Facebook could face extra $5bn tax bill after US investigation

https://goo.gl/q9dbZY


Powered by Guardian.co.ukThis article titled “Facebook could face extra $5bn tax bill after US investigation” was written by Jemima Kiss in San Francisco, for theguardian.com on Saturday 30th July 2016 01.24 UTC


Facebook could be liable to pay between $3 to $5bn in extra US tax after an extensive investigation by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) into the way the tech company transferred assets to Ireland.


The tax agency has been exploring whether Facebook deliberately deployed complex financial processes designed to minimize the amount of US tax it paid.


The IRS issued the firm with a “statutory notice of deficiency” on 27 July, the company said in its quarterly financial filing, noting that it could have a “material adverse impact” on its finances. Facebook broke out the possible loss in its earnings report, as a minimum of $3bn and maximum of $5bn. It would also be liable for interest lost, though any additional penalties are not known.


On Friday, a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement: “Facebook complies with all applicable rules and regulations in the countries where we operate.”


The IRS began investigating Facebook in 2013 over assets it had transferred in 2010 to its base in Dublin. Ireland is known for its corporation-friendly tax structures; it has a corporate tax rate of 12.5%, compared to the US rate of 35% and 21% in the UK.


The case became public on 6 July when the IRS filed a lawsuit in San Francisco, suing Facebook over access to records related to the transfer. Its 2013 investigation described the valuation of the assets as “problematic”, implying it had undervalued the assets to pay less US tax.


The IRS has stated that Facebook has failed to attend seven appointments at the IRS office in San Jose, 19 miles from Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park.


On Wednesday, Facebook announced record quarterly earnings with $6.24bn in advertising sales powered by the popularity of mobile and video.


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Facebook could face extra $5bn tax bill after US investigationhttp://goo.gl/E7xeU1


London Anniversary Games 2016: Usain Bolt Won 200m Again

http://www.truefinder.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/103881090RestrictedUSainBoltNEWS-large_transeo_i_u9APj8RuoebjoAHt0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpg


The six-time Olympic champion clocked 19.89 seconds – 0.15 ahead of Panama’s Alonso Edward in second.


Britain’s Commonwealth silver medallist Adam Gemili was third in a season’s best 20.07.


London Anniversary Games 2016: Usain Bolt Won 200m Again


[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64eyNqoDzuc[/embedyt]



London Anniversary Games 2016: Usain Bolt Won 200m Againhttp://goo.gl/yuHI8I


Democratic convention live: Obama, Biden and mass shooting survivors to speak

https://goo.gl/p4NhR0


Powered by Guardian.co.ukThis article titled “Democratic convention live: Obama, Biden and mass shooting survivors to speak” was written by Tom McCarthy (now) and Scott Bixby (earlier) in Philadelphia, for theguardian.com on Thursday 28th July 2016 01.02 UTC





Now here’s Dr Jill Biden, introducing her husband.


Who is then introduced by a tribute video.







Now the chant becomes USA! USA! USA!


They’ve turned the lights down on the section where most of the chanting was coming from – but the delegates, some of them, have turned on their phone flashlights.


Panetta leaves and they turn the lights back on. That was Washington state and Oregon, mostly, it appears.




Updated





Panetta interrupted by chant: ‘No more war!’



Here’s Leon Panetta, the former defense secretary and CIA director:


In this election, there is only one candidate for president who has the experience, temperament and judgment to be commander-in-chief, and that is Hillary Clinton.


Panetta credits Clinton with supporting the decision to go after Osama bin Laden. “Hillary was clear: we have to go after Bin Laden.”


That’s applauded.


Panetta says Clinton is determined to defeat “Isis al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, terrorists who pervert the teachings of Islam to kill innocent people.”


“Meanwhile, Donald Trump says he gets his foreign policy experience from watching TV and running the Miss Universe pageant. If only it were funny. It is deadly serious. Donald Trump asks our troops to commit war crimes, endorses torture, spurns allies from Europe to Asia, suggests more countries to have nuclear weapons, and praises dictators from Saddam Hussein to Vladimir Putin.”


Panetta refers to Trump’s call for a Russian hack on Clinton.


Panetta is interrupted by a chant:


No more war!


No more war!


He pauses and smiles.


There’s general noise and confusion.


Then Panetta continues, saying Trump “took Russia’s side.” The line is booed.


“Think about that for a moment. Donald Trump, who wants to be president of the United States, is asking one of our adversaries to engage in hacking or intelligence efforts against the United States to affect our election.”


Panetta calls it irresponsible.


The No MOreWar! chant continues, but it’s temporarily drowned out when Panetta says, “Donald Trump cannot become commander-in-chief.”


“We cannot put an erratic finger on our nuclear weapons,” he says. “This is no time to roll the dice and gamble.”







Here’s the lineup of speakers on deck:


Remarks

Kristen Kavanaugh


Kristen Kavanaugh is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a former Marine Corps Captain who deployed to Iraq. She later co-founded the Military Acceptance Project, a California-based social justice organization dedicated to promoting acceptance of marginalized populations within the military.


Remarks

Former Congressman and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta


Remarks

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (Ohio)


Introduction of Speaker

Dr. Jill Biden


Remarks

Vice President Joe Biden







Hutson s interrupted – is that the California delegation? – it’s a chant.


“I can’t hear what they’re saying,” Hutson says.


We can’t either, they’re on the other side of this big arena.


He goes back to his speech, which now concludes:


“When you’re a citizen you have the responsibility to choose the commander-in-chief who will keep us safe, strong and secure. Choose Hillary.”







And now the 2016 Democratic convention is applauding the 2008 Republican nominee. Hutson on Trump:


He even mocks our POWs, like John McCain. I served in the same navy as John McCain. I used to vote in the same party as John McCain. Donald, you’re not fit to polish John McCain’s boots!


They like the line.







Next up is retired Admiral John Hutson. “Unlike Donald Trump there are two things I know an awful lot about: law and order,” he begins. He was 30 years in the navy and a judge advocate general.


“Donald Trump calls himself the ‘law and order candidate’ but he’ll violate international law… this morning, this very morning, he personally invited Russia to hack us! That’s not law and order. That’s criminal intent.”


Hutson isn’t an electrifying speaker, but he enjoys a crowd deeply sympathetic to the argument he’s making:


The real disaster is what would happen if we let Donald Trump become the face of the country we love.







Now they’re screening a video titled Solemn Responsibility, featuring a great number of national security figures, from right and left, saying Trump is not fit to be commander in chief and definitely not to have the nuclear codes. Here’s the video:




Updated






Onstage is unfolding an extraordinary musical number. A tremendous line of recording artists doing a rendition of What the World Needs Now Is Love – lyrics by Hal David, composed by Burt Bacharach.


The crowd is overwhelmed with the vibe. When they wrap, the cheer exceeds any yet on the night – maybe the whole convention. Long lines of delegates were clasping raised hands and swaying.


Now they chant:


Love trumps hate!


Love trumps hate!


Love trumps hate!






NRA releases new ad attacking Clinton



As survivors and family members of victims from four different mass shootings speak in support of Hillary Clinton tonight, the National Rifle Association is preparing to release a new Clinton attack ad claiming that “you right to own a gun for self-defense is at risk in this election.”


The ad features Kimberly Corban, a rape survivor and gun rights advocate.


“The thought of owning a handgun terrified me, until one morning, a stranger broke into my apartment, and raped me. He had evil in his eyes, and I was helpless,” Corban says in the ad.


“My fear of firearms disappeared when I got my second chance at life.”


“Self defense is your right. Don’t let it be taken away,” Corban says.


The NRA ad will air starting on Thursday on national cable, and will also run digitally in battleground states.


Corban was one of the gun rights advocates who questioned the president during Obama’s CNN town hall on guns in January.


“As a survivor of rape, and now a mother to two small children — you know, it seems like being able to purchase a firearm of my choosing, and being able to carry that wherever my — me and my family are — it seems like my basic responsibility as a parent at this point,” she told Obama.


“Why can’t your administration see that these restrictions that you’re putting to make it harder for me to own a gun, or harder for me to take that where I need to be is actually just making my kids and I less safe?”


“Well, Kimberly, first of all, obviously — you know, your story is horrific. The strength you’ve shown in telling your story and, you know, being here tonight is remarkable, and so — really proud of you for that,” Obama responded.


“I just want to repeat that there’s nothing that we’ve proposed that would make it harder for you to purchase a firearm.”







More Giffords:


In Congress I learned a powerful weapon. Strong women get things done….


In the White House she will stand up to the gun lobby. That’s why I’m voting for Hilary.


Speaking is difficult for me. But come January, I want to say these two words: Madam president.


Thank you very much.


The crowd can’t clap enthusiastically enough. And Giffords walks off and waves the whole way. The audience applauds until she disappears.







Kelly introduces Giffords, “someone who has taught me to deny the acceptance of failure. Someone who doesn’t give up. And someone who believes, like Hillary does, that we are all Stronger Together.”


My wife, my wife, the awesome congresswoman Gabby Giffords.


The delegates are on their feet. Giffords walks out slowly, unaided. She smiles and waves, smiles and waves.


The crowd cheers and cheers, it gets louder and louder when Giffords arrives at the lectern.


Fellow Democrats! she says.


Huge cheer.


What a crowd!


We have work ahead of us. Work that will determine the future of our country. Are you ready?


Yeah!


Are you ready?


Yeah!


Are you ready?


Yeah!


I’m ready.







Kelly notes he’s a son of two cops and a veteran of dozens of combat operations, and a former astronaut. He says from his unique perspective he has scene the country at its best and worst. “From orbit, I saw our planet as a perfect blue marble.. but I also saw expanding deserts and shrinking rain forests.”


Just as Hillary is prepared to defeat Isis… Hillary is ready to take on one of our country’s greatest moral failures here at home, and that is the gun violence that is tearing so many of our communities apart.


We have to do better. And Hillary knows we can.







Here’s Angela Bassett, the actress, who names the victims of the mass shooting inside Charleston AME church in South Carolina.


I visited Charleston this year, and I can tell you that city’s soul is on fire. It burns with resilience… it brought down the confederate flag and it brings the Charleston community closer together every day.”


Basset introduces Felicia Sanders & Polly Sheppard, survivors of the Charleston shooting.


Sanders says she rejects hate:


“It destroys those who harbor it. I refuse to let it destroy me.”


“No one should feel what I’ve seen. No one should feel how we feel. How we suffered. The Bible tells us… turn from our wicked ways. .. Let us heed God’s word, and in turn may God heal our nation.


Sheppard:


Amen. The shooter in Charleston had hate in his heart. Orlando and Dallas too. So much hate, too much. But as scripture says, love never fails. I choose love. And in this election, I choose Hillary Clinton.


Here now is astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of Gabby Giffords.






Wikileaks releases DNC voicemails – Reuters



We haven’t heard the audio files yet. Developing…








Now here is former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who served on the president’s special police reform commission, to talk about the need to stop violence against police officers.


The lineup to follow forges more and more deeply into the theme of the country’s failure to get gun violence under control:


Remarks

Actress Angela Bassett


Remarks

Felicia Sanders & Polly Sheppard


Felicia and Polly are two of the three survivors of the Mother Emanuel Church shooting in Charleston, SC.


Remarks

Gabby Giffords & Mark Kelly



Updated






Smegielski says she should be watching at home on TV, with her mom.


“But, my mom was murdered, so I’m here.”


“I’m here alone, without my mother, while too many politicians cower behind the gun lobby instead of standing with American families.”


The crowd stands to applaud.


“What we need is another mother who’s willing to do what’s right, whose bravery can live up in equal measure to my mom’s. What we need is to elect Hillary Clinton… so that no other daughter ever has to say, I would give every single day that I have left for just one more day with my mom.”


The crowd applauds, but the speech is a gut-punch. There’s a downbeat muted quality to the clapping.




Updated






Murphy gives a pretty fired-up speech. Enough, he says. “We have had enough.” The crowd chants with him too.


Next up is Erica Smegielski, whose mother, Dawn Hochsprung, was the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary and was killed while trying to protect her students.


There’s a video to introduce her:


“We waited and waited and waited. And they told us, if you’re in this room, it’s because your family member’s not coming out.”


“Hillary Clinton is the only candidate that has what it takes to take on the gun lobby” – the line is applauded. “There’s finally someone who can change things.”







Here’s Connecticut senator Chris Murphy to talk about the massacre in Newtown and efforts to advance gun safety legislation.


“I am furious,” he says. “I am furious that in three years in Sandy Hook… the Republican congress has done absolutely nothing to prevent the next massacre. It stokes inside me a sense of outage that I’ve never felt before. And that’s what drove me to stand on the floor of the United States senate for 15 hours to demand change.”


Murphy says that Clinton “held firm” against the gun lobby, “stood up to the NRA.”







Leinonen:


Christopher was a big Hilary supporter. That’s why I’m here. So I can tell you about the day he was born.


At the time she was a Michigan state trooper. When she went into labor, the hospital put her gun in a safe, she says.


I didn’t argue. I know that common sense gun policies save lies. The weapon that murdered my son fires 30 rounds in one minute… one minute for a gun to fire so man shots.


Five minutes for a bell to honor so many lives.


I’m glad common sense gun policy was in place when Christopher was born. But where was that common sense the day he died.


I never want you to ask that question about your child,” she says. “That’s why I support Hillary Clinton.


She’s hugged by her son’s friends. Lee Daniels is still onstage and hugs them. They leave the stage arm-in-arm to a great wave of applause.






Mother of Orlando victim appears



Now here is Christine Leinonen, Brandon Wolf and Jose Arraigada.


The crowd, which had been loud, is shushed.


Christine Leinonen is the mother of Christopher “Drew” Leinonen, who was killed in the Pulse attack in Orlando.


She is speaking on the verge of tears, with a hard twist in her life.


“Christopher was my only child. As I used to tell him, you can’t do better than perfect.”


Brandon Wolf and Jose Arraigada are survivors of the attack at the nightclub in Orlando.


Leinonen says that in high school, her son won the Anne Frank award for starting a gay-straight alliance.


His paternal grandparents met and fell in love in a Japanese internment camp, so it was in his DNA that love always trumps hate.


This line is applauded for a long time.







Director Lee Daniels (Precious, The Butler) is next. He talks about a number of family members who have been to jail, and his father, a police officer shot dead in Philadelphia.


He says, in part:


Hillary has stood with families of people who have died due to gun violence… I wish she was around for me when my father died.


Hillary understands our right to bear guns, but wants to stop guns from getting into the wrong hands…


This is the most important election of our lifetime. Come November, vote for her.






Jerry Brown: Donald Trump is a lying ‘fraud’



Now here’s Jerry Brown, the California governor.


What is it that the California delegation is chanting? We can’t quite make it out. Is that Jerry! Jerry! (?)


“That sounds good,” he says. “But I only got five minutes. I got to get going here.”


His remarks focus on climate change. He describes a “world imperative to take action.”


“But you wouldn’t know it by listening to Donald Trump,” Brown says. He notes that Trump never once mentioned climate change or global warming at the Republican convention.


Some strong lines:


Trump says global warming is a hoax. I say Trump is a fraud.


Trumps says there’s no drought in California. I say Trump lies.


So it’s not surprising that Trump chose as his running mate a man who denies evolution.


He says the Republicans and Trump “have strayed into sheer ignorance and dark fantasy.”


“While Trump talks and talks and talks,” Brown says, “Trump says stuff.”







For all the talk of unity in the hall and streets, the fact remains that there is an ugly undercurrent – at times it surfaces – of antipathy directed at the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party.


One example is right downstairs from the press risers, in a men’s restroom.








Sigourney Weaver is next, but the Hollywood actress simply cannot equal the undiluted star power of Martin O’Malley.






O’Malley kills



O’Malley:


Unlike that immigrant-bashing, carnival barker, Donald Trump… Hillary Clinton understands the enduring symbol of the United States of America is not the barbed wire fence… it is the Statue of Liberty!


And then O’Malley gets the biggest applause of the night so far, with a line about Trump being a bully:


It’s time to put a bully in his place, and a tough woman in hers (pause) — The White House!


Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine —


Forward together — Stronger Together!


The crowd roars and everybody waves whatever’s in their hands, in many cases Clinton signs. O’Malley positively gleams. Then he does a jig as he walks offstage! Make ’em laugh, knock ’em dead and dance ’em home. Who is this guy?







More yuks from O’Malley:


He says, and I quote: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese.”


I’ll tell you what: if the Chinese were really capable of designing some kind of diabolical farce to hurt America, they wouldn’t invent global warming … they’d invent Donald Trump!







O’Malley:


I say to hell with Trump’s American nightmare. We believe in the American Dream!


Then he scores a total cheer from the crowd with a joke about Trump, whom he quotes as having said that wages are too high:


Wages are too high???


I’ll tell you what’s too high:… College tuition is too high.


The cost of child care is too high.


The number of American children who live in poverty is too high.


Donald Trump’s opinion of himself… that’s way too high!!


They love the line.







Now here’s O’Malley. A nice warm welcome for him. He introduces himself “as a man who knows Hillary Clinton well.”


“I’ve worked alongside her,” he says. “And I’ve competed against her.”


Let’s be honest. Sort of competed. Filled out the debate stage threesome, at least.







A pretty solid line out of Detroit mayor Mike Duggan then:


Unlike Donald Trump, Detroit is only going to do bankruptcy once.







Here’s the next tranche of speakers, in case you need to plan around your dinner hour or water your plants or grab a snack or pick up the dry cleaning:


Remarks

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan


Remarks

Former Governor of Maryland Martin O’Malley


Introduction of Film

Actress Sigourney Weaver


Remarks

California Governor Jerry Brown


Remarks

Director Lee Daniels







Next to speak is Jamie Dorff, whose husband, Patrick Dorff, was an Army helicopter pilot from Minnesota who died while on a search and rescue mission in northern Iraq.


Dorff is speaking to highlight Clinton’s work to highlight the gratuity paid to family members of fallen veterans from $12,000 to $100,000.


She’s introduced by a video in which she talks about the pain and difficulty of losing her husband, and facing the challenge of raising her daughter.


“What Hillary has done for my family, and other military families, words can’t even describe it,” Dorff says on the video.







Sanders tweets footage of his brother, Larry Sanders, a UK resident, casting a vote for him Tuesday as a member of the Democrats abroad coalition:








Here now is Gavin Newsom, lieutenant governor of California. As mayor of San Francisco, he issued licenses, contrary to the law, for same-sex couples to marry.


Newsom singles out Mike Pence as one of the country’s most regressive governors when it comes to LGBTQ issues. He says the Republican ticket is attempting a “hostile takeover of the American dream.”







Reid tells “new Americans” that the Democratic party supports them:


“New Americans risking everything to get here, and then fighting to make it here – we’re in your corner.


“You’re the ones fighting the hardest fights. You’re the ones who need leaders in your corner…


Reid concludes:


In a few months, I’ll be stepping out of the ring, one last time. But Democrats will always – always – be in your corner. So together, let’s keep fighting, together; fighting the good fight!


Reid is applauded appreciatively. He has to wait at the lectern for his wife to come out and walk him backstage. He’s limping a bit. He suffered debilitating injuries in January 2015 from an accident with an exercise band.







Updated





Reid: Trump is ‘a hateful con man’



We’re scanning Reid’s prepared remarks. He gives “never-ending tribute to our next president, Hillary Clinton.”


He plans to call majority leader Mitch McConnell “craven”: “I’ve never seen anything more craven… [than] what he has done to our democracy.”


Further:


His Republican Party decided that the answer to hard-working Americans’ dreams is to slander our African-American president, stoke fear of Muslims, sow hatred of Latinos, insult Asians and of course wage war against women. In other words, the only thing Republicans like Mitch McConnell have accomplished is setting the stage for a hateful con man, Donald Trump







Reid gets a good round of warm applause. Appreciative crowd. There’s even a cheer: Harry! Harry! Harry! Harry!







Here’s Reid. We have a copy of his prepared remarks here. He starts with a joke:


“I spend a lot of time in the Republican senate, so it’s nice to be in a room that respects reason and facts!”







Here now is a tribute video to Harry Reid, the senate minority leader. Bernie Sanders is one of the talking heads: “He is often criticized for being very blunt,” Sanders says. “I like that.”


Elizabeth Warren recalls Reid calling her at home and asking her to run for senate.


But the best anecdote is from Chuck Schumer, who says that Reid bugs him about not signing shoes. “He says, here, here’s $20, because he knew I was cheap,” Schumer says. “Go shine your shoes.”


Reid talks in the video, too. He gets choked up when he remembers how he took a job in a service station so he’d have enough money to buy his mother a set of false teeth.


“If I do nothing else in my life, I got my mother some teeth,” Reid says.







Here’s Emily’s list’s Stephanie Schriok of Emily’s List, which helps elect pro-choice women to government:


“Hillary Clinton may be our first woman president, but she may not be our last. Once that barrier falls it will never, ever, ever be put back up.”







Here are the next four speakers in case you need to step out for a workout or to grab some groceries or walk the dog:


Remarks

President of EMILY’s List Stephanie Schriock


Remarks

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nevada)


Remarks

California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom


Remarks

U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego (Arizona)






Trump in reddit AMA



Donald Trump is about to begin a reddit Ask Me Anything. Scott Bixby is going to cover it. Something tells us he is going to be doing a lot of typing.


Start time is 7pm ET.







Congressional black caucus rejects Trump



Now comes to the stage the congressional black caucus. Caucus chairman GK Butterfield of North Caraolina to speak.


He’s greeted warmly.


“Donald J Trump, your words have been hostile” he says. “They’ve been bigoted and insulting… you are not qualified to serve as president of the United States. … you use your celebrity status to paint a picture of gloom and doom…


“You want to know why your polling numbers are so dismal with African Americans? We know that your wealth has come at the expense of other people.”






Flint mayor: ‘we need your help’



Weaver says in 2014 the state switched our water source to a polluted river to save a handful of dollars… poisoning a whole community and leading to health impacts that may last for more than a generation.


The problems in Flint aren’t over, she says. “There are many more Flints across the country where environmental issues are hurting our kids and families,” she says.


“I am a voice for Flint,” she says. And “we need your help.”







They’re now screening a new video about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.


It features Flint residents praising Clinton for her advocacy on behalf of their city and residents.


Speaking next is Flint mayor Karen Weaver.



Updated






Star Jones, the View host, who appeared on a season of Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice and came in fifth, is next. “We are all with her, because she has always been with us,” she says.


Jones alludes to her time inside Trump-world, contrasting Democrats with “race-baiting folks on the other side that I also know. Shame, boy bye.”







Well that wasn’t in his prepared remarks. Jackson finishes by saying “it’s healing time, it’s hope time, it’s healing time, it’s hope time, it’s Hillary time” and permutations of orders of those three phrases for quite a while. The crowd joins in a bit but Jackson varies the order and confuses them.





Updated





Jackson: ‘shooting of young black men must stop’



Here’s Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader, pioneering African American politician, Rainbow / PUSH coalition founder and Barack Obama frenemy.


He gets a good hurrah there, especially from the New York delegation.


We have Jackson’s prepared remarks here. He endorses Clinton firmly right out of the box. He congratulates Bernie Sanders “for energizing this campaign season.”


“The Bern must never grow cold,” he says. That’s not in his prepared remarks.


Jackson, 74, recalls Clinton’s long fights on behalf of impoverished children, “the marginalized and defenseless.”


“Hillary understands the historic dimensions of the agony, hope and promise of Black Lives Matter,” Jackson plans to say. “The shooting of young black men must stop.”


“It’s Super Bowl time,” Jackson says of the general election.


Jackson concludes his speech by quoting himself from his 1984 presidential run, when he won primaries in four states and Washington, DC.


If blacks register and vote in great numbers, progressive whites win,” he says/said. “It’s the only way progressive whites win. If blacks vote in great numbers, Hispanics win. When blacks, Hispanics, and progressive whites vote, women win. When women win, children win. When women and children win, workers win. We must all come up together.”


“It’s healing time, it’s hope time, it’s Hillary time.”



Updated






Here’s a musical number, billed as “our America musical performance.” It’s extremely easy-listening; the backdrop of fluffy cumulonimbus is perfect. You’d take it for one of the lazier offerings from the Christian lite genre, if they didn’t sing “America” so many times. (You still might.)


Sample lyrics:


America


Let’s celebrate the good times.


America


I’ll honor and defend you


America


America


America







Bolo tie count so far this evening, by the way: two (2). Let’s hope that number climbs like Trump’s poll numbers.


(That’s not to say we wish for Trump’s poll numbers to climb, only to acknowledge that they have, steeply.)







Here’s the slate of upcoming speakers, if you’re trying to plan upcoming beer runs / bathroom breaks:


Remarks


Civil Rights Leader Reverend Jesse Jackson


Remarks

Actress Star Jones


Remarks

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver


Congressional Black Caucus

Chair, U.S. Representative GK Butterfield (NC)






Team Clinton: ‘we’re excited but not always as loud’



The Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt and Laurence Mathieu-Léger set out to gauge excitement among Clinton supporters for the Democrats’ historic nominee.


They say they’re very excited – if “not always as loud.”



Clinton supporters: ‘We’re very excited but not always as loud’




Obama speech excerpts: ‘Hillary’s been in the room’



The White House has released excerpts of the president’s speech tonight. From these passages it appears the president will seek to articulate an optimistic view of the national crossroads and prop Clinton up, as opposed to tearing Trump down.


The key lines from the excerpts are familiar:


You know, nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office. Until you’ve sat at that desk, you don’t know what it’s like to manage a global crisis or send young people to war. But Hillary’s been in the room; she’s been part of those decisions.


Obama also plans to say, as he has before, that “there has never been a man or a woman more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as President of the United States of America.”


Here are the excerpts in full:


As Prepared for Delivery


“The America I know is full of courage, and optimism, and ingenuity. The America I know is decent and generous. Sure, we have real anxieties – about paying the bills, protecting our kids, caring for a sick parent. We get frustrated with political gridlock, worry about racial divisions; are shocked and saddened by the madness of Orlando or Nice. There are pockets of America that never recovered from factory closures; men who took pride in hard work and providing for their families who now feel forgotten. Parents who wonder whether their kids will have the same opportunities we have.


“All that is real; we’re challenged to do better; to be better. But as I’ve traveled this country, through all fifty states; as I’ve rejoiced with you and mourned with you, what I’ve also seen, more than anything, is what is right with America. I see people working hard and starting businesses; people teaching kids and serving our country. I see a younger generation full of energy and new ideas, unconstrained by what is, and ready to seize what ought to be.”


—


“You know, nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office. Until you’ve sat at that desk, you don’t know what it’s like to manage a global crisis or send young people to war. But Hillary’s been in the room; she’s been part of those decisions. She knows what’s at stake in the decisions our government makes for the working family, the senior citizen, the small business owner, the soldier, and the veteran. Even in the middle of crisis, she listens to people, and keeps her cool, and treats everybody with respect. And no matter how daunting the odds; no matter how much people try to knock her down, she never, ever quits.


“That’s the Hillary I know. That’s the Hillary I’ve come to admire. And that’s why I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as President of the United States of America.”







Sounds like De Blasio’s speechwriting team included Dr Seuss:


Hillary Clinton: she’s smart, she’s steady, she’s right and she’s ready.


Donald Trump is reckless, he’s risky, he’s wrong and he’s scary.







De Blasio:


We know that Trump is one of the great pretenders. But how can he pretend to be for American workers when he didn’t even pay his own workers what he owed them?


He calls Trump a “truly little man.”







Hello from inside the Wells Fargo Center.


Here’s New York City mayor Bill de Blasio. Some members of the New York delegation, which is parked right at his feet, stand up to applaud. Quite a few stay seated, however, and a couple seem to glare.


As slow as de Blasio was to endorse Clinton, he’s speaking effusively about her now. He says her heart led her to public service instead of a lucrative law career. The contrast is with Trump, “one of the least generous billionaires our country has ever seen.”







The Democratic National Convention Committee will release a video tonight titled “Protect,” highlighting Hillary Clinton’s record of standing up for military families. The video features Jamie Dorff whose husband Patrick Dorff, an Army helicopter pilot from Minnesota, died while on a search and rescue mission in northern Iraq.







While Democrats rock out in Camden, New Jersey, tonight to the musical stylings of Lady Gaga, Lenny Kravitz and DJ Jazzy Jeff, members of the media will be stuck inside overheated tents in a South Philly parking lot.


According to Philly.com – and confirmed by Gaga-affinitive members of the Guardian staff – reporters are banned from attending tonight’s sold-out “Camden Rising” concert in an official capacity. Officially, the reason for the media blackout is that “the artists have requested that the concert be closed to media as part of their contracts,” but PhillyVoice – a local publication whose executive editor happens to be the daughter of the co-host of the concert – will be in attendance.


The likelihood of non-Gaga-related breaking news out of Camden remains unlikely, although the list of invitees includes the president and the first lady, as well as Hillary Clinton herself – although it’s uncertain whether she will attend on the eve of her big night.


Guess we’re viewed as nothing more than … paparazzi.



Updated






Erica Smegielski, daughter of Sandy Hook elementary school principal Dawn Smegielski, is set to address the Democratic National Convention tonight, and will be accompanied by this video.


Titled “My Mother”, Smegielski describes finding out about her mother’s murder in a school shooting, and Clinton’s platform on gun issues.



Updated






Rudy Giuliani, on electronic tags for Muslim terror suspects:


I would think that’s an excellent idea. If you’re on the terror watch list, I should you know you’re on the terror watch list. You’re on there for a reason.



Updated






Center for American Progress CEO Neera Tanden addressed the afternoon session of the Democratic National Convention, speaking of the importance of Democratic commitment to welfare, and also speaking to Clinton’s character as an employer.


“I know firsthand that the decisions our leaders make, make all of the difference in peoples’ lives. That’s why I chose a career in public policy, and that’s why I am so very proud to support Hillary Clinton,” Tanden said.


While Tanden worked in Clinton’s Senate office, she ensured a climate where “childcare, paid leave [and] equal pay” were part of the office culture.


“She walks the walk,” Tanden continued. “I know because I worked for her as I was starting my own family.”


“No matter how busy Hillary got, she always made family flexibility a reality for her staff,” Tanden said. “Once, she flipped her entire travel schedule so I could make it to my daughter’s pre-K graduation. In fact, Hillary was the second person to call me in the hospital when my first child was born, and the first person to call me when my second child was born.”


“That matters in Washington. What you do – not just what you say – matters.”






DNC gavels in for third session








Never a dull moment in Philadelphia.








Video: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had a terse exchange with a female reporter at a press conference in Florida this morning, during which he told NBC’s Katy Tur to “be quiet.”



Trump tells female reporter to ‘be quiet’ during press conference

Tur had been questioning Trump on his previous comments inviting Russia to hack rival Hillary Clinton’s emails in order to acquire and release thousands of exchanges which are said to have been deleted prior to an investigation







After the Trump campaign requested copies of Politico magazine with his face on it, editor Kristin Roberts was happy to oblige – although she did include a note requesting that the campaign reinstate the outlet’s press credentials:


We hope Mr. Trump enjoys reading it in his spare time. In the spirit of open communication, perhaps this would be an appropriate time to ask when you will deliver to our reporters the credentials that we have requested for his many events. I know they would greatly appreciate it.







Chelsea Clinton has launched an impassioned attack on Republicans who support conversion therapy for gay and lesbian people, describing it as tantamount to “child abuse”.


Chelsea Clinton.
Chelsea Clinton. Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

Bill and Hillary Clinton’s daughter, now 36, told LGBTQ Democrats in Philadelphia that she feels this is the most important election in her lifetime, in part because it is the first in which she will vote as a mother.


“Everything I care most about is at risk in this election,” she said, citing last week’s Republican national convention in Cleveland. “I’ve thought about what I found most offensive last week. It’s hard to pick just one. The Republican rhetoric which was divisive, degrading, demeaning, or the Republican party platform that was the anthesis to all that Chad [Griffin of the Human Rights Campaign] has celebrated for us as Democrats here. It was the most regressive, least inclusive platform in modern political history.


“But I think what I actually found most offensive really again ties to me as a mom. The open embrace of conversion therapy in the Republican party platform – in other words, child abuse – to me is the clarion call for all us to do everything we can to elect my mom but also to elect Democrats up and down the ticket.”


Clinton, who will speak on behalf of her mother at the convention on Thursday, added: “We need to ensure we are electing people who reflect our values so that my mom can finally pass the Equality Act, so that my mom can finally federally ban conversion therapy, my mom can restore the military records of everyone who has served their country.”






Admiral: Donald Trump’s comments on Russia ‘shocking and dangerous’



James Stavridis.
James Stavridis. Photograph: Laura Boushnak/AFP/Getty Images

Retired US Navy admiral James Stavridis, a former supreme allied commander of Nato, told the Guardian’s Spencer Ackerman that Donald Trump’s comments regarding Russian hacking of DNC emails are “shocking and dangerous” and will undermine American efforts abroad.


“These comments are shocking and dangerous,” Stavridis said. “In addition to the obvious domestic political implications of essentially inviting interference in our election, they will further undermine European confidence in the reliability of the US as an ally – particularly in the face of Russian adventurism.”


Edit: This post originally suggested that Stavridis was planning on speaking at the DNC tonight. That was incorrect.



Updated






The Trump campaign’s senior communications adviser, Jason Miller, has declared on Twitter that the candidate “did not call on, or invite, Russia or anyone else to hack Hillary Clinton’s e-mails today,” despite widely recorded and disseminated comments made by the candidate at a morning press conference that stated exactly that.




Trump, speaking at a press conference in Florida this morning, incited Russia to hack into and release Hillary Clinton’s emails from the personal server she used whilst she was secretary of state.


“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing,” Trump said. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let’s see if that happens. That will be next.”


The Republican nominee added: “They probably have her 33,000 e-mails that she lost and deleted … I hope they do … because you’d see some beauties there.”







Florida senator Marco Rubio floated the possibility that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will learn on the job once he is elected president in a radio interview today, saying that it was his “sense” that the Senate will act to curb his most kneejerk impulses.


“I view the Senate as a place that can always act as a check and balance on whoever the next president is,” Rubio told WGN Radio. “I also think there’s something to be said for – once you’re actually in that position, once you’re actually working at this thing, and you’re in there, and you start to have access to information that perhaps you didn’t have before, especially for someone that’s never been in politics – I think it starts to impact your views a little bit.”


“That’s my sense of it, as he settles into this role as the nominee and ultimately the president, access to these issues is going to begin to, in some ways, kind of shape some of the policy positions given reality versus perhaps what you might read about on a blog somewhere” Rubio continued.


“So I think that’s gonna be a real factor.”


During the Republican primary, Rubio called Trump “an embarrassment” to the Republican party and vowed that they would pay for his nomination in November.







As delegates mingle in downtown Philadelphia, four miles north a “shanty town” called Clintonville has been set up by activists in protest against the Democratic National Convention.


Cheri Honkala in Clintonville.
Cheri Honkala in Clintonville. Photograph: Adam Gabbatt for the Guardian

The community is set up on an empty plot of land in Kensington, a working class neighborhood heavily impacted by de-industrialisation in the middle of the last century. Clintonville was organised by local activist Cheri Honkala.


“The focus this week is on Hillary becoming the first woman as the candidate, and I’m supposed to be happy that there’s a first woman president but Hillary doesn’t represent any of the women I know,” Honkala said.


“[Because of] her policies around the poor, and the fact that women and children have been killed as a direct result of Hillary.”


Honkala said Clintonville was based on the Hoovervilles of the 1930s – shanty towns built during the Great Depression – and was also protest against “$60m being spent on a convention and parties and $43m on security”.


Ahead of the convention activists had promised Clintonville would be a “tent city”, buton Wednesday it appeared that the turnout had been disappointing. There were six tents – seven including a tipi – and three buses at the site.


Interestingly, there is actually a town called Clintonville in Pennsylvania. It is situated in the north-west of the state and had a population of 528 as of the 2000 census. The median income is $22,083.







In non-hacking news, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager told a group of reporters at a lunch sponsored by the Wall Street Journal that they campaign is more than happy with Donald Trump’s stated plan to win over traditionally blue states.


Robby Mook.
Robby Mook. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

“I absolutely encourage Donald Trump to spend time campaigning in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey,” Robby Mook told reporters, according to the Hill.


“I wholeheartedly endorse that strategy,” Mook continued. “I would be happy to support him if he wants itineraries or schedules. I will have staffers at his disposal to assist him campaigning in those markets.”


Trump has vowed to be competitive in traditionally left-leaning states, including California, Pennsylvania and his home state of New York.







Donald Trump’s suggestion that Russia hack Hillary Clinton’s email servers is not the first time he’s pushed for digital vigilantes to sabotage his political opponents:








The Guardian’s Dan Roberts and Sabrina Siddiqui have more on Donald Trump’s assertions that the Russian government should hack into opponent Hillary Clinton’s email servers to release her private communications:


Donald Trump.
Donald Trump. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Asked if he would handle Putin as a friend or an adversary, Trump said he would treat the Russian president “firmly” but expressed a desire to improve relations.


“There’s nothing I can think of that I’d rather do than have Russia friendly, as opposed to the way we are now, so we can go and knock out Isis together with other people and with other countries. Wouldn’t it be nice if we actually got along with people?”


Trump, who has faced questions about whether his business empire has been supported by funding from wealthy Russians also claimed he could not release his tax returns because they were under audit.


“I’ll release them when the order is completed,” he said, while insisting there was no evidence to support claims of his ties to Russia.


“But zero, I can tell you right now. I have nothing to do with Russia.”


Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort, asked directly whether Trump denied having any financial links to Russian oligarchs, said: “That’s what he said – that’s what I said – that’s, that’s obviously what our position is.”


As news of Trump’s apparent incitement reached the Clinton camp, Sullivan issued a statement denouncing his remarks, adding: “This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent. That’s not hyperbole, those are just the facts. This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue.”







John Kasich is trying to split the difference between Donald Trump’s comments on Russian state-sponsored hacking and Hillary Clinton’s email servers:








Video: The Republican nominee said allegations of Russia hacking the Democratic National Committee emails to help him are “ridiculous” at a press conference Wednesday morning. Referring to Hillary Clinton’s emails that underwent a federal investigation, Trump said: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.”



Trump on claims that Russia hacked DNC emails for him: ‘far-fetched’





After Donald Trump’s comments at his press conference today, Hillary for America senior policy advisor Jake Sullivan following statement:


“This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent. That’s not hyperbole, those are just the facts. This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue.”







Donald Trump, doubling down:








Bernie Sanders told delegates yesterday that Hillary Clinton “must become the next president” in his speech at the Democratic national convention. But away from the Wells Fargo Arena, his supporters have been holding anti-Clinton demonstrations. So has Sanders managed to convince diehard fans to vote for Clinton? The Guardian went to a #BernieOrBust rally to find out.



Sanders supporters on Clinton: ‘I’ll support Hillary if I have to’




Donald Trump encourages Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails



In a whirlwind press conference from Doral, Florida, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told reporters that he had a message for Vladimir Putin and the Russian government: Please hack into rival Hillary Clinton’s email servers.


“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing,” he said. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let’s see if that happens. That will be next.”






Mike Pence issues separate statement on Russian hacking



In an apparent bid to distance himself from Donald Trump’s assertion that Russia should hack Hillary Clinton’s private email servers, Indiana governor Mike Pence has issued a separate statement following Trump’s press conference this morning to “ensure there are serious consequences” for whoever hacked the Democratic National Committee’s email servers.


“The FBI will get to the bottom of who is behind the hacking,” Pence wrote. “If it is Russia and they are interfering in our elections, I can assure you both parties and the United States government will ensure there are serious consequences. That said, the Democrats singularly focusing on who might be behind it and not addressing the basic fact that they’ve been exposed as a party who not only rigs the government, but rigs elections while literally accepting cash for federal appointments is outrageous. The American people now have absolute and further proof of the corruption that exists around Hillary Clinton. It should disqualify her from office, if the media did their job.”







House speaker Paul Ryan’s chief communications adviser has distanced the speaker from Donald Trump’s comments encouraging Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails and release them.


“Russia is a global menace led by a devious thug. Putin should stay out of this election,” Brendan Buck told the Guardian.







Closing line of Donald Trump’s press conference:


“I think it’s time for Hillary Clinton to do a press conference.”







Donald Trump has cited Hillary Clinton’s close adviser, Huma Abedin, as a reason why it is not “safe” to brief Clinton on topics relating to national security.


“Uma,” Trump called her, is married to “Anthony Weiner, who’s a sleazeball and a pervert. Add that’s recorded history, right? I don’t like Uma going home at night and telling Anthony Weiner all of these secrets? How can Hillary Clinton be briefed on this unbelievably delicate information when it was just proven that she lied?”


Abedin has been targeted by conservatives who have accused her of being a Muslim Brotherhood fifth columnist, without evidence.


Trump also declared that his son, Donald Trump, Jr., has no interest in running for mayor of New York City, a prospect that prompted Weiner to declare that he would come out of political retirement to beat him.







Donald Trump, on President Barack Obama:


I think that President Obama has been our most ignorant president in our history. His views of the world, in his words, don’t jive.







Donald Trump has apparently endorsed the idea of Russian hackers targeting American citizens.


Trump, when press by NBC’s Katy Tur whether he has any qualms about a foreign government like Russia employing hackers to find opponent Hillary Clinton’s emails, he declared: “No.”






Video: Donald Trump’s bizarre press conference



Watch it live:






Highlights from Donald Trump’s press conference



Donald Trump.
Donald Trump. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP
  • Advocated for a $10 federal minimum wage, and for states to push it even higher.

  • Declared that he had never met Vladimir Putin, despite previously winking at the possibility of meeting with him during a 60 Minutes interview.

  • “I am a person who believes in enhanced interrogation. And by the way – it works.”

  • Mistook the role of Hillary Clinton’s running mate Tim Kaine, a former governor of Virginia, with that of Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey.

  • Instructed the Russian government to find the 30,000 “missing” emails from Hillary Clinton’s personal email servers.

  • Accused Putin of using “the N-word” against President Barack Obama but told reporters that Putin will respect him. (Trump is mistaken – the reference is apparently related to blogs that commented on Putin’s willingness to use nuclear weapons.)

  • Promised to release his tax returns once a federal audit is complete, and denied any business with Russia. “I’ll release them when the order is completed,” he said. “But zero, I can tell you right now. I have nothing to do are Russia.”

  • Noted the historic nature of Clinton’s candidacy: “I would love to see a woman become president of the United States, but she would be so wrong.”






No words.








Video: Former president Bill Clinton portrayed his wife, Hillary, as a dynamic force for changeand a longtime fighter for social justice as he made a case on Tuesday for her historic 2016 bid for the White House. Clinton’s speech looked at both his wife’s personal and professional achievements, and touched on many stories about their life together.



Bill Clinton delivers deeply personal speech in support of Hillary





Donald Trump, on the minimum wage:


The minimum wage has to go up – at least $10, but probably more, but it has to go up.






Donald Trump calls Russia hacking allegation ‘ridiculous’



Speaking near Miami, Florida, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump held a rare press conference, berating reporters for not forcing opponent Hillary Clinton to conduct more press conferences.


“It’s been 235 days since Crooked Hillary has had a press conference,” Trump said, his voice severe. “I put myself through your news conferences often – not that it’s fun.”


“Despite the police platitudes, she’s been a mess,” Trump said. “They don’t have an American flag on the dais until we started complaining… Her great disloyalty to the person that rigged the system for her – DWS – she totally rigged it. Bernie Sanders never had a chance. Total disloyalty.”


“Just ask yourself why she doesn’t have news conferences. And honestly, the reason is that there is no way that she can answer questions, because the job she has done is so bad.”


After opening up the floor to questions, Trump took numerous questions regarding his relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin.


“It is so farfetched, it’s ridiculous,” Trump said, of the notion that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee’s email servers in a bid to aid his presidential run. “I’d love to have that power, but Russia has no respect for our country – if it is Russia, nobody knows, it could be China. It shows how weak we are, it shows how disrespected… it’s a total sign of disrespect for our country. Putin and the leaders throughout the world have no respect for our country anymore and they certainly have no respect for our leader.”


“I never met Putin,” Trump said, when asked about his relationship with the Russian strongman, something that he has deflected when asked previously.


“I would treat Vladimiar Putin firmly, but there’s nothing I can think of that I’d rather do than have Russia friendly,” Trump said. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we actually got along with people?… And let’s go get Isis!”







A North Korean propaganda outlet has officially endorsed Donald Trump’s presidential bid, calling Trump “a prescient presidential candidate” who can solve issues on the Korean peninsula through “negotiations and not war.”


Kim Jong-Un looking at stuff.
Kim Jong-Un looking at stuff. Photograph: KCNA/AFP/Getty Images

The piece, published in state-sponsored DPRK Today, characterized the United States as “living every minute and second on pins and needles in fear of a nuclear strike,” according to Reuters.


“It turns out that Trump is not the rough-talking, screwy, ignorant candidate they say he is, but is actually a wise politician and a prescient presidential candidate,” Korean scholar identified as Han Yong Muk wrote, before deriding “thick-headed Hillary” as unsuitable for the office.


The piece might just make the cut at the Democratic national convention this evening, where Turmp’s relationship with “dictators and strongmen” will be emphasized, according to Clinton advisor Jake Sullivan.







“Articulate.”







Morning press briefing



In a delayed press briefing at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in downtown Philadelphia, senior Clinton campaign staffers told reporters that following last night’s history-making nomination of Hillary Clinton, tonight’s program at the Democratic National Convention will build on that momentum by highlighting Clinton’s strengths as a potential commander-in-chief.


Bill Clinton speaks on the second day of the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Bill Clinton speaks on the second day of the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Photograph: Xinhua / Barcroft Images

“We were all struck by the history-making moment of her becoming the first female nominee of a major party,” Clinton campaign press secretary Brian Fallon said. “We’re looking to build on that tonight.”


Campaign chair John Podesta, after taking credit for the Pitch Perfect video, said that tonight’s program “will focus and spotlight the different between Hillary Clinton’s strengths” compared to those of Republican nominee Donald Trump.


“The convention will also spotlight Clinton’s commitment to reduce gun violence,” Podesta said, including speakers who have survived mass shootings in Orlando and Newtown, and former congresswoman Gabby Giffords. “The evening will be topped off, of course, with speeches from Vice President Biden , from vice presidential designate Tim Kaine and, of course, from President Barack Obama,”


Jake Sullivan, Clinton’s foreign policy adviser, told reporters that national security issues will “really come into focus” during tonight’s program. “We will have a number of people who served in uniform… speaking about what it takes to be commander-in-chief and why Secretary Clinton has what it takes.”


That list includes former secretary of defense Leon Panetta and an Iraq combat veteran who has been on the front lines in “advancing change” in the Pentagon. “They will talk about why Hillary Clinton has the unique combination of attributes to successfully carry that job.”


At the same time, Sullivan said, the speakers will address Trump’s “bizarre and occasionally obsequious relationship with dictators and strongmen” to hammer down the point that “this person should not be placed in command of America’s armed forced, he should not be given the nuclear codes, and he should never be given the title of commander-in-chief.”







Donald Trump, criticizing the lack of flags at the Democratic National Convention:







Democratic national convention: day three



Good morning, and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the Democratic national convention’s third day, coming at you live from sauna-esque Philadelphia, where the onetime US capital has been turned into a hub for Democratic leaders, politicians, delegates and hangers-on – plus thousands of journalists and protesters, naturally.


Bill Clinton.
Bill Clinton. Photograph: Xinhua / Barcroft Images

At 6:38pm EDT, Democrats officially crossed the roll-call vote threshold and nominated former secretary of state Hillary Clinton as their presidential pick last night, making Clinton the first female presidential candidate from a major party in American history. Moments later, former rival Bernie Sanders called for a nomination by acclamation, a bid towards party unity that prompted some of his supporters to walk out of the arena to occupy the nearby media tents.



Bernie Sanders moves to nominate Hillary Clinton in DNC unity move

The capstone of the evening – the theme of which revolved around Clinton’s long history of working with women, children and the disabled – was the keynote address by former president Bill Clinton, who made the case for his wife’s election in deeply personal terms framed around the arc of their long and storied relationship.


Beginning with the simple line, “In the spring of 1971, I met a girl…” the former president and would-be first gentleman spent nearly an hour humanizing the Democratic nominee, with the apparent goal of allowing American voters to see Clinton through his eyes.


“Hillary will make us stronger together,” Clinton said. “You know it, because she spent a lifetime doing it. I hope you will do it. I hope you will elect her. Those of us who have more yesterdays than tomorrows tend to think more about our children and grandchildren.”


Today’s program: The third day of the DNC will gavel in at 4:30pm EDT, and although the complete speakers’ list is still forthcoming, will include the daughter of the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary, two of the three survivors of the Mother Emanuel Church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, and the widow of an Iraq War helicopter pilot.


The keynotes tonight will be delivered by Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama, who will seek to protect the legacy of their administration by citing their work with Clinton as proof of her suitability to assume the role of commander-in-chief.


We’ll have more on the full schedule once it’s released – until then, on with the show…




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Democratic convention live: Obama, Biden and mass shooting survivors to speakhttp://goo.gl/mdNOe4


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