>> when did it become unconstitutional to exclude homosexual couples from marriage? when did the law become this? >> reporter: and what about the argument, made by the lawyer defending california's proposition 8, which bans gay marriage, that the true purpose of marriage is procreation? >> well, suppose a state said that, because we think that the focus of marriage really should be on procreation, we are not going to give marriage licenses anymore to any couple where both people are over the age of 55. >> reporter: and the court considered the children, too -- 40,000 being raised by gay couples in california alone -- justice kennedy spoke emotionally about their interests. >> they want their parents to have full recognition and full status. the voice of those children is important in this case, don't you think? >> reporter: for the two gay couples at the heart of the case -- kristin perry and sandra stier, jeff zarillo and paul katami -- this was their families' moment.

>> to be able to call him my husband is something that has worldwide recognition. when i am able to introduce him that way, people understand the level of our commitment. >> reporter: and this day was about the kids, too. outside afterwards, spencer perry, one of kris perry and sandra stier's four boys, stepped to the microphones. >> i just want to say how incredibly proud we are of our parents. we love them. we love our family, and we look forward to the day when we will be treated equally, just like our neighbor's family. >> those emotions, the whole sweeping debate on this issue, all that was in the courtroom. and the one dominant sense that i got from the justices, was that they want that great debate to continue. they don't want to cut it off with some ruling awarding total victory to one side or the other. >> but they will continue a debate tomorrow on the same issue from a different vantage point? >> a different angle.

today's case was about a state law banning gay marriage. tomorrow's case is about that federal law, that says no matter what a state does, even if a state recognizes gay marriage, the federal government won't. so gay couples are just people according to the federal government, who have no right to marry. >> all right, terry. again, this was a riveting day at the supreme court. thank you. by the way, there's another polarized issue in america almost certain to make its way to the supreme court as well. today, as expected, the governor of north dakota signed the most restrictive abortion law in the nation. it's sparked widespread protest. the law bans abortion once a fetal heart beat is detected as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, and threatens to put doctors in jail, a move legal scholars say is a direct challenge to the supreme court decision on roe versus wade. now we head overseas tonight, more angry propaganda and a menacing video from north

korea which claims to have moved into combat posture, to strike at the united states. abc's senior global affairs correspondent martha raddatz is on her way to south korea and reports tonight from kabul. >> reporter: in the newest propaganda video, the north koreans threatening a massive rocket and artillery attack on south korea, with thousands of follow-on troops invading the country. it comes as north korea has ordered all of its strategic rockets and long-range artillery units put on the highest alert, ready to hit american military targets they say, in south korea, where the u.s. has more than 28,000 troops. in guam, where there are more than 6,000, and even in hawaii, where nearly 115,000 american forces are based. one person tracking these threats closely told me tonight this could turn into a real crisis and america could find itself in a kind of conflict with north korea it has long tried to avoid.

diane? >> thank you. martha again on her way to south korea. another note from overseas tonight. remember the images, the new pope francis touring the papal apartment, sealed with the red ribbon. today we learned the apartment is ready, but pope francis will not be moving in. at least for now. he says he wants to stay in the relatively modest apartment nearby, making him the first pope in 110 years not to live in the large papal apartment. back here at home, a ground breaking move by the president. he's appointed a woman to head the secret service. jewel la, pierson, who will take over mark sullivan, who was the man at the helm when the service was engulfed in the prostitution

scandal last year. and news tonight if you're afraid of hospital errors. ten years ago, we learned about the exhausted medical intern. so the policies changed. fewer hours, more changes of shift. but tonight, a counterintuitive surprise. did this put patients at greater risk? abc's chief medical and melt adviser richard besser on a vulnerable moment in a hospital room. watch out for the handoff. >> reporter: there are as many 98,000 deaths each year from mistakes made in america's hospitals. some of the blame -- exhausted doctors. but the new studies are raising questions about the fix. interns today report making more mistakes than they did when the shifts were longer and they had less sleep. one of the major reasons, shorter shifts mean doctors hand off critical information about you and your care to the next team on duty more frequently. whenever you or a loved one is in the hospital you need to be aware of this. think of it as a game of telephone. it used to be, during a three-day stay in the hospital, your information was handed off three different times. now as many as nine. the more handoffs, the greater the chance for mistakes.

these new studies are surprising and frightening. but there's something you can do to protect yourself. if possible, when you're in the hospital, always have an advocate with you, a family member, a friend, who can help make sure that the important information about you has been passed along correctly. this includes everything from your allergies to your treatment plan. it can make a really big difference. >> so double check what is happening in the handoff. >> that's right. >> thank you, rich. and now, abc news gets action. we all know cochlear implants can change the lives of children who believe they will then learn like other kids do. 90% of insurance companies cover the cost. but what if you were a family that didn't notice a line in your policy and your child has to pay the price? abc's dan harris with our investigation and a wake-up call for anyone buying insurance. >> reporter: you have to look closely, but if you keep your eye on the boy in the orange shirt, his name is carson.

you'll see he is consistently one step behind his preschool classmates. >> math friend. >> carson. >> reporter: staring off when the teacher's talking to him. >> come on. >> reporter: still sitting for a few seconds. >> go find a card and count out. >> reporter: when all the other kids get up. >> i think he's constantly trying to keep up. i think he wears himself out trying to keep up. >> reporter: carson rubin, who's 5, has a condition called "auditory neuropathy," which means that while the teacher sounds like this to the rest of the children -- >> carrots and onions? healthy or unhealthy? >> reporter: to carson, she sounds like this. [ static ] >> have you ever been to the dentist? >> i can't hear you. >> have you -- um -- ever been to the dentist? >> reporter: cochlear implants could dramatically improve carson's hearing. they could have miraculous impacts.

just watch as this child's device is turned on for the first time. >> could you hear that? [ laughter ] >> reporter: but it would cost $250,000. and the rubins' health insurance company has refused to cover it. when they came back to you and they said, "we're not going to cover this," what was your reaction? >> i was shocked. >> welcome to coventry healthcare. >> reporter: the rubins are covered by coventry healthcare of georgia. we looked at the rubins' policy and right there, on page 33, at the bottom of a long list of exclusions, there it is, hearing devices and implants. experts say companies have wide latitude to create exclusions like this, so you have to check your policy closely. we made repeated requests for an interview but coventry would only tell us -- quote, no health insurance policy covers every procedure. in 2011 alone, coventry made $500 million in profit. this is their ceo, alan wise, number 53 on the forbes list of richest executives. what would you say to him? >> sir, if you were in our same

position and you were told, repeatedly, no, no, no, how would you feel? if our salaries were swapped, how would you feel? >> reporter: after this interview, we made one last call to coventry. this time they thanked us for bringing this issue to their attention and said they will now cover cochlear implants in georgia, including for carson whose mother we spoke to this morning. to have the insurance company call and you say, okay, we're going to cover this, that must have been huge. >> i couldn't breathe for a while. >> reporter: carson will have surgery in weeks. his mother says he's very excited. bear this in mind. every year more than a thousand children who need cochlear implants are denied in america. and even though coventry is changing its policy in georgia, in 23 other states in which the company operates, the exclusion will remain in place. we're going to stay on them.

>> and you'll let us know when carson gets his cochlear implants? >> we're going to be there when they turn them on for the first time. >> thanks so much. coming up here on "world news." a stunning setback for amanda knox, the american student accused of murder interacquitted in italy. could her freedom be in jeopardy once again? [ male announcer ] this is bob, a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat.

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it was a shock today from italy in the case of the american college student amanda knox, who was acquitted of murder charges and freed 18 months ago, returning home to america. but tonight she is once again at the center of a courtroom drama, in a distant country. a new group of italian judges, sending her case back to an appeals court. so what is next for the young woman who's lived at the center of this storm? lama hasan is in rome. >> reporter: amanda knox was at home in seattle when her italian lawyer called at 2:00 a.m. to deliver the unwelcome news. >> she's shocked. she's very sad. she thought it was the end of a nightmare. >> reporter: knox and sollecito was convicted of murdering kercher in what police claim was a sex game gone wrong. knox was sentenced to 26 years in jail. >> there is no evidence. there never was any evidence, and there never will be any evidence. >> reporter: in 2011, an appeals court overturned their

conviction. the defense argued the evidence in the case had been mishandled. she's spent four years behind bars. the appeals court criticized virtually the entire case as presented by the prosecutors and ruled she should be freed. knox returned to the u.s. within 24 hours. >> thank you to everyone who believed in me, who has defended me, who has supported my family. >> reporter: she's spent the last 18 months in seattle, studying creative writing. at the university of washington. she has a new boyfriend and spent the last year writing a book about her ordeal. today she said she was sad about the painful news. although the victim's family tearfully welcomed today's decision, the supreme court bases their ruling solely on whether or not italian legal code was followed, not the specifics of the evidence or the witnesses. the knox family said they will continue to fight with their

heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations. >> reporter: italy does have an extradition treaty with the u.s., but it would take years of legal wrangling. prosecutors here are convinced of her guilt and they will not give up. >> thank you and we have been to perugia and also poring over documents everywhere in -- to cover this case, in anticipation of my coming interview with her. one-on-one with amanda knox, who says she is waiting to be heard. and coming up next here, our instant index, the real life odd couple, what chris christie said he plans to do for prince harry to keep him out of trouble. harry to keep him out of trouble. try align. it's the number one ge recommended probiotic that helps maintain digestive balance. ♪ stay in the groove with align.

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when that became the official retirement age back when my dad was a kid, life expectancy was about 61. not much of a retirement, huh? luckily, things have changed. to see how, we went out and asked people a simple question: how old is the oldest person you've known? the oldest person i really know is probably my grandfather. he's 93. 94. 104 years old. [ dan ] then we gave them each a sticker and had them show us. ♪ soon we learned a lot of us have known someone who's lived well into their 90s. and that's a great thing. but even though we're living longer, one thing that hasn't changed: the official retirement age. ♪ the question is how do you make sure you have the money you need to enjoy all of these years. ♪

her long day of pick ups and drop offs begins with arthritis pain... and a choice. take up to 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. all aboard. ♪ and in our instant index tonight you're about to meet the lucky winner of the $338 million power ball prize. pedro quezada, the father of five claimed his prize today and said he owes his win to the power of prayer. he came to the country 26 years ago from the dominican republic, buying a lottery ticket every day at the same store. asked what he plans to do now, he said he'll retire from running the family's small grocery store and wants to buy a car because his only transportation, he said, is his feet. talk about a match made in heaven, prince harry is coming to america this spring. one of his stops, the new jersey

coastline to tour the damage from hurricane sandy. although las vegas and all those parties, not on the schedule this time. today the equally irrepressible governor of chris -- new jersey, said he will be the prince's guide and chaperone. >> i'm going to be spending the entire day with prince harry. so believe me, nobody's going to get naked if i'm spending the day with them. i think i can assure the people of new jersey that, much to their relief. >> are you going to talk to the queen beforehand? >> christie said the queen knows her beloved grandson is in capable hands with christie. take a look at this mighty little camera. you may not know it, but you're looking at the aquaman of cameras. a georgia woman lost this camera scuba diving. six years ago, and it turns out the camera made a journey through the currents, underwater, thousands of miles to the shores of taiwan.

a stranger found it, and look at this. her vacation shots were intact. thanks to social media, these pictures led the finder to the owner and the little camera that could, is making its way back to her tonight. still ahead here on "world news," the mom who watched her son's hobby turn into a $30 million bonanza. the secret to raising a mini mogul, next. hearing that phrase. but not since i learned i have postmenopausal osteoporosis and a high risk for fracture. i want to keep acting but a broken bone could change that. so my doctor and i chose prolia® to reduce my risk of fractures. prolia® is proven to help make bones stronger. i take prolia®. it's different- it's two shots a year. do not take prolia® if you are pregnant, are allergic to it or if you take xgeva® ..prolia® can cause serious side effects, including low blood calcium levels,

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>> reporter: nick d'aloisio's road to success started with a simple book his parents gave him. >> i was given a book about how to program for dummies. >> reporter: nick took that book and in his london bedroom, taught himself to write computer codes. by the way he was just 12. by 15 he created an app. now at 17 the computer wiz with the boy band looks sold that app to yahoo, abc news's partner, for millions. he says he grew up like any other kid. >> i played video games. i had a ps3 that wasn't really my main focus. i always liked creating things. >> reporter: he's been called a prodigy, a boy wonder, but for one woman nick is one thing son. >> approximately ten years, maybe 11, he was asking for a mac book. he loves technology. we were cueing in the apple

istore all the time. >> reporter: he got that macbook but his parents used it as a teachable moment. >> i remember we made him sign a contract at that young age, to say what he would use it for. >> reporter: he was soon writing programs that baffled his parents. >> we always supported him in what he wanted to do even though we didn't quite understand it. >> reporter: so, what's the secret to raising a genius? >> i just trusted in him. he's only 17. he'll just keep climbing that mountain, and he'll keep achieving. >> reporter: nick's mom says, the best is yet to come. >> and we are so glad you are watching. always working for you at abcnews.com. "nightline" later at 12:35 a.m. eastern and i'll see you tomorrow.

tonight, same-sex marriage. the nation's highest court takes up the debate with america's children in mind. >> watch the man behind the fence here, he's the one police are looking for tonight. >> you'll see what happened to a young girl. how she ended up with an arrow in her leg. >> a conversation with former defense secretary leon panetta.

>> we look forward to the day when prop 8 is finally eliminated and equality is restored to the state of california. >> it's impossible to know any w.any certainty change that's would be worked on by defining a fundamental institution like marriage. >> this is a debate that started when the stiff san francisco began letting gayzvçr couples get married nine years ago. good evening, everyone, i'm carolyn johnson. >> the nation's high court dmeef a controversial debate. it's first major gay rights case in 10 years over whether same-sex couples should have the right to get married. withñi people÷úç on both sides demonstrating the justices signaled they might allow the same-sex marriages to resume in california but may not be ready to issue a broader ruling for the country.ç

abc 7 news is at the supreme court in washington. carolyn, let's start with you. this could be historic. you were in court today. >> i was. i heard that spirited exchange went well beyond alotted one hour. and proposition 8 backers said it went well opposing he lawyers say it would be foolish to figure out where justices are leaning.jffáswpfá a pep rally of sorts took place throughout the morning for those who care deeply about the outcome of the case. justicesxd÷ questions for critics and supporters on prop 8. >> have you a reason for not including same-sex couples.

is there any reason you have for excluding them? >> there is some 40,000 dmirn california that live with same-sex parents.ççú and they want their parents to have full recognition and full status. those children, they're important in this case. don't youw3 think? >> when did it become unconstitutional to excludeñ3ped homosexualc couples from marriage? 1791?÷úi] 1868? the justices must decide if prop 8 backers have the right to be in court since the state is not defending the ban. sacramento says absolutely. >> if it's determined that the initiative passed byçw3ç votes can be vetoed by the government officials then that