When her spouse was killed in Afghanistan, Tracy Johnson drove across town to her mother-in-law’s house — clutching her marriage certificate — so she could hear the Army’s formal notification. No one from the military came to her door.

WASHINGTON – A new business coalition, made up of Fortune 500 and brand name companies that support ending federal discrimination against legally married gay and lesbian couples, has been formed.

The Human Rights Campaign said the coalition opposes the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), under which lawfully married same-sex couples are not recognized by the federal government and are thereby denied more than 1,100 federal rights and benefits – including filing taxes jointly, taking unpaid leave to care for a sick spouse, and Social Security survivor benefits – that come with marriage.

LONDON -- The government’s Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill for England and Wales has officially been published.

A full debate (second reading of the bill) by MPs and a vote on the proposals will take place on Feb. 5.

Its official remit is to “Make provision for the marriage of same-sex couples in England and Wales, about gender change by married persons and civil partners, about consular functions in relation to marriage, for the marriage of armed forces personnel overseas, and for connected purposes.”

Edith Windsor walks through the lobby of the large Fifth Avenue apartment building just north of Washington Square Park where she has lived for nearly 40 years. "Construction," she says, motioning upstairs. "It's so loud."

Wearing a mauve shirt and a dangling string of pearls, Edie, as she is known, is a proper Manhattan host, even in the morning. And, though her 83-year-old body shows her age and she shakes slightly at times as she speaks, her smile and laughter over the course of the December morning signal a youthful spirit.