‘Start Here’: Anita Hill needs more from Joe Biden, NRA identity crisis, LA measles

Visits: 7

It’s Friday, April 26, 2019. Let’s start here.

1. Another Joe Biden story

Former Vice President Joe Biden has officially entered the race for the White House — his third time doing so — but the Democrat is already facing backlash — for a new response to an old incident.

Biden’s campaign revealed on Thursday that he’d spoken with Anita Hill and expressed “regret for what she endured” when he was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee during confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, which turned sexual harassment in the workplace into a national issue.

Hill fired back in an interview with The New York Times, saying that hearing, “I’m sorry for what happened to you,” is not satisfactory. “I will be satisfied when I know there is real change and real accountability and real purpose.”

ABC News Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran tells “Start Here” the issue will continue to haunt Biden on the campaign trail.

“Right out of the gate,” Moran adds, “he’s dealing with one of these ghosts from his very long political past.”

Hours after announcing his 2020 presidential candidacy, former Vice Pres. Joe Biden says he asked former Pres. Barack Obama “not to endorse.”

2. NRA in Indy

President Donald Trump is set to address the National Rifle Association at its annual convention today in Indianapolis as the lobbyist group faces serious challenges looking ahead to 2020.

The NRA helped propel Trump to victory in 2016 by pouring millions of dollars into his campaign, but during the midterms the NRA was outspent by gun control activists in the wake of mass shootings in Las Vegas and Parkland, Florida.

Although gun control continues to be a top issue for many voters, some NRA members believe the organization may be getting too political, ABC News’ Rachel Scott tells us.

“The big question that members are asking is, has the NRA turning into this political monster?” Scott adds. “Have they let fear consume and transform them into an organization that is stomping all over its core values?”

3. L.A. story

Hundreds of students and faculty at UCLA and Cal State, Los Angeles were quarantined amid a measles outbreak.

Los Angeles health officials are working to determine whether those potentially exposed to the disease were vaccinated, ordering those quarantined to prove they’ve been immunized before returning to public places.

“Nobody knows,” Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman says, “what this person touched, how wide the contagion is, or how many people might have contracted the measles.”

4. ‘Modern Baby’

For National Infertility Awareness Week, “Nightline” producers Lindsey Jacobson and Jessica Hopper join “Start Here” to talk about their documentary, “Modern Baby,” which follows the in-vitro fertilization struggles and stories of four families.

“It’s such a pervasive problem, but it’s a silent problem,” Hopper says. “And the journey is such an intimate one that really only you know or your partner knows what you’re going through.”

“Start Here,” ABC News’ flagship podcast, offers a straightforward look at the day’s top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn or the ABC News app. Follow @StartHereABC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for exclusive content and show updates.

Elsewhere:

‘I believe the Bible which defines homosexuality as a sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized’: Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, criticizes Pete Buttigieg.

‘We all bleed the same blood, we all breathe the same air, we all put our pants on one leg at a time’: Pitbull talks about immigration.

‘For safety and security concerns, the Navy and the USAF take these reports very seriously and investigate each and every report’: The military is considering new guidelines for reporting UFOs.

From our friends at FiveThirtyEight:

We looked at almost 2,000 mock NFL Drafts. Here’s what we learned.: The actual draft may be one weekend in April, but draft prognosticating is a year-round affair.

Doff your cap:

Happy Friday.

Today, dear reader, we doff our cap to you — with the help of T-Swift.

The 10-time Grammy winner just dropped a new song and a new video and told Robin Roberts all about it last night.

“‘ME!’ is a song about embracing your individuality and really celebrating it and owning it,” Swift told Roberts. “With a pop song, we have the ability to get a melody really stuck in people’s heads, and I just want it to be one that makes them feel better about themselves.”

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