The Brink of War: Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet Friday with Russia’s foreign minister in an effort to head off what appears to be the increasing likelihood that Russia will invade Ukraine. 

  “We’re now at a stage where Russia could at any point want an attack in Ukraine,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, said, “and what Secretary Blinken is going to do is highlight very clearly there is a diplomatic path forward.” The White House said Blinken would “urge Russia to take immediate steps to de-escalate.”

  The Russians have massed 100,000 troops in position to attack and as much as anything, they’re just waiting for the ground to freeze hard enough for tanks to roll. It’s rare for any military to deploy that many troops and not pull the trigger.

  One of the major sticking points is that Russia demands that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization not expand to the east including Ukraine. The irony is that by its warlike response, Russia is demonstrating why NATO expansion is desirable. 

Calling All Conspirators: The House January 6 attack investigating committee has  subpoenaed former New York Mayor and Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and the legal team that filed conspiracy-minded lawsuits claiming fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

 Also subpoenaed are three others the committee accuses of spouting lies about the election while attempting to overturn it. They include: Jenna Ellis, who wrote a memo outlining how Trump could use an obscure law to overturn the election; Lawyer Sidney Powell, whose organization raised millions of dollars based on false claims that election machines were rigged; and Boris Epshteyn, who was on a call with Trump  the morning of January 6th “during which options were discussed to delay the certification of election results,” the committee said.

  Giuliani in particular on January 6^th called for “trial by combat.” As the Capitol was under siege, he called lawmakers attempting to get them to delay certification of Joe Biden as the rightfully-elected president.   Rep. Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and chairman of the committee, said in a statement, “The four individuals we’ve subpoenaed today advanced unsupported theories about election fraud, pushed efforts to overturn the election results or were in direct contact with the former president about attempts to stop the counting of electoral votes.”

  CNN also reports that the committee has subpoenaed and obtained phone records Trump’s son, Eric Trump and his fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle.

Real Estate News: New York State attorney general Letitia James is formally accusing the Trump family business of repeatedly misrepresenting the value of its assets to pump up its bottom line, saying in court papers that the company had engaged in “fraudulent or misleading” practices.

  James has yet to file a formal lawsuit against the Trumps. The filing yesterday was in response to Trump and two of his adult children resisting efforts by James to question them about the family business. 

Viral News: The US website to get free at-home Covid tests is now live at covidtests.gov. You can click through to a Postal Service webpage and order four free tests per household. Orders will usually ship in 7 to 12 days, the website says.

  The administration is also preparing to give away 400 million free masks.

  The Washington Post reports that the Biden administration is struggling to pay off on its promise to beat the pandemic as the  Delta and Omicron variants cause a resurgence. “Once again,” The Postreports, “doctors and nurses arepleading for relief, as hospitalizations set new daily records and more facilities move to ration care. Many Americans say they’re confused by government pronouncements and losing faith in the agencies handling the response. Essential workers in packing plants, food service and emergency response say they still feel endangered by a virus that Biden had vowed to control.”

  In California, for instance, the pandemic is growing faster than ever. New Covid cases topped one million in a week, the biggest surge for a state on record. California has now had seven million cases. 

The Obit Page: Actress Yvette Mimieux, the blonde beauty who burst forth in the 1960s in the movies Where the Boys Are, Light in the Piazza, and Toys in the Attic, has died in Bel Air, California at age 80.

  An odd fact: In 1964, she became what is believed to be the first actress to show her naval on a national television show when she guest-starred in a two-part episode of NBC’s Dr. Kildare in which her surfer character has an ill-fated romance with Richard Chamberlain.

  Mimieux was famously discovered on a Hollywood Hills bridle path by publicist/manager Jim Byron, who gave her his business card and told her to call. He had previously discovered Jayne Mansfield.

The Spin Rack:  — The wireless carriers Verizon and AT&T  have agreed to delay the rollout of 5G service near airports and runways because the airlines say the signal interferes with their electronic navigation.  — Three police officers involved in the August shooting death of an 8-year-old girl outside of a high school football game near Philadelphia have been charged with 12 counts of manslaughter and reckless endangerment. Attempting to stop a gunfight between two teenage boys, the cops unleashed a blizzard of bullets, killing little Fanta Bility.

The Bottom Line: The State of New York plans to reap more than $1.25 billion in new revenue from legal marijuana sales over the next six years, according to the fiscal 2023 spending plan unveiled Tuesday by Gov. Kathy Hochul. Come to New York and get high.

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