Tagged: 2012 Democratic National Convention

Mitt Romney's Friday release of his 2011 tax return puts that issue back in the headlines just when it had slipped largely off many people's radar screens.

Good evening from Charlotte. Tonight during the last day of the Democratic National Convention, President Obama will accept his party's nomination.

It will be a star-studded evening with performances from James Taylor and the Foo Fighters and appearences from stars like Eva Longoria and Scarlett Johansson.

We'll keep tabs on it the whole night. Also, along with NPR's Liz Halloran and Becky Lettenberger, we'll hit the floor and bring you updates on several of the delegations. Make sure to refresh this page to the see the latest.

You know it was only a matter of time before late night comedian Jimmy Fallon lampooned San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro's keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention. The two have a remote resemblance, and impersonations have been a mainstay of Fallon's comedy career from the very beginning.  

"I've seen that a lot of people out there on Twitter are claiming that I look like a Latino Jimmy Fallon, and I must say, I am truly honored," Fallon says in the segment. "He's a sexy man with a sexy, sexy face."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Benita Veliz, a 27-year-old San Antonio woman whose parents brought her into the country on a short-term tourist visa nearly two decades years ago, became the first undocumented person to address the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night.

Veliz, who graduated from high school at age 16 as valedictorian and double-majored at St. Mary’s University on a full academic scholarship, was nearly deported to Mexico after being pulled over in 2009 for a traffic infraction.

The case was eventually dropped in 2011. But Veliz, who identifies herself as an American and has hardly any connection to Mexico, has become the poster child for a generation of young immigrants rooting for the DREAM Act, proposed legislation that would provide them a path to citizenship.  

Hello from Charlotte, N.C. Today is all about Bill Clinton.

Walking around Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, the former president was the talk of the town. Today marks the second day of the Democratic National Convention.

We're in the arena and we'll keep tabs on the proceedings. Make sure you refresh this page to see the latest.

Update at 11:25 p.m. ET. A Wonky Speech, With A Clinton Delivery:

The night ended with President Obama taking the stage, once President Clinton finished his speech.

In public, at least, they're the best of friends. And no one will have a more public role extolling President Obama than his Democratic predecessor, former President Bill Clinton.

Clinton, who has already been featured in an Obama campaign ad, is speaking tonight at the Democratic National Convention in what is traditionally the prime spot reserved for the vice presidential nominee.

"He's clearly the best asset the Democrats have," says GOP consultant David Carney. "Clinton is their best surrogate."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, in the most defining moment of his young political career, gave a Democratic National Convention keynote on Tuesday night that reiterated Barack Obama’s 2008 message of hope, from the promise of recent immigrants to the anticipation of the nation’s youths to the dreams of Americans reaching for the middle class. 

“To me, to my generation, and for all the generations to come, our choice is clear,” Castro said. “Our choice is a man who’s always chosen us. A man who already is our president.”

Castro’s speech was thrilling and moving for Texas Democrats, who don’t hold a single statewide elective office but are pinning their hopes on the state’s shifting demographics and young, charismatic leaders like Castro.

Good evening from Charlotte, N.C., where Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz gaveled the convention to order promptly at 5 p.m. ET. in Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena.

Schultz, who is also the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said that throughout the next three days, "we will demonstrate we need to keep President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden four more years."

Election Day Arrives

The polls are open this morning for the Primary Runoff Election.

Voters will choose party candidates in the U.S. Senate race. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former Solicitor General Ted Cruz have been in a bitter struggle to be the Republican nominee. Former state Representative Paul Sadler and Grady Yarbrough, a retired educator, are in a runoff for the Democratic nomination.

Across the state, several U.S. congressional district seats, one state senate seat, several state representative seats and a spot on the Texas Supreme Court are also in the mix.