10 things you need to know today: March 26, 2013

The Supreme Court debates gay marriage, Amanda Knox's acquittal is overturned, and more in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion

Amanda Knox reacts after her murder conviction was overturned in October 2011 by an Italian court.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Tiziana Fabi/Pool)

1. SUPREME COURT ENTERS GAY-MARRIAGE DEBATE

The Supreme Court is finally stepping into the legal battle over gay marriage. On Tuesday, the justices begin hearing oral arguments in a challenge to California's same-sex marriage ban. Two gay couples challenged the ban — Proposition 8 — saying it violates their constitutional right to equal protection under the law. The case could serve as the final word on gay marriage if the court's nine justices rule that there is a constitutional right to gay marriage. If the court reaffirms an appeals court ruling, however, the case would only affect California. The appellate judges said the state couldn't withdraw the right to marry once it had extended it to the roughly 18,000 same-sex couples who were wed before Prop. 8 was approved. [Washington Post]

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.