The January 6 Select Committee has issued subpoenas for 14 Republicans from seven states who served on bogus slates of Trump electors in 2020 as part of the Trump campaign’s scheme to subvert the Electoral College.

The GOP leaders from the states served as “Chair” and “Secretary” on the slates of fake electors designed to be alternates should Republicans succeed in denying the certifications of the actual electoral votes that were won by Joe Biden.

The scheme didn’t work, and then-Vice President Mike Pence certified the election results on January 6 when the congressional session reconvened after being interrupted by a mob of pro-Trump rioters.

“The Select Committee is seeking information about attempts in multiple states to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including the planning and coordination of efforts to send false slates of electors to the National Archives” said Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chairs the committee, of this batch of subpoenas. “We believe the individuals we have subpoenaed today have information about how these so-called alternate electors met and who was behind that scheme.”

Ten people were injured when a snow-covered bridge in Pittsburgh collapsed Friday morning, hours ahead of a previously scheduled visit to the city by President Joe Biden to discuss infrastructure.
No fatalities have been reported, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said in a news conference at the scene in the area of Forbes and Braddock avenues.

Fire Chief Darryl Jones characterized the injuries as “minor,” and said three people were transported from the scene. None of the injuries were life-threatening, he said

Four vehicles were on the bridge when it fell, Jones said. Teams are still performing reconnaissance to ensure no one was under the bridge when it collapsed, he said.

Recently, ex-President Donald Trump proudly declared, “What’s happening with Russia and Ukraine would never have happened under the Trump administration. Not even a possibility!”

That may actually be true. After all, just a couple of years ago, Trump was impeached for trying to use Ukraine to dig up dirt on his potential presidential rival Joe Biden. He tried to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to “do us a favor” and investigate Biden and his son, Hunter — all while holding up almost $400 million in crucial military aid. Remember that “perfect” phone call?

So, yeah, given Trump’s predilection to hug Russia and blackmail Ukraine — a fledgling democracy — it’s probably a good bet that Russian President Vladimir Putin wouldn’t be pulling these particular tricks right now. I mean, Trump was his guy. When Bill O’Reilly pointed out to Trump that Putin was a killer, he demurred. “There are a lot of killers,” Trump said. ” … You think our country’s so innocent?”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday publicly downplayed the threat of an imminent Russian invasion, adding to the dissonance between Kyiv and Washington.

His remarks put more daylight between the Ukrainian government and the assessments of U.S. officials, who repeatedly have warned that Moscow could move its troops across the border at any moment.

Speaking at a news conference in Kyiv, Zelenskyy accused Western media reporting of undermining Ukrianians’ faith in their government and stoking economic panic across the nation.

He also said that although Ukrainian officials “don’t have any misunderstandings” with President Joe Biden, “I just deeply understand what is going on in my country, just as [Biden] understands perfectly well what is going on in the United States.”

A Pennsylvania appellate court on Friday struck down a law that allows no-excuse absentee voting, saying it violates the state constitution.

The law, known as Act 77, was enacted in late 2019 with strong bipartisan support. But in September, more than a dozen Republicans in the state House — most of whom voted for the law — filed suit, asserting that the changes made to absentee voting were unconstitutional and should have been pursued through a constitutional amendment placed before voters.

By a 3-2 ruling, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court agreed with that reasoning Friday.

“If presented to the people, a constitutional amendment to end Article VII, Section 1 requirement of in-person voting is likely to be adopted,” Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt wrote for the majority Friday. “But a constitutional amendment must be presented to the people and adopted into our fundamental law before legislation allowing no-excuse mail-in voting can be ‘placed upon our statute books.’”