Election Live Updates: Kamala Harris, Barack Obama headline DNC night 3
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Senator Kamala Harris officially accepted the Democratic Party nomination for Vice President during night 3 of the convention.
Harris is the first Black woman and first person of Indian descent to be nominated for national office by a major political party.
Under Democrats' theme of "A More Perfect Union," Harris delivered remarks from the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, the same venue former Vice President Joe Biden is slated to use for his acceptance speech on Thursday, effectively kicking off their fall campaign to the White House.
Wednesday's lineup of speakers:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
Former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif, the Vice Presidential Nominee
Former President Barack Obama
With musical performances from:
Billie Eilish
Jennifer Hudson
2020 VOTE COVERAGE
Eyewitness News Elections Coverage
MORE OF TODAY'S HEADLINES
Kamala Harris makes history
Kamala Harris made history on Wednesday as the first Black woman to accept a spot on a major party's presidential ticket, a moment intended to galvanize Democratic voters heading into the fall campaign against President Donald Trump.
"A vision of our nation as a beloved community - where all are welcome, no matter what we look like, where we come from or who we love," Harris said. "A country where we may not agree on every detail, but we are united by the fundamental belief that every human being is of infinite worth, deserving of compassion, dignity and respect."
She also hit Trump: "Right now, we have a president who turns our tragedies into political weapons. Joe will be a president who turns our challenges into purpose."
Barack Obama speaks at DNC
Former President Barack Obama has delivered a searing take down of Donald Trump while presenting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the ones who will "lead this country out of these dark times."
Obama made the case for electing his former vice president and Harris, a California senator, during a live address to the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday from the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. He implored people to vote, arguing American democracy is at stake.
"This administration has shown that it will tear our democracy down if that's what it takes to win," Obama said, urging voters to "leave no doubt about what this country that we love stands for."
Warren says Biden has 'some really good plans'
Former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren says Joe Biden can hold his own on having a plan for nearly every policy challenge, large and small.
The Massachusetts senator said Wednesday night in her Democratic National Convention speech: "I love a good plan, and Joe Biden has some really good plans - plans to bring back union jobs in manufacturing and create new union jobs in clean energy."
Warren spoke from an early education center in Springfield, Massachusetts, and said Biden will guarantee affordable, quality child care for all families.
Pelosi says Trump disrespects facts, women
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is accusing President Donald Trump of "disrespect for facts, for working families and for women in particular," disrespect she says she's "seen firsthand."
Pelosi spoke Wednesday night during the Democratic National Convention with the Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop. She said Trump's disrespect is "written into his policies toward our health and our rights, not just his conduct."
She contrasted Joe Biden as having a "heart full of love for America" against Trump's "heartless disregard for America's goodness."
Pelosi also listed a litany of bills House Democrats have passed, including LGBTQ protections, gun violence measures and a coronavirus relief bill and charged that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Trump are "standing in the way" of those reforms.
Hillary Clinton returns to the DNC
After more than four decades in public life, Hillary Clinton returned to the Democratic National Convention to cement her legacy as a champion of women in politics - and urged people to vote, even if they're convinced Joe Biden will win.
Clinton, who lost the presidency to Donald Trump in 2016 despite winning the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes, is a complicated figure in American political culture. She's despised by many Republicans and viewed warily by some progressives who are increasingly assertive in shaping the modern Democratic Party.
In her speech, Clinton reflected on her loss and urged Americans not to take the election's outcome for granted after some voters stayed home in 2016.
Young climate activist speaks out
Alexandria Villaseñor, a young climate activist from NYC, spoke out at the DNC.
Giffords speaks about her 2011 shooting
Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords is calling on Americans to speak out to combat gun violence, "even when you have to fight to find the words."
Struggling to speak herself, Giffords recounted her difficulty recovering from the 2011 shooting that nearly took her life.
Giffords said during brief remarks at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night: "Confronted by paralysis and aphasia, I responded with grit and determination."
The former congresswoman added: "Today I struggle to speak. But I have not lost my voice."
'Calamari comeback': Rhode Island's DNC video gets big buzz
There goes Rhode Island again -- always finding a way to get its tiny tentacles onto the national stage.
In a made-for-memes moment sandwiched between other states' calls to fight poverty and end racial injustice, a lawmaker and a restaurateur with a heaping plate of sauteed squid stood on a beach and proclaimed Rhode Island the "calamari comeback state" at the virtual Democratic National Convention.
The 30-second spot, aired Tuesday night during the convention's roll call as Rhode Island's Democrats formally nominated Joe Biden for president, was an instant social media sensation. "Rhode Island" trended for hours overnight on Twitter.
Trump, GOP finalizing Republican National Convention plans
President Donald Trump and the Republican Party are finalizing their plans for next week's convention.
Trump and the GOP are closely watching this week's Democratic National Convention to figure out what works and what doesn't work.
The GOP plans a mix of live speeches, videos and virtual content.
President Trump lashes out at Goodyear about its policy on MAGA wear
President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged people to boycott tires from Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., tweeting that the Ohio-based company had "announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS."
But the company didn't announce such a specific ban, only said it had asked employees to refrain from workplace expressions involving political campaigning or "forms of advocacy that fall outside the scope of racial justice and equity issues."
Trump's tweet immediately sent the company's stock downward. The stock had lost about 3.8% percent of its value in mid-day trading.
Kamala Harris' husband takes leave from law firm
Kamala Harris' husband is taking a leave of absence from his entertainment law firm as the California senator officially becomes Democrats' nominee for vice president. DLA Piper says on its website Wednesday that Douglas Emhoff "is currently on a leave of absence from the firm," but specified no date when his leave began. A spokeswoman for Harris did not immediately return a message seeking comment. According to the firm, Emhoff has practiced for more than 25 years "aggressively litigating high-stakes cases in the public glare or acting as a trusted advisor behind the scenes" and representing "large domestic and international corporations and some of today's highest profile individuals and influencers." He is licensed to practice in California and Washington, D.C. During Harris' presidential primary bid, Emhoff was the unofficial leader of a band of Harris supporters known as the #Khive. The couple married in 2014, and Emhoff's two adult children call Harris "Momala," a play on her name and the Yiddish word for "little mother." Harris will formally accept her nomination as former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate during Democrats' virtual convention on Wednesday, the first Black woman to join a major party ticket.
Jill Biden pushes back against Trump
Jill Biden is calling a Trump campaign ad questioning his mental fitness "ridiculous." She defended the Democratic presidential nominee against Trump's allegations on Wednesday. She says Joe Biden is "on the phone every single minute of the day" talking to governors. Jill Biden says her husband spends time on Zoom chats and doing fundraisers and briefings and "he doesn't stop from 9 in the morning till 11 at night." Jill Biden taught at a northern Virginia community college while her husband served as Barack Obama's vice president. She also said Wednesday she intends to return to teaching in 2021 should he win the White House.
Jill Biden offered a personal glimpse into her family's struggles and vouched for her husband's ability to lead the nation through adversity during remarks at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night.
Colin Powell says Biden will stand up to US foes
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is endorsing Joe Biden, saying with him in the White House, "We will never doubt that he will stand with our friends and stand up to our adversaries - never the other way around."
In taped remarks during the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, Powell sought to draw an implicit contrast between Biden and President Donald Trump, without naming Trump.
He said that Biden "will trust our diplomats and our intelligence community, not the flattery of dictators and despots." Trump has expressed doubts about findings from the intelligence community on Russian involvement in the 2016 campaign, and has praised dictators.
Powell also lamented that "today we have a country divided, and we have a president doing everything in his power to make us that way, to keep us that way."
Kerry speaks against Trump's foreign policy
Former Secretary of State John Kerry is trashing President Donald Trump's foreign policy, which he characterized as one nonstop "blooper reel."
Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, said Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention: "This moment is a fight for the security of America and the world."
He said the Obama administration left U.S. foreign policy in good order when he left office. They stopped the Ebola virus before it could become a pandemic, defeated the Islamic State group and entered into an accord to reduce emissions that cause global warming.
Kerry accused Trump of failing to stand up to Russia and doing nothing to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin after some intelligence officials concluded the country placed bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.
He also referenced Trump being escorted to a White House bunker during recent protests
It's official
Joe Biden was formally nominated to be the Democratic presidential candidate during a virtual roll call on night 2 of the DNC.
AOC endorses Sanders
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has described the progressive movement started by Bernie Sanders as "a mass people's movement" that's working to move the country toward guaranteed health care and higher education.
The New York congresswoman gave brief remarks Tuesday night as she helped nominate the Vermont senator at the Democratic National Convention.
Schumer says Dems must take back Senate
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer made a pitch at the Democratic National Convention not just for Joe Biden, but for flipping control of the Senate to Democrats.
Schumer said Tuesday: "If we are going to win this battle for the soul of our nation, Joe can't do it alone. Democrats must take back the Senate."
The New York Democrat outlined a potential 2021 agenda on making health care "affordable for all" and tackling income inequality, climate change and other issues, including the COVID-19 crisis.
Former President Clinton attacks Trump
Bill Clinton has delivered a stinging attack on President Donald Trump, saying the nation knows what he'd do with four more years in the White House: "Blame, bully and belittle."
The former president addressed the second night of the virtual Democratic National Convention on Tuesday and said Trump "defines the job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media."
Kennedy family speaks on Biden
Caroline Kennedy is portraying Joe Biden as a public servant in the spirit of her father, who once challenged Americans to look at what they can do for their country.
The daughter of President John F. Kennedy spoke Tuesday at the all-virtual Democratic National Convention about helping Barack Obama choose Biden as a running mate while on his vetting team and then seeing him in action as vice president.
Kennedy served as the U.S. ambassador to Japan during the Obama administration and said she saw Biden as a leader who was tough but fair and commanded the trust and respect of other nations.
She appeared in a video speaking alongside her son Jack Schlossberg as they attempted to bridge a generational span across the party.
Ballot drop boxes seen as a way to bypass the post office
With the Trump administration openly trying to undermine mail-in voting this fall, some election officials around the country are hoping to bypass the Postal Service by installing lots of ballot drop boxes in libraries, community centers and other public places.
Such boxes have been used with success for several years in states like Oregon, Washington and Colorado that rely largely or entirely on ballots that must be sent in. But their use is being expanded because of the coronavirus outbreak and, more recently, concerns about the post office's ability to do its job.
State or local authorities in places such as Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are pressing for more boxes or drop-off sites that would enable ballots to reach election officials without going through the mail.
Trump angling for votes with immigration talk, nod to women
Grappling for votes - and the spotlight - as Democrats hold their national convention, President Donald Trump reached back Tuesday to the signature issue of his 2016 campaign to deliver a broadside against Democratic rival Joe Biden over immigration.
As Democrats gathered virtually, Trump targeted voters in a pair of key swing states and sought to curry favor with women voters by pardoning Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the women's suffrage movement.
Jimmy, Rosalynn Carter to address virtual DNC
Former President Jimmy Carter is making his first appearance at a presidential nominating convention in eight years.
Organizers of the Democratic National Convention announced Tuesday that Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, would address attendees at the virtual gathering that evening.
The 39th president, 95, did not attend the 2016 convention in Philadelphia. He did record a speech for the 2012 gathering, which was broadcast in primetime on that convention's second night.
Trump campaign's Russia contacts 'grave' threat, Senate says
The Trump campaign's interactions with Russian intelligence services during the 2016 presidential election posed a "grave" counterintelligence threat, a Senate panel concluded Tuesday as it detailed how associates of Donald Trump had regular contact with Russians and expected to benefit from the Kremlin's help.
The nearly 1,000-page report, the fifth and final one from the Republican-led Senate intelligence committee on the Russia investigation, details how Russia launched an aggressive effort to interfere in the election on Trump's behalf. It says the Trump campaign chairman had regular contact with a Russian intelligence officer and says other Trump associates were eager to exploit the Kremlin's aid, particularly by maximizing the impact of the disclosure of Democratic emails hacked by Russian intelligence officers.
Cindy McCain video on Joe Biden to air at DNC
Cindy McCain is going to bat for Joe Biden, lending her voice to a video set to air during Tuesday night's Democratic National Convention programming focused on Biden's close friendship with her late husband, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
She's just the latest Republican to join in the convention, after a number of notable GOP former elected officials - including former Ohio Gov. John Kasich - endorsed the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee on Monday night. It's a continuation of a major theme that Democrats have pushed through the first night of the convention - an effort to broaden the party's appeal to occasional Republicans and disaffected Trump voters.
RELATED: More to know about the Democratic National Convention
2020 VOTE RESOURCES
Voter registration, information and resources from Vote.org
League of Women Voters of the City of New York
Board of Elections in New York City
