happy to turn on the taxpayer faucet to prove that. fiscal conservatism, republican style. good wednesday morning. right now on first look, david petraeus speaks out about his extramarital affair. emotions run high across the country as we approach day two on the supreme court's hearing on gay marriage. north dakota is the ground zero in the fight against abortion rights and political war chests are filling in preparation for battle. plus, could you be chosen to test the hottest new tech toy? proeb uses his head and meet a hero bus driver with amazing instincts. good morning. strong passion on both sides after a contentious day of hearings in the supreme court over same sex marriage. two gay couples challenged the

ban on prop 8. pete williams has all the details. >> reporter: arguing their case, ted olson who joined with david boys, one foes over the 2011 election in florida. >> this is not a democratic issue or republican issue or conservative or liberal. this is an issue of american constitutional rights. >> reporter: defenders of prop 8 say because only opposite sex couples can produce children, it makes sense to limit marriage to them. >> it is impossible to know with any certainty that changes that would be worked on sow side site by redefining -- society by redefining marriage. >> reporter: they were skeptical that pro creation is the reason to accept marry. >> we're not going to give marriage licenses any more to any couple where both people are over the age of 55. would that be constitutional?

>> reporter: the court's conservatives were equally skeptical that gay couples have a right to marry. >> whether did it become unconstitutional to exclude homosexual couples from marriage? 1791? 1868 when the 14th amendment was adopted? >> reporter: though gay couples in california have all the rights of married couples, having them being able to be called married is a big change. >> if you tell somebody that is your friend, i guess can you force the child to say this is my friend, but it changes the definition of what it means to be a friend. that seems to me is what the supporters of prop 8 are saying here. >> 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 sth. >> reporter: and justice kennedy, the pivotal vote seemed to throw up his hands. >> you're really asking because of the psychological evidence

you cite for us to go into unchartered waters. i wonder if the case was properly granted. >> that was nbc's pete williams. if justices decide the california case is premature, it would leave in place a previous ruling which struck down prop 8. same sex marriages would resume in california but it wouldn't set a nationwide precedent. but today the justices will turn their attention to federal law considering the defensive marriage act currently nine states and the district of columbia grand marriage rights to couples while six others allow for civil unions. the law was signed by president clinton in 1996. the former president since said it should be overturned because it discriminates against gays and lesbians. plaintiffs argue for federal benefits to be extended to same sex couples where benefits are recognized. there are more than 1,000 laws granted benefits to married couples, tax savings to social security benefits but the law excludes those for legally married same-sex couples because they have no federal status.

former cia director david petraeus took his first step back into the public spotlight last night. petraeus kept a low profile since admitting to an extramarital affair with his biographer. last night at a dinner honorering veterans, he delivered a speech that offered his first public apology for the sex scandal that led to his resignation from the cia last november. >> so please allow me to begin my remarks this evening by reiterating how deeply i regret and apologize for the circumstances that led to my z resignation from the cia and caused such pain for my family, friends, and supporters. >> petraeus also told the group of about 600 people he hopes i had experience serves as a lesson to others who stumble or fall that life can and must go on. north dakota governor jack

dowrimple approved the most strict abortion law in the country. it bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detectible. that's as early as six weeks in a pregnancy. the law violates findings from roe v. wade allowing abortion up to 24 weeks. the bill is an effort to test the boundaries of roe v. wade at the state level. the secret service has the first female director ever. proeb has selected veteran agent julia pierson. she became a secret service agent in 1983 and served as the agency's chief of staff. she'll take over for mark sullivan who announce the his retirement last month and who's tenure was plagued with criticism after agents were accused of soliciting prostitutes in columbia last year. here's your first look at scrambled politics. rush limbaugh is using harsh language towards former first daughter chelsea clinton on his show tuesday. he said that after reading a

"national enquirer" report saying that former first daughter is considering adopting a baby from africa that is he is not surprised she would want to take child there calling african babies the latest fashion accessory for elite liberals. the host of stephen colbert is running against mark sanford for a seat in congress. a new poll from the clinton university shows that democrat elizabeth colbert bush is slightly ahead of sanford. sanford still needs to make it to the general election by winning a runoff next month. michigan's governor approved a plan to allow bear cub petting zoos. not the best idea. the law permits people to pet, hold, and feed cubs that weigh up to 90 pounds and 36 weeks old. you know the claws on a 90-pound bear cub? prince harry will tour the wore torn country and it is the first time that we have seen all of him since his trip in vegas.

this time he'll make sure harry stays clothed. >> i'm going to be spending the entire day with prince harry. and so, believe me, nobody's going to be get naked if i'm spending the entire day with him. >> kristy will be babysitting. pro president obama sits down with telemundo today. and george w. bush and wife laura were among those in attendance at the baylor basketball game. they met and posed with the teams. and that's your morning's dish of scrambled politics. turning now to the weather, bill kairns joins us. is spring coming? >> slowly. it's going to happen sooner or later. maybe april, mid-april. it's on its way. it's a cold start. we're a little concerned with the cold temperatures in the southeast. we have freeze warnings in effect. that's because a lot of our beautiful flowers and azaleas

and everything else have already blossomed and are vulnerable. so far we've done okay. the coldest spots have been to northern and central alabama and mississippi. atlanta is down to 30. we haven't seen the really harsh temperatures down to north florida or south georgia right now. new orleans at 44. hopefully we're going to hold on to the beautiful buds. it's funny. we're at 30 in atlanta. we're actually warmer this morning in d.c., new york, and boston than we are even in atlanta. it's a rare occurrence. kansas city is frigid, too. minneapolis, 27. that's not bad by your standards. so where do we stand in the next seven days? tracking this cold air mass shown here in blue. by the time we get to the weekend, it starts to retreat. we do a nice warmup, especially the southern half of the country. sunday afternoon, it should be beautiful. then by sunday and monday, another shot of cold air comes down. this one does not travel into the deep south. it stays up here in the great lakes and northern plains where you can deal with it a little better than they can in the deep south, at least your flowers for the most part aren't out yet.

so today's forecast doesn't have a lot of rain in it. i want to show you the temperatures where we are today. today for a high in atlanta, 56. it typically should be around f 67. i think by the weekend temperatures will actually be where they normally would be for this time of year which will feel warm because it's been so cold. >> you just rubbing it in point showing where we should be. >> i have nothing else to give you. >> i'll take the 50s at this point. i won't complain. coming up, a health warning about prostate cancer. plus, we'll tell what you is moving wall street today. and did man create the problem that caused oklahoma's fifth largest earthquake on record? details when "first look" returns. [ female announcer ] you walk into your laundry room and it just hits you!

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a new study says claims for medical costs will jump 32% for individual policies. the report is from the counsel

of act waries. coverage is bought directly from insurers. investigators say they found bomb making materials in a car driven by the parolee accused of murdering the head of colorado's prison system. bloody clothing and surveillance equipment were also seized from the 1991 cadillac after a shootout in texas. a stronger earthquake shook central taiwan this morning killing at least one person. the 6.1 magnitude quake damaged buildings and caused high-rises in downtown taipei to sway. scientists say the largest earthquake in oklahoma's history was likely man made. the finding published in geology says the 5.6 magnitude quake in november of 2011 was caused after oil drilling waste was pushed deep jound ground. that tremor injured two people and damaged more than 14 homes. and pope francis' humility on display. the new pontiff opted for a small suite in a vatican guest house instead of the spatial

papal apartment used by predecessors. it will allow the pope to live in community with other priests and bishops. turning now to health news, a study links early on set baldness in african-american men with an increased risk in prostate cancer. researchers say bald african-american men are 69% more likely to develop prostate cancer than those with no hair loss. more specifically, those with frontal balding are twice as likely to be diagnosed with advanced forms of the disease as compared with men who are balding at the top of their head. turning now to business, another day, another narrow miss for the s&p 500 and the quest to set a new closing high. still, stocks got a boost from more good news on the housing front. home prices were up about 8% in january over a year ago. that's the biggest rise since june of 2006. wells fargo is targeted by a denial of service attack. a high volume of traffic essentially shuts down the site. the bank says it does not believe customer data was

compromised. starting april 12th, t mobile usa will offer the iphone 5 smart phone. dionne warwick owes more than $10.7 million in taxes and fees to the irs and she filed for bankruptcy. no doorman or package room? no problem. walmart is testing a new instock locker system that allows customers to buy an item on line, ship it for free to a local store and then pick it up at the locker. steve wynne parted with a precious piece of art work. he poked his elbow through the picasso canvas of the dream. it's been restored and now belongs to a hedge fund mogul who paid $155 million. google started notifying some 8 thou tlou,000 lucky winn they'll be able to test the glass head sets. it's no free ride, winners have to pick up devices in person in new york, san francisco, or los

angeles. i'll be keeping an eye on my e-mail. straight ahead, president obama uses his head at the white house in a way we've never seen before. plus, the story behind this rare two headed shark. and we'll have sports highlights. you're watching first look on msnbc. because all these whole grains aren't healthy unless you actually eat them ♪ multigrain cheerios. also available in delicious peanut butter. healthy never tasted so sweet.

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earning loads of points. we'll leave that there. you got a weather balloon, with points? yes i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. go. ♪ keep on going in this direction. take this bridge over here. there it is! [ man ] so i used mine to get a whole new perspective. [ laughter ] [ male announcer ] earn points with the citi thankyou card and redeem them for just about anything. visit citi.com/thankyoucards to apply. gay marriage at the supreme court. joining me for more on that, jonathan kapar, msnbc contributor. good morning.

thanks for getting up with me. it's always tough to predict what the justices will do. did you hear any clues in yesterday's hearings that will give you a sense of how they might rule on this prop 8 case? >> it sounded like this was a really tough case for the justices. for all of them the question of whether there is a constitutional right to marry, whether they should overturn a popularly leblgted proposition that was on the ballot. and whether they should allow same sex marriage to go forward or to continue again in california. so it's very hard to predict. remember what happened after the health care opening arguments last year and how everyone thought that the health care law would be ruled unconstitutional. and we know how that turned out. >> right. now she's same sex marriage cases are drawing tons of national attention. how much are justices influenced by public sentiment on any particular issue? >> well, you know, when i have spoken to lawyers who have

argued before the supreme court and other folks who watched the court closely, they all say something to the sense of well, of course they read the newspapers and they watch the news. they know what's going on. but it's hard to tell how much that influences them. there are a lot of other factors that play a role, including the role of the court but also the image and history of the court. >> all right. well we'll be keeping an eye on everything that is happening including the historic arguments today. jonathan capehart, thank you. >> thank you. here's some other news going on around america. we ghin chicago. an army of children calling for immigration reform. hundreds of kids led the demonstration. rally organizers say current policies rip families apart and toss thousands of children into the foster care system. next, to some amazing video out of ohio. a firefighter is miraculously

alive after an out of control vehicle slammed into him. the firefighter was working an accident scene when a vehicle barrelled into a pickup truck that struck the fire captain. he's expected to be released from the hospital in a day or two and make a full recovery. thankfully. now to an extraordinary discovery off the florida keys. researchers believe this two headed fish is the first of its kind and likely the result of a mutation caused by a deformity. finally, a texas teen and a spectacular show of strength. 18-year-old matt porsaltani bench pressed 700 pounds, five pounds shy of the most weight ever lifted by an nfl player. that's a strong kid. turning to sports, the u.s. plays a worlds cup qualifying match in mexico city. team usa had close calls. the game against mexico ended in a scoreless tie. the americans get a hard earned point and will next play j maka on june 7th. in college basketball,

baylor put on a show with three dunks and 33 points as the top seed demolished florida state. manti te'o worked out at the school's pro day, improved on his disappointing combine time for the 40 yard sprint and he puts the imaginary girlfriend story in the past. new england patriots tight end rob gron you could ski and his brother dan who plays for cleveland, surprised a 17-year-old quirl when they walked into the patriots room to give her a jersey. he was injured last season and she made a video for him. prospect of the minnesota twins got an english lesson by sing ago long to the journey hit "don't stop believing" in a florida classroom. ♪ don't stop believing ♪

♪ street lights people ♪ >> i hope performances on the field are better. >> fans visiting iron pigs this reason will have a new reason to unite the urinals. the aaa minor league team of the philadelphia fillies has installed video con soles and whether the man aims to the right or left controls the plays on the screen. some are calling it the extreme games. can't make this stuff up. in chicago, mr. t not known for hockey skills, took a shot that went right through the middle slot on a board in front of the goal adapting his famous catch phrase mr. t said i'm getting the puck. and president obama honored the 2012 champions of the hockey league in major league soccer. the los angeles kings presented the 44th president with a jersey bearing that number and the l.a. galaxy gave him a jersey with the number one for his superior soccer skills.

>> you got a jersey. >> i hope you guys caught that. >> that doesn't happen very often. >> using his head. just ahead, we'll tell you why justin bieber is being investigated. plus, their baby hasn't bonn born but an mit braniac says this is who they're childing look like in 25 years. find out who we're talking about. ♪ some people will do anything to help eliminate litter box odor. ♪ discover tidy cats pure nature. clumping litter with natural cedar, pine, and corn. like other precious things that start off white, it yellows over time. when it comes to your smile, if you're not whitening, you're yellowing. crest whitestrips whiten as well

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justin bieber can't catch a break lately. he's been accused of battery by a neighbor. he was races i had new car up

and down the street causing the neighbor to confront justin about the noise and dangerous speeds. the rock reveals what he eats when he's not on a diet. a dozen pancakes, four pizzas and two dozen brownies in one day alone. ♪ can't wait to get you on the floor ♪ >> justin timberlake's album the 2020 experience is topping the billboard charts with 968,000 copies sold in one week. only 19 albums have done that since neilson began tracking sales data and including the days with inn sink, he has three of them. a graduate student at mit has put together renderings of what william and kate's child will look like as a young adult. we'll be sure to update new 25 years with the accuracy of the images. want to leave you with new headline from the new york post, having a little fun with kim kardashian and maternity ware. interesting choice.

that's what we'll say. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" starts right now. well, those of you who were in court today saw why i like it a lot better when this guy is on my side as opposed to against me. >> this is not a democratic issue or republican issue or conservative or liberal. this is an issue of american constitutional rights. >> the two lawyers who fought on opposite sides of bush v. gore in 2000 joining forces in support of same sex marriage. good morning. i'm bill karins. this is "way too early." thanks for being up with us todayment we have a lot of news to talk about on this wednesday, march 27in