The Democratic National Convention began on Monday in Chicago, with roughly 50,000 people expected to arrive in the Windy City. That includes thousands of anti-war activists demonstrating near the United Center.President Joe Biden was the headline speaker for the first evening. Later this week, Vice President Kamala Harris will officially accept the party’s nomination.Read live updates from DNC Day 1 below.Harris joins Biden onstage after DNC speech in which he says she’ll be a ‘historic president’Moments after Biden finished his speech, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff walked on stage to hug the president and first lady Jill Biden. Other relatives soon followed, including Biden’s son Hunter. Harris hugged Biden and said something that made both react in a way that looked very personal.Biden: ‘Those protestors out in the street have a point’Biden acknowledged the protests outside the convention and inside the arena as he spoke, saying, “Those protestors out in the street have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides.”He reiterated his push to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a cease-fire deal that would also see the release of hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 in the attack that sparked the 10-month war. Biden recaps his White House accomplishmentsPresident Biden went through his White House highlights at the Democratic convention, trying to make the case for the lasting impact of his time in office.Many of his comments were familiar to those who have listened to past Biden remarks. He talked about more than 16 million jobs added under his watch, the investments in computer chip manufacturing, the bipartisan infrastructure law and the greater access to health care resources. Biden noted that investments made in new computer chip factories would enable workers to make six-figure salaries without needing a college degree.His goal had been to reframe people’s perspectives of his presidency, but those achievements that were supposed to anchor his reelection campaign never fully resonated with voters.Abandon Biden protesters unveil banner, only to have it wrestled awayA couple of protesters from the Abandon Biden movement unfurled a protest sign late Monday that read “STOP ARMING ISRAEL” in the Florida delegation section a few minutes after Biden began his speech. The group, which is pushing for third-party candidates, has been campaigning against Biden’s reelection campaign since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.Israel’s counterattack in Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and devastated much of the territory. The war has plunged the territory of 2.3 million people into a humanitarian catastrophe, with aid groups now fearing an outbreak of polio.The sign was quickly wrestled away from the protesters and the lights in that section of the convention were turned off. Other convention goers responded to the protest by chanting “We love Joe” and holding up their banners in support of the president.President Biden welcomed to the stage with a five-minute standing ovationPresident Joe Biden came out to give his convention speech — only to be greeted with roughly five minutes worth of cheers, applause and chants of “Thank You, Joe.”“Thank you,” the president said repeatedly, as he took in the moment. The crowd in Chicago’s United Center held up signs with heart signs that said they loved him.“I love you all,” Biden said to a party that weeks earlier had worried about his ability to beat Donald Trump, causing the tough choice by him to forgo the nomination for Vice President Kamala Harris.Biden takes the stagePresident Joe Biden is delivering a speech, weeks after stepping down as the Democratic nominee and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. He is expected to tout his administration's accomplishments and unite the party behind Harris.First lady, daughter help to introduce President Biden First lady Jill Biden in her speech to the Democratic National Convention Monday night recalled how President Joe Biden dug “deep into his soul” to decide not to seek reelection, drawing a parallel between the values of her husband and those of Vice President Kamala Harris. As she recalled moments when she had fallen in love again with her husband, Jill Biden said she saw it happen again when, weeks ago, “I saw him dig deep into his soul and decide to no longer seek reelection and endorse Kamala Harris.” Harris was in attendance during the speech and waved at Jill Biden at that moment from her box inside the arena as the crowd cheered. She recalled how her late son, Beau, worked with Harris while he was attorney general for Delaware and Harris, for California. “He told me at the dinner table one night, ‘Mom she’s special, someone to keep your eye on.’ And he was right. Joe and I know Kamala, we have seen her courage her determination and her leadership up close,” Jill Biden added. “Kamala and Tim (Walz), you will win.” Ashley Biden, Joe and Jill's daughter, also spoke Monday night."Joe Biden is the O.G. girl dad," Ashley Biden said, following her mother. "And he wasn't just a girl dad. I could see that he valued and trusted women. How he listened to his mother. How he believed his sister. Most of all, how he respected my mother's career."Democrats highlight stories of dangerous pregnancy, miscarriage and sexual abuseDemocrats made an emotional appeal to voters on the need for abortion rights, having people talk about their first-hand experiences with complicated pregnancies.Amanda and Josh Zurawski of Texas spoke about a tortured pregnancy in which there was a choice between the life of their daughter, Willow, and that of the mother. Kaitlyn Joshua of Louisiana said her state’s abortion restrictions meant she could not get the emergency room care she needed when she ultimately miscarried.And in a moment that left the convention room quiet, Hadley Duvall of Kentucky spoke openly about the sexual abuse that left her pregnant at 12, when she said she learned she had options other than keeping the pregnancy.Former President Trump calls the abortion bans “a beautiful thing,” Duvall said. “What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent’s child?”The convention gave Duvall a standing ovation for having survived the ordeal.Rep. Crocket: Harris is ‘the only candidate in this race who is capable of empathy’Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, one of the Democrats’ most ardent firebrands in Congress, delivered a moment of vulnerability during her speech.“She’s the only candidate in this race who is capable of empathy,” Crockett said. Crockett recounted her early days in Congress when she said she was grappling with doubt and dissolution at the state of the House and the prospects of the job.“I was going through all of this when I visited the vice president’s residence for the first time,” Crockett recounted, when Harris, upon first meeting the freshman representative, asked, “What’s wrong?”Crockett said that she “immediately began crying” in front of the vice president, before she then had to hold back tears live on stage. “And the most powerful woman in the world wiped my tears and listened,” Crockett said to applause from the audience.“She then said among other things, ‘You are exactly where God wants you. Your district chose you because they believe in you and so do I,’” Crockett said.Rep. Clyburn labels Project 2025 'Jim Crow 2.0'Rep. Jim, Clyburn, the influential South Carolinan, received an enthusiastic welcome and chants of “Clyburn” at the Democrats’ convention before tallying through President Biden’s legislative record.Clyburn, a close Biden ally, said that the country owes the president “a great debt of gratitude.”But he took special praise for “one of the best decisions he made: selecting Kamala Haris as his vice president and endorsing her to succeed him.”Clyburn also singled out Project 2025, calling it “Jim Crow 2.0.”“Our great democracy has been tested and so has the basic goodness of the American people. But our resolve to remain a great country with freedom and justice for all will not falter,” said Clyburn, a veteran of the civil rights movement.Clinton: ‘When a barrier falls for one of us, it clears the way for all of us’Former Secretary of State Clinton saluted Harris for possibly breaking the “highest, hardest glass ceiling” to become America’s first woman president.Clinton was the Democratic nominee in 2016, but she lost that election to Trump. The former New York senator said it was “the honor of my life” to be the party’s nominee.“Together, we’ve put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling,” Clinton said. “On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris raising her hand and taking the oath of office as our 47th president of the United States. Folks, my friends, when a barrier falls for one of us, it clears the way for all of us.”The focus on the nature of Harris’ historic candidacy could be key for turning out more women in key states that Democrats need if they hope to win in November.Convention chants ‘lock him up’ during Hilary Clinton speechHillary Clinton had a slam on Donald Trump that prompted the crowd at the Democratic convention to chant, “Lock him up,” a sly reference to the chorus of “Lock her up” that was repeated at Trump rallies about Clinton back in 2016.Clinton smiled at the irony that her remarks had prodded.“Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial,” she said. “When he woke up, he’d made his own kind of history: the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions.” Hillary Clinton arrives to thunderous applauseHillary Clinton received an immediate standing ovation upon entering the stage on the Democratic convention’s first night. Clinton spent several moments waving at those assembled as cheers of “Hillary” echoed through the arena.“Wow, there’s a lot of energy in this room just like there is across the country. Something, something is happening in America. You can feel it,” Clinton said to cheers.Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says Harris ‘is working tirelessly to secure a cease-fire in Gaza’New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered the first mention of the war in Gaza from the DNC stage.“And she is working tirelessly to secure a cease-fire in Gaza and bringing the hostages home,” Ocasio-Cortez said to cheers in the crowd.Ocasio-Cortez has been one of the most critical voices in Congress of the Biden administration’s policy on Israel-Palestine and has called for greater restrictions on military aid to Israel. But she and other progressives have also been in dialogue with the administration on its policy, which has caused her to face pushback from some on the hard left.United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain reveals ‘Trump is a scab’ T-shirtUnited Auto Workers President Shawn Fain called Kamala Harris a “fighter” for the working class and denounced Donald Trump as a “scab,” a term that applies to workers who cross picket lines and defy union actions.Fain’s remarks led to chants of “Trump’s a scab” by the crowd at the Democratic convention. “It’s getting hot in here, folks,” Fain said, referencing a song by musician Nelly, before removing his suit jacket to show a T-shirt that read, “Trump is a scab. Vote Harris.”The backing of the UAW could be crucial for Democrats seeking to erode Trump’s superior margins among white voters without college degrees who identify as blue-collar.Team USA basketball coach throws support behind HarrisGolden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke Monday night, getting applause after mentioning his role as coach of the U.S. men's basketball team, which won gold at the Paris Olympics earlier this month.Kerr has been a supporter of the Biden administration and has previously spoken out about issues like reducing gun violence. Harris, who is from California, is also an avid Warriors fan.Harris makes surprise appearance on stageVice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on stage during the opening night of the DNC. She thanked President Joe Biden for his "historic leadership" and service. “Thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation and for all you will continue to do. We are forever grateful to you,” Harris said. Looking toward November, Harris said people from all backgrounds will “come together and declare with one voice, as one people: we are moving forward.” Jason Isbell serenades the DNC with a pro-labor tuneWearing a tuxedo in a hue of Democratic blue, country and Americana singer-songwriter Jason Isbell sang his labor-celebrating “Something More Than Free” on the convention stage.Backed by the house band, Isbell took the stage with his Telecaster guitar, singing lyrics that included, “Sunday morning I’m too tired to go to church. I just thank God for the work,” in front of an image of a barn with an American flag painted on it.He ended with a shoutout to the delegation from his native Alabama.The 45-year-old singer and sometime actor — he had a major supporting role in Martin Scorcese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” last year — is from the community of Green Hill. He’s known for speaking out about liberal causes, and his willingness to spar with commenters, on social media.Project 2025 scrutinizedMichigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow tried to throw the book at Donald Trump — literally hoisting an oversized copy of “Project 2025” onto the lectern and quoting from portions of it.It was prop comedy on one of the highest political stages.“So we read it,” McMorrow said. “Whatever you think it might be, it is so much worse.”Trump, the former president, has publicly disavowed any interest in the policies outlined in Project 2025, but it’s a blueprint for a second Trump term that was put together by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.McMorrow said the ideas in the text would enable Trump to be a dictator who could fire civil servants and use the Justice Department to investigate political opponents.Union leaders line up behind HarrisDemocrats want to show voters that they’re with workers, drawing on labor union support for the opening night of the convention.“We are all in for Kamala Harris because Kamala Harris has always been all in for us,” said April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU.Verrett was among the group of union leaders who took to the stage to counter the courting of blue-collar workers by Trump, who invited the head of the Teamsters to speak at the Republican National Convention. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien was not among the union leaders speaking at the Democratic convention on Monday.Video below: Harris' campaign rally highlights workers' rights, union growthThe crowd waved “UNION YES!” signs as the leaders spoke. Most union households have backed Democrats, helping the party win in key states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in 2020.Liz Shuler, head of the AFL-CIO, said that Trump’s plans were “a CEO’s dream, but a worker’s nightmare.”Rep. Robert Garcia shares his family’s immigration storyCalifornia Rep. Robert Garcia delivered his family story of immigrating to the U.S. and becoming a citizen, seeking to paint a different vision of patriotism to that touted by the GOP.“I am a proud immigrant who came to the United States as a young child. We grew up poor, English was our second language and we often, like many immigrant families, struggled to get by,” Garcia said.Garcia called the day he became a citizen “the proudest day of my life.” He recounted his upbringing, which was at times characterized by hardship.“She believed in the American Dream,” Garcia said of his mother, who Garcia said “taught me to love this country.”“She taught me that real American patriotism is not about screaming and yelling ‘America First,’” but instead, “loving your country so much that you want to help the people in your country,” Garcia told the crowd. Democrats want to remind voters that the COVID-19 pandemic began during Trump’s presidencyIt’s been four years since the pandemic shut down the United States — and Democrats are trying to tie the crisis to Trump’s presidency.The convention showed a video montage of Trump commenting on the coronavirus pandemic as president, as the hall echoed with boos. It included a separate video featuring Rich Logis, a former Trump voter who rejected Trump over his handling of the pandemic. The Democrats noted that the economy recovered under President Biden as vaccinations allowed offices, schools and public spaces to reopen.“He took the COVID crisis and turned it into a catastrophe,” said Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill. “We can never let him be our president again.”Last month’s Republican convention largely eschewed mention of the pandemic, framing Trump’s presidency as a period of prosperity that was subsequently undone by the Biden administration.Video below: Why are COVID-19 cases rising? A doctor explainsPeggy Flanagan could be the first Native woman governor — if Harris is electedThe Democratic convention’s co-chair, Minnesota’s Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, could soon make history as the first Native woman to govern a state. The prospect led to cheers among the crowd, as it would depend on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz winning the vice presidency as Kamala Harris’ running mate.Flanagan is a citizen of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe.She focused her remarks on electing Harris and Walz, saying, “He and Harris have spent their lives fighting for you, for your family, for your future.”Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson honoredThe opening of the Democratic convention recognized Jesse Jackson, the civil rights activist and Democratic presidential candidate in 1984 and 1988.Jackson, 82, entered the stage in a wheelchair, holding up both thumbs up in triumph to a cheering crowd. The ordained Baptist pastor did not speak to the convention.Multiple speakers gave shoutouts to Jackson, who was also the subject of a video broadcast at the event’s hall. The video noted that Vice President Harris was “standing on the shoulder of giants” such as Jackson.Night 1 of the DNC has begunThe Democratic National Convention has started with delegates still filtering into Chicago’s United Center.The gathering opened with remarks shortly after 6:30 p.m. central time by Minyon Moore, chair of the convention committee. Moore called President Biden, the evening’s main speaker, a true patriot.Jaime Harrison, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, noted to applause the historical moment in that he and Moore are both Black, as is the party’s nominee, Vice President Harris.