Hi, Carl. You¡¯ve probably been hearing a lot about Cyprus lately and the fact that it¡¯s been a big worry to people who participate in a stock market. But why? That might be your question. Basically, Cyprus¡¯s banking system has gotten too big, and it is at risk of collapsing. Cyprus is part of the Euro zone, it¡¯s made up of 17 countries that all use the euro as their currency, much like we use the dollar. Eh, because these nations are all very interconnected through that common link, a problem in one can easily ripple to cause problems in another. That¡¯s the worry for the stock market, because much like the Euro Zone, the global economy is all interconnected, too. For example, when the United States fell into recession, back in 2007, many European countries quickly followed, that¡¯s because we all rely on each other for so much. Including things like trade, tourism and basic business relations. The good news is, though, the problems in Cyprus aren¡¯t that big of a deal, compared to if something like this happens in some places larger, like Germany or France. Cyprus is a tiny island in the Mediterranean, and accounts for just a small fraction of the Eurozone¡¯s economy and lawmakers there were able to reach a deal on Monday to keep the banking system up and running. Carl.

Thanks, Zain. 

Now, this week the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments about a couple of cases that deal with the same subject, same sex marriage. It¡¯s a controversial issue, a lot of emotion on both sides of it. We¡¯re going to lay the groundwork so we know exactly where the court is starting from. Right now, same sex marriage is legal in nine states, the ones you see highlighted on this map. It¡¯s also legal in Washington, D.C. 12 other states have laws that recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships. In those states, same sex couples get some of the same benefits as other couples, but without full marriage rights. The remaining 29 states have changed their constitutions to include a ban on same sex marriage. So it¡¯s illegal in those states. Those are the laws that the Supreme Court will be looking at. Today, the court is considering Proposition 8. That was the name of the ban on same sex marriage in California. When it was on the ballot in 2008, voters approved the ban by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent. Now, keep in mind this is a court case. So, the Supreme Court is going to be looking at the legal definition of marriage. On one side, the argument is that this is about civil rights.

When we talk about fundamental right as it relates to the Constitution, we are talking about those rights that we as a nation designated as being some of the most sacred of all the rights we can have. And 14 times the United States Supreme Court has described marriage as a fundamental right.

The legal argument on the other side is that this issue should be decided at the state level.

Americans on both sides of this issue are deeply invested in this debate on marriage, we don¡¯t need a 50-state solution, presented by the Supreme Court when our democratic institutions are perfectly capable of handling this issue, and that¡¯s really what¡¯s the court is going to decide, whether it¡¯s going to impose a redefinition of marriage about all Americans, or whether we are going to be allowed to continue to work on this together state by state.

One example of how interested some people are in this case - the lines started forming last Friday in the snow to try to get a seat inside today¡¯s hearing. A court¡¯s ruling isn¡¯t expected until sometimes this summer.