Washington, Feb. 11 : Keeping in view the current economic crisis, Speaker Nancy Pelosi informed Democrats in a closed-door meeting that members will forgo their cost-of-living increases for the coming year.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), who usually advocates for congressional pay raises, told reporters that it would "not be appropriate" for members of Congress to accept a salary increase this year.

The leadership's move comes after President Barack Obama decided to freeze the salaries of top White House aides, Politico reports.

Washington, Feb 11 : Hugh Jackman joined a team of stars including Jeremy Irons, Dame Helen Mirren and Whoopi Goldberg to pay tribute to Broadway legend Gerald Schoenfeld on February 9.

The actor hailed Schoenfeld as a representative of `the very, very best of Broadway' when he presented the event honouring the theatre legend, reports Contactmusic.

Fort Myers (Florida, US), Feb. 11 : Three weeks after being sworn in, President Barack Obama has acknowledged in plain terms that his prospects for winning a second term will depend on whether he can revive the US economy.

"I'm not going to make any excuses. If stuff hasn't worked, if people don't feel like I've led the country in the right direction then you'll have a new president," Obama told a town hall meeting here on Tuesday.

Washington, Feb 11 : She might have all the luxuries of the world now, but pop sensation Lady GaGa was so poor as a performer on the New York City club scene that she used flammable hairspray as a substitute for costly pyrotechnics.

The 22-year-old singer, who worked in Manhattan''s late night venues as a teenager, has revealed that the techniques she used to put on a show on a tiny budget.

"I started playing out in clubs when I was 15 and was really hustling the New York scene," Contactmusic quoted GaGa, as telling British magazine Now.

Washington, Feb. 11 : President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are unleashing a bipartisan charm offensive and exploiting every square inch of their new home to make friends and influence rivals.

According to Politico, since moving into their new digs, the first couple has hosted a half-dozen gatherings - from bipartisan cocktail receptions to a public open house to the more intimate Super Bowl party two Sundays ago - ending many of their days past midnight.

Washington, Feb 11 : Spanish actress Penelope Cruz has revealed that she was given just two hours time by director Woody Allen to decide if she wanted to do a role in his film Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Allen had sent the script over to Cruz asking her if she would like to do the role of an unstable artist, and had given her just two hours to return the manuscript and answer.

Cruz said she did not think twice about it and immediately accepted the role as soon as she finished reading it.