rulings will be coming down in d.c. in a half hour from right now on california's ban on same-sex marriage and also on the federal defense of marriage act. for more insight and analysis, marla tellez live in the studio with expert opinion. good morning. >> good morning. that expert opinion coming from dean johnson, a bay area criminal defense attorney. thank you for being with us today. >> my pleasure. >> you know everything there is to know about same-sex marriage. you have been following this since 2004 you think same-sex marriage will prevail in california. what gives you that sense? d1e correct thing to do. what's before the court is whether california handles same-sex marriage correctly or not. i think on equal protection grounds, the court is going to say no, they didn't they created a crazy quilt of people, different classes of people, regarding the right to marry. and they're going to say that offends equal protection.

that gives us a solution for california without going the broader route and saying there's a fundamental constitutional right to same-sex marriage. >> let's say prop 8 is struck down, how soon can gay and lesbian couples get married? >> you would think that a decision from the court is final as it get but was truth is there is one last legal maneuver that the losers of the case could use. it's called a petition for rehearing. they have 25ka[÷ days within wh to file that petition and the case is not really considered final until those 25 days lapse. but the court can extend or short than time if it wants to. >> do you think that's going to happen if losers come forward and do that? >> knowing my prop 8 supporters, i would guess that petition for rehearing is probably already written and i think they are going to fight this to the very last maneuver that they can think of. >> one of the options the indicate would be dismissed. if that happened, what's next?

>> if the appeal is dismissed, then essentially the ninth circuit ruling stands. there is another possibility that the case would be dismissed for lack of standings, saying the prop 8 supporters had no business in the federal courts. if that -- if that happens, then the logic says that the original district court decision stands which is of course a broad constitutional decision but it has no real binding effect on any other court. either the state or the federal system. >> what i find interesting is that a lot of people think that this is the first time that same-sex marriage has gone before the high court. that's not the case. >> a little piece of supreme court trivia. in 1972, the court addressed the issue of same-sex marriage in baker versus nelson and said, same-sex marriage, there is no such thing new york legal issue for us to address and they dismissed the appeal. i think the fact that we are really considering this case and taking it seriously tells us how

far the court has come in the ensuing years. >> also decided today doma, defines marriage ace union between a man and a woman and prevents legally gay and married couples from receiving benefits offered to straight couples. you think the high court will strike this down as well? >> i think it will. marriage is defined by state law, always has been that way, no rational basis for changing that. doma really tells us a lot about how important marriage is. the plaintiff in doma a widow hit with $363,000 in estate taxes. had the federal law at the time recognized her marriage to her partner, the estate taxes would have been zero. >> we are minutes away from finding out the answer here. 6:33, as soon as the prop 8 ruling comes down, nbc news will bring you a live special report.

also live coverage here in the bay area and in washington, d.c. throughout the morning and during our extended hour-long 11:00 a.m. broadcast. visit nbcbayarea.com just search prop 8. right now, 6:34. let's get wednesday forecast and beyond with none other than christina loren. good morning. >> good morning. happy to be the bearer of interesting news today. i don't know, you might think it's good, you might think it's bad, nonetheless different than yesterday. 63 degrees. good morning, navato. 63 to start the day. san francisco 62. sonoma, great interview, 66 in san jose. we stopped the clock on futurecast. if you're in the city today, count on thick fog at least about 9:00 a.m. also see shower in the north bay until that time. in between 9:00 and noon the sun comes back out in full force. mostly clear conditions along the greater bay area. we'll see plenty of low cloud

cover hugging the coastline today. that's going to make for a cool day at the coast. that's the place to be if you can get out there. temperatures at coast wrapping up to 67 degrees. 74 bay side. 86 inland, ten degrees warmer than yesterday. we keep cranking that heat through next week. i'll show you the seven day outlook in my next report. it's busy on a wednesday. >> typical at bay bridge toll plaza because of the metering lights that are on and traffic held up over at the toll plaza because of what christina was talking about, low clouds. see that on the east shore freeway. emeriville camera, hardly see the roadway. it's starting to show more approaching the building that the camera is mounted above, the traffic flow between the traffic flow and the camera itself that's where low clouds are. that's not an issue as far as drivers but maybe through richmond coming off the carquinez bridge. map shows you speeds are all right, upper 50s through berkeley, emeriville and approaching the maze.

issue east 34, approaching the caldecott tunnel. a crash affecting the flow in through and throughout the tunnel. we see slowing and we'll end with a look over here just to the south. we flow to the south bay, san jose shaping up as well. auto theft is on the rise throughout the united states but numbers are especially disturbing in the bay area. for the very first time since 2005, a total of five bay area cities rankingm/v among the topn in auto theft. richmond, oakland, one and two on the list among cities with 100,000 people. valle vallejo, antioch, hayward managing to crack the top ten. biggest jump in san jose. fbi says i city saw an increase in auto thefts of 71% last year. that is compared to a statewide increase of mere 11%. san jose, for the record,

checking in 16th nationally in auto thefts. 6:36. international manhunt in a holding pattern. russia's president weighs in about where an nsa leaker might be hiding out, next. also the king of pop's son taking the stand today. we will tell you what prince jackson is expected to say about his father's death.

this morning, south african

archbishop is offering a prayer for nelson mandela. the archbishop of cape town posted the prayer on facebook after visiting mandela in the hospital. he wished the 94-year-old former south african president a, quote, peaceful, perfect end. mandela has been hospitalized since june 8th, being treat for t infections. he remains in critical condition this morning. nsa leaker edward snowden likely still in the transit area of a moscow airport. this, according to russia's president putin. snowden flew into moscow sunday after leaving hong kong and because he's not actually passed through immigration, russian officials say he's not technically in their jurisdiction. u.s. officials talking to russia about expelling snowden based on the espionage charges he's now facing. snowden has applied for asylum in ecuador. his application being reviewed. michael jackson's son,

prince, will take the stand in a los angeles courtroom testifying about his father's death. jackson's children, along with the grandmother have sued aeg live for the pop singer's death. this suit claims aeg live is libel because it hired dr. conrad murray who was convicted of involuntary man slotter in jackson's death. the company says jackson hired and controlled the doctor and executives had no way of knowing what treatments murray was delivering. yesterday marked four years since michael jackson died. the time is 6:41. that clock continues here. we have continuing coverage on the countdown to a ruling on prop 8. we'll have live reports all over the bay area. information washington, d.c., as history is made today at the supreme court. that and more next. we made history yesterday with record rainfall. today we're trading it in for thick fog this morning. next, trading in the fog for a triple digit heat elevated fire

danger. i will give you the time line for changes, seven-day forecast next. fog will be a part of your commute if you run into it and if you're running into something else in the south bay, i'll let you know what to avoid. crystal geyser is always bottled at the mountain source. crystal geyser. crystal geyser. crystal geyser. then we deliver it directly to you.

living on cloud nine with that u-verse wireless receiver. you see in my day, when my mom was repainting the house, you couldn't just set up a tv in the basement. i mean, come on! nope. we could only watch tv in the rooms that had a tv outlet. yeah if we wanted to watch tv someplace else, we'd have to go to my aunt sally's. have you ever sat on a plastic covered couch? [ kids cheering ] you're missing a good game over here.

those kids wouldn't have lasted one day in our shoes. [ male announcer ] add a wireless receiver. call to get u-verse tv for just $19 a month with qualifying bundles. rethink possible. we are watching san francisco city hall this morning. everyone is coming out as the supreme court set to rule on california's prop 2348 just about 15 minutes. reporters fanned out all over the bay area and washington, d.c., this morning. we'll bring you live coverage in moments. first, some local news headlines. in a matter of hours we're

expected to learn if b.a.r.t. workers will walk off the job. workers wrapped up a vote whether to authorize a strike last night. both sides are at odds over wages, health care benefits and pension. if a strike is called, it could come as early as monday. announcement is expected at 9:00 this morning. oracle team usa out on the bay practicing for america's cup today one day after one of the boats was damaged in a training run. the team says the wire catch)9 the mast and the front tip of its newest ac-72 catamaran was damaged into its run yesterday. the team had both 72-foot catamarans out on the water and the boat had to be brought back to the dock for repairs. but should be ready to go again this morning. 6:45. warning signs posted today at linda mar beach in pacifica after a kayaker attacked by a great white shark.

micah flansburg fishing with a friend when a great white shark explode out of the water, clampediclamp ed its teeth on the kayak. he held on until the shark let go and that shark swam off. >> holding on for dear life and surviving to tell about it. what a story. christina loren back to talk about our forecast. is it accurate to say, swampy out there this morning? even with the sun. >> it is swampy out there especially bay area standards. walk through the air, you're feeling that air, humidity has a weight to. 6:46. want to thank you for waking up with us each and every morning, even in the summertime. you might have summertime off. if so, check out 11:00 a.m. broadcast. today is an extra special edition with everything happening in san francisco. make sure you tune in. 6:46. start with the live picture. you can see part of the bay bridge here.

fog out there and that fog is getting thicker and settling to the surface. although we don't have serious reduced visibilities except over open water bridges. temperatures are uniform. mid-60s to start. it's ].balmy, 62 santa teresa. 63 campbell. 66 degrees to start in san jose. showers on the radar to the north. most activity north. pesky showers move through son moment na county. high pressure takes a hike. high pressure moves in. this big strong ridge has energy. temperatures up to near-record levels quickly. hottest days look like sunday, monday, and tuesday, just put that on your radar. 90s starting thursday. starting tomorrow 90s return. enjoy upper 70s to mid-80s today. livermore, 85. 87 gilroy. 83 los gados.

fex knew days, knew the changes, heat starting to crank by the end of the weekend. getting into the beginning of next week. 103 degrees. look like the warmest air of the year so far. sunday into monday, mike, brace yourself. >> try to make that the warmest day of the year, period. no higher than that. so the south bay, slowing from north 101 heading up to the airport and north 87. 85 starting to show the speed coming down below the limit. chp did day there's a bag of debris or garbage north 28 on right around north 85. they cleared it in the last few minutes. look at palo alto, 101 up to the peninsula smoothly. nice easy drive northbound. southbound light volume. coming in towards menlo park, reports of debris on the roadway, possibly fender bender.

stay clear of activity, sounds leak it off to the shoulder. other side of the bay, fremont, easy flow of traffic. starting to seat build approaching mission boulevard. speeds in upper 50s at worst. south of the dumbarton seeing that build. we seal traffic flowing here. heading south 880 down san leandro, speed upper 50s. folks move toward that san mateo bridge as well. north bound up through oakland, slowing through down continue. here, eastbound 24, earlier crash or fender bender around caldecott tunnel cleared but westbound, new incident that might cause additional flowing. thank you. today history being made as we count down to the supreme court's ruling on proposition 8. prop 8 of course california's ban on same-sex marriage narrowly approved by voters during the contentious election in 2008. the ruling looks to be minutes away. bu

big time. video overnight showing san francisco city hall lit up with the colors of the rainbow. a spectacular look there. this, of course, symbolizing the city support for same-sex marriage. we also now will take a live look at san francisco's castro district, an area known for its lgbt community and activism for same-sex marriage rights. this morning team coverage in place for you on this historic ruling. bob redell and christie smith both look at local imimpact. we start off with cheryl hurd live outside the supreme court this morning. a lot of people anxious for this one. >> reporter: good morning. for the first time this morning, people are actually getting excited here on the steps of the u.s. supreme court. to my right the plaza is virtually filled with people. for the first time in the last couple of days, people are on the opposite side of the street waiting for these historic decisions to come down.

also another reason why people might÷ be excited because of this. take a look at the videotape so you can see. two of the couples at center of the gay marriage fight arriving moment ago, the couple from southern california and the couple you probably recognize, chris and sandra. they had to make their way through the sea of supporters allowing people to take pictures of them at the top of the steps. this is the day a lot of people have been waiting for. last night dozens lined up waiting to get in, many filled with speculation. >> i'm in a longterm committed relationship with my partner and she's the world to me and this is -- there could not be a more important case for me. >> i definitely doesn't think this is the end but it's going to be a huge milestone. definitely a moment of history that i wanted to be a part of. >> reporter: of course not everyone is in favor of same-sex marriage. people for prop 8 are here but just not as vocal.

so here we are in the hot sun, hundreds of people are on the plaza. we're about ten minutes of people going inside. we will be standing here maybe in 45 minutes we could hear a decision from the high court. live from the u.s. supreme court, cheryl hurd "today in the bay." great interviews out there. thank you. san francisco has been at the heart of the fight over same-sex marriage and as leaders have been outspoken about the issue even before voters cast their balloted on proposition 8. >> it's inevitable. the door's open now. >> defy an words spoken by then-mayor newsom set the debate over prop 8 stretched through two appeals and nearly five years. christie smith joins us live at san francisco city hall where newsom and governor leaders gather as the ruling on prop 8 is revealed. >> reporter: good morning. you can really feel the energy

start to pick up and change here outside of san francisco city hall. a lot of couples showing up nand hand. some wearing no on hate t-shirts. a reference to proposition 8. i want to step aside. that is a line of people, many couples, waiting to get inside and watch a feed from washington, d.c., carrying signs for marriage equality, waving at their pride flag. so much hope and anticipation wrapped up in one day. hoping to hear from& mayor lee, attorney herrera and mayor newsom. we've spoken with a number of couples here. former mayor newsom, of course, expected to be here who in 2004 directed the city to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. 4,000 licenses issued before the state supreme court voided them. another window of opportunity opened up in 2008.

today thousands of couples watching and waiting as the supreme court decides the constitutionality of proposition 8, ban on same-sex marriage. i spoke with stewart and john, vocal, they've taken their message to the nation's capital in the past, married twice in 2004 and 2008. >> i wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now than san francisco city hall where joyous weddings took place in 2004 and again in 2008 where we got legally married along with 18,000 other couples before the passage of proposition 8. that's what today is all. prop 8 divided california. today we want to see california made whole again and the freedom to marry restored for all. >> reporter: again, expecting to hear from opponents of same-sex marriage. haven't seen them yet this morning but i can tell you that the crowds just keep coming. we're at the plaza across from city hall. it hard to see behind me.

but where i'm looking from, i see people, waves and waves of people, coming and coming. a very, very exciting day. lots of an thticipation. >> history could be made. coverage with bob redell in the south bay live outside san jose city hall. >> reporter: good morning. 6:00 tonight lgbt activist group hearted on silicon valley man to meet at san jose city hall. whether a celebration or protest we do not know. we're still waiting for the supreme court to hand down the ruling regarding prop 8. we did earlier this morning speak with michelle and pat, san jose couple married for three years a marriage recognized by the church but not the state of california. up until yesterday they 7gxeñ pretty good the supreme court would strike down prop 8. yesterday the justices struck down part of the voting rights act. they fear if justices are ruling

against that civil rights issue, it's not going to bode well for them when it comes to gay rights. >> it would feel incomplete in our life to not be able to get fully married legally. we are already married, recognized as a married couple in our community and our families in the state of california. we're domestic partners. it just would make sense -- it would feel incomplete. we feel slightly less citizens without that ability to get married. >> spiritually and in our hearts we've been married sense three years ago. in that sense it's not going change anything in our heart. >> reporter: they plan to attend a gathering later today. not one here in san jose city hall but taking place on the peninsula. they're praying they'll be there to celebrate, not there to mourn. san jose city hall, bob redell. prop 8 events held throughout the bay area today.

redwood city a rally planned san mateo county clerk's office at 5:00. mountain view caltrain station at 6:00 tonight followed by a march to mountain view city hall at 6:30. san francisco, set up at market and castro streets for speeches and music 6:30. a live look inside san francisco city hall right now. look at crowd. big screens set up so all of the folks can look at the big decision. >> that will be monumental. as soons that prop 8 ruling does come down, nbc news will bring you a live special report. also bring you live coverage both here in the bay and out in washington, d.c. throughout the entire morning. and during our extended one hour 11:00 newscast. visit our website nbcbayarea.com. search prop 8. want to plan for your day? checking the forecast with christina loren.

>> good morning. what a difference a day make, we're done with the rain, fog settled in. it's going to stick around. noon 77 inland. up to 86 degrees. to round out the day bay side 74. if now missed the hot seven day outlook i'll have it throughout "today" show. >> conditions are changing. thicker fog at golden gate bridge. as you're traveling between city and east bay, san mateo look how different it look. gray on this side. peninsula side, sunny over there. be prepared for changing conditions. man shows you coming through hayward out of san leandro, slowing, industrial crash south 880 cleared. northbound through the south bay kicking in from 101, in the 50's 87 slows as well as 85 northbound. commute kick in for san jose. 6:58. check of the day's top stories.

president obama has left on a family trip to africa. it includes stops in senegal, south africa, tanzania. the visit meant to promote democracy and economic opportunities. paula deen speaking out on the "today" show this morning after admitting under oath she used a racial slur to describe an african-american. since then, deen has lost a longstanding contract with the food network and smithfield foods. >> u.s. supreme court will issue its decision on california's ban on same-sex marriage in a matter of minutes. rally planned throughout the bay area including a huge gathering at san francisco's city hall, that is getting under way right now actually. nbc will broadcast a special report as soon as that comes down. the "today" show is next. we'll break in with a special report as soon as justices hand down those historic decisions. >> we leave you with a live look inside san francisco city hall. we've seen the crowds gather

this morning. also join us for special hour-long newscast at 11:00 a.m. slurs.