Joan E Greve

Even though Kamala Harris will not speak for another three hours, the United Center already appears to be nearing capacity.

Reporters have filled section 320, where I’m typing this, to the point that there does not appear to be a single seat left. The attendants minding the section have had to turn people away because of capacity concerns.

The rumors that Beyoncé will be the surprise guest at the convention are spreading, with TMZ now reporting it.

The White House political director earlier tweeted a “bee” emoji, which some interpreted as further confirmation, although she followed up by saying: “Sorry guys my 6 year old took my phone.” A Beyoncé song was also playing during soundcheck.

Pink and The Chicks are confirmed to be performing tonight. Some have speculated that Taylor Swift could be a surprise guest, but there’s been no confirmation of that.

Al Sharpton then brought out four of the exonerated Central Park Five, including Yusef Salaam, who was recently elected to the New York City council.

Referring to Donald Trump, a cheerleader of their prosecution, as “45”, Salaam said:

45 wanted us un-alive. He wanted us dead. Today we are exonerated because the original perpetrator confessed and DNA proved it.

But Salaam noted that Trump refuses to recant his accusations against them, saying: “He dismisses the scientific evidence rather than admit he was wrong.”

“He has never changed, and he never will,” Salaam said.

Civil rights activist the Rev Al Sharpton in on stage now to introduce the Central Park Five, the group of Black and Latino boys falsely convicted over the rape of a jogger in New York, whose prosecution Donald Trump promoted.

But before they came on stage, Sharpton had a few words for the former president:

All Donald Trump has been consistent about is making himself richer and sowing division to get that done. This man sat right here in Chicago a few weeks ago refusing to apologize for claims that migrants were taking Black jobs. Well, in November, we’re going to show him when Blacks do their jobs.

Abbas Alawieh, a leader of the uncommitted movement, is holding a press conference outside the convention now, announcing that the Democratic national convention has failed to meet the group’s deadline to allow a Palestinian American to speak on the main stage. There has been growing pressure throughout the final day of the convention for Democratic officials to find a way to feature a Palestinian voice, but the evening programming is well underway, with no announced plans for inclusion. Alawieh told reporters:

The scandal is that there are forces within Democratic party leadership who do not want us to talk about Palestinian human rights … They’re out of step with the majority of the Democratic base, the majority of Democratic voters who believe that Palestinian human rights are a priority.

Georgia state representative Ruwa Romman, who wrote a speech for the convention to consider, is now reading her speech to the crowd gathered outside. Mother Jones earlier published the text. The speech began, “I’m honored to be the first Palestinian elected to public office in the great state of Georgia and the first Palestinian to ever speak at the Democratic national convention.”

Massachusetts senator and progressive leader Elizabeth Warren is on stage now at the Democratic national convention.

She’s being greeted with long and loud applause, and appears to be fighting back tears.

The Democratic National Convention Committee has released the full schedule of the night’s speakers, which shows that, in addition to a host of powerful and prominent lawmakers, delegates will hear from people affected by issues that the party wants to address.

The 8pm hour will feature “a conversation on gun violence” with people from Newtown, Connecticut; Uvalde, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; and Chicago – all places that have been the site of mass shootings.

Representatives of the Central Park Five, the group of Black and Latino boys wrongfully convicted of raping a jogger in New York, will speak at about 7pm CT. Donald Trump was a cheerleader of their prosecution, something they will no doubt bring up.

On a lighter note, we’ll be seeing comedian DL Hughley on the convention stage tonight, along with The Chicks, who will perform the national anthem.

DNC kicks off final night

Joan E Greve

The final night of the Democratic national convention is officially under way, with Congresswoman Veronica Escobar gaveling in the session.

Even though Kamala Harris will not speak for another four hours, the United Center already looks quite crowded.

The delegates representing California, Harris’s home state, are clearly fired up about her speech tonight. They were already chanting “California!” before the session even began.

David Smith

Chicago has been revelling in its status as host city of the Democratic national convention.

Among its pearls is the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, which opened in 1938 and is a treasure trove of autographs, letters, rare books, presidential memorabilia and reproductions of Lincoln and civil war photos.

It currently has an exhibition of artifacts from Chicago’s first political nominating convention in 1860 – the one that set Lincoln on course for the White House.

James Carville popped up for a tour of the bookshop on Thursday and posed for photos while holding a picture of William Sherman, a union army general during the civil war.

In a discussion with shop owner Daniel Weinberg and former White House official Sidney Blumenthal, the veteran Democratic strategist observed: “If you listen to Fox, Chicago is this giant hellhole: homeless people, streets, they’re shooting everybody. It’s one of nicest goddamn, places I’ve ever been.

“My only problem with Chicago as a convention site is that the United Centre is too far away. I don’t know there’s much you can do about it. At some point, Chicago should build a downtown arena like that but I think it’s just a marvellous city. You can get in and out of it.”

Weinberg noted Mark Twain’s saying that history rhymes. Carville, who led Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign, replied: “I think it more than rhymes. There’s a lot to be learned from European history – you’re not supposed to say that – but just the power alliances that live with us today.

“Internal conflicts: the movies that we’re seeing, the books that are being written, January 6 – I’m sorry, that’s a little more than rhyming. Forty percent of the people in 10 different states want to secede. History, I can’t say it repeats itself but I think it repeats itself more than it rhymes.”

Blumenthal, a Guardian columnist currently working on the fourth volume of a monumental Lincoln biography, rejoined: “What I’ve been saying is the deeper I get into the past, the closer I get to the present.”

Good evening, US politics blog readers, and thanks for joining us as we cover the fourth and final night of the Democratic national convention in Chicago. This evening’s big event is Kamala Harris’s speech closing out the convention, which will be her most high-profile opportunity yet to make the case that she is a better choice for president than Donald Trump. Expect the vice-president to aim to create a signature moment or line that will be repeated by Democratic faithful as they seek to rally the party’s voters in the less than three months that remain before election day, as polls show a tight contest against the Republican former president.

Before the vice-president takes the stage, we expect to hear from another batch of party luminaries, including progressive senator Elizabeth Warren, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, Mark Kelly, the Arizona senator who was on Harris’ short list to be vice-president, and former congresswoman and shooting survivor Gabby Giffords. We also hear rumors that there will be a surprise musical guest, but there’s no saying who that might be. Keep in mind that the Democratic party does have the power to dazzle – yesterday, Oprah Winfrey strolled on stage without warning, and made a speech calling on independent voters to back Harris.

The convention kicks off at 6pm CT, and the White House said to expect Harris to speak at 9.45pm.

Here’s more about what we’ll watching out for this evening:

• Will the Democrats allow a Palestinian-American to speak at the convention? Outside the United Center, activists and delegates are holding a sit-in to pressure convention organizers to allow a speaker from the community. Yesterday, the convention heard from the family of a US citizen taken hostage on October 7, but the Uncommitted National Movement, which has 30 delegates at the convention, wants a Palestinian to be able to offer their views, as well.

• The two names flying around as potential surprise musical guests are Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. Either one could be huge for Democrats as they seek to underscore the breadth of support for Harris.

• Cornel West, the independent presidential candidate, was spotted outside the convention hall. Is he just coming to watch, or might he be here to announce his support for Harris?