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A comedian performing at a Donald Trump rally has come under fire after he labelled Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage”.

Comic Tony Hinchcliffe later said “these Latinos, they love making babies” and added that they don’t use the pull-out birth control method before Mr Trump took to the stage at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Sunday evening.

The comments sparked significant criticism including among Republican politicians.

As it happened: Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally

Maria Elvira Salazar, who represents parts of Miami for the Republicans and has participated in recent Trump events, wrote on X that she was “disgusted” by the comment.

She said: “This rhetoric does not reflect GOP values. Puerto Rico sent 48,000+ soldiers to Vietnam, with over 345 Purple Hearts awarded. This bravery deserves respect. Educate yourself!”

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What happened at Trump’s six-hour long rally?

Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is of Puerto Rican descent and was born in New York, reacted to the comments during a live stream with Kamala Harris’s running mate Tim Walz.

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“When you have some a-hole calling Puerto Rico ‘floating garbage’, know that that’s what they think about you,” she said.

“It’s what they think about anyone who makes less money than them.”

The photo shows a Republican rally where a large number of supporters gathered to hear former US President Donald Trump's speech on October 27, 2024 in New York.( The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images )
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Elon Musk and Hulk Hogan were among the speakers at the Madison Square Garden rally. Pic: AP

Mr Hinchcliffe defended himself on X, accused Ms Ocasio-Cortez of having “no sense of humour” and said he loves holidaying in Puerto Rico.

Moments after Mr Hinchcliffe made the comments, rapper Bad Bunny endorsed Ms Harris, sharing a video with the Democratic candidate saying “there’s so much at stake in this election for Puerto Rican voters and for Puerto Rico”.

Read more: Was Trump’s rally an evocation of Nazism?

Luis Fonsi, a Puerto Rican artist who sings the hit Despacito, went on Instagram and wrote “going down this racist path ain’t it”.

Meanwhile, Ricky Martin, who had previously endorsed Ms Harris, was also offended by the comment and said “that’s what they think of us,” on Instagram.

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Warming up a Trump rally

Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, also said the joke did “not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign”.

The row may boost the Harris campaign as it tries to bolster its support with Latino voters, among whom Trump has been working to gain ground.

The Puerto Rican vote is sizeable in Pennsylvania, which is arguably the hardest-fought of the swing states in the 2024 election.

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Other speakers at the New York rally also made incendiary comments about Ms Harris, with just more than a week to go until the election.

Mr Trump’s childhood friend David Rem referred to Ms Harris as “the Antichrist” and “the devil”. Businessman Grant Cardone told the crowd that Harris “and her pimp handlers will destroy our country”.

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Among the rally’s other speakers were former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, X owner Elon Musk, TV psychologist Dr Phil McGraw and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump embraces Melania Trump during a rally at Madison Square Garden, in New York, U.S., October 27, 2024. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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Melania Trump introduces her husband. Pic: Reuters

Mr Trump was introduced to the crowd by his wife Melania in a rare public appearance. He was more than more than two hours late to the event.

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Dad who called 911 for help during break-in killed by Las Vegas police officer

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Dad who called 911 for help during break-in killed by Las Vegas police officer

A 43-year-old man was shot dead by police after calling 911 to report intruders had entered his home in Las Vegas.

Brandon Durham was at home with his 15-year-old daughter when he called the emergency line to report armed intruders were trying to break into his property on 12 November.

Bodycam footage shows Mr Durham struggling with a person over a knife in the moments before he was shot and killed at the scene.

“The loss of life in any type of incident like this is always tragic, and it’s something we take very seriously,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said on Thursday.

The force is investigating the incident.

Mr Durham called 911 to report multiple people were outside shooting at his residence in Las Vegas’ Sunset Park neighbourhood, where he had been staying with his 15-year-old daughter, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reports.

It was one of multiple emergency calls reporting a shooting in the area.

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Mr Durham then said someone had managed to get into his home through the front and back doors of the property and he was locking himself in the bathroom, according to a police statement from 14 November, two days after the incident.

Officers reported to the scene at approximately 12:40am and could hear screaming from inside the residence.

One of the officers, Alexander Bookman, kicked open the front door and once inside, saw Mr Durham and another individual, later identified as 31-year-old Alejandra Boudreaux, struggling over a knife in a doorway.

Mr Bookman ordered them to drop the knife and about two seconds later, the officer fired the gun and Mr Durham appeared to be struck, the bodycam footage shows.

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Both Mr Durham and Mr Boudreaux fell to the ground and the officer fired another five shots. Roughly three seconds are believed to have gone by between the first and last shot, NBC reports.

Attempts were made to save the 43-year-old but he died at the scene.

Ms Boudreaux was taken into custody and is facing charges of home invasion with a deadly weapon; assault with a deadly weapon domestic violence; willful or wanton disregard of safety of persons resulting in death; and child abuse, neglect or endangerment.

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Homeless man charged in plot to bomb New York Stock Exchange

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Homeless man charged in plot to bomb New York Stock Exchange

A homeless man has been arrested and charged over a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange.

The 30-year-old man from Florida, Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with attempting to use an explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate commerce, having unveiled some of his plans to undercover agents, according to the FBI.

They began investigating Yener in February based on a tip that he was holding “bomb-making schematics” in a storage unit.

Bomb-making sketches, many watches with timers, electronic circuit boards and other electronics that could be used for building explosive devices were found, the FBI said.

It also said he told undercover FBI agents that he wanted to detonate the bomb the week before Thanksgiving and that the stock exchange in lower Manhattan would be a popular site to target, and that doing so “will wake people up”.

An agent also allegedly recorded him saying: “I feel like Bin Laden.”

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He described how he hoped the bomb would “reboot” the US government, explaining that it would be “like a small nuke went off,” killing everyone inside the building, according to court documents.

The documents also claim he had rewired two-way radios so that they could work as remote triggers for an explosive device and planned to wear a disguise when planting the explosives.

Yener, who had also searched online for things related to bomb-making since 2017, was sacked from his job at a restaurant in Florida last year after his former supervisor said he threatened to “go Parkland shooter in this place”, the FBI added.

He had his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon and will be detained while he awaits a trial.

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Google could be forced to sell its Chrome browser over internet search monopoly claims

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Google could be forced to sell its Chrome browser over internet search monopoly claims

Google must sell its Chrome browser to restore competition in the online search market, US prosecutors have argued.

The proposed breakup has been floated in a 23-page document filed by the US Justice Department.

It also calls for lawmakers to impose restrictions designed to prevent its Android smartphone software from favouring its own search engine.

If the rules were brought in, it would essentially result in Google being highly regulated for 10 years.

Google controls about 90% of the online search market and 95% on smartphones.

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Court papers filed on Wednesday expand on an earlier outline for what prosecutors argued would dilute that monopoly.

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Google called the proposals radical at the time, saying they would harm US consumers and businesses and shake American competitiveness in AI.

The company has said it will appeal.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) and a coalition of states want US District Judge Amit Mehta to end exclusive agreements in which Google pays billions of dollars annually to Apple and other device vendors to be the default search engine on their tablets and smartphones.

Google will have a chance to present its own proposals in December.

A trial on the proposals has been set for April, however President-elect Donald Trump and the DoJ’s next antitrust head could step in.

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