the lead starts right now. the justices erase race-based college admissions. we re talking to one of the attorneys that argued in support of affirmative action before the court. then documents shared exclusively with cnn show a russian general, whose whereabouts is currently unknown, was a secret vip member of the wagner mercenary group. plus cnn s erin burnett joins us live from kyiv where she just sat down with former vice president mike pence during his surprise trip. the parkland resource officer who did not enter the building is found not guilty. welcome to the lead. i m abby phillip. jake tapper is off today. we begin with our law and justice lead. college admissions programs in america will no longer look the same. protesters gathered outside the u.s. supreme court after its landmark decision saying colleges can no longer take race into consideration as an expressed factor in admissions. now, this over turns longstanding precedent that has benefited black and lat
very good wednesday morning to you, i m jim sciutto. and i m erica hill. happening right now, more than 4,500 civilians are stuck in the ukrainian city of bakhmut, this as russian forces launch a barrage of attacks on the fiercely contested area, president zelenskyy calling it the country s most difficult situation. as of now, though, ukrainian forces are still holding the line. cnn is on the ground in eastern ukraine and we will bring you the very latest. plus a political sorry, go ahead. it s all yours. plus a political shakeup in chicago. mayor lori lightfoot the first mayor in 40 years to lose an election bid in that city as concerns about crime and public safety rattle voters. we re also watching the alex murdaugh murder trial. take a look at this, aerial images from southern california where a winter storm has already dumped feet of snow, that s southern california, another 12 to 24 inches expected today. we do begin, though, in ukraine where 48 children
states hits today and that is the legal limit. if congress does not raise that limit, the country risks default which would have almost unmanageable consequences. now the treasury department is taking what are called extraordinary measures to push that date back a bit. but they can t do it forever. this morning cnn has also learned that president biden still plans to announce he is running for re-election. he does plan to announce that bid after the state of union address next month. those are the plans that are in place. there are new details this morning about how this special counsel investigation into classified documents at his home and office may have impacted that timing. and embattled new york congressman george santos wrapped in yet another lie as newly uncovered documents contradict his claims that his own mother was in the south tower on 9/11. just the latest in his string of lie lies. but we begin with the u.s. hitting the trillion dollars borrowing limit. laure
set. this is what we re watching at this hour. thank you for being here. i m kate bolduan. the battle over the nation s debt ceiling is upon us. the united states just hit its borrowing limit of $31.4 trillion. and that means that the treasury department must now begin to use a series of what is called extraordinary measures to avoid default. extraordinary measures that are no longer so extraordinary since they have been they ve had to be used so often. this is a completely avoidable problem that falls entirely on congress to raise the debt limit. something that republicans with right now refusing to do without cutting spending to the actual bills that have come due, by the way. democrats say that is not on the table. if the u.s. defaults, it will cause absolute chaos in the global economy. christine romans is standing by for us with this. kind of saw this one coming, christine. but we have hit the moment. what happens now. so, kate, the clock starts now. once the u.s
current prime minister fumio kishida really encapsulated the emotions felt across japan. he was visibly upset, in tears almost, you know, as he talked about the current condition of former prime minister abe and went on to say that calling the shooting an unforgivable act. abe s brother and current minister of defense nobuo kishi also addressed the media calling the attack an affront to democracy and the suppression of freedom of speech. witnesses say that abe was shot from behind, he didn t collapse after that first shot but did collapse after the second shot before receiving cpr and the suspect as you described a man in his 40s was arrested on the spot in possession of what nhk is describing as a handmade gun. now, abe was there in japan s western city to deliver a stump speech for the liberal democratic candidates ahead of the upper house election set for this sunday, while a couldn t verse figure here in japan at times and around the world for his policies, abe is an in