On Tuesday a federal appeals panel in San Francisco ruled that California's infamous Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage, is unconstitutional. This decision would lead to the Supreme Court's consideration of the highly controversial social issue.

The panel overturned the proposition by a 2 to 1 vote. Proposition 8 was approved by 52 percent of California voters in 2008, and thus amended the state's Constitution to limit marriage to a man and woman.

U.S. Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in his decision:

“Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples. The Constitution simply does not allow for laws of this sort.”

Reinhardt, appointed by Jimmy Carter, was joined ruling the proposition unconstitutional by Judg Michael Daly Hawkins, who was appointed by Bill Clinton. Judge N. Randy Smith, who was appointed by George W. Bush, dissented.

Cleveland was infamously named the United States' most miserable city in 2009. In 2010, after much public outcry the year prior, Forbes.com decided to push Cleveland down to the No. 10 spot on its list. Last year, Cleveland fell a couple spots further down the list, coming in at No. 12.

Forbes looks at 10 factors in determining the nation's most miserable cities, including: violent crime rate, property tax rates, commute, political corruption, pro sports team performance, and others.

Miami, Florida, came in as the country's most miserable city in 2011. Forbes.com explains that aside from all the glitz and glamour the city offers, most Miami residents are struggling to make ends meet. Detroit and Flint, Michigan, took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, which Forbes blames on the decline of the auto industry.

The top 10 Most Miserable Cities for 2011, according to Forbes.com, were:

#1 Miami, Fla.
#2 Detroit, Mich.
#3 Flint, Mich.
#4 West Palm Beach, Fla.
#5 Sacramento, Calif.
#6 Chicago, Ill.
#7 Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
#8 Toledo, Ohio
#9 Rockford, Ill.
#10 Warren, Mich.

Habitat for Humanity, the Christian non-profit that helps build homes for low-income families around the world, says that it plans to foreclose on 25 houses in Cleveland if the homeowners do not respond to warning letters regarding their overdue mortgage payments.

Some of the Cleveland homeowners are more than three years behind in mortgage payments.

John Habat, executive director of Habitat for Humanity's local Cleveland chapter, said that letters are being sent to those 25 property owners within two weeks outlining what they can do to avoid foreclosure. If a response is not received within 32 days, officials will foreclose on te homes.

Habitat for Humanity was one of the country's largest builders in 2010, constructing nearly 4,600 homes. Nationwide, the group's foreclosure rate is less than 2 percent..

Habitat for Humanity has also been forced to take foreclosure steps in Florida and Georgia.

Deeds to the properties are held by Habitat, with homeowners typically getting a 30-year, no-interest mortgage. They are required to make monthly payments, which are usually under $500, and must work at least 500 hours on their homes as well as attend financial literacy and homeownership workshops.

With Craigslist related robberies on the rise, police in Milwaukee are offering to let people conduct their Craigslist transactions inside the police station. This offer has been extended in order to prevent robberies.

Milwaukee police came up with the idea after a huge uptick in robberies that occurred during the trade-off of goods sold on Craigslist. Officer Lisa Staffold explains:

"The media has deemed it 'robbery by appointment' because you're posting ads, you're selling your iPhones, your iPads, your vehicles, and when you go to a meeting location, you're being robbed."

Anyone who's sold stuff on Craigslist is familiar with being nervous about meeting up with the prospective buyer, or seller. Many people meet in public places, or invite buyers to their homes. A police station seems like the safest place, and perhaps more cities will soon start offering up their stations for Craigslist transactions as well.

Flags will be lowed to half-staff at all Pennsylvania state facilities in honor of Joe Paterno, the legendary former Penn State University football coach who died Sunday after a battle with lung cancer.

Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett made the order to lower the flags, which will remain lowered until Paterno is laid to rest. The Paterno family has not yet made any announcements about funeral arrangements.

Paterno was the winningest coach in Division I college football, with 409 wins in 26 seasons as the Nittany Lions head coach. Paterno was fired from his position in November after former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with more than 50 counts of sexual abuse of children and the scandal that engulfed the school. PSU's board of regents said that Paterno had a moral obligation to do more after learning of a recent allegation in 2002 against Sandusky, and they thus decided to remove him.

Legendary blues, R&B and jazz singer Etta James died Friday in Riverside, California, at the age of 73. James suffered from leukemia, hepatits C and dementia.

Born Jamesetta Hawkins in 1938 in Los Angeles, James is perhaps best known for her 1961 hit "At Last". She continued to record throughout the decades, and is a member of the Rock & Roll, Blues, Rockabilly and Grammy halls of fame. She has also been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.

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.

Collecting loose change can really add up, just ask the Transportation Security Administration, which recovered over $400,000 worth of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters at American airport checkpoints.

The TSA reports collecting $409,085.56 in coins, including foreign currency, that was left by travelers in 2010. New York's JFK International Airport collected the most coins at $46,918.06 in 2010. JFK was followed by Los Angeles, Atlanta, San Francisco and Miami in raking in the most change.

Unclaimed cash is used to finance TSA operations. Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida, however, has proposed donating it to the USO to help operate their welcome centers around the world for U.S. military personnel.

Twelve people in the United States have been reported to have been infected by a mutating, and now potentially human-to-human transmitted form of the H1N1 swine flu virus called H3n2v. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention has found that human infections of the viruses followed contact with swine, as well as through "limited human-to-human transmission."

The CDC explained:

'While there is no evidence that sustained human-to-human transmission is occurring, all influenza viruses have the capacity to change and it's possible that this virus may become widespread."

The CDC reports that the virus has been found in five states throughout the East Coast and Midwest since August 2011. Two cases have been reported in Indiana, three in Iowa, two in Maine, three in Pennsylvania and two in West Virginia. Excluding the victims from WV, 3 out of 10 diagnosed with the virus were hospitalized.

In Iowa, three children contracted the virus and were believed to have spread it amongst themselves. The CDC said:

A North Carolina man is currently in jail on a $17,500 bond after he allegedly tried to go shopping at Walmart with a million bill. Michael Fuller, 53, insisted that the one-million bill was real when attempting to buy $476 worth of items, including a microwave oven and a vacuum cleaner.

The largest bill in circulation in the United States is the $100. The U.S. government stopped printing notes up to $10,000 in 1969 because they were rarely used by the public. The largest bill to have ever been printed in the U.S. was the $100,000 bill that featured a picture of President Woodrow Wilson. They were printed between Dec. 18, 1934 and January 9, 1935, and were used only for transferring money between Federal Reserve banks.

Fuller has been charged with attempting to obtain property by false pretense and uttering a forged instrument. He is due to be in court on Tuesday.