Kamala Harris: The high school conversation that drove her to where she is today
Kamala Harris was a prosecutor for far longer than she’s been a politician.
Harris’s lengthy career in law started in 1990 when she became a deputy district attorney specialising in prosecuting child sexual assault offenders.
It ran until 2017 when she was overseeing the largest state justice department in the country as attorney general of California.
She says what drove her – and what still drives her – is “a very strong sense of responsibility to protect those who are vulnerable”.
But where did that sense of responsibility come from?
According to her, the catalyst was a devastating situation with her best friend at high school.
Ms Harris, who was raised in Berkeley in California, moved to Montreal in Canada for high school with her mother Shyamala Gopalan and sister Maya after Ms Gopalan, a breast cancer scientist, got a research job there.
Harris as a child with her mother and younger sister Maya. Pic: @KamalaHarris
It was at West Mount High School where she met fellow student Wanda Kagan, who was also new.
The pair quickly became best friends. But as they grew closer, Ms Harris could sense something was off.
She first spoke about the incident in a video uploaded to her social media in 2020, with permission from Ms Kagan.
“I suspected something, because she would come to school and just be sad,” Ms Harris said in a video.
“And there were times when she just didn’t seem to want to go home.
“And I remember asking her: ‘Is everything ok?’ I just sensed it.”
Her best friend then told her she was being sexually and physically abused by her stepfather.
“And so I said to her as soon as she told me: ‘Well, you have to come stay with us,'” Ms Harris said.
“And a big part of the reason I wanted to be a prosecutor was to protect people like her.”
Ms Gopalan took the teenager in and helped her navigate the system to get the support she needed, Ms Kagan told Sky News in 2020.
Expanding on her experiences last month, Ms Kagan told MSNBC Ms Harris “rescued” her and that she, along with her family, gave her “stability and structured me into believing I could continue my education”.
Ms Kagan, who still lives in Montreal and went on to have a career in healthcare, said it’s been an “emotional ride” to watch Ms Harris go on to “fight for the American people just like she fought for me over 40 years ago”.
“I want them [voters] to see that she’s exactly the kind of person that she’s always been from over 40 years ago in high school when she rescued me and it wasn’t just ‘say something’ – it was ‘do something’.
“She was going to make sure that something was done and to advocate for me even after I went to live with her and her mum and Maya.
“She has those protective instincts. She’s going to do something and fight for the people of America.”
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The childhood friends drifted apart when Ms Harris left Montreal. But years later, when she was a prosecutor, Ms Harris called Ms Kagan and told her the impact of going through those experiences with her had led her to fight for children and women who had been sexually assaulted.
“That was a really special, touching moment when she shared the impact that I had on her life,” Ms Kagan said. “I know she’s always had an impact on my life and where I am today.”
How Harris got here
After finishing high school, she went on to graduate from Howard University and then the University of California Hastings College of Law, which she graduated from in 1989.
The following year she became deputy prosecutor in Alameda County in California, specialising in prosecuting child sexual assault cases, but also working on homicide and robbery cases.
She worked there until 1998 when she was made managing attorney of a criminal unit at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office before becoming head of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Division on Families and Children.
She became the first female district attorney for San Francisco in 2004. During her first three years in the position, the conviction rate in the city jumped from 52% to 67%.
Harris poses for a photo after becoming San Francisco district attorney in 2004. Pic: PA
She served for six years before being elected as attorney general of California in 2010, where she oversaw the largest state justice department in the country.
In 2016, she won the US Senate race in California, beating fellow Democrat Loretta Sanchez who had 20 years’ experience in Congress.
Harris speaks at a 2005 news conference as San Francisco district attorney. Pic: AP
Harris spent New Year’s Eve at Barack Obama’s campaign headquarters in 2007. Pic: Deanne Fitzmaurice/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
Here, she built a reputation around her work as a prosecutor and gained national attention during her forensic questioning of Trump administration officials including Jeff Sessions, and then Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
She had become a prominent politician by the time she launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in January 2019, going with the slogan “Kamala Harris for the People”.
Democrats saw her as a promising candidate to overthrow Donald Trump’s presidency in the 2020 election, but Ms Harris ultimately dropped out of the race in December 2019, blaming a lack of finances.
Joe Biden selected her as his running mate in August 2021, describing her as a “fearless fighter for the little guy”.
It made her the first black female running mate for the two major parties, and only the third female running mate for the two major parties in American history.
Fast-forward around three years and President Joe Biden, who was struggling in the aftermath of a disastrous debate against Mr Trump, opted to bow out of the 2024 election and endorse his vice president for his position. She was formally made the Democratic nominee in August.
US
US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations’ annual meeting in New York
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Offensive will cause ‘intolerable deaths’
Several US allies, including France, Malta, and Australia have announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at September’s United Nations General Assembly. Canada and the UK will too, unless Israel meets certain conditions.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
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Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Gaza latest: Israel’s Gaza City offensive condemned
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
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The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
US
Boy, 8, and girl, 10, killed in US Catholic school shooting named – as father brands attacker ‘a coward’
The families of two children killed in the US Catholic school shooting have said their “hearts are broken” and branded the attacker a “coward”.
Fletcher Merkel who was eight and 10-year-old Harper Moyski were killed during mass at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
Eighteen other people were injured, including children aged between six and 15 and three adults in their 80s.
Police said Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman, opened fire with a rifle through the windows of the school’s church as children sat in pews.
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New details released of US school shooting
‘Our hearts are broken’
Harper’s parents, Michael Moyski and Jackie Flavin, remembered her as “a bright, joyful, and deeply loved 10-year-old whose laughter, kindness, and spirit touched everyone who knew her”.
“Our hearts are broken not only as parents, but also for Harper’s sister, who adored her big sister and is grieving an unimaginable loss. As a family, we are shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain,” their statement said.
They urged leaders and communities to “take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country.”
“Change is possible, and it is necessary – so that Harper’s story does not become yet another in a long line of tragedies,” the statement added.
The family of Fletcher Merkel said there was a ‘hole in our hearts’. Pic: Family handout/AP
‘Fletcher loved his family’
In a statement reported by Sky’s US partner network NBC News, Fletcher’s father Jesse Merkel blamed the “coward” killer for why the boy’s family can’t “hold him, talk to him, play with him, and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming”.
He said: “Fletcher loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking, and any sports that he was allowed to play.
“While the hole in our hearts and lives will never be filled, I hope that in time, our family can find healing.”
Mr Merkel also praised “the swift and heroic actions of children and adults alike from inside the church”.
“Without these people and their selfless actions, this could have been a tragedy of many magnitudes more. For these people, I am thankful,” he added.
Families and loved ones reunite at the scene after the shooting. Pic: Reuters
Mayor calls for assault weapon ban
It comes after Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey called for a statewide and federal ban on assault weapons, a day after the deadly school shooting.
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Minneapolis mayor urges assault weapons ban
“Thoughts and prayers are not going to cut it. It’s on all of us to see this through,” the mayor said at a news conference. “We need a statewide and a federal ban on assault weapons.
“We need a statewide and a federal ban on high-capacity magazines. There is no reason that someone should be able to reel off 30 shots before they even have to reload.
“We’re not talking about your father’s hunting rifle gear. We’re talking about guns that are built to pierce armour and kill people.”
Meanwhile, Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara gave an update on the investigation, saying the suspect had fired 116 rifle rounds into the church.
“It is very clear that this shooter had the intention to terrorise those innocent children,” he added, before saying the killer “fantasised” about the plans of other mass shooting attackers and wanted to “obtain notoriety”.
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Thomas Klemond, interim CEO of Minneapolis’s main trauma hospital Hennepin Healthcare, said at an earlier news conference that the hospital was treating nine patients injured in the shooting.
One child at the hospital was in a critical condition, he added.
Children’s Minnesota Hospital also said that three children remain in its care as of Thursday morning.
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