>> reporter: the meaning of marriage has ignited intense debate outside the high court. yesterday for the first time justices considered whether gays and lesbians have a fundamental right to marry. >> can you think of any other rational basis for a state using sexual orientation as a factor in denying homosexuals benefits? >> you want us to step in and render a decision based on an assessment of the effects of this institution which is newer than cell phones or the internet? >> reporter: now, 16 years ago the defense of marriage act passed congress with large majorities, but now as a public opinion, many lawmakers are having second thoughts. since sunday, john and diana, five sitting senators who voted for it have changed their minds. john and diana. >> all right, devin, there's been a big surge in popular support for gay marriage. why did the justices seem so cautious? >> reporter: well, the justices are always wary of getting too

far ahead of public opinion. so while our poll shows a majority of americans support same-sex marriage and it's legal in 9 states and d.c., 40 states still don't allow the unions. yesterday in arguments at the court we saw the justices signal and even those who are open to gay marriage that they want to let the debate to continue to play out and let the states and the people decide on a case-by-case basis. john and diana. >> an incredible debate for us all. thank you, devin dwyer, from washington for us this morning. and breaking news from overseas. a lot of rattled nerves in taiwan after a powerful earthquake rocked the island this morning. >> take a look at these schoolchildren casually sitting in class. but when the 6.1 magnitude quake hit, they knew exactly what to do. the kids cleared out in a matter of seconds immediately finding a place to take cover. all the students appeared to be okay. elsewhere, at least one person was killed. 20 others injured. also new this morning, a return to the spotlight for david petraeus. the former head of the cia has not been seen much since he stepped down after admitting to

an extramarital affair, but now he's issued his first public apology. here's abc's brandi hitt in los angeles. >> reporter: he was greeted with applause and a standing ovation. >> i join you keenly aware that i am regarded in a different light now than i was a year ago. >> reporter: and in his first public appearance since the scandal that ended his career, a humble david petraeus offered this apology. >> i'm also keenly aware that the reason for my recent journey was my own doing, so please allow me to begin my remarks by reiterating this evening how deeply i regret and apologize for the circumstances that led to my resignation from the cia and caused such pain for my family, friends, and supporters. >> reporter: a highly decorated four-star general, petraeus fell from grace last november after it was revealed he had an affair with his biographer, paula broadwell. the affair was discovered by the fbi after they began investigating anonymous

threatening e-mails that had been sent to petraeus family friend jill kelly, e-mails that were eventually traced back to broadwell. >> i know that i can never fully assuage the pain that i inflicted on those closest to me and on a number of others. >> reporter: petraeus spoke as part of a university of southern california event honoring veterans. >> our country must help our veterans transition successfully to the civilian world. doing so will help enable those who have served to continue to be all that they can be in the next chapter of their life's journey. >> reporter: his wife holly was not in attendance. brandi hitt, abc news, los angeles. the secret service has its first female director. veteran agent julia pierson was chosen by president obama for the high-profile job. the selection is seen as a clear signal from the white house

about reform in the male-dominated culture of the service. just last year the agency was embroiled in a prostitution scandal during preparations for the president's trip to colombia. u)3fy it could be years before a new trial for amanda knox takes place in italy. one thing that's all but certain is that she probably won't be going there to face charges. she's responsible for the 2007 death of a former roommate. italy's highest court ruling yesterday that knox's acquittal should be overturned. they said she should be tried again. in a statement, knox called this ruling "painful." and now for a bit of u.s. sports history that we have to report for you from late last night. the american men's soccer team was under siege for most of their world cup qualifying game against mexico. despite plenty of mexican scoring chances, the game ended scoreless. it's only the second time in 15 matches that the u.s. has avoided defeat in mexico city. we have full highlights coming up later on. >> all right. let's take a look at the weather right now. across the nation expect some scattered snow or rain later today in new england and the northeast. and there will be some sort of conditions -- same sort of conditions there with the northwest and the rockies in the

northern part anyways. sunny across the nation's midsection. >> temperatures there and throughout most of the eastern u.s. will be warming up, but that's not the case in the deep south though where readings will be about 15 degrees below normal. seasonable though in the southwest. >> come on. we want spring. hurry up. all right, coming up, a community crisis, another sinkhole threatens the same florida neighborhood. >> uh-huh. and new cars being unveiled today at the new york auto show including a honda minivan with an option never offered before. clean freaks, you're going to love this. and that big surprise that has everyone talking about last night's "dancing with the stars."

welcome back. stocks carving out new territory on wall street. the dow opens this morning higher than ever after gaining 112 points yesterday. the s&p 500 within a point and a half of its all-time record, which was set just before the great recession. this morning, yet another sign of the housing recovery. home prices were up more than 8% in january from the year before. the sharpest annual increase in more than six years. home prices nationwide are still 29% below their peak in the summer of 2006. that was before the housing bubble burst. well, t-mobile is finally joining the party. the number four wireless carrier will start selling the iphone next month. the last major phone company to do so, but t-mobile will charge less for the apple device and won't require a contract. it'll also start offering the faster lte service hoping to stem the loss of customers. and today a federal bankruptcy judge could approve the merger of american airlines and us airways, or he could give american more time to file a reorganization plan. government regulators would have

to approve the merger. both airlines say they expect to close the deal by september. all right, the auto industry gearing up for its big new york show this week. cadillac unveiling a new version of its cts midsize sedan. although its major changes are on the inside, the jeep cherokee is back. they have a less boxy style and a lot of luxury options there. and honda's top of the line 2014 odyssey minivan, it has a first, a built-in vacuum cleaner. how about that? it's the brainchild of a honda engineer after a messy family trip. not a bad idea. >> one reason to get a minivan. casino owner steve wynn has sold picasso's "la reve" to billionaire financier steven cohen once again. the price this time is $155 million, the most ever paid by a u.s. collector for a work of art. wynn had previously agreed to sell it to cohen seven years ago, but then he accidentally put his elbow through the canvas. it has been fully restored.

>> can you imagine, you put your elbow through a $130 million picasso? do you think he cried? >> don't you hate when that happens? >> i hate it when that happens. >> i know. it happens to me all the time. all right, when we come back, new trouble for the pop prince. why deputies were called to justin bieber's house. and the close encounter as some very big and very curious cats pay a visit to a colorado home. spooky. we'll be right back. hmm, we need a new game. ♪ that'll save the day. ♪ so will bounty select-a-size. it's the smaller powerful sheet. the only one with trap + lock technology. look! one select-a-size sheet of bounty is 50% more absorbent than a full size sheet of the leading ordinary brand. use less. with the small but powerful picker upper, bounty select-a-size.

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>> and if you're flying today, you're in luck. there are no major weather-related airport delays to keep you from your destination. all right, justin bieber time. he just returned home from an overseas concert tour, and the high drama has already begun. >> the 19-year-old singer is now accused of battery after a confrontation with a neighbor outside of his southern california mansion. tmz reports that bieber angered the neighbor by racing and revving his new ferrari up and down the street. that made anybody upset. police say the man also claims bieber threatened him. an investigation is under way but so far no charges have been filed and you may remember he was involved in a series of odd incidents earlier this month in europe. he resumes his tour there tomorrow. it looks like another sinkhole may be opening up in the same florida town where a man was swallowed alive last month. two homes in seffner were evacuated after they began noticing cracks in the wall and sagging floors. officials are still trying to confirm it's a sinkhole. until then residents have to

stay out. >> when you hear the floor like groaning like rrrr, the tile cracking, like something is moving down there. i'm like, okay. that's not safe. >> wow. in the february sinkhole tragedy the victim was left underground. it was too dangerous to recover his body. if confirmed, this would be the fourth in the seffner area in the last month. a baby girl was back with her family after being left behind in a philadelphia subway station. surveillance video shows the baby arriving with her 15-year-old mother and grandmother. the women separate apparently assuming that the other one is taking the baby. well, they returned a short time later in a panic. police say the women overlooked the baby because they were focused on evading the fare. they will not be charged. and now we want you to check out this trio of cats that appeared in the backyard of this denver area home. it was a close encounter of t the mountain lion kind. one of the cats even peered in the sliding glass door. the owner thought it was a little frightening to realize

just a piece of glass was the only thing protecting him from these big massive cats, but after a leisurely stroll around the house, the cats were on their way. >> curious cats. an abc news exclusive this morning, the possibility of new criminal charges against lance armstrong. investigators in spain looking into whether armstrong illegally trafficked or distributed doping drugs while living there during his reign as tour de france champion. if convicted he could face two years in prison and $500,000 in fines. the miami heat try to make it 28 wins in a row tonight when they face the bulls. as for last night, here are your sports highlights from espn. welcome in to your "sportscenter" update. i'm dario melendez. the u.s. national team taking on mexico in a world cup qualifier at azteca. we're going to jump to the 42nd minute of play, no score, mexico with the ball and zavala. thinks he has a header but brad guzan says, no, you don't, son. the strong move by the keeper keeping them scoreless. guzan filled in for the injured

tim howard. mexico off a corner kick and chicharito thinks he has a goal but misses the net. missed opportunity for mexico. then later off another corner kick, salcido, no, zavala, no, the game ends in a both teams 0-0 tie and both earning a point. penguins going for their 13th straight win. second period, scoreless game. to sidney crosby, gathers and finishes for his 15th of the year. penguins up, 1-0. then later, canadiens on the attack. tomas plekanec. shot blocked by marc-andre fleury but fleury goes down. check it out. tyler kennedy collides with his head. he would not come out in the third. in comes tomas vokoun. check out this in the third by vokoun. alexei emelin, shot, no. plekanec, no. plekanec going to get another crack at it. you're not having it today, son.

penguins hold on to win it, 1-0 extending their win streak to 13 straight games. and that is your "sportscenter" update, i'm dario melendez. have a great day. all right. there may be a lot of empty seats this summer at lehigh valley iron pigs game. yeah, the minor league baseball team is the first to install urinal gaming systems in the men's room. >> gives you something to do. doesn't it? let's just say players control the games without having to use their hands, which is a good thing. the team says it's just another way to offer what it calls unparalleled entertainment to the fans. >> how long before that's installed in every stadium around the country. >> and, of course, yeah, and there will be advertisements for beer and hot dogs and everything else. >> oh, boy. coming up next, it's "the pulse" and the latest from the dance floor, why there was no elimination last night. this will make you smile. a middle schooler's display of some very good sportsmanship. but when you wake up , in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep.

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♪ time to check "the pulse." stories you'll talk about today starting with a bombshell departure. dorothy hamill will not be returning to the ballroom but it has nothing to do with the scores. >> that's right. fighting back tears the award-winning skater explained

she's leaving on doctor's orders. >> it breaks my heart to be around but it's not fair to everyone and so getting better, you know, something that's just going to take some time and i guess that's the priority. >> gold medalist won't win the competition but she sure won a lot of respect from the other stars. >> she looks great, doesn't she? a posh beverly hills restaurant giving certain customers a taste of their own medicine so are they justified or are they jerks? >> the restaurant has decided to get revenge on no shows by putting them up on social media's wall of shame. publicly naming them on facebook and on twitter. >> one of the tweets reads, hi, kyle anderson, i hope you enjoyed your girlfriend's birthday and the flowers that you didn't bring when you no-showed for your 8:15 reservation. >> famously kicked out a food critic and posted her picture online. you go. >> i think that restaurant needs to lighten up a bit. >> maybe.

okay. i can see what you're saying. okay, well, in some march madness we'll call this march that mikey might never forget. he is a basketball loving middle schooler in oregon who has a developmental disability. >> played in his last game and one of the kids on the opposing team made a chance he got to shoot not once but several times until he scored and with the crowd cheering he ran into his dad's arms, bravo for him and for the great kid that made it happen. >> now, that is pretty incredible stuff. i love stories like that. >> me, too. well, for some of you your local news is coming up next. and for everyone else the newest lotto multimillionaire explains what he's going to do with all that cash. i was living with pain -- all over. the intense ache made it hard to do the things that i wanted. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia -- thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief

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,. >> abc7 news starts right now with live breaking news. >> in san francisco firefighters have been battling a massive

four alarm blaze. our news reporter is live there at 3rd street. what is the status now? the problem is in san francisco, all buildings are right next to each other and all made of wood, this spread quickly. take a look how huge it was. it started in a home but wrapped around the corner to third street. in all, firefighters tell us they had three buildings with heavy damage with one building had fire damage. 20 people are displaced and the red cross is now helping them but everyone did get out all right. all of the people, the residents, are all right but they say it was very squarey when they woke up and saw the

fire. without, its was so big it was like going a bell ran over to my windows. near fighters got a call that a building was on fire but it spread quickly and started and wrapped around to 3rd freed. we have two injuries with firefighters but they are minor. one firefighter fell off the ladder and he suffered bumps and bruises. he is okay. they do not know if it was suspicious or an accident but it is too early to tell but it is under investigation. this is abc7 news.

the shuttle bus to the end of the line, outbound own, from 25th, again, shuttling buses to the end of the line for t3, you can expect delays with no other mass transit delays and the toll plaza is light here, go have a stalled big rig on the incline section, it is blocking the right lane and crews are trying to get a big truck to push that out of there. we will follow that. here is lisa with a look at the weather. >> good morning to you. live doppler 7 hd, it is nice and quiet, this is just a false return here but we are looking at increasing clouds around the bay. if you had a chance to get a clear area in is a full moon out there, so, a pretty start, with temperatures with the cloud cover on the mild side and mid-40's for santa rosa and napa

and 51 in fairfield with upper 40's for livermore and 49 in hayward, good morning, los gatos and we are looking at the cloud cover throughout the day a chance of a shore in the morning and the afternoon and into tomorrow, but, friday, a dry day but not for the weekend, i will have those details later. >> please tell us more, katie. >> i will let the live pilots speak for themselves, no human toll cakeers at the bridge at this hour. the few cars that come through this early in the morning are just zipping right on through, no one needing to stop to pay cash and certainly no traffic to speak of and no confusion. but this morning's commute could get weird later, it is the first one without hum