The stars of the Today Show know full-well how to share the spotlight, to shift priorities at a moment's notice – and that breaking news trumps all.
Such was the case during Thursday's installment of the show, specifically during 4th Hour with Hoda and Jenna, which airs weekdays at 10am. On this particular episode, hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager's time on screen was hijacked for the remainder of their slot for breaking news.
The two were only ten minutes into their broadcast when their co-star Savannah Guthrie had to interrupt with a breaking, special report on behalf of NBC News, which took up the rest of the hour-long talk show.
MORE: Savannah Guthrie replaced on Today by co-star after 'harrowing' time off
Savannah then came onto the screen from the NBC newsroom as opposed to her usual Studio 1A background, where she quickly kicked off with: "Hi everyone good morning, coming to you live with breaking news."
The longtime Today host went on to share the news of the Supreme Court's new divisive opinion on affirmative action, in which the conservative majority struck down the longtime policy in college admissions, with a landmark 6-3 decision.
MORE: Hoda Kotb makes surprise promise in Savannah Guthrie's absence live on Today
Savannah, who is also a skilled attorney with a law degree from Georgetown Law, went on to dissect the 237-page opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, in which he maintained that the Harvard and University of North Carolina admissions programs – the focus of the ruling – violated the Equal Protection Clause in the way they considered race when admitting students.
© InstagramThough the case pertained to Harvard and UNC's admissions programs, many schools across the country base their own programs on Harvard's, widely regarded as the gold standard of admissions, and the SCOTUS ruling is therefore seen as overturning a long-standing precedent that largely benefited Black and Latino students, among other minorities, seeking higher education.
MORE: Today shakeup explained: Where are hosts Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker?
"The Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause. Both programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful endpoints. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today," the Chief Justice wrote.
© GettyIn dissent, liberal justices Sonia Sotmomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson maintained that the decision makes it "practically impossible for colleges and universities to take race into account," per CNN, subsequently, many fear, complicating students' wishes to use their personal stories concerning race in their college applications.
Savannah described the Chief Justice's opinion as "scathing," before President Joe Biden, delivering remarks at the White House, gave his own thoughts on the subject.
© GettyIn response to the landmark ruling, the President declared: "The court has effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions, and I strongly, strongly disagree with the court's decision."
The court's ruling comes just a day before the nine justices are expected to rule on the constitutionality of the President's student loan forgiveness program.
