What did he say . Reporter very emotional chavez telling people here in cuba, taking the air in cuba as well, announced he has a recurrence of cancer, that hell be returning to cuba immediately to undergo surgery. This is his third cancer that we knew of before the elections in october in venezuela. He said hed been cured of cancer. That the doctors essentially saved his life. It turned out that that information was incorrect and hugo chavez in a very emotional address tonight to the people of venezuela said he needed to return to cuba immediately to undergo surgery and that his life is essentially on the life. He said goodbye to venezuela, said the support of the Vice President and hugo chavez perhaps looking at mortality in the face. I think its interesting that he said goodbye to the people of cuba. Should we be reading anything into that . Reporter i think absolutely. Its been a year and a half where hugo chavez has really spent more time in cuba perhaps than in venezuela. Months and months in cuba fighting cancer. Some of the speculation flying around this time about his health and he consistently has said that he was receiving very good treatment, that he was recovering. Again, it seems like those reports were not accurate, that hugo chavez is someone whos very, very ill, facing a third bout of cancer in the same region, pelvic region. This is talking to doctors who will tell you that many vital organs are there. Even in the early stages of cancer, the odds of surviving get lower and lower. We know very little about chavezs cancer. But we know its reoccurring. Certainly seems his health is in a very grave state here. I should say saying goodbye to the people of venezuela and then going to cuba. Patrick, thank you. Another breaking story for you. Getting details here at cnn about the kidnapping and rescue of an american citizen in afghanistan. A doctor. We dont know much yet only when the u. S. Military is telling us from the war zone. We do know the american doctors name is dr. Dilip joseph. U. S. Military officials tell us he was kidnapped by taliban insurgents on wednesday near kabul. Today, american and afghan troops working together found and rescued him from taliban captivity. Well let you know more details as we get them in here on cnn. Egypts opposition isnt backing down, despite president Mohamed Morsis cancellation of a decree. His critics called it a power grab. Theyre opposed to referendums scheduled next weekend on egypts new constitution. And now the 2012 winner of the Heisman Memorial trophy is johnny manziel. He is known as johnny football. And tonight he made history. Texas a m quarterback johnmy manziel won footballs prestigious heisman trophy. Hes the first freshman ever to win the award. Manziel led a m to a 102 record including a monumental victory over previously undefeated alabama. Heres what else were working on. On nba legend sits down to talk with me about his incredible life and facing death. All of a sudden, you realize theres a clock up there with your name on it. Blazing up under the space needle. What can seattle expect now that pots legal there . We get the lowdown from someone who knows in amsterdam. A baldwin in trouble with the law again. He comes on to this show to explain himself. I want to do the right thing. And the most popular korean pop star on the planet getting heat for some hateful words about u. S. Soldiers. You can divide americans into two camps. Either you consider it the illegal drug of choice for slackers or youd like to see it legalized. Sell it, tax it, make it a sign of our valued civil liberties, maybe even a treatment for illness. Were talking, of course, about marijuana, pot, whatever you want to call it. Voters in washington and colorado legalized it, Recreational Use last month. And washingtons law took effect on thursday. But when americans think about legal drug use, most people dont think seattle. Think they about amsterdam, right . Hollands famous port city has about 780,000 people. Drugs there are technically illegal but theyve been tolerated since the 1970s. Seattle is a port city, too, a little smaller than amsterdam. As of this week, marijuana is legal across the whole state in amounts up to one ounce. What can seattle and the rest of american expect to happen in areas with legalized pot . I asked an amsterdam journalist. They dont have to fear any increased thats my experience here in amsterdam. A lot of foreigners are coming to buy its not heroin or cocaine. Its cannabis, marijuana. There are strong regulations, people who are under 18 cant buy it. The mayor checks every coffee shops every year. The police are checking it. They arent allowed to sell any more than five grams per customer. So are you saying that its an irrational fear that they have, that its going to increase the crime rate, that its going to be violent and theres an undercover factor yes. You think thats an irrational fear . Yeah. I think its an irrational fear. My experience here in holland, when you forbid it, people want to have the drug. Everybody knows when you have strong regulations at the coffee shop and the police are going to check that regular times and they dont sell it to anyone below 18 and they dont sell alcohol, in amsterdam, its worse. Theyre reducing the number of coffee shops. Thats now the problem here in holland. But smoking of marijuana and weed is dont give much trouble here in amsterdam, on the street also. You dont have a big problem with people just openly smoking marijuana on the street . Its not a big issue . Well, when marijuana people who smoke marijuana on the streets, theyre mostly quiet and they dont give much trouble. The most trouble is for people that gave a lot of discussion here in holland, people who are using alcohol on the street, those people gave a lot of trouble and get noisy and give trouble to other people on the street, most foreigners or tourists who smoke a joint on the street, they are quiet. They dont give much trouble here on the streets. So if you use marijuana, in your experience, in amsterdam, its not a drug that causes people to be violent . Alcohol causes people to be more violent and rowdy than marijuana . Yeah, yeah, yeah, thats what the politicians say here in holland. That is the view from holland. Tomorrow at 7 00 eastern, were going to get the point of view from seattle. City Council President sally clarke joins me to talk about how her city is preparing for legalized pot. Well have her. Make sure you watch for reaction tomorrow at 7 00 eastern. The Supreme Court agreeing to take up one of the biggest issues of this generation, samesex marriage. For those wanting to tie the knot or the ones that already have, whats really at stake here . Ill talk with one of those couples next. Two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. Bp has paid over twentythree billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. Today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. And bps also committed to america. We support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. Were working to fuel america for generations to come. Our commitment has never been stronger. To the number 1 club in the world. The potential of Manchester United unlocked. Nyse euronext. Unlocking the worlds potential. Music is a universal language. But when i was in an accident. I was worried the Health Care System spoke a language all its own with unitedhealthcare, i got help that fit my life. Information on my phone. Connection to doctors who get where im from. And tools to estimate what my care may cost. So i never missed a beat. Were more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. Thats health in numbers. Unitedhealthcare. Some have called it the civil rights issue of our generation. Now this legal challenge lies in the hands of the u. S. Supreme court. The high court has announced it will hear two constitution proposal challenges to federal and state laws. Joining me now from new york, joanne shane and mary jo kennedy. They have been together for 29 years and they were married in july of last year. The first day samesex marriage was legal in new york state. Thank you guys for joining us. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having us. Before i get into all this, did you ever think in your lifetime from the attorneys who are presenting this case, who have been fighting this case, a liberal and a conservative and a republican. And they both say it is a civil rights issue, its not a left versus right thing, it is a civil rights issue and its a civil rights issue of our generation. We absolutely agree with that. This is it. This is the civil rights issue of our generation. And it is so because when a group of people are denied the same rights that other people have because of who they are and who they love, its not right. And these are our civil rights that were talking about. What do you say to people who where is the disconnect here . Why cant some people just see that equal rights mean equal rights for everyone . I dont really understand the reason why. And all we can do is to be out, to be open and to hope that people open their hearts and minds to see that Marriage Equality and equal rights is what anybody would want. And were not taking anything away from anybody. And were not asking for more rights. Were just asking for the same rights that other people not more we want what the rights everyone has. No more and no less. If you dont believe in gay marriage, dont get gay married. Absolutely. Did you guys ever think in your lifetime that the Supreme Court would be taking up this issue . Absolutely not. It was something not in our wildest dreams did we think that. I want to talk about this. Mary jo you wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Times talking about the majority of new yorkers who favor marriage. Why did you feel it was important to do that . I think its very important to get the word out there, for people to understand what gay people are like, that we have the same sorts of loving relationships and to get people familiar with it and more comfortable. The question you asked about why some people are opposed, i think people just dont know what its all about. And also people get a little confused around religious issues. Its really not a religious issue. Were asking for civil marriage, to have the same legal rights as other couples. So its very much a civil right issue and its very much a just an issue of love. We want the same recognition that other couples have. Youve been together for 29 years. You have a 24yearold daughter. Uhhuh. I hope youre together for a very long time. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you so much. This is all in the hands of the Supreme Court. Next, well talk with a woman who can argue before those justices. An inside look next. All Energy Development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural Gas Producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. Across america, these technologies protect air by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions. Protect water through conservation and selfcontained recycling systems. And protect land by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. Americas natural gas. Domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives. Thats smarter power today. With odor free aspercreme. Powerful medicine relieves pain fast, with no odor. So all you notice is relief. Aspercreme. 5 , thats the number of cases the Supreme Court argues to hear agrees to hear out of all the ones appealed to it. And now samesex debate will be part of that small group of cases. But the questions are swirling now. Who will the court hear arguments from . Will it come down strongly and clearly for or against gay marriage or will it rule narrowly, sending the cases back to lower courts for further deliberation . Attorney karen conte is here. What does this mean . The court that the court chose to hear these cases . Well, as you said, very few get heard. Court can decide not to hear most of them. And the reason that a court is deciding this is number one, theres a split in states on how they ruled on this case, on these cases in the past. So theyre going to have to decide these disputes among the states. Second, its a really important issue. Its a ripe issue. This is an issue weve all been waiting on. What do you think this issue is . Some people say it is a civil rights issue. You said you dont believe it is a sexual preference issue. I dont. Its a constitutional right, to me. In my view and in the view of the Supreme Court in the past. 14th amendment says you cant discriminate against people under the equal protection clause. And gender has always been something discriminate against. I cant treat you differently because youre a man versus a woman. Well, this defense of marriage act is exactly what the defense of marriage act does. It denies samesex marriage couples the rights for tax benefits, federal Health Benefits and the like. So if youre married to a man, you dent get the same right ifs youre a woman married to a man. That is gender discrimination, in my view, not sexual preference. And youve argued in front of the Supreme Court. I have. You said in 1990 . 1990. Nerveracking . Very nerveracking. These issues are very important. The justices are very prepared. Theyre very intelligent. And theres a lot at stake. So this is going to be a very interesting argument. Now we can actually listen to them online. Having argued in front of the Supreme Court, how do you think theyre going to rule . Well, i think we have a fairly conservative court. But its kind of divided 50 50. Its going to be a very close call. However, looking at the case precedent in the past and looking at what i think they have to do with this law, i think theyre going to have to strike down the defense of marriage this is not going to do what a lot of people say. A lot of people say its going to make gay marriage mandatory in every state. The states will still have the right to decide whether they want ga marriage. But the federal government didnt discriminate in giving out benefits. If you do get married, will you have to have the same tax breaks and benefits exactly. Tax benefits, family medical leave act if you work for the federal government all of those same benefits. Its interesting that the Obama Administration is not defending the law with the justice department. Is that significant . Its very significant. Its pretty unusual. It happens once in a while. Obamas come out and said, weve looked at this. Its a legal issue that weve looked at and it is an unconstitutional statute so were not going to defend it. Could be a political thing, too. What does that mean for gay people if the defense of marriage act is struck down in this country . It just means that were going to have availability of benefits on the federal level. We have them on the state level for those states that have samesex marriage. But its not going to make it illegal not to have samesex marriage. It will be a start in the right direction for full rights for gay people. For selfesteem and for as gay people say, pride, it would also mean a lot as well . Its the first step. And i think its the right decision. Thank you, karen. Very interesting. Argued in front of the Supreme Court. Good stuff. Next here on cnn an nba legend sits down to talk with me about his incredible life and facing death. All of a sudden you realize theres a clock up there with your name on it. Y six a month okay, come with me were gonna save you money. With Straight Talk at walmart, you get unlimited talk, text and data for only 45 a month per phone. Would we get the same coverage . Same coverage on americas best networks. You saved 146. 76 by switching to Straight Talk. Awesome now you can afford to share your allowance with me. Get the seasons hottest smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy s2 and get Straight Talk with unlimited data for just 45 a month from americas gift headquarters. Walmart. From americas gift headquarters. Walmart. Music is a universal language. But when i was in an accident. I was worried the Health Care System spoke a language all its own with unitedhealthcare, i got help that fit my life. Information on my phone. Connection to doctors who get where im from. And tools to estimate what my care may cost. So i never missed a beat. Were more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. Thats health in numbers. Unitedhealthcare. Why should saturday night have all the fun . Get two times the points on dining in restaurants, with chase sapphire preferred. Good afternoon. Chase sapphire. push button tone this is stacy from springfield. Oh whoa. Hello . Yes. I didnt realize id be talking to an actual person. You dont need to press 0, im here. Reach a person, not a prompt whenever you call chase sapphire. [ male announcer ] the way it moves. The way it cleans. Everything about the oralb power brush is simply revolutionary. Oralb Power Brushes oscillate, rotate and even pulsate to gently loosen and break up that sticky plaque with more brush movements than manual brushes and even up to 50 more than leading Sonic Technology brushes for a superior clean. Oralb Power Brushes. Go to oralb. Com for the latest offers. Lets get you up to speed on the headlines right now. Its our top story this hour. Very serious medical concerns for the president of venezuela. Hugo chavez is immediately returning to cuba for surgery. He said in a National Address today that his cancer has returned for the third time in 18 months. Also today, chavez spoke in very grave terms about his health saying for the first time that the Vice President will take over. He also said goodbye to the people of venezuela. Chavez says hell return to cuba tomorrow. Egypts president will push ahead with a vote on the new constitution despite furious opposition. Mohamed morsi tried to defuse the controversy today by canceling a widely hate