pete williams talked about the chart. it talks about the changes since 1965 to 2004 in the makeup of voters, and in one, two, three, four, five of the six states, i think they were saying or six of the seven states, i have to look back at my notes, they are now significantly more black voters. it almost seems as though they were using more blacks going to the polls as a reason to strike this down. . am i misreading that? >> no, you're not. that's exactly right, chris. justice ginsburg's decent for nour members of the court they say they use the success in order to kill it. you take a drug that works. do you then stop it? and the majority of the supreme court was persuaded that when we do have some improvement and some of these preclearance jurisdictions, particularly in the south, and congress needs to revisit the list. the dilemma is that while congress can respond to the decision, congress can create a new narrower list. the politics of these days makes that unbelievably tough. on the question of mobilization, one thing

but -- >> that is nbc's pete williams. i interrupted you, rachel, just as you were saying that we don't know whether this is going to be a momentous day or not. well now we do. >> now we know. this is the most -- we will have to wait to see the details on it. but first blush from pete's reporting, this is the most consequential way they could have chosen to rule in a pro gay rights way. i defer to the experts on the panel with us. but this is a very big deal ruling and this is a very big deal way to decide it. >> on a very practical basis, what does this mean? >> as a practical matter, it means if a couple is recognized by their state, a same-sex couple is recognized by their state as married, the federal government will accept that definition. so i think the facts are best illuminated by the woman who is a plaintiff in this case, edie windsor. she was with her partner for 44 years. actually, after the oral argument, you mentioned the supreme court. they came down to 44 steps of the supreme court and one of her lawyers sai

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i want to get pete williams in here as well. to the extent that you have aided and abetted snowden, even in his current movements, why shouldn't you be charged with a crime? >> i think it's pretty extraordinary that anybody who would call themselves a journalist would publicly muse about whether or not other journalists should be charged with felonies. the assumption in your question, david, is completely without evidence. the idea that i've aided and abetted him in any way. the scandal that arose in washington before our stories began is about the fact that the obama administration is trying to criminalize journalism by going through the phone records of a.p. reporters, and co-conspirators in felonies in working with sources, that means every journalist in the united states who works with their sources, receives classified information is a criminal. it's precisely those theories

and pete williams. pete, you are such a significant news man as we like to discuss around here, that even when you get news of something significant like the ruling in the gay marriage debate, it's become a viral sensation on line. the loop seen round the world, hustling the decision to pete williams so he can inform the world. good to have all of you here. >> i was sweating, too. >> exactly. you were running just prior to that. let's begin with where this debate over gay marriage goes now. rachel maddow, the reaction has been so big, so fast, and yet what now becomes a really big question? >> the supreme court had the choice not only which way to rule pro or anti-gay marriage rights, but also how they were going to rule. they could have ruled federalism, saying this isn't a federal issue, all states could decide it, or decide it on equal protection grounds and say gay discrimination is wrong. those are the grounds on which they decided it. i tend to side with justice scalia on this, who ten years ago i

pete williams -- >> one other quick point here if i may. so, you know, it seems highly likely this will trigger a leak investigation, which we should point out that process, the intelligence agencies have to refer it to justice and they have to decide. there is no leak investigation on this yet. we're away head of that process. it seems likely given the sensitivity of this document there will be one. >> that's right. and remember all branches of government were updated on this. judicial, congressional, legislative and congress and of course the obama administration. pete, thank you very much. finally, my final first read. this very long extended play version of it thanks to our technical difficulties, immigration. is support waning or not? we have evidence to indicate perhaps that it is. yesterday the republican senator who has been the key to getting conservatives to sign onto the bill, florida's marco rubio came out of a meeting with house conservatives with this warning. >> i can tell you that the bill is currently structured isn't going

pete williams at the court to start us off tonight. pete, thanks. >>> it's been three days since the awful deadly outbreak of tornadoes in oklahoma. the size and sadness of the loss in terms of lives and property got worse today. nbc's katy tur is in union city, oklahoma, tonight. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. i'm standing on the second floor of this home, or at least what was the second floor. it was completely blown off when the tornado on friday came barrelling through. right now oklahoma officials have just updated us and told us 18 people, at least 18 people people are now dead from the storm. they are searching for more. >> this is going to get really bad. >> reporter: the weekend flash flooding on the deep fork river tonight. >> congratulations on the brian? >> diana alvear on the smoldering fire line in california tonight. diana, thanks. >>> this was the fourth day of anti-government protests in turkey. once again violence broke out as riot police fought with demonstrators near the offices of the prime ministe

pete williams has more. >> reporter: gay rights supporters crowded outside the court cheering the historic decisions. striking down a law passed by congress in 1996 the defense of marriage act known as doma. that blocked the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages in the states that allow them. depriving them of benefits that other married couples have. in a 5-4 ruling, the court said that doma serves no government purpose and it demeans those in a same-sex relationship. in the second 5-4 decision, this time by chief justice roberts the court tossed an appeal involving california's proposition 8 passed by voters in 2008. it stopped same-sex marriage in the state. the people who put it on the ballot had no right to appeal. for the two california couples who challenged the law that's the answer they wanted now, we'll be marry and we'll be kwal to every other family in california. >> reporter: their interview on msnbc was interrupted by a call from the president on air force one. >> we thank you so much for your support. >> you should be very proud of today and through your cou

pete williams has more. >> reporter: gay rights supporters crowded outside the court. cheering the historic decisions. first, a ruling striking down a law passed by congress in 1996. the defensive marriage act, known as dome that. >> doma is dead! >> reporter: that law blocked the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages in the states ahow them, depriving those couples of more than 1,000 benefits that married couples have. in a 5-4 ruling written by justice kennedy, the court said doma serves no purpose and demeans those in a lawful same-sex marriage. declaring their marriages less worthy and humiliated tens of thousands of children raised by same-sex couples. in the second 5-4 decision, this time by chief justice roberts, the court passed out an appeal of california's proposition 8. passed by voters in 2008. it had stopped same-sex marriages in the state. the court says the people who put prop 8 on the ballot had no legal authority to appeal after a lower court struck it down as unconstitutional. for the two california couples who challenged the law, tha

nbc's pete williams joins us from the newsroom. pete? >> reporter: very odd case, andrea. according to the fbi two men in new york state who were plotting to develop a device that sounds like something out of science fiction that they could use to aim x-rays at people and harm them, people that they described as enemies of israel. the fbi identified these two people arrested today as a 49-year-old engineer from g.e., glendon scott crawford of galway, new york. and eric feight of hudson. they've been charged with con sir si to provide material support to terrorists. the fbi got on to this after one of them walked into a synagogue in new york and said he was looking for people to provide them money and support so he could develop this device that he would mount in a car and drive around and aim it at people that he considered to be enemies of israel, possibly muslims and others the fbi says. but from then on it came to nothing although the two men didn't know it. the fbi had a number of people come at them posing as various kinds of organizations that would agree to help the

our justice correspondent pete williams is in our d.c. newsroom. pete, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. officials familiar with the process say that federal prosecutors have filed espionage charges against snowden and at the very early stages of the process to getting back to the united states to stand trial are now under way. the officials did not describe the charges in detail because the papers have been filed under seal in federal court in alexandria, virginia, so they're not publicly available. but they say the charges accuse him of violating federal espionage charges by sharing classified documents with people who were not cleared to receive them. he's also charged with stealing government property. it was only a matter of time before these charges were filed. and, in fact, it's taken all this time because the u.s. and the authorities in hong kong have been going back and forth to make certain that whatever charges the u.s. filed would conform to the extradition treaty with hong kong. so the next step is now for the police in h

>> pete williams at the court for us tonight. pete, thanks. >>> and now we turn to what's been a big question for days. where is edward snowden? the american who skipped the country after going public with intelligence gathering. vladimir putin says he's in russia, and russia is not going to step in to help get him back to the united states. we get the very latest tonight from our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. >> reporter: in a high stakes drama reminiscent of the cold war, official word that snowden was hiding out at the russian moscow airport came from vladimir putin, the old kgb man himself. rejecting american appeals to return snowden to the u.s. >> translator: mr. snowden is a free man, and the sooner he choses his final destination, the better it will be for us and him. >> reporter: putin said he would prefer not to deal with an issue at all, saying, it's like sheering a pig, too much squeaking, too little wool. russia's foreign minister tried to claim snowden wasn't technically in russia while in the

>> pete williams, great work and thank you so much. before becoming president, senator barack obama slammed the patriot act and that provision in what he saw as a violation of citizens rights and privacy. >> if someone wants to know why their own government has decided to go on a fishing expedition through every personal record or private document through the library books that you read, the phone calls that you've made, the emails that you've sent, this legislation gives people no rights to appeal the need for such a search in a court of law. no judge will hear your plea, no jury will hear your case. this is just plain wrong. >> robert gibbs is an msnbc contributor and former press secretary to president obama and worked with then-senator obama. so things change. >> look, what always animated him was that somebody needed to watch the watchers. i think that still an mates him even as president today. i think it is very important the way we talk about this. i think the way senator feinstein discussed this the way senator gram discussed

the loop seen round the world of the intern hustling the decision to pete williams so he can inform the world. good to have all of you here. >> i was sweating, too. >> exactly. so much to get into. let's begin with where this did debate over gay marriage goes now. rachel, because the reaction has been so big, so fast, and yet what now becomes a really big question. >> the supreme court has the choice not only which way to rule, but also how they were going to rule. they could have ruled just federal. this isn't a federal issue at all, state shoes decide it, or they could decide it on equal production grounds. those are the grounds on which they decided it. so i tend to side with justice scalia on this who ten years ago in the lawrence case said if the court finds that there is not a state interest in discriminating and showing moral disapproval of homosexuality, then we can't does that equal marriage rights. >> and if you look at a part of the majority opinion by justi kennedy, he writes the following. doma yauundermines both the pub and private significance of state sanctioned same-sex

nbc's pete williams has more. >> reporter: the ruling deals a crippling and potentially fatal blow to the response to widespread efforts in the south to prevent blacks from voting. >> we'll march in today to dramatize to the nation. >> reporter: john louis, now a georgia congressman, watched as the bill was signed. >> without the voting rights act in 1965, there would be no barack obama as president of the united states of america. we've come too far to go back. >> this presents a serious setback for voting rights and has the potential to negatively effect millions of americans across the country. >> reporter: in a 5-4 ruling, the court's conservatives said the areas covered by the voting rights act has changed. the act requires states with a history of voter discrimination to get permission from the federal government before changing how they dealt with elections, but it shut down the coverage formula of where the formula lies. chief justice john roberts says the map is based on decades-old data and eradicated practices. african-americans have a higher voter turnout percentage than w

pete williams is standing on the steps. that's not him but we'll be right back. >> i'm meteorologist karen cairns. story is severe weather in the plains from minneapolis southwards oh, maha, sioux falls all with a chance of seeing damaging wind and hail with those storms as they roll through on this evening. nice in areas of the east coast, few thunderstorms down along the gulf and fire weather still very dangerous with hot and dry conditions from phoenix to denver. have a great day. [ female announcer ] are you sensitive to dairy? then you'll love lactose-free lactaid® it's 100% real milk that's easy to digest so you can fully enjoy the dairy you love. lactaid®. for 25 years, easy to digest. easy to love. chantix... it's a non-nicotine pill. i didn't want nicotine to give up nicotine. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. [ mike ] when i was taking the chantix, it reduced the urge to smoke. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mo

coming up next, pete williams joins me to talk about his exclusive sit-down interview, plus reaction from capitol hill. and nbc's kelly o'donnell as holder goes on the hot seat again today. >>> and we are following developing news out of florida. george zimmerman back in court before the judge and whether a key piece of testimony will be allowed at that trial. we're going to break it down for you. and our question of the day to you is on the nsa's collection of phone records. should security trump privacy? weigh in on facebook. find me on twitte twitter @thomasaroberts. an givef a kick in the rear! v8 v-fusion plus energy. natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle. to support strong bones. and the brand most recommended by... my doctor. my gynecologist. my pharmacist. citracal. citracal. [ female announcer ] you trust your doctor. doctors trust citracal. some brokerage firms are. but way too many aren't. why? because selling their funds makes them more money. which makes you wonder -- isn't that a conflict? s

for more we turn to andrea mitchell and chief justice correspondent pete williams. let me start with you, pete. my understanding was that the u.s. government had carefully crafted the language in this extradition request to withstand any challenges. yet hong kong government says it wasn't good enough. what happened? >> justice officials say they have been in touch with hong kong since june 10th and ever since then hong kong authorities haven't raised any problem. they say the charges were filed june 14th, hong kong was asked to arrest him. the very next day. they say eric holder called his counterpart, the attorney in hong kong, and they asked them to speed it up. and they said they were looking at it, that it was under review. and then last friday night, they say the hong kong authorities sent new questions. they said the u.s. was in the process of responding when they were told he had left. >> and let me turn to andrea. you've got the hong kong government, chinese government, russian government. ecuador government. what's the diplomat fallout from all of this so f

he broke his silence today and agreed to an interview with our justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: after enduring weeks of criticism over the government's aggressive investigation of leaks, the attorney general says a better balance must be struck between press freedom and safeguarding national secrets. >> i'm a little concerned that things have gotten a little out of whack. i think we can do a better job than we have. we can reform those regulations, reform those guidelines to better reflect the balance. >> reporter: the justice department obtained logs for more than 20 phone lines used by associated press reporters to find the source for a story about al qaeda terror plotters in yemen. the government obtained e-mail and phone records from fox news james rosen to investigate the leak of sensitive information from north korea calling him in court documents at the very least either an aider, abettor or co-conspirator. holder said that phrase was required to get a search warrant. >> i don't like that. it means me as a government official who has great respect for the press

pete williams has more. what are we learning? >> reporter: good evening. sources familiar with the separate government program, one that monitors the internet for suspicious e-mail and other traffic confirms its existence first reported by the washington post and guardian newspapers. the papers and officials say it allows the nsa and fbi to tap directly into the computer providers of some of the largest computer servers of some of the largest internet providers. government analysts can monitor the traffic in real time using special programs to watch for suspicious messages or postings. the equivalent of standing in the post office and watching for specific envelopes that go by coming from parts of the world or people that are deemed to be possible troublemakers. this is different, they say, from the phone program andrea was talking about which stores pascals and allows the government to go back to the data rater when there is a specific number to check. this involves the ability to watch for suspicious activity as it is happening as well as to look for sto

our justice correspondent pete williams covered at the court today. he is with us tonight with more. pete, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. arizona said this law was intended to cut down on voter fraud. but the court said today it violates a 20-year-old law, the motor voter law, which allows people to register by mail to vote in federal elections. and under that law, an applicant fills out a form and checks a box to indicate u.s. citizenship. but arizona went further, requiring some kind of document to prove it. civil rights groups said it was trying to make it harder for legal immigrants to vote. forcing them to clear additional hurdles. today with a vote of 7-2 with justices thomas and alito dissenting, the court said what arizona did was inconsistent with the motor voter laws to use that federal form. the constitution the court said gives congress the final word on how federal elections are conducted. still unresolved how much power the state has to say on who gets to vote. today's ruling likely dooms similar laws in georgia, alabama

pete williams with more. good evening. >> reporter: arizona said the law was intended to cut down on voter fraud, but the court says it violates a 20-year-old law, the motor voter law. which allows people to register by mail to vote in federal elections. they check a box to indicate u.s. citizenship. but arizona required some kind of document to prove it. civil rights groups said it was trying to make it harder for legal immigrants to vote. a vote of 7-2 with thomas and alito dissenting. they said what arizona did was inconsistent with the requirement to use federal form. the constitution gives congress final word on how federal elections are conducted. still unresolved, how much mower the state has to say on who gets to vote. it likely dooms similar laws in georgia, alabama, and kansas. we'll get decisions again on thursday, brian, with big cases of this term still to come. >> pete williams covering at the court tonight. >>> out west, a terrible fire season. predictions today it could still get a lot worse.

nbc's pete williams has the story. >> reporter: the ruling deals a crippling and potentially fatal blow to the law signed by president johnson in 1965, a response to efforts in the south it prevent blacks from voting. >> we're marching today to daum ma tise to the nation. >> veteran john lewis, now a georgia congressman watched as the law was signed. >> without the voting rights act of 1965, there would be no barack obama as president of the united states of america. we've come too far, made too much progress to go back. >> this decision represents a serious setback for voting rights and has the potential to negatively affect millions of americans across the country. >> in a 5-4 ruling, the court's conservatives said the areas covered by the voting rights act have changed but the law has not kept up. the act requires states with a history of voter discrimination to get permission from the federal government before changing how they conduct elections. the court left that part intact. but it struck down the map, the coverage formula of where that will requirement applies. that's all of ni

pete williams has more on this tonight. >> reporter: the court's decision involves the medical tests that actress angelina jolie took before deciding undergo a double mastectomy last month. >> i feel great. i feel wonderful, and i'm very, very grateful for all the support. it's been awesome. >> reporter: the test detects mutations in two genes that can predict higher rates of breast and ovarian cancers. only one company performs it, myriad genetics of utah. after discovering which of the body's two genes can signal a cancer risk, it was given a patent on the actual genes. elizabeth of massachusetts was among those suing, claiming myriad's monopoly made the test too expensive. >> my genetic counselor at the time told me that my health insurance would not cover the genetic testing. >> reporter: today a unanimous supreme court said myriad was not eligible for a patent because it did not create anything. a human gene, the court said, is a product of nature and cannot be patented. in response, myriad says enough of its other patents survived to protect its tests from competition, but the

pete williams has more. understooden. >> the ruling deals a crippling and potentially fatal blow to the law signed by president johns in 1965, a response to widespread efforts in the south to prevent blacks from voting. >> we're marching today. >> civil rights veteran john lewis watched as the law was signed. >> without the voting rights acof 1965, there would be no barack obama as president of the united states of america. we've come too far, made too much progress to go back. >> this decision represents a serious setback for voting rights and has the potential to negatively affect millions of americans across the country. >> in a 5-4 ruling the court's conservatives said the areas covered by the act had changed but the law has not kept up. the act requires state with a history of discrimination to get permission from the federal government before changing how they conduct elections. the court left that part intact but struck down the coverage formula of where that will requirement allies. that's all of nin

pete williams has the story. >> reporter: the hot button issue of gay rights dominates an unusually long list of important cases left to decide. >> i can't remember a week that was this higgs torque as the one we're about to see where you have at least three or four decisions that with lead the evening news and will be remembered for decades or even centuries. >> reporter: two gay couples are challenging california's proposition 8 passed in 2008 banning same-sex marriage there. >> we're no different than anyone else. we deserve the same rights. marriage benefits us, doesn't harm you. >> reporter: the court will also rule on the constitutionality of the defense of marriage act passed by congress in 1996. it blocks the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages in the states where they're legal. in the three months since the court heard the case legislatures in three more states have agreed to permit it bringing the total to 12 states plus washington, d.c. no way to know how that will influence the justices. the court will decide the fate of the most important civil rights law

we begin with nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. pete, i think it's a balancing act. tell us what this new program that we're discovering about at the nsa is actually doing. >> well, the first question i guess is whether it's new, and members of congress say it's not. they say that this is what we've seen here is a little peep into what's been going on for the past at least seven years, they say. and what it is is a request or a demand to the phone companies that they turn over data to the united states, to the nsa, on all the numbers that are in america that have called any other numbers in the u.s. or overseas. that's a huge amount of data, and it's gathered every day and turned over to the national security agency in this enormous database. now, that's part one, and that's what this court order that was reported by "the guardian" newspaper talks about. it's the gathering of the data. it says nothing about part two which is what can the government do with it? now, the program is classified, so we don't know all the details, but what we've been told today by members

he broke his silence today and agreed to an interview with our justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: after enduring weeks of criticism over the government's aggressive investigation of leaks, the attorney general says a better balance must be struck between press freedom and safeguarding national secrets. >> i'm a little concerned that things have gotten a little out of whack. i think we can do a better job than we have. we can reform those regulations, reform those guidelines to better reflect the balance. >> reporter: the justice department obtained logs for more than 20 phone lines used by associated press reporters to find the source for a story about al qaeda terror plotters in yemen. the government obtained e-mail and phone records from fox news james rosen about sensitive information from north korea calling him in court documents, at the very least either an aider, abettor or co-conspira r co-conspirator. holder said that phrase was required to get a search warrant. >> i don't like that. it means me as a government official who has great respect for the press is in

he broke his silence today and agreed to an interview with our justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: after enduring weeks of criticism over the government's aggressive investigation of leaks, the attorney general says a better balance must be struck between press freedom and safeguarding national secrets. >> i'm a little concerned that things have gotten a little out of whack. i think we can do a better job than we have. we can reform those regulations, reform those guidelines to;u better reflect the balance. >> reporter: the justice department obtained logs for more than 20 phone lines used by associated press reporters to find the source for a story about al qaeda terror plotters in yemen. the government obtained e-mail and phone records from james rosen calling him in court documents at the very least either an aider, abetter or coconspirator. holder said that phrase was required to get a search warrant. >> i don't like that. warrant. me as official who has great respect for the press is in e essence saying a reporter doing his or her job and doing that important job i

more from the pete williams exclusive with the nation's attorney general. >>> and the government may be looking at your phone records. we have details on a potentially massive amount of data the government is collecting every day. >>> and car-buying, we all know it stinks. well, one website wants to give you a set price

more from the pete williams exclusive with the nation's attorney general. >>> and the government may be looking at your phone records. we have details on a potentially massive amount of data the government is collecting every day. >>> and car-buying, we all know it stinks. well, one website wants to give you a set price right away so the process can stink a little bit less. this is "way too early." our promise to you is we're going to try not to stink today. >>> really setting a high bar here on "way too early." good morning, everybody, i'm brian shactman. it is thursday, june 6th. breaking news out of philadelphia. an update on the death toll from that building collapse. 6 people are dead, another 14 hurt after the structure unexpectedly came down yesterday. it's a four-story building actually in the process of being demolished, but a thrift shop next door was open for business. rescuers literally using buckets and their bare hands to remove rubble in a search-and-rescue operation that could last through this morning. those rescue workers did have some success, we can tell you. here

professor, my man, pete williams, stay cool, if at all possible. thank you, pete. turning now to texas. where democratic state senator wendy davis has become an overnight sensation after single-handedly blocking an abortion bill in the state by talking and talking and talking. davis began the filibuster, a bill that would ban abortions, after 20 weeks, and require abortion procedures be done at surgical centers. she kept talking for nearly 13 hours. >> this lenggislating is being done. voted on. look around the room. primarily by men. you can imagine -- or maybe you can't how a woman feels to be told that her feelings on these issues, that no matter how difficult, no matter the circumstance that she's dealing with, if she can't fit into either would be of these little square pegs, she is not going to be able to exercise her constitutional right. and ways hat's so disturbing ist we don't seem to care. >> senator davis wore pink tennis shoes, you see them there, that have already become iconic. according to the rules of the state senate, only one person can filibuste

pete williams referred to the possibility of investigations. senator dianne feinstein said today she believes this leak -- the first leak we're talking about, the verizon phone calls leak, should be investigated and it's pretty clear that that investigation would have to include you. >> look, let them go and investigate. there's this document called the constitution, and what one of the things that it guarantees is the right of a free press. which means that as a citizen and journalist, i have the absolute constitutional right to go and report on what it is that my government is doing in the dark, and inform my fellow citizens about that action. there is this massive surveillance state that the united states government has built up that has extraordinary implications for how we live as human beings on the earth and as americans in our country and we have the right to know what it is that that government and that agency is doing. and i intend to continue to shine light on that and dianne feinstein can beat her chest all she wants and call for in

pete williams has some breaking news on the boston marathon case. pete? >> andrea, the federal grand jury has now returned the next step in the charge against the remaining suspect in the boston marathon case, dzhokhar tsarnaev. this follows on to the original criminal complaint on which he was arrested. he's charged now with killing three people at the boston marathon, maiming or seriously injuring several other people, and shooting and killing the m.i.t. police officer, shawn collier. some of the details in the indictment are new. for example, prosecutors say that as tsarnaev was hiding from the police, bleeding in that boat in the backyard in water ton, massachusetts, he wrote on the inside wall beams of the boat. we've known that but now we have more details of what you wrote. he wrote, among other things, "the u.s. government is killing our innocent civilians. i can't stand to see such evil go unpunished. we muslims are one body. you hurt one, you hurt us all. now i don't like killing innocent people. it is forbidden in islam, but due to said events

pete williams joins us now with the full details. good evening, pete. >> reporter: larry two big rulings today. the supreme court on the defensive of marriage act and remember what this law is, it said the federal government could not recognize marriages in states where they are legal. they said that law served no legitimate purpose and demeaning same sex couples, you hhumiliat their children. and it disposed proposition 7, approved by 52% of california voters in 2008 that stopped same sex marriage there. what the court said was that the trial judge's opinion deciding that prop 8 is unconstitutional stands. because it said the people who appealed that ruling, the proponents who got prop 8 on the ballot didn't have the proper legal standing to come here and appeal pinpoint what the opinion said written by chief justice john roberts in order to appeal you have to have some specific injury to you, a keen interest in an issue or a general grievance is not enough and the prop 8 proponents don't haste. as a practical matter first of all an

the great pete williams. how are you, pete? >> good day. >> pete, can you explain to us, those who don't understand, the technical ruling in prop 8. we get that doma was struck down meaning that the federal government will recognize marriages in those 12 states but explain the prop 8 ruling. >> reporter: let's not blow past the doma one first because i think it's an important point to make. what the court said is it's not saying whether states have to allow same-sex marriage. it expresses no opinion. it says when the states choose to allow same-sex marriage, the federal government can't deny those marriages because it makes them second class citizens. it's a law that appears to be based on primarily disapproval and it denies them equal protecti protection. it's the federal government discriminating. as justice kennedy says, doma writes discrimination into the u.s. code. it doesn't say what the other states have to do. as far as california, the simplest way to put this is the court says, you know what, it turns out that the peop

joining me is pete williams. pete, good afternoon. what can you tell us. >> reporter: mara, there's considerable consternation in washington here over what has happened. here's the sequence of events. the u.s. actually filed the criminal charges against edward snowden a little over a week ago on june 14th, but they say the charges were not simply dropped out of the blue on hong kong, that, in fact, before they were filed federal prosecutors and u.s. state department lawyers worked with prosecutors in hong kong to make certain that -- >> all right. we seem to have lost pete williams in d.c. we'll try to get you the latest on his information coming up a little bit later. >>> the director of the nsa general keith alexander is reacting to all of this today. here he is just a short time ago. >> it's clearly an individual who's betrayed the trust and confidence we had in him. he's not acting, in my opinion, with noble intent. >> let's go now live to the white house and nbc's kristin welker. are you hearing any reaction from the white house

justice correspondent pete williams joins me now. pete, what a day and what a direction. it just seems like even though it's only justice kennedy but the future has been pointed out to us today. >> well, it's very interesting, chris, that just yesterday, the supreme court greatly disappointed the civil rights community in america by striking at the heart of the voting rights act. then came back today and struck down the defense of marriage act giving great hope to the advocates of same-sex marriage across the nation. >> right. >> now, i think you very accurately characterized what the decision says. it does not say that any state has to allow same-sex marriage. what it says is in the states ta choose to do so, the federal government cannot refuse to recognize those marriages. justice kennedy's opinion for five members of the court said that such a distinction by the federal government serves no legitimate government purpose and demeans people in those states who are recognized as legally married in the states and also humiliates is the word he used tens of thousands of ch

pete williams joins us. how can you get back pain relief that lasts up to 16 hours? with thermacare heatwraps. the only wrap with patented heat cells that penetrate deep to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles. and now, introducing reusable thermacare cold wraps. pain relief without the shock of ice. [ roars ] ♪ [ roars ] ♪ [ roars ] ♪ [ roars ] ♪ [ male announcer ] universal studios summer of survival. ♪ >>> in a budget hear tong hill this afternoon, attorney general eric holder confirmed members of congress were briefed about the nsa obtaining phone records of millions of verizon customers. earlier he sat down exclusively with nbc news justice correspondent pete williams to address the calls for his resignation. pete joins us from washington for a special spin cycle. pete? >> a couple things about this. we should emphasize the interview with the attorney general was before this latest story broke about the nsa data collection. and secondly, the goal was really to talk to him about how the justice department has handled the previous leak investigations.

i just want to get pete williams in here as well. to the extent that you have aided and abetted snowden, even in his current movements, why shouldn't you, mr. greenwald, will charged with a crime? >> i think it's pretty extraordinary that anybody who would call themselves a journalist would publicly muse about whether or not other journalists should be charged with felonies. the asummings in your question, david, is completely without evidence, the idea i've aided and abetted him in any way. the scandal that arose in washington before our stories began was about the fact that the obama administration is trying to criminalize investigative journalism by going through the e-mails and records of ap reporters, accusing a fox journalist of the theory you just embraced, bag co-conspirator in felonies for working with sources. if you want to embrace that theory, it means every investigative journalist in the united states who receives classified information is a criminal, and it's precisely those theories and that climate that has become so

i want to get pete williams in here as well. to the extent that you have aided and abetted snowden, even in his current movements, why shouldn't you be charged with a crime? >> i think it's pretty extraordinary that anybody who would call themselves a journalist would publicly muse about whether or not other journalists should be charged with felonies. the assumption in your question, david, is completely without evidence. the idea that i've aided and abetted him in any way. the scandal that arose in washington before our stories began is about the fact that the obama administration is trying to criminalize journalism by going through the phone records of a.p. reporters, and co-conspirators in felonies in working with sources, that means every journalist in the united states who works with their sources, receives classified information is a criminal. it's precisely those theories and precisely that climate that has become so menacing in the united states. that's why the new yorker's day mayor said investigative reporting has com

nbc legal correspondent pete williams is at the court. the court hinted broadly in the oral arguments last october. >> reporter: four years ago in a similar case the supreme court came close to striking down the voting rights act and rattled its saber and said to congress things have changed in the south, evasive discrimination that existed in 1965 is a relic of the past, congress has got to update this law. congress did nothing, so you it should surprise no one that the supreme court has done what it threatened to do four years ago and today blew a crippling and potentially fatal hole in the voting rights act. here is i think the best way to understand the court's logic. they say the voting rights act upsets the normal balance between the federal government and the states. the states normally, under our constitution, get to decide how elections are held. the federal government in the voting rights act presumes any change at all in elections in the state's covered by the law to be improper. the states are guilty until proven innocent. the

joining us now from the supreme court, nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. pete, thanks for being here. >> reporter: you bet. >> walk us through this ruling today. >> reporter: what the supreme court said is what arizona tried to do is preempted by federal law. that is to say, federal law is supreme on this question of how federal elections are conducted. it said that this arizona law runs contrary to a two-decade-old law called the motor voter law. it basically says that he can register to vote when you get your driver's license but you can also register by mail. you check "i swear i am a u.s. citizen," then you sign it at the bottom. arizona went further in 2004 by voter initiative prop 200. it required people to show documentary proof that they were citizens and what immigrant groups said -- arizona defended this law by saying it would help to prevent voter fraud but groups representing immigrants said it was just an additional hurd that will they can to get over because they wouldn't be able to do so as easily by mail. they'd have to bring documentary pr