Amid a maelstrom of opinions on the subject, the House of Representatives will begin to discuss two bills that enable same-sex marriages on Friday.

President Obama will meet with the pope while he is in Italy for the annual G8 summit, which takes place in L’Aquila July 8-10.

Venezuelan Foreign Relations Minister Nicolas Maduro and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon agreed to “normalize” diplomatic relations in a telephone call on Tuesday.