• Signs of debate descend on Washington for same-sex court cases

    Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images

    Same-sex marriage supporters demonstrate in front of the Supreme Court on March 27, in Washington, D.C.

    Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

    A demonstrator holds a Bible while marching outside the Supreme Court in Washington, on March 26, as the court heard arguments on California's voter approved ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8.

    Pete Marovich / Zuma Press

    Pro same-sex marriage activist Ryan Toney, 18, of Washington, D.C. stands in front of the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.

    Nicholas Kamm / AFP - Getty Images

    Opponents of same-sex marriage participate in the March for Marriage in Washington, D.C. on March 26.

    Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images

    Same-sex marriage supporters and same-sex marriage opponents argue their points in front of the US Supreme Court on March 26, in Washington, D.C.

    Demonstrators for and against same-sex marriage rallied outside the U.S. Supreme Court with signs on Tuesday and Wednesday, as the court heard cases on California's Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act.

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  • Outside the Supreme Court: Reacting to the health care ruling

    David Goldman / AP

    Supporters of President Barack Obama's health care law celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 28, after the court's ruling.

    Jason Reed / Reuters

    Protesters against President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare overhaul hold signs outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 28. A sharply divided Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the centerpiece of Obama's signature healthcare overhaul law that requires that most Americans get insurance by 2014 or pay a financial penalty.

    Mark Wilson / Getty Images

    Reporters run with the U.S. Supreme Court's health care decision on June 28, in Washington, DC. Today the high court upheld President Obama's health care overhaul, in a victory for the president and Congressional Democrats.

    Tom Curry, msnbc.com National Affairs writer -- In a dramatic victory for President Barack Obama, the Supreme Court upheld the 2010 health care law Thursday, preserving Obama’s landmark legislative achievement.

    The majority opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, who held that the law was a valid exercise of Congress’s power to tax.

    Roberts re-framed the debate over health care as a debate over increasing taxes. Congress, he said, is “increasing taxes” on those who choose to go uninsured.

    Read the full story.

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    Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA

    Protestors dressed as belly dancers, who are against President Obama's health care law, gather outside the Supreme Court prior to the justices issuing their ruling in Washington, DC, on June 28. The high court's decision could be a huge lift, or blow, to the Obama administration.

    Jason Reed / Reuters

    Protesters against President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare overhaul react outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 28. A sharply divided Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the centerpiece of Obama's signature healthcare overhaul law that requires that most Americans get insurance by 2014 or pay a financial penalty.

    David Goldman / AP

    Maggie O'Brien, 20, of Syracuse, N.Y., wakes up after spending the night sleeping outside the Supreme Court, on June 28, in Washington. Saving its biggest case for last, the Supreme Court is expected to announce its verdict Thursday on President Barack Obama's health care law.

    Evan Vucci / AP

    Journalists wait outside the Supreme Court for a landmark decision on health care on June 28, in Washington.

    Tom Goldstein of the SCOTUS blog breaks down the Supreme Court's ruling on health care. When asked why Chief Justice John Roberts voted to uphold the law, Goldstein said, "I think he believed it."