Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including the House Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed 14 people who served as "alternate electors" in former President Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election; Diplomacy is getting a chance to take root over the crisis in Ukraine; The Ninth Circuit upheld a California law barring companies like AT&T and Verizon from throttling internet speeds, and more.

National

With shadow docket, Supreme Court puts Band-Aids on a bullet hole

In a year where several emergency argument sessions popped up on its calendar, it appears the Supreme Court is trying to answer calls for more transparency. Still murky, however, is how the high court will prevent its emergency docket from becoming a sounding board for every political grievance.

The Supreme Court is seen on what is its first day of the new term, Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Jan. 6 panel subpoenas 14 of Trump’s ‘alternate electors’

The House committee investigating last year's attempted insurrection issued a round of subpoenas Friday for 14 people from seven states who served as "alternate electors" in former President Donald Trump's fraudulent attempt to undermine the Electoral College and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Capitol police officers stand outside of fencing that was installed around the exterior of the Capitol grounds, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Stormy Daniels grilled on poltergeists and prison rape in pro se cross-examination

Blizzard winds licked the 26th floor windows of a courtroom that tops the Manhattan federal courthouse on Friday as the adult film actress Stormy Daniels was interrogated during the trial of her former attorney, Michael Avenatti, about her beliefs in supernatural phenomena.

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels poses with Susan, the purportedly haunted doll featured on her paranormal ghosth-hunting TV project, "Spooky Babes." Daniels was made to answer repeated questions about paranormal activity from her former attorney, Michael Avenatti, during his cross-examination of her on Jan. 27-28, 2022. (Instagram image via Courthouse News)

Regional

Ninth Circuit upholds California’s net neutrality law

Awarding California another win against service providers in the fight over net neutrality, a Ninth Circuit panel on Friday upheld the state’s landmark law which bars companies like AT&T and Verizon from throttling internet speeds.

FILE- In this Dec. 14, 2017, file photo, a sign with an emoji reads "Don't take net neutrality away" is posted outside the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in Washington. California Gov. Jerry Brown has approved the nation's strongest net neutrality law, prompting an immediate lawsuit by the Trump administration and opening the next phase in the battle over regulating the internet. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Republicans nearly end mail-in voting for all in Pennsylvania

Only months out from a U.S. Senate primary race, a Pennsylvania appeals court on Friday struck down a 2019 state law that lets voters cast their ballots by mail without justifying why they can't vote in person.

A worker processes mail-in ballots at the Bucks County Board of Elections office in Doylestown, Pa., on May 27, 2020, prior to the primary election. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

International

Mexico City market vendors power local buses with leftover cooking oil

The busy diners at the Churubusco market may not know it, but the same vegetable oil used to fry their lunch could soon power the bus that gets them to work in the near future.

A market vendor fries up a batch of flautas at Mexico City's Churubusco market in January 2022. Some city buses are powered by biodiesel made from oil used in this and other market stalls in the city. (Cody Copeland/Courthouse News)

Hopes for de-escalation over Ukraine grow as Macron, Putin talk

French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone on Friday and capped a week that saw diplomacy pick up over the crisis in Ukraine.

Ukrainian servicemen walk in a trench on the front line in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

UK backtrack on fraud crackdown threatens to undermine Russian sanctions

A resigning minister has accused the British government of planning to scrap a long-awaited piece of legislation clamping down on fraud, sparking consternation among anti-money laundering campaigners.

A view of Parliament in London on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)