we're about to take you inside utah state prison, the largest maximum security facility in the state, with nearly 4,000 inmates. more than 400 of whom are women. it is noteworthy because utah is one of only three states that still executes some of its inmates by firing squad. utah also has one of the most violent inmate populations in the country. >> you have to watch your back every day. it's dangerous. you never know when you're going to get stabbed. or someone going to rush you in your cell, get you then, beat you down. it's hard. yeah. prison is very violent. >> in the shadow of the wasatch mountains, just south of salt lake city, lies utah state prison, or usp. originally built in 1951 this enormous institution has grown to cover over 680 acres. >> i've been at the utah state prison for over 25 years. during that time, we've gone from 1,200 inmates to almost 4,000 here. >> warden clint friel is tasked with the responsibility of running seven different facilities that house every variety of inmates. from gang units, to female offenders to death row, usp holds it all. the facilitie

he is picked off by lawson from utah state. but he finished big. six of seven and 104 yards and ending with his strike. south goes on to win it and it will be a steal for this year's nfl draft. the sports report is brought to you by riverwalk casino. coming up later in the newscast, the scorecard one of his worst ever and we'll share it with you. >> thank you so much. >>> edward snow 10 talks and -- snowden talks about new claims. and another retail store telling customers to check their credit card statements. the latest victim of a data breech. and selling girl scout cookies isn't what it used to be. the new security measures some troops have put into place. and stay with us. we will be right back after a quick break. i'm ama dates. in tonight's headlines, police in antioch will not cite the teenage driver who lost control of his car, crashed moo two homes and narrowly missed a woman sleeping in her bedroom. the driver tested negative for drugs and alcohol, but because officers didn't see the crash, they didn't even detain him. >>> san francisco

they just stayed the law and the judge has made the decision in the state of utah. and she said everybody hold on while this appeal proceeds. the law will remain as it is in the state of utah. they haven't decided anything substantively in the u.s. supreme court, although i predict they will. >> what happens to them? >> those people are essentially in limbo. >> so they're not married? >> well that's the question. are they married as a constitutional matter or not? and that's the problem we had in california if you will remember when prop 9 went back and forth and that's what sonia sotomayor wants to avoid and the supreme court wants to avoid by issuing the stay. hundreds of people in that issue. we wait until the legal process settles out. we have the procedural track and then ultimately we have the expansive track. this really was a procedural decision. eventually we'll get to be substantive. now we go back to denver where the 10th circuit court of appeals will make a decision about the constitutional merits of the case and then eventually it may get to the u.s. sup

picked off by lawson from utah state but finished the game 6-7, ending with a 35 yard strike to matthewsouth wins, david sale will be a steal. >> to the australian open where li na finally broke through. had to sweat out the first set but takes the tiebreak. na then breezes through the second set. the gimme. but na puts it away. lee --ly li na wins and then joked about her husband. >> thanks for give of everything, travel with me to be my hitting partner, and he has a lot of jobs. also, you're so lucky, family. agent make me reach. thanks a lot. >> let's tee it up in san diego. tiger woods has won eight times at torrey pipes and is the defending champion. his first event of the year but today he missed the cut. beautiful shot of torrey pines. shot a 79, seven over on the tournament. shot of the day, davidland. three double bogeys today. three p-over on the day. arch is which chasing gary wood lend. 8-under on the tournament. leads by one streak going into sunday's final round. >>> lpga tour in the pa bahamas, creamer, two eagles and this holeout but a triple bogey buts her in third plac

utah, same-sex marriage fight. gay couples for now will not be allowed to wed in that state. have more on the legal battle. >> the ceremonies and celebrations in utah are on hold. on monday at the united states supreme court, the justizes issued a stay on same-sex marriage. >> going forward i can say that we feel we are on solid ground because the stay is in place. >> nearly 900 couples have been married since a federal judge in september ruled utah's ban on same-sex marriage. state officials appealed and argued it's difficult to unwind the marriage if the supreme court didn't grant the temporary stay now. >> by issuing the stay hundreds of people in a state of legal limbo and confusion about their marriages. with the stay everyone holds on. we wait until the legal process resolves itself. >> last spring the supreme court ruled on the federal marriage act with the denial of benefits to same sex couples was ruled it was unconstitutional last month. >> a ruling upholding gay marriage made that decision on procedural grounds, predicting issues raised by state bans would return t

the state of utah -- quote -- "shall be sold by the united states subsequent to the admission of said state into the union." adding to that, section 9 of utah's enabling legislation said that 5% of the proceeds from the sale of that land would be given to the state and would be held in a trust fund by that state for the benefit of the state's public education system. so, as i mentioned, utah was not the first state to have that kind of language in its enabling legislation. many of the states that were admitted into the union much, much earlier than utah had similar language in their enabling acts. missouri had such language. north dakota had such language. we can name state after state after state that had language like that. and when you look at missouri, and when you look at north dakota, and when you look at most of the other states that had language like that in their enabling acts, you see very little federal public land. you see, because congress and the federal government honored the promises made to those states. congress followed through with that commitment. congress did wha

number two, denver and utah state hockey. aggies goalie gives up the goal because he was talking to the crowd. justin bieber with make up on the left. without it on the right. >> actually, that is miley cyrus ton right. >> that is his mug shot? smiling? >> yeah. [ laughter ] >> no, that was justin bieber's. >> yeah. she said he was smiling, not miley. >> yeah. >> there he is. >> we will be right back. our next newscast is tomorr morning at 4-30. >> thanks for watching. david letterman is next. >> our next newscast is tomorrow morning at 4:30. >> ly be here. >> sure. ( band playing "late show" theme ) >> from the heart of broadway, broadcasting across the nation and around the world, it's the "late show" with david letterman. tonight... plus paul shaffer and the cbs orchestra. i'm alan kalter. captioning sponsored by worldwide pants and cbs and now, the subject of an unauthorized autobiography, david letterman ( cheers and applause )

. >> check this out a semitruck just miss as utah state trooper. what the trooper is saying about this brush with death. >> welcome back. it's 4:43. hearings begin in jerry sandusky's case to have his pension restored. he will participate from his jail cell by videoconference. the assistant football coast lost a $4900 a month pension in 2012 after he was convicted of sexually abusing children. the the hearing could last three days but a decision could take months. >> workers at a good year tire factory in france are holding two bosses captive. they used a large tire to barricade a meeting room door. they spent the night in the factory along with the plant's director and the human resources chief. good year has tried to sell or shut down the factory for five years, the plant has a contentious fast with sometimes violent protests. >> in a few hours the senate will decide whether to move forward with a bill to extend unemployment benefits. for more on that let's turn to courtney reagan. good morning. >> good morning. the senate does hold a procedural

number two, denver and utah state hockey.e was talking to the crowd. justin bieber with make up on the left. without it on the right. >> actually, that is miley cyrus ton right. >> that is his mug shot? smiling? >> yeah. [ laughter ] >> no, that was justin bieber's. >> yeah. she said he was ,,,,,,,,,, our next newscast is tomorr morning at 4-30. >> thanks for watching. david letterman is next. >> our next newscast is tomorrow morning at 4:30. tomorrow morning at 4:30. >> equal access to health care... welcome to covered california. now, you can no longer be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition.

conservative culture. >> western with clark and brandon were married in the state of utahnow they are in a state of am big utety. >> you definitely feel like you are in limbo. >> the fair that are raising two children are among the 1300 couples to mary last desks after a judge unn't anded struck down utah's laws against same-sex marriage. >> the state didn't expect it, the community didn't expect it, it was just cleatly out of the blue. >> two weeks laterth utah's government and the governor said same-sex marriages already performed would not be recognized as legal. the federal government, however, does recognize the marriages. >> utah south one of the most political conservative states in the u.s. two-thirds of utahns belong the mormon religion. the church's influence permeates utah's society and culture. mormon doctrine emphasizes the importance of the traditional family, and church leaders are strongly opposed to gay marriage. they see this as the equivalent of pulling a brick out of the wall of the house, the whole wall will fall. >> mormon families are also dealing wi

this day gardening is tamed and intuitive in st utah state nineteen so that he can our toasty get one businessman who chose to go back and shows that the students get us on a foundation in his signing it with snakes with their backs and comments most of the artisans they don't do that when am i not into communities and it's a nice head and become economically he said tonight i tend to think that makes the crucial difference in the company spent two weeks use the number of accidents in black with a comprehensive safety campaign at twenty five percent increment it states that the knicks can see already that it's possible to change into his behavior and that by reduced the number of accidents that includes actions. isn't it great to receive keep up its corporate responsibility report showed that the knicks clear whether to cut the number of industrial accidents. i'm on weight and stuff like thirty seven percent. around seven hundred and eighty dollars worth of marble stone lies atop the cost to start. according to my next race of the marvelous bean often compared to the first class itali

> in a video posted to the state department's website attorney general erik holder said federal marriage benefits would be granted to same-sex couples who were married in utah despite the state law. >>> major storms could be as destructive as two coastal communities on the west coast as winter storms have been to the east coast and midwest this year. beach erosion is already causing problems on the california coast, making changes like rising sea levels a real danger. that has cities like los angeles searching for ways to adjust. brian joins us at marina del rey in california. brian? >> reporter: the tide is out at marina del rey, but we're just a couple of feet oversea level. the new study said that the ocean level could rise by two feet by 2050. so that los angeles really needs to start thinking about engineering a future in which they can defend themselves against raging coastal storms. >> the dangers is that we have more severe storms, bigger waves, and when those are coupled with high tides we'll see more flooding. we'll see more flooding in those coastal areas. >> reporter: in the potential danger are coastal areas, the famous venice beach. this power

. >> utah's state's attorney filed an appeal asking the justices to block same-sex marriages.t was legalized earlier this month when a judge overturned a ban. we look at the lives of gay couples in utah. >> salt lake city is not san francisco, and not new york. but it's a great place for candice and colleen. they are same-sex parents of twins. >> this is lidia marie, and this is scarlett an. >> not far away in another salt lake neighbourhood rachel and claudia are serving breakfast to their 8-month-old daughter. they are among the 800 gay couples that rushed to get a marriage licence after the ban on same-sex marriage was overturned. >> to be able to get married in utah, it's unbelievable. sometimes i pinch myself. it actually happened. >> the ruling surprised everyone. in utah, and beyond. but quietly, out of the spotlight. salt lake's gay community has been raising families here for years. >> because there is an emphasis on families and children, it just makes it easier to be a parent period, because everybody else has children. >> that emphasis on family comes in pardon the

these are state forests, state forrests belong to the people of the state of utah, many of them are ontate laws, which the money provided from those f forrests go to the school children. they are trying to stop the state laws that were set aside in every one of the western states to provide income for the school children. >> i grew up in oregon and lived there through the timber crisis of the '90s, and there were all of these predictions of catastrophe when a federal judge blocked the sale of about 24 million acres of timber, and the economy actually improved. and washington and oregon performed better than the rest of the country. >> well it didn't improve here in utah. and i would say that those thousands of people that owned the mills, private individuals that provided a product, it didn't improve for them. it didn't improve for them, and what did it do? we have been managing these forrests for a hundred years. people need to be held accountable, there's no question about that. but it's gone to the extreme. when you block people's ability to do their job, the ability -- we have ranc

have major repercussions across the country -- if utah's ban is overturned, the same could happen for same-sex marriage bans in nearly 30 other states. joining us now from utah are derek kitchen and moudi sbeity. they are one of three couples who are plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging utah's ban on same- sex marriage. we welcome you both to democracy now! k, explain what has just happened in utah. yesterday we had the supreme court put a stay on judge robert shelby's decision to allow same-sex marriage in our state. couples inabout 1300 what our attorney general calls legal limbo. then we have an untold number of gay couples in the state that cannot get married for the foreseeable future. married.e not there was that open where 1000 people to get married. why did you decide not to at that time and how does that allow you to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit? heard of therst ruling, we were in our kitchen working. we were in no position to drop everything and rush down. we did have about three or four other days to go down and get a license, but we were not so much interested in that as in the fact that we have the opportunity to get m

appellate court system has a chance to evaluate the state of utah's appeal of the decision by the district judge. so where does that leave the 950 gay and lesbian couples who are possibly sort of married in state of utah? joining me, matthew breen for the "advocate." and camilla taylor. all right, camilla, were you surprised by the supreme court decision? >> i was a bit disappointed, chris. the papers by the couple opposing the stay were very strong, but it is actually quite commonly granted, in fact, in almost all of the cases in which we've won marriage in state high courts. a stay was granted pending the final determination by the state high court. in fact, there's only one exception to that. >> i've got to say, actually, i was shocked there was no stay offered at the lower levels because it seemed to me that this was paving the way for creating a situation in which you possibly had a whole bunch of couples in a very strange kind of legal limbo. >> well, i think it was pretty shocking that the stay was not granted by the tenth circuit court of appeals as well as the district court given

the highest court granted an emergency quest to utah state officials in a legal battle over this issue. a federal judge struck down utah's voter approved law that defines marriage between a man and woman. the conserve still state is appealing this ruling and that means the 900 marriages performed in the last weeks is in legal limbo. >> it's unfortunate that many utah citizens have been put into a legal limbo but waer evaluating their legal status currently. >> marriage equality advocates don't believe it will affect the movement. they called as temporary setbacks. >> a set back in iraq. violence is escalating in the wa war-attorney country. right now there is a showdown where al qaeda linked militants took control. they are pushing back against critics who say the u.s. pull out is to blame. the white house says the violence existed even when 150,000 u.s. troops were in the country. the u.s. is stepping in to help. it accelerated the delivery of drones and missiles to hope iraqi government officials fight off. >> the ehs are 56, the nays are 26. the nomination is confirmed. >> today the

city, the debate goes to the heart of the culture. >> west tin and brandon were married in the state of utahare in a state of ambiguity. >> you feel in limbo a little bit. >> the pair were more than among the 1300 gay and lesbian couples to marry last december after a judge struck down utah's laws against same-sex marriage. >> the state didn't expect it, the community didn't expect it. it was completely out of the blue. >> two weeks later, the utah government got a halt to the marriages for appeal and said marriages already performed would not be recognized at legal. the federal government does recognize the marriages. utah is one of the most politically conservative states in the u.s. two thirds of the people belong to the mormon religion. >> the churches influence permeates the culture. mormon doctrine emphasizes the family and church leaders are opposed to gay marriage. >> they see this as the equivalent of pulling the brick out of the wall of the house, the whole thing would fall. >> early mormons had multiple wives, but the church renounced polygamy long ago. some still practice it. >>

. >>> the supreme court has ordered that same-sex marriages be put on hold in the state of utah. e state is appealing a federal judge's ruling that it's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. the ruling means marriage licenses will no longer be issued to same-sex couples right now, at least until the appeal is completed. more than 900 same sex couples said i do in the last two weeks in utah. they're now left wondering what the ruling means for them. >> there's no precedence, i believe, for this. and this is precise lit uncertainty we were hoping to avoid by requesting a stay immediately upon the decision of the district court. it's unfortunate that many utah citizens have been put into this legal limbo. but we're evaluating their legal status currently. >> same sex marriage is legal in 17 states and washington, d.c. >>> it's wait and see whether rahm emanuel will appeal a federal judge's ruling that overturned the city's ban on gun sales. the judge outlawed licensed gun stores from operating within city limit. the city has seen the laws the toughest in the country stripped away.

. >> i want to talk about my home state of utah. the news a lot lately, arguably the most conservative state in the country allowing gays to marry. you've been following this pretty closely. if the hold is rejected, the question i have, what are the options for the state of utah and other states going through something similar? at what point will they have to say this is the law of the land, there's not much else we can do? >> if the hope continues, marriage will continue and gay marriage will continue in utah until it winds its way through the court. who knows when that could be. it could be a year from now if not longer. you're going to have gay married people in the state of utah. so that's going to be very hard to unwind that. >> another revelation from edward snowden, nsa is building a quantum computer that can unencrypt anything. look, a lot of people talking about edward snowden and "new york times" came out in favor of clem entcy for him. ambassador ginsburg was against that. snowden's massive theft, she writes, justified by

reporter: politicians including the state senator called it an outrage of the students attending the utah state school and words lit up with pathetic, and shame, and how could anyone take the l lunches out of 30 or 40 kids and then throw the lunches away, because their parents had zero or negative balances in the meal accounts. they were thrown away, because once it is served to a s

utah became the 18th state where same-sex marriage is legal when federal judge struck down that state's ban. but today the supreme court blocked any more same-sex marriage weddings in utah while the judge's ruling is being appealed. in the meantime, 900 same-sex marriages in utah are in limbo. jan crawford is our chief legal correspondent. jan? >> reporter: scott, utah officials have been urging the supreme court to put that judge's ruling on hold while they were fighting this thing out on appeals saying he had single-handedly changed the state's marriage laws and it was unclear whether his ruling will even stand. utah voters had approved a ban on same-sex marriage back in 2004 with 66% supporting an amendment to the state's constitution. and now both sides in this case are pointing to last year's supreme court decision. that, of course, was when the justices struck down a federal law that had denied same-sex couples benefits. the court said marriage was a state issue. but the justices have not ruled on whether states like utah and others can continue to ban same- sex marriages and, sco

states. conner boyack is president of the utah legal thing tank. >> states and cities are not at all requiredo help the federal government fulfill various programs and mandates so if we wa wanted to, we could office what the nsa is doing. >> here in utah, the nsa's foes think they found its ultimate weakness. >> opponents of the nsa's mass surveillance have come up with an audacious yet perfectly legal plan to criminal the data center. they want the state of utah to turn off the tap on the nsa's water supply. >> to keep equipment from overheating, the center needs nearly 6 and a half thousand cubic liters a day for a massive cooling system. legally, u utah could stop the flow and the result? >> if the nsa did not have water, it could not cool its servers and, therefore, it would not be able to operate its servers and then they wouldn't be able to mine and store and cyst through all of that data. >> activists in utah plan to put a new cooperation with the nsa abo bill before the legislature in the near fewersift through all >> activists in utah plan to put a new cooperation with the nsa bill b

utah is a very religious state.nd as love continues to burn bright and strong those fears will only dissipate. >> it is possible your marriage could no longer be legal? >> technically, sure it's possible. it would be unprecedented for the state to forcibly divorce 900-plus couples, so i don't fear that, but it is a possibility. >> this is probably an issue we hope to talk about again. and we hope to talk to you again about it. seth, michael, congratulations, and good to talk to you. >> thank you. >>> a federal judge struck down a ban of handguns within the chicago city limbs. he said the ban goes too far. the judge delayed implementing his judgment for now until the city can appeal. chicago's lawmakers passed the ban in 2010 after 900 murders in a two-year period. >> reporter: there is a place on the internet so deep, so dark, so utterly anonymous, it's become a black market bizarre for crime. >> you have everything there. you have hits for higher. you can kill people. you can buy drugs. you can buy people. i mean t

picked off by lawson from utah state.outh wins it 20-10. david phales will be a steal for someone in this year's nfl draft. >> that's the way the ball bounces. i'll be back at 5:00. have a great day. >> still ahead, snow arrives in southern california. why kids wer i'm detecting increasing levels of happiness. ...and the speed readings are off the chart! paradise found! luscious locks. great glittering galaxies. the happiest place on earth keeps getting happier! explore more, and save up to 25% on select nights at a disneyland resort hotel. there's no end in sight. i'm going to need more time. >> all right, not quite a winter wonderland, but one park in southern california was trying to come close. tons of frosty snow yesterday at a park in orange county. adults and kids alike were able to sled, make snowmen and have old-fashioned snowball fights. they even had 75-foot sled runs. crafts and games and a campfire. it was all for the city's snow day event. looks like fun. we need some real rain. >> in shorts there. >> yeah.

>> the couples are in a legal limbo. 1,000 couples have been married so far in utah. a statet's very conservati e conservative. the supreme court has punted. we don't want to have 5,000 more couples get married because the law is not clear here. key thing to remember. utah as you know better than i is a very conservative and very republican state. rad right now there are 17 states that allow gay marriage. one thing they have in common, barack obama won all 17 of those states. to go from allowing gay marriage to only blue states to go to utah, a very republican, would a big leap. it's an interesting issue. the supreme court in june punted. they said they made up legal ease but they made it legal in california. not controversial. utah, alabama, georgia, much different. the polls show that gay marriage is more popular in blue states but still the majority of republicans are not for marriage equality yet and that makes this difficult for the courts to deal with. >> thank you as always. >> thanks, guys. >>> up next, after a decade of war and 4,500 americans killed, a section of ir

that case is working its way through the appeals court that covers the state of utah and several otherates. it could get to the supreme court. it could be the challenge that a lot of people are waiting for. does the united states constitution guarantee a right to marriage for everyone? that's the issue in this case. and, it is now working its way through the courts. it could take quite some time. it is now in the court of appeals. it may wind up in the supreme court. >> fascinating, jeffrey toobin, thanks so much. >>> still to come in the "newsroom," you could call it the battle over benefits. congress and the white house getting ready to face off overextending unemployment insurance. kris christine romans is in new york. >>> the checks are about $300 a week and the fight still heating up. that will be the big battle for the week. i'll have that right after the break. ♪ ♪ so you can get out of your element. so you can explore a new frontier and a different discipline. get two times the points on travel and dining at restaurants from chase sapphire preferred. so you can be inspired by g

picked off by lawson from utah state.me. 104 yards, including the 30-yard strike to jordan math out. david phales will be a steal for someone in this year's nfl draft. >>> to golf. tiger, ninth hole of the day. approaches finds the water. shot 79. 7-over for the tournament matching his highest round ever in the states. misses the cut. shot of the day. david lin. despite three double bogeys, no problem on 13. holds out for an eagle. everyone chasing gary woodland. 8-under on the tournament. the put on 16. leads by one coming into today's final round. and that's the way the ball bounces. i'm mike shumann and i will be pack don't at 5:00. have a great day. >> up next, snow arrives in southern california. why kids were able to play with the special treat. [ female announcer ] wherever morning brings you, bring the energy you need. nature valley soft-baked oatmeal squares. softly baked, made with hearty oatmeal and a drizzle of cinnamon. they're nature valley's take on a morning classic. because when you keep going, the mornin

she has pending before her utah state officials' requests there be a stay against same-sex marriage whilenderlying case about the issue of same-sex smarnlg in referendum passed in 2004 by 66% of voters while that plays out. it is interesting to note -- she signed on to the prop 8 case that went on in california which was similar where -- you know, folks had gone to the polls and voted and passed a ban on same-sex marriage or codified marriage as one man and one woman. the supreme court decided that on technicality grounds last year. but she sign order to the dissent which was authored by justice kennedy. i thought it was interesting, he said -- by not respecting that initiative of the people it passed which is now we got to the place in utah. it says, in tend with the court fails to grasp or accept is the basic premise of the initiative process. it is this. the essence of democracy is that the right to make law rests in the people and flows to the government, not the other way around. do you think how she felt in that case will influence this one? >> look, it could be. this will be every

utah or anywhere. today the united states supreme court did put at least a temporary halt to same-sex marriages in utah while the state appeals the overturning of its gay marriage ban. you will recall that the overturning of utah's gay marriage ban sent hundreds of couples racing to their local clerk's offices and left utah with nearly 1,000 married gay couples before today's stay. the supreme court's stay, the decision to sort of hit the pause button, does not invalidate those utah marriages. it does not overturn the ruling that allowed those marriages in the first place. it does not even hint at what may ultimately become of same-sex marriage in utah or around the country. it simply says pause. it simply says no more gay marriages in utah until we figure this thing out. so no utah lawmakers stood up and said no to the tyranny of federal judges. no utah lawmakers stood up for the people in the face of the satanic marriage hordes. there has been no nullification of marriage of any kind in utah. but still, the guy who said he wouldn't eat until that happened is eating. utah's most demonstrably anti-gay

this is potentially devastating to public land states, including utah, wyoming, alaska, montana, and many other states, especially those throughout the west. the problem is that america's public land states and counties can't wait any longer. this program must be funded, and it must be funded in this bill. now, here's a letter from a commissioner in paiute county, utah. this commissioner states as follows. he says, "pilt not being funded in 2014 will have a devastating impact on all counties in the west. but it's particularly devastating to a county the size of paiute, with 74% of paiute county under federal control, $225,000 of our $1 million budget, almost one-fourth, comes in the form of pilt payments from the federal government. without this funding, we will be in the midst of one of the biggest disasters to hit paiute county in years. we've been scraping and scraping to try and figure out how we can fund a fourth deputy sheriff in our county, and we thought we had it figured out until this $225,000 evaporated from our county's revenue. at the present time, it is virtually impossi

no more same-sex weddings in utah for the foreseeable future. the state prevailed in a battle that it had lost two lower courts ago. jeffrey toobin joins me with the details. supreme court weighing in on something we had been waiting on, saying, utah, put the brakes on. a federal judge may not have done the right thing? >> well, the appeals process is going to go forward. it will go forward with same-sex marriages banned in utah. same-sex marriage has been legal since a federal district court judge two weeks ago decided that the constitution required utah to allow gay people to get married. the court of appeals for the tenth circuit did not disturb that ruling but just a few minutes ago. the united states supreme court unanimously, all nine justices, said, there should be a stay. this ruling should be on hold while the united states court of appeals decides the case. that could take weeks or months. >> what is it that the supreme court wants the federal court to re-examine. >> the issue here is a really profound one. this is really the big case that a lot

. >> western clarke and brandon marks were married in the state of utah. now they are in a state of ambiguity. you definitely feel like you are in limbo. the pair who raise two children are among 1300 gay and lesbian couples to marry after a judge struck down utah's laws against same-sex marriage. the state and community didn't expect it. it was out of the blue. >> two weeks later of the u.s. government got the supreme court to halt the marriage. same-sex marriages already performed would not be recognised as legal. the fromming recognises the marriages. utah is a politically conservative state. two-thirds of you tarns belong to the mormon reliage jog. into mormon doctrine emphasis the traditional family. church leaders are opposed to gay marriage. they see this as the equivalent of pulling a book out of the bottom wall of the hour, the wall would fall. >> mormon families are dealing with a ruling striking down polygamy rule. some fundamentalists practice it. there's confusion about whether polygamy is part of the plan. >> if same-sex marriage were permanen

>>> a utah state senator is calling it bullying and an abuse of power. salt lake city had their school lunches pulled from their hands and thrown in the garbage this week all because their parents were said to be behind in their lunch money accounts. meantime, the cafeteria manager and a district supervisor have been placed on leave while the salt lake city school district investigates. nbc's mike die eastboutaibbi ha >> reporter: politicians called it an outrage. parents of children attending salt lake city's uente elementary school have lit up facebook with words like pathetic, disgusting, shamed. how can anyone take the lunches out of the hands of 30 to 40 kids and throw those lunches away because their parents had zero or negative balances in their student meal accounts? food thrown away, the school said, because once it's served to the student it can't be given to anyone else, student like fifth grader sophie yeah. >> she said since you don't have money in your account, you can't get lunch. >> there were lots of tears and it was pretty upsetting for

the utah marriages that took place, the state of utah has said they will not honor all of them.ot honor any of them. i think it just indicates we talk about same-sex marriage. i sometimes talk about it as if it's only heading in one direction, but it's not. there are two steps forward, one step back. >> we talked about this over the break at "saturday night live" hiring an african-american female? >> i hope she has a great season. there's a lot of pressure out there on her. but my advice to her would be only play white characters for the first season. only do white characters. don't let them make you do a black character. ask for a judy dent sketch or something. >> i have to follow on that? it's a little bit of a different story. the utah marriages that took place, the state of utah has said they will not honor all of them. they will not honor any of them. i think it just indicates we talk about same-sex marriage. i sometimes talk about it as if it's only heading in one direction, but it's not. there are two steps forward, one step back. this was a step back. >> great to have yo

utah. that state says it will not recognize gay marriages now that the supreme court has put them on hold theremore than 1,000 same-sex couples have wed in utah since december 20th, when a lower court judge ruled the state's marriage ban was unconstitutional, but the status of those marriages has been in question as the state appeals that ruling. now, the governor's office says they're reverting back to the old rules until this can all be resolved. >> we're now frozen in time until we get further direction from the courts. we are not commenting on the legal status of those marriages. that's for the courts to decide. >> it's a devastating blow to these families. the state of utah is not harmed at all by recognizing the marriages, but the harm upon these families and their children is beyond calculation. >> it's actually really complicated, the legal situation there. they're not rolling back anything that some of these now-married couples have picked up. if they had same-sex benefits, if they changed their names, they're not reversing the actions already taken. they're just not going to implemei

administrative step by the court has cast doubt on same-sex marriages that have been performed in the state of utah. and the governor has announced that the state will not residence these marriages pending additional court action. in the meantime, i am confirming today that for purposes of federal law, these marriages will be recognized as law of and considered eligible for all federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages. these families should not be asked to endure uncertainty regarding their status as the litigation unfolds. in days ahead, we will continue to coordinate across the federal government to ensure the timely provision of every federal benefit to which utah couples and couples throughout the country are entitled. regardless of whether they are in same-sex or opposite-sex marriages. and we will continue to provide additional information as soon as -- so a very interesting statement there from eric holder. and suzanne and joe, it basically puts the federal government in a position right now where it is willing to recognize these same-sex marriages in utah. while utah m

court made that california ruling on procedural issues and avoided a decision as to whether state bans like utah are unconstitutional. most legal experts expected the issue over state bans would come back to the supreme court, but the speed with which this issue is moving through the court system is surprising. 17 states and the district of columbia have legalized same-sex marriage. the issue focuses on state laws including utah's that ban it. >> this is something to watch this year. thank you. >>> the deep freeze in the midwest and parts of the northeast that we have been talking about has a lot of folks thinking about heating and the energy needed to create it. ali velshi is back. he's going to talk about it. i got all jumpy there. talking about this and much more on his program, "real money," at the top of the hour. what is the energy landscape in this country? >> it's very, very dynamic. over the past five years u.s. oil production has surged more than 50%. the u.s. now produces 8 million barrels of oil per day. the energy department projected it will increase by about 10%. 800,000 barrels a