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is provided by... woman: a successful business owner sells his company and restores his father's historic jazz club with his son. a raymond james financial advisor get to know you, your passions, and the way you bring people together. life well planned. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" ín chicago and this is bbc world ín news america. tonight i historic democratic national convention kicks off in chicago as the party rallies behind vice president kamala harris as its nominee. on the stage tonight joe biden will be giving a speech to the floor, largely about defining

his legacy. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken calls on hamas to agree to a u.s. cease-fire proposal. >> the u.s. is deeply committed to getting this job done, and getting it done now. caitríona: a super yacht sinks off the coast of sicily in the storm leaving one person dead and six missing, including two americans. hello and welcome to world news america. from the united center in chicago, i'm caitríona perry. delegates are gathering in chicago for a historic democratic national convention. four day event will see kamala harris officially accept the nomination for the 2024 election, just weeks after the stunning announcement by president biden that he was withdrawing.

harris' has been confirmed, but there will be a ceremonial rollcall at this week's convention. president biden will headline tonight, day one of the convention and will be introduced onstage by his daughter ashley. the speeches will pay tribute to president biden and his legacy. chris coons is due to speak and begin those tributes. >> as someone who spent 36 years in the senate, biden knew how to build coalitions, work across the aisle, deliver for the american people. he and harris signed into law more consequential legislation than any president in my lifetime. caitríona: president biden is expected to speak about his accomplishments and make the case for why his vice president should succeed him. a short time ago we saw

president biden do a walk-through at the convention ahead of his speech tonight. first lady jill biden waltzes speak as well as prominent democrats including hillary clinton, the former secretary of state and the nominee for president in 2016, losing on that occasion to trump. several members of congress will speak including alexandria ocasio-cortez, and jim clyburn, one of biden's closest allies who helped him win the nomination in 2020. there are still divisions among democrats on the topic of the war in gaza, policy toward israel. these are images from our protest at chicago's union park, near the united center. organizers say as many as 10,000 people, from pro-palestinian and

pro-israeli groups, may join. many protests are centered around opposition to president biden's position on the war in gaza which kamala harris has mostly supported. let's go down to the floor of the convention hall where we can speak to our bbc correspondent. people starting to arrive ahead of the main program. tell us about where you are now. how is the atmosphere? >> at the moment, people are warming up on the stage behind me. we have seen joe biden himself, various artists and choirs perform as well as jill biden who will be speaking later today. they have been doing mic tests, warming up for the main event. the room is still filling up. more supporters coming in. things don't kick off until later this evening, where the

main speakers will be first, former nominee hillary clinton, who has experience going up against donald trump, unsuccessfully in her case, but may well speak about that and what it meant to hurt to be a female presidential nominee. kamala harris, too, hoping to be the first female president of the u.s., followed by joe biden, the president who a month ago was supposed to be the presidential nominee himself. instead i think this speech will be about defining his legacy. he is likely to speak about achievements in office. focusing on the economy, his package of investment in green technologies, jobs, infrastructure. also, why he has decided to pass the baton to harris. caitríona: we will hear from you throughout the night. thanks for joining us. i am also joined by a

representative, democratic congressman from pennsylvania. thank you for being with us. you are one of the first supporters of joe biden in his quest for the presidency, that road coming to an een -- end. >> i think tonight will be truly historic. a very long time if ever that a democratic convention has ever heard from a president who could run for reelection, but declined. in, as he put it, an effort to ensure greater party unity, and success in november. lyndon johnson did not address the convention in chicago in 1968. i don't think truman did in 1952. truly a night without precedent and an emotional night. these delegates, myself included, love joe biden, are part of his achievements and

what he has done over his career. i think you will see visible displays of emotion tonight from these delegates and deep appreciation of their president. caitríona: when you speak of love and appreciation, what role will there be for him on the campaign trail? rep. boyle: that will be decided by kamala harris and tim walz and their campaign strategists. joe biden can be effective, especially in my home state of pennsylvania, which is the most important battleground state and the largest battleground state in the nation. joe biden last election over performed in the area where he was born and raised, in scranton. by six percentage points in the state that was decided by one point. he will be very helpful throughout the country. especially pennsylvania. caitríona: speaking of, both trump and vance are there today which speaks to how important the state will be. how tight is the race there?

rep. boyle: 2016 it was decided by one half of one percentage point. 2020, one percentage point. pennsylvania structurally is destined to be a close race. right now i think there is a slight wind to the back of the harris-walz ticket. but only by 1% to 2%. caitríona: can they hold onto that energy from now until november? rep. boyle: i think so. ironically, while the u.s. is having its own version of a snap election, i think it benefits the democratic side, because there is no time for a lull. after this convention it is only a week and the first debate in philadelphia, then the next debate a week and half later, then the vice presidential debate and then early voting starts. given that pace i hope we can carry this momentum we have

coming into chicago to build upon during this week, and carry it into november. caitríona: given the short road you're talking about, a criticism of harris is that we have not heard a lot of firm policies from her. she has not had a lot of time to do that. do expect that this week? rep. boyle: it is an opportunity to introduce to millions of americans who know the name kamala harris, but don't know much about her. that is no fault of her own. that comes with the office of the vice presidency. george herbert walker bush was vice president but many americans did not know he was a world war ii hero. joe biden faced this one running in 2020. many knew he was barack obama's vice president, but did not know his back story. i think you will hear both her biography and how it links to policies to improve lives for the american people. caitríona: speaking of vice presidents, tim walz, you know

him well from congress. coach walz, as you know him. rep. boyle: he was literally my coach as i foolishly played on the congressional football team. first, i am a better member of congress than a football player. tim walz is unauthentic, wonderful human being. public school teacher for 25 years, high school football coach for two decades, a championship winning coach. he will bring a lot to the ticket, he already has. he should be helpful in places of pennsylvania that are disproportionately white male, where frankly, the democratic side has seen slippage the last 10 years. caitríona: so he will be particularly useful for those folks? rep. boyle: as you have seen to his success in minnesota, he can speak to a whole suave -- swathe . i am thinking of western pa. caitríona: we will wait to see

what happens. thank you for speaking to us. as you heard, less than three months until election day. polls continue to show a neck and nce -- neck race between harris and trump. a recent poll shows vice president harris has a five-point lead over former president trump, earning 42% support to his 37%. reuters also pulled people in seven states closest in the 2020 election and found ms. harris leads donald trump. the states are arizona, georgia, michigan, nevada, north carolina, wisconsin and pennsylvania. former president trump is in the battleground state of pennsylvania today where he has been making -- he has been at a campaign to vet -- event. mr. trump: i am delivering a

message, america's future will be built here in pennsylvania. it will be built by american workers like you. all over the country we will be building, but pennsylvania is always a big factor. we have had great success politically and otherwise in pennsylvania. we expect to have it again. we are doing well here. thank you. with your vote we will unleash explosive economic growth and vast prosperity. we will put more money in your pockets and create millions of new jobs. we can do it like nobody else has been able to. our plan will massively cut taxes, unlock american energy, slash regulations, crackdown on trade cheaters and stop outsourcing, rebuild our industrial base and bring back those beautiful words, made in the usa.

caitríona: former president trump's running mate senator jd vance has also been speaking in pennsylvania, about what he is hearing on the campaign trail. sen. vance: i would ask voters in philadelphia a simple question. has your life been better off under democratic leadership? have your communities gotten safer under democrat leadership? have your wages kept up with affordability under democrat leadership? because the answer is no, i think americans, pennsylvanians, citizens of this city are ready for a change, the presidency of trump. caitríona: i am joined by our bbc news election panelist, stephanie murphy and a former congressman now with the chamber of commerce. thank you for being back with us at the convention. just what we heard from donald trump and jd vance and

congressman boyle, how close is this race? >> i think it will be incredibly close, but it has always been that way, whether it would be trump versus biden, now it is trump versus harris. it will be decided by the same six or seven states that decided the last election. we were looking at the rust belt states and sunbelt states that are important. >> it is going to be close. closer than the rnc. i think donald trump had a little more space in the polls during that convention a few weeks ago. he came out with momentum. the back room deal possibly happening took place following the republican convention. now you see a lot of momentum that the democrats have picked up. but i would caution democrats. vice president harris and governor walz have to come out here with even more momentum.

i don't know if they can do that. if you look at polling, polling by rasmussen still has trump up in many of those battleground states. caitríona: a lot of it is within the margin of errors in all of those polls. could the democrats hold onto the momentum? ms. murphy: this campaign has only been a few weeks old. the amount of energy in the doozy is him and momentum they have generated is significant and manifesting not in money and volunteers -- manifesting itself in money and volunteers. you have to have a machine to win elections. the other thing they are doing well is to continue to introduce harris and walz. they have been coming up is from a values perspective, telling their personal stories. elections come down to values. if i know your values, i know

who you will fight for. their argument is that they are fighting for the american people. caitríona: presumably that is what we will hear. a lot of star talent from politicians to pop stars. how important is the messaging that gets sent to voters? ms. murphy: it is important for two audiences. one is for the base. she still has consolidating of the base to do. we have to keep working on that. she also needs to reach out to those swing voters, undecided voters, trying to figure out, what is this campaign about, who is she? that is why you see so many of them leaning into her personal story, her why. with an election this short, it is hard to get into every policy. almost impossible to do at this point in time. you have to explain to people who you are your core and give them the reassurance the alliance with their values so

they can go to the ballot box in america -- in november. caitríona: how does the republican ticket to -- pushback against that? mr. davis: they did what then-president biden did. you go and have events. they get coverage because he is the former president and major party nominee. you try to draw attention away. you also look for vice president harris to do what she does best while campaigning, make mistakes and capitalize on them when it comes to messaging. but i think the democrats are more disciplined at messaging right now then republicans. caitríona: something people are looking out for our policies with israel and gaza. we see protesters outside the building. are you expecting any disruption within the arena? ms. murphy: i don't imagine there will be disruption in the arena.

the more donald trump is out on the campaign trail and gives the stump speeches that are making republicans in washington cringe, the more he will remind the american people why they did not vote for him in 2020. it is that personality on display. when we were last together it was democrats using the media to beg and plead for president biden to step aside. now if you look at what is on cable networks and tv, republicans are pleading with their candidate, please stop talking about racism and sexism and making personal attacks on your opponent. talk about the more normal policy things. the question is, is he capable? caitríona: that is what some republican voters like to see from donald trump. mr. davis: the difference between this race even without buying and biden in it, they

know both candidates, but they know candidate harris less. she is not doing herself favors by avoiding questions with major news outlets. she has to do a press conference. she speaks in circular gibberish sometimes that does not make sense. when she is able to go out after the convention and has to sit down and do major interviews, she has a past of failures when doing so. i think democrats are afraid to see that again. the american people will not stand for her hiding out from the media. caitríona: what is her strongest points, the greatest threat to president trump? mr. davis: that she is not president trump. that is the strongest point to many suburban voters -- women voters, who are republican, but do not like trump personally. i don't understand that being the reason you cast a vote or

not, but it is the reason. we saw states like georgia and arizona go against him. caitríona: what is her weakest point? ms. murphy: part of the issue is not just his personality with suburban women, it is his policies. trump and walz -- trump and vance -- on on taking away women's rights. and they said if you are menopausal your only purpose is to be a grandmother. they box women into a narrow space and that is problematic. her weakest point is that she is not yet known, running as a generic democrat. it is important she fills in the colors for the american people about who she is and who she stands for. caitríona: we will hear more from you throughout the week.

thanks to you both for being with us. the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken says israel supports a cease-fire bridging the divide between them and hamas it is now up to hamas to agree and after that the two parties need to meet with moderators. secretary blinken was speaking in tel aviv after a meeting with netanyahu. he says the u.s. is committed to getting the job done. >> for us, for president biden, there is a deep sense of urgency getting this done. i hear that throughout this country as well as the region. it is the single best way not only to get the hostages home, to ease the suffering of people in gaza. it is also the best way to avoid escalation, diffuse pressure points we see throughout the region, and try to build more

enduring peace and security for everyone. caitríona: secretary blinken plans to travel to qatar after his trip to egypt. tom bateman is on that trip with the secretary. reporter: it was significant we heard from antony blinken, saying the israeli prime minister accepted this american bridging proposal. remember where the talks had got to, was effectively a standoff between israel and hamas over the entire agreement, both sides trading workroom and nation sing the other was blocking a breakthrough on the deal. a key issue is about the future of what happens on the ground in the gaza trip. -- strip. netanyahu has said that they will maintain is really boots on the ground in egypt and the gaza strip. hamas says that amounts to a

continuation of the war and said they do not accept that. the americans came up with a bridging proposal they hoped would narrow the gap between the sides. they have yet to reveal details. mr. blinken says mr. netanyahu has accepted that, the bridging proposal. there is a sense in which they are trying to bounce him into the position by outing him so publicly. they said they reiterated israel's commitment which takes into account israel's security needs. the language is not as strong as what americans are saying, that he agreed to it. we have been here before because when president biden put out the framework for this deal we heard him say the israelis had accepted this and it was an israeli deal, but it was up to hamas did -- hamas to agree.

in effect we are in a loop. what americans and israelis are saying it is up to hamas. the implication that they are the remaining ones blocking the deal. the character rations can be different. they say israel injected new proposals and the americans just accepted them. it does not feel like we are in a place where breakthrough is imminent. a lot of negative public language from hamas over all of this. caitríona: a major search continuing overnight in italy after our british luxury yacht sank in a freak storm off the coast of sicily. 15 have been rescued including a one-year-old child one person has been confirmed dead. six people are still missing including a british tech entrepreneur mike lynch and his daughter. two americans are among those missing. officials believe the yacht may have been caught in a waterspout, a tornado that hits

overwater rather than land. that is it for the moment from world news america. find out about the day's news and happenings at the democratic national convention at our website, bbc.com/news. you can also check us out any time on your favorite social media platform. plenty more from the convention with our lives special program later on tonight. lots on our website, too. i'm caitríona perry. thanks so much for watching announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

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geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz here in chicago for the first day of the democratic national convention. on the “news hour” tonight, president joe biden prepares to speak not as a candidate but in