Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/532122
ByTomMurphy The Associated Press Evenasnationalretailers pull Confederate flags from shelves and websites after the shooting deaths of nine black church members in South Carolina, manufac- turers that produce the di- visive symbol say that sales are now surging. "I don't sell the Confed- erate flag for any specific group, I just sell the flag," said Kerry McCoy, owner and president of Arkansas' FlagandBanner.com. "This is America. Everybody has a right to be represented whether you are a history buff or a nut." McCoy said her company expects to sell about 50 of the flags over the next week. That's about half of what they typically sell in a year. Amazon, Sears, eBay and Etsy said Tuesday that they would remove Confederate flag merchandise from their websites. Sears does not sell the merchandise inside Sears or Kmart stores. A wave of merchandise bans came a day after Wal- Mart Stores Inc. said that it would remove all Confed- erate-themed items from its store shelves and website after the South Carolina shooting suspect, Dylann Storm Roof, appeared in photos holding the flag. Other national retail- ers say they do not sell, or never have sold, Confeder- ate items. White House Press Sec- retary Josh Earnest, asked about the retailers pulling flags from stores, said those are "decisions for individ- ual businesses to make." He added that the businesses' decisions were consistent with the president's position. "We welcome those de- cisions but obviously those are decisions that should be made by individual busi- nesses." The red-white-and-blue Confederate battle flag rep- resents racism to many, and southern heritage to others. The debate over its place exploded after the church shootings. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Mon- day that the flag should be removed from the State- house grounds. While the Confederate flag represents a small slice of their business, those that produce them say they have no plans to stop. MERCHANDISE BANS Retailers feel pressure on flag items CLIFFOWEN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks with reporters as Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., le and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, listen, a er a policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. By Charles Babington and David Espo The Associated Press WASHINGTON President Barack Obama's long-pur- sued trade agenda took a giant step toward becom- ing law on Tuesday, and opponents grudgingly con- ceded they now must fight on less-favorable terrain. A key Senate vote greatly brightened Obama's hopes for a 12-nation Pacific-rim trade agreement, a key- stone of his effort to ex- pand U.S. influence in Asia. The trade pact would be a high point in a foreign policy that has otherwise been consumed by crisis management, and would give Obama a rare legisla- tive achievement in the Re- publican-controlled Con- gress. The Senate voted 60- 37 to advance his bid for "fast track" negotiat- ing authority. That was the minimum number of votes needed on the pro- cedural question. But final passage, expected no later than Wednesday, needs only a simple majority, which would let Obama sign fast track into law. The president also wants to continue a re- training program for work- ers displaced by interna- tional trade. House and Senate support appears adequate, but even if that measure stumbles, the long-coveted fast track bill will be on Obama's desk. "This is a very impor- tant day for our country," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said. In the strange-bed- fellows politics of trade, he was among the Repub- lican congressional lead- ers vital in pushing the agenda forward, with only modest help from Demo- crats. The big majority of Democrats, especially in the House, oppose free- trade agreements, as do the labor unions that play important roles in Demo- cratic primaries. They say free-trade agreements ship U.S. jobs overseas. Obama, major corpo- rate groups, GOP leaders and others say U.S. prod- ucts must reach more global markets. They say anti-trade forces have ex- aggerated the harm done by the 1994 North Amer- ica Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. Trade agenda moves to b ri nk o f en ac tm en t 11-NATION PLAN By Seanna Adcox, Jeffrey Collins and Jonathan Drew The Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. South Car- olina lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Tues- day to consider removing the Confederate flag from their Statehouse grounds and other politicians took aim at Civil War-era sym- bols across the South, say- ing change is imperative after police said nine black churchgoers were slain in a hate crime. Prodded by Gov. Nikki Haley's call the day before to move the flag to a mu- seum, lawmakers approved a measure enabling a flag debate by a vote of 103-10 in the House and a voice vote in the Senate. The House vote brought a standing ovation and rounds of applause after Democratic and Republi- can leaders jointly spon- sored the measure in a show of uncharacteristic unity. Very few lawmakers rose to say the flag should stay; some said they were saving speeches for what promises to be an emotional debate later this summer. Lawmakers then prayed for state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, who joined the legislature in 1997 and who, as pastor of the Emanuel African Methodist Episco- palian church in Charles- ton, was among the dead. "I ask that in the mem- ory of Mr. Pinckney that we are generous in spirit, gra- cious in our conversation and please — even if we dis- agree, let's agree to disagree agreeably," Democratic Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter urged her colleagues. "Those nine families have shown us how to do it. I would strongly suggest we take a cue from them." Dylann Storm Roof, who faces murder and gun charges in the church at- tack, had posed in pho- tos displaying Confederate flags and burning or dese- crating U.S. flags, and told a friend that he was plan- ning to do something "for the white race." Haley's call to put the Confederate flag in a mu- seum was quickly seconded by leading Republicans in- cluding U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, giving others a political opening to announce their moves. Many cited the church slay- ings as they abandoned the long-held position that even debating the status of the flag would be too racially divisive today. "Last week's terrorizing act of violence shook the very core of every South Carolinian," South Caro- lina House Speaker Jay Lu- cas said in support of the measure. And once South Carolina took action, other states moved quickly. Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn called for removing the Confeder- ate emblem from the state flag. Both Democrats and Republicans in Tennessee said a bust of Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford For- rest must go from the Sen- ate. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe wants vanity li- cense plates depicting the Confederate flag replaced. McConnell joined Ken- tucky's Republican nominee for governor, Matt Bevin, in calling for the removal of a statue of Confederate Pres- ident Jefferson Davis from their state Capitol's ro- tunda. Big businesses also took action: Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Amazon.com Inc., EBay Inc., Target Corp. and Sears Holding Corp. announced they would no longer sell merchandise featuring the Confederate flag. And the Valley Forge Flag Co., which has sent flags into battle and to the moon, said it won't make them anymore. "When you have a sea change moment like you have with the tragedy in Charleston, we felt it was simply the right thing to do," Valley Forge Vice Pres- ident Reggie VandenBosch said. "We don't want to do anything that causes pain or disunity for people." The first South Carolina senator to take the floor and call for moving the flag to a museum was the son of the state's most pow- erful politician of the last century, U.S. senator and segregationist standard- bearer Strom Thurmond, whose statue stands on the side of the Statehouse op- posite the Confederate flag, striding confidently south- ward. CHARLESTON SHOOTINGS SC lawmakers overwhelmingly vote to debate Confederate flag LASTRHODESIAN.COM This undated image that appeared on Lastrhodesian.com, a website being investigated by the FBI in connection with Charleston, S.C., shooting suspect Dylann Roof, shows Roof posing for a photo while holding a Confederate flag. 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