and a situation now so serious president obama is getting involved. >> saw the mass exodus yesterday from that area. it was incredible. >> those pictures keep rolling in of neighborhoods on fire. good morning, everybody. welcome to "early start." i'm ashleigh banfield. >> i'm zor ray da zam bow lynn. up first, the decision that will affect every single american is less than five hours away. the supreme court will decide whether all or parts of the affordable care act dubbed obamacare by many is constitutional. politically it is considered the signature legislation of president obama's time in office, and it's likely to be a center piece of the presidential election campaign as well. mitt romney, the presumptive republican presidential nominee, says he'll take action regardless of the decision. >> whatever the supreme court does tomorrow, one thing we know, if i'm elected president, we're going to get rid of obamacare and replace it with real reform. >> and the american people understand that we're not going to make progress by going backwards, we need to go forwards. they understand we don't need to refight this battle over health care, it's the right thing to do. >> one thing is for sure, today's decision will affect how you get medicine and health care. congressional correspondent kate bolduan is live in washington and she is breaking it all down for us. what are the key issues we should be expecting today? >> reporter: good morning, zoraida. the nine justices need to apes a question. they are facing four issues today, and we will finally get an answer as we've been talking about this for months now. first off, the justices need to answer the question, should they take a kind of legal time-out here, not deciding this case, not taking up this challenge until maybe after 2014 when all of the main provisions kick in. that has to do with pretty archaic, not well known law called the anti-injunction act from the 19th century. that's likely not to happen, but then the big question is the center piece. the individual mandate requiring most -- nearly all-americans to have health insurance or face a penalty. will that stand or will that go? and then the next question right after that is we kind of call it the domino effect. if the individual mandate's ruled unconstitutional, if it's ruled to step beyond the bounds of the authority that congress has does the rest of the law or part of the law stand or does all of it go if the center piece of the law is ruled unconstitutional. finally on a separate issue, a challenge to the expanded medicaid praogram within the health care law combines together to argue that this is stepping on state's rights, that it is an overreach of the federal government and that this expanded medicare program unfairly coerces states to take part in the expanded program. all four important issues, legally dense and finally we should hopefully have an answer sometime after 10:00 this morning. >> we're sternly looking forward to it. what if there's a split decision 5-4 either way? >> there's a lot of talk about this. the high court would love to have a unanimous vote. they would love to speak with one voice on any issue. on hot issues we have expected a divide because there is an ideological difference between these justices. i'll tell you, it's interesting. ruth bader ginsburg, she said recently that it may surprise you that we have voted unanimously and decided unanimously in some 40% of the cases they've taken up this year. these are less high profile cases, less big headline cases, but they do speak with one voice occasionally. i'm not going to read the tea leaves today. we will see. i wouldn't be surprised if it is a split decision. >> historically i was reading typically it is like that like supreme court justice ginsburg said. i know you have a long day. thank you very much. >> of course. talk about long days. even the laypeople are looking for some long days. already lining up at the supreme court to be there when history is made and that verdict actually comes down. this was the scene outside of the supreme court yesterday afternoon. campers. one of them a teacher from california. another a nurse from florida. both of them flying to washington because they just wanted to be there. >> i had the opportunity because they announced when they were going to issue the opinion in advance to grab an airplane ticket and fly up and sit out here all night and i just thought i was going to grab the opportunity and do it. >> i really love the government class because every day there's something in the news that i can bring to my class. >> thank you. thank you. all right. so there ease a live picture right now of the supreme court. you can't see it, but there are people outside waiting right now. apparently somewhere around 50 tickets or so available to the onlookers, people who want to be inside the gallery. what we can also tell you is it is not broadcast live, folks. they have made concessions to do radio recordings that they often release later, but you'll have to rely on the live reporters literally sitting through the readings of the opinions and then rushing out to the cameras outside. we're keeping a live eye on it for you. >> it is six minutes past the hour. keep it here on cnn. we have special coverage. chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta will tell us how the health care decision will affect your medical coverage if the entire law is upheld or killed. jim accost a tells us what this will mean for the election in both the obama and romney campaigns. and then business correspondent christine romans explains what this means for you and your money. how much will you end up paying if the law passes. will your costs go up or will they go down? make sure you stay tuned with "starting point" with soledad o'brien in two hours. our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin will be here. soledad will speak with republican senator mike lee from utah and democratic senator chuck schumer from new york. all of it at 7:00 eastern time on cnn. >> special coverage begins at 9:00 eastern, wolf blitzer, candy crowley and john king. they'll lead the coverage. >> you thought that was it for politics and law today. not so fast. an unprecedented house vote scheduled for later on today. this to decide whether or not to hold a sitting attorney general in contempt of congress. it was a white house event that holder was at last night. the republicans have already gained access to more than 7,000 documents regarding that "fast and furious" operation, the gun walking operation, but they have their sights set on something more, like those internal communications within the justice department after the gun walking operation failed. president obama has asserted executive privilege over many of those subpoenaed documents. as debby moves away from florida, more rain is in the forecast unfortunately along with rough surf and hazardous boating conditions. scattered showers and storms are expected in florida over the weekend. some areas hit with already 26 inches of rain this week. more than 5,000 people in 17 counties are without power. officials in florida say four people died in separate incidents there. food & drug administration is approving a controversial diet drug called belviq. it's designed for overweight or obese adults with one or more health issues like diabetic or cholesterol problems. the drug works by fooling the brain so that patients eat less and still feel full. could be on the market by early next year. today's show co-host an curry is expected to officially announce on this morning's show that he is she's leaving. curry told "usa today" that she will miss her viewers. the today's show ratings have slipped since curry replaced meredith vierra a year ago. we may have hope today. weather, it could actually change and it could turn the tide in the fight against all these fires in colorado. we're going to take you live out there from the wild fire zone and find out just exactly what is in store. 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clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. explosive wild fires in colorado that are swelling to, and i will say this and not lightly, epic proportions. top officials say they've never seen anything like this. multiple fires burning out of control at the same time. president obama now making a trip to this region, planning this for tomorrow. in the meantime "the denver post" is showing a few hundred of the homes that are just burned to the ground. thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes. >> my dad called me. he's like, there's flames a block away from your house right now. >> just total devastation. >> it's like somebody put on orange glasses. everything you could see was completely orange. >> so the waldo canyon fire has doubled in size just over the course of the day and that mostly because of high winds. rob marciano is in colorado springs. here's the question. we hear about the high winds, we hear about the dry conditions. it looks like there may be some rain in the forecast, but even that may not be what they need at this point. >> it's a bit of a double edged sword, ashleigh. rab was in the forecast and some parts got the rain. unfortunately the rain did not fall here. we got the outflow and that made the winds and the fire behavior even more erratic. after a terrifying night on tuesday night. yesterday was a nerve racking day for residents and firefighters alike as they try to get a handle on this thing. there's been estimates of maybe 2 or 300 homes burned in a community north and west of colorado springs. in colorado springs proper. this is not some hillbilly mountain community. this is a verified city with big homes, four, five bedroom homes that have been burned to the ground. residents frustrated. they've been coming up on hill tops with telescopes waiting to see into their neighborhood. very frustrated and scared, of course. all sorts of equipment and personnel on this fire to try to beat back the flames. it has grown, as you mentioned, to 18,000 acres. only 5% containment and another day of erratic winds expected. thunderstorms and dry lightening in the forecast. there you see the results. crowning fire getting into neighborhoods. frightening situation here in colorado springs. just up the road near boulder, colorado, this is a time lapse, the fire was spreading quickly throughout the day yesterday. this likely started by a lightening strike. you see that little bit later on in this time lapse. the entire state for the most part has been having to deal with at least the threat of fires burning here and that threat is going to continue. here's what the fire looks like on a map at least how close it is to colorado springs. there's the lightening strike. that is surreal for sure. this thing continues to grow. it is frighteningly close to where we stand right here. the five-day forecast shows temperatures that will remain very, very high, obviously dry, slight chance of thunderstorms. that doesn't mean good things. that increases the winds in all sorts of directions. fire weather threat out west today looking forward to be critical in spots but actually it's moving to the east. the lower great lakes going to be under be the gun because the heat that this area has endured, record-breaking heat, that is beginning to shift off to the east. now the fire threat, guys, moving to just south of the great lakes. so that's kind of surreal as well. we are about five miles from the fire zone on the east side of i-25 and i haven't been to a fire since san diego several years ago where you would look across city lights and see fire and smoke and that's what we've been seeing the past couple of days. we'll have to wait to see what sun up brings. little bit cooler and calmer now. hopefully they have a little bit more of a handle on the fire last night. it's big and continues to grow. >> so bizarre. so bizarre to think they could get thunderstorms coming but it's so dry you get the lightening from the thunderstorms and the rain doesn't even end up hitting the ground. it gets sucked up to the dry heat. we'll come back to you in a few minutes. if you want to find out how you can help the wild fire victims in colorado and other western states, you can go to cnn.com/impact. there you'll find all the organizations that you can tap into, ways that you can help those people in need. once again cnn.com/impact. 17 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date. here's christine romans. >> the top story, good morning, ladies, is the supreme court and the future of health care in america in the hands of the court today. in less than five hours we'll know whether the court decides to strike down portions of the law, the whole thing, or uphold it. the biggest issue, the individual mandate which would require nearly all-americans to buy some form of health insurance beginning in 2014 or face fines and penalties. a canadian search and rescue team says there are no survivors inside the rubble of a mall that collapsed in lake elliot. workers removed two bodies yesterday 267892 others were injured when a rooftop parking lot collapsed into the two story mall over the weekend. earlier this weaniek rescuers hd tapping. just months after beating a murder rap with florida's stand your ground law as a defense, graceton garcia was shot and killed. he was hit by a stray bullet as he drove his truck through miami's neighborhood. they believe he was an innocent victim. r kelly suffered complications from throat surgery. last year he underwent treatment for an abscess on his vocal cords. it's not clear how long he will be side lined. 18 minutes past the hour. we're getting an early read on local news that is making national headlines. chicago, it stands to save millions of dollars for decriminalizing pot. the city council has voted instead to find people caught with 15 grams or less. how much is that? that's the equivalent of about 25 cigarette sized joints. "the chicago tribune" says tickets will range from 250 to $50 o. the new rule is supposed to safe about $18 million. it should generate millions of dollars as well. >> sounds like a familiar move. new york mayor had the same plans. >> keeps on happening. >> maybe it's a wave, folks, going across the nation. politics makes strange bedfellows, sometimes charity does as well. the aclu, yes, the aclu is backing the kkk. >> wow. >> you heard right. kkk wants to adopt a highway in georgia, but officials there weren't so keen on the idea rejecting the application saying that program is only open to, quote, civic-minded organizations in good standing. the aclu telling "the journal constitution" that the klan does have a first amendment case here. in 2005 the court ruled missouri had no right to ban the kkk from the adopt a highway program in that state. so first missouri, now georgia. we'll watch it for you. you can also continue to watch what we're doing. expanded look is sitting all nicely all teaed up with a bowe on cnn on our blog. today's health care ruling will mean a lot for our nation, but what will it mean for your wallet. christine romans, you know, tells us what each possible decision would cost you. that's coming up. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] not everything powerful has to guzzle fuel. the 2012 e-class bluetec from mercedes-benz. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. good morning. welcome back. it's 23 minutes now past 5:00. we are minding your business this morning. christine romans is here talking about obamacare and your money. what is it going to cost everyone. >> i want to tell you this, look, most intelligent people can't figure out their co-pays and co-insurance. how are we supposed to understand a dramatic remaking. i want to be clear about the costs here, health care reform as it stands, as it's passed now, and what we all face here, how this is going to work. first of all, the cost is about a trillion dollars over ten years. this is according to the congressional budget office. there will be cuts to federal spending, taxes on hospitals, employers, and you to pay for it, right? on balance, the cbo says it will make deficits better over the next ten years. there are ways they're going to pay for t. here are some of the ways they're going to pay for it. if you make $200,000 a year for you, some taxes will go up. you'll pay higher medicare taxes and some of your investments. if you're uninsured you'll pay a fine or penalty or you'll pay to get some insurance with subsidies. if you misuse your flexible spending accounts, there will be some fines and fees for that and changes to flexible spending. that's how they're going to help pay for health care reform. if you go to a tanning booth you'll pay an excise tax and that's how they're going to pay for it as well. if you are uninsured, this is the cost per family if you don't have insurance. there will be a penalty if you decide, hey, i'm not going to get insurance. you'll pay a penalty. the whole idea is to try to push you into the system because you're also getting subsidies that are bigger than the penalty. so the government trying to get people to be insured. the maximum penalty in 2014 is $285. that goes up to $2,000 by the year 2016 if you do not have health insurance, you will be fined. it is capped at the percent of your income. it's very complicated. it is sprawling. it is huge. millions of people are going to be affected one way or another. if you have health insurance through your company and health reform stays in place, there are estimates that companies are going to start moving people into the state exchanges and have them go off and buy their own insurance and maybe 3 million a people a year starting in 2019. 3 million people a year will start losing their employer-based health insurance and you'll go into these state exchanges? >> literally you could lose it or have it changed on you? >> both. but the thing is that you might get a better deal if you go to one of the state exchanges. this has always been about access to insurance. this has never been something about keeping costs low, about helping you have more affordable insurance, it's about getting the uninsured insured. that is what this has always been about. >> it is because the costs are spiraling out of control. >> absolutely. >> you go to an emergency room visit, you don't have health care insurance somebody has to pay for that. >> absolutely. it's making the costs go up for everyone. this is my