AMY GOODMAN: We’re breaking with convention this and next week, as we cover this week’s Democratic National Convention. Joe Biden accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday night. Speaking in his home state of Delaware, the former vice president urged the country to, quote, “overcome this season of darkness” as the country faces four simultaneous crises: the COVID pandemic, the worst economic crisis since the Depression, climate change and systemic racism. Each issue was addressed during the final night of the virtual Democratic National Convention. California Governor Gavin Newsom spoke about the deadly wildfires ravaging his state.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM: I’m about a mile or so away from one of over 370 wildfires wildfires that we’re battling here in the state of California. We are just coming off a record week, a heat wave that led to 130-degree temperatures, highest temperature ever recorded in California, arguably the world’s history, here in our state. The hots are getting hotter. The dries are getting drier. Climate change is real. If you are in denial about climate change, come to California.

AMY GOODMAN: Representative Deb Haaland of New Mexico became the first Native American congresswoman to address a political convention.

REP. DEB HAALAND: Voting is sacred. My people know that. We weren’t universally granted the right to vote until 1962. And that fundamental right is more important than ever. Whether your ancestors have been here for hundreds of years or you’re a new citizen, know this: Whether we vote and how we vote will determine if our nation’s promise of social, racial and environmental justice will outlast us.

AMY GOODMAN: Former presidential candidate Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey accused President Trump of failing to help working people.

SEN. CORY BOOKER: Working people are under attack. The wealth gap grows, our middle class shrinks, and poverty persists. Last week, Donald Trump said — and I quote — “Our economy is doing good,” while 40 million Americans are at risk of losing their homes, 30 million aren’t getting enough to eat, and 5.4 million people have lost their healthcare because of this crisis. He has failed us.

AMY GOODMAN: Senator Cory Booker also took part in a taped conversation with six of his former presidential rivals: Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, Andrew Yang, Elizabeth Warren and Beto O’Rourke. Former Housing Secretary Julián Castro, the only Latinx presidential candidate in the 2020 race, was not invited. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard was also not invited to speak at the convention, even though she won two pledged delegates. The former Republican Mayor of New York Mike Bloomberg, who spent more then a billion dollars on his failed bid to win the Democratic presidential nomination, was given one of the most prominent speaking spots on the final night.

In one of the most moving moments of the night, a 13-year-old boy from New Hampshire named Brayden Harrington talked about how Joe Biden had personally helped him.

BRAYDEN HARRINGTON: Without Joe Biden, I wouldn’t be talking to you today. About a few months ago, I met him in New Hampshire. He told me that we were members of the same club: We stutter. It was really amazing to hear that someone like me became vice president. He told me about a book of poems by Yeats he would read out loud to practice. He showed me how he marks his addresses to make them easier to say out loud. So I did the same thing today.

We all want the world to feel better. We need the world to feel better. I’m just a regular kid. And in a short amount of time, Joe Biden made me feel more confident about something that’s bothered me my whole life. Joe Biden cared.