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A look at Kamala Harris’ work on foreign policy as vice president
After President Biden announced he would not be running for reelection, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his pick to become the Democratic nominee. Here’s a look at some of Harris’ work on foreign policy over the last three and a half years:
The U.S. border and immigration from South and Central America
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Harris was assigned early during the Biden administration with addressing the “root causes” of irregular migration to the United States across its border with Mexico. She described those causes as corruption and lack of economic opportunity in some Central and South American nations.
She has traveled to Latin America twice as vice president: To Mexico and Guatemala in 2021, and to Honduras in 2022.
During a speech In Guatemala, she told people in the region considering making an unauthorized trip across the border: “Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders.”
In Mexico, she announced the U.S. would be investing millions of dollars in a bid to enhance worker protections and push for labor reforms there. She also announced commitments to foster investment in Mexico through things including loans for affordable housing.
Harris also announced a joint partnership with Mexico to foster economic opportunities in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador through agriculture and youth empowerment. In March, the White House announced she had secured private sector commitments to invest $5 billion towards the promotion of economic opportunities and the reduction of violence in the region.
China, Taiwan and the South China Sea
Harris has largely carried the White House’s message on the challenges presented by China, speaking on several occasions about curbing Chinese influence.
“We know that Beijing continues to coerce, to intimidate and to make claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea,” Harris said in a speech during a seven day trip to Singapore and Vietnam in 2021.
“Beijing’s actions continue to undermine the rules-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations,” she said. The United States stands with our allies and partners in the face of these threats.”
EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
In 2022, Harris said that the U.S. would “continue to support Taiwan’s self defense, consistent with our long-standing policy.”
Harris’ visit to Singapore — a close U.S. ally that’s home to a key U.S. Navy base in Southeast Asia — followed visits by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to Asia in the previous weeks. The Biden administration was eager to reassure Asian allies nervous about China’s assertive policies in the region, especially in the wake of the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“The reason I am here is because the U.S. is a global leader, and we take that role seriously,” said Harris. She stressed what she called the United States’ “enduring engagement” in Asia, hitting on previous administration talking points about ensuring an “open and free” Indo-Pacific region, and “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea.
NATO, Europe and Russia’s war on Ukraine
Harris has voiced clear support for Ukraine as it continues fighting to repel Russia’s ongoing invasion, and she has reiterated the U.S. commitment to the transatlantic NATO alliance with America’s European partners.
Earlier this year, she vowed the U.S. would support Ukraine’s fight for “as long as it takes.”
At the Munich Security Conference in 2022, Harris said the U.S. had “an unwavering commitment to NATO and to the Alliance.”
ANDREW HARNIK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
The meeting came as Russia massed hundreds of thousands of troops along Ukraine’s border, just days before it launched its full-scale invasion.
“America’s commitment to Article 5 is ironclad,” Harris said in 2022, referring to the mutual defense clause in the NATO charter that calls for an attack on any member to be treated as an attack on all. “This commitment is sacrosanct to me, to President Biden and to our entire nation.”
The Israel-Hamas war and the wider Middle East
Harris has said that she supports Israel’s right to defend itself, but also that “as Israel defends itself, it matters how.”
In a briefing in December 2023, Harris said that “as Israel pursues its military objectives in Gaza, we believe Israel must do more to protect innocent civilians.”
She said that she and the president remained committed to the goal of a two-state solution.
“When this conflict ends, Hamas cannot control Gaza, and Israel must be secure. Palestinians need a hopeful political horizon, economic opportunity and freedom. And the region, more broadly, must be integrated and prosperous. And we must — we must work toward that vision,” Harris said.
Josh Paul, a former director at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Political Military Affairs, told CBS News on Monday that Harris could look to distinguish herself at least slightly from Mr. Biden’s policy toward Israel. Paul resigned in October over the Biden administration’s decision to continue providing Israel with weapons as it launched military operations in Gaza.
He said Harris had been “the first and often the loudest voice within the Biden administration talking about the need for a cease-fire, talking about Palestinian humanitarian issues and, frankly, humanizing the Palestinians,” adding that he believed there was “room for some degree of optimism that as president, she will take a different path.”
“I certainly wouldn’t expect a Harris administration to walk away, in any way, from the U.S.’, you know, ironclad support for Israel,” he said.
He added that, in his opinion, Mr. Biden has found it “very hard to change his mind on things that were, you know, fixed within his perceptions,” and he said Harris could prove “to be a more pragmatic” leader if she gets the nation’s top job.
Emmet Lyons contributed to this report.
Some residents east of Atlanta were evacuated while others were told to shelter in place to avoid contact with a chemical plume after a fire at a chemical plant.
Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel told reporters that a sprinkler head malfunctioned around 5 a.m. Sunday at the BioLab plant in Conyers. That caused water to mix with a water-reactive chemical, which produced a plume of chemicals. The chief said she wasn’t sure what chemicals were included.
A small roof fire was initially contained, but reignited Sunday afternoon, Sheriff Eric Levett said in a video posted on Facebook as gray smoke billowed into the sky behind him. He said authorities were trying to get the fire under control and urged people to stay away from the area.
People in the northern part of Rockdale County were ordered to evacuate and others were told to shelter in place with windows and doors closed. Sheriff’s office spokesperson Christine Nesbitt did not know the number of people evacuated.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division were both on site, county Emergency Management Director Sharon Webb said. The agencies are monitoring the air “to give us more of an idea of what the plume consists of.”
McDaniel said crews were working on removing the chemical from the building, away from the water source. Once the product is contained, the situation will be assessed and officials will let residents know whether it is safe to return to their homes, she said.
An evacuation center was opened at Wolverine Gym in Covington.
Washington — Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will face off on Tuesday in the first and only vice presidential debate of the cycle, as the two candidates look to prop up the Republican and Democratic tickets with fewer than 40 days until Election Day.
The debate, hosted by CBS News at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City, will be moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” moderator and CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan.
Here’s what to know about how the candidates are preparing for the debate:
How JD Vance is preparing for the VP debate
The Ohio Republican has been preparing for the debate for more than a month, a source directly involved told CBS News, including with “murder board” sessions with a small team that includes Vance’s wife and his advisers, along with senior Trump adviser Jason Miller.
Among Vance’s main focuses during the preparation has been studying Walz’ debate style and policy record, the source said, noting that Vance will attempt to highlight what he sees as the Minnesota governor’s left-wing views during the debate.
Vance told reporters last week that his plan is to break down what the Trump-Vance administration would do to make “life better” and connect that to policy.
“So, we’re studying up as much as we can on the issues that matter to the American people, and I’m looking forward to it,” Vance said.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, is standing in for Walz during Vance’s debate prep, four sources familiar with the preparations told CBS News. Emmer and Walz have deep roots in Minnesota and are close in age.
Emmer told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that he’s known Walz for decades and has spent the last month working to “get his phrases down, his mannerisms.”
“My job was to be able to play Tim Walz so JD Vance knows what he’s going to see,” Emmer said.
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How Tim Walz is preparing for the VP debate
Walz has been preparing for the debate with a close team of advisers, a source familiar with the preparations told CBS News. Some of the people involved also helped Vice President Kamala Harris take on former President Donald Trump, among others, like a long-time aid to Walz who worked with him during his bids for governor.
For Walz, whose name recognition was until recently limited outside of Minnesota, the focus is on continuing to introduce himself to the American people, according to the source. He’ll also work to highlight Harris’ vision for the nation’s path forward.
“You’ll hear me talk like I have about things that impact Americans, making sure they have the opportunity to thrive, making sure that we’re being factual in how we talk about that,” Walz told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow of the debate earlier this month. “And so I’m looking forward to it. I’ll work hard, that’s what I do.”
During debate prep, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is standing in for Vance, a campaign official familiar with the preparation told CBS News. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, also assisted Harris during her debate prep in 2020, and is close in age to Vance.
When and how to watch the presidential debate
Debate coverage on CBS News 24/7 begins at 4 p.m. ET, with the debate getting underway at 9 p.m. ET on Oct. 1.
The 90-minute debate will be streamed on CBS News 24/7 and Paramount+ across all available platforms and CBSNews.com. The debate will also be simulcast across other broadcast and cable networks.
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Actor John Ashton, best known for his role as the by-the-book detective in the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise, has died, his publicist Alan Somers confirmed to CBS News on Sunday. He was 79.
Ashton died Thursday in Ft. Collins, Colorado, after a battle with cancer.
“John was a loving husband, brother, father, and grandfather who will be deeply missed by all who knew him,” a statement said.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images
Ashton was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on Feb. 22, 1948, and raised in Enfield, Connecticut. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Southern California.
Throughout his 50-year career in show business, Ashton appeared in nearly 100 movies after making his debut in 1973’s “The Psychopath.”
He was probably best known for his role as Det. Sgt. John Taggart in the first two installments of the “Beverly Hills Cop” series alongside Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold. He reprised his role in 2024’s “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.”
Paramount Pictures via Getty
Other film credits include “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “She’s Having a Baby,” “Midnight Run,” “Little Big League” and “Gone Baby Gone.”
On television, he played Willie Joe Garr on several episodes of “Dallas” and made an appearance on such shows like “Columbo,” “Police Squad!” “Hardball” and others.
“John devoted his career to honing his craft and bringing characters to life on the screen. His presence will be greatly missed,” Somers said.
Ashton is survived by his wife Robin Hoye, three children, three step-children and a grandson. He also leaves behind two sisters and a brother.
“John leaves behind a legacy of love, dedication, and service. His memory will forever be treasured by his wife, children, grandchildren, as well as his brother, sisters, his extended family and all who loved him,” Somers said. “John’s impact on the world will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.”
The family requests any donations in Ashton’s memory be made to Pathways Hospice Care
Residents in Georgia ordered to evacuate or shelter in place after fire at chemical plant
Israeli airstrikes kill dozens across Lebanon as Hezbollah confirms a 7th top commander was killed
Residents told to evacuate or take shelter after Georgia chemical plant fire