UPDATE: WASHINGTON—Vice President Mike Pence broke a tied Senate vote for the second time Wednesday to the complete the confirmation of Sam Brownback as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. The Senate originally scheduled Brownback’s final confirmation vote later this week but moved the vote up hours after Pence broke a tie to end debate. The ambassador position has been vacant since President Donald Trump took office in January 2017. All 49 Senate Democrats voted to block Brownback’s confirmation.

The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Thursday against Aaron and Melissa Klein, Christian bakery owners charged in 2013 with discrimination for declining to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding. The court sided with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), which fined the Kleins $135,000.

A U.S. District Court judge ruled Wednesday that city of Atlanta rules used to fire former Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran were unconstitutional. The ruling said policies restricting non-work speech allowed city officials to unconstitutionally discriminate against views with which they disagreed. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed suspended Cochran without pay in 2014 because of a 162-page book Cochran wrote for men at his church, advocating for a historically Biblical view of marriage and sexuality.

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked a Trump administration rule giving more employers an exemption to Obamacare’s contraception and abortifacient mandate. The rule, issued in October, allowed more employers to claim a religious objection to paying for the drugs. California, Washington, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Virginia all sued to block the rule from taking effect. U.S.

WASHINGTON—After the arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday was teeming with interested parties from both sides of the case. On one side of the court steps stood Christian cake baker Jack Phillips and Christian florist Barronelle Stutzman, whose business Arlene’s Flowers has a case pending at the Supreme Court similar to Phillips’ case.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments Tuesday morning in a landmark case that will determine the extent of religious liberty for business owners asked to participate in same-sex weddings. Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission began in July 2012, when Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig went to Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colo., to buy a wedding cake for their same-sex ceremony.

As attorneys for Colorado baker Jack Phillips prepare to defend his religious and free speech rights before the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 5, the Australian Parliament is drafting same-sex marriage legislation that some fear could criminalize similar dissent Down Under.