Josh Shapiro gives prime-time address at the DNC; Tim Walz accepts VP nomination; Andy Kim reflects on Jan. 6 aftermath

After entering the stage to chants of “coach” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz shared about his upbringing in small town Nebraska and as a public school teacher in southern Minnesota as he accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president.

“I haven’t given a lot of big speeches like this but I have given a lot of pep talks,” Walz told the crowd of enthusiastic Democrats as he outlined the work Democrats must do in the coming months to elect Vice President Kamala Harris as president. Invoking his time as high school football coach Walz told Democrats to “leave everything on the field.”

Oprah Winfrey appeared at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night to speak on freedom in Chicago, the town she broadcasted the Oprah Winfrey Show from for more than two decades.

Winfrey paid tribute to the late Rep. John Lewis, a pioneer of the civil rights movement, as someone who understood that the work of ensuring freedom would never be finished.

Gov. Josh Shapiro brought his motto of “real freedom” to the national stage on Wednesday in a prime-time speech before the Democratic National Convention, after weeks of making a name for himself as the popular and moderate governor in one of the nation’s most important swing states.

Shapiro, 51, is Pennsylvania’s first-term Democratic governor. A rising star in the Democratic Party, he made his DNC debut this year, never having spoken at previous conventions. And this week, he made a splash in Chicago, following weeks in the national spotlight as a contender to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate that led him to speak to nearly a dozen state party breakfasts, give dozens of interviews with media outlets across the ideological spectrum, and host a “Real Freedom” happy hour to kick off the convention.

In his speech at the Democratic National Convention, former President Bill Clinton worked to draw a clear contrast between Vice President Kamala Harris, who he called the “president of joy” and former President Donald Trump.

He complimented Harris’ efforts to serve the public and choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate while criticizing Trump as a liar who has only ever worked to promote himself.

U.S. Rep Andy Kim of New Jersey opened his DNC speech with the story of the first time he brought his sons to the U.S. Capitol building.

He asked his sons if they loved the Capitol and his son Austin responded “I love the Capitol, and lowercase too.”

Attacks on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s faith throughout his consideration to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate didn’t bother him.

But the way those attacks impacted others — Jewish or not — did, he said in a wide-ranging interview with Politico before his scheduled prime-time appearance at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night.

U.S. Rep Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, who is running for the U.S. Senate, spoke at the DNC Wednesday night about “bright hope” the name of the church her grandmother attended in Philadelphia for seven decades.

“It’s not just a name, it's how I approach my life,” Rochester said.

A video aired at the DNC Wednesday night featured two Pennsylvania voters who had previously voted for Trump but said they could not anymore.

“One of the main reasons why I won’t support Donald J. Trump for president again starts with his chaotic behavior,” Matthew McCaffery of Upper Merion said in the video.

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker kicked off night three of the Democratic National Convention with a tribute to the late U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell who died at 87-years-old Wednesday morning.

"He never forgot where he came from in Paterson," Booker said while honoring Pascrell's years of service.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker on Wednesday hinted at a coming announcement about her plan to build or preserve 30,000 new units of housing while speaking at a policy forum in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention.

The comment came after the moderator, former Chicago housing official Marisa Novara, noted that her city was only able to build 2,400 units when it obtained a windfall $1 billion allocation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.

Claudia De la Cruz, who is running for president as part of the Socialism and Liberation party, will not be on Pennsylvania's November ballot, a Commonwealth Court judge ruled Tuesday.

Judge Bonnie Leadbetter ruled that the individuals named as electors for the Socialism and Liberation Party were disqualified to be electors for the party because had voted in April's primary election as Democrats. Without qualified electors, De la Cruz could not remain on the ballot.

Mississippi officials and witnesses to the historic 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City traveled to the seaside resort on Tuesday to unveil a historic marker on the Boardwalk honoring Black civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

The marker is the first Mississippi Freedom Trail marker placed outside of Mississippi.

Doylestown native Pink is expected to close out the Democratic National Convention's list of musical acts with a performance before Vice President Kamala Harris' nomination acceptance speech Thursday.

Pink's performance was confirmed by a person familiar with the planning who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the lineup.

In a second-floor conference room in the Westin Hotel right off Lake Michigan, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke to about 80 New Hampshire delegates, many of whom have a lot of experience vetting presidential candidates.

“The reason I especially wanted to be here this morning is because when the power is in the hands of New Hampshire, you all know how to pick a president and you all know how to get stuff done,” he said.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is expected to take the stage at the United Center in Chicago Wednesday for night three the Democratic National Convention.

Shapiro will speak alongside a number of other high-profile guests, DNC communications director Matt Hill announced via social media late Wednesday morning. The governor's appearance at the DNC comes after a closely followed selection process for Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate in which Shapiro was considered a top contender.

The last time former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn met with a room full of Pennsylvania elected officials, he didn’t get a warm reception.

“I got booed on the House floor in Pennsylvania,” Dunn said while speaking to the Pennsylvania delegation to the Democratic National Convention. “The crazy thing was it was my presence, my presence that made them incensed. I didn't even speak."

Warning of a difficult fight ahead, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on Tuesday called on the nation to embrace Kamala Harris in urgent messages to the Democratic National Convention that were at times both hopeful and ominous.

Barack Obama, the first Black president in U.S. history, insisted the nation is ready to elect Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian heritage and would be the nation’s first female president. He also called Trump “a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”

Philly’s own Patti LaBelle paid tribute to late Democratic Party members on Tuesday, the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Known best as the Godmother of Soul, LaBelle, 80, sang “You are My Friend” as part of the programming’s In Memoriam segment. Late party members recognized included former first lady Rosalyn Carter and former Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.

The state of Georgia may have capitalized on one of the most popular memes to come out of this election cycle so far. Walking out to his song “Turn Down for What,” Atlanta local Lil Jon helped the state delegates formalize their support for Vice President Kamala Harris — but with a little extra swagger.

As part of a new twist on the Democratic National Convention roll call votes, DJ Cassidy spun songs that represented each state and territory while delegates announced their endorsements for Harris.

Every four years, Pennsylvania becomes the center of the political universe thanks to the quirks of the Electoral College system.

But perhaps even the state’s politicos are getting tired of the incessant campaign ads that come with being the most important battleground.

The Harris-Walz campaign in Pennsylvania will be hosting at least 150 watch parties when Vice President Kamala Harris makes her nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention Thursday.

The watch parties, which more than 3,000 people have signed up to attend, will take place across the commonwealth including in Roxborough, Harrisburg, Scranton, Pittsburgh, Erie, and Blair County.

Among the more eyebrow-raising speakers Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention was a former Trump administration official: Stephanie Grisham, who previously served as press secretary to Donald Trump as well as chief of staff to first lady Melania Trump.

In brief remarks at the beginning of Tuesday night’s programming, Grisham first laid out her Trump bona fides: She wasn’t just a supporter of the former president, she said, but “a true believer” and one of his closest advisers.

The roll call meant nothing. It also meant a whole lot.

Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, officially became her party’s nominee two weeks ago, without much ceremony, following a virtual vote of delegates.

North Philadelphia State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta was one of the only Pennsylvania natives to land a coveted speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention, spending his two minutes on stage ripping the conservative “Project 2025″ as a “a radical plan to drag us backward.”

While holding a copy of the 900-page blueprint for a second Trump administration that was put together by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, Kenyatta, 34, said Republicans would overhaul the federal government under the plan, halt Medicare’s newly granted power to negotiate drug prices, and change regulations on overtime pay for workers.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will be in the spotlight tonight in Chicago to headline the third night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Walz, who was selected by Vice President Kamala Harris to be her running mate over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, spoke to Pennsylvania’s delegation Monday morning and was booed by half the room for mentioning Wawa rival Sheetz. But showing why he was chosen as ticket’s No. 2, he also discussed what he’s seen out of Harris during their brief time campaigning together.

Primetime programming at the Democratic National Convention is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Eastern and last four hours, though most broadcast networks won’t begin their live coverage until 10 p.m.

The convention will stream live on the DNC’s official website and across all their social media channels.

As Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign continues to focus on Chicago for the Democratic National Convention, former President Donald Trump’s campaign will head to North Carolina Wednesday.

Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R., Ohio), Wednesday in Asheboro, N.C. Slated to take place at the North Carolina Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame, that event will be focused on national security, according to the Trump campaign’s website.