Live From the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia

He said in an interview with Fox News that Rebuilding America Now has raised $6 million so far and has "millions" in additional pledges.

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8:51 p.m.

Marine one touched down at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington, D.C. at 8:35 p.m. President Barack Obama, Wearing a crisp dark suit and tie, stepped off four minutes later and jogged the stairs of Air Force One, entering after a quick wave.

The president is travelling with Valerie Jarrett, Ben Rhodes, speechwriter Cody Keenan and David Simas and Joe Paulsen.

AF1 is rolling at 8:45 pm en route to Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention.

From the White House:

The First Lady will be watching the president's convention speech tonight from her mother's house in Chicago.

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8:28 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA (CN) - Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords called for stricter gun control and praised Hillary Clinton in an address to the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night.

Giffords, who was shot in the head in 2011 at a public appearance at a grocery store, said Clinton would stand up to the gun lobby if elected president.

"In Congress, I learned a powerful lesson: strong women get things done," Giffords said.

Giffords drew a huge cheer from the audience at the convention when she walked to the podium.

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8:23 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA (CN) - Two of the survivors of the June 2015 shooting at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston called for gun control and for people to embrace love as a weapon against hate at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night.

Felicia Sanders and Polly Sheppard told the audience about their struggle to move past the shooting that left nine of their family members or friends dead.

"No one should feel what I've seen, no one should feel how we feel, how we suffered," Sanders said.

Both said Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton helped them in the aftermath of the shooting, leading both to express their support for her.

"Together we can heal, together we can love," Sheppard said.

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7:54 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA (CN) — An emotional moment quieted the Democratic National Convention when the mother a man shot during the massacre at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando fought back tears as she told the crowd, "Love trumps hate."

Christine Leinonen was met with sustained applause.

Leinonen, who said her son had been a Clinton supporter, quietly asked for common sense gun regulations, then embraced her escorts and left the stage to a standing ovation. — Ryan Abbott

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7:44 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA (CN) — After a frightening James Cameron-directed video showing the effects of climate change, California Gov. Jerry Brown addressed the Democratic National Convention crowd to talk about an issue that's been roundly dismissed by the GOP.

"Trump says global warming is a hoax. I say Trump is a fraud," Brown said. "Trump says there's no drought in California. I say Trump lies."

Brown, who received a warm welcome from the California delegation, was the first speaker at the DNC to commit his entire speech to the issue of climate change.

"What America needs today are not deniers, but leaders," Brown said. "Not division, but common purpose." — Ryan Abbott

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7:31 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA (CN) — Former rival in the Democratic primary Martin O'Malley regaled the party's convention with praise for Hillary Clinton, and even slipped into a slight but noticeable John F. Kennedy accent when telling the crowd, "We believe in the American dream."

O'Malley, who turned against long-time ally Clinton on the campaign trail earlier this year, gave an energetic and rousing speech.

"It's time to put a bully racist in his place," O'Malley exclaimed before leaving the podium to one of the loudest receptions of the evening. — Ryan Abbott

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7:03 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA (CN) — Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid was greeted to "Harry! Harry! Harry!" chants when he took the stage at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday.

"I spend a lot of time in the Republican Senate," Reid said, "so it's nice to be in a room that respects reason and facts."

Reid took on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and running mate Mike Pence, painting them as men who "don't believe in science."

He also took a crack at Senate rival Mitch McConnell, calling the Republican Senate majority leader and his work the most craven thing he's ever seen.

Reid, who is retiring in a few months, closed his speech with a farewell and shout outs to Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

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6:24 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA (CN) — Rev. Jesse Jackson took the stage at the Democratic National Convention to endorse Hillary Clinton for president and make a series of demands during a rambling speech.

"Ban assault weapons now," Jackson said.

Jackson told the crowd that assault weapons "turn our streets into killing fields," resulting in the deaths of civilians and police alike.

"Stop insulting Hispanics, stop insulting Muslims now," Jackson added.

In between bursts of prayer and demands, Jackson endorsed Clinton as the candidate who will carry on the legacy of President Barack Obama.

Jackson closed his speech by leading the crowd in a chant, "It's healing time, it's hope time, it's healing time, it's hope time."

Jackson was followed by a short speech from actress Star Jones and a video on the water crisis in Flint, Mich. — Ryan Abbott

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5:41 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA (CN) - New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio contrasted Hillary Clinton from Donald Trump, two notable New Yorkers.

"As a New Yorker, I am quite familiar with both nominees, but despite sharing a home state, these two people are worlds apart," de Blasio said.

The mayor blasted Trump on being born rich and running "a scam" in Trump University while praising Clinton's humanitarian record.

"He's degraded women to make himself feel big while showing us the truly little man he is," de Blasio said of Trump.

The mayor accused Trump of "rooting for economic turmoil for personal gain," while touting Clinton as the candidate who will take on Wall Street.

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5:37 p.m.

The White House says President Barack Obama's convention speech will focus on Hillary Clinton.

Obama plans to go into detail about Clinton's tenure as secretary of state and try to make the case she's qualified to be commander in chief.

White House officials say Obama doesn't plan to mention Donald Trump's name more than a few times.

Obama also plans to praise Clinton's chief Democratic rival, Bernie Sanders, and his supporters — paying tribute to the fervor they ignited in the primary season.

The White House officials who provided reporters with details about Wednesday night's speech spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren't authorized to discuss the address publicly before Obama gives it.

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5:35 p.m.

(AP) - Six drafts and a few late nights went into the speech President Barack Obama will give at the Democratic convention.

White House officials say work on the speech started in June and Obama got a first draft on July 18.

Officials say Obama stayed up until 3:30 a.m. this past Monday revising it.

The White House officials who provided reporters with details about Wednesday night's speech spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren't authorized to discuss the address publicly before Obama gives it.

Obama rehearsed the speech for the first and final time Tuesday in the White House Map Room. It clocked in at 30 minutes, with no applause.

Set to introduce Obama is Sharon Belkofer, a 73-year-old retired nurse whose son died in Afghanistan.

— Josh Lederman in Washington

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5:08 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA (CN) - One by one, the Democratic Party trotted out members of Congress on Wednesday afternoon, each throwing their support behind Hillary Clinton and bringing awareness to a different sector of the party's platform.

Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas, and Maxine Waters, Calif., invoked the numerous and recent mass shootings in America, and expressed the party's commitment to adopt more common sense gun-control laws.

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, D.C., made an appeal for D.C. statehood.

California Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, endorsed Clinton as the only candidate that can meet global problems posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and "the mad man in Pyongyang," North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. — Ryan Abbott

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4:35 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA (CN) - DNC Chair Marcia Fudge called to order the third session of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, opening a night where party head honchos President Barrack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will speak on behalf of nominee Hillary Clinton.

Gun violence victim and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords will address the crowd, as will a mother of a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, highlighting the party's platform on gun control.

Other notables include actress Sigourney Weaver, former presidential candidate Martin O'Malley, Michael Bloomberg and a musical performance by Lenny Kravitz.

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3:39 p.m.

(AP) - Vice President Joe Biden plans to use his speech to the Democratic National Convention to argue that the world is too complicated to elect Donald Trump.

The White House says Biden will say in his speech that given the seriousness of the times, the U.S. can't afford a leader with Trump's lack of preparedness to handle national security. Biden's speech comes after Trump's recent suggestions that Russia should release Hillary Clinton emails and that the U.S. might not defend NATO allies.

Biden also plans to make an economic argument. The White House says he'll tell the convention that Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine understand the plight of the middle class and will fight to improve their lives.

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3:29 p.m.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump took a shot Wednesday at Hillary Clinton's running mate, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, for doing a terrible job as governor of New Jersey.

The problem, of course, is that Kaine was governor of Virginia.

"Her running mate, Tim Kaine, who by the way, did a terrible job in New Jersey," Trump said at a news conference in Miami. "He was not very popular in New Jersey, and he still isn't."

Trump might have confused Kaine with former Republican New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, pronounced the same as Kaine. Kean led the state from 1982 to 1990 while Trump was building his casino empire in Atlantic City. Kaine was governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010.

New Jersey also might have been on Trump's mind because its current governor, Republican Chris Christie, was among Trump's finalists for the vice presidential nod that ultimately went to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.

Trump corrected himself after someone asked if he meant Virginia.

Kean, who chaired the federal 9/11 commission, skipped this year's Republican National Convention, the first time he's done that since he became involved in politics, because he disagreed with Trump on too many issues.

Kean's son, a New Jersey state senator, said the flub was a minor issue.

"It is clear that he misspoke," said state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. "He was discussing a specific proposal in Virginia."

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1:45 p.m.

Donald Trump is calling a Baltimore prosecutor "a disgrace" after her office decided to drop the remaining charges against three police officers still awaiting trial in the Freddie Gray case.

Responding to a question at a news conference at his Florida golf course, Trump said on Wednesday that Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby "should prosecute herself. She should be held accountable."

Trump said, "I think it was disgraceful what she did. And the way she did it and the news conferences she had where, they were guilty before anybody even knew the facts."

In an earlier news conference, Mosby blamed police for a biased investigation that failed to produce a single conviction.

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11:55 a.m.

(CN)- Republican Vice Presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence weighed into the controversy over the hack into the Democratic National Committee, saying if Russia is responsible "and it is interfering in our elections, I can assure you both parties and the United States government will ensure there are serious consequences."

Pence continued: "That said, the Democrats singularly focusing on who might be behind it and not addressing the basic fact that they've been exposed as a party who not only rigs the government, but rigs elections while literally accepting cash for federal appointments is outrageous."

He goes on to insist that the revelations in the hacked emails -- that the Democratic party deliberately sought to block Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' insurgent White House bid -- should disqualify her from office.

"If the media did their job," it would, he said.

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11:37 a.m.

(CN) - Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly isn't speaking at the Democratic National Convention, obviously, but something he said on the air while covering it Tuesday night is causing waves in Philadelphia this morning.

O'Reilly said the slaves who helped build the White House "were well-fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government."

He was responding to first lady Michelle Obama's remarks in her speech at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, when she praised social progress in the United States.

"I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves," Mrs. Obama said. "And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, black young women playing with their dogs on the White House lawn."

O'Reilly said on his show Tuesday that "Michelle Obama is essentially correct in citing slaves as builders of the White House, but there were others working as well."

O'Reilly's comments are drawing criticism from delegates in Philadelphia and on social media.

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11:31 a.m.

(CN) - Donald Trump is pleading with Russian hackers to find a supposed 30,000 missing emails from Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's private email server, saying if found, the missing messages would reveal "some beauties."

"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said during a news conference in Florida on Wednesday.

Clinton's campaign has said that Russia hacked computers belonging to the Democratic National Convention and released those emails on the eve of the party's convention to benefit Trump's candidacy.

Trump dismissed the claims saying it's not clear who hacked those emails, but the hacking is a sign that foreign countries no longer respect the U.S.

In other Trump news, the GOP presidential candidate will be taking questions live Wednesday night during an "ask me anything" session on the reddit website.

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11:18 a.m.

(CN) - President Barack Obama reported to the Oval Office at 10:54 a.m., walking along the Colonnade and giving an upbeat report on his preparations for tonight's speech.

He emerged from the Palm Room with a wave to the pool gathered in the Rose Garden on a steamy, cloudy day.

"Morning, everybody," the president said.

Asked how he felt about tonight, he smilingly responded, "What's happening today?"

Many of the reporters either didn't or couldn't hear what the president said, and he appeared disappointed when nobody laughed.

"Oh, that's a joke," he said.

Asked about his speech prep, the president said, "Feel great."

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