Dylann Roof Guilty on All Counts
COSTELLO: Dylann Roof convicted on all charges in last summer's massacre inside the Emanuel AME Church. Roof standing silently as each verdict was read, guilty, 33 times over. This crime shaking America's core, shooting at point-blank range nine African- Americans who moments before had been praying with him. Next month a jury will decide whether he gets life behind bars or death. I talked with one victim's brother last hour.</s>MALCOLM GRAHAM, BROTHER OF VICTIM CYNTHIA HURD: If there's any case in America where the death penalty is deserved, it is this one. He's a coward. He's a racist. And as I said earlier, there's no place in a civilized society for him and there's no place in America's smallest jail for him. And so I believe as the attorney general has recommended this case to be a capital case, that he ought to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.</s>COSTELLO: CNN's Nick Valencia live in Charleston with more. Hi, Nick.</s>NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Six days of testimony, nearly two hours of deliberation for the jurors, unanimously to find Dylann Roof guilty on all charges. It was a very emotional day in the courtroom yesterday, as you can imagine. I was standing two rows behind Dylann Roof. His hand noticeably fidgeting, his ears turning red as each of those counts was read back-to-back, guilty on all counts. Perhaps the most emotion coming from the family members of the victims, those that had to stand and watch the prosecution in their closing arguments, the defense in their closing arguments, painting him as a loner, a white supremacist who was inspired by the Internet. The prosecution simply saying that there's hatred in this courtroom. Those family members as they heard the guilty verdicts, some of them wiped tears from their eyes. Others bowed their head in prayer. But perhaps the most emotional moment came during the closing arguments for the prosecution, when they unexpectedly showed a photo of the bloody crime scene, these bloody bodies of the worshippers lying down at that bible study.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Love heals, love destroys, just like in this particular situation. He thought he was starting a race war but look at what love conquered. Look at the unity and how Charleston came together.</s>VALENCIA: The penalty phase is next. That will happen on January 3rd. Dylann Roof is expected to represent himself during that penalty phase against the advice of the judge. Roof asked yesterday if he understood what this meant. He says yes, he had spoken to it with his family and he still plans to represent himself when court reconvenes next month -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: All right. Nick Valencia, reporting live from Charleston this morning, thank you. Checking some other top stories for you at 49 minutes past. The youths accused of starting those wildfires in Tennessee could spend the rest of their lives in prison. That's if they are convicted of first-degree murder. The juveniles haven't been named. It's not clear if they will be charged as adults but a local prosecutor tells CNN, quote, "Everything is on the table." Those fires left 14 people dead and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. Effective immediately, the state of Michigan will have self-driving cars on the road. General Motors is the second car giant to fully test autonomous cars on public roads. Ford began testing its cars last year. GM will test their modified Chevy Bolt around the Detroit metro area in the next few months. Bundle up because, man, it's freezing outside. And I mean that literally. Nearly 80 percent of the country faced with below freezing temperatures today and those temperatures will continue to be frigid into the next week. The northeast is under a deep freeze advisory with wind chill warnings that could cause travel delays. In the meantime, the northern plains into the Great Lakes is expected to get smacked with nearly one foot of snow. And just think, I'm going to Detroit in just a few hours. First Lady Michelle Obama now opening up in a candid conversation about Donald Trump. In a sit-down with Oprah, Mrs. Obama for the first time revealing her feelings about the man set to assume her husband's role as commander-in-chief and what our country needs from him.</s>MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: Having a grown-up in the White House who can say to you in times of crisis and turmoil, hey, it's going to be OK, let's remember the good things that we have, let's look at the future, let's look at all the things that we're building. All of this is important for our kids to stay focused and to feel like their work isn't in vain, that their lives aren't in vain.</s>COSTELLO: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux at the White House with more on this. Good morning.</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Carol. Well, it's just a couple of days after the election that I covered Michelle Obama hosting Melania Trump here at the White House and unlike her husband, there were not live cameras capturing the moment but rather a White House photo that was released of the two of them having tea. Carol, it is obvious here that the first lady is going through a process, if you will. She put in a lot of sweat equity on the campaign trail, and spent a lot of personal and political capital, often calling Trump, excoriating Trump's character, often not even by name but saying we don't need somebody who's going to pop off at the White House. We need a grownup. She's said that numerous times. And I think what you are seeing here is a first lady who is profoundly disappointed and is willing to show openly, publicly, her feelings about it. Take a listen to this.</s>OBAMA: We are feeling what not having hope feels like, you know. Hope is necessary. It's a necessary concept and Barack didn't just talk about hope because he thought it was just a nice slogan to get votes. I mean, he and I and so many believe that if -- what else do you have if you don't have hope? What do you give your kids if you can't give them hope?</s>MALVEAUX: And Carol, obviously Trump supporters would say that the new president gives them hope, speaks to their dreams and aspirations, but First Lady Michelle Obama leaves the White House with an approval rating close to 64 percent, according to the latest Gallup poll. It's led many people -- some people to ask her, call her to run for president herself. And to that she says no, thank you -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: And I understand why. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Hillary Clinton called it an epidemic. Now Facebook says it's taking steps to wipe out fake news. We will tell you how.