TOM HARKIN

Ted Cruz, in a Captain Morgan pose, once reportedly finished 3 beers 'in a matter of minutes' on Joe Manchin's houseboat

Eighty-seven-year-old Chuck Grassley is trying to show Iowans that he’s not just physically ready for an eighth term, but that's he thriving.

There are signs of Democratic fatigue in Iowa, a state viewed for decades as a true political battleground.

“Empire” star Taraji P. Henson has enjoyed wealth, celebrity, a Golden Globe win and an Academy Award nomination. “It’s OK to not be OK," Henson, the latest recipient of the Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion, told The Associated Press via email. In 2018, the Washington, D.C., native started the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation to stop those with mental illness from being stigmatized — especially Blacks, who she says are less likely to seek treatment. This year, with the coronavirus pandemic complicating people's mental health struggles, Henson's foundation has been helping African Americans — who've been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 — access free online therapy. “We need more people like Taraji to continue to eliminate the stigma around mental health across all our communities in America.”___Follow AP New England editor Bill Kole on Twitter at http://twitter.com/billkole.