RICHMOND, Va. — An appeals courts' decision to strike down Virginia's same-sex marriage ban adds to the growing list of decrees on a hot-button issue that will likely end up being decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., is the second federal appellate court to overturn gay marriage bans, after the Denver circuit, and is the first to affect the South, a region where the rising tide of rulings favoring marriage equality is testing concepts of states' rights and traditional, conservative moral values that have long held sway.

“I am proud that the Commonwealth of Virginia is leading on one of the most important civil rights issues of our day,” said Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, who had refused to defend the state ban when he took office in January.

Virginians voted 57 percent to 43 percent in 2006 to amend their constitution to ban gay marriage and state law prohibits recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states, which the court said infringes on its citizens' fundamental right to marry.

HARTFORD, Conn. — A man who was imprisoned 21 years for a rape and murder he didn't commit is set to testify at a first Connecticut hearing to determine how much he should be compensated.Kenneth Ireland was jailed when he was 18 and released in 2009 at age 39, after DNA tests. He's seeking up to $8 million.Ireland's lawyer says Tuesday's hearing marks the first time a wrongful imprisonment claim is going to the state claims commissioner.Ireland says he lost the opportunity to learn a trade, earn a living, get married and raise a family. Labeled a sex offender, Ireland said in his claim he witnessed and experienced prison violence and lost part of a finger.

GREENWICH, Conn. — The Connecticut mansion that belonged to Leona Helmsley is on the market for $65 million after a three-year renovation.The mansion known as Dunnellen Hall is on 40 acres in Greenwich with distant views of Long Island Sound.Called the “Queen of Mean,” Helmsley died in the mansion in 2007 at age 87.