The Daily Populous

Friday January 21st, 2022 morning edition

image for Nancy Pelosi changes course, says she's open to stock trading ban for lawmakers: 'If members want to do that, I'm okay with that'

Nancy Pelosi reversed course, saying she's open to banning lawmakers from stock trading.

"If members want to do that, I'm okay with that," she said, emphasizing the "trust" she has in members.

She also called for more disclosure at the Supreme Court, saying she doesn't want the court "let off the hook.".

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled on Thursday that she was open to considering proposals to ban stock trading by members of Congress, reversing course from a position she took last month.

Pelosi's remarks came just hours after former President Donald Trump chided Pelosi for frequent stock trades made by her husband, investor Paul Pelosi.

Pelosi's newfound openness to changing the rules around stock ownership follows a flood of stock trade ban proposals, including from Democratic Sens.

The vast majority of Americans — conservative, moderate, and liberal alike — support a ban on members of Congress trading stocks, several recent polls have indicated. »

Russia-Ukraine tensions: UK sends 30 elite troops and 2,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine amid fears of Russian invasion

Authored by news.sky.com
image for

A group of around 30 elite British troops has arrived in Ukraine to help train the Ukrainian armed forces on new anti-tank weapons gifted by the UK amid fears of an imminent, new Russian invasion, Sky News understands.

Open source flight-tracking software has plotted Royal Air Force C-17 transport aircraft flying back and forth between the UK and Ukraine.

The Russian Embassy to the UK posted on Twitter: "It is crystal clear that UK shipment of lethal weapons to Ukraine will only fuel the crisis. »

Alaska Supreme Court upholds ranked choice voting and top-four primary

Authored by alaskapublic.org
image for

The Alaska Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld as valid a voter-approved election system that would end party primaries in the state and institute ranked choice voting in general elections.

A brief order affirmed a lower court ruling from last year.

Under the open primary, the top four vote-getters in a race, regardless of party affiliation, would advance to the general election, where ranked choice voting would be used. »

America Needs a Bolder Biden

Authored by foreignaffairs.com
image for

Biden has augmented that experience by hiring a strong team of foreign policy hands—and, perhaps more important, by eschewing policymaking by tweet.

Indeed, in comparison with his predecessor, almost any president would look competent on foreign policy.

Certainly, not all of the United States’ foreign policy woes should be laid at the feet of the Biden administration. »