US Domestic News Roundup: Bond hearing to be held for suspect in University of Virginia shooting; U.S. Senate to hold initial vote on bill protecting same-sex marriage and more

Trump, who has mounted relentless attacks on the integrity of U.S. voting since his 2020 election defeat, announced his bid at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, seemingly with the aim of pre-empting potential Republican rivals. NASA's Artemis rocketship on course for moon after epic launch NASA's next-generation rocketship was on course Wednesday for a crewless voyage around the moon and back, launched from Florida on its debut flight half a century after the final lunar mission of the Apollo era.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Bond hearing to be held for suspect in University of Virginia shooting

The University of Virginia student accused of shooting dead three members of the school's football team was expected on Wednesday to appear for a bond hearing in criminal court where he faces homicide and firearms charges. The suspect, Christopher Darnell Jones, was scheduled to appear in Albemarle General District Court at 9 a.m. local time on three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a firearm in commission of a felony, according to online court records.

U.S. Senate to hold initial vote on bill protecting same-sex marriage

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday will hold an initial vote on legislation to protect the right to same-sex marriage, spurred by concerns that a conservative Supreme Court could reverse its earlier decision that made it legal nationwide. The bill, which is expected to pass the Senate, would serve as a legal backstop against any future Supreme Court action by requiring the federal government recognize any marriage that was legal in the state it was performed.

Mormon church backs U.S. measure to protect gay marriage

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said on Tuesday it supports proposed federal legislation intended to protect gay-marriage rights, as long as it also protects the right of religious groups to believe such unions are against God's word. The Utah-based church said in a statement posted on its website its doctrine related to marriage - that God commanded it be between a man and a woman - would remain unchanged.

Actor Kevin Spacey faces more sexual assault charges in Britain

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has authorized seven additional charges against Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey for a number of sexual assaults against one man between 2001 and 2004, it said on Wednesday. The new CPS charges include one of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and others of indecent and sexual assault. The new charges follow a review of evidence gathered by British police.

Analysis-Trump is still Trump and that could be a problem for him in 2024

As he mounts another run for president, Donald Trump by all accounts is still the same Donald Trump - aggrieved, petulant and tunnel-focused on his political standing. It's the electoral landscape around him that has changed. And after Republicans' underwhelming performance in the 2022 midterm elections, people in the party increasingly want to look forward, not back. Trump is no longer the shoo-in for its presidential nomination that he might have been even a year ago.

Republicans one seat away from winning House in U.S. midterm vote

Republicans were just one seat shy on Wednesday of securing a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, a midterm victory that would usher in two years of divided government after President Joe Biden's Democrats retained control of the Senate. The final outcome in the House hangs on tight races in states including California, with thousands of votes still being counted. Republicans have won 217 seats compared with the Democrats' 209, Edison Research projected, with 218 needed for a majority.

Trump's 2024 presidential bid a fresh wrinkle for markets

Former President Donald Trump's entry on Tuesday into the 2024 presidential race confirmed the world's "worst kept secret" and created another variable for markets that some investors say remains a low priority for now. Trump, who has mounted relentless attacks on the integrity of U.S. voting since his 2020 election defeat, announced his bid at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, seemingly with the aim of pre-empting potential Republican rivals.

NASA's Artemis rocketship on course for moon after epic launch

NASA's next-generation rocketship was on course Wednesday for a crewless voyage around the moon and back, launched from Florida on its debut flight half a century after the final lunar mission of the Apollo era. The much-delayed launch kicked off Apollo's successor program, Artemis, aimed at returning astronauts to the lunar surface this decade and establishing a sustainable base there as a stepping stone to future human exploration of Mars.

How Trump could exploit a legal gray area to funnel millions into 2024 bid

Donald Trump sucked up political donations at an unprecedented scale for a former U.S. president, pulling in at least $170 million ahead of this year's midterm elections. Now that he has kicked off a fresh run for the Republican nomination, he faces a problem - how to use $69 million that his Save America political action committee reported having in the bank in late October, which campaign laws say he can use on any candidate for office but himself.

Trump launches 2024 U.S. presidential run, getting jump on rivals

Donald Trump, who has mounted relentless attacks on the integrity of U.S. voting since his 2020 election defeat, on Tuesday launched a bid to regain the presidency in 2024, aiming to pre-empt potential Republican rivals. Seeking a potential rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden, Trump made his announcement at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida a week after midterm elections in which Republicans failed to win as many seats in Congress as they had hoped.