0 >> they don't. >> thank you, sir. and stick with us, we're going to visit the weather channel's mike seidel, he joins us in indianapolis, where it's currently minus 11, but it feels like it's negative 32 degrees. again, that's coming up in just about 25 minutes, so stick around. we are also following this breaking news from the supreme court this morning, the nation's highest court has put marriage equality on hold in utah. marriages there began two weeks ago, but state attorneys asked for the court to issue a temporary halt. nbc justice correspondent pete williams joins me now from washington to break down what this means, the ramifications, pete, good morning. >> of course, the court has expressed no view whatsoever on the issue of marriage equality. what it has done here is said same-sex marriages should stop while the issue of marriage equality or whether same-sex marriages can be constitutionally allowed, while that continues to work its way through the courts. that issue is pending now before the 10th circuit court of appeals. now, same-sex marriage stops in utah. i think there were probably around 1,000 of them that were performed after the judge issued his ruling in late december, and they will now remain -- no more will be granted, no more will be allowed while this issue is on appeal. it will probably be argued on the 10th circuit within the next couple of months and a decision i would expect late spring, early summer, thomas? >> pete williams joining us from washington. pete, great to see you, sir, thank you. >> you bet. congress is getting back to work today with an ambitious agenda ahead, but will lawmakers get any of it done? topping that to do list is an extension of long-term unemployment benefits, also the confirmation of janet yellen to be the next fed chair, along with the democrats push to raise the minimum wage and immigration fight for reform. this afternoon, senators will hold a procedural vote on a proposal by dean heller and democrat jack reid that would offer a temporary extension of jobless benefits, but republicans are signaling that in our society, catch them, and raise them back up, not be a nesting area for what we've been seeing for so many people in the country, who have now had to face long-term unemployment like they have. but, if we talk specifically about the short-term deal and if it were somehow to pass, it's only for an extended period of 90 days, three months, and on top of the 1.3 million that lost their benefits, there's an additional 1.9 million americans, bringing that total number to 3.2 million. so if nothing is done by next december, that means almost 4 million americans have lost their benefits. how concerned -- >> that's right. >> how concerned should americans be about the potential of that long-term deal not even being in the discussions right now? >> well, they should be definitely concerned about it. i mean, they should be a major concern about congressional dysfunction. with unemployment, what you're seeing is people are now on it for a long time, largely because the economy isn't creating jobs. and what people understand is that even though the stock market is at a record, folks who earn their living, about 50% of people don't own stocks, their wages are where they were 10 to 15 years ago, so this is where democrats and republicans have to, i think, let the rhetoric go a bit, and find a way to start investing so that we can create some additional employment and try to bring wages up. by the way, i also think we should be raising the minimum wage. it's $7.25. you have somebody working full-time, they make $13,500 a year for full-time work, and you can't pay your bills with that. >> let me ask you about that, we've seen corporations in this country, another banner year for them, we see wall street doing incredibly well, yet we still have the issue with the unemployment rate in this country and a federal minimum wage at $7.25. as you point out, those drastic numbers, when they add up at a yearly wage up to $15,000 a year, that's nothing. so, how do you expect -- >> right. >> -- the democrats to be able to utilize this, not only as a message to get to the midterms, but as a logical means to an end, to provide americans who are making less than what most people would consider to be fair wages? how do you propose getting that -- how do you propose coming to that agreement and finding that magic number? >> well, we've got to push it, and i think at a certain point, $7.25 just doesn't pass the smell test, and people respect work. you know, when somebody is working full time on a hard job, those jobs are tough and they are only making $14,500 a year. i think most people recognize that just doesn't cut it, so we've got to raise that rate. frankly, i think we should tie it to inflation like we did in vermont with a republican governor and democratic legislature. incidentally, that takes pressure off the safety net programs, as well, so that would lift some out of poverty. it's not like you can magically increase wealth by increasing wages, but you have to have an economy that creates jobs and you can't have an economy that's dependent on a race to a bottom of who gets the lowest wages. >> congressman peter welch of vermont, thanks for joining me, i appreciate it. >> thank you. coming up in this hour, developing news out of the running, why liz cheney is scrapping her senate campaign. also ahead, hillary clinton's shadow campaign, these new efforts that are happening behind the scenes to put the former first lady in the oval office. that's also the topic of today's big question, hillary clinton's potential 2016 candidacy, could be enthusiasm fizzle. yeah, could people think she comes on a little too hot, too early? weigh in on twitter or facebook. i'm nathan and i quit smoking with chantix.