AP News in Brief at 9:04 p.m. EST

Landmark same-sex marriage bill wins Senate passage

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed bipartisan legislation Tuesday to protect same-sex marriages, an extraordinary sign of shifting national politics on the issue and a measure of relief for the hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples who have married since the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision that legalized gay marriage nationwide.

The bill, which would ensure that same-sex and interracial marriages are enshrined in federal law, was approved 61-36 on Tuesday, including support from 12 Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the legislation was “a long time coming” and part of America’s “difficult but inexorable march towards greater equality.”

Democrats are moving quickly, while the party still holds the majority in both chambers of Congress. The legislation now moves to the House for a final vote.

President Joe Biden praised the bipartisan vote and said he will sign the bill “promptly and proudly” if it is passed by the House. He said it will ensure that LGBTQ youth “will grow up knowing that they, too, can lead full, happy lives and build families of their own.”

The bill has gained steady momentum since the Supreme Court’s June decision that overturned the federal right to an abortion, a ruling that included a concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas that suggested same-sex marriage could also come under threat. Bipartisan Senate negotiations got a kick-start this summer when 47 Republicans unexpectedly voted for a House bill and gave supporters new optimism.

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Oath Keepers’ Rhodes guilty of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted Tuesday of seditious conspiracy for a violent plot to overturn President Joe Biden’s election, handing the Justice Department a major victory in its massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

A Washington, D.C., jury found Rhodes guilty of sedition after three days of deliberations in the nearly two-month-long trial that showcased the far-right extremist group’s efforts to keep Republican Donald Trump in the White House at all costs.

Rhodes was acquitted of two other conspiracy charges. A co-defendant — Kelly Meggs, who led the antigovernment group’s Florida chapter — was also convicted of seditious conspiracy, while three other associates were cleared of that charge. Jurors found all five defendants guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding: Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory.

The verdict, while mixed, marks a significant milestone for the Justice Department and is likely to clear the path for prosecutors to move ahead at full steam in upcoming trials of other extremists accused of sedition.

Rhodes and Meggs are the first people in nearly three decades to be found guilty at trial of seditious conspiracy — a rarely used Civil War-era charge that can be difficult to prove. The offense calls for up to 20 years behind bars.

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Pulisic goal advances US in World Cup with 1-0 win over Iran

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Christian Pulisic kicked the ball, scored the goal and then crashed into the goalkeeper, a collision that sent the American star to the hospital and the United States into the second round of the World Cup.

More than an hour later, he contacted his teammates by FaceTime to join the celebration.

Pulisic’s 38th-minute goal held up, and the United States beat Iran 1-0 on Tuesday in their politically charged rematch to advance to the World Cup’s knockout stage.

“Every single player is ready to lay their body on the line to make sure this team is successful,” United States midfielder Weston McKennie said.

The Americans finished second in Group B with five points, two behind England, and will play the Netherlands on Saturday with the chance to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.

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Trump’s dinner disaster sparks new rules for his campaign

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is betting he can win his way back to the White House by reviving the outsider appeal that fueled his success in 2016.

But his dinner with a Holocaust-denying white nationalist and a rapper who has spewed antisemitic conspiracies is demonstrating the risks of that approach. It underscores the dangers of his limited campaign operation and leaves the former president subject to stinging criticism from fellow Republicans who increasingly see him as a liability for their party after a lackluster showing in this year’s midterm elections.

In an acknowledgment of the severity of the backlash and an effort to prevent a repeat, Trump’s campaign is putting new protocols in place to ensure that those who meet with him are approved and fully vetted, according to people familiar with the plans who requested anonymity to share internal strategy. The changes will include expediting a system, borrowed from Trump’s White House, in which a senior campaign official will be present with him at all times, according to one of the people.

The decision follows the anger and handwringing from people close to Trump over how the former president became embroiled in scandal just two weeks after launching his third campaign for the White House under the cloud of numerous investigations. And it highlights their concerns about Trump’s vulnerability as GOP strategists and officials increasingly conclude that new leadership is the party’s best hope for winning in future elections.

“Republicans, we’re looking to 2024 and we’re looking for a winner,” said New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who blasted Trump’s dinner as “absolutely reprehensible.”

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Chinese spaceship with 3 aboard docks with space station

BEIJING (AP) — Three Chinese astronauts docked early Wednesday with their country’s space station, where they will overlap for several days with the three-member crew already onboard and expand the facility to its maximum size.

Docking with the Tiangong station came at 5:42 a.m. Wednesday, about 6 1/2 hours after the Shenzhou-15 spaceship blasted off atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Tuesday night.

The six-month mission, commanded by Fei Junlong and crewed by Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu, will be the last in the station’s construction phase, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The station’s third and final module docked with the station earlier this month, one of the last steps in China’s effort to maintain a constant crewed presence in orbit.

The crew of the Shenzhou-15 will spend several days working with the existing 3-member crew of the Tiangong station, who will then return to Earth after their six-month mission.

Fei, 57, is a veteran of the 2005 four-day Shenzhou-6 mission, the second time China sent a human into space. Deng and Zhang are making their first space flights.

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Hawaii volcano eruption has some on alert, draws onlookers

HILO, Hawaii (AP) — The first eruption in 38 years of the world’s largest active volcano is attracting onlookers to a national park for “spectacular” views of the event, and it’s also dredging up bad memories among some Hawaii residents who have been through harrowing volcanic experiences in the past.

It was just four years ago that Nicole Skilling fled her home near a community where more than 700 residences were destroyed by lava. She relocated to the South Kona area, only to find herself packing her car with food and supplies this week after Mauna Loa erupted late Sunday.

Officials were initially concerned that lava flowing down the side of the volcano would head toward South Kona, but scientists later assured the public that the eruption migrated to a rift zone on Mauna Loa’s northeast flank and wasn’t threatening any communities.

Still, the uncertainty is somewhat unnerving.

“It just happened last night, so I really haven’t had a lot of time to worry about it yet, basically,” Skilling said Monday. “And thankfully, right now, it’s at the northeast rift zone. But if it breaks on the west side, that’s when we’re talking about coming into a large populated area. … That’s why I do have a little bit of PTSD.”

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NATO renews membership vow to Ukraine, pledges arms and aid

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — NATO doubled down Tuesday on its commitment to one day include Ukraine, a pledge that some officials and analysts believe helped prompt Russia’s invasion this year. The world’s largest security alliance also pledged to send more aid to Ukrainian forces locked in battle with Russian troops.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with NATO foreign ministers in Romania to drum up support for Ukraine as Russia bombards energy infrastructure going into the frigid winter. Russia cannot stop the alliance’s expansion, NATO leaders said.

“NATO’s door is open,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said before chairing the meeting in the capital, Bucharest.

He highlighted that North Macedonia and Montenegro had recently joined NATO, and said Russian President Vladimir Putin “will get Finland and Sweden as NATO members” soon. The Nordic neighbors applied for membership in April, concerned that Russia might target them next.

“Russia does not have a veto” on countries joining, Stoltenberg said. “We stand by that, too, on membership for Ukraine.”

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Kim Kardashian and Ye settle divorce, averting custody trial

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kim Kardashian and Ye have reached a settlement in their divorce, averting a trial that had been set for next month, court documents filed Tuesday showed.

The former couple and their attorneys filed documents asking for a judge’s approval of terms they have agreed on, including $200,000 per month child support payments rom Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, to Kardashian.

The two will have joint custody, and neither will pay the other spousal support, according to the documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The judge declared the two legally single at Kardashian’s request in March, ending their eight-year marriage, but issues of property and custody remained that were to be worked out in a trial starting Dec. 14.

The two have four children whose ages range from 3 to 9 years old.

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‘The Phantom of the Opera’ extends its long Broadway goodbye

NEW YORK (AP) — The masked man of Broadway is going out strong.

“The Phantom of the Opera” — Broadway’s longest-running show — has postponed its final performance by eight weeks, pushing its final curtain from February to April after ticket demand spiked. Last week, the show raked in an eye-popping $2,2 million with a full house.

The musical — a fixture on Broadway since 1988, weathering recessions, war and cultural shifts — will now play its final Broadway performance on April 16. When it closes, it will have played 13,981 performances.

“We are all thrilled that not only the show’s wonderful fans have been snapping up the remaining tickets, but also that a new, younger audience is equally eager to see this legendary production before it disappears,” lead producer Cameron Mackintosh said in a statement.

Producers said there would be no more postponements. “This is the only possible extension for the Broadway champion, as the theater will then be closed for major renovations after the show’s incredible 35-year run.”

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EXPLAINER: What to know on Congress’ bid to bar rail strike

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is asking Congress to intervene to avert a potentially crippling freight rail strike before Christmas and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling a vote this week to do so, even if it means handing a defeat to Democratic allies in the labor movement.

The legislation urged by Biden and being voted on Wednesday by the House would impose a compromise labor agreement brokered by his administration that was ultimately voted down by four of the 12 unions that represent about 115,000 workers at the freight railroads.

A look at Congress’ options to intervene, the potential impact on consumers, and what happens next:

WHY DID BIDEN ASK CONGRESS TO ACT NOW?

In urging Congress to impose the deal that union leaders had agreed to in September, Biden pushed an aggressive option that would immediately resolve an impasse between freight railroads and the unions over paid sick leave that threatened a rail stoppage starting Dec. 9.