PA Headlines 8/31/21
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A former state lawmaker and two-time congressional candidate from the Pittsburgh area who appeared to support efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory said Monday that he will run for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor next year. Rick Saccone, 63, will make a formal announcement on Sept. 10, he said. Saccone drew attention Jan. 6 when he posted videos online from outside the U.S. Capitol that appeared to support the violent insurrection by supporters of then-President Donald Trump to prevent Congress from counting Electoral College votes to confirm Biden’s victory last November. His comments also appeared to support Trump’s pressure on Vice President Mike Pence, who presided over the session, to tip the results in Trump’s favor, although Pence’s role was strictly ceremonial.
“We are in front of the U.S. Capitol, hundreds of thousands of people storming the Capitol, they broke down the gates, they’re macing them up there, we’re trying to run out all the evil people in there, all the RINO’s that have betrayed our president, we’re going to run them out of their offices,” Saccone said in the video. “We’re calling on Vice President Pence to support our president. … I’m telling you there are hundreds of thousands of people here to support our president and save our nation. Are you with me?” Saccone said Monday that he has not had any run-in with law enforcement over his statements and insisted he knew of no violence storming of the Capitol until an Associated Press reporter called him when he was back at his bus, ready to leave.
Saccone served four terms in the state House of Representatives from Allegheny County before losing a special election to Congress and a Republican primary for another congressional seat in 2018. In the state House, Saccone was an early supporter of Trump known for his fiery speeches and a willingness to buck party leaders. Saccone had among the most conservative voting records, based on American Conservative Union ratings, and his support of religion in public life made him a favorite of religious conservatives. He is a retired Air Force counterintelligence officer who served as a civilian adviser in Iraq.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians will lose federal pandemic unemployment benefits after this week, including an extra $300 per week, an extra 13 weeks of benefits and benefits for the self-employed. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said Monday that there are sources of help for people who need it once their unemployment benefits run out, including federal rental assistance through counties, Medicaid, food stamps and temporary cash-assistance for low-income families. Federal jobless assistance was first approved last year when the pandemic hit and jobless claims skyrocketed in Pennsylvania to record highs amid COVID 19-related shutdowns. In the last two weeks of August, more than 650,000 people were receiving the extra $300, according to figures from the state Department of Labor and Industry.
About 395,000 of them were in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program for freelancers or the self-employed and almost 178,000 were receiving an extra 13 weeks of assistance through the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program. About 80,000 people were receiving benefits through the state’s regular 26-week unemployment compensation program, which will continue running, but without the extra $300 federal benefit on top. The American Rescue Plan Act, signed by President Joe Biden in March, extended those federal benefits and set them to expire after this week.
