speech since the disclosure of his affair with his biographer. we'll tell what you the four star general had to say about it in his own words. plus, nbc's own and our friend brian williams stops by the late show with david letterman to answer internet speculation in the form of a question. that is are the producers of jeopardy really eyeing him as a potential successor to the one and only alex trabek? they can't have him. first, let's get to the news live here. the supreme court will hear arguments on the federal defense of marriage act. this after tuesday's heated argument about california's proposition 8. activists clammer outside the court and on social media, there appeared to be no consensus how the justices might act. inside the court, questions and comments hinted at reluctance to issue a broad ruling allowing same sex marriage in all states. several of the bench focused on standing. that is whether the case had been properly defended by the state and traveled the right

legal path to them. that could set up the possibility of the high court throwing out the case altogether. some justices were clearly concerned about the new legal frontiers ahead. >> 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? i mean we are not -- we do not have the ability to see the future. >> you're really asking particularly because of psychological evidence you cite for us to go into unchartered waters and you can play with that metaphor. >> justice kennedy who we just heard is the possible swing vote. while he addressed the legal implications, he also discussed what the case means for the children of same sex couples. >> there is an immediate legal injury or legal -- what could be a legal injury and that's the voice of these children.

there are some 40,000 children in california according to the writ brief that live with same sex parents. and they want their parents to have full recognition and full status. the voice of those children is important. >> but two of the court's more conservative justices raised pointed questions over the label of marriage itself and the timing of the case. >> i'm curious, when did it become unconstitutional to exclude homosexual couples from marriage? 1791? 1868 when the 14th amendment was inducted. >> whether did it become unconstitutional to prohibit interracial marriages? >> so it's just about -- it's just about the label in this case. same sex couples have every

other right. it's just about the label. >> the label marriage means something even our opponents -- >> sir, if you tell a child that somebody has to be their friend, i suppose you can force the child to say this is my friend. but it changes the definition of what it means to be a friend. and that's it seems to me what supporters of proposition 8 are saying here. all you're interested in is the label and you insist on changing the definition of the label. >> well, the debate is playing out in the nation's editorial pages as well. nelson lund rights in "the wall street journal" about overturning prop 8, "the justices are unlikely to take some momentous step unless they're persuaded that granting the new right to same sex couples will not harm children or ultimately undermine the health of our society." and dana mill bank writes, "the most they can do is delay the inevitable." let's bring in jonathan

gapehart. you've written a lot about. this what is your immediate take from yesterday? >> i have to agree with dana millbank. anything the court decides in this case is going to slow down the inevitable. the court is torn. they don't want to make this broad sweeping ruling saying there is a constitution aol right to same sex marriage. on the other hand, when you listen to i think it was justice kennedy, his concern about the 40,000 children in california who have same sex parents who would be affected say if one of the parents dies because they're not legally married in the eyes of california. what happens to the children? >> you mentioned kennedy. were you bothered at all yesterday? he is possibly the swing vote. >> he is the swing vote. >> he said unchartered waters, mentioned the cliff at the end possibly dshgs that bother you at all? >> no, it didn't bother me because, you know, this is a monumental decision that the court has to make. she see what is happening in the states. and they are probably more likely to want the democratic process to work. they can't see what's going to happen as more states do this. and they don't want to be the

organize or the instrument that pushes society one way or the other. they're really worried about their sort of role in all of this. and also the history of precedence it would set. >> i know you were -- you had this date in the calendar for a long time. did anything surprise you? maybe the lack of politics in all of this? there is no press conferences. this is literally a court issue and a society issue it appears. >> there were press conferences after the argue ams. the predictable statements on either side. now that arguments is over, now is the waiting. when do we get the decision? with the health care ruling, it will come on the last day of the session which will be in late june. >> it's not republican verse democrat. like press conference. we're seeing the press conferences from lawyers and stuff like that. we're not really seeing republicans coming out or democrats, you know, like we did a year ago when debating the health care. >> and that's a very good point and a very good observation because as everyone has said about this, this isn't a

partisan issue. this is a right or wrong issue. i think people get that. >> do you have any preview on doma today? >> it is a different question. prop 8 was about allowing same sex couples to marry this is a case about same sex couples who are legally married but being denied federal benefits. you get to the question of equal protection. and it's going to be interesting to hear the justices questions and whether they buy into the equal protection argument here. >> jonathan capehart, appreciate it. a lot more coming up with you on "morning joe." another legal battle over social issues is brewing in north dakota. republican governor just approved some of the nation's toughest laws on abortion. the strictest of the three bills forbids abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected which in some cases can be as early as six weeks in the pregnancy. the governor defended the new laws while taking note of the controversial nature. "although the likelihood of this surviving a court challenge is

in question, we have to discover the boundaries of roe v. wade." all three bills take effect august 1st unless the courts decide to intervene. he was once the most high profile member of the military. since a scandal aposes an affair, david petraeus has shied away from the spotlight. all that changed last night at the university of southern california, the former head of the cia acknowledged his fall from grace. it was his first public speech since the revelation of his affa affair. the former presidential short listering with seeking forgiveness and also a possible return to public life. >> and truly is a privilege to be here with you this evening. all the more so given my personal journey over the past five months. i join you keenly aware that i am regarded in a different light now than i was a year ago. 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 resignation from the cia and caused such pain for my family, friends and supporters. and know that i can never fully assuage the pain that i inflicted on those closest to me and on a number of others. i can, however, try to move forward in a manner that is consistent to the values with which i -- to which i subscribed before slipping my morgues. >> the general also called on the military community and country to take care of veterans of war. president obama has appointed the first ever female director of the u.s. secret service. julia pierson is a 30 year veteran on the force. previous director mark sullivan retired last month. pierson's appointment comes at a time of heighten ed time for th social security. now to business.

the dow opened yet another record high this morning after investors like wlad they saw in new reports yesterday on home prices and manufacturing. the s&p 500 meanwhile is hovering just shy of its own all-time high. for more on what to expect from the markets today, let's check in with steve sethwick. we have come back full steam ahead. what is up for today? >> yeah. it's amazing. this tiny little european country called cyprus had been such a blot on the horizon. but now it seems domestic data in the united states is driven durable goods orders and long term goods orders went well to the upside as did single family home sales, the fastest pace we've seen in six years. that drove the dow up 100 points. another record is hitting record highs since march. and the s&p 500 only about 1.4 points away from its record high. the s&p 500, of course, a

broader brush look at the u.s. economy. elsewhere, t-mobil usa dropping the yearly contracts. you're going to get simple considers. they're going to start selling the iphone 5. and now it's a simple choice plan, 50 pounds a month for unlimited talk and text and about 500 megabytes of high speed data as well. so they're really trying to wrestle back the market share. they're currently the number four in the united states. they're owned, of course, by deutsche telecom. >> is this a hail mary by t-mobil? >> it's very interesting to see how it goes from here. they've been really struggling. and, of course, they have another tie-up coming with another one of the big players. you still have to have the purchase of the hand set. now in previous contracts, one year, 18 months, two-year contracts, what you had is these are subsidized throughout the life of the contract. though it's great to understand it in a simple way what they're getting in terms of dat yashgs text, what have you, they still

have to pay for the hand sets. although the consumer will have clear policy going forward on the contract, the fact remains they have to buy very expensive hand sets. >> steve sedgwick, thank you. as always, let us know why you're awake. shoot us an e-mail at "way too early." we'll read the best responses later. still ahead on "way too early," chris crusty vows that prince harry is on his best behavior when the two meet on the jersey shore in may. plus -- we have a jersey for you. >> i hope you guys caught that. that doesn't happen very often. that is a nice looking jersey. >> president obama tries his hand or rather head at the sport of socker when the mls champion galaxy visit the white house. that and a check on weather when "way too early" comes right back.

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so i'm doing fine... but she's still going to give me a heart attack. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. look at that ice rink down. there insulting. let's get a check on your forecast. cold weather continues. what else is new? we don't have a lot of weather headlines. bundle the kids up especially in the deep south. freeze warnings down to the gulf. it's only 44 degrees right now in new orleans. 38 tallahassee. look at atlanta, montgomery and jackson, very chilly by southern standards. and as we go throughout the weekend, the blue shows you where the really cold air is. it retreats to the north. a little taste of spring easter sunday much of the east. we go into next week. a little shot of cold air comes from canada. it only goes to the northern

portion of the kcountry in new england where they're used to it. after a cold start, a nice finish for the afternoon. mostly dry conditions. may see a few afternoon showers in new england from new york city to d.c. overall, it's looking like a nice quiet weather day. >> let's turn to sports. i wend to bed last night. i was anticipating knowing that our lead story this morning on "way too early" was going to be about a critical late night u.s. soccer match. let's see if it delivered. a crucial world cup qualifying match in mexico city. how late did you stay up watching this last night? >> until 11:00. >> the game started at 10:30. >> whatever. mexico and they never won a world cup qualifier. scoreless in the game. the 7 6th minute. it appears that was a tackle from behind. that was in the penalty box. it should have been a penalty kick. mexico didn't get the call. we go late in the game. this is still in stoppage time. that is after regulation. they're still tied they go to

stoppage time. there is no penalty kicks in this, unfor ttunately. so people on east coast that watched this game from 10:30 to 1:00 a.m. watched a 0-0 tie. jonathan. >> i tied in my dreams. yeah. go on. >> you didn't miss much. >> this is exciting. the ncaa women's tournament now, top-seeded baylor taking on florida state. this is her last final home game. let's see how many times she can dunk in her final home game. that is one on the break. look at the president and first lady sitting there watching the game. let's get a dunk in the paint in traffic by brittany. impressive, right? >> yeah. >> that's two dunks in one game. >> please. >> they did go on to win 74-31. and she does the little turn around in the lane. now this one -- >> come on. >> watch this. pivot, throws it down. >> that's a triple salkow in ice

skating. >> how do you know so much about ice skating? did you used to ice skate? >> are you out of your mind? no. >> the nhl champion los angeles kings brought the stanley cup to the white house and presented the president with the number 44 jersey. they celebrated -- >> is that appropriate? >> the mls title. they got a soccer tutorial from the commander in chief. >> i hope you got that. that doesn't happen that often. >> whether the galaxy was here last year, their chances of repeating as champions didn't lookal that good. the injury bug plagued the team. it seemed like it might be a rebuilding year. after that visit, they turned things around. you can call it a consequence dense, i just want to point out that right after they visited with me, the galaxy built the best record in the league. and our own little gym rat

jonathan this is for you. a couple of amazing feats from the high school ranks. this 18-year-old high school student, pilot point, texas, he weighs less than 300 pounds. he broke his own state power lifting record. this is a high schooler. he bench pressed 700 pounds! he's a little mighty might. look at the guy. >> come on! >> this is five pounds fewer than the reported nfl bench press record set by larry allen after his epic lift. he is now getting a couple looks as an offensive lineman himself for football. >> yeah, what you don't know he is went in for a chest transplant after that. look at that. come on. >> he's not even that huge of a guy. >> how tall is he? >> just in time for opening day from illinois high school softball, marissa boyer crashes through the fence! >> which got it. >> it's not a permanent fence. but still a fence. like the one my 2-year-old runs through. she actually made the catch.

that, my friends, is the catch of the day. i like you here. >> this is fun. >> teach me more about ice skating. i never knew about -- >> coming up at the top of the hour on -- keep this up. a complete nalgs of yesterday's argue ams over same sex marriage at the supreme court. when we come back here, we'll huddle around the water cooler. chris cyst ji assuring queen elizabeth she has nothing to worry about when prince harry joins the jersey shore. strip billiards is not on the agenda. i've got something for you too. (announcer) fancy feast delights with cheddar. a meal that is sure to delight your cheese lover.

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let's gather around the water cooler to talk royal shah nonganz. the palace is hoping for none of those this time around. do you remember the last time prince harry was here? he was caught playing a game of strip billiards in vegas. i thought everyone did that. this trip will be a official business on behalf of the british government. he'll visit washington, colorado, and the tri-state area. when he stops at the jersey shore, harry will have a chaperon, new jersey governor chris christie on his monthly ask the governor radio show, he says he'll be keeping a close eye on the prince. >> 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. i can assure the people in new jersey that. i met the queen before. she knows that she can trust her grandson, her beloved grandson with the governor of the state of new jersey. there is no concern on the queen's part, i'm sure. >> the two of you will be in a t-shirt. >> no question. i think that will be one of the hottest selling t-shirts of the summer jersey shore season will be me and prince harry. >> nbc's own brian williams sat down with david letterman last night. the conversation was filled with laughed but then turned to rumors about a certain quiz show. >> i hear these stories that alex trabek is leaving "jeopardy." >> oh, here's where we're going, isn't it? >> and one of the names on a not so short list is brian william. i can understand why they would want you to be the next host of "jeopardy," for the life of me, i don't understand why would you want to do thatment . >> a little while back on the

web some list surfaced of a few of us, myself and anderson cooper among others. and while it is true that my legal representative got a call from sony studios to say would he ever be interested, we would sure love to have him. i answered in the form of a question. who is herb schemdek? >> you see? >> last week the republican party announced its plan to gain younger, more diverse voters. it reminds jon stewart of a very different campaign. >> welcome gop 2.0. we're going to overhaul our campaign mechanic structure to fully integrate our dem graphic engagement strategy. this new approach will be diverse year round, community based. we'll conduct a pilot program

and target urban markets to test and refine these engagement efforts. >> you're going to go into minority neighborhoods, do market research then send paid spokes people back into the minority communities with a new retargeted message. hey, it works for cool cigarettes, why not? >> that's rough. still ahead on "way too early," why are you awake? your tweets, texts and e-mails are next and "morning joe" is now just moments away. [ female announcer ] are you sensitive to dairy? then you'll love lactose-free lactaid® it's 100% real milk that's easy to digest so you can fully enjoy the dairy you love.

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we asked you why you're awake. we have your answers. >> bill, sports with bill karins and capehart is awesome. i love it. >> jonathan, best dressed guy on tv, hands down. what else you got, dan? >> debbie writes, i'm up because it's cold. we found bin laden but spring 2013 still evades us.