economy is in ruins, and leadersover the opposition of the socialist government have been in prison. but it's the crime

this is south carolina's statehouse. it is south carolina's historic moment. this will be south carolina's decision. to those outside of our state the flag may be nothing more than a symbol of america's past. the statehouse belongs to all of us. their voices will be heard and their role will be respected. mark: how hard is it politically for nikki haley to do this? al: it shouldn't be hard. the pendulum has swung. i went to school in the south. i admire what she did today but she could not be more wrong. this is not a symbol of respect and integrity, this is a symbol of hate. to say segregation now segregation forever. it is a symbol of breaking away from the country. john: given your wisdom and long memory, take us through the history of this, the confederate flag and the various political battles that have raged over the south over previous years. al: it is interesting, a very conservative republican governor in 1996 says we are going to take it down from the top of the state capital and move it to a war memorial ground. the white population went crazy. he w

that young man is in custody in south carolina. he has reportedly confessed already. if federal hate crimes charges really are brought in this case what does that mean in term of this young man's prosecution? does that change any possible sentence that he might receive. south carolina has no hate crime charges in its statutes. they do have the death penalty. they have the ability to bring federal charge in a place the state charges are already being filed and already as serious as you can get. why did, or why would the federal government clues to get involved in a case like this? and why hate crimes charges in particular? if the new york time is right and this will be a federal prosecution in charleston what happens to this defendant in terms of the way his case is hand? and specifically in terms of the attention and the publicity he may want to get for his supposed cause through venue of his trial? at this intersection of mass murder and terrorism and hate crimes, this reported intervention raises some really interesting questions about how much we will ever to hear

the governor of south carolina fighting back tears. >> the heart and soul of south carolina was broken. we have some grieving to do. we have some pain we have to go through. >> reporter: president obama said he and michelle personally knew several members of the historic church. >> to say our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families and their community doesn't say enough to convey the heart ache and the sadness and the anger that we feel. >> now, it is still not clear if his roommate went to authorities. cnn reached out to both the roommate and meeks. michaela we want to go to her to look at how the victims at the church have been drawn together now by their faith. good morning, michaela. >> faith is going to be what holds them together. vigils are taking place across the country to remember the nine victims killed in the senseless tragedy. family and friends here honoring the legacy of their loved ones whose lives are cut short in a place of solace. from the heart of the tragedy in south carolina -- >> our hope is in god. >> -- to the hope of the ebenezer baptist church.

with the south carolina church massacre suspect? >>> the california raisin >>> the u.s. supreme court has ruled in favor of a california farmer who fought the federal government over his raisins. the justices says a program that leds takes away raisins is unconstitutional. we are still awaiting a supreme court decision on whether obama subsidies are legal. >>> we're learning more tonight just about how involved the controversial economist was in shaping obamacare law. >> reporter: a higher level of m.i.t. economist than the administration previously admit admitted. >> this is someone directly at the center of the tent. >> reporter: the white house refer to gruber has, quote, an integral part of the process, later calling him, quote, our hero. the e-mails show an ongoing stream of conversations between gruber and other top obama administration staff members, including then director of office management and budget. >> this was not some rogue adviser or someone who was outside the circle. rather this was someone who was very much part

the governor of south carolina fighting back tears. >> the heart and soul of south carolina was broken. so, we have some grieving to do. we've got some pain we have to go through. >> president obama said he and michelle personally knew several members of the his tor imame church. >> to say our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families and community doesn't say enough to convey the heart ache and the sadness and the anger that we feel. >> now, it's not clear if roof's roommate went to authorities. joey meek told abc news he had not. it's not clear why he didn't. they have reached out to meek and the roommate. we have the breaking news on the apparent confession. evans in washington with the breaking details. what have you learned? >> reporter: he wanted to start a race war. that's what he said in talking to the fbi and charleston fbi detectives who interviewed him yesterday in north carolina. today, he is back in jail and he must be thinking he failed because you can see the reaction there in charleston has been the opposite. we are told that he talked to these investigators

carolina, to charleston south carolina. clearly he planned this he spoke about it for six months. >> he planned it and said to witnesses that he was going to kill himself, which never occurred because he got in that car and drove for three or four hours. >> he said he wanted to start a race war. right. but if you listen to his rhetoric "y'all are taking our white women. y'all are taking over." if you listen to that rhetoric and ask you "where have i heard the?" you've heard that coming out of places like the ku klux klan you've heard that rhetoric coming out of places that are very anti-black anti-jewish, anti-establishment type of organizations. it's that same rhetoric. >> neonazi white aryans. most of them just talk they don't actually commit crimes like this. >> that's right, but here's the thing. he may have been involved with this in terms of the act itself but i suspect there may be others who may have put this young man up to this because when you look at him, when i see him on footage, he appears to me to be somewha

it is south carolina's historic moment, and this will be south carolina's decision. to those outside of our state, the flag may be nothing more of the worse of the past, and that's not what it is to many. the state house belongs to all of us and their voices will be heard, and their role will be respected. we have made incredible progress on racial issues and so many effort, the 21st century belongs to us, because we have chosen to seize what's in front of us, to do what it right is to do it together. i have every faith that this will be no different, it is who we are. second i understand, what i have said, 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 a.m.e. family, and 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 us. we know that bringing down confederate flag will not bring back the nine kind souls, nor rid us of the hate, that drove a monster through the doors of the church t

i don't know specific to south carolina. but certainly in many states you have not -- you cannot have been convict the of a felony and that's probably the case here. you know in which we are seeing. >> he was charged but wasn't convicted. what do you make of the fact that he was able to get this gun, tom? you served a long time in the fbi. >> right. i think it's common. you have most states where if you're not convicted of a felony you certainly can get a gun legally. if you're old enough and there aren't other -- you haven't been adjudged mentally ill or any other circumstance like that you can get a gun. >> tang us behind the scenes. what is the fbi looking at right now? they are directly involved in this investigation. >> right, they've been involved from the beginning. what they're looking at in addition to gathering all the rest of the evidence helping the police do that. there's also looking at whether or not they could even bring a terror charge prove it bring a hate crime, and prove it. when they already have a state

south carolina is one of few states without hate crime law on the books. let's talk about this with cnn legal analyst. paul thanks for being here. roof is set to appear in court later this afternoon. what's going to happen there? >> well it's going to be not really the routine arraignment you would see in a criminal case because of the press interest and the security interest in the case. we are hearing it might be done by video, which is unusual. usually, the suspect is produced in court. in the end, though this is the start of a long process that is going to lead to a death penalty trial in south carolina. it's a state that has the death penalty. death penalty by lethal injection. e lek tricushion is a possibility possibility. you can forget about bail. there will be no bail in the case. the first thing is court is looking at is is he competent to stand trial? when you look at a guilt pattern that is so clear, defense attorneys are looking at one defense, that's insanity. the first thing is court will be looking at is is he competent to stand trial? that

but that's the law in south carolina. no doubt it will be sought. >> mayor riley also announced the creation of a fund for the church and a fund to help the victims' families as well, pay for funeral expenses and also some additional expenses as well. trymaine lee is covering that part of the story for us. i understand that you actually talked to family member one of the victims. >> that's right. i spoke to j.a. moore, brother of myra thompson one of the victims. she had been in recent weeks trying to get the family together for a family reunion because the last time the 13 siblings were together were two years ago at their father's funeral. now they're coming together to grieve her death. and so there's a lot of soul searching going on in this city and this community. prayer i have yale tonight at 6:00. others planned throughout the county and elsewhere in the state. but again, more soul searching, more pain, more trying to figure out why here why now, and just try to make sense of this. >> you know i was at the prayer s

in south carolina. and i would argue that in charleston per capita perhaps more an any other city in the state. this wasn't just a black church. this isn't just a black church. this is the black church in charleston as you indicated. you cannot understate the impact that this church has had. not just on this community. burned to the ground once during slavery. it was rebuilt. in recent years, it has become like a lot of black churches especially in south carolina, it has become the stop for presidential wannabes. this is where scott king back in 1969 after the death of her husband, this is where she planned a march and rally. marchs and rallies have been planned out of this church for nearly 200 years. the first time i came was on a field trip in the third grade. you study south carolina history, you go on a number of field trips around the state. this is where they brought us. this is that kind of church. all that being said you get every impression that this is going to be one of those situations that

carolina will make the >> that's a decision for the people of south carolina. >> this is a decision that needs to be made in south carolina. >> it's a classic presidential candidate cop out. when you ask me if the sky is blue that's a question best left to the state. >> how do i know what you would do with the flag? i'm not a flag scientist. i want to be president of the united states not president of flags. i object to your question. çlaughterÑ >> i want ton are you taking this down tomorrow. are you taking it down tonight? because i can come up with a flashlight. >> it was half staff but the rebel flag remained high, untouchable without an override by two thirds of the state legislature. >> well okay no problem. you get that two thirds blah, blah, blah and i'll get the key. i have one of those. right here. this will open any pad lock or non-pad lock or maximum security prison in upstate new york. oops. tough question. anyhow the point is, you're taking that flag down, right? >> as governor, i have the authority to call them back into session under extraordinary circumstances. i'