Latest push to revive Equal Rights Amendment fails in Senate
Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a Democratic measure to revive the Equal Rights Amendment, dealing yet another blow to supporters who have pushed for more than five decades to amend the Constitution to prohibit discrimination based on sex.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/OAYRIZIIJ5DDTJY26QVMYC5OAQ.jpg)
From Gaga to Garth, Miranda to Moreno: Celebs join inaugural
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)Like so much this past year, the inaugural celebration will be like no other: pared down, distanced, much of it virtual. But for actor Christopher Jackson — the original George Washington in Broadway's “Hamilton" — performing in a virtual “ball” is a way of participating in an essential rite of American democracy. Miranda will contribute a classical recitation, joining musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry, John Legend, Demi Lovato, Foo Fighters, Justin Timberlake and Bon Jovi. The inaugural committee has made sure to blend this high-powered list with ordinary Americans and inspiring stories. And the “AAPI Inaugural Ball: Breaking Barriers” celebrated the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities with planned participants including actors Kal Penn, John Cho, Kumail Nanjiani and Chloe Bennet.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/HCGWKJRXFJAJ3P4S4ZVGQL7R7M.jpg)
Biden campaign ‘flooding the zone’ with celebrity backers
The four-time Grammy winner isn't the only Biden playlist mainstay helping his campaign against President Donald Trump. Still, Biden has gone beyond celebrities in search of campaign surrogates. Stars generate candidate buzz, help with fundraising and can build campaign event crowds — even for those online. His reelection campaign has been holding its own online events with top supporters nearly every night for months and says its online events average 2.6 million views per broadcast, though its headliners are often the president’s children. The Trump campaign has also seized on Biden's preferred venue for participating in online events, a basement studio in his Delaware home — accusing the former vice president of hiding from voters.

After Twitter spat, Ted Cruz, Alyssa Milano to discuss gun violence
WASHINGTON, D.C. - GOP Sen. Ted Cruz and progressive activist and actress Alyssa Milano plan to meet next Tuesday to discuss gun violence after sparring on Twitter over the issue in the wake of a mass shooting in the senator's home state of Texas. "I'll be meeting with (Cruz) on Tuesday about guns. But if we can talk with mutual respect & humility, maybe all of us come together to effect positive change. The exchange between Cruz and Milano occurred several days after a man in West Texas killed seven people and wounded 22 others in a shooting spree on Saturday. This week's spat is not the first time Milano got testy with Cruz on Twitter.