disappointment saying colleges are stronger when they re racially diverse. we can t go backwards. you know, i know today s court decision is a severe disappointment to so many people including me. we cannot let the decision be a permanent setback for the country. with me right now, politico s white house bureau chief jon jonathan lemire at the white house, and democratic strategist and former executive director of the new york state democratic party, basil, so jonathan, first to you, every time there s a supreme court decision we hear how consequential elections are. what s the fallout you re following here? you just heard from president biden express real dismay at the decision. he urged colleges to consider candidates backgrounds, races, ethnicities when it comes to institutions of higher learning. he was asked as he was leaving the room there after making his statement, he was asked by a reporter if this was a rogue court, meaning the supreme court, and he paused and
thank you so much for joining us. ac 360 starts now. the ruling is seismic. now come the aftershocks. john berman here for anderson. tonight what happens now that the supreme court has gutted affirmative action in a decision that could profoundly change college admissions and more broadly reshape life for millions in this country. also, what we are learning about the arrest in the washington neighborhood where the obamas live of a heavily armed man with materials to make a molotov cocktail who is also wanted in connection with january 6th. plus, what we re learning about a new cooperating witness in the january 6th probe of the former president, and why he could be in a position to now say a lot. first, the supreme court s history-making decision today, dismantling a pillar of affirmative action. specifically, college admissions. in it, the court ruled by a 6-3 margin that race conscious policies at harvard and the university of north carolina violate the 14th amend
done for descendants of slaves. reporter: after two years of deliberations, california reparations task force sent to final report to the state capitol for the state legislature and governor to decide how the state should handle reparations. many expected it to call for a concrete dollar amount, the task force is leaving that challenge to the legislature and it provides over 115 recommendations spanning from cash payments to policy reforms to a formal apology to eligible residents designated as descendants of slaves. critics call this effort fiscally irresponsible noting how california is facing a $31.5 billion deficit. reparations is the extraction of money from people who were never slave owners to be given to people who were never slaves. we will never see reparations paid in california. again, it s illegal. it s unconstitutional. it violates the equal protection clause. reporter: progressive governor gavin newsom signed legislation creating the first in the nation
he s lost all credibility. after the supreme court 6-3 decision striking down the use of racial preferences in college admissions biden was sent out by whoever winds him up to lie. affirmative action is so misunderstood. many people wrongly believe that affirmative action allows unqualified students, unqualified students to be admitted ahead of qualified students. this is not, this is not how college admissions work. laura: the white house people aren t that ignorant. they know the truth, that the entire point of racial preferences is to give minority candidates an edge. regardless of their test scores or their transcripts or their resume, it s classic discrimination and it s based on race. colleges set out standards for admission and every student, every student has to meet those standards. then and only then, after first meeting the qualifications required by the school, do colleges look at other factors in addition to their grades such as race. laura: okay. what s
we re learning from our sources about the special counsel s investigation. plus, our russia experts are weighing in on cnn s exclusive new reporting. documents showing a missing top general in vladimir putin s military has been a secret member of the mercenary group behind the recent mutiny. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer, you re in the situation room . there s angry backlash tonight after the u.s. supreme court ruled that race can no longer be a specific basis for college admissions. cnn justice correspondent jessica schneider has our report on the decision and the disredissent. reporter: the supreme court stirring up protests with its decision to gutting affirmative action saying colleges and universities can no longer rely on race in the admissions process, but prospective students are allowed to talk about how race has shaped their experiences in the applications. the decision will prohibit students from ch