announcer: from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning. welcome to today on a wednesday morning. i m matt lauer, and savannah just asked me if that 17-year-old is single. i m just doing you don t think the teenage girls of america want to know? you were asking for others, okay. fine. well, yeah. i think so. good morning, everyone. we ll move on to weightier matters, and the question before the supreme court this morning. can the government deny benefits to same-sex couples who are married in states where it is legal? the historic arguments are sparking some intense debate and passion on both sides. at one point on tuesday, police had to separate demonstrators. nbc s justice correspondent, pete williams, is outside the court this morning. pete, good morning to you. reporter: matt, good morning on a blustery morning here. it s a lawyer for house republicans who will be here at t
one hurt his knee and elbow. another suffered smoke inhalation but minor. the evacuees are at a house nearby where the red cross is able to place them in temporary housing. we understand that one man has been detained but we don t know if he will be arrested for arson. we did speak with the owner of the two buildings. he side he s not gonna be able to afford to rebuild. his insurance only covers $1.5 million and he says it will take more than that to rebuild. so right now, the residents lives are up in the air. they have no idea where they will be living for the next week, month and year. tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. happening right now, round two for the u.s. supreme court on the issue of same-sex marriage. this morning, the court takes up the federal defense of marriage act known as doma. kyla campbell is outside of the supreme court building right now to tell us what this case is all about. kyla? reporter: dave, those oral arguments get underway. they are sched
only recognizes traditional couples of a man and woman who are married and a lot of people are pushing to have them recognize same sex couples. it would extend about 11,000 federal benefits to same sex couples that live in states that recognize their marriage. this entire case is based on a woman who s partner of more than 40 years died. she had to pay more than $360,000 in taxes to inherit her same sex couples estate. it s just unfair any way. why should i be in the position of losing my house where as similar situated opposite sex couple doesn t have that problem. it s awful. reporter: now some crowds people who lined up to get inside and steal some of the 250-300 sceatas were allotted to members of the public they are starting to get in. and get their seats. meanwhile you will see protestors, the crowds grow here outside the supreme court just as you did yesterday. the oral arguments inside the supreme court they get under way in about an hour from now. and they are sc
there is some 40,000 children in california. according to the red brief that live with same sex parents. the voice of those children is important. you want us to step in and render a decision based on an assessment of the facts of the this institution which is newer than cell phones or the internet? reporter: wednesday the justices will shift focus to the defense of marriage act. does congress have the right to say one couple has certain rights but another does not. the justice department will not be defending the federal law known as doma here at the u.s. supreme court all back court. back to you pam. we posted the full transcript of the prop 8 oral arguments just click on the same sex marriage tab. a contra costa county sheriffs deputy crashes a patrol car while responding to a car. it happened at 1:00 this morning in richmond parkway. the deputies swerved to avoid crashing into a car which caused his patrol car to flip on its side into the center divide. the ch