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Nikki Haley: Dylann Roof hijacked meaning of Confederate flag

Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley Photo: John Lamparski/Getty Images

Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley said that shooter Dylann Roof hijacked the meaning of the Confederate flag when, in 2017, he attacked a historically black church in Charleston, S.C., in an interview with The Blaze.

What she's saying: "People saw [the Confederate flag] as service, and sacrifice and heritage," Haley said, adding, "the national media came in droves — they wanted to define what happened. They wanted to make this about racism. They wanted to make it about gun control. They wanted to make it about the death penalty."

Context: Haley was the governor of South Carolina at the time of the shooting. She characterized South Carolinians' view of the flag in similar terms at the time, as she called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the Capitol grounds, The New York Times reported.

  • Roof, a self-described white supremacist, was found guilty and sentenced to death in 2017 for killing nine people, the New York Times reports.
  • In a tweet on Friday, Haley recalled the shooting as "a painful time for our state."

Go deeper: The deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history

Editor's note: The post has been updated to include additional context.

Go deeper

Barak Ravid, author of from Tel Aviv
13 mins ago - World

Maximum pressure campaign escalates with Fakhrizadeh killing

Photo: Fars News Agency via AP

The assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the architect of Iran’s military nuclear program, is a new height in the maximum pressure campaign led by the Trump administration and the Netanyahu government against Iran.

Why it matters: It exceeds the capture of the Iranian nuclear archives by the Mossad, and the sabotage in the advanced centrifuge facility in Natanz.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Hans Nichols, Jonathan Swan
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Biden weighs retired General Lloyd Austin for Pentagon chief

Lloyd Austin testifying before Congress in 2015. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Joe Biden is considering retired four-star General Lloyd Austin as his nominee for defense secretary, adding him to a shortlist that includes Jeh Johnson, Tammy Duckworth and Michele Flournoy, two sources with direct knowledge of the decision-making tell Axios.

Why it matters: A nominee for Pentagon chief was noticeably absent when the president-elect rolled out his national security team Tuesday. Flournoy had been widely seen as the likely pick, but Axios is told other factors — race, experience, Biden's comfort level — have come into play.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Health: WHO: AstraZeneca vaccine must be evaluated on "more than a press release."
  2. Politics: Supreme Court backs religious groups on New York COVID restrictions.
  3. World: Thailand, Philippines sign deal with AstraZeneca for vaccine.
  4. Economy: Safety nets to disappear in December — Black Friday shopping across the U.S., in photos — Amazon hires 1,400 workers a day throughout pandemic.
  5. Education: National standardized tests delayed until 2022.
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow