The judge's injunction finds plaintiffs made a plausible claim that the Michigan law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

US stocks are starting the second half of 2013 on a positive note after the market closed out its best first half of a year in more than a decade.

Moodys has downgraded a number of states for various practices, such as taking pension holidays and deliberately ignoring required contributions.

Same-sex spouses of military veterans now will be able to get help with college tuition and can be buried in a national cemetery.