It was the political trial of the decade, starring a hidden child born to a secret, high-octane mistress; an ambitious first lady battling cancer; a loyal daughter watching in the wings; and an emotionally volatile campaign aide condemning his old boss.

A federal appeals court in Boston ruled unanimously yesterday that the controversial Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, as it discriminates against legally married same-sex couples by denying them the same federal benefits afforded to heterosexual couples. Takeaway Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich discusses the ruling with Congressman Barney Frank.

On March 29, the Department of Homeland Security added Syria to the list of nations deemed so unstable that that temporary protected status is granted to the country’s nationals living in the U.S. Are conditions in Syria reaching a point where a rescue is in order?

This week’s big release is “Snow White and the Huntsman,” starring Kristen Stewart of “Twilight” fame, and Charlize Theron as her wicked stepmother. Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer, our Movie Date team, break down what to see and what to skip.

Cities across America have banned all sorts of things: styrofoam, plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic happy meal toys, foie gras. These are just a few of the contemporary bans, of course. Today, The Takeaway looks at the biggest ban in American history — a ban that started in specific cities but spread nationwide. It lasted for over a decade, but eventually was struck down. This was a ban on alcohol.

Another massacre in Syria and more video showing horribly brutalized bodies. In the latest allegation, men were taken from a work bus and killed, execution style. The latest allegations suggests the same pattern as in the killings in Houla last week, actions taken by pro-government militia known as Shabiha. The United Nations Human Rights Commission is meeting in an emergency session to talk about the bloody events in Houla and now this latest atrocity.

In the aftermath of last week’s Houla massacre, Syria appears on the brink. The threat of a full-scale, open civil war looms and fears are growing around the country’s violence spilling out across the Middle East. A first-time filmmaker whose debut documentary, “U.N. Me,” traces and critiques the history of the U.N., discusses how the organization should act in Syria.

Yan Zhang is now in very accomplished literary company. The 17-year-old writer was recognized by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers for her writings on how she coped with her grandfather's death. Past winners of the contest include Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote and Joyce Carol Oates.

The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship will kick off a week from today. Normally it's a cause for celebration, but concerns that some racist fans in the host countries of Poland and the Ukraine will harm black and Asian fans and players have dominated any discussion about the tournament. Is racism really that entrenched in European soccer?

This week, our Follow Friday panel includes Jeff Yang, author of the Tao Jones column for The Wall Street Journal and blogger for WNYC's It's a Free Country, and Ron Christie, Takeaway contributor and Republican political strategist. Ron and Jeff discuss the unemployment numbers for May, Mitt Romney clinching the Republican nomination and where his campaign goes from here, the Circuit Court decision holding the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, and President Obama's "Kill List."

The Justice Department has demanded that Florida stop trying to identify noncitizens to purge from its voter registration rolls. Last night the department sent a detailed letter to Florida's Secretary of State, Ken Detzner, instructing the state to end the practice, which it said violated the Voting Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act.