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Five key questions Kamala Harris should answer during first interview

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Five key questions Kamala Harris should answer during first interview

Kamala Harris will sit down for her first unscripted interview with the media on Thursday—here are five topics Newsweek thinks she will be asked about.

The Vice President will be interviewed by CNN, alongside her running mate Tim Walz, in Georgia, where she is currently on a bus tour. The interview is with CNN’s chief political correspondent and anchor Dana Bash and will be aired at 9 p.m. ET.

This is a big moment for the Democratic campaign, especially as Harris has long faced criticism for not doing an interview with the media since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her as his replacement.

Harris’ willingness to do an interview with the media will likely be one of the main things she is asked about, along with the economy, the border and immigration, her policies on topics such as fracking and women’s issues and abortion.

Talking to The Media

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The last time Harris did anything close to an interview with the media, was on June 24, 2024, when she spoke to MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss how the then-Biden campaign was preparing to go after Republicans on abortion rights. Newsweek has compiled a list of her media appearances since then here.

“This interview is pivotal for Harris precisely because she has been dodging the press for weeks,” Associate Professor of Political Science at London’s UCL School of Public Policy, Thomas Gift told Newsweek.

He said: “It’s a not unreasonable expectation that candidates should make themselves available to the media. The fact that Harris hasn’t raises the stakes of any interview she does give.

“Even after this evening’s joint appearance with Tim Walz, detractors will persist in claiming that Harris should be willing to face tough questions on her own. It’s hard not to think that Harris’s avoidance of the press reflects a lack of confidence in her ability to perform in unscripted settings.”

Some Democratic analysts and talking heads have argued Harris’ lack of interviews or press conferences is part of a specific media strategy.

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“The vice president is showing all of us that you don’t need to do high-profile interviews or press conferences in order to get attention from the media or from voters,” Democratic strategist Christy Setzer told The Hill.

The Economy

Multiple polls show that the economy is an important issue for Americans, with 83 percent of respondents to a recent CBS News/YouGov poll saying they believe it is a major factor in this election.

Harris has revealed several of her proposed economic policies, which include raising the level of tax levied on corporations, ending taxes on tipped income and expanding current child tax credit provisions. Newsweek has broken down what she hopes to achieve with her tax policies here.

Earlier this month, Harris told supporters at a campaign rally in North Carolina that she wanted to build an “opportunity economy.”

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“Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency because I strongly believe when the middle class is strong, America is strong,” she said.

Harris has also unveiled a plan to offer $25,000 in financial assistance to first-time homebuyers, as well as build 3 million new homes over four years in an effort to curb inflation.

“Vice President Harris knows we need to do more to address our housing crisis and that’s why she has a plan to end the housing shortage” and will crack down on “corporate landlords and Wall Street banks hiking up rents and housing costs,” Dan Kanninen, the campaign’s battleground states director, told the Associated Press.

Critics have doubts about these ideas, with Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary calling them part of “Kamalanomics.”

Harris’ opponent, Donald Trump, at an August 19, 2024, rally in York, Pennsylvania: “She has no clue how’d she paid for $25,000 to every first-time homebuyer, including illegals.”

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Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she exits her campaign bus in Savannah, Georgia, on Wednesday. Harris has not spoken to the media since Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

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The Border and Immigration

Immigration is another major issue for American voters, with Republicans often hammering Democrats for what they say is being soft on the border.

RNC spokesperson Taylor Rogers previously told Newsweek: “While failed border czar Kamala Harris adopts the Biden Basement strategy to hide from the illegal immigrant invasion created by her radical policies, President Trump will be visiting the southern border again.”

Republicans have branded Harris the “border czar,” despite her never being given that title. Harris was tasked by President Joe Biden with addressing the “root cause” of migration to the U.S. from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, which resulted in Harris securing $4.2 billion in private-sector investments for employment opportunities in Central America.

But Harris is also facing heat from the left, who fear the Democrats shifting to the right with their immigration policies.

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She has promised to reintroduce the bipartisan border bill and be tough when it comes to enforcement and she has also said at recent rallies that she wanted to shore up paths to citizenship for immigrants.

Harris will likely be asked about a resurfaced video from October 2019, where she says she would close privately-run immigration detention “on day one.”

Policies in General

Harris will almost certainly be asked to clear up her position on multiple issues in general, especially environmental ones.

When Harris ran for the presidential nomination in 2020, she vowed to ban fracking and back a Green New Deal which would work to shift the U.S. to 100 percent renewable energy.

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As video of these comments resurfaced, Harris’ campaign officials confirmed that she would not ban fracking—to The Guardian and several other newspapers.

As vice president, Harris has essentially toed the Biden administration’s line on fracking.

Just a few days ago, Trump wrote on Truth Social that it is “very difficult for her to defend her record-setting Flip-Flopping on absolutely everything she once believed in.”

Women’s Issues and Abortion

Women’s issues and abortion have been major topics in the campaigns running up to the November election, with Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, facing multiple controversies about his resurfaced comments.

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The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has also set the stage for candidates to focus on abortion, with the Democrats often warning about what a Republican White House could mean for abortion rights.

Harris has consistently supported women’s rights to an abortion and has been an advocate for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence throughout her career. Newsweek has laid out where she stands on some key women’s issues here.

Newsweek has contacted Harris and Trump via email for any further comment.

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Texas flood death toll rises as search continues for victims – UPI.com

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Texas flood death toll rises as search continues for victims – UPI.com

A young girl carries a stuffed bear during a vigil for those lost in the Texas floods at the “Wall of Hope” fence memorial in Kerrville, Texas, on Friday. Photo by Dustin Safranek/EPA

July 12 (UPI) — More than 2,100 searchers from a dozen Texas Counties, other states and Mexico are continuing recovery efforts to find more victims of the deadly flash flooding in central Texas.

The confirmed-deaths toll rose to 129 with 170 still missing after officials in Travis and Kerr counties reported the recovery of more bodies, USA Today reported.

Most of the dead, 103, were found in Kerr County, including 36 children and 67 adults.

Among those missing is Volunteer Fire Chief Michael Phillips, whose rescue vehicle was swept away when flash flooding struck Burnet County.

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Search crews later found the vehicle, but Phillips was not inside.

“Specialist teams and equipment continue to deploy into the search area and work themselves to exhaustion or until nightfall in the effort to find him,” the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office announced on Saturday, according to USA Today.

Many states and Mexico sent entire first responder teams, including Indiana, which deployed personnel from 15 fire and police departments to help the recovery effort, The New York Times reported.

Many volunteer groups also traveled to Kerr County, where most search efforts are focused.

“It’s overwhelming to see so many people come and help in the search,” Kerrville, Texas, resident Amy Vanlandingham told The New York Times.

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“This is our town,” she said. “I do it so I can sleep.”

The Guadalupe River’s flash flooding during the early morning hours of July 4 decimated several local camps and other popular visitor destinations on one of their busiest days of the year.

The bodies of victims likely are situated in debris fields located along more than 100 miles of narrow and shallow valleys along the Guadalupe River in the mostly rural area of Texas Hill Country.

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and others visited Kerr County on Friday to assess the situation and better gauge the need for federal assistance.

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'Helping every dang soul': Beloved camp director was among those lost in Texas flooding

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'Helping every dang soul': Beloved camp director was among those lost in Texas flooding

Just after the summer session ended in late June, Heart O’ the Hills camper Sydney Sutton sent this photo to the camp’s director, Jane Ragsdale, who was killed in the July 4 flooding in Kerr County, Texas.

Erika Sutton


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Erika Sutton

Jane Ragsdale spent her summers by the Guadalupe, the very river that killed her a week ago today in the catastrophic July Fourth flood. Mention her name in Kerrville, Texas, this week, and folks tend to do two things: tear up and smile.

“I mean I can’t tell you how many people, acquaintances of mine say, ‘My dear, dear friend died.’ And then they said, ‘Did you know Jane Ragsdale?’ and I say, ‘Yeah, I did,’ ” said Karen Taylor, who lives in nearby Hunt, Texas. For her, Ragsdale was West Kerr County personified.

“Everybody’s friendly here, but she embodied that friendliness and generosity and love for others. I just can’t imagine life without her,” Taylor said.

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Ragsdale, who was in her late 60s, did a lot of things, but she’s best known as the owner and director of Heart O’ the Hills camp for girls. She was born into the business.

Jane Ragsdale ran the Heart O’ the Hills camp for girls in Kerr County, Texas. The camp was between sessions when the deluge hit. The only person killed there was Ragsdale.

Jane Ragsdale ran the Heart O’ the Hills camp for girls in Kerr County, Texas. The camp was between sessions when the deluge hit. The only person killed there was Ragsdale.

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Kerrville Daily Times

Her family bought a boys’ camp, Camp Stewart in 1966, the year Ragsdale turned 9. They bought Heart O’ the Hills about a decade later. Ragsdale helped run it from the start. By 1988, she was in charge.

Unlike Camp Mystic, the girls camp where at least 27 perished when the deluge hit, Heart O’ the Hills was between sessions. The only person killed there was Ragsdale.

“I’ve never in my life met someone like Jane,” said Kathy Simmons, who was a good friend of Ragsdale’s.

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Simmons was at Heart O’ the Hills picking up her granddaughter just the week before the flood, on the last night the camp was open.

“We had a candlelight service on the river at 9 p.m., and it was so beautiful. There were prayers and there were songs,” Simmons said. “Jane always led the children in songs. And every one of those girls and those counselors absolutely idolized her.”

After Heart O' the Hills camper Sydney Sutton sent a photo of herself to Jane Ragsdale, the camp director wrote this letter back to Sydney.

After Heart O’ the Hills camper Sydney Sutton sent a photo of herself to Jane Ragsdale, the camp director wrote this letter back to Sydney.

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Erika Sutton

The summer camps on the Guadalupe River in Kerr County are institutions. Generations of girls and boys go through them, often forming life-long attachments. Simmons considered Ragsdale the heart and soul of her camp, both spiritual leader and educator.

“I mean, Jane taught these girls how to change a tire, how to ride a horse, how to swim, how to shoot a gun, archery, cooking. I mean, the necessities of life,” Simmons said.

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In the off-season, when she wasn’t running the camp, Ragsdale often traveled to Guatemala, where she volunteered as an interpreter and a project organizer. It was mission work she started doing when she was 19 and studying journalism. She was a badass. But she was also about the sweetest person in town.

“Jane was one of the most genuine, kind, honest people and very intelligent, very warm,” recalls Mindy Wendele, president and CEO of the Kerrville Area Chamber of Commerce. “She had a smile that you knew Jane Ragsdale was smiling at you.”

Wendele grew up with Ragsdale, who she describes as a real go-getter: deeply involved in the Chamber of Commerce, a board member of the local liberal arts college, a class leader in high school.

“Anytime that we were out with Jane and her family at Heart O’ the Hills, we had just a fabulous time, just fabulous memories out there,” Wendele said.

Now, with some of the camps and almost all of the riverfront in ruins, Kerr County faces a monumental clean-up and rebuilding effort.

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Another reason to miss Jane Ragsdale.

“Oh, she would be out there volunteering. She would be out there clearing property,” Simmons said. “She would have her boots on, her gloves on, she would be helping every dang soul that needed to be helped.”

So the flood took one of Kerr County’s most capable citizens, but Ragsdale’s influence on the community and the girls who came through Heart O’ the Hills camp is going to last a long time.

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Video: Clashes After Immigration Raid at California Cannabis Farm

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Video: Clashes After Immigration Raid at California Cannabis Farm

new video loaded: Clashes After Immigration Raid at California Cannabis Farm

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Clashes After Immigration Raid at California Cannabis Farm

Federal agents fired crowd control munitions at protesters who blocked a road outside of the farm. Some demonstrators threw objects at the agents’ vehicles.

Please make a path for emergency vehicles or chemical munitions will be deployed.

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