Tag: convention

California Republicans energized by their opposition to Newsom’s redistricting special election

Generally speaking, it’s a grand time to be a Republican in the nation’s capital.

President Trump is redecorating the White House in his gold-plated image. The GOP controls both houses of Congress. Two-thirds of the Supreme Court was appointed by Republican presidents.

In California, the outlook for the GOP is far bleaker. The party hasn’t elected a statewide candidate in almost two decades; Democrats hold a nearly 2-to-1 voter registration edge and have supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature.

That’s long been the story for a state party stuck in the shadows in a deep-blue coastal state.

Will O’Neill, chairman, Republican Party of Orange County, Mark Mueser, Dhillon Law Group, Shawn Steel, RNC National Committeeman, Garrett Fahy, chair, Republican National Lawyers Association, and California State Assembly member David Tangipa during the Redistricting Lawfare in 2025 session at the California GOP Convention in Garden Grove on Saturday.

(Eric Thayer / For The Times)

However, amid a sea of “Trump 2028” T-shirts, red MAGA hats and sequined Americana-themed accessories, California Republicans had a brief reprieve from minority status this weekend at their fall convention in Orange County.

Members of the California GOP — often a fractious horde — were energized and united by their opposition to Proposition 50, the ballot measure crafted by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic leaders to redraw the state’s congressional districts to counter gerrymandering efforts in GOP-led states. Newsom accused Republicans of trying to “rig” the 2026 election at Trump’s behest to keep control of Congress.

Voters will decide its fate in a Nov. 4 special election and receive mail ballots roughly four weeks prior.

“Only one thing really matters. We’ve gotten people in the same room on this issue that hated each other for 20 years, probably for good reasons, based on ego,” said Shawn Steel, one of California’s three members of the Republican National Committee and the chairman of the party’s anti-Proposition 50 campaign, on Saturday. “But those days are over, at least for the next 58 days. … This is more than just unity. It’s survival.”

If approved, Proposition 50 could cost Republicans five seats in the closely divided U.S. House of Representatives and determine control of Congress during Trump’s final two years in office.

More than $40 million has already poured into campaigns supporting and opposing the effort, according to reports of large donations filed with the secretary of state’s office through Saturday.

Spending has been evident as glossy pamphlets opposing the effort landed in voters’ mailboxes even before lawmakers voted to put Proposition 50 on the ballot. This weekend, ads supporting the measure aired during the football game between the University of Michigan and the University of Oklahoma.

At the state GOP convention, which drew 1,143 registered delegates, alternates and guests to the Hyatt Regency in Garden Grove, this priority was evident.

Republican candidates running for governor next year would normally be focused on building support among donors and activists less than a year before the primary. But they foregrounded their opposition to Proposition 50 during the convention.

“I’m supposed to say every time I start talking, the No. 1 most important thing that we can talk about right now is ‘No on 50,’” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, said Saturday as he addressed the Log Cabin Republicans meeting. “So every conversation that you have with people has to begin with ‘No on 50.’ So you say, ‘No on 50. Oh, how are you doing?’”

Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton are the two most prominent Republican candidates in the crowded race to succeed Newsom, who will be termed out in 2026.

The walls of the convention hotel were lined with posters opposing the redistricting ballot measure, alongside typical campaign fliers, rhinestone MAGA broaches and pro-Trump merchandise such as T-shirts bearing his visage that read “Daddy’s Back!” and calling for his election to an unconstitutional third term in 2028.

Though California Republicans last elected statewide candidates in 2006, they have had greater success on ballot measures. Since 2010, the party has been victorious in more than 60% of the propositions it took a position on, according to data compiled by the state GOP.

“We need you to be involved. This is a dire situation,” state Assemblyman David Tangipa (R-Fresno) told a packed ballroom of party activists.

The California GOP Convention in Garden Grove, CA on Saturday, September 6, 2025. (Eric Thayer / For The Times)

Attendees of the Redistricting Lawfare in 2025 session at the California GOP Convention in Garden Grove. (Eric Thayer / For The Times)

Tangipa urged the crowd to reach out to their friends and neighbors with a simple message that is not centered on redistricting, the esoteric process of redrawing congressional districts that typically occurs once every decade following the U.S. census to account for population shifts.

“It’s too hard to talk about redistricting. You know, most people want to get a beer, hang out with their family, go to work, spend time,” he said. “You need to talk to the Republicans [and ask] one question: Does Gov. Newsom and the legislative body in Sacramento deserve more power?”

“No!” the crowd roared.

Should the measure pass, lawyers would challenge the new lines in federal court the next day, attorney and former GOP candidate Mark Meuser said during a separate redistricting panel.

But rather than rely on the courts, panelists hoped to defeat the measure at the ballot box, outlining various messaging strategies for attendees to adopt. Voter outreach trainings took place during the convention, and similar virtual classes were scheduled to begin Monday.

Even with the heavy focus on the redistricting ballot measure, gubernatorial candidates were also skittering around the convention, speaking to various caucuses, greeting delegates in the hallways and holding private meetings.

More than 80 people have signaled their intent to run for governor next year, according to the secretary of state’s office, though some have since dropped out.

Despite being rivals who both hope to win one of the top two spots in the June primary and move on to the November 2026 general election, Bianco and Hilton amicably chatted, a two-man show throughout some of the convention.

Hilton, after posing alongside Bianco at the California MAGA gathering on Friday, argued that the number of Californians who supported Trump in the 2024 election shows that there is a pathway for a Republican to be elected governor next year.

Pointing to glittery gold block letters that spelled MAGA, he said he wanted to swap the first A for a U, so that the acronym stood for “the most useless governor in America, Gavin Newsom.”

“The worst record of any state, the highest unemployment, the highest poverty, the highest taxes, the highest gas prices,” Hilton said. “If we can’t rip these people apart, then we don’t deserve to be here. They’re going to be asking for another four years. They don’t deserve another four minutes.”

California gubernatorial candidate Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks at the California GOP Convention in Garden Grove.

(Eric Thayer / For The Times)

At a Saturday gathering of roughly 60 delegates from the conservative northern swath of California, Bianco said he would never say a bad word about his Republican opponents. But, he argued, he was the only candidate who could win the election because of his ability to siphon off Democratic votes because of his law enforcement bona fides.

“Democrats want their kids safe. They want their businesses safe. They want their neighborhoods safe. And they can say, ‘I’ll vote for public safety.’ They’re not even going to say I’m voting for a Republican,” Bianco promised.

As he raised his hands to the crowd with a grin, Bianco’s closely cropped high-and-tight haircut and handlebar mustache instantly telegraphed his law enforcement background, even though his badge and holstered pistol were hidden beneath a gray blazer.

Later, after Bianco addressed a crowd of Central Coast delegates sporting more cowboy hats and fewer button-down shirts, Hilton walked to the front of the room and spoke in his clipped British accent about how another attendee had promised to take him pig hunting.

California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks at the California GOP Convention in Garden Grove.

(Eric Thayer / For The Times)

“We weren’t talking about police officers, I want to make that clear!” a man yelled from the crowd.

“Exactly,” Hilton continued, explaining how his family had a salami business in Hungary and he had gotten his hands plenty dirty in the past, “doing every aspect of making sausage, including killing the pigs.”

Seema Mehta, Julia Wick

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September 7, 2025
DNC Day 3: Tim Walz accepts party vice presidential nomination, Bill Clinton tears into Trump
The Democratic National Convention’s third night is underway.After receiving the blessing of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, the focus on the second to last day of the DNC shifts to Kamala Harris’ vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The former school teacher and football coach accepted the Democratic nomination as the party makes the case that Americans’ fundamental freedoms are at risk if Donald Trump returns to the White House.According to convention organizers, the theme for Wednesday’s events is “A fight for our freedoms,” a message that has become the centerpiece of Harris’ campaign as the Democrat has sought to paint a second Trump presidency as a threat to Americans’ ability to make choices about their own lives. Read live updates from Day 3 of the DNC below. Tim Walz speaks at DNC, accepts party vice presidential nominationGov. Tim Walz officially accepted the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nomination on Wednesday.He used his Democratic National Convention address to thank the packed arena for “bringing the joy” to an election transformed by the elevation of his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.“We’re all here tonight for one simple, beautiful reason: We love this country,” Walz said.Walz had been working on his DNC speech for about a week, according to a person familiar with the matter, and has made edits in recent days to make it sound more authentic to his voice.Walz also practiced using a teleprompter for the first time since he was selected as Harris’ running mate as he was looking to use the speech to introduce himself to the American people. John Legend and Sheila E. go crazyJohn Legend and Sheila E. celebrated Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz with a rendition of son-of-the-state Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” at the Democratic convention.Legend started at the piano and the onetime Prince collaborator Sheila E. started at her signature standing percussion set before each grabbed a mic and rocked with a band at the center of the stage, tearing through the purple tune for an audience of blue delegates.Walz has gushed about the music of Minnesota, expressing his affection for Bob Dylan, the Replacements, Hüsker Dü and Prince, who died in 2016.Legend told The Associated Press before the convention, “I’m trying to do what I can to help protect our democracy and have someone with a really positive vision for the future elected. And I think Kamala is the right person.”He added, “I’m so excited that she’s infused so much energy into the campaign and that young people and so many people that I think felt concerned that they had to pick between two choices they weren’t excited about.”Buttigieg reflects on progress for American LGBTQ+ familiesButtigieg marveled at the pace of change in the country for LGBTQ+ families, saying it was “impossible” for him to believe 25 years ago that, as a gay man, he could be married with two children.“This kind of life went from impossible to possible — from possible to real — from real to almost ordinary, in less than half a lifetime,” he told the Democratic National Convention. He said it came about because of “the right kind of politics” and encouraged Americans to “choose a better politics. One of hope, of promise, of freedom, of trust. This is what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz represent.”Buttigieg: ‘At least Mike Pence was polite!’Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is taking shots at Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, saying, “At least Mike Pence was polite!” Speaking at the Democratic National Convention, Buttigieg, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020, said, “JD Vance is one of those guys who thinks if you don’t live the life he has in mind for you, then you don’t count.”Buttigieg said Trump’s selection of Vance shows he’s “doubling down on negativity and grievance. A concept of campaigning best summed up in one word: darkness. Darkness is what they are selling.”Oprah directs part of her remarks at independent and undecided votersOprah Winfrey returned to the DNC stage on Wednesday night. Winfrey delivered a famous endorsement to then-Sen. Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.The legendary talk show host, on Wednesday, encouraged voters to vote for Kamala Harris and said she was “fired up” about the election after listening to speeches on Wednesday by former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. Without actually saying his name, Oprah Winfrey, at multiple points, made no-so-subtle jabs at Trump while also trying to appeal to independent and undecided voters.“We are beyond ridiculous tweets and lies and foolery,” she said of Trump, before referencing a recent comment he made to supporters about only having to vote once more — for him — and never again.”There’s a certain candidate that says if we just go to the polls this one time, we’ll never have to do it again,” Winfrey later said. ” Well, you know what? You’re looking at a registered independent who is proud to vote again and again and again because I’m an American and that’s what Americans do. Voting is the best of America.”Winfrey said she has “always voted my values,” and specifically called on independent and undecided voters to do the same. Winfrey, who long hosted her signature talk show from Chicago, also picked up on one of Democrats’ favorite themes of late, scoffing at Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance having once derided “childless cat ladies” as he argued that Americans should be having more children.Winfrey said that if a burning house belonged to a “childless cat lady,” neighbors would still help and “try to get that cat out too.”Poet Amanda Gorman recites original work ‘The Sacred Scene’“A people that cannot stand together cannot stand at all,” poet Amanda Gorman declared from the Democratic convention stage as she recited an original piece of verse penned for the occasion, “This Sacred Scene.”“While we all love freedom, it is love that frees us all,” Gorman’s poem said. “Empathy emancipates, making us greater than hate or vanity, that is the American promise powerful and pure.”The 26-year-old earned rare national fame for a modern poet when she read another poem she wrote, “The Hill We Climb,” at the inauguration of President Joe Biden 3 ½ years ago.Gov. Josh Shapiro takes the stagePennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was among Harris’ finalists to be her running mate, is speaking ahead of Walz Wednesday night after the convention rejiggered its schedule. Shapiro says, “We are the party of real freedom,” criticizing Republicans for trying to undermine elections and roll back abortion access.Democrats veer from their prepared scheduleDemocrats appear to be ditching their prepared schedule, passing over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and adding former Harris staffer Lateefah Simon, now an Oakland congressional candidate, and the vice president’s brother-in-law Tony West to talk about Harris’s biography.It remains to be seen if the convention will cut additional speakers to avoid running well over time like it did on Monday night when President Joe Biden’s address was pushed past 11:30 p.m. Eastern time.‘Uncommitted’ delegates say officials denied their request for a Palestinian to address the conventionDelegates of the “uncommitted” movement, which was sparked by dissatisfaction with President Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, announced to reporters at the DNC late Wednesday that officials denied their request for a Palestinian to speak during the convention.The group of 36 delegates have outsized influence as they stem from pivotal battleground states like Michigan.“I have asked for the vice president to call us back and tell us that the suppression of Palestinian Americans does not belong in the Democratic party and a Palestinian speaker will speak on this stage,” Uncommitted National Movement co-founder Abbas Alawieh said. “I’m waiting for the call.”The development comes shortly after the parents of an American who is being kept hostage in Gaza by Hamas spoke at the DNC, urging the release of the hostages and the need for a cease-fire.Pelosi recalls Jan. 6The rest of Pelosi’s time on stage has focused on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, where many rioters were targeting the then-speaker and, when they couldn’t find her, ended up trashing her congressional office.“The parable of January 6 reminds us that our democracy is only as strong as the courage and commitment of those entrusted with its care,” she said, adding that America must choose leaders who believe in free and fair elections. “The choice couldn’t be clearer. Those leaders are Vice President Harris and Governor Walz.”Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi greeted at the DNC with a standing ovationPelosi, who has been seen as the architect behind Biden’s decision to step down as the nominee, spoke about the president’s achievements before quickly pivoting to the woman who stood by him for the last three and a half years.“Personally, I know her as a person of deep faith, reflected in her community, care and service,” the California Democrat said.Clinton says Trump is fighting for ‘me, myself and I’He told the Democratic convention: “The next time you hear him, don’t count the lies — count the I’s.” Adding some corny humor, Clinton said, “He’s like one of those tenors opening up before he walks out on stage trying to get his lungs open by saying: me, me, me, me. When Kamala Harris is president, every day will begin with you, you, you.”Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and first daughter Chelsea Clinton watched from the arena was the former president spoke.Former Secretary of State and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, who once secured the Democratic nomination for president in a race against Donald Trump, spoke on the convention’s stage on Monday.Clinton’s a fan of the Golden ArchesClinton is emphasizing Harris’ time working at McDonald’s to emphasize that she’s working to help people like them.“When she was a student, she worked at McDonald’s,” Clinton said. “She greeted every person with that thousand-watt smile and said, ‘How can I help you?’ And now, she’s at the pinnacle of power, she’s still asking ‘How can I help you?’”Clinton added: “I’ll be so happy when she actually enters the White House because, at last, she’ll break my record as the president who has spent the most time at McDonald’s.”Former President Donald Trump is also a frequent consumer of the golden arches’ food.Former President Clinton returns to the DNCFormer President Bill Clinton said President Joe Biden has, like George Washington, enhanced his legacy by deciding to leave office. Praising Biden at the start of his Democratic National Convention speech, Clinton said of Biden, “He healed our sick and put the rest of us back to work.”Clinton, who left office more than 23 years ago, also cracked jokes about former President Donald Trump’s age — and his own.“I actually turned 78 two days ago,” Clinton said. “The only personal vanity I want to assert is that I’m still younger than Donald Trump.”He did not mention that Biden, 81, is older than both of them.Clinton, the nation’s 42nd president and a veteran of his party’s political convention going back decades, drew a contrast between Harris and Trump.“In 2024, we got a pretty clear choice, it seems to me: Kamala Harris for The People, and the other guy who’s proved even more than the first go around that he’s about me, myself and I,” Clinton said. “I know which one like better for our country.” Hakeem Jeffries casts Trump as ‘an old boyfriend’ who ‘won’t go away’House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries began his speech Wednesday night with a nod to President Biden, saying he would go down as one of the “most consequential presidents of all time.” But Jeffries, who if Democrats win back the House in November would become the first Black speaker, quickly pivoted to the new nominee, saying Harris is a “courageous leader, a compassionate leader and common-sense leader.”Jeffries then spoke on Trump, saying the former president is like “an old boyfriend who you broke up with, but he just won’t go away.”“He has spent the last four years spinning around the block, trying to get back into a relationship with the American people,” the New York Democrat said. “Bro, we broke up with you for a reason.”Mindy Kaling steps in to host as the DNC enters prime timeMindy Kaling is the celebrity host of the prime-time hours of night three of the Democratic convention, and she touted her ties to Vice President Kamala Harris as she introduced herself.“For those of you who don’t know me I am an incredibly famous Gen Z actress who you might recognize from “The Office,” “The Mindy Project” or as the woman who courageously outed Kamala Harris as Indian in an Instagram cooking video,” Kaling said.The actor, comedian and screenwriter from Massachusetts is the daughter of immigrants from India, and she and Harris made masala dosa together in a video four years ago.Democrats keep hammering Republicans about Project 2025Project 2025, the policy document that some conservatives had hoped would serve as a blueprint for a future Trump administration, keeps getting lots of camera time at the Democratic convention.On Wednesday, it was comedian Kenan Thompson who toted the book on stage.“Ever seen a document that can kill a small animal and democracy at the same time? Here it is,” said Thompson, a Saturday Night Live star, who got his start on the Nickelodeon kids comedy show “All That.”Trump and his campaign have repeatedly sought to distance themselves from Project 2025. But the document, which is hundreds of pages long and written by Trump allies and officials in his administration, has continued to dog him.And Democrats aren’t about to stop.Among the proposals included in the document are far more stringent abortion restrictions. The authors also want to dramatically downsize the federal government and give the president the authority to replace tens of thousands of workers with loyalists.“Everything we just talked about is very real. It is in this book,” Thompson said.“You can stop it from ever happening by electing Kamala Harris,” he concluded.Kenan Thompson pokes fun at Project 2025 Comedian Kenan Thompson brought back the huge “Project 2025” tome as he introduced a bit talking to various Americans who would be impacted by the book’s policies. “You ever see a document that can kill a small animal and democracy at the same time?” he said.But as he began, tech issues prevented Thompson from going through with the bit with a Nevada delegate named Matt. After several seconds of trying to fix the problem, Thompson moved on to the next delegate, saying, “Sorry, Matt!” and the bit continued.Stevie Wonder performs ‘Higher Ground’Stevie Wonder used his keyboard as a podium on the stage of the Democratic convention, giving a brief speech before breaking into “Higher Ground.”“We must choose courage over complacency, it is time to get UP! And go vote.”He asked the audience, “Are y’all ready to reach a higher ground? Because you know we need Kamala Harris.”The 74-year-old musical luminary then broke into his 1973 classic from the album “Innervisions,” accompanied by a DJ and dancers clad in white.Wonder also sang at the 2008 convention in Denver that brought the nomination of Barack Obama.Former Jan. 6 committee chairman says Trump ‘would rather subvert democracy than submit to it’Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., spoke Wednesday night about the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The former chairman of the Jan. 6 committee warned at the convention “about going back to the dark history,” of political violence and racial segregation. “They wanted to stop the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in American history,” he said. “Thank God they failed.”Thompson warned of what would happen if Trump would once again lose and refuse to accept the results of the election. “He would rather subvert democracy than submit to it. Now he’s plotting to do it again,” he added.Georgia’s former lieutenant governor urges fellow Republicans to ‘dump Trump’Geoff Duncan, the former Republican lieutenant governor of Georgia, is eliciting a raucous response from Democrats in the convention hall as he lays into Donald Trump.“Our party is not civil and conservative. It’s chaotic and crazy,” he said of Republicans before urging others to “dump Trump.”Addressing his fellow Republicans, Duncan said, “If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024 you’re not a Democrat, you’re a patriot.”Another former Trump White House official backs HarrisA former Trump administration White House official said she made the right decision when she quit her job.Olivia Troye told the Democratic National Convention that being in Trump’s White House was “terrifying” but what truly keeps her up at night is the possibility of the former president reclaiming the office.Troye said the traditional values that she says made her a Republican growing up are the same values that have led her to support Harris for president.Turning to her fellow Republicans, she said a vote for Harris is not a vote for a Democrat but rather a vote for democracy. ‘This is a vision for America that Donald Trump will never understand,’ congressman says on stageRep. Pete Aguilar, the highest-ranking Latino in Congress, said that Trump is a threat to the values his immigrant family grew up with in Southern California.“Only Kamala Harris and Tim Walls will protect the American dream so that every family can earn a living, own a home, and reach their full potential,” Aguilar said. “This is a vision for America that Donald Trump will never understand. All he knows is chaos and division.” Democrats turn their attention to the borderRep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, who served as a surrogate to the then-Biden campaign, kicked off what will be a series of speeches Wednesday night focused on immigration and security at the U.S. border with Mexico.Video below: Hear some of Escobar’s remarks After a video played showing Republican opposition to a bipartisan border deal earlier this year, Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut took the stage. Murphy was the top Democrat negotiating the proposal with conservative senators.“I just want to let you know that everything you just saw in that video, that’s exactly what happened,” Murphy said. “It would have had unanimous support if it weren’t for Donald Trump.”Singer Maren Morris performs ‘Better Than We Found It’Singer Maren Morris brought her plea for progress “Better Than We Found It” to the convention.The Grammy winner from Arlington, Texas, has been leaning more toward pop recently but struck a decidedly country tone on the stage at the United Center.“God save us all from ourselves and the hell that we’ve built for our kids,” she sang. “America, America, We’re better than this.” The song was released in 2020 in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and was viewed as an implicit rejection of former President Trump’s rhetoric.Morris has been a vocal supporter of liberal causes and has publicly sparred with other country music figures on issues including trans rights.She’s also set to be among the performers at a 100th birthday celebration for former President Jimmy Carter next month. Also expected onstage are music icon Stevie Wonder and legendary talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who gave a critical endorsement of then-Sen. Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. Poet Amanda Gorman was also set to take the stage.Family of hostage in Gaza calls for a cease-fire and hostage releaseJon Polin thanked Biden and Harris for their work trying to secure a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza. Acknowledging the “agony” of civilians in Gaza as well, he said, “In a competition of pain there are no winners” and called for a swift agreement to free the hostages and stop the fighting in Gaza.Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has been a staunch critic of Israel as it has responded to the Oct. 7 attack, was seen at the convention clapping as the parents of the Israeli hostage spoke about the need to not only bring back hostages but to end the “civilian suffering” in Gaza.Halie Soifer, the head of the Jewish Democratic Council of America and former national security advisor to Harris when she was senator, said in a statement Wednesday after the Polins’ speech that “Jewish Americans are proud to stand with Vice President Harris because she stands with us on every issue, including strong support of the US-Israel relationship.”The parents of an American hostage in Gaza receive a standing ovationSen. Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced his constituents, Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who has been held hostage in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.They were among the family members of six American hostages in attendance in Chicago to raise awareness about their family members’ plight.Polin and Goldberg-Polin, wearing a notation that it’s been 320 days since their son was taken captive, received a standing ovation from conventiongoers, who chanted “Bring them home.”While the Polins spoke, the camera cut to the various people in the room who were shedding tears for the parents.It comes after Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of Omer Neutra, were given a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention last month. After Hersh’s mother talked about her son’s love of travel, geography, music and music festivals, she described the events of Oct. 7 and the injuries her son sustained before being taken hostage.As he spoke, Hersh’s father told listeners that while he was speaking at the DNC, he doesn’t think releasing the hostages should be a matter of politics.“This is a political convention, but needing our only son and all of the cherished hostages home, is not a political issue,” he said. “It is a humanitarian issue.”“In a competition of pain there are no winners,” Polin added.Both Polin and Goldberg-Polin spoke of the other hostages and hostage families.In an emotional moment, Goldberg-Polin closed the speech with a message for her son.“Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you. Stay strong. Survive,” she said.A record number of DNC delegates identify as LGBTQ+According to the Human Rights Campaign, over 800 DNC delegates identify as LGBTQ+ — a record — and over 50 identify as trans or nonbinary. During her speech, Dana Nessel, Michigan’s attorney general and an openly gay woman, spoke about LGBTQ+ rights. In addition to other remarks, Nessel declared, “I got a message for the Republicans and the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court: You can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand.”Voters reminded to pay attention to Congressional races in addition to presidential raceDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Suzan DelBene told party faithful it’s not enough to win the White House.“A Democratic Congress is how we turn promises into progress,” she says, which would enable Harris and Walz to enact their policy agenda. Democrats only need to pick up a handful of seats to retake the majority in the House from Republicans.Wasserman Schultz talks about the repercussions of the Dobbs decisionFlorida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was also bumped from the program on Monday, is getting a chance to address the convention Wednesday night.The former DNC chair is using her remarks to highlight the story of a Florida woman who, because of the state’s restrictions on abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, was forced to carry to term a child with a fatal illness, only to watch the newborn die just hours after birth.“This is Project 2025 in practice,” she says. “It’s what Donald Trump and JD Vance want for the whole country.”The big book is back as Democrats again take aim at Project 2025Prop-politics is back as Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is taking a page from an oversized printed copy of the conservative Project 2025, saying he wants to share it with undecided voters. Polis says the plan would jeopardize IVF and only values heterosexual couples where the man holds a job. Project 2025 was developed by Trump supporters but has been formally disavowed by the GOP nominee.Minnesota connections abound ahead of Walz’s DNC speechIt’s Walz’s night at the DNC, and there are lots of touchstones to the Minnesota governor sprinkled throughout the programming.Harris-Walz campaign officials note that elementary students from Moreland Arts & Health Sciences Magnet School in St. Paul, Minnesota, were tasked with leading the Pledge of Allegiance. According to the campaign, those students benefited from the free breakfast and lunch program that Walz signed into law as Minnesota governor.Also, the campaign says the national anthem was sung by Jess Davis, a mathematics teacher selected as Minnesota’s teacher of the year in 2019.Congressman compares Democrats’ immigration stances with that of RepublicansNew York Rep. Tom Suozzi is implicitly contrasting Democrats’ stance on immigration with Republicans.The Republican convention last month was dominated by calls to shut down the southern border and ratchet down admissions to the U.S. And though Republicans say they don’t oppose immigration — only those who enter the country illegally — Trump also tightly limited immigration during his presidency.Souzzi pointed out that the U.S. has long been a nation of immigrants, including his own relatives who came from Italy.“To be a nation of immigrants is hard,” he said. “You have to work for it.”Democrats appeal to former Trump votersThere are more videos of former Trump supporters no longer backing the GOP nominee being played at the DNC.It’s a theme to which convention programming has been returning throughout the week, perhaps aimed at other former Trump backers now looking for a new political home.Harris’ campaign, and Biden’s before that, has been angling to attract Republican support heading into what’s anticipated to be a tight general election campaign.Abortion-rights advocates praise HarrisReproductive justice leaders took the DNC stage to applaud Harris’ long history as an abortion rights advocate.Mini Timmaraju, president of the national reproductive rights group Reproductive Freedom for All, highlighted states where abortion rights will be on the ballot this year, including Arizona and Montana — the latest states where voters will be able to decide in November whether they want to protect the right to an abortion in their state constitutions.“The people will get to have their say this November,” she said.Alexis McGill Johnson, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood, told the stories of a Georgia woman who drove to South Carolina for abortion care but arrived the day the state’s six-week ban went into effect, of Texas doctors who have sent patients “to wait in hospital parking lots rather than provide the emergency care they need,” and of Idaho hospitals airlifting patients to other states.“We cannot call ourselves a free nation when women are not free,” she said. Oprah Winfrey will make DNC appearanceannot call ourselves a free nation when women are not free,” she said.Talk show legend Oprah Winfrey will appear at the DNC on Wednesday night, according to a person familiar with the schedule who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans.Winfrey delivered a famous endorsement to then-Sen. Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign. It’s not yet clear whether she will endorse Harris, who is vying to become the first Black woman elected president. Day 3 of the DNC has begunThe third day of the convention has officially been gaveled in by Sen. Corey Booker of New Jersey. Day 3 speakers and performersMini Timmaraju, President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for AllAlexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action FundCecile Richards, reproductive rights activistKelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights CampaignJessica Mackler, president of EMILYs ListMaría Teresa Kumar, Founding President and CEO of Voto LatinoU.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi of New YorkSen. Cory BookerAftab Pureval, mayor of Cincinnati, OhioCavalier Johnson, mayor of Milwaukee, WisconsinRashawn Spivey and Deanna Branch, lead pipe removal advocatesU.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of DelawareU.S. Rep. Grace Meng of New YorkGov. Jared Polis of ColoradoU.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of FloridaSuzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Keith Ellison, Attorney General of Minnesota Dana Nessel, Attorney General of MichiganJon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-PolinMaren Morris (performance)U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar of TexasU.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of ConnecticutJavier Salazar, sheriff of Bexar County, TexasPete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic CaucusCarlos Eduardo Espina, content creatorOlivia Troye, a former Trump administration national security officialGeoff Duncan, the former Lieutenant Governor of GeorgiaU.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of MississippiSgt. Aquilino Gonell, retired U.S. Capitol police officerU.S. Rep. Andy Kim of New JerseyOlivia Julianna, content creatorStevie Wonder (performance)Kenan Thompson and Guests on Project 2025Mindy KalingU.S. House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem JeffriesFormer President Bill ClintonSpeaker Emerita of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy PelosiPennsylvania Gov. Josh ShapiroAlexander HudlinJasper EmhoffArden EmhoffU.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of NevadaAmanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate (performance)Gov. Wes Moore of MarylandU.S. Transportation Secretary Pete ButtigiegJohn Legend (performance)Sheila E. (performance)Sen. Amy Klobuchar of MinnesotaBenjamin C. Ingman, a former student of Gov. WalzTim Walz, the governor of Minnesota
CHICAGO —

The Democratic National Convention’s third night is underway.

After receiving the blessing of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, the focus on the second to last day of the DNC shifts to Kamala Harris’ vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The former school teacher and football coach accepted the Democratic nomination as the party makes the case that Americans’ fundamental freedoms are at risk if Donald Trump returns to the White House.

According to convention organizers, the theme for Wednesday’s events is “A fight for our freedoms,” a message that has become the centerpiece of Harris’ campaign as the Democrat has sought to paint a second Trump presidency as a threat to Americans’ ability to make choices about their own lives.

Read live updates from Day 3 of the DNC below.

Tim Walz speaks at DNC, accepts party vice presidential nomination

Gov. Tim Walz officially accepted the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nomination on Wednesday.

He used his Democratic National Convention address to thank the packed arena for “bringing the joy” to an election transformed by the elevation of his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“We’re all here tonight for one simple, beautiful reason: We love this country,” Walz said.

Walz had been working on his DNC speech for about a week, according to a person familiar with the matter, and has made edits in recent days to make it sound more authentic to his voice.

Walz also practiced using a teleprompter for the first time since he was selected as Harris’ running mate as he was looking to use the speech to introduce himself to the American people.

John Legend and Sheila E. go crazy

John Legend and Sheila E. celebrated Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz with a rendition of son-of-the-state Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” at the Democratic convention.

Legend started at the piano and the onetime Prince collaborator Sheila E. started at her signature standing percussion set before each grabbed a mic and rocked with a band at the center of the stage, tearing through the purple tune for an audience of blue delegates.

Walz has gushed about the music of Minnesota, expressing his affection for Bob Dylan, the Replacements, Hüsker Dü and Prince, who died in 2016.

Legend told The Associated Press before the convention, “I’m trying to do what I can to help protect our democracy and have someone with a really positive vision for the future elected. And I think Kamala is the right person.”

He added, “I’m so excited that she’s infused so much energy into the campaign and that young people and so many people that I think felt concerned that they had to pick between two choices they weren’t excited about.”

Buttigieg reflects on progress for American LGBTQ+ families

Buttigieg marveled at the pace of change in the country for LGBTQ+ families, saying it was “impossible” for him to believe 25 years ago that, as a gay man, he could be married with two children.

“This kind of life went from impossible to possible — from possible to real — from real to almost ordinary, in less than half a lifetime,” he told the Democratic National Convention. He said it came about because of “the right kind of politics” and encouraged Americans to “choose a better politics. One of hope, of promise, of freedom, of trust. This is what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz represent.”

Buttigieg: ‘At least Mike Pence was polite!’

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is taking shots at Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, saying, “At least Mike Pence was polite!” Speaking at the Democratic National Convention, Buttigieg, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020, said, “JD Vance is one of those guys who thinks if you don’t live the life he has in mind for you, then you don’t count.”

Buttigieg said Trump’s selection of Vance shows he’s “doubling down on negativity and grievance. A concept of campaigning best summed up in one word: darkness. Darkness is what they are selling.”

Oprah directs part of her remarks at independent and undecided voters

Oprah Winfrey returned to the DNC stage on Wednesday night. Winfrey delivered a famous endorsement to then-Sen. Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign.

The legendary talk show host, on Wednesday, encouraged voters to vote for Kamala Harris and said she was “fired up” about the election after listening to speeches on Wednesday by former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Without actually saying his name, Oprah Winfrey, at multiple points, made no-so-subtle jabs at Trump while also trying to appeal to independent and undecided voters.

“We are beyond ridiculous tweets and lies and foolery,” she said of Trump, before referencing a recent comment he made to supporters about only having to vote once more — for him — and never again.

“There’s a certain candidate that says if we just go to the polls this one time, we’ll never have to do it again,” Winfrey later said. ” Well, you know what? You’re looking at a registered independent who is proud to vote again and again and again because I’m an American and that’s what Americans do. Voting is the best of America.”

Winfrey said she has “always voted my values,” and specifically called on independent and undecided voters to do the same.

Winfrey, who long hosted her signature talk show from Chicago, also picked up on one of Democrats’ favorite themes of late, scoffing at Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance having once derided “childless cat ladies” as he argued that Americans should be having more children.

Winfrey said that if a burning house belonged to a “childless cat lady,” neighbors would still help and “try to get that cat out too.”

Poet Amanda Gorman recites original work ‘The Sacred Scene’

“A people that cannot stand together cannot stand at all,” poet Amanda Gorman declared from the Democratic convention stage as she recited an original piece of verse penned for the occasion, “This Sacred Scene.”

“While we all love freedom, it is love that frees us all,” Gorman’s poem said. “Empathy emancipates, making us greater than hate or vanity, that is the American promise powerful and pure.”

The 26-year-old earned rare national fame for a modern poet when she read another poem she wrote, “The Hill We Climb,” at the inauguration of President Joe Biden 3 ½ years ago.

Gov. Josh Shapiro takes the stage

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was among Harris’ finalists to be her running mate, is speaking ahead of Walz Wednesday night after the convention rejiggered its schedule. Shapiro says, “We are the party of real freedom,” criticizing Republicans for trying to undermine elections and roll back abortion access.

Democrats veer from their prepared schedule

Democrats appear to be ditching their prepared schedule, passing over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and adding former Harris staffer Lateefah Simon, now an Oakland congressional candidate, and the vice president’s brother-in-law Tony West to talk about Harris’s biography.

It remains to be seen if the convention will cut additional speakers to avoid running well over time like it did on Monday night when President Joe Biden’s address was pushed past 11:30 p.m. Eastern time.

‘Uncommitted’ delegates say officials denied their request for a Palestinian to address the convention

Delegates of the “uncommitted” movement, which was sparked by dissatisfaction with President Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, announced to reporters at the DNC late Wednesday that officials denied their request for a Palestinian to speak during the convention.

The group of 36 delegates have outsized influence as they stem from pivotal battleground states like Michigan.

“I have asked for the vice president to call us back and tell us that the suppression of Palestinian Americans does not belong in the Democratic party and a Palestinian speaker will speak on this stage,” Uncommitted National Movement co-founder Abbas Alawieh said. “I’m waiting for the call.”

The development comes shortly after the parents of an American who is being kept hostage in Gaza by Hamas spoke at the DNC, urging the release of the hostages and the need for a cease-fire.

Pelosi recalls Jan. 6

The rest of Pelosi’s time on stage has focused on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, where many rioters were targeting the then-speaker and, when they couldn’t find her, ended up trashing her congressional office.

“The parable of January 6 reminds us that our democracy is only as strong as the courage and commitment of those entrusted with its care,” she said, adding that America must choose leaders who believe in free and fair elections. “The choice couldn’t be clearer. Those leaders are Vice President Harris and Governor Walz.”

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi greeted at the DNC with a standing ovation

Pelosi, who has been seen as the architect behind Biden’s decision to step down as the nominee, spoke about the president’s achievements before quickly pivoting to the woman who stood by him for the last three and a half years.

“Personally, I know her as a person of deep faith, reflected in her community, care and service,” the California Democrat said.

Clinton says Trump is fighting for ‘me, myself and I’

He told the Democratic convention: “The next time you hear him, don’t count the lies — count the I’s.” Adding some corny humor, Clinton said, “He’s like one of those tenors opening up before he walks out on stage trying to get his lungs open by saying: me, me, me, me. When Kamala Harris is president, every day will begin with you, you, you.”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and first daughter Chelsea Clinton watched from the arena was the former president spoke.

Former Secretary of State and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, who once secured the Democratic nomination for president in a race against Donald Trump, spoke on the convention’s stage on Monday.

Clinton’s a fan of the Golden Arches

Clinton is emphasizing Harris’ time working at McDonald’s to emphasize that she’s working to help people like them.

“When she was a student, she worked at McDonald’s,” Clinton said. “She greeted every person with that thousand-watt smile and said, ‘How can I help you?’ And now, she’s at the pinnacle of power, she’s still asking ‘How can I help you?’”

Clinton added: “I’ll be so happy when she actually enters the White House because, at last, she’ll break my record as the president who has spent the most time at McDonald’s.”

Former President Donald Trump is also a frequent consumer of the golden arches’ food.

Former President Clinton returns to the DNC

Former President Bill Clinton said President Joe Biden has, like George Washington, enhanced his legacy by deciding to leave office. Praising Biden at the start of his Democratic National Convention speech, Clinton said of Biden, “He healed our sick and put the rest of us back to work.”

Clinton, who left office more than 23 years ago, also cracked jokes about former President Donald Trump’s age — and his own.

“I actually turned 78 two days ago,” Clinton said. “The only personal vanity I want to assert is that I’m still younger than Donald Trump.”

He did not mention that Biden, 81, is older than both of them.

Clinton, the nation’s 42nd president and a veteran of his party’s political convention going back decades, drew a contrast between Harris and Trump.

“In 2024, we got a pretty clear choice, it seems to me: Kamala Harris for The People, and the other guy who’s proved even more than the first go around that he’s about me, myself and I,” Clinton said. “I know which one like better for our country.”

Hakeem Jeffries casts Trump as ‘an old boyfriend’ who ‘won’t go away’

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries began his speech Wednesday night with a nod to President Biden, saying he would go down as one of the “most consequential presidents of all time.” But Jeffries, who if Democrats win back the House in November would become the first Black speaker, quickly pivoted to the new nominee, saying Harris is a “courageous leader, a compassionate leader and common-sense leader.”

Jeffries then spoke on Trump, saying the former president is like “an old boyfriend who you broke up with, but he just won’t go away.”

“He has spent the last four years spinning around the block, trying to get back into a relationship with the American people,” the New York Democrat said. “Bro, we broke up with you for a reason.”

Mindy Kaling steps in to host as the DNC enters prime time

Mindy Kaling is the celebrity host of the prime-time hours of night three of the Democratic convention, and she touted her ties to Vice President Kamala Harris as she introduced herself.

“For those of you who don’t know me I am an incredibly famous Gen Z actress who you might recognize from “The Office,” “The Mindy Project” or as the woman who courageously outed Kamala Harris as Indian in an Instagram cooking video,” Kaling said.

The actor, comedian and screenwriter from Massachusetts is the daughter of immigrants from India, and she and Harris made masala dosa together in a video four years ago.

Democrats keep hammering Republicans about Project 2025

Project 2025, the policy document that some conservatives had hoped would serve as a blueprint for a future Trump administration, keeps getting lots of camera time at the Democratic convention.

On Wednesday, it was comedian Kenan Thompson who toted the book on stage.

“Ever seen a document that can kill a small animal and democracy at the same time? Here it is,” said Thompson, a Saturday Night Live star, who got his start on the Nickelodeon kids comedy show “All That.”

Trump and his campaign have repeatedly sought to distance themselves from Project 2025. But the document, which is hundreds of pages long and written by Trump allies and officials in his administration, has continued to dog him.

And Democrats aren’t about to stop.

Among the proposals included in the document are far more stringent abortion restrictions. The authors also want to dramatically downsize the federal government and give the president the authority to replace tens of thousands of workers with loyalists.

“Everything we just talked about is very real. It is in this book,” Thompson said.

“You can stop it from ever happening by electing Kamala Harris,” he concluded.

Kenan Thompson pokes fun at Project 2025

Comedian Kenan Thompson brought back the huge “Project 2025” tome as he introduced a bit talking to various Americans who would be impacted by the book’s policies. “You ever see a document that can kill a small animal and democracy at the same time?” he said.

But as he began, tech issues prevented Thompson from going through with the bit with a Nevada delegate named Matt. After several seconds of trying to fix the problem, Thompson moved on to the next delegate, saying, “Sorry, Matt!” and the bit continued.

Stevie Wonder performs ‘Higher Ground’

Stevie Wonder used his keyboard as a podium on the stage of the Democratic convention, giving a brief speech before breaking into “Higher Ground.”

“We must choose courage over complacency, it is time to get UP! And go vote.”

He asked the audience, “Are y’all ready to reach a higher ground? Because you know we need Kamala Harris.”

The 74-year-old musical luminary then broke into his 1973 classic from the album “Innervisions,” accompanied by a DJ and dancers clad in white.

Wonder also sang at the 2008 convention in Denver that brought the nomination of Barack Obama.

Former Jan. 6 committee chairman says Trump ‘would rather subvert democracy than submit to it’

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., spoke Wednesday night about the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The former chairman of the Jan. 6 committee warned at the convention “about going back to the dark history,” of political violence and racial segregation. “They wanted to stop the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in American history,” he said. “Thank God they failed.”

Thompson warned of what would happen if Trump would once again lose and refuse to accept the results of the election. “He would rather subvert democracy than submit to it. Now he’s plotting to do it again,” he added.

Georgia’s former lieutenant governor urges fellow Republicans to ‘dump Trump’

Geoff Duncan, the former Republican lieutenant governor of Georgia, is eliciting a raucous response from Democrats in the convention hall as he lays into Donald Trump.

“Our party is not civil and conservative. It’s chaotic and crazy,” he said of Republicans before urging others to “dump Trump.”

Addressing his fellow Republicans, Duncan said, “If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024 you’re not a Democrat, you’re a patriot.”

Another former Trump White House official backs Harris

A former Trump administration White House official said she made the right decision when she quit her job.

Olivia Troye told the Democratic National Convention that being in Trump’s White House was “terrifying” but what truly keeps her up at night is the possibility of the former president reclaiming the office.

Troye said the traditional values that she says made her a Republican growing up are the same values that have led her to support Harris for president.

Turning to her fellow Republicans, she said a vote for Harris is not a vote for a Democrat but rather a vote for democracy.

‘This is a vision for America that Donald Trump will never understand,’ congressman says on stage

Rep. Pete Aguilar, the highest-ranking Latino in Congress, said that Trump is a threat to the values his immigrant family grew up with in Southern California.

“Only Kamala Harris and Tim Walls will protect the American dream so that every family can earn a living, own a home, and reach their full potential,” Aguilar said. “This is a vision for America that Donald Trump will never understand. All he knows is chaos and division.”

Democrats turn their attention to the border

Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, who served as a surrogate to the then-Biden campaign, kicked off what will be a series of speeches Wednesday night focused on immigration and security at the U.S. border with Mexico.

Video below: Hear some of Escobar’s remarks

After a video played showing Republican opposition to a bipartisan border deal earlier this year, Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut took the stage. Murphy was the top Democrat negotiating the proposal with conservative senators.

“I just want to let you know that everything you just saw in that video, that’s exactly what happened,” Murphy said. “It would have had unanimous support if it weren’t for Donald Trump.”

Singer Maren Morris performs ‘Better Than We Found It’

Singer Maren Morris brought her plea for progress “Better Than We Found It” to the convention.

The Grammy winner from Arlington, Texas, has been leaning more toward pop recently but struck a decidedly country tone on the stage at the United Center.

“God save us all from ourselves and the hell that we’ve built for our kids,” she sang. “America, America, We’re better than this.” The song was released in 2020 in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and was viewed as an implicit rejection of former President Trump’s rhetoric.

Morris has been a vocal supporter of liberal causes and has publicly sparred with other country music figures on issues including trans rights.

She’s also set to be among the performers at a 100th birthday celebration for former President Jimmy Carter next month.

Also expected onstage are music icon Stevie Wonder and legendary talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who gave a critical endorsement of then-Sen. Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. Poet Amanda Gorman was also set to take the stage.

Family of hostage in Gaza calls for a cease-fire and hostage release

Jon Polin thanked Biden and Harris for their work trying to secure a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza. Acknowledging the “agony” of civilians in Gaza as well, he said, “In a competition of pain there are no winners” and called for a swift agreement to free the hostages and stop the fighting in Gaza.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has been a staunch critic of Israel as it has responded to the Oct. 7 attack, was seen at the convention clapping as the parents of the Israeli hostage spoke about the need to not only bring back hostages but to end the “civilian suffering” in Gaza.

Halie Soifer, the head of the Jewish Democratic Council of America and former national security advisor to Harris when she was senator, said in a statement Wednesday after the Polins’ speech that “Jewish Americans are proud to stand with Vice President Harris because she stands with us on every issue, including strong support of the US-Israel relationship.”

The parents of an American hostage in Gaza receive a standing ovation

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced his constituents, Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who has been held hostage in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

They were among the family members of six American hostages in attendance in Chicago to raise awareness about their family members’ plight.

Polin and Goldberg-Polin, wearing a notation that it’s been 320 days since their son was taken captive, received a standing ovation from conventiongoers, who chanted “Bring them home.”

While the Polins spoke, the camera cut to the various people in the room who were shedding tears for the parents.

It comes after Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of Omer Neutra, were given a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention last month.

After Hersh’s mother talked about her son’s love of travel, geography, music and music festivals, she described the events of Oct. 7 and the injuries her son sustained before being taken hostage.

As he spoke, Hersh’s father told listeners that while he was speaking at the DNC, he doesn’t think releasing the hostages should be a matter of politics.

“This is a political convention, but needing our only son and all of the cherished hostages home, is not a political issue,” he said. “It is a humanitarian issue.”

“In a competition of pain there are no winners,” Polin added.

Both Polin and Goldberg-Polin spoke of the other hostages and hostage families.

In an emotional moment, Goldberg-Polin closed the speech with a message for her son.
“Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you. Stay strong. Survive,” she said.

A record number of DNC delegates identify as LGBTQ+

According to the Human Rights Campaign, over 800 DNC delegates identify as LGBTQ+ — a record — and over 50 identify as trans or nonbinary.

During her speech, Dana Nessel, Michigan’s attorney general and an openly gay woman, spoke about LGBTQ+ rights. In addition to other remarks, Nessel declared, “I got a message for the Republicans and the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court: You can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand.”

Voters reminded to pay attention to Congressional races in addition to presidential race

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Suzan DelBene told party faithful it’s not enough to win the White House.

“A Democratic Congress is how we turn promises into progress,” she says, which would enable Harris and Walz to enact their policy agenda. Democrats only need to pick up a handful of seats to retake the majority in the House from Republicans.

Wasserman Schultz talks about the repercussions of the Dobbs decision

Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was also bumped from the program on Monday, is getting a chance to address the convention Wednesday night.

The former DNC chair is using her remarks to highlight the story of a Florida woman who, because of the state’s restrictions on abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, was forced to carry to term a child with a fatal illness, only to watch the newborn die just hours after birth.

“This is Project 2025 in practice,” she says. “It’s what Donald Trump and JD Vance want for the whole country.”

The big book is back as Democrats again take aim at Project 2025

Prop-politics is back as Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is taking a page from an oversized printed copy of the conservative Project 2025, saying he wants to share it with undecided voters. Polis says the plan would jeopardize IVF and only values heterosexual couples where the man holds a job. Project 2025 was developed by Trump supporters but has been formally disavowed by the GOP nominee.

Minnesota connections abound ahead of Walz’s DNC speech

It’s Walz’s night at the DNC, and there are lots of touchstones to the Minnesota governor sprinkled throughout the programming.

Harris-Walz campaign officials note that elementary students from Moreland Arts & Health Sciences Magnet School in St. Paul, Minnesota, were tasked with leading the Pledge of Allegiance. According to the campaign, those students benefited from the free breakfast and lunch program that Walz signed into law as Minnesota governor.

Also, the campaign says the national anthem was sung by Jess Davis, a mathematics teacher selected as Minnesota’s teacher of the year in 2019.

Congressman compares Democrats’ immigration stances with that of Republicans

New York Rep. Tom Suozzi is implicitly contrasting Democrats’ stance on immigration with Republicans.

The Republican convention last month was dominated by calls to shut down the southern border and ratchet down admissions to the U.S. And though Republicans say they don’t oppose immigration — only those who enter the country illegally — Trump also tightly limited immigration during his presidency.

Souzzi pointed out that the U.S. has long been a nation of immigrants, including his own relatives who came from Italy.

“To be a nation of immigrants is hard,” he said. “You have to work for it.”

Democrats appeal to former Trump voters

There are more videos of former Trump supporters no longer backing the GOP nominee being played at the DNC.

It’s a theme to which convention programming has been returning throughout the week, perhaps aimed at other former Trump backers now looking for a new political home.

Harris’ campaign, and Biden’s before that, has been angling to attract Republican support heading into what’s anticipated to be a tight general election campaign.

Abortion-rights advocates praise Harris

Reproductive justice leaders took the DNC stage to applaud Harris’ long history as an abortion rights advocate.

Mini Timmaraju, president of the national reproductive rights group Reproductive Freedom for All, highlighted states where abortion rights will be on the ballot this year, including Arizona and Montana — the latest states where voters will be able to decide in November whether they want to protect the right to an abortion in their state constitutions.

“The people will get to have their say this November,” she said.

Alexis McGill Johnson, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood, told the stories of a Georgia woman who drove to South Carolina for abortion care but arrived the day the state’s six-week ban went into effect, of Texas doctors who have sent patients “to wait in hospital parking lots rather than provide the emergency care they need,” and of Idaho hospitals airlifting patients to other states.

“We cannot call ourselves a free nation when women are not free,” she said.

Oprah Winfrey will make DNC appearanceannot call ourselves a free nation when women are not free,” she said.

Talk show legend Oprah Winfrey will appear at the DNC on Wednesday night, according to a person familiar with the schedule who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans.

Winfrey delivered a famous endorsement to then-Sen. Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign. It’s not yet clear whether she will endorse Harris, who is vying to become the first Black woman elected president.

Day 3 of the DNC has begun

The third day of the convention has officially been gaveled in by Sen. Corey Booker of New Jersey.

Day 3 speakers and performers
- Mini Timmaraju, President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All
- Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund
- Cecile Richards, reproductive rights activist
- Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign
- Jessica Mackler, president of EMILYs List
- María Teresa Kumar, Founding President and CEO of Voto Latino
- U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York
- Sen. Cory Booker
- Aftab Pureval, mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio
- Cavalier Johnson, mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Rashawn Spivey and Deanna Branch, lead pipe removal advocates
- U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware
- U.S. Rep. Grace Meng of New York
- Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado
- U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida
- Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
- Keith Ellison, Attorney General of Minnesota
- Dana Nessel, Attorney General of Michigan
- Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin
- Maren Morris (performance)
- U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas
- U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut
- Javier Salazar, sheriff of Bexar County, Texas
- Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus
- Carlos Eduardo Espina, content creator
- Olivia Troye, a former Trump administration national security official
- Geoff Duncan, the former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
- U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi
- Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, retired U.S. Capitol police officer
- U.S. Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey
- Olivia Julianna, content creator
- Stevie Wonder (performance)
- Kenan Thompson and Guests on Project 2025
- Mindy Kaling
- U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries
- Former President Bill Clinton
- Speaker Emerita of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi
- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro
- Alexander Hudlin
- Jasper Emhoff
- Arden Emhoff
- U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada
- Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate (performance)
- Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland
- U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
- John Legend (performance)
- Sheila E. (performance)
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
- Benjamin C. Ingman, a former student of Gov. Walz
- Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota
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August 21, 2024
The Best Places to Eat Near Chicago’s United Center, Host to the Democratic National Convention

The United Center is hosting the DNC.
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Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The United Center, on the city’s Near West Side, is caught in limbo near the fancy restaurants along Randolph Restaurant Row and the older guard along Madison Avenue. It’s not an amusement park-type atmosphere like in Wrigleyville, where North Side developers are building hotels, restaurants, and stores close to Wrigley Field. The United Center is surrounded by parking lots and housing — though there’s a plan to change that.

But for more discriminating tastes, the neighborhood does offer some solid eats. There’s fine dining, family-friendly casual, and iconic Chicago burgers nearby. While the arena food has improved in certain areas, there’s no need to depend on concessionaires for a good time. There’s certainly no need to wait in line for a taco while missing Black Hawks or Bulls game action.

These are the best bets for food around the United Center.

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Ashok Selvam

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August 16, 2024
Best Bets: Grease, Treasure Island and the Houston Horror Film Fest

It’s International Cat Day, and in the spirit of dogs being man’s best friend and cats being man’s apathetic roommate, get out of your cat’s fur for a little bit this week and check out our best bets. This week, we’ve got a classic movie musical from 1978, Houston’s largest horror convention, and a classic adventure tale. Keep reading, and don’t worry – your cat will still love you when you get home.

Grease is still the word for generations of fans, including apparently the Prince and Princess of Wales. According to a new biography, Prince William and Kate Middleton took to the floor at their Buckingham Palace wedding reception and lip-synced along to “You’re the One That I Want,” which “brought the house down.” On Thursday, August 8, at 8 p.m., you too can sing along with the Pink Ladies and T-Birds when Movies Under the Stars at Market Square Park screens the 1978 musical Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Bring a blanket or lawn chair to be comfy as you watch a good girl and greaser try to keep their summer love going once back in the reality of their 1950s high school. The screening is free, and you can register for it here.

We’ve still got a little more than 80 days left until Halloween, but you can get your horror fix this weekend when the Houston Horror Film Fest, H-Town’s largest horror film festival and expo, returns on Friday, August 9, from 5 to 10 p.m. at the Houston Marriott of Westchase. The horror con promises more than 100 vendors and over 70 screenings, special Q&A panels, and, of course, celebrity meet and greets with actors from franchises like Child’s Play, Halloween, and Twilight. The fest continues on Saturday, August 10, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, August 11, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can still be purchased at the door, with single-day passes available for $50 and three-day passes for $60. Children 12 and under are free with an adult ticket.

Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Pictures of Ghosts is an “ode to the recreational, not-quite-extinct act of ‘moviegoing,’” one that “makes the case for marquees as timekeepers.” Brazil entered the film, a “poetic but somewhat bemused memoir-essay about place, cinema and time,” for Best International Film at the Academy Awards. On Friday, August 9, at 7 p.m., the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will screen the film, which “suggests you can ‘read’ a city through its old cinemas and come to understand something about its civic and cultural life – not high culture but mass culture.” Though such marquees and theaters no longer populate the landscape as they once did, the nostalgia found in Pictures of Ghosts is “a nostalgia of inquiry and reflection, not stale sentimentality.” Tickets to the screening can be purchased here for $7 to $9.

Creative Movement Practices will bring Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure classic Treasure Island, about a kid who finds a treasure map and clashes with pirates, to the MATCH on Friday, August 9 at 7:30 p.m. Though CMP’s founding artistic director, Sarah Sneesby, has adapted the story for adults, the show is still all-ages-welcome and family-friendly. Performances will continue through Sunday, August 25, at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Monday, August 19; 3 p.m. Sundays and Saturday, August 17, and Saturday, August 24; with a special sensory-friendly performance on Saturday, August 17, at 11 a.m. Tickets are available here for $15 to $30, with lap children aged two and under free, and pay-what-you-can performances on Monday and Thursday nights.

Experience the avant-garde work of women making films between 1920 and 1970 during Framing Abstraction, a short film program that will be presented over at The Menil Collection on Friday, August 9, at 8 p.m. The program will feature film works from women like Germaine Dulac and Carolee Schneemann, as well as Texas-born Mary Ellen Bute, a pioneer in visual music; Marie Menken, who not only made a name for herself via experimental filmmaking but inspired (along with her husband Willard Maas) Edward Albee’s play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf; and Maya Deren, who “nearly single-handedly put experimental cinema on the American cultural map” and “became the name of avant-garde cinema by becoming its face.” As always, programs at the Menil are free and open to the public.

Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai is “widely recognized as the greatest foreign-language film ever made,” and – fun fact – the full version of it didn’t even make it to the States until 1982. But on Saturday, August 10, at 5 p.m., you can catch the entire 1954 film, all three-plus hours including an introduction by Alan Cerny of Houston Film Critics Society and a 15-minute intermission, when the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, screens the 70th anniversary 4K restoration. The film, about a village that hires seven samurais to protect them from a band of bandits, is “breathtaking, fastmoving, and overflowing with a delightfully self-mocking sense of humor.” Seven Samurai will screen twice more, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, August 11 and September 1. Tickets to any of the screenings can be purchased here for $7 to $9.

Whitney Houston sold more than 200 million records worldwide, earned six Grammys, and had 11 No. 1 singles. In 2020, her iconic cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” even “surpassed one billion views on YouTube, making [Houston] the first solo artist from the 1990s to have a music video achieve that feat.” Though Houston died in 2012, her music lives on, and on Saturday, August 10, at 7:30 p.m., you can relive some of her most popular songs when Performing Arts Houston welcomes Queen of the Night – A Whitney Houston Tribute to Wortham Theater Center. Amanda Cole, formerly of En Vogue, will perform songs like “I Will Always Love You,” “So Emotional” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me).” Tickets are available here for $53 to $78.

And finally – Monday, August 12, marks the return of Houston Theater Week. For the third year, the tradition returns to give you one week (through August 18) to take advantage of a pretty good offer: Buy one, get one free tickets to stage productions, dance works, operas, and musical performances from companies and organizations all across the city. One thing for sure is that this is your chance to lock in tickets to see the shows that are certain to make this very list in the coming months.

Natalie de la Garza

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August 8, 2024
Trump’s past GOP rivals line up behind him at convention, say he’ll make U.S. ‘safe again’

MILWAUKEE —

Former President Trump’s top rivals in the Republican Party lined up behind the 2024 nominee on Tuesday, promising he would “make America safe again” from violent criminals and dangerous undocumented immigrants who they suggested are invading the nation via an “open” southern border.

After questioning his abilities and integrity during the primaries, they gave full-throated backing to a man they once loudly reviled, saying that unifying behind their former foe was crucial for the nation’s future. Trump, who entered the convention hall to thunderous applause, looked on approvingly as his former opponents urged voters to return him to the White House.

“For more than a year, I said a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for President Kamala Harris,” said Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley. “After seeing the debate, everyone knows it’s true. If we have four more years of Biden or a single day of Harris, our country will be badly worse off. For the sake of our nation, we have to go with Donald Trump.”

But Haley said her message was aimed at voters who may have qualms about the former president.

Former Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks during the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“We should acknowledge there are some Americans who don’t agree with Donald Trump 100% of the time. I happen to know some,” said Haley, whom Trump nicknamed “Birdbrain” during their 2024 primary contest. “My message to them is simple. You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him. Take it from me, I haven’t always agreed with President Trump, but we agree more often than we disagree.”

Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, entered the Milwaukee arena shortly before speeches by Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom he bested in a testy 2024 GOP primary, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, one of his opponents in the 2016 election.

“Let’s send Joe Biden back to his basement and let’s send Donald Trump back to the White House,” said DeSantis, whom Trump nicknamed “Ron DeSanctimonious.” “Our border was safer under the Trump administration and our country was respected when Donald Trump was our commander in chief. Joe Biden has failed this nation.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Haley and DeSantis apparently learned a lesson from Cruz — aka “Lyin’ Ted” — whose failure to endorse Trump after losing to him in the 2016 GOP primary earned him boos at that year’s convention and some enmity from Trump loyalists. He has since fallen back in line with the man who suggested his father was potentially involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The praise of Trump was interspersed with speeches about crime and immigration, and some of the most moving and powerful moments of the night came from families of crime victims.

On Tuesday, Cruz listed the names of Americans allegedly killed by people who are in the country illegally, including Kathryn Steinle, a 32-year-old woman who was shot in 2015 while strolling with her father on the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

“As a result of Joe Biden’s presidency, your family is less safe. Your children are less safe. The country is less safe. But here’s the good news: We can fix it. And when Donald Trump is president, we will fix it,” Cruz said. “We know this because he’s done it before.”

Tuesday night’s convention theme was “Make America Safe Again.”

Speaker after speaker, from politicians to law enforcement officials to people labeled “everyday Americans,” blamed crime in the U.S. in part on an “invasion” of criminals crossing into the country from the southern border with Mexico — though studies for years have shown immigrants are less likely to commit crimes here than natural-born U.S. citizens.

Kari Lake, a prominent 2020 election denier who lost a 2022 bid to become Arizona governor and is now running for the U.S. Senate, blamed “disastrous” Democratic policies for the surge in fentanyl and other opioid deaths in the country and along the southern border — which she said Trump would end.

Kari Lake speaks at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Lake said President Biden and Democrats “have handed over control of my state, Arizona’s border, to the drug cartels,” and that “because of them, criminals and deadly drugs are pouring in and our children are dying.”

Anne Fundner, a mother from California, said her 15-year-old son, Weston, died from fentanyl in 2022 — which she blamed on the “open border” policies of Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“This was not an overdose, it was a poisoning. His whole future, everything we ever wanted for him, was ripped away in an instant — and Joe Biden does nothing,” Fundner said.

She said Trump must be elected to help end fentanyl’s scourge on American families like hers. “This fight is not for me. My son is gone,” she said. “This fight is for your children.”

Crime and homelessness are perennial campaign talking points among Republicans, often couched as the result of liberal policies in states such as California.

Republicans claim the title of the “law and order” party, which has been a particularly useful point of political redirection for Trump as he has faced multiple criminal investigations and been convicted of dozens of felonies in recent years.

Democrats dismiss the Republican criticisms as inaccurate or overblown. Cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco do struggle with crime and homelessness issues, Democrats say, but not to the extent Republicans suggest — and cities in red states struggle with similar issues.

Democrats also blasted Republicans for platforming individuals at the RNC who were involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and siege on the U.S. Capitol.

Presidential candidate Donald Trump leaves the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Officer Michael Fanone, a Capitol Police officer who was injured in that attack, condemned the presence of insurrectionists at the convention.

“What happened on January 6th almost cost me my life and brought our democracy to the brink,” Fanone said in a statement. “This is a moment to come together and oppose those who call for violence in politics, but the RNC’s decision to give a platform to the same people who rioted against our democracy on January 6th does the opposite.”

Crime data vary across the country and within individual states.

However, the clearest trend in crime data in recent years nationwide, experts said, is that violent crime is down. Republicans often dismiss such data by saying they are fabricated or the result of lower reporting rates.

Seema Mehta, Kevin Rector

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July 16, 2024
Anime Festival Orlando happens this month at the Rosen Plaza Hotel

Photo courtesy Oriana Perón/Facebook

Oriana Perón will appear as a special guest at Anime Festival Orlando

Samurais, kaiju, otaku and subbed-and-dubbed enthusiasts are invited to Anime Festival Orlando this month to geek out over anime, manga and all manner of cosplay.

Anime Festival Orlando has been happening locally for over 20 years, and this year’s convention will be held at I-Drive’s Rosen Plaza Hotel from Friday to Sunday, June 27-29.

The lineup features well-known cosplayers and voice actors like Dante Basco, voice actor for Zuko in 2005’s Avatar: The Last Airbender; cosplayer and drag queen Oriana Perón; Howard Wang, known for voicing Broly in Dragon Ball Super, and many more.

The weekend also includes over 50 vendors, dance-battle competitions hosted by Breakdancing Kakashi, themed games like the festival-exclusive Live Action Convention Experience “Tales of Orlandia” and the local-grown combat card game “Warriors of Orlandia.” The venue will also host a maid cafe staffed by Sweet Tooth Maid Cafe, serving up all manner of kawaii treats.

Anime Festival Orlando happens June 27-29 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel. Tickets are available through the Festival website.

Event Details

Anime Festival

Thu., June 27, 10 a.m., Fri., June 28, 10 a.m. and Sat., June 29, 10 a.m.

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Houda Eletr

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June 14, 2024
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) – Fourth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation – World News Report – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

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May 5, 2024
Heading into a pivotal 2024 election, California Democrats divided on Israel and Senate candidates

SACRAMENTO —

The California Democratic Party Convention provided an opportunity for delegates and activists to project unity heading into a high-stakes election year.

The weekend-long gathering proved to be anything but that.

Democrats remained divided on the most pivotal issues facing the party and the nation: the raging war between Israel and Hamas and a 2024 California race featuring three popular party members, congressional veterans, hoping to win the seat held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein for more than three decades.

The internal fissures mirrored the national debate within the party that some believe could imperil the reelection hopes of President Biden and the balance of power in Congress.

Israel’s deadly invasion of Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack dominated the convention. Protesters angry about the war disrupted a Senate candidate forum Saturday afternoon and later in the evening stormed into the Sacramento convention center, just blocks from the state Capitol, leading to the cancellation of official party events that evening.

“An injustice to one is an injustice to all,” said delegate and lawyer Magali Kincaid, who joined with protesters who disrupted the remarks of Senate candidates Reps. Katie Porter and Adam B. Schiff along with Lexi Reese.

People at the California Democratic Convention protest the war in Gaza and call for a cease-fire.

(Benjamin Oreskes / Los Angeles Times)

Kincaid, who supports Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakand) for Senate, joined a Saturday afternoon rally where demonstrators loudly chanted “Cease-fire,” which briefly disrupted the Senate candidates. She said that she wanted to see “peace not war” in Gaza and that any resolution to what’s playing out with hostages in Gaza shouldn’t involve more violence.

“We need to make sure to stand up to genocide and colonization and it’s what I feel like we were doing,” Kincaid said.

The clash among delegates and protesters over the death and destruction in Israel and Gaza has angered young voters in particular. Ameera Abouromeleh, an 18-year-old Palestinian American who joined the protest with six members of her family — including her 74-year-old grandfather who she said was born in Jerusalem — said she looks forward to voting next year for the first time as a way to show solidarity with family who remain in the West Bank.

“Even though you squish someone under the rubble, our voices will be heard further,” said Abouromeleh.

Her grandfather Naff was less enamored with the civil disobedience, mostly content to support his grandchildren. He felt the violence by both Israelis and Palestinians had gone too far and wanted there to be a durable and sustainable resolution to the conflict.

Abouromeleh was unsure whom to back in the Senate race but in the presidential election she plans to vote for Cornel West, a progressive academic who is running as an independent for president. A newly released poll from NBC News showed that 70% of voters 18 to 34 disapprove of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. It came as his populatrity declined to 40% — the lowest level of his presidency.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators disrupt the afternoon session of the 2023 California Democratic Party November State Endorsing Convention on Nov. 18, 2023, at SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento.

(Lezlie Sterling / Associated Press)

The events of the weekend angered many Jewish delegates — some who said they felt harassed and unsafe at the convention. They criticized state Democratic Party leader Rusty Hicks for not doing enough to protect members and prevent disruptions. Andrew Lachman, president of Democrats for Israel California and a Jewish delegate, said he’d heard from more than a dozen people who either were reluctant to come to the convention or didn’t come because they worried about antisemitic confrontations.

Lachman said they were right to be worried given what played out.

“Many were shaken from the disruptive and violent acts they saw,” Lachman said.

The split within the party could imperil the party’s success in the 2024 election, Lachman said. Democrats will need the support of Jewish and Muslim voters in battleground states and congressional districts if they want to hold the White House and make legislative gains.

“We can’t win Michigan or Virginia without Muslim votes. You can’t win Nevada or Pennsylvania without the Jewish community,” Lachman said “ So anyone who thinks that they can shout the other one out of the room is hurting the Democratic Party.”

On Sunday California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks condemned the behavior of protesters and said that “any delegate who actively participated in or aided in the furtherance of those activities and events … will be held accountable.”

Saturday “concluded with a series of events that left me both deeply saddened and disappointed,” he added.

The most anticipated vote among party delegates over the weekend was for California’s 2024 Senate race, with pits Lee against fellow Democratic Reps. Schiff of Burbank and Porter of Irvine. In 2018, the California Democratic Party sent a clear message when members voted to back then-state lawmaker Kevin de León over Feinstein. This time though, no candidate reached the 60% threshold necessary to get the nod.

Rep. Barbara Lee, who is running for U.S. Senate, talks with Sacramento mayoral candidate Flo Cofer at the convention on Nov. 17, 2023, in Sacramento.

(Lezlie Sterling / Associated Press)

Lee won 41.5% of the delegates with Schiff coming in a close second 40.2%. Porter came in third with 16%.

Though Lee has lagged behind Schiff and Porter in recent opinion polls, her support among Democratic delegates reflected the strong loyalty she inspires among the party’s faithful who tend to be more liberal than the broader voting electorate. During Saturday’s forum, her supporters cheered after as she reiterated her call for a cease-fire in Israel and Gaza along with her casting the only no vote on the authorization for the use of military force allowing the invasion of Iraq after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Basem Manneh, a Bay Area Palestinian America who supports Lee and is a delegate, said he was frustrated by the disruptions of the Senate forum. The broader push for a cease-fire and the moves to help Lee were the “right way to approach solidarity,” he said. He spoke at the evening protest inside the building and felt there was little evidence that the disobedience was anything but peaceful and constructive.

“I don’t see any of this as a hateful message.”

Manneh, who works at San Francisco International Airport, said both Porter and Schiff were very smart but that Lee has been at this work far longer.

“She’s that captain of the locker room,” Manneh said.

Rep. Katie Porter, who is running for U.S. Senate, shakes hands with supporters at the California Democratic Party Convention.

(Lezlie Sterling / Associated Press)

Brian Krohne, 41, who had campaigned for Porter in her congressional races is supporting Lee partially because of Porter’s unwillingness to call for a cease-fire in Israel and Gaza.

Porter and Schiff have been broadly supportive of Biden’s efforts to support Israel while gently urging its leaders to be more mindful of civilian loss of life and thinking about what comes next in Gaza.

“I find it so disappointing she’s on the wrong side of this,” Krohne said of Porter.

Rep. Adam Schiff, who is running for U.S. Senate, shakes hands with supporter Michael Nye while standing with his wife, Eve.

(Lezlie Sterling / Associated Press)

Hicks and other state party officials said that the divided party was a reflection of the strength of the candidates and that these divisions wouldn’t hurt Democrats’ ability to come together next year.

Riverside County Party Chair Joy Silver, a Jewish Palm Springs resident, said she never felt unsafe during the protests Saturday, but was angry that they prevented the party caucuses from convening — adding they seemed “deeply un-democratic.”

The splits in the party were profound, she said, but wouldn’t deter her work overseeing voter outreach in one of the most competitive parts of the state where Democrats are eager to regain a congressional seat and take some Assembly seats. The county party hadn’t endorsed in the Senate race, but she was backing Schiff. She compared the divide between Schiff and Lee to the one that the party experienced between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016.

“The real division here, I think is between the head and heart,” Silver said.

“Adam is more head and Barbara Lee is more heart.”

Benjamin Oreskes

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November 19, 2023
Smoother, Faster, Smarter: Jack Uldrich to Speak on Future-Proofing the Iowa Asphalt Industry

Futurist Jack Uldrich to deliver a keynote address at the 61st Annual APAI Convention.

Press Release
–

updated: Dec 1, 2016

Des Moines, IA, December 1, 2016 (Newswire.com)
–
This morning in Des Moines, distinguished guest speaker Jack Uldrich will deliver his keynote address, “The Big A-HA! How to Future-Proof against Tomorrow’s Transformational Transportation Trends, Today.”

In his talk, he will discuss the latest game-changing technology to impact the Asphalt Paving Association of Iowa and the best approach to embracing the onslaught of change that is fast approaching the industry.

“You must strive to enhance your awareness of changes on the horizon; have enough humility to acknowledge that what served your business well in the past might not be sufficient tomorrow, and be willing to take action in the face of less-than-perfect information.”

Jack Uldrich, Futurist & Founder of The School of Unlearning

Uldrich, a leading futurist, best-selling author, and a graduate of Drake University, makes his living speaking both nationally and internationally on a variety of topics such as future trends, emerging technologies, innovation, change management and leadership. He is also a leading expert on assisting businesses “unlearn” and adapt during times of transition.

As the author of “The Next Big Thing is Really Small,” Uldrich says a wide variety of technological advances will affect the industry in the coming years, particularly Nanotechnology. He says the Internet of Things and Big Data will also influence the industry in a myriad of ways.

The Big A-HA is Uldrich’s acronym for the leadership skills he’s a proponent of Awareness, Humility, and Action. He says,”You must strive to enhance your awareness of changes on the horizon; have enough humility to acknowledge that what served your business well in the past might not be sufficient tomorrow, and be willing to take action in the face of less-than-perfect information.”

Following his keynote to the APAI, Uldrich will head to Colorado to deliver a keynote in the evening to the Colorado Wheat Association.

For more information on Jack Uldrich and his upcoming events, please visit his website.

Source: Jack Uldrich & The School of Unlearning

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December 1, 2016