Janet Jackson says divorce Rumors 'A Lie'

Media reports have speculated that Grammy winner Janet Jackson is separating from her husband Wissam Al Mana, but a source close to the couple sets the record straight. The source tells Entertainment Tonight of Jackson and Mana's relationship, "The rumors about their marriage are a lie. They are very happy and very much together. In fact, the couple has recently purchased an even larger home in New York." The couple confirmed their marriage to ET back in February 2013, adding that they wed in a "quiet, private and beautiful ceremony" that was held in 2012. "Our wedding gifts to one another were contributions to our respective favorite children's charities. We would appreciate that our privacy is respected and that we are allowed this time for celebration and joy," Jackson and Mana said in their wedding announcement. This coming April, Jackson, 47, will be traveling to Brazil to continue her work for amfAR (American Foundation for AIDS Research).

Jan Brewer Announces Veto Of Arizona Anti-Gay Bill SB 1062

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) announced her decision to veto legislation on Wednesday that would have allowed businesses to legally refuse service to anyone on "religious freedom" grounds, effectively allowing them to discriminate against same-sex couples. Brewer said the bill had "the potential to create more problems than it purports to solve." "Senate Bill 1062 does not address a specific or present concern related to religious liberty in Arizona," she said. "I have not heard one example where business owners' religious liberty has been violated." The state legislature passed the bill, known as SB 1062, last week. But in recent days, it has come under intense criticism from activists, lawmakers and business interests both in Arizona and nationally. The state's two Republican senators, Jeff Flake and John McCain, called on Brewer to veto it, and major corporations like Marriott, Apple and American Airlines all wrote to the governor and expressed their opposition. Businesses in the Phoenix area were also especially worried, with the Super Bowl set to be held in Glendale, Ariz. in 2015. On Monday, the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee came out against SB 1062, stating,

We have heard loud and clear from our various stakeholders that adoption of this legislation would not only run contrary to that goal but deal a significant blow to the state's economic growth potential. We do not support this legislation." Arizona hasn't been the only state pushing a bill that would allow open discrimination against same-sex couples; similar bills have been popping up in states including Tennessee, Kansas, South Dakota and Maine.

Boston judge: Federal ban gay marriage unconstitutional

A Boston judge has fired the latest salvo in the battle for gay marriage, ruling Thursday that a federal ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional because it violates states' rights.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro ruled in favor of gay couples' right to marry, the AP reports, challenging the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on the ground that it interferes with a state’s right to define marriage.

Same-sex unions have been legal in Massachusetts since 2004, but the state argued that DOMA discriminated against gay married couples by denying them access to the same benefits as heterosexual married couples.

Tauro agreed, ruling on two separate challenges to the law that the act forced Massachusetts to discriminate against its own citizens.

"The federal government, by enacting and enforcing DOMA, plainly encroaches upon the firmly entrenched province of the state, and in doing so, offends the Tenth Amendment," Tauro wrote in a ruling. "For that reason, the statute is invalid."

In a second case, filed by Gays & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Tauro ruled that DOMA also violates the Constitution's equal protection clause.

Advocacy groups embraced Tauro's ruling Thursday. "We've maintained from the very beginning that there was absolutely no basis for this law treating one class of married Massachusetts couples different from everybody else and the court has recognized that," said Gary Buseck, GLAD's legal director.

Supporters of same-sex marriage also took to Twitter to cheer on the ruling, posting tweets like "Yessssss!!!!!!!", "RIGHT ON!", and "Holiday, celebrate! So, U.S. Judge in Boston rules that a federal gay marriage ban is unconstitutional... Party in Boston!"

The Justice Department argued that the federal government has the right to set eligibility requirements for federal benefits such as Medicare - including requiring that those benefits only go to couples in marriages between a man and a woman, the AP reported.

The lawsuit challenges only the portion of the law that prevents the federal government from affording pension and other benefits to same-sex couples.

Congress put DOMA on the books in 1996 when it seemed that Hawaii was on the brink of legalizing gay marriage, and opponents feared that the movement would become a nationwide trend.