Joe Biden addresses the nation: 'honor of my life to serve as your president'; Josh Shapiro and Kamala Harris spoke

While sharing his nostalgic and hopeful thoughts about the United States, President Joe Biden honored his Pennsylvania roots.

Biden, 81, was born in Scranton, where his roots trace back to 1851. His parents and both sets of his grandparents met there. He moved to Delaware at the age of 10, but he maintained close personal relationships and professional ties to Scranton in the decades since he left.

March for Our lives, a gun control advocacy group founded by survivors of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president in its first political endorsement ever.

The group called her “a forceful champion for gun safety and for young people,” and said she’s worked with the organization through the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which Harris oversees.

First Lady Jill Biden thanked the supporters of Joe Biden, and asked that they now support Vice President Kamala Harris' candidacy to replace the president.

"To those who never wavered, to those who refused to doubt, to those who always believed, my heart is full of gratitude," Jill Biden said in a statement posted on social media.

President Joe Biden sounded both philosophical and patriotic as he concluded his speech.

The appearance was the first time Americans could see him since he fell ill with COVID-19 and subsequently dropped out of the race. Biden called into Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign event Monday in his first public comments since dropping out, but people could only hear his voice.

Along with laying out his agenda for the rest of his term as president, President Joe Biden wistfully looked back on his term so far.

“We were in the grip of the worst pandemic in the century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War,” he said. “We came together as Americans. We got through it. We merged stronger, more prosperous and more secure.”

President Joe Biden praised Vice President Kamala Harris, and outlined the stakes of the election as determining the future of democracy.

“She’s experienced, she’s tough, she’s capable, she’s been an incredible partner to me and leader for our country,” he said of Harris.

President Joe Biden said he will focus on serving as president in the coming months.

“You know, there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life, there's also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices,” he said. “And that time and place is now.”

Coming to terms with the decision to give in to pressures to drop out, Biden said that the importance of uniting the party has become clear to him in recent weeks.

He admitted he believes his record and vision warrants a second term.

President Joe Biden started his first public visual appearance since dropping out of the presidential race by talking about the significance of the Oval Office, naming off some of the country’s most historic presidents.

“I revere this office, but I love my country more,” said Biden, who recently recovered from COVID-19. “It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president, but in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it’s more important than any title.”

Following President Biden’s address to the nation tonight, the DNC is unveiling billboards in Scranton and Wilmington thanking him for "the historic progress he’s delivered not only in the last four years, but through his entire career."

“The accomplishments of Joe Biden’s presidency in just three and a half years stand unmatched in modern American history," said DNC Spokesperson Addy Toevs.

While many Pennsylvania Democrats are publicly advocating for Gov. Josh Shapiro to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, at least one is pushing an alternative — and taking some shots at Shapiro.

Erin McClelland, the Democratic candidate for treasurer in Pennsylvania, posted her endorsement of North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Twitter on Tuesday night — alluding to criticisms of Shapiro.

Following stops in Milwaukee and Indianapolis this week, Vice President Kamala Harris will appear in Houston Thursday to give a keynote speech at a teachers' union event.

Harris is scheduled to speak at the the American Federation of Teachers' national convention in Houston as part of what will be her second visit to Texas this month, the White House said. Previously, she appeared in Dallas earlier this month for a keynote speech at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.'s Boulé event.

Until Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, makes an announcement on her vice presidential pick, we’re free to keep speculating. In a twist to our Stay or Go series, we’re letting Inquirer readers vote on who should join her on the ticket, in something we’re calling Choose or Lose.

So far, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly has received the most thumbs up with 70% of readers saying they would “choose” him to join Harris. Pa. Gov Josh Shapiro and KY Gov. Andy Beshear follow him with 64% and 51% of the vote respectively.

Fox News is proposing a new debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris that would take place in Pennsylvania on Sept. 17 if the two candidates agree to participate, according to letters sent to both campaigns obtained by the Inquirer.

“We are open to discussion on the exact date, format and location — with or without an audience,” wrote Fox News president Jay Wallace and vice president of politics Jessica Loker.

Black Greek life evidently means so much to Harris, that her first speech and appearance since becoming poised to become the Democratic presidential nominee, was the keynote speech at Zeta Phi Beta Sorority’s national convention in Indiana.

Speaking there, she didn’t hold back when exposing the differences between her policies and beliefs and that of Republican Donald Trump.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said he has not spoken to Vice President Kamala Harris since Sunday when Harris called to ask for the governor’s endorsement and seek advice on defeating Trump in Pennsylvania, Shapiro said at a press conference in New Castle, Pa. about an unrelated topic.

“That’s all we discussed, and she and I have not spoken since then,” he said.

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta and Sen. Sharif Street gathered in North Philadelphia on Wednesday to drive home the Democratic party’s message in the wake of President Joe Biden’s exit from the race: Vice President Kamala Harris is the nominee who can beat Donald Trump in November.

Kenyatta, a longtime Biden surrogate in the region, joined Street – chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party – to tout Harris’s record on abortion and gun control, and more broadly, to signal to voters that a second Trump term would be harmful to everyday Philadelphians.

Former President Donald Trump filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing Vice President Kamala Harris of perpetrating a “$91.5 million heist” of President Joe Biden’s campaign funds, according to CNN.

The campaign argued the funds raised for Biden cannot be transferred to Harris and that the campaign's attempt to do so would violate the FEC’s strict contribution limits.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said he’s ready to serve as governor, whenever he’s tapped to do so.

Davis, who is second-in-command to Gov. Josh Shapiro, would complete Shapiro’s term if a lot of hypotheticals take place: if Shapiro is chosen as Kamala Harris’ running mate — and if they won in November. Shapiro is one of several candidates on a short list for VP.

It’s clear by now that Philadelphia Democratic Chair Bob Brady and area Democrats really wants Gov. Josh Shapiro to be Kamala Harris’ running mate.

And in a vote the city party made that endorsement official on Tuesday.

FBI Director Christopher Wray called the July 13 assassination attempt against Donald Trump during a Butler, Pa. campaign rally as an “attack on our democracy and our democratic process” as he opened testimony Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee.

Wray was asked to provide lawmakers with updates on its investigation into the motivations and preparations of the shooter – Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pa.

Would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots into the crowd during Donald Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler, Pa., the head of the Pennsylvania State Police told a congressional committee Tuesday.

That information was among the new details about the assassination attempt that emerged during testimony from Col. Christopher Paris before the House Homeland Security Committee during the second in a series of oversight hearings this week.

FBI Director Christopher Wray will be the next law enforcement official to face grilling by U.S. House members this week as Congress continues to probe the circumstances that led to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump during a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pa.

Wray is expected to testify before the House Judiciary Committee at a 10 a.m. hearing Wednesday.

While many Pennsylvania Democrats are publicly advocating for Gov. Josh Shapiro to be Kamala Harris’ running mate, the Democratic nominee for treasurer is pushing for North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper — and taking some shots at Shapiro.

Erin McClelland, the Democratic candidate for treasurer in Pennsylvania, posted her endorsement of North Carolina’s governor on Twitter on Tuesday night — alluding to criticisms of Shapiro.

President Joe Biden will address the nation tonight following his decision to end his reelection campaign and drop out of the 2024 race.

Biden is scheduled to speak at 8 p.m. Eastern from the White House.

Former President Donald Trump will attend his first public rally since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and thrusting Vice President Kamala Harris into the spotlight. 

Trump is scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. Eastern at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C. His speech comes less than a week after accepting the Republican nomination and less than two weeks since being wounded by a would-be assassin at a Western Pennsylvania rally. 

Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to travel to Indianapolis Wednesday, where she will give a keynote speech at a sorority event.

Harris will appear at Zeta Phi Beta's Grand Boulé event Wednesday, the White House has announced. The event serves as the historically Black sorority's convention, and marks another early appearance for Harris as she begins her campaign for the presidency following President Joe Biden's decision to not seek reelection over the weekend.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has a track record of winning big in Pennsylvania.

As a candidate for attorney general, he was one of few Democrats to win statewide in 2016, and he got more votes than President Joe Biden in 2020. In 2022, he drove up Democratic margins from the Allegheny to the Schuylkill and became governor in a 14-percentage point win that outperformed Biden’s 2020 victory in all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.