0 get three free. also season tickets to the marlins. hash tag joseph a banks promo. that's it for today. thanks for watching. we'll see you tomorrow. >> thanks very much. happening now, did president obama mislead the american public at the cost of his health care law? officials now concede some people across the country could see their insurance premiums rise. while crowds descend on the u.s. supreme court the battle over same sex marriage gets personal for a cnn contributor. she'll open up about the moment that seared her heart. and she could become the first female and openly gay mayor of america's largest city but could her self-described big emotions get in the way of her ambitions? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." let's begin with breaking news coming into "the situation room" right now. the defense for the accused colorado movie theater shooter james holmes is now offering a guilty plea in exchange for life in prison without the possibility of parole. according to documents just filed with the court. so far the prosecution in the case has not accepted the offer because it still may be seeking the death penalty. if it decides against the death penalty the case could be resolved next week. 12 people were killed and 58 others were wounded in the july, 2012 shooting. let's discuss what is going on with our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin. is this first of all a surprise that the defense would seek a guilty plea to avoid the death sentence? >> not really. the goal in these cases for the defense is to keep the client from being executed. this is not a whodunit. everybody knows that james holmes committed these horrible murders. the question is what punishment he will get. if they can get life in prison they will consider this a victory. >> would the prosecution accept this kind of guilty plea and avoid the death sentence? >> well, that's the question now. there is an interesting precedent for this. just last year jared lee loughner who committed horrible murders in tucson and grievously murdered congresswoman gabby giffords was given life in prison without parole. obviously both loughner and holmes have terrible mental problems. their trials would be long inquiries into whether they were insane, the insanity defense is a complex, difficult area of the law. this would give both sides a chance to short circuit the trial, let the victims avoid a trial but would take the death penalty off the table. >> normally in a situation like this, horrendous crime, mass murder, the defendant's lawyers now seeking to avoid the death sentence wouldn't the prosecution go to the victims' families, survivors, and ask them what they think? >> absolutely. this is a big change in how prosecutors work. largely since the oklahoma city bombing where the victims played a very important part in the whole process and talking to the victims and they don't necessarily have veto power over decisions but certainly to consult with victims before any big decision like this is made is certainly something the department of justice is doing. that may be one reason the issue isn't quite resolved yet because they need to at least discuss it with all of the victims' families. >> that would be the right thing to do as the prosecution. we have more to discuss later this hour. were americans misled about the cost of obama care? the president has long pledged his health care law would reduce premiums and raise benefits. now the obama administration is conceding that some people, yes, some people will have to pay more. potentially a lot more for health insurance coverage. explain the latest. >> wolf, these were some comments reportedly made by health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius yesterday in an off camera meet ing with some journalists. she said according to her aide she was trying to explain some people with skimpy insurance plans will have to essentially trade up to get better coverage under obama care that there may be more cost associate the with that. republicans who have long held obama care is an entitlement that will break the country's bank are trying to say that the obama administration is admitting americans will pay more for their coverage. it was one of president obama's biggest promises about his signature health care reform law. >> premiums are going to be lower. if you already have health insurance we will lower your premiums. >> reporter: now the president's health and human services secretary kathleen sybebelius sd that may not be the case for some americans. those who currently have lower cost so-called catastrophic plans who will have to purchase more comprehensive policies under obama care. these folks will be moving into a really fully insured product for the first time and so there may be a higher cost associated with getting into that market. she said this according to "the wall street journal." now republicans are pouncing. on twitter speaker boehner and michele bachmann seized on the comment. so did senator orrin hatch using the hash tag broken promises. a new study estimates insurance companies will pay on average 32% more for claims on individual insurance plans because of obama care. some states fare worse. the report says california will see a 62% increase by 2017. wisconsin and ohio, an 80% increase. those costs the report says will likely be passed on to consumers. but the obama administration is criticizing the accuracy of the study saying it ignores a number of elements of the law that are expected to bring down costs. the white house is also taking aim at the group that conducted the study. >> well i think you're setting a study that i believe was conducted by a health insurance company. that's critical of the affordable care act. so that part i'm not particularly surprised about. >> reporter: the society of actuaries contracted with a subsidiary of united health group to crunch the numbers for the report, wolf, but the society, itself, is nonpartisan and it says it stands by the numbers and the analysis. i will say, wolf, i spoke with an independent health policy analyst who said he doesn't think the report is by ased in the way it has been alleged by the white house but does think certainly the administration has a point that some factors have been left out of the analysis. >> the dispute is only just beginning. briannea, thanks very much. the details on health care costs come from accounts of a briefing that the health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius held with reporters. let's drill a bit deeper right now. the author of the article entitled "sebelius, some could see insurance premiums rise." thanks for coming n you were not at the briefing. one of your colleagues from "the wall street journal" was there and that colleague recorded the briefing and then gave you the tape is that right? >> that is the case, yes. >> what exactly did she say as far as premiums going up for a lot of americans across the country? >> the important thing is she spoke about premiums going up for some americans and in particular folks who have skimpy insurance plans right now and might get more generous coverage. this might seem like a little bit of an obvious point that if people are getting more they might have to pay more. but it is not really something the administration has focused on so far. so that's certainly created a lot of controversy. the other thing she pointed out was some people who currently have lower premiums perhaps because of insurance market practices like younger men might see their premiums increase even as perhaps older people or women see theirs decrease. they are acknowledging that some people might see their premiums go up. there are certain other things they say might help offset this like subsidies from the federal government to pay the cost of premiums but we are expecting to see rate filings in the next few weeks that could give the answer one way or the other that premiums for some people are going to go up. >> as the senator, later as a candidate and then as president the president said premiums generally would go down. did he ever leave a loophole that for some people premiums would go up. >> the administration is putting a lot of confidence in the idea that competition particularly through the new insurance exchanges will help keep rates in check and then again pointed out that people might be paying less for their health care particularly if they get subsidies toward the cost of their coverage. but the premiums issue is certainly one that people notice. they're paying a lot of attention because in the early days of the insurance exchanges what people see whether they feel like they're getting sticker struck could have a really big impact on whether they buy them. of course as you know, if not enough healthy people buy premiums get higher for the sicker people. >> because then everybody has to pay more. but as you know, even though all of obama care is not into effect, only a small percentage is in effect, a lot more in 2014, 2015, and the years to come, some people already say they're paying a significantly higher premium already. is that the result of obama care? >> premiums have been going up for a long time for a wide range of factors but certainly what a lot of the attention this week has been focused on is what will happen when the really big provisions that change the insurance market fundamentally kick in next year. those include outlawing for example some of the insurance market practices. the insurers have kept premiums down for a while. >> to be precise the audio tape of kathleen sebelius, she was speaking on the record, not off the record or on background or anything like that. >> no. >> this was an on-the-record briefing. >> yes. >> thanks very much. up next drama at the u.s. supreme court as the chief justice john roberts challenges the president of the federal defense of marriage act. she's been out of office now for several years. she's out of a job at fox news. but sarah palin has a new message for those who think she is out of the political game. her new video and a lot more coming up right here in "the situation room." 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[ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. bob will retire when he's 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. another dramatic day in and around the united states supreme court as the justices consider another landmark case on same sex marriage. this time the defense of marriage act. the federal law which defines marriage as between a man and a woman and denies many benefits to same sex couples. joining us our chief political analyst gloria borger and senior analyst jeffrey toobin once again who was inside the supreme court during the hearings. i want to play -- they've released the audiotapes of the arguments. here is the chief justice of the united states, what he had to say about the president's role in all of this. >> he has made a determination that executing the law by enforcing the terms is unconstitutional. i don't see why he doesn't have the courage of his convictions and execute not only the statute but do it constituent with his view of the constitution rather than saying oh, we'll wait until the supreme court tells us we have no choice. section 3 of the defense of marriage act is unconstitutional. that is a position broadly speaking that a lot of republicans agree with. it's not unprecedented for an administration to take a position. it is a position that has a lot of support from people in both parties. >> gloria, what position has all of this put the president in right now? >> this is really a political argument they're having. what is extraordinary to me and you can say whether it is extraordinary is that you have the chief justice of the united states and justice scalia also criticizing the president essentially saying look. just because you don't like a law doesn't mean you don't -- you can't enforce it or that you should stand up in court and not try and enforce it. he is like who are you to choose even though you're president of the united states? historically it is easy to see what has happened. the president has evolved in his words on same sex marriage and as a result is not defending the defense of marriage act. pretty easy towns. legally they're saying where are you, mr. president? you are the president. >> because jeff, the defense of marriage act doma is the law of the land whether you like it or not right now. >> it is true in defense of the obama administration that several times in the history of the supreme court administrations have gone to the supreme court and said we are not defending this law. we believe it is unconstitutional. it is very unusual. but it has been done before. and the chief justice doesn't appear to like the position that the president has put him in. both days there was real hostility from the chief justice toward positions held by the solicitor general. not because he did a bad job but because john roberts really just didn't like what he saw as the political views of the administration. >> you liz ebd to all the arguments yesterday, today, do you -- what do you see -- it's hard to predict. >> i know better -- >> it is hard to predict. >> yes. >> you see a mixed message coming out? what do you see? >> today was a little clearer than yesterday. it looked like and i say this with appropriate caveats it looked like there were five votes to strike down the defense of marriage act including anthony kennedy but not because it was discriminatory toward gay people. he seemed sympathetic to the argument the defense of marriage act was a violation of states rights. that marriage is something that states have traditionally regulated and the defense of marriage act was an interference with states rights. >> didn't it seem to you, though, in both of these cases and perhaps more in proposition 8 than today that the justices seemed to be looking for some kind of off ramp here so they didn't have to make these large decisions but, rather, find a way whether it be on procedural grounds or ruling narrowly in the case of proposition 8 that they don't have to do the heavy lift? >> they don't want to lose so they would rather see the case disappear on procedural grounds rather than have a substantive judgment against them. you could see that they were sort of fencing around that issue and today the liberals were i thought more outspoken today than yesterday. this was an easier case for the liberals than the proposition 8 case was. but there are only four democrats. they need a fifth vote. it looked like but again just looked like they would get kennedy today. >> we won't know for sure until the end of june. that's when we expect decisions on both of these cases, proposition 8 and doma to come out by the u.s. supreme court. guys, thanks very much. it could be the biggest case of their lives. two former rivals team up to take the same, same sex marriage fight to the supreme court. gloria borger gets exclusive access in the marriage warriors, showdown at the supreme court. it airs saturday night at 7:30 p.m. only here on cnn. while the supreme court weighs the issue of same sex marriage, some of the most iconic brands are now weighing in. look at these ad campaigns spotted by national.com. martha stewart living features the red equal sign as a slice of cake. anheuser-busch shows a pair of bud lights. one leading vodka maker pledges absolut support. and another south americanoff says every pairing is perfect. when we come back it is called the biggest cyber attack in history. we have details on how internet users are being affected around the world. plus a rare public afreerns the former cia director general petraeus now opening up about the extra marital affair that led to his fall from grace. stay with us. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. what do 5% cash back atit cardrestaurants?you generous. get the new it card at discover.com and sign up for 5% cashback at restaurants now through march. all right that's a fifth-floor probleok.. not in my house! ha ha ha! ha ha ha! no no no! not today! ha ha ha! ha ha ha! jimmy how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? 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