Pittsburg, PA
Puerto Rican community leader in Pittsburgh says comedian’s joke from Trump rally was “disgusting”
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Puerto Rican community leader in Pittsburgh said comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s controversial joke showed an ongoing disregard for the U.S. territory.
During former President Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday afternoon, Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”
“For someone who has no clue about what’s happening on that island and literally doesn’t care, to make such a terrible joke is disgusting to me,” said Monica Ruiz, the vice president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Puerto Rican Agenda.
Ruiz is a leader in several organizations dedicated to Latinos, including the National Puerto Rican Agenda’s Pennsylvania chapter. It’s an organization dedicated to the Puerto Rican community and culture.
She said the comments during Trump’s event on Sunday were out of line.
“It was shocking to me to hear that someone who would refer to such a beautiful island in such a negative way,” Ruiz said.
Ruiz believes many people don’t understand the history of the island. She says the economy and infrastructure struggle because of a lack of support from the U.S. government.
“Every year when I fly into that island and I still see those blue tarps on the roofs, that is a reminder to me of the neglect of the United States government to my people. Because they haven’t gotten their homes repaired after Hurricane Maria,” Ruiz said.
While Puerto Ricans living on the island can’t vote for president, they are American. While living in the United States, they can vote. She believes the comments made during the Trump event may draw more people to the polls.
“What I’m hoping for is that it will activate Puerto Ricans that may not have felt like they wanted to participate in this election because of what it is, will motivate them now to come out and vote,” Ruiz said.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense in a slump, one of their young cornerbacks who is currently on the reserve/injured list could soon be activated and potentially help the team upon his return.
Ahead of their Week 9 game against the Indianapolis Colts, the Steelers have announced that they’ve opened Cory Trice Jr.’s 21-day practice window while he remains on IR.
Should he not be added to the 53-man roster before that window closes, Trice Jr. will be forced to miss the rest of the season.
Last week, head coach Mike Tomlin responded with a simple, “He is,” when asked if the third-year corner was nearing a return to the practice field.
Trice has dealt with a littany of injuries going all the way back to his days in college at Purdue. He suffered a season-ending ACL injury with the Boilermakers in 2021, and he then slid in the 2023 NFL Draft as a result.
Pittsburgh landed him in the seventh round that year with the No. 241 overall pick, but his rookie campaign was wiped out before it could even truly begin after he tore his ACL during training camp.
Trice Jr. recovered in time to participate in both OTAs and training camp last summer while also appearing in all three preseason contests, earning a 53-man roster spot in the process.
He suited up in each of the Steelers’ first three games of the 2024 season, but he suffered a hamstring injury that kept him on IR until Week 17.
Pittsburgh added a slew of cornerbacks this past offseason, including Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay Jr., Brandin Echols and Donte Kent, but Trice was still in position to earn a roster spot heading into training camp.
His hamstring affliction, which he suffered on August 1, kept him sidelined during the entire preseason before he was placed on IR at final roster cuts.
The Steelers’ secondary has struggled for essentially the entire season up to this point, but they’ve begun switching things up. They first benched Slay in favor of Echols during their Week 8 matchup with the Green Bay Packers before acquiring Kyle Dugger in a trade from the New England Patriots after DeShon Elliott suffered a knee injury that resulted in him being placed on IR.
Ramsey, Slay, Echols and Joey Porter Jr. are still entrenched as Pittsburgh’s quartet at the cornerback position at the moment, but Trice Jr. has the potential to develop into a useful player for Pittsburgh.
It remains to be seen if he’ll see the field much on defense when, and if, he returns, but he’d be a nice depth piece to have down the stretch.
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Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh-area native riding out Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica says it’s “the scariest thing”
As Hurricane Melissa rips through Jamaica, thousands of locals and visitors are riding it out, including a woman from southwestern Pennsylvania.
As the winds blew and the rain came pouring down in Montego Bay, Antoinette Margita hunkered down in her hotel, filled with anxiety.
“I just don’t know what to expect. I’ve never been through anything like this,” Margita said. “It’s probably the scariest thing.”
From Duquesne, she flew out of Pittsburgh and got to Jamaica on Friday for what was supposed to be a trip celebrating her friend’s birthday. But when there were early signs of a potential storm, her friend decided to stay back.
“I should have listened to her,” Margita said.
She could not get an early flight out, so she enjoyed the sunshine until Monday night, when the front started to come in and pick up Tuesday morning.
“I kind of feel like I’m in a movie. It’s not real, but it is real,” Margita said. “You can hear like the wind. It’s like whistling. The door sounds like the door is going to come open.”
The hotel gave the guests care packages with lots of water, along with notes on how to ride out the hurricane, instructing them to put a mattress against the window.
So far, so good, as her hotel is running on a generator, but shortly after Melissa made landfall nearly 40 miles away, a little water started flooding under her door.
“Just thinking positive and just trying to talk to my friends on the phone to get me through it,” Margita said.
As the hours go on, Margita hopes things don’t get worse, waiting for the moment she can fly back to Pittsburgh.
“I just want to come home, honestly, that’s what I want,” Margita said.
Margita was originally supposed to fly out on Tuesday. The flight was, of course, cancelled, as was her new flight for Wednesday. It’s unclear when the airport will reopen.
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