Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Lawmakers React To Court Gutting Affirmative Action in College Admissions; Supreme Court Says U.S. Military Service Academies Can Consider Race In Admissions; 100M+ Across A Dozen States Under Air Quality Alerts; 90M Under Heat Advisories, Heat Kills 11 In TX County; Protests Rage In France After Deadly Police Shooting. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 29, 2023 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:33:50]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We are staying on top of one of the day's biggest stories. Right now, we're getting reaction from Capitol Hill to that major ruling from the Supreme Court gutting affirmative action for college admissions.

Let's take you straight to CNN's Manu Raju who's on Capitol Hill for us.

Manu, you are getting reaction from lawmakers. What are they saying?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's been really flooding in all day in the aftermath of this historic ruling essentially gutting affirmative action using race as a factor in the college admission process.

Democrats, in particular, outraged. One Democrat after another saying that the Supreme Court has gone much further than it should have gone and essentially ending racial progress in this country. That is the words from a number of top Democrats, from the Senate majority leader on down.

Including one top Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, who is the first black leader of any party in Congress, issuing a statement saying that:

"Right-wing ideologues on the Supreme Court gutted reproductive freedom last year. The very same extremists just obliterated consideration of racial diversity in college admissions. They clearly want to turn back the clock. We will never let that happen."

Clearly, much different reaction among Republicans who say that affirmative action, in their view, is essentially allowing discrimination to persist in the college admission process.

[14:35:06]

That was how Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been central in pushing the Supreme Court to the right, how he described this ruling, which he's supporting.

He said, "Today's ruling makes clear that colleges may not continue discriminating against bright and ambitious students based on the color of their skin."

We're hearing this along the lines of Republicans who are African- American, like Senator Tim Scott, who's running for president supporting this ruling. As well as others, Republicans who are black, also saying that this ruling essentially should -- it was positive in their view.

But African-American lawmakers on the Democratic side, namely the Congressional Black Caucus, questioning the legitimacy of the Supreme Court in the aftermath of this ruling.

So a lot of rhetoric on both sides of the aisle, Boris. Unclear if any legislative action will happen. The Democrats, who control the Senate, are not making any plans to move forward on any legislation.

And even if they did, Boris, getting that through Congress, both chambers of Congress simply, almost certainly wouldn't happen.

SANCHEZ: Yes. A very divisive era on Capitol Hill.

Manu Raju, thanks so much for walking us through that.

And plenty of implications not just in higher education for this decision, Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: That's right. Today's historic decision had a specific carve-out for military academies. It actually allows them to continue considering race in admissions.

Our next guest signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief supporting affirmative action programs.

Joining us now is CNN military analyst and former NATO supreme allied commander, retired General Wesley Clark.

Sir, thank you for making time for us today.

You explored this in the amicus brief with other top military leader leaders. How do you see this affecting military readiness and national security?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think there are national security implications to this. The military academies are excluded from the Supreme Court ruling, and that's clear.

But about 70 percent of our officer corps comes through ROTC, through ordinary colleges. Some from Harvard, some from Princeton, and some from all over America. And there's no lateral entry into the officer corps.

Whatever comes out at the top as colonels, brigadier generals, full generals, started at the bottom as lieutenants and ensigns. That's the way it works.

And so the ruling does impact these civilian institutions, which are providing us the majority of the junior officers that later go on to lead our armed forces. So there is an impact.

KEILAR: Explain the problems that the armed forces see when you have military officers who are pretty homogenous leading an armed forces that is not, that is more representative of the country.

CLARK: We like the armed forces to be representative of the country. And we also want the leadership to be representative of the force.

So it's a wonderful thing when you have 40 percent of your NCO corps, let's say minority, they can look and see a Colin Powell at the top.

So they know they've got people there who understand some of the issues that they face, not necessarily in uniform, but maybe out of uniform or outside and off base. This is important.

And so we don't want an officer corps that's unrepresentative of the force. And that's why there's a national security impact from this.

KEILAR: As you mentioned, the majority of the officers come from ROTC programs at nonservice academies, like Harvard, like UNC, other colleges, because there is an exemption for service academies in this ruling. What do you make of that exemption?

CLARK: I think it's the right thing to do. I'm glad there's an exemption for the service academies. But that's 30 percent of the officer corps.

And so that leads the other 70 percent at the vagaries of the admissions process, and whatever institution they're going to.

I hope it works out. There's no way of knowing if it will. But we do know it -- we do know it is a change from the current system.

And we've got some great young men and women coming up through the armed forces in junior officer ranks, in part, because of the system that was put in place to look at people's backgrounds, as well as their academic qualifications.

KEILAR: On this exemption, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson writes in her dissent, quote:

"The court has come to rest on the bottom-line conclusion that racial diversity in higher education is only worth potentially preserving insofar as it might be needed to prepare black Americans and other underrepresented minorities for success in the bunker, not the boardroom."

[14:40:09]

What do you think -- do you agree with that? What's your reaction to that? CLARK: I think she's just referring to the service academies. But

maybe she didn't understand that 70 percent of the junior officers don't come from service academies.

So even if you're only interested in preparing people to meet national security requirements, it's broader than the service academies. That's the simple truth about this.

You know, when there was a draft, every student in a land-grant college, every male student, had to join ROTC. That's not the case anymore.

And so they have to apply. They get scholarships and so forth. But they've got to be admitted to the college to be able to get the scholarship.

So we hope this isn't going to have an adverse impact, but it certainly looks like it will have an -- an adverse impact. That is the purpose of the Supreme Court's ruling.

KEILAR: Yes. And certainly a reminder, this year is the 50th anniversary of the all-volunteer force. A big year for the armed forces.

General, thank you so much for being with us.

CLARK: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead, more than 100 million Americans urged to stay indoors today as smoke from Canadian wildfires drifts south. This is a live picture of Chicago, one of the hardest-hit areas.

We'll show you more impressive pictures of the smoke that is causing headaches all over the Midwest and northeast. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:46:09]

SANCHEZ: Millions of Americans have been catching their breath this summer and feeling a little bit of a tingle in the back of their throats because of dangerous smoke and deadly heat spreading through the Midwest and northeast.

Earlier today, Chicago had the worst air quality of all big cities in the world. We're feeling it here in Washington. And Detroit also at times today holding that title.

More than 100 million people are under some kind of air quality alert right now across more than a dozen states. The bad air is again coming from the smoke caused by Canadian wildfires.

Meteorologist Chad Myers is in the CNN Weather Center.

Chad, the Midwest bore the brunt yesterday, the northeast and even parts of the mid-Atlantic bearing it today. CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know, and right now, I have behind me

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The parts per million in Pittsburgh now, 230. That's unhealthy for anybody to be out there at this point in time.

Here in Atlanta, our number is 130. But inside the building -- I bought this on Amazon, like $20. It will tell me what my number is inside. I know that's hard for you to read, but it's 14. That's like 10 times less air product quality here outside than here.

So we're 10 times better air inside than what you expect. And that's exactly how that's going to go.

This is what Pittsburgh looks like right now. And it is going to look like that for a while.

There's major, major weather, though, rolling through Illinois right now. And that's pushing a lot of this smoke away. We have a live picture from Chicago right now. A little bit better, especially to your southwest.

This big event, this big, severe thunderstorm event rolling through Illinois and pushing all of the smoke away. That is at least some of the good news.

Back to the heat across parts of Texas, it is going to be another hot day there. It is going to be a dreadful day with temperatures again over 100. The feels-like temperatures in parts of Louisiana are going to be 130.

Here are the air quality numbers from D.C. to Chicago and Detroit, all above 100. Pittsburgh, obviously you're higher than that at this point in time. It comes and goes. The wind mixes it up. Visibility is down in many areas.

This is what the smoke's going to look like here over the next couple of days. The wind will blow much of it away and into the northeast from the Midwest.

For your tomorrow and for your Saturday, a lot of the haze gets pushed off to the east. The heat stays down to the south where the heat dome is just right over Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, all the way through Atlanta.

Excessive heat warnings for millions of people here. It feels-like the temperature in Shreveport is 111. In Grand Isle, Louisiana, a little bit ago, I saw a number of 117.

And remember, these numbers are in the shade. You step out into the sun, it's going to feel warmer than this.

So, yes, the smoke is here, the humidity and the heat is down to the south. I'm afraid both of them here to stay for a couple more days.

But I think this might be the worst for everyone today. It gets better from here, except maybe Mobile, Pensacola, going to still be hot down there -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: Yes. The heat excruciating in some parts and fatal in some cases. Eleven people killed in Webb County, Texas. Another two succumbing to the heat in Louisiana.

Chad Myers, thank you so much for the update.

Brianna?

[14:49:33]

KEILAR: Next, as night falls in Europe, France is preparing for another night of fury over the killing by police of a teenager.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: France is bracing for more unrest in the streets as night is falling there. Some 40,000 police and paramilitary officers have been mobilized in anticipation of more riots and protests.

This all erupting after police shot and killed a 17-year-old boy during a traffic stop. We are learning that the officer has now been charged.

CNN's Melissa Bell is live for us in Paris.

Melissa, this arrest, are you expecting that it's going to ease any tensions there tonight?

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's looking unlikely tonight, Brianna, because of the deep-rooted and long-standing pent-up nature of the anger that you're seeing.

That has spilled out on the streets of suburban Paris again this afternoon around that march that had been called for by the mother of the young Nahel.

Just to remind you, Nahel was 17 years old. Stopped by a policeman, a traffic stop. Killed by the policeman who's now been officially suspended and kept. That investigation continues.

[14:55:09]

But that anger really likely to spill over again. Some 40,000 policemen and women have been mobilized out onto the streets of France today.

We saw 150 arrests last night. Schools, police stations, anything that was targeted, burned or taken over by protesters. You're likely to see that again tonight. That is something the country is bracing for.

Again, because this is not an isolated incident. Because there have been so many cases the last few years, Brianna, of police brutality that has sometimes led to fatalities, as we've seen in the case of young Nahel.

And fears certainly felt by the communities involved of systemic racism on their part -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Really tapping into something bigger here.

Melissa Bell, thank you for that report from Paris for us.

Boris?

SANCHEZ: Coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, new details on the Supreme Court's decision to gut affirmative action in the college application process as the White House reveals it is now preparing potential executive action. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)