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.

In October 2011, it was announced that Cleveland, Ohio, had been selected as the next city to host Marine Week, the Corps' annual community outreach event. Now it's been announced that Cleveland has been named one of 15 cities where America’s Navy will “come home” in 2012, giving area residents an opportunity to meet sailors and learn about the Navy’s capabilities and relevance to national security.

Cleveland Navy Week will run from August 27 to September 4. The event will commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and "The Star Spangled Banner." It will feature visits from U.S. Navy ships as well as a variety of special events, including:

• The Blue Angels, the Navy flight demonstration team
• Leap Frogs, the Navy parachute team
• Visiting U.S. Navy ships
• Navy Band musical performances
• Admirals and other senior Navy leaders, who will engage with local corporate, civic, government and education leaders
• Navy simulator and other interactive displays
• Visits to area schools
• Community service projects and events with local sports franchises
• Visits with local veterans

On Wednesday, the government unveiled their new colorful map of planting zones which has been updated for a warmer 21st century. The official guide, which is printed on seed packets and in gardening books and pamphlets, now reflects what many gardeners have noticed: the coldest day of the year isn't as cold as it used to be and plants that used to be too vulnerable to survive the cold can now make it further up north.

This is the first time that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has updated the map since 1990, and a lot has changed. Entire states like Ohio, Nebraska and Texas, now find themselves in warmer zones.

The new planting guide was unveiled Wednesday at the National Arboretum. It's said to use better weather information and offers more interactive technology in its online version. Gardeners can now type in their zip code and their zone will appear, showing the exact average coldest temperature for each of the 26 zones.

The USDA attempted updating the map once before in 2003, but this caused a bit of an uproar and they decided not to use the map they'd commissioned which featured the warmer weather. The Arbor Day Foundation later issued its own planting guide which reflected the warmer climate zones, and the new federal map is similar to the Arbor Day Foundation map.

Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) was detained on Monday by the Transportation Security Administration in Nashville, Tennessee, after refusing a full body pat-down.

Paul spokesperson Moira Bagley confirmed that he was being detained, stating:

“I spoke with him five minutes ago and he was being detained indefinitely. The image scan went off; he refused patdown.”

Meanwhile, Rand's father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) posted on Twitter about the incident, saying that there'd been an "anomaly" with a body scanner:

“My son @SenRandPaul being detained by TSA for refusing full body pat-down after anomaly in body scanner in Nashville. More details coming.”

Rand Paul was traveling to Washington D.C. when he was detained. He had been slated to speak at the March for Life.

Paul's spokesperson was the first to report that he'd been detained, posting on Twitter:

“Just got a call from @senrandpaul. He’s currently being detained by TSA in Nashville,."

Paul has been a fierce critic of TSA's pat-downs of passengers at airports, something he views as government overreach.

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.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Cuyahoga Valley National Park announced that the park received $3.2 million in federal funds from the Federal Transit Administration. The grant will be used to fund five projects that will improve visitor services to one of the crown jewels of the park - the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

The CVSR is one of the longest, oldest, and most scenic tourist excursion railways in the United States. It is a private sector non-profit organization supported by volunteers, and workers in operating partnerships with the National Park. CVSR also follows and helps to preserve the historic Ohio & Erie Canalway.

The five projects at Cuyahoga Valley National Park include:

1. $1.4 million to construct a bridge across the Cuyahoga River linking Rockside Station with the Lock 39 trailhead, which will improve access between the Towpath Trail and Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.
2. $575,000 to replace the 58-year-old power generation railroad car.
3. $994,000 to rebuild locomotive #365 with green technology – resulting in a hybrid engine that will reduce exhaust transmissions by 90 percent and fuel consumption by 60 percent or more.
4. $145,000 to rebuild an older ADA car.
5. $137,000 to rebuild the baggage car serving the Bike Aboard! program.

This week, the Federal Communications Commission filed a formal request for public comment on the idea to end the policy of prohibiting television broadcasts of professional football games that do not sell out prior to the start of the game.

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said that the rule may be obsolete due to the wide range of communication technology currently available. The rule was adopted in 1975. McDowell said:

"We now live in a world with not only local broadcast stations, but also cable, satellite, the Internet and wireless, and where television and merchandizing revenues exceed ticket sales. It is appropriate for us to re-examine the rule in light of marketplace changes."

The National Football League would be most effected by the move and has decided to take an early stance against the FCC proposal. The NFL issued a statement saying that the blackout rule supports ticket sales, which add to the overall excitement and appeal of the games:

"The policy is very important in supporting NFL stadiums and the ability of NFL clubs to sell tickets; keeping our games attractive as television programming with large crowds; and ensuring that we can continue to keep our games on free TV."

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:

On Thursday, the United States Mint released a new $1 coin featuring President James A. Garfield's portrait. Garfield's coin is the 20th to be released under the Mint's Presidential $1 Coin program that was authorized by Congress in 2005.

Coins are being released in the order that the Presidents served.

Garfield's coin was unveiled on Thursday at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio. The coin is gold in color only, and is actually made of copper, zinc, manganese and nickel. The "heads side" of the coin features Garfield's portrait along with the words "James Garfield; In God We Trust; 20th President,; and 1881." On the "tails side" of the coin is a rendition of the Statue of Liberty.

More than 100 people attended the event. Representatives from the U.S. Min, the National Park Service and the City of Mento were there, along with members of the Garfield family. After the ceremony, a few people exchanged currency for 25-coin rolls of the new Garfield $1 coin. More than $9,000 worth of the new coin were put into circulation yesterday. They can be obtained at local banks and through the U.S. Mint's website.

Last week, someone took two shots at the White House. One smashed a window, but was stopped by anti-ballistic glass that shield's the building's interior. On Wednesday, Pennsylvania State Police arrested the shooting suspect - 21-year-old Oscar Ortega-Hernandez -in a hotel near Indiana, Pa., at 12:35pm based on information received by the Secret Service.

Police had been searching for Ortega in connection with the incident n which shots were fired at about half a mile from the White House on Friday evening. On Tuesday, two bullets were disocvered at the White House. While the Secret Service has not been able to "conclusively" connect the two incidents, authorities believe the bullets at the White House were from the shots fired on Friday.

Authorities believe that Ortega is mentally ill, and that may he have a particular fixation on the White House. He has a long criminal history, including domestic violence and drug offenses on his record.