Online news outlet that occasionally will stop you in your tracks. Today gawker stopped me in my tracks when they ran a short feature story, mostly pictures, but a feature story on a statue. A really, really, really big statue in nashville, tennessee. Now, i have been to nashville. Ive been to nashville more than a few times. I can never remember seeing this statue, though, or maybe if i did my brain went into save yourself mode and erased it from my memory. This is a terrifying thing. Its 25 feet tall, its a bunch of different colors. Look at the eyes. Are terrifying blue marble eyes. And look at the teeth. This thing has a mouth like a circular saw. Look at those chompers. Terrifying, right . It looks a little bit like i know what youre thinking scary lucy, that bronze statue that was supposed to be lucille ball in her hometown and then the locals asked the nice artist who made it to please take it down because it was scaring the children. Looks a little bit like scary lucy. But i think national one is even more viscerally terrifying. Thats in part because it s 250 feet tall and it apparently looms over interstate 65 with those terrifying blue marble eyes and those chomper teeth. But its also scary because of what it is. What it depicts. What it stands for. James earl ray is the man who shot and killed dr. Martin luther king, jr. , in april 1968. He was kings assassin. James earl ray fled the scene after the killing. He actually got over the border into canada. Once he was in canada, he got a fake passport somehow, he eventually flowed the United Kingdom but a couple months after he shot king they picked him up in london england, he was extradited from the uk back to the United States fortoface trial for killing Martin Luther king. And in 1969, a little less than a year after the killing, James Earl Ray was convicted. Ultimately, he pled guilty to that crime but for a while, for a long while, actually, he and his attorney, a guy named jack kershaw, put forward that theory that James Earl Ray didnt actually kill Martin Luther king. They put forward this theory that said that James Earl Ray was just the fall guy for the crime and actually the guy who killed Martin Luther king was a man named raul. Years after James Earl Ray went to prison, even years after he once escaped from prison for a few days before she was recaptured jack kershaw, James Earl Rays attorney kept going on and on and on about this raul theory. James earl ray is in solitary at Brushy Mountain prison in tennessee. The last of the five men who broke out within last friday night was thought morning. And today, rays lawyer was on hand. So is eric burns to report on what the lawyer had to say about his client. Reporter this is jack kershaw. Hes James Earl Rays attorney and he talked to ray this morning. He told reporters ray is okay physically, exhausted mentally, and sorry he tried to escape. And, he said, there was no conspiracy to help ray escape. I think we can discount the outside help business now. If thered been outside help, that have been some sort of something in the backyard or something. Did he plan the escape . No . Is. Who did . I dont know. Reporter ray refused to talk to these investigators for the House Assassinations Committee today, but he will talk to them later, kershaw says. Kershaw also says he has a picture of the man named raul. According to ray, raul was the brains behind the plot to kill Martin Luther king. Kershaw says he will show this picture some time in the next two months after he has asked the court for a new trial for his client. So that was the Defense Attorneys defense. He said there wasnt much more to it than that. He asserted that was raul in the picture. That brilliant it was raul defense did not fly and James Earl Ray never got out again, either legally or by escaping. And he died in prison in 1998. But the attorney, the guy who represented James Earl Ray and came up with the raul defense, he, jack kershaw, lived out his days as an ardent proselytizing segregationist. Jack kershaw was in the white citizens council, he was in the league of the south, he was an unrepentant activist segregationist. And he was also an amateur and terrible sculptor. James earl rays defense certain to the guy who made this. This absolutely terrifying 25 foot tall fiberglass sculpture that looms over interstate 56 in nashville, tennessee. The defense attorney for the man who assassinated Martin Luther king made this thing. And even though the statue does look a little like scary lucille ball, who it actually depicts is Nathan Bedford forest, the first grand wizard of the ku klux klan, sometimes credited as being the founder of the ku klux klan. Nathan bedford forest was also a high ranking general in the confederacy and this statue along i65 in tennessee is supposed to inspire you to revere him. The statue is surrounded by, i think, im counting 13 Confederate Flags on giant flagpoles. Thats very subtle. Welcome to nashville. Today in the wake of the massacre of africanamerican church goers and Charleston South Carolina last week, today a democratic candidate for mayor of nashville proposed that the city of nashville might try to do something about this giant founder of the klan sculpture wrapped in Confederate Flags that theyve got on the side of the interstate heading into town. Today nashville city councilor megan barry suggested maybe the city or the state could put up, i dont know, trees or shrubs or something to try to block the view of this thing at least. Now, the trick here is that this thing is on private land. Its on land owned by one of jack kershaws friends. And today that friend who owns the land on which that sculpture sits, he told nashville public radio, basically, bring it on. Ive got some 1800 foot flag poles, i can put them up starting tomorrow. Slavery was the first form of social security. If you stop and think about it a minute, it was a cradletograve proposition. They never had it so good as far as job security to begin with. It wasnt the best of job security but it had benefits. Thats the man who hosts the giant klansman Confederate Flag private memorial along interstate 56 in tennessee. Interestingly, when you ask him about the quality of the sculpture itself, he admits that the statue is terrible. He admits that jack kershaw was not a good sculptor. But he says he wants to keep that klan sculpture up there and he says hell fight to keep it, specifically because he believes in the confederacy. As an artist, mediocre. As a thinker, he was way ahead of a lot of people in his time. Jock got some materials that i used to make bathtubs with and he started with a butcher knife. Thats the end result that you see throughout right now. To a lot of people, this monument is a symbol of racism. Any monument is a symbol of racism is if you are going to make it a symbol of racism. Now ive been accused of being racist. If i was racist, why have i got so many blacks working for me . I still consider this the sixthlargest nation in the world, the confederate state of america. Confederate states of america. So congratulations, tennessee, you now have this to deal with. I mean, all klan statues and Confederate Flag displays are to some degree terrifying, thats kind of the idea of them. This one is slightly more terrifying than usual because of the quality of the sculpture. Oh, my god. Gawkers headline on this today was perfect. Alarming statue of a racist and horse perfectly honors the confederacy. Perfect. Well, tennessee now has that alarming statue to contend with anew but thats on private land. The guy knows what hes up against and wants to fight for it. Heres the one on public land. This is also in tennessee. This is the bust of the same Nathan Bedford forrest which stands not on some private land somewhere but on the grounds of the Tennessee State capital. This Nathan Bedford forrest statue is four feet tall, its been there since the 1970s. Tennessees republican governor bill haslem said today that he now want this is Nathan Bedford forrest bust taken out of the Tennessee State capital. Its interesting. There was a law passed in tennessee in 2013 that makes it almost impossible to remove confederate monuments in tennessee when people object to them. Because of that new law passed by tennessee republicans in 2013, its going to be hard to remove that founder of the klan bust from the Tennessee State capital. But the republican governor of the state now says he will support any effort to do that. Governor bill haslem says he wants to state of tennessee to stop issuing Confederate Flag license plates. That actually shouldnt be hard at all. Virginia Governor Terry mcauliffe today just ordered the state of virginia to stop issuing Confederate Flag license plates, he cited last Weeks Supreme Court decision which allowed the texas State Government to deny requests for Confederate Flag specialty plates. As the democratic governor of virginia today, Terry Mcauliffe just ordered it. Ordered the state Treasury Department to stop issuing these places and to issue replacement plates to anyone in virginia who has one on their car. I have no idea what is going to happen when 1,677 virginia Vehicle Owners who paid for Confederate Flag license plates and have them on their cars now, i have no idea what will happen when they get their replacement plates in the mail without the Confederate Flag on them. But apparently in virginia thats about to happen. In north carolina, republican governor pat mccory says he wants the legislature to get rid of the Confederate Flag license plate in north carolina. It looks like he could do that himself if he wanted to thanks to the Supreme Court rule, at least as far as i understand it and based on extrapolating from the Terry Mcauliffe experience in virginia. But in north carolina, pat mccory says he wants the legislature to do it instead of him doing it himself. In kentucky, the republican candidate for governor of kentucky has called for the statue of jefferson davis, president of the confederacy to be removed from the kentucky state capital. In alabama, the state legislator who sponsored legislation to take the Confederate Flag down from the dome in the 1990s has introduced legislation to take the Confederate Flag off the confederate memorial on the state grounds, too. Thats the same fight thats unfolding with lightning speed in South Carolina right now. There are interesting developments on that which well get to later on in this hour. But overall we are at a really amazing Inflection Point right now. Like, even just in this 24 hours of this news cycle, right . S where this stuff going go. I mean, it looks like theres so much momentum to pitch all of this stuff, maybe all this stuff is going to get pitched. But maybe its not. Maybe its going to be proposed that it be pitch and it sticks around despite this flurry of new discussion, despite in outpouring of purported new understanding of the power and pain of these symbols after the massacre in charleston. But its not a done deal and its not clear it will be a done deal any time soon. For example, in Georgia Republican governor nathan diehl in georgia, he was asked today about the Confederate Flag license plate in his state. Unlike all the other governors in the deep south states today that said maybe theres some way these things should be gotten rid of, today nathan diehl in georgia says he doesnt have a problem it with. And georgia has an interesting history. Before 1956, this had been the flag of the state of georgia. But in 1956 after brown v. Board of education in the throes of the civil rights movement, georgia in 1956 changed its flag that one to this one. Subtle, right . Its not like that had been their flag since the civil war. They put the Confederate Flag on the Georgia State flag in 1956, in the 1950s specifically to stand for segregation. To stand against civil rights for black people. 1956 they did that. Georgia eventually had to change that. It took forever. It took decades. It took a couple of false starts. It took a bunch of politicians losing their jobs. But georgia eventually got themselves a normal flag again in 2003. They dropped the Confederate Flag one in 2003. But when it comes to dropping the Confederate Flag license plate, republican governor nathan diehl today says he isnt ready for that. Doesnt see the need. Would like to keep the Confederate Flag license plate in georgia. Hes okay with it. So were experiencing this rush now, right . This kind of rush to make up for lost time. This rush to at least propose getting rid of the similar bombs of White Supremacy that we have let linger in our country for a long time now. In the past 24 hours, this has taken a very fast corporate turn as well. Walmart, sears, kmart, ebay, amazon, etsy all saying they would stop selling Confederate Flag stuff. But, you know, as that happened people also started buying the Confederate Flag like it was going out of style because maybe it is. Sales soaring. Thousands of percent on Confederate Flag merchandise before these retailers stop selling them. Get them while theyre hot. And governors like georgias nathan diehl said no, actually, well keep our Confederate Flags on our license plates. And in the state, the one state that still has the confederate emblem on its official state flag, in that state, the leading conservative political figures in the state starting feeling a little shy today about changing anything, started to say hmm, maybe theyll keep their confederate symbol, even on the state flag. What we are living through right now is at least on the surface were having this sort of lightning fast recalibration of whats okay and whats not okay when it comes to overt racism. And the overt symbols of the White Supremacist Movement past and present. What were dealing with right now a recalibration, a new reckoning of whats okay and whats not okay on private land and on public land and as government speech and in american politics and in conservative politics specifically, we are experiencing a moment of really Fast Movement right now. But that does not mean we are experiencing a new consensus. What has just started here is a fight, and it is unpredictable as to how its going to turn out. But the fight is on. Many wrinkle creams come with high hopes, but hope. Doesnt work on wrinkles. Clinically proven neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair with the fastest retinol formula available, it works on fine lines and even deep wrinkles. Youll see younger looking skin in just one week. Stop hoping for results, and start seeing them. Rapid wrinkle repair. And for dark spots rapid tone repair. From neutrogena®. Some big news tonight out of d. C. And the 2016 republican field which took kind of a weird turn today. We also have here for the interview tonight the legendary activist myrlie evers, the widow of medgar evers. Stay with us. God bless Haley Barbour. We spent a long time on this show talking about the former mississippi governor, former Republican Party chairman and his rosy recollections about the good work in his mississippi hometown of a White Supremacist Group from the 1950s. That same group in its new white supremacist form appears to have been the group that inspired the shooter in the charleston massacre last week. Well, today Haley Barbour gave his opinion about the Mississippi State flag. Thats the only state flag in the country that features the confederate emblem right on it. The republican speaker of the house in mississippi says the state of mississippi should get rid of this flag, should get rid of the confederate emblem on its flag. But when former governor Haley Barbour was asked about it today he said he is personally not offended by the Confederate Flag or at least by the confederate emblem on the mississippi flag. He says it doesnt bother him. He added today while i was governor of mississippi, mississippi became the only state in the country to use state money, taxpayer money, to build a Civil Rights Museum. Expecting that museum to open in 2017. Former mississippi governor Haley Barbour says hes not offended by his states partly Confederate Flag but he is very proud of its Civil Rights Museum thats due to open in the next couple of years. Already they have been collecting artifacts for it like, for example, the papers of medgar evers. Medgar evers the first leader of the mississippi naacp. Medgar evers took on that exceedingly dangerous mission, boycotting local businesses, organizing sit ins, investigating civil rights murders like the killing of a young emmett till. In the middle of that work medgar evers was murdered. He was shot to Death Outside his family home with his wife and kids crouched for their own safety on the floor of that home. It took more than 30 years for them to convict the man who murdered medgar evers. In the meantime, his wife and children followed the many tens and hundreds of thousands of africanamericans who fled the south and fled mississippi in particular. His widow, myrlie evers, became a respected voice for equality in her own right and although she stayed away from mississippi for a long time, a couple of years ago she moved back. Myrlie evers became a visiting scholar at a local black university in mississippi. She also, you may remember, deliver the innovation at president obamas second inauguration and she has helped put together the mississippi Civil Rights Museum which will house not just the papers of her late husband, those papers which she donated. That museum will also house the gun that was used to end his life. In 2013, myrlie evers spoke at the Ground Breaking for that Civil Rights Museum. But look at what else happened at that event. Not at the time she was speaking when she was just listening to what else was going on that day. You can see it look at this photo. You can see the current governor, phil bryant, speaking at the podium and way back there in the other part of the picture there, thats myrlie evers, the woman they call the permanent first lady of mississippi. But covering her, obscuring her with its golden fringe is the Mississippi State flag with the giant confederate emblem right up there in the upper left hand quadrant. What must it be like to be myrlie evers sitting on that stage within that Confederate Flag flying over the proceedings . And now today with these new and newly urgent calls for mississippi to finally get rid of that flag, what must it like to be her of all people today. Joining us now for the interview is myrlie evers, chairman of the medgar and myrlie evers institute. Were also joined by gerry mitchell, an esteemed Investigative Reporter from the jackson mississippi clarion ledger. Thank you for being here tonight. Its an honor to have you both here. Thank you. Ms. Evers, ill start with you, maam, if you dont mind. What do you make of this change going on in your state now where theres suddenly all this new information for changing the flag and getting rid of that confederate emblem . Well, quite honestly, i was surprised that the leaders of mississippi made the statements that they did. The willingness to remove that flag. I think it goes on to say in a sense that change can happen at any time, at any place. I was surprised. Im still surprised. But it really depends on what happens after that. And what is happening today. And im deeply afraid that we are still as a country mired in prejudice and racism and i think the incidents that have happened over the last few days point exactly to that. Its unnerving to have to think back and relive all of the pain and the suffering, not only of my family but of so many other families. Not only in mississippi, throughout the south and actually throughout the nation. And i have to ask the question, really, how far have we come . That was the question that was asked years ago, how far . Its still a point that needs to be honestly explored and answered and i must say to you that i am so disturbed by what has been happening in these last few days. And im horrified, horrified, at the fact that one of the largest newspapers . Newspapers in this country, the wall street journal, had a series of articles and those articles each time called that young man who killed the people in the church mister. They addressed him as mister throughout that article and they have done it again and again. And we are looking at a paper that impacts millions of people, not only here but across the country as well. Im horrified with it. Im angry with it because people dont realize what one subtle thing can do to take us back years, to roll back all of the advances that we have made and i think i have kind of set myself up as a person to critique those things and i must admit i am still angry. I could not say that a couple of weeks ago, but i can say it today honestly. And thats why i work so heart to try to see that justice prevail, not only as it did in my husbands death, and im sitting in exto a dear different, Jerry Mitchell, who worked endlessly with me to see that justice prevail. And it took years for it to happen. So people say to me, well now arent you satisfied with the progress weve made . And my answer is absolutely no. Because we still have so much to do to correct the ills of our society. Ms. Evers, i want to direct one question to mr. Mitchell whos there with you. Jerry mitchell from the clarion ledger. Jerry, when you look at these calls being made in mississippi in particular from Republican Leadership in the state legislature that the confederate emblem should go from the flag, does that make it seem to you like theres enough momentum that it might happen . That that major change might happen in the state or do you feel like this is a long fight thats just at the beginning that still has an unpredictable outcome . Its a little early to be able to tell. I think as ms. Evers has mentioned, weve had some indications that i didnt anticipate this to be honest with you, even in the wake of charleston that certain leaders would step up in mississippi, Republican Leaders and say this is the first statewide Republican Leaders that im aware of whove stood up and called for this. There have been others, not in state positions but yes its early. This is two or three or four months later when the legislature comes back to meet unless theres a special session, how will they feel then . Will there still be this momentum to try and fix it . The other interesting thing is those that have called for interestingly have invoked their faith. I find that interesting that those who have called for the change of the flag, almost every one of them, has invoked their faith saying because of my faith i really believe this is an emblem that needs to come down. I just wanted to ask you one question that maybe you are more qualified to answer than almost anybody else i can think of and im thinking about the families of those people who died in the church in charleston right now theyre seeing the deaths of their family members and loved ones become a catalyst for a significant change throughout the south. The idea that major change comes from personal tragedy, from murder and loss. Its one thing to see it from the outside. Its another thing from the family members of the people who are lost to experience that, too. Do you have insight for them in terms of how to manage what theyre in the middle of now. You know, i have nothing but admiration and respect for those family members who have been impacted by this dastardly deed. I had to ask myself the question, could i have done the same thing . Im afraid not. I have to admit that. I was angry, hurt, revengeful. So many other things that are kind of on the negative side of this, we saw medgar evers shot down at our doorstep and three little children watching their father die, the long fight that Jerry Mitchell and i had to see that justice prevailed, how many trials, jerry, were there . Three. Three. I have found that i still have bitterness. Im not proud of it, but its a fact and thats one of the reasons i have worked so hard and in so many arenas to see justice prevail. As i recall in the 90s, when churches were being burned, particularly in north carolina, South Carolina, i was at that time head of the naacp and we went from one community to another looking at the ashes of those churches that had been burned. I have nothing but admiration, love, and hope for the people who suffered the loss of their friends and relatives at this shootout and how they have come together and how they have prayed for those who hurt them i dont think im that strong. After all of these years i have tried to move forward in which i have, but i have just been so incensed with these last couple of days of how the media, particularly the wall street journal, has handled this. Its a slap to everyone who has given one way or the other in the movement. And i might add, the president of the United States had every right to use the word that he used in his speech today, i believe it was. So we go through these changes, we hope for the best, we continue to work. We see the buildings being torn down, we see our young people in the street going wild. There has to be a better way. And i have to say to myself, back off from the anger and continue to work for peace and understanding. Myrlie evers, a true life civil rights hero, Jerry Mitchell of the jackson clarion ledger, thank you both so much for your time, thank you. Thank you very much. Lots more to come tonight. Please do stay with us. Today was a day that ends in y, so that means there was the usual amount of drama in congress, including the very controversial trade bill which passed the senate today. There was also a different kind of drama in Congress Today in two different ways. One was this moment of silence on the house floor for the victims of the mass shooting at the mother emanuel church. The states South Carolina senators stood in the well for the moment of silence as each of the the victims names was read. This happened just a little earlier tonight. The other thing that happened today that was dramatic, on its face it was a logistical decision but it was a very moving one turns out, the house is not going to be in session this coming friday. It was going to be, but they have canceled everything for friday, specifically so members of congress can travel to charleston to attend the Funeral Services of the People Killed in charleston last week. We know president obama and First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President joe biden are going to be going there for the funerals, which is sort of amazing. It turns out theres one major problem with that. Thats next. Heroes charge explosion hah explosion lead your heroes in the hit mobile game download heroes charge now just a little more than two weeks ago, president obama did something that he has not done a lot of as president. It was earlier this month when president obama decided that he would deliver the eulogy at the funeral for beau biden. His eulogy was an emotional thing, he teared up. He had a long embrace for Vice President biden when it was dope. President obama has not delivered a lot of eulogies during his time as president , but he is now about to deliver his second one in the span of just a few weeks. President obama is expected to personally deliver the eulogy this friday for the reverend Clementa Pinckney, one of the nine People Killed sign side the mother emanuel church. It will be held at a giant venue in charleston, its the td arena, it seats about 5,000 people. Theyre expecting a huge turnout for this funeral on friday. But heres an issue with that particular spot being the venue for this particular funeral. That arena is the arena at the college of charleston. Thats where the college of charleston Basketball Team plays its games. This is the president of the college of charleston a gentleman named glen mcconnell. Hes been president for less than a year. The picture is his official head shot as College President but heres another more wellknown picture of him. Thats also Glenn Mcconnell playing the part of a white confederate general at a slavethemed confederacy party. This picture was taken in 2010 at an event he attended that was hosted by a republican womens group. Glenn mcconnell, now president of the college of charleston, also in his spare time dresses up as a confederate soldier, thats his hobby. Heres another picture. This is Glenn Mcconnell in 1999 proudly posing in just about every sort of Confederate Flag you can find. Glenn mcconnell used to be the Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, seriously. But now he is president of the college where president obama is expected to speak at this funeral on friday. The place where hes set to deliver the official eulogy for the reverend Clementa Pinckney. Theres nothing to be done about that. Thats where this funeral is going to be. This is South Carolina. But they are trying to do something about this, which is about the government of the state of South Carolina. This is the Confederate Flag that currently flies at the state capital grounds in columbia, South Carolina. This flag has been either in this location at a confederate memorial or atop the capital dome for the last five decades. Its remained there through every controversy thats swirled around it until now. Yesterday the governor of South Carolina and nearly every other top political leader in the state finally called on the state legislature to act to remove that flag from the capital grounds. Today the legislature did act. Both the South Carolina house and senate voted to start debating whether and how to remove that confederate battle flag from the state capital grounds finally after all these decades. This political process has happened fast. The vote to take up this issue was overwhelming in both chambers. The post and courier newspaper has a whip count going about where each member of the legislature stands. It will take a twothirds vote in each chamber to get it done. This is where things stand right now. The green bar represents the number of legislators in favor of taking down the flag. The dotted line there is the level they need to get to in order to secure a twothirds vote. So its close but theyre not there yet. As fast as this happening, though, there is one very, very important way in which it is not happening fast enough. That is because tomorrow inside the state capital ahead of the funeral theres going to be a public viewing for one of the victims in that mass shooting. Theres going to be a viewing at the capital rotunda for the reverend Clementa Pinckney. He was a beloved member of the South Carolina state senate. Hes going to lie in state at the capital rotunda as the Confederate Flag flies outside. I said the viewing was going to take place thursday. Its now happening tomorrow. Reverend pinckneys body is going to be taken in a horse drawn carriage. His casket will lie in state, the public and his former colleagues in the legislature will line up to pay their respects. That viewing is set to begin at 1 00 tomorrow afternoon. What that means is his body can and those coming to honor him will have to pass by that Confederate Flag which tonight remains on the capital grounds. This vote today in South Carolina was a vote to debate whether or not to take that flag down but the vote to remove it wont happen until sometime this summer, if at all. So unless they come up with some other accommodation specifically for tomorrow, 1 00 p. M. , wednesday, 1 00 p. M. , that flag will be flying on the state capital grounds as the reverend Clementa Pinckney lies in state a short distance below it, which would be unbelievable. There may yet be some accommodation, though. This is not something being talked about widely yet but we have looked into this in some detail and we believe there may be an arcane but very specific solution to this mess. Thats next. We have new and surprising 2016 news ahead and next on the show weve got what i think could be a solution to a really sort of disgusting problem that is otherwise about to happen tomorrow at 1 00 p. M. At the state capital in South Carolina. Thats next. Stay with us. Every day, brian drives carefully to work. And every day brian drives carefully to work, there are rate suckers. Hes been paying more for Car Insurance because of their bad driving for so long, he doesnt even notice them anymore. But one day brian gets snapshot from progressive. Now brian has a rate based on his driving, not theirs. Get snapshot and see just how much your good driving could save you. This is a really specific point but i think its an important one. Theres a law on the books in South Carolina that dictates how the states various flags should be handled. Specifically the flags that fly on the capital grounds. It specifies that just the u. S. Flag and South Carolina state flag may fly atop the capital dome. Then it goes in to great detail about the location of the Confederate Flag that flying at the state capital complex, although no longer on the dome. That flag at the center of controversy right now, not only whether it should be at the capital grounds at all, but whether it should be there tomorrow specifically. While the body of state senator Clementa Pinckney lies in state under the capital rotunda. There will be a public viewing tomorrow at the state capital at the rotunda. That means his body and those that want to come honor him after he was murdered in charleston last week will have to first possess past the Confederate Flag. Thats where the state law comes in. Theres a provision in the law that says these flags a the state capital can be removed at appropriate intervals that maybe necessary due to where, due to where . Everything needs a little maintenance, laundering now and then. Does this one provision in the Confederate Flag law mean that governor nikki haley or some state official could call for that specific flag be removed tomorrow, maybe temporarily in order to deal with the normal wear and tear the flag endured and in order to keep the flag of the confederacy from flying hover the body of a man killed by a white supremacist. Joining us is Todd Rutherford the top democrat in the South Carolina legislature. Thank you for joining us. Nice to see you. Thank you for having me, to say we are going to take you have the flag debate. Last night i told your viewers, in fact, that we would begin two or three weeks from now. Im told we will begin as soon as next tuesday depending on when the governors vetoes are announced. Thats fast. Next tuesday, however, is still many days after senator Clementa Pinckney, reverend Clementa Pinckney killed in charleston last week, after he is due to lie in state tomorrow at the capital. The reason i issue the issue of this specific statute that concerns ways that flags can be taken down at the capital and still stay within the letter of the law is it seems to me that it is forgive me, morally intolerable for him to lie in state beneath that flag. Do you think thats a possible loophole that could solve that problem . You know, when i was on the state house grounds today, i noticed the flag looked a little peeked. Some of the color was wearing off. I mentioned that to the governor and hope she will take it down. It is abhorrent that the flag will be at full mast when the u. S. Flag and South Carolina flag is at half mast, but that flag at full mast. If the stars and stripes are bowed why shouldnt the Confederate Flag be bowed or removed when clement lament is laying in state at the state house. Do you think there would be a backlash if it was brought down for a few hours during that ceremony. Those people that told you and others they support the flag because of the heritage, even those people recognize if it is heritage and not hate it should be removed during the course of a funeral. I dont know why we havent heard overwhelming support that it should be taken down during the funeral. Where are you . Why are you not saying it needs to be removed . If the governor was to take the flag down because it looked like it needed to be replaced by the time anyone said anything, they could replace it. He was killed by a man under the colors of that flag. Justice has to be served and that flag has to be removed. Todd rutherford, thank you for your time tonight. More news still to come tonight. Please stay with us. Is designed for your babys sensitive skin. Aveeno®. Naturally beautiful babies. My cut hurt. Mine hurt more. Mine stopped hurting faster neosporin plus pain relief starts relieving pain faster and kills more types of infectious bacteria. Neosporin plus pain relief kills the germs. Fights the pain. Available at walmart. This we now know is the signature of a man named donald trump who with resides 725 fifth avenue new york city, new york. Mr. Trump of that address went through with it and filed his fec paper work to run for president officially. Now you know in case you thought it was a fantastic dream. There it is. Its official. When mr. Trump declared he was running he became the 12th major republican to enter the race. The next one is going to jump in tomorrow. Thats bobby jindal, governor of louisiana who holds the distinction of not only being lucky number 13 in to the race but the numerological distinction of the worst Approval Rating of any governor in the nation. Bobby jindal is viewed positively by 27 of the people in his home state, which is the worst with Approval Rating for any governor in the country. But, also know now that bobby jindal will be followed in though the race for the presidency by the governor who has the second worst Approval Rating of any governor in the nation, that is Chris Christie. Jindal has 27 Approval Rating and christie had 30 Approval Rating the worst two in the country. With we get to put dotted lines around Chris Christies adorable mug because he will run announce his candidacy by the end of the month. That means he will be in for the race for the presidency by a week from today. With bobby jindal and Chris Christie getting in within the next week, that means the total number of candidates in the republican field for the president is 4602. Not exactly. Im rounding up because it is easier than actually counting them one by one with. Trump officially yesterday, jindal tomorrow and christie within the next week. Them one by one. Trump yesterday, gin dal tomorrow, Chris Christie within the next week. Then your motherinlaw. First look is up next. Its wednesday, june 24th. One person was killed as severe storms hit the midwest after battering the midwest. Intensz heat and line of storms are forecast. The confederate battle flag surges. Escape tools hidden in raw meat. And a first look ahead. Thanks for joining us