Democratic National Convention Day 1: Al Franken, Proud Graduate of Trump University

This live blog will be updated regularly throughout the day:

Al Franken Brings Mirth and Message to the DNC

8:40 p.m. The day opened with tension and dissension in the Democratic ranks. Then came Al Franken, the droll senator from Minnesota and an original writer from Saturday Night Live, with the laughter.

"I'm Al Franken, Minnesotan, senator and world renowned expert on megalomaniacs. Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and now Donald Trump. I got my doctorate in megalomaniac studies from Trump University. ... Did you know that Trump University School of Ripping People Off is rated second in the nation, right behind Bernie Madoff University."

And that was just the beginning of the laughs.

Read More: Al Franken, the Comedian, Brings a Trump Stand-Up Act to the DNC

Supporters Of Bernie Sanders Shut Down Train In Downtown Philly

6:20 p.m. Protesters outside of AT&T Station temporarily disrupted service on the Broad Street Line. SEPTA announced the closure of the line at 6 p.m., and service resumed on a delayed schedule over the next half an hour.

The bulk of the protesters were demonstrating against Hillary Clinton, chanting "Hell no DNC, we won't vote for Hillary."

Others held pro-Bernie signs up against the wrought-iron fence, leaning against the fence with their arms spread and heads down.

Philadelphia Police said that 55 people were issued citations, according to Billy Penn. No arrests have been reported.

Dumbledore and Superdelegates

5:17 p.m. State Rep. Diane Russell, of Portland, Maine, invoked Harry Potter's Albus Dumbledore as she passionately discussed the "political revolution" and the compromise which the DNC, Hillary Clinton's camp and Bernie Sanders' campaign had reached.

To general cheers, chants of “Bernie,” and no discernible boos, Russell added that she had introduced an amendment to the DNC's nominating process to remove superdelegates.

She quoted Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter, saying: “It takes great courage to stand up to your enemies, it takes even greater courage to stand up to your friends.”

When more chants of "Bernie" erupted, she said, "You are so beautiful right now."

While she firmly stated her support as a delegate for Sanders, she focused on the importance of uniting behind Clinton and against Trump, while incorporating issues from the Sanders campaign in the Clinton administration.

"This is what democracy looks like," she said as she described the compromise.

STOP TPP

5:01 p.m. Signs protesting the Trans-Pacific Partnership were held throughout the crowd as preliminary housekeeping matters of the convention progressed. The signs read “TPP” with a red line drawn through the middle of it. The partnership is a touchstone issue for many on the left, especially Sanders supporters.

Battle Between Sanders and Clinton Supporters Continues Inside Convention

4:52 p.m. Rep. Marcia Fudge, chair of the Democratic National Convention, was booed during her opening remarks as she tried to plead for calm from the crowd. "Excuse me," she said, amid roaring boos and chants of "Bernie."

With each mention of Hillary Clinton, a deafening battle between boos and cheers erupted in the arena.

Fudge — whether strategically or not — paired each mention of Clinton's name with Tim Kaine.

"I am going to be respectful of you, and I want you to be respectful of me," Fudge said. "We are all Democrats and we need to act like it."

Chants of 'Bernie, Bernie' Disrupt Invocation

4:30 p.m. When during the invocation it was announced that Hillary Clinton was the best choice to lead the country, chants of "Bernie, Bernie" drowned out the proceedings for several moments.

Dancing DNC Delegates

4:25 p.m. Boyz II Men hit the stage just after Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and immediately launched into music that had the delegates on the floor dancing, some of them very enthusiastically. The entire arena stood and chanted back to the band as they sang "Can I get an oh, yeah?"

Gavel In: "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory"

4:10 p.m. The Mother Bethel Church Choir from Philadelphia performed The Battle Hymn of the Republic just before the official gavel-in was given by Rawlings-Blake after 4 p.m., indicating the start of the day's formal ceremonies.

The crowd gave a standing ovation as she officially called the convention to order.

Scheduled speakers include Pam Livengood, who will discuss substance abuse, Karla & Francisca Ortiz, who will talk on immigration, and Astrid Silva, a DREAMer, who will also discuss her immigration story.

The Center Slowly Berns

3:43 p.m. As the clock ticked closer to 4 p.m. and the concourse at the Wells Fargo Center began to thicken to Stanley Cup-playoff levels of density and raucousness, more and more Bernie Sanders supporters filled the ranks.

One man wore an oversized Robin Hood felt hat and covered his suit in "Bernie 2016" pins.

Another man was covered in Ghostbusters-style pins which read "Trump-Busters," and featured an image of an orange-haired ghost-likeness of the Republican nominee.

Two elderly women wore red "nurses for Bernie" T-shirts but also sported pins that read "Never Trump," indicating their favor for Sanders but their preference of anyone over Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, In Center City

3:14 p.m. A few short miles down Broad Street into Center City, larger throngs of protesters gathered near City Hall and caused several street closures and lane restrictions.

Philadelphia Police said that the protests continued to be peaceful. In addition to Black Lives Matter, protests also addressed medical marijuana.

Heat, however, has reportedly led to at least three people collapsing, according to Philly.com

Gavel In, Wasserman Schultz Out

2:58 p.m. Outgoing head of the DNC Debbie Wasserman Schultz will not "gavel in" the start of the formal proceedings at the convention, scheduled for 4 p.m.

Instead, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will perform that honorary duty, she announced on her Twitter page.

Wasserman Schultz is departing amid accusations that she conspired to damage the Sanders campaign.

Rawlings-Blake is the secretary of the DNC. The choice to have her head the gavel-in is important in another way, as Baltimore is at the forefront of the Black Lives Matter movement and unrest between the community and law enforcement.

Sidewalk Chalk for Sanders

2:13 p.m. In the walkway across Pattison Avenue at Broad Street, protesters are handing out pieces of sidewalk chalk to decorate the streets with multicolored mini memoirs of demonstration.

Some drew ornate portraits of their champion, Bernie Sanders.

Others wrote messages expressing fury at fracking voter fraud. "Voter fraud - fracking fraud" was etched in several places. Others simply jotted their names in makeshift memorial to what one chalk-toting man with dreadlocks called "common humanity."

A Tale of Two Cities

1:49 p.m. South Philadelphia on Monday is a tale of two cities.

The air in the streets outside of the convention is thick with heat, humidity, repressed fury. There is an undercurrent of some deep, not-quite-articulated-yet, still-unified injustice in the air, whether it stems from Black Lives Matter activists, Sanders supporters, 911 conspiracy theorists, fracking protesters or wage activists.

Inside is a panoply of red, white and blue. The air conditioned arena is cooler by at least 20 degrees. Memorabilia stands which typically purvey Flyers and Sixers merchandise are selling Kaine-Clinton T-shirts, hats, lanyards, water bottles, pins, packs. There are several people wearing shirts that read "A Woman's Place is in the White House."

"Black Lives Matter Is In The House"

1:38 p.m. The largest protest zone on Monday afternoon was at the corner of FDR Park near the intersection with Broad and Pattison. Just feet from the road, in a grove of trees, a pair of orators addressing Black Lives Matter issues were speaking to a mixed assemblage which included dozens of police officers and dozens more assorted demonstrators.

One of the Black Lives Matter speakers, Andre Roxx, was stopped by a white man who was passing by walking his dog. The two men stood shouting with their faces inches apart as the crowd of police, some on bikes, watched impassively.

"We are not the enemy," the man walking his dog said, pointing to himself and the police surrounding the pair.

"If I were to rob a store and this (man) were to hide me, he is guilty to accessory to the crime after the fact," Roxx said in response. "Because we have seen these officers time and time again cover up for each other, they are guilty of accessory to the crime after the fact, if they are held to the same standard that they hold us to."

The man walking his dog departed peacefully after shaking hands with both men.

"Let me tell you what, Black Lives Matter is in the house," Roxx said later. "And we're here to stay. And guess what? We don't need the politicians. We can police our own communities. We have the numbers. We don't have to go to politicians to ask them to stop (brutality)."

Bystanders said the pair had been orating on and off since early in the morning. They focused on numbers at length.

"Why are 618,000 African Americans in the city of Philadelphia afraid of 7,500 law enforcement officers?"

Polar Bear Braves The Heat

1:18 p.m. The air shimmered with heat on Broad Street. Fans sprayed cool mist out into the streets. Protesters and police alike stood by huge stacks of bottled water which they handed to passersby. In the midst of the seething and sweating midday crowd stood a man in a meticulously detailed polar bear suit.

Holding a sign that read #KeepItInTheGround, the man held forth on global warming, melting ice caps and what he described as the "lunacy" of fracking.

"Look," he said, addressing several cameras and cell phones held toward him. "All I'm saying is that if we can figure out a way to put robots on Mars, we can figure out a way to safely power our nation."

He went on to discuss the importance of solar power and other forms of renewable energy, but did not vocalize his support for Sanders over Clinton, as many of the other protesters around him were doing.

Climate change and fracking are points of contention between the Clinton and Sanders camps, as many Sanders supporters have long criticized the former secretary of state for not taking a firm anti-fracking stance. Sanders, on the other hand, has consistently described global warming as the most important issue facing the world today. The rift on fracking is one of the more significant ideological gaps between the left and the center-left.

By the polar bear's side was a can of Arizona green tea. He made no move to drink it while the cameras were on him. It was not clear how the mask and suit could be removed.

Protesting the Protest Zones

1:08 p.m. Authorities have established designated protest zones throughout the city, which has caused an uproar with some demonstrators who believe that this has handicapped their visibility to the media. On the median at Broad and Pattison streets, protesters stood in the sweltering heat holding signs that read "We Are Not Invisible."

On Broad Street, the closest road to the Wells Fargo Center, the "protest" is not organized behind a single theme. Smatterings of fracking and global warming protesters are mingled with "Bernie Was Cheated" and "911 was an Inside Job" signs. A few dozen police stand in a small circle talking. A few of the protesters are interviewed, but few are vocal. There are less than 20 protesters on the street.

There are several tables selling Bernie for president memorabilia. Camilla Jones, a woman running one of the tables, said that her hope was that Sanders could still somehow pull out the nomination.

"The world is realizing that the party is crooked," she said. "They worked together to keep him (Sanders) out. The world is realizing that isn't right."

Demi Lovato: What's wrong with being confident?

11:37 a.m. Demi Lovato performed her song "Confident" to some of the loudest rehearsal cheers of the morning.

Hispanic Caucus Leader: "My parents are not rapists and murderers."

11:20 a.m. U.S. Rep. Linda Sánchez took the stage in rehearsal for her speech on immigration and the nation's significant Hispanic population.

"I want to share a story with you, because it's an American story," she said. "I'm the daughter of Mexican parents."

Sánchez then went on to detail how her family "saved and sacrificed" to help bring her where she was today.

"My parents are not rapists and murderers," she said. "The dream of (my family) is not possible if we let Donald Trump build a wall that divides us."

Sanchez detailed the divisiveness inherent in the Republican candidate's rhetoric and how it is putting down hard-working immigrants who comprise the fabric of the nation.

"What sort of example would we be setting for our children if we elected a bully into the White House?" Sánchez asked. "Too many of our children are watching and learning the wrong lessons from Donald Trump...Our children are watching us."

Sights and Sounds

A small crowd of television cameras gathered at the foot of the podium as the National Anthem was sung late Monday morning. The song drifted into the concourse levels, and throngs of workers stopped what they were doing and walked to the entrance ramps where they could see the main stage.

The Wells Fargo Center has been completely transformed for the convention. The main podium stands nearly to the ceiling of the inside of the arena. The floor itself is covered in a blue carpet. In rafters far above, instead of the banners of championship Flyers and Sixers teams, there is a clot of red, white and blue balloons tied tightly together.

Standing amidst the empty seats and meandering crowd are the iconic blue poles, with a state's white lettering written on each.

Black Caucus Meets in Center City

Meetings began Monday as the Black Caucus met at the Philadelphia Convention Center in Center City.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, delivered remarks on his legislative efforts in criminal justice reform. Rep. Barbara Lee also spoke. In the wake of several shootings and confrontations between community members and law enforcement around the nation, civil rights and Black Lives Matter are expected to play a significant role in the discussions at the convention this week.

Morning Day 1: Sound System Tests Queen's "We are the Champions"

As delegates and reporters slowly began to fill the convention floor at the Wells Fargo Center, the sound system repeatedly ran clips of Queen's "We Are The Champions." The song was infamously used — against Sony and Queen's explicit instructions — at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last week.

Marchers took to the streets across the City of Brotherly Love on a boiling hot Sunday afternoon ahead of Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention, chiefly to support Sanders and to protest climate change.

The "March for a Clean Energy Revolution" began at noon at City Hall and progressed throughout Center City, leading to several road closures and lane restrictions. Center city traffic was bumper-to-bumper for much of the afternoon Sunday.

Protesters cited a recently published Johns Hopkins University study which connects fracking with increased incidents of asthma.

“This Johns Hopkins study should be a wake-up call to Governor Wolf and Physician General Levine that fracking is causing serious harm to Pennsylvania children and families," said Karen Feridun, of Berks Gas Truth and Pennsylvanians Against Fracking. "How can Governor Wolf sit idly by as study after study comes out out revealing severe health impacts to his constituents as a result of his pro-fracking policies?"

Meanwhile, the head of the Democratic National Committee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, announced her impending post-convention resignation on the eve of the gathering as a scandal broils involving emails that implicated her working to undermine Sanders' campaign. The incident has added fuel to the fire of Sanders supporters who want to see justice for their candidate.

Such demonstrations take on renewed importance at the convention because it's where the Democratic party determines its platform for the next four years. Many of the major issues which were touchstones of Sanders' campaign — healthcare, education, economic measures — could come into larger focus at the convention due to the bloc of voters standing behind his positions.

Protests on Sunday led to road closures on Market Street between Fifth and Sixth streets, Broad Street from City Hall to FDR Park and elsewhere around the city.

Philadelphia police said the marches were peaceful.

Heat was a cause of concern Sunday and will be throughout the week. Police urged protesters and others spending significant amounts of time outside to watch others carefully for signs of heat stroke and heat exhaustion. An excessive heat warning remains in effect for much of the region. The forecasted high is between 94 and 97 degrees on each day of the convention.

The convention will continue through Thursday.

For a general overview, see here.

Main image courtesy Flickr user neverbutterfly. All other photos via Justin Heinze.