The Democratic National Convention provided a platform for Americans to share their personal stories and lived experiences \u2013 explaining how they and millions more like them across the country would be impacted by Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019 and Governor Tim Walz\u2019s forward-facing agenda versus Donald Trump and JD Vance\u2019s Project 2025 plans to take us backwards \u2013 from reproductive rights like access to fertility treatments and abortion care; to life-saving policies like commonsense gun safety reforms; to policies that lower costs for working families and protect workers while taking on corporate greed and investing in small businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s what voters are reading and watching about the storytellers at the DNC\u2026 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CBS News: <\/strong>DNC centers abortion rights as women tell personal stories<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cOn the first night of the DNC, three women shared their personal stories, including two women who were denied medical care while undergoing miscarriages and a third who became pregnant at the age of 12.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKaitlyn Joshua was expecting her second child and getting ready for her 4-year-old daughter’s birthday party when she sensed something was wrong. But two emergency rooms in Louisiana sent her away. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018Because of Louisiana’s abortion ban, no one would confirm that I was miscarrying,\u2019 Joshua said. \u2018I was in pain, bleeding so much my husband feared for my life. No woman should experience what I endured. But too many have. They write to me saying, \u2018What happened to you happened to me.\u2019\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n TIME: <\/strong>Reproductive Rights Are Taking Center Stage at the DNC<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point: <\/em><\/strong>\u201cSeveral women have shared personal stories of how they have been affected by state abortion restrictions, including Kate Cox, who had to leave her home state of Texas to receive an abortion after doctors said her fetus had a fatal condition.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018Trump didn\u2019t care, and because of his abortion bans, I had to flee my home,\u2019 Cox said during the DNC\u2019s delegate roll call on Tuesday. \u2018There\u2019s nothing pro-family about abortion bans. There\u2019s nothing pro-life about letting women suffer and even die.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The 19th: <\/strong>Women tell their abortion, pregnancy and miscarriage stories at the first post-Roe DNC<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point:<\/em><\/strong> \u201c\u2018I can\u2019t imagine not having a choice, but today that\u2019s the reality for many women and girls across the country because of Donald Trump\u2019s abortion bans,\u2019 [Hadley] Duvall said at the convention. \u2018He calls it \u2018a beautiful thing.\u2019 What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent\u2019s child?\u2019\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDuvall, now in her early 20s, became pregnant when she was 12, a result of rape by her stepfather. She ultimately experienced a miscarriage, but Duvall has spoken about her experience to criticize the state law\u2019s extremely narrow exceptions.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n NPR: <\/strong>Tim Walz is a new kind of reproductive rights messenger<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cThe Minnesota governor cemented that role for himself when, on Night 3 of the DNC, he highlighted his work on reproductive rights \u2014 and how the issue is personal for him.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWalz, a father of two, repeated what\u2019s now a familiar story about how he and his wife, Gwen, struggled to conceive.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018Even if you’ve never experienced the hell of infertility, I guarantee you know somebody who has,\u2019 Walz said last week. \u2018I remember praying each night for a call with good news, the pit in my stomach when the phone would ring, and the agony when we heard the treatments hadn’t worked.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Austin American-Statesman: <\/strong>At Democratic National Convention, men embrace new role as reproductive health advocates<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cIn bringing men’s experiences to the surface, Democrats are capitalizing on what they see as a winning political issue while contributing to a larger shift that makes more visible men’s roles and stakes in the reproductive health process \u2014 one that has increased in momentum since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 reversed Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion established 49 years earlier.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Politico: <\/strong>\u2018Immediate shift\u2019: Democrats speaking about abortion in once unimaginable ways<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point:<\/em><\/strong> […] \u201cAnd on Monday night, Texas resident Josh Zurawski detailed the panic he and his wife experienced as they were sent home to wait for her to get sick enough so the hospital would terminate her nonviable pregnancy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018We\u2019re trying to create a space for men to jump into this fight,\u2019 Zurawski told POLITICO. \u2018It\u2019s very clear that this isn\u2019t just a woman\u2019s issue because what happened to Amanda \u2026 impacted our family equally. It was really important to get on stage and share that message and hopefully try to broaden the number of men who view this as a major voting issue.\u2019 […]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018We all felt like having a male voice was really important,\u2019 he said.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tallahassee Democrat: <\/strong>Florida woman describes near-death from state abortion law at DNC. Who is Anya Cook?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point: <\/em><\/strong>\u201cWhen Anya Cook’s water broke in 2022, she was 16 weeks pregnant and the Broward County doctor told her she would lose the fetus. But Florida’s abortion laws meant that she would have to go back home until her situation got worse.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018I needed care, but my state’s abortion restrictions kept it from me,\u2019 the Coral Springs woman said on the United Center stage on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention. \u2018I miscarried in a bathroom.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n NPR: <\/strong>People who lost loved ones to gun violence spoke at the DNC, pushing for gun reform<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cFive people who suffered devastating losses from gun violence promised to push for gun reform.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018Our losses do not weaken us. They strengthen our resolve. We will secure safer futures that we all deserve. We will organize. We will advocate. We will run for office,\u2019 said Rep. Lucy McBath, whose son Jordan Davis, was killed in 2012.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Hill: <\/strong>Gun violence survivors, family members strike somber tone at DNC<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cRep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), who lost her son to gun violence, Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting survivor Abbey Clements, Kim Rubio, who lost her daughter in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, and gun violence survivors Melody McFadden and Edgar Vilchez appeared on stage together in an emotional show of unity. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEach speaker shared their story and why they were advocating for gun reform. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018I carry that horrific day with me,\u2019 Clements said, holding back tears. She said the colleagues and the first graders killed at Sandy Hook should \u2018still be here.\u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRubio described the day leading up to the Robb Elementary shooting in Uvalde, beginning with her daughter Lexi receiving a \u201cgood citizen\u201d award. […]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018Uvalde is national news,\u2019 Rubio said. \u201cParents reach out for their children. I reach out for the child I will never hold again.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n NPR: <\/em><\/strong>Gabby Giffords recounts her own shooting in DNC remarks<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cAfter the shooting, Giffords and her husband launched a gun violence prevention advocacy and research center.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018My friend Kamala will be a great president. She is tough. She has grit,\u2019 Giffords said.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018Kamala can beat the gun lobby.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n USA Today: <\/em><\/strong>Presidents from 6 labor unions throw support behind Kamala Harris at DNC: Watch speech<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point: \u201c<\/em><\/strong>Leaders from six of the largest labor unions in the U.S. were part of the group of speakers kicking off the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMost of the labor leaders spoke of their experiences working with Vice President Kamala Harris and the support their groups have enjoyed during the Biden-Harris administration.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: <\/em><\/strong>What to know about Kenneth Stribling, retired Milwaukee truck driver who spoke at DNC<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point:<\/em><\/strong> \u201c[Kenneth Stribling, a retired Teamster truck driver,] focused his three-minute speech on recounting his personal retirement story, as well as commending the Biden-Harris administration for passing the American Rescue Plan Act. The bill, passed in the first year of Biden’s presidency, halted the previous plan to cut pension funds in half until at least 2051.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018They got it done with one single Republican vote in Congress. They saved over one million pensions, including 33,000 from my state, Wisconsin,\u2019 Stribling said Tuesday.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Washington Post: <\/strong>Exonerated members of Central Park Five warn about Trump at Democratic convention<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point: <\/em><\/strong>\u201cOn Thursday, the fourth and final night of the Democratic convention, Salaam and Wise stood on stage with two others of the Central Park Five who had been exonerated: Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018He wanted us dead,\u2019 Salaam said, referring to Trump but avoiding using his name. \u2018Today we are exonerated because the actual perpetrator confessed and DNA proved it. That guy says he still stands by the original guilty verdict. He dismisses the scientific evidence rather than admit he was wrong. He has never changed and he never will.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n ABC 13 News: <\/strong>Jan. 6 riot gets spotlight at Democratic National Convention<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point:<\/strong> \u201cA stream of speakers gave testimonials of their experiences that day as a video montage of footage of rioters storming the Capitol also played, showing the scenes of violence and damage to the building as people flowed inside while Congress was in a joint session to certify Joe Biden\u2019s 2020 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA retired U.S. Capitol police officer who was there on Jan. 6 described his experience facing a mob of Trump supporting protesters. He had to go through several surgeries to repair injuries to his foot and shoulder that he suffered during the riot and testified as a witness to the Jan. 6 committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018I was assaulted with a pole attached to the American flag,\u2019 Aquilino Gonell said. \u2018President Trump summoned our attackers, incited them. He betrayed us.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wisconsin Public Radio: <\/strong>Wisconsin mother highlights effects of lead poisoning at Democratic National Convention<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point: <\/em><\/strong>\u201cMilwaukee mother Deanna Branch stood before thousands of Democratic delegates to explain the dangers of lead pipes in Wisconsin.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor 11 years, the mother of three has highlighted her family\u2019s health problems. Onstage, she told the country that when her son Aiden was 2 years old, he was hospitalized twice for having high levels of lead in his blood.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Detroit Free Press: <\/strong>At Democratic National Convention, Michigan sheriff hammers Jan. 6 riots at U.S. Capitol<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Point: <\/em><\/strong>\u201cA Michigan law enforcement official was among those delivering remarks on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, contrasting a peaceful march in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020 to the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGenesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson offered brief comments to the Chicago crowd Thursday evening, saying if she were to be elected, Vice President Kamala Harris would be a president who seeks to unify the country rather than divide it. He harkened back to Harris’ time as a prosecutor in California, first as District Attorney in San Francisco then as the state’s Attorney General.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n CBS News: <\/strong>These Republicans denounced Trump and endorsed Harris at the DNC. Here’s what they said.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n