Confederate flag poised to come down at South Carolina capitol

The Confederate battle flag, a polarizing fixture on South Carolina's statehouse grounds for half a century, will flap in the wind no longer.

Early Thursday, the House of Representatives voted 94-20 to remove it, giving final approval to a bill that passed the state Senate earlier in the week. 

The vote count was more than the two-thirds needed -- but it came after a handful of lawmakers mounted a tenacious last stand, proposing amendment after amendment that led the debate to drag on more than 12 hours.

The bill now goes to Gov. Nikki Haley, who has said she will sign it into law. It's not clear when that will occur, but the legislation calls for the flag to be taken down within 24 hours of her signing of the bill and moved to the state's Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum for display.

\"Today, as the Senate did before them, the House of Representatives has served the state of South Carolina and her people with great dignity,\" Haley said in a statement early Thursday.

\"It is a new day in South Carolina, a day we can all be proud of, a day that truly brings us all together as we continue to heal, as one people and one state.\"