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Kamala Harris has warned Donald Trump is “fixated” on division – amid growing unrest over a comedian’s racist jokes at a rally for the Republican presidential nominee.

Appearing at the Trump rally on Sunday, Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and said “these Latinos, they love making babies”.

He made the remarks ahead of Mr Trump himself taking the stage at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

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Donald Trump points his finger next to Melania Trump during a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden.
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Donald Trump points his finger at Melania Trump during one of her rare appearances by his side during this campaign.
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Donald Trump hosts rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden
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Donald Trump’s rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden

After they sparked significant criticism from Republican and Democratic politicians, officials from the Trump campaign have been scrambling to distance themselves from Hinchcliffe’s remarks.

Vice president Kamala Harris, speaking on Monday outside Air Force Two, said: “I think last night, Donald Trump’s event in Madison Square Garden really highlighted a point that I’ve been making throughout this campaign.

“He is focused and actually fixated on his grievances on himself and on dividing our country and it is not in any way something that will strengthen the American family, the American worker.

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“It is nothing about what he is saying that is actually going to support the aspirations, the dreams and the ambitions of the American people.

“There’s a big difference between he and I. If he were elected on day one, he’s going to be sitting in the Oval Office working on his enemies list.”

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Puerto Rico is ‘floating island of garbage’

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

“This rhetoric does not reflect GOP [Republican] values,” she said.

Puerto Rico sent 48,000+ soldiers to Vietnam, with over 345 Purple Hearts awarded. This bravery deserves respect. Educate yourself!”

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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Trump rally an evocation of Nazism?

“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.”

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 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”.

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

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

Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, insisted 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 Mr 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 Ms Harris “and her pimp handlers will destroy our country”.

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

Mr Trump was introduced to the crowd by his wife, Melania, who was making a rare public appearance.

He was more than two hours late to the event.

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Trump pick Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration to be US attorney general

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Trump pick Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration to be US attorney general

Donald Trump ally Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration to be the next US attorney general.

Mr Gaetz, a controversial pick to be the country’s top legal official, said his selection was “unfairly becoming a distraction” to the transition of Mr Trump’s administration into the White House.

The Florida Republican had faced significant scrutiny over a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl.

He said in a post on the X social media platform: “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as attorney general. Trump’s DOJ (Department of Justice) must be in place and ready on Day 1.

“I remain fully committed to seeing that Donald Trump is the most successful president in history. I will forever be honoured that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”

Mr Trump said in a post on his own social media site, Truth Social, that Mr Gaetz had a “wonderful future”.

“I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General,” he wrote.

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“He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect.”

Mr Gaetz previously faced a nearly three-year Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl, which ended in February 2023 without him facing any criminal charges.

He has always denied the allegations.

He has also been under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over wider allegations including sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and accepting improper gifts.

The inquiry was dropped on Wednesday 13 November when Mr Gaetz left Congress – the only forum where the committee has jurisdiction.

The Senate ethics committee is deadlocked on whether their report can be released.

Mr Gaetz’s withdrawal is a blow to Mr Trump’s push to install steadfast loyalists in his incoming administration and the first sign that he could face resistance from members of his own party.

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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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