What appeared to be a smoke bomb was thrown over the fence of the White House on Tuesday as hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters gathered outside of the gates.

U.S. Secret Service spokesman George Ogilvie says that the crowds were dispersed Tuesday evening and that there were no arrests in the incident. People inside the White House, however, were being prevented from exiting on the Pennsylvania Ave. side of the building while the situation was being resolved.

President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, were out at a nearby restaurant celebrating her 48th birthday when the incident occurred.

Ogilvie reports that at one point there were 1,000 to 1,500 protesters. He said that something appearing to be a smoke bomb was thrown over the fence and that the device was removed.

President Barack Obama announced on Monday that his White House Chief of Staff, William M. Daley, had resigned. The decision to resign at the start of a critical election year came as a surprise to the Democratic president.

Obama said that Daley will be succeeded by White House budget director Jack Lew. The changes will go into effect at the end of January, which will give Lew time to finish up details on the President's budget proposal that is due next month.

Speaking of Lew, Obama said:

"I have every confidence that Jack will make sure that we don't miss a beat and continue to do everything we can to strengthen our economy and the middle class and keep the American people safe."

Daley offered his resignation to Obama in an Oval Office meeting last Tuesday. The President then asked Daley to take some time to think about the decision, but the following day. Despite his promise to stay through the 2012 election, Daley informed him of his final decision to leave the very next day.

In his resignation letter, Daley praised Obama's leadership on a number of issues and said he was honored to be a part of his administration. He did not, however, give any indication of his reasons for leaving, other than to note, "It is time for me to go back to the city I love."

President Barack Obama is expected to use a stop in Cleveland on Wednesday to announce that he's bypassing the Senate to install former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Speaking on a condition of anonymity, a White House official revealed reporters:

“With Cordray in place, the CFPB will now be able to exercise its full ability to protect consumers and middle class families allowed under the law. "

According to prepared remarks released by the administration official, Obama will say:

"Every day that Richard waits to be confirmed is another day when millions of Americans are left unprotected. Without a director in place, the consumer watchdog agency we’ve set up is left without the tools it needs to prevent dishonest mortgage brokers, payday lenders and debt collectors from taking advantage of consumers. That’s inexcusable. It’s wrong. And I refuse to take “no” for an answer.”

In a move designed to appeal to voters, President Barack Obama will propose a "Buffett Tax" on individuals making more than $1 million a year as a part of his deficit recommendations to Congress on Monday.

The proposal, which is one of many suggestions being given to a congressional Super Committee that is expected to see up to $3 trillion in deficit savings over the course of 10 years, would appeal to Obama's Democratic base ahead of the 2012 presidential election. However, it would not raise much in revenues.

According to White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer, the tax would act as "a kind of AMT" (Alternative Minimum Tax) that aims to ensure millionaires pay at least as much tax as middle-class families.

The name "Buffett Tax" refers to billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Earlier this year, Buffett wrote that rich people like him often pay less tax than those who actually work for them because of tax loopholes. And he says that they can afford to pay more.

Obama will give his suggestions, but Congress can choose to ignore them if they like. Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, have already said that they will not agree to tax increases.

I never heard of Republican Hill staff veteran Mike Lofgren, retired this summer after 30 years, until he published on Saturday what I believe will be required reading in textbooks someday - a forensic indictment dismantling his own Republican Party so thoroughly, I thought I was reading the boiled resin of every blog post I've ever written in my seven years as a loud mouthed left wing liberal blogger.

Take note what a Republican Hill staffer of 30 years will have been part of. Mike Lofgren was at the highest levels of GOP legislating for George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and two years of Barack Obama. Lofgren helped legislate into law the Contract with America under Speaker Newt Gingrich. He is no passer by, no bystander, not merely rank and file, not even a fleeting member of Congress. Mike Lofrgren was embedded into the very pinnacle of Republican power, for multiple presidencies.

This week, Mike Lofgren wrote that his Republican Party has gone completely mad. And in order to write this, he retired from government. I saw his first appearance on Hardball tonight, and Lofgren looks in equal measure relieved, freed, and yet, terrified. Lofgren appears a bookish, geeky, middle-aged technocrat with a look in his eyes of a canary just released from a coal mine, begging you to listen to his warning.

President Barack Obama's uncle, Obama Onyango, 67, was arrested last week in Massachusetts for drunk driving. On Tuesday, the Boston Herald reported that Onyango had a valid Social Security number and Massachusetts driver's license for at least 19 years.

According to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, Onyango possessed the license and Social Security number since at least 1992. He was pulled over last Wednesday night in Framingham, Massachusetts, which is located about 20 miles southwest of Boston, after making a sudden right turn at a stop sign and nearly colliding with a police cruiser.

Onyango denied being drunk, but later admitted that he had two beers. He blew a 0.14 on a Breathalyzer test, which is above the legal limit of 0.08.

A police report indicates that Onyango was "slurring as he spoke", interupted the police officer that pulled him over, and had "obviously red and glassy eyes." After being asked to exit his vehicle, an officer reported that Onyango was "moderately unsteady on his feet." Later on, when officers asked if he'd like to make a telephone call to arrange for bail, Onyango replied:

"I think I will call the White House."

The conventional wisdom is in and the verdict is unanimous: The Republicans ran roughshod over President Obama in the laborious debt-ceiling/budget debate and his prospects for re-election are now looking fairly remote. In addition, the Tea Party has emerged as the most powerful force in American politics, having totally eliminated tax hikes as part of the solution to cutting the deficit while striking a devastating blow against the usefulness of government in general and the spineless Obama in particular. Plus, troops are still dying in Afghanistan and Standard & Poor’s just lowered the boom.

What’s more there’s evidence that the limpid Left may be in revolt. Among other things, the ghastly visage of Ralph Nader – the addled egomaniac that Michael Moore and other “progressives” backed in 2000 – has been spotted in the media spouting his own peculiar brand of self-serving political psychobabble and hinting at another presidential run. The lefty blogosphere (also known as the Political Amateur Hour) is moaning about how they have been let down and duped by the duplicitous Obama and now appear committed to hold their breath until they turn purple because nobody knows the troubles they’ve seen.

President Barack Obama's job approval rating has hit a new low this week, dropping to 40 percent as the debt crisis continues to drag on in Washington D.C. According to the results of a new Gallup Daily tracking poll released on Friday, it is a sharp drop-off from a 50 percent approval rating earlier this month.

Gallup reports that Obama's previous low was 41 percent, which he hit in April. In a statement releasing the poll numbers, Gallup said:

"The inability of US lawmakers to agree on the debt ceiling has apparently shaken Americans' confidence in the economy and now seems to be taking its toll on the president's public support, with Obama's approval rating at a new low."

Gallup said that Obama had an approval rating of 50 percent as early as June 7.

Amongst Democrats, Obama's job approval rating is far better at 72 percent. 34 percent of Independents approve of his performance, and just 13 percent of Republicans approve.

The poll was conducted via phone from Tuesday through Thursday with a random sample of 1,463 U.S. adults.

Fox News' political Twitter account was compromised early Monday morning when hackers broke into the account and posted updates stating that President Barack Obama had been assassinated.

A series of six tweets came from the FoxNewsPolitics account reporting that Obama had been shot dead in Iowa and that the shooter was unknown. The account is followed by more than 34,000 people.

Later Monday morning Fox News posted a statement on it's website, calling the tweets "malicious" and "false". The hacking is being investigated, and a Secret Service spokesman said that the agency would not comment on the tweets.

President Obama is alive and well, and is planning to spend Independence Day at a barbecue at the White House with military families and administration staffers.

President Barack Obama had flown into Ireland on Sunday, but has now been forced to cut his trip short as the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland threatens to disrupt flights across the United Kingdom.

Obama had been scheduled to spend Monday evening in Dublin, but will instead leave early to avoid the possibility of getting stuck on his first stop on his four-country, six-day tour of Europe. A White House official said:

'Due to a recent change in the trajectory in the plume of volcanic ash, Air Force One will depart Ireland for London tonight. The schedule for tomorrow will proceed as planned.'

Obama is scheduled to spend two days in London at Buckingham Palace. These plans haven't yet been disrupted. He is also due to visit France and Poland.

President Obama reaffirmed the "bonds of affection" today with a visit to his ancestral home, a pint of Guinness and a speech in the center of Dublin that even included him reciting a line in Gaelic.