Hours before the convention, Trump visited Scranton, Biden's birthplace, in the swing state of Pennsylvania, where he targeted the Democratic nominee. He highlighted a "half century of Joe Biden failing America," and told voters he had "abandoned" Scranton and Pennsylvania. "Biden spent the last half-century in Washington, selling out our country and ripping off our jobs and letting other countries steal our jobs. Mexico, China, all of them." Trump said.  

Both Trump and Biden increased their campaign expenditures in the month on July, reported Reuters. While Biden spent nearly $60 million, Trump disbursed nearly $65 million, according to disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission.

In his acceptance speech, Biden said, "The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long — too much anger, too much fear, too much division. Here and now, I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I will be an ally of the light, not the darkness." Read NYT's report on Biden's nomination here

Joe Biden is now addressing the Democratic National Convention. "If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I'll be an ally of the light, not the darkness. It’s time for us, for we the people, to come together. And make no mistake: united, we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America," Biden said. "With great honour and humility, I accept the nomination."

Republican Michael Bloomberg endorsed Joe Biden on the last day of the Democratic National Convention. Targeting Trump, the billionaire said, "I'm not asking you to vote against Donald Trump because he's a bad guy. I'm urging you to vote against him because he's done a bad job... And let me tell you a little secret. Trump's economic plan was to give a huge tax cut to guys like me, who didn't need it. And then lie about it to everyone else."

On the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention, several Democrats who challenged Joe Biden for the nomination, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker, spoke in praise of Biden's empathy and leadership. 

Joe Biden's children are introducing him, as he prepares to formally accept the Democratic nomination for US President. They introduce him with a film, which features Biden's son Beau, who passed away in 2015 of brain cancer. Biden's career has spanned nearly 50 years, his first presidential run 33 years ago.

Here's what former Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg said: "Just over 10 years ago, I joined a military where firing me because of who I am wasn’t just possible — it was policy. Now in 2020, it is unlawful in America to fire anyone because of who they are or who they love. The very ring on my finger reflects how this country can change.

“Every American must now decide. Can America be a place where faith is about healing and not exclusion? Can we become a country that lives up to the truth that Black lives matter? Will we handle questions of science and medicine by turning to scientists and doctors? What will we do to make America into a land where no one who works full time can live in poverty?" he asked. Buttigieg was previously in the race to be president on a Democratic ticket.

The 2020 Democratic National Convention was held virtually, with millions of people across the world tuning in to watch. The convention was streamed live on the Democratic National Convention website, and was also available on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. This ritual, dating to the 1830s, was held virtually for the first time this year. Read this explainer on how the coronavirus changed US political conventions, perhaps forever

Some of the other speakers on the fourth night of the Dem Convention included Senator Cory Booker, Governor Gavin Newsom, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Tammy Baldwin, Senator Tammy Duckworth, and Senator Chris Coons. The Biden family is expected to make an appearance as well.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus opened the fourth day. If you don't know, Louis-Dreyfus is a comedian who plays the lead role in US series 'Veep', where she plays the vice-president. She said it was on the sets of Veep that she first met Joe Biden. In her speech, she spoke on the ongoing pandemic, attacked Trump and asked citizens to 'VOTE!'

"Joe Biden not only knows how to read, but also, he reads everything... Just remember, Joe Biden goes to church so regularly that he doesn’t even need tear gas and a bunch of federalised troops to help him get there," she joked.

With the US presidential elections less than three months away, the US Postal Service (USPS) is at the centre of a row with Democrats demanding that more Americans be given access to mail-in voting, and Republicans opposing this on the ground that it would increase chances of fraud. Why is a postal ballot critical now? What is President Trump’s stand? How does mail-in voting work? All your questions answered in this explainer

Ever since the Democratic Party’s National Convention began four days ago, Trump has been rallying in four key battleground states — Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Arizona. He is set to campaign in Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He has been tweeting on the DNC often. Here's his latest:

To get into the Democrat National Convention, you must have an ID card with a picture...Yet the Democrats refuse to do this when it come to your very important VOTE! Gee, I wonder WHY???

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 21, 2020

The virtual Democratic National Convention attracted its biggest TV audience to date on Wednesday when former President Barack Obama and vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris made their appeals to voters, according to data from tracking firm Nielsen. An estimated 22.8 million people watched the third night of proceedings across 10 broadcast and cable television networks, Nielsen said. The number, which covered 10 p.m. to 11:15 p.m. Eastern time, jumped 3.6 million from Tuesday. The TV audience for the convention, where Democrats nominated Joe Biden for president, remained below the level of 2016. TV viewership was about 7 percent higher on night three-four years ago. But the TV figures do not include viewing on digital platforms, which has jumped significantly since 2016 as traditional television watching has declined. (Reuters)

U.S. President Donald Trump slammed Democratic rival Joe Biden's decades of government service during a visit to the swing state of Pennsylvania and Biden's birthplace just hours before the former vice president was to accept his party's presidential nomination. Trump's speech, which sought to highlight a "half-century of Joe Biden failing America," also aimed to shore up the Republican president's support in the state, which may prove key to winning re-election in November. "He abandoned Pennsylvania. He abandoned Scranton," Trump told hundreds of supporters gathered outside a kitchen remodeling company in Old Forge on the outskirts of Scranton, where Biden was born.(Reuters) 

When Joe Biden steps to the podium Thursday night as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, he will offer himself to a wounded, meandering nation as balm, and as a bridge.

A 77-year-old steeped in the American political establishment for a half-century, Biden cannot himself embody the kind of generational change that Presidents John F Kennedy or Bill Clinton represented. Even with wide-ranging proposals for government action on health care, taxation and the climate crisis, he will never be the face of a burgeoning progressive movement.

As a white man, Biden cannot know personally the systemic racism now at the forefront of a national reckoning over centuries-old social and economic inequities. But the former vice president, six-term senator and twice failed presidential candidate draws plenty on lived experience, two generations spent on each end of Pennsylvania Avenue, a record that mixes partisan street-fighting with bipartisan deal-making and bonhomie, and a personal journey of middle-class mores, individual struggle and family heartbreak. (AP)

Former US Vice-President Joe Biden will formally accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for president on day 4 of the Democratic National Convention. Biden’s family members are likely to speak before he officially accepts the party’s nomination, the New York Times reported. This comes two days after his wife, Jill Biden, delivered a speech on the second night of the convention.

Themed ‘America’s Promise’, some of Biden’s former rival presidential candidates from the Democratic Party, including former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana Pete Buttigieg will also be making appearances.

The evening will include performances by Grammy award-winning artist John Legend, hip hop star Common and American country pop band The Chicks. Read more 

Several prominent Indian-Americans have applauded Kamala Harris formally becoming the Democratic Party nominee to be the US vice-president, describing it as a historic moment in American politics and a quantum leap forward for the community.

Harris, 55, scripted history on Wednesday by becoming the first Black and Indian descent individual to be nominated as a vice-presidential candidate of a major political party. "Kamala's story is the American story. Her acceptance of the vice-presidential nomination is a quantum leap forward for Indian-Americans, showing that we are taking our place in American history books," said Neil Makhija, executive director of IMPACT, a leading Indian American advocacy organisation.

After four years of incendiary anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from the White House, this milestone is a welcome moment that immigrant communities of all backgrounds can celebrate, he said. "Asian Americans are the fastest-growing bloc in the country, and Kamala's candidacy is energising and mobilising our communities in a way that will have lasting reverberations for decades to come," Makhija said. Eminent Indian-American and Democratic fundraiser Frank Islam said that Kamala Harris is not only a great choice from an electoral standpoint but also a morally sound choice. "Kamala Harris is galvanising the African American community, Indian Americans and women in general," he said. (PTI)

Here are some key takeaways from the third night of the convention.

OBAMA, GLOVES OFF
Former President Barack Obama came to power on the airy notions of "hope and change." He governed with a largely calm and cerebral air, and continued that in his post-White House years. On Wednesday, Obama dispensed with decorum and delivered a direct hit on Trump, a striking condemnation and a call to Americans, particularly young ones, to not let democracy be taken from them.

HARRIS ABSORBS HISTORY, TELLS HER STORY
Kamala Harris made history under historic circumstances. She became the first Black woman to be nominated as vice president on a major-party ticket. But she had to make her acceptance speech, an American classic big-room affair, to a largely empty ballroom due to the pandemic. Her speech had a lower-key tenor than Obama's. She used the moment to talk more about the issues that will play out in the campaign while also making surgical appeals to constituencies that she and Joe Biden will need to win in November. She tied her story to the nation's long history of racial injustice and civil rights progress.

CONVENTION OF THE WOMAN
It wasn't the year of the woman for Democrats - during the party's hard-fought primary, Biden and his main rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, easily bested several female aspirants for the party's presidential nomination. But it's been the convention of the woman. On Wednesday, the party showed off the first female Speaker of the House, its vice presidential nominee and its prior presidential nominee - the first woman to have that role for a major party. Read more