Woonsocket Radio News Room

 

Speaker Shekarchi rules out potential congressional run

 

Speaker K. Joseph Skekarchi has issued the following statement on speculation regarding him potentially running for Congress:

 

“Although I am humbled that Congressman Langevin and many others have mentioned me as a potential Congressional candidate, I love serving as Speaker and representing my Warwick constituents at the State House. I have no intention of seeking the Congressional seat this year. We have done great work in the past year bringing people together to address important issues facing our state, including affordable housing, pay equity, climate change, health care, and so many others. These are unprecedented times as we face a pandemic recovery involving the investment of billions of federal dollars, and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with my colleagues in the House and Senate, and the Governor, to move our state forward.

“Fortunately, we have a number of strong potential candidates within the Democratic Party who will continue the excellent work established by Congressman Langevin.” 

 

Federal agents deployed tear gas against protesters this afternoon in Minneapolis. The protest is in front of an ICE facility in the city, and the crowd remains, although the standoff with ICE officers is over for now. Officers were lined up, blocking the front entrance to the facility.        President Trump is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota as protests over ICE operations continue in the state. In a Truth Social post this morning, Trump said he will take action "if the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don't obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of ICE." A president hasn't invoked the Insurrection Act since President George H.W. Bush in 1992 when the Rodney King riots broke out in Los Angeles.        The White House says a number of new economic reports prove President Trump is tackling affordability in the U.S. Today, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt touted the Core Price Index showing inflation in check, lower gas prices, and expected bigger tax returns. Leavitt said Trump is also addressing soaring home prices with the purchase of mortgage bonds.        Last week's unemployment numbers are better than expected. The Labor Department reported Thursday that just 198-thousand Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending January 10th. That's a drop of nine-thousand from the previous week.        Verizon customers will receive a 20-dollar credit after Wednesday's nearly day-long outage. In a statement posted on social media Thursday, Verizon said it did not meet the standard of excellence customers expect. Wednesday's outage caused issues with voice and data services for customers from about noon Eastern until well into the night.        Muhammad Ali's legacy is forever stamped. The U.S. Postal Service today released a commemorative forever stamp honoring the three-time heavyweight boxing champion. A ceremony was held in Ali's hometown of Louisville. It was attended by Ali's widow, Lonnie, as well as sportscaster Bob Costas and other dignitaries.       

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