Vice President Kamala Harris has tested negative for COVID-19, according to her press secretary.

Harris plans to return to work at the White House on Tuesday.

The vice president had been working from home since she tested positive for the virus last week.

While at the White House, Harris' press secretary said the vice president will follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control. The guidelines say a person who is recovering from COVID-19 should wear a well-fitting mask while around others for 10 days.

The vice president was reportedly not experiencing symptoms on the day she tested positive. However, she was treated with Pfizer's Covid-19 antiviral pill, Paxlovid.

Harris is vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19.

NEW ORLEANS —

Vice President Kamala Harris was in New Orleans Saturday speaking at the annual Essence Festival of Culture.

Harris spoke on the Wealth and Power stage about the impacts of the Supreme Court's ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, as well as other issues facing women of color.

After her speech at the festival, Harris spoke exclusively with Hearst-owned WDSU about the impacts of Louisiana's abortion trigger laws in place.

"We as Americans prided ourselves on the foundational principles of freedom and liberty," Harris said. "When we say the government can interfere and make decisions instead of letting a woman and her family, pastor or priest make that decision, I think that is a real moment of crisis, frankly."

Harris expressed her disappointment in the Supreme Court's decision, and that it was the government's responsibility the protect people's rights.

"We rightly hold ourselves out to be a nation that is a democracy founded on very important principles that include that we will protect and ensure people's rights," Harris said. "This is the first time in the history of the court that a right that had been recognized has been taken away from women in America. It is pretty serious."

Louisiana's trigger laws make most abortions illegal in the state.

Under a law signed by former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, most abortions would become illegal almost immediately upon the overturning of Roe.

The original 2006 statute allows for prison terms of one to five years and fines of $5,000 to $50,000 for abortion providers.

Senate Bill 342, sponsored by Sen. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, increases the penalties to one to 10 years of prison time and fines of $10,000 to $100,000.

This bill was signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards on June 22.

Neither the original statute nor the newly signed bill has exceptions for rape or incest.

Jackson's bill outlines what would not be considered abortion in Louisiana:

• A medical procedure with the intention to save the life or preserve the health of an unborn child
• The removal of a dead unborn child or the inducement of a positive diagnosis certified in writing in the Women's medical record and an ultrasound test that the pregnancy ends in a miscarriage
• The removal of an ectopic pregnancy
• The performance of a medical procedure necessary in good faith or reasonable medical judgement to prevent death or substantial risk of death to the pregnant woman due to a physical condition or to prevent the serious permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ of a pregnant woman. However, the physician shall make reasonable medical efforts under the circumstance to preserve the life of the mother and unborn child in a manner that is consistent with reasonable medical practice
• The removal of an unborn child who is deemed to be medical futile, a judgement certified by two qualified physicians in the woman's medical record

Jackson's law also requires any abortion deemed medically necessary to be done in a licensed medical facility. Physicians will also be required to send an abortion report.

An abortion-inducing drug or chemical is also now illegal in Louisiana when used to cause an abortion.

A state district judge in New Orleans has temporarily blocked the trigger law that makes abortions illegal in the state of Louisiana.

Louisiana’s attorney general is warning doctors against performing abortions, despite the judge’s order blocking the state from enforcing its ban on the procedure.

Attorney General Jeff Landry said that the state judge’s Monday order blocking enforcement “has limited reach” and that abortion remains a crime in Louisiana after Friday’s Supreme Court decision ending abortion rights.

WASHINGTON —

Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Poland and Romania next week, the White House says, as the Biden administration continues to show support for Ukraine and the U.S.' eastern NATO allies while Russia's invasion of Ukraine enters a dangerous new phase.

Harris' trip will take place from Wednesday through March 11, and will include stops in Warsaw and Bucharest, according to a Friday announcement by the White House. She'll meet with the leaders of both countries to coordinate on their response to Russia's invasion and discuss how the U.S. can further support Ukraine's neighboring nations as they prepare to welcome Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict.

The White House says the leaders will also "discuss their continuing support for the people of Ukraine through security, economic, and humanitarian assistance and our determination to impose severe economic consequences on Russia and those complicit in Russia's invasion."

"Her visit will demonstrate the strength and unity of the NATO Alliance and U.S. support for NATO's eastern flank allies in the face of Russian aggression. It will also highlight our collective efforts to support the people of Ukraine," the White House announcement states.

The Eastern Europe visit will take place on the heels of Harris' latest international travel to the Munich Security Conference, where she met with U.S. allies and partners including Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. Harris also spoke over the phone with several Eastern European leaders on Tuesday, including Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca.

The Hill was first to report on the discussions to send Harris to Poland and Romania.

U.S. and other Western officials warned this week that Russia's strategy is shifting toward a "slow annihilation" of the Ukrainian military, warning that Russia could focus on violent bombardment of cities and civilian targets as the conflict becomes a grinding war of attrition.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine last week, the U.S. and allies have ramped up their responses to the conflict, establishing a variety of economic sanctions and providing Ukraine aid.

Since the invasion began, Russia's military has launched more than 500 missiles, a senior US defense official said Friday.

A White House statement following Tuesday's calls said that in each of her conversations, "the Vice President underscored the strength and unity of our Alliance and welcomed each of her counterparts' leadership and coordination on robust response measures, including sanctions and other economic measures through the European Union. They also discussed the robust NATO response."

Harris also reiterated the U.S.' support for Ukraine and "reaffirmed U.S. support for the international rules and norms that have brought peace and security in Europe since World War II and that have served as the foundation of the NATO Alliance."

President Joe Biden and the first lady host a White House celebration of Black History Month alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and the second gentleman.The event kicks off at 2 p.m. eastern. You can watch it live in the video player above.

Symone Sanders, Vice President Kamala Harris' chief spokesperson and senior adviser, is leaving the Biden administration at the end of the year, according to a source familiar with the decision.

"Symone has served honorably for three years," the source told CNN. "The president and vice president are grateful for Symone's service and advocacy for this White House. She is a valued member, a team player, and she will be missed. We are grateful to have her working through the end of the year."

Related video above: Vice President Kamala Harris Poll Numbers

Sanders acknowledged her exit in a Wednesday letter to her colleagues, shared with CNN, in which she thanked Harris chief of staff Tina Flournoy.

"I'm so grateful to the VP for her vote of confidence from the very beginning and the opportunity to see what can be unburdened by what has been," the letter stated. "I'm grateful for Tina and her leadership and her confidence as well. Every day, I arrived to the White House complex knowing our work made a tangible difference for Americans. I am immensely grateful and will miss working for her and with all of you."

Her expected exit marks the second departure among Harris' top communication staff in recent weeks. Last month, a White House official told CNN that the vice president's communications director, Ashley Etienne, was leaving to pursue "other opportunities."

News of each departure followed a myriad of reports of staff infighting and dysfunction. Still, the source dismissed that Sanders' exit has to do with reports of dysfunction, calling it the right time for her to go.

Harris has known for some time about Sanders' upcoming departure, according to a second source familiar.

Anita Dunn, a former top Biden aide, praised Sanders as "an extraordinary talent" in an interview with CNN on Wednesday night.

"Symone has been working at the highest levels and in an extraordinarily intense environment for three years for Joe Biden. And now also for Vice President Harris," Dunn said. "When you look at the three years, two on the campaign, one in the White House, nobody can question her decision that she needs a break and it's time to move on. And she'll always be a member of the Biden-Harris family."

Sanders, a 31-year-old African American political strategist, joined the White House from Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign, on which she served as a senior adviser. She was also the national press secretary for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign and was a political analyst for CNN prior to joining Biden's campaign.

During her time in the vice president's office, Sanders helped lead messaging for Harris, who has been tasked with what allies and supporters view as a thorny portfolio. Adding another dimension to Sanders' efforts, Harris — who has been dogged with messaging challenges since her unsuccessful presidential campaign — has publicly fumbled the White House's message during her time as vice president.

In February, West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin expressed frustration over a television interview Harris did in his home state to promote the American Rescue Plan, suggesting the administration did not give him a heads up.

During her first foreign trip, Harris — who heads diplomatic efforts to stem migration from the Northern Triangle — had to deal with the fallout over her response about why she has not at that point visited the U.S.-Mexico border as vice president.

And over the summer, the White House had to dive into damage control following reports of dysfunction within Harris' staff.

The interview during which she made the border comment came after Harris had participated in a wide-ranging media training session to improve her delivery and presentation in interviews and speeches. That training had been one of several sessions over the last year, according to multiple sources.

In September, the vice president's office also attempted to contain the fallout over Harris' lack of pushback in an exchange with a student who characterized Israel's actions toward Palestinians as "an ethnic genocide and a displacement of people."

Since the messaging missteps, the vice president's office has hired two communications veterans — Lorraine Voles, a crisis communications specialist, and Adam Frankel, a former Obama speechwriter — to focus their efforts on "organizational development, strategic communications and long-term planning," according to the White House.

Sanders had previously made her White House ambitions known, writing in her 2020 memoir, "No, You Shut Up," "One day I want to be White House press secretary."

Bakari Sellers, a friend of Sanders, told the Washington Post this past spring that the decision to make Jen Psaki the White House press secretary "stung" Sanders and that being passed over "hurt."

Harris' team will likely see other exits over time.

"Offices reconstitute themselves. Symone is not the last person who will leave the White House," Dunn told CNN.

WASHINGTON — In a show of solidarity and bipartisanship, former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and their wives joined President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at Arlington National Ceremony Wednesday afternoon.

Biden and Harris laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The wreath was made of green leaves with red and white blooms. Each took a moment of silent prayer standing in front of the tomb before stepping back.

The former presidents announced last week they would attend the ceremony. Former President Donald Trump did not attend, he left Washington, D.C. earlier Wednesday morning and did not attend any inaugural events.

More than 400,000 service members, veterans and their families are buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

SINGAPORE —

Vice President Kamala Harris met with Singapore's president and prime minister to kick off a visit to Southeast Asia focused on strengthening ties with key allies in the region, a task complicated by the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The trip, which brings Harris to Singapore and then later to Vietnam this week, is aimed at broadening cooperation with both nations to offer a counterweight to China's growing influence in the region. She is expected to address economic and security issues as well as efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Harris participated in a welcome ceremony outside the Istana, the presidential palace, where she held her hand over her heart while a marching band played "The Star Spangled Banner." She then walked around the courtyard, reviewing the band, accompanied by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Loong then showed her a species of an orchid that was named in her honor, and Harris participated in a brief courtesy call with President Halimah Yacob, before heading into a series of bilateral meetings with the prime minister.

After her meetings, the vice president will participate in a joint news conference, and later visit the Changi Naval Base, where she'll speak to American sailors aboard the USS Tulsa, a combat ship.

On Tuesday, Harris will deliver a speech outlining the Biden administration's vision for the region, and meet with business leaders to discuss supply chain issues.

The trip marks Harris' second foreign trip — she visited Guatemala and Mexico in June — and will be the first time a U.S. vice president has visited Vietnam.

Singapore is the anchor of the U.S. naval presence in Southeast Asia and has a deep trade partnership with the U.S., but the country also seeks to maintain strong ties with China and a position of neutrality amid increasingly frosty U.S.-China relations.

Relations between the U.S. and China deteriorated sharply under Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, and the two sides remain at odds over a host of issues including technology, cybersecurity and human rights.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made their first overseas trips to Japan and South Korea. Austin traveled to Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines last month and he vowed U.S. support against Beijing's intrusions in the South China Sea.

Harris is expected to emphasize the need for a free and open Indo-Pacific region in her conversations with Singapore's and Vietnam's leaders.

Alexander Feldman, president and CEO of the US-ASEAN Business Council, said Harris will have to be careful in her conversations with Singapore's leaders not to focus too heavily on China, but to emphasize a positive, productive U.S. relationship with Singapore and Vietnam.

"Where she could fall into a trap is really trying to pit this as a U.S. versus China trip. it should be a U.S. trip to our friends and partners in Southeast Asia," Feldman said.

If China becomes the main focal point, he said, "that makes it harder for our friends to move forward across the region, not only in Singapore and Vietnam but beyond that."

Indeed, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said in a recent interview that Singapore will "be useful but we will not be made use of" in its relations with both countries, and the nation's prime minister previously warned the U.S. against pursuing an aggressive approach to China.

Beijing, however, has seized on the visit, with China's official Xinhua News Agency issuing an editorial Saturday on Harris' trip portraying it as part of a drive to contain China.

Visits to Southeast Asia by senior Biden officials are aiming to "woo these countries to form a ring of containment against China. But Southeast Asian countries are reluctant to choose sides between China and the United States, and America's 'wishful plan' will end in failure," Xinhua said.

The U.S. approach is based on "outdated Cold War thinking and is intended to provoke troubles in their relations with China, create division and confrontation, and try to create a ring of containment," the editorial said.

While Harris navigates the challenging diplomacy surrounding the issue of China, she'll also face the task of reassuring key U.S. allies of America's commitment to Southeast Asia, in the wake of the tumultuous Afghanistan exit. Images of desperate Afghans mobbing American plans leaving Kabul have drawn comparisons to images from the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War.

Harris' aides have been careful to emphasize that while she remains deeply engaged in the situation in Afghanistan, the Southeast Asia trip was planned well before the recent events, and they say Harris' work in Singapore and Vietnam is important, independent of the developments in Afghanistan.

Washington, D.C., police arrested a Texas man outside Vice President Kamala Harris' official residence, the U.S. Naval Observatory, in the nation's capital on Wednesday and he's now facing weapons and ammunition charges.A spokesperson for Washington's Metropolitan Police said officers responded "at approximately 12:12 pm, to the 3400 block of Massachusetts Avenue, NW in reference to a suspicious person based on an intelligence bulletin that originated from Texas, who was detained by US Secret Service." Law enforcement contacted the man after a region-wide intelligence bulletin had been issued for the suspect.D.C. police said officers arrested and charged 31-year-old Paul Murray, of San Antonio. Authorities said that a rifle and ammunition were recovered from his vehicle.According to police, he's been charged with several counts: carrying a dangerous weapon, carrying a rifle or shotgun outside of a business, possession of unregistered ammunition and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device.The U.S. Secret Service told CNN in a statement that Uniformed Division officers detained the man before Metropolitan Police arrived on the scene.A Secret Service official says none of the agency's protected people were at the residence at the time of the incident.

Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday as part of the Biden administration's effort to limit migration from Central American countries into the U.S.

The White House confirmed that Harris will travel to El Paso, Texas Friday with Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas.

During the White House press briefing Wednesday, press secretary Jen Psaki said the trip was part of "the coordinated effort between her office, her work, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services" to address the causes of increased migration.

Psaki later said that Harris hadn't visited earlier because she "didn't want to visit a time when it would be disruptive to efforts on the ground."

Biden tapped Harris earlier this year to lead his administration's effort to contain the large increase of migrants who have been encountered at the border by U.S. officials.

As part of that effort, Harris traveled to Guatemala and Mexico earlier this month to meet with foreign leaders about the root causes of the migration. She did not visit the border during that trip, prompting criticism from Republicans.

Amid her trip, during an interview with NBC's Lester Holt, Harris compared visiting the border with visiting Europe.

"At some point, you know, we are going to the border," Harris said in the interview.

"We've been to the border. So this whole, this whole, this whole thing about the border. We've been to the border. We've been to the border," Harri said.

"You haven't been to the border," Holt responded.

"I, and I haven't been to Europe. And I mean, I don't — I don't understand the point that you're making," Harris said "I'm not discounting the importance of the border."

This story is breaking and will be updated.

GUATEMALA CITY —

With Kamala Harris visiting Guatemala and Mexico on her first foreign trip as vice president, the Biden administration is expected to announce new measures to fight smuggling and trafficking, and hopes to announce additional anti-corruption efforts as well on Monday, a senior administration official said.

The official, who briefed reporters traveling with Harris on Sunday, spoke on condition of anonymity to preview announcements before they have been made public. No further details were provided.

Harris has been tasked by President Joe Biden with addressing the root causes of the spike in migration to the U.S.-Mexico border, and her aides say corruption will be a central focus of her meetings with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Monday and Mexico's Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday.

"Corruption really does sap the the wealth of any country, and in Central America is at a scale where it is a large percentage of GDP across the region," said special envoy Ricardo Zuniga.

"We see corruption as one of the most important root causes to be dealt with," Zuniga added.

The trip got off to a rocky start when Harris' plane returned to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland about 30 minutes after takeoff because of what her spokesperson said was a problem with the landing gear. She departed on another plane and landed late Sunday in in Guatemala City, where she was met by Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo.

Harris is seeking to secure commitments from Guatemala and Mexico for greater cooperation on border security and economic investment, and aides say she will also discuss vaccine sharing during her meetings. But corruption in the region — a far more intractable challenge — will complicate her efforts.

It's already had a significant impact on her work in Central America. Harris has yet to engage substantively with the leaders of Honduras and El Salvador, who are both embroiled in corruption scandals.

Giammattei has faced criticism over corruption within his own government. Zuniga acknowledged that the U.S. government faces a challenge in working with him but argued Harris was in the country in part to have a direct conversation with the president about this and other issues.

"The best way to deal with these cases where you have a very complex relationship in a country like Guatemala is to talk clearly and plainly as partners, as countries that have to get along," he said.

Harris has laid out an approach centered on creating better opportunities and living conditions in the region through humanitarian and economic aid. She announced plans to send $310 million to provide support for refugees and address food shortages, and recently secured commitments from a dozen companies and organizations to invest in the Northern Triangle countries to promote economic opportunity and job training.

Washington won some goodwill through its vaccine diplomacy this past week. Giammattei and López Obrador both received calls from Harris on Thursday telling them the U.S. would be sending 500,000 doses and 1 million doses, respectively, of COVID-19 vaccine.

While in Guatemala, Harris also plans to meet community leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs. In Mexico, she will speak with female entrepreneurs and hold a roundtable with labor workers.

She's underscored the need to address corruption in public remarks and events. In a May meeting with a number of leading voices on Guatemala's justice system, she noted her work as a prosecutor and said that "injustice is a root cause of migration."

"Part of giving people hope is having a very specific commitment to rooting out corruption in the region," she said.

Harris has also raised the issue during virtual meetings with the leaders of both countries, and aides say she will do it again during meetings on her trip. During their past conversations, they have discussed areas of mutual interest — improving port security, fighting smuggling networks, going after corrupt actors — and the goal of this trip is to turn that talk into action, aides say.

While the vice president will make announcements concerning new efforts at cooperation and new programs, she's not expected to announce any new aid during her trip.

While in Latin America, Harris will also have to navigate the politics of immigration. Congressional Republicans have criticized both Biden and Harris for deciding not to visit the border, and contend the administration is ignoring what they say is a crisis there. April was the second-busiest month on record for unaccompanied children encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border, following March's all-time high. The Border Patrol's total encounters in April were up 3% from March, marking the highest level since April 2000.

Conservatives will be watching Harris closely for any missteps, hoping to drag her into further controversy on an issue that they see as a political winner.

In her efforts to win commitments on corruption from the region's leaders, Harris can point to a number of moves by the Biden administration last week.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the problem during his own recent trip to Central America. The White House issued a memo elevating foreign corruption to a major national security issue, and directed all federal agencies to prioritize it and modernize their foreign corruption-fighting tools.

Eric Olson, director of policy at the Seattle International Foundation, which works to promote good governance in Central America, said that addressing corruption will take particular diplomatic skill. Harris will need to hold the leaders of Guatemala and Mexico accountable while also deepening trust and cooperation with the two nations.

"The challenge that she faces is how to, on the one hand, have a conversation, keep the door open — while not seeming to ignore the obvious elephant in the room, which is this incredible penetration of the state by corrupt actors," he said.

In Mexico, López Obrador continues to face a complicated security situation in many parts of the country. Nearly three-dozen candidates or pre-candidates were killed before this weekend’s midterm elections as drug cartels sought to protect their interests. The government’s inability to provide security in parts of the country is of interest to the U.S. in an immigration context, both for the people who are displaced by violence and the impact it has on a severely weakened economy trying reemerge from the pandemic.

The number of Mexicans encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection rose steadily from December through April. Mexico remains a key U.S. ally in trying to slow immigration, not only of its own citizens, but those crossing its territory. Successive U.S. administrations have effectively tried to push their immigration enforcement goals south to Mexico and Guatemala.

Nongovernmental organizations placed Guatemala's widespread corruption at the top of their list of concerns before Harris' visit.

Last month, two lawyers who are outspoken critics of Giammattei's administration were arrested on what they say were trumped-up charges aimed at silencing them.

The selection of judges for Guatemala's Constitutional Court, its highest, was mired in influence peddling and alleged corruption. Giammattei picked his chief of staff to fill one of the five vacancies. When Gloria Porras, a respected force against corruption, was elected to a second term, the congress controlled by Giammattei's party refused to seat her.

Harris' visit comes with high expectations, but experts say clear progress on corruption may be elusive.

"These are societies built on corruption," said Olson. "You're not gonna have an impact in six months."

___

Sherman reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writer Sonia Pérez D. in Guatemala City contributed to this report.