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By Amy Langfield
February 06, 2026
By Amy Langfield
February 06, 2026
Good afternoon and welcome to your afternoon news update from AP. Today, President Trump’s racist post about the Obamas is deleted after a backlash; emails reveal Jeffrey Epstein helped arrange a White House visit for Woody Allen in 2015; and a man whose mother was found among 189 decaying bodies in Colorado tells his story.
UP FIRST
Former President Barack Obama talks with then President-elect Donald Trump as Melania Trump reads the funeral program before the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Trump’s racist post about Obamas is deleted after backlash despite White House earlier defending it
President Donald Trump’s social media post featuring former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as primates in a jungle was deleted after a backlash from both Republicans and Democrats who criticized the video as racist. The Republican president’s Thursday night post was deleted Friday and blamed on a staffer after widespread backlash. Read more.
Epstein emails show he helped arrange White House visit for Woody Allen
Emails in the huge trove of Jeffrey Epstein records released by the Justice Department in recent days illustrate his relationship with Woody Allen in new depth. In 2015, Epstein used his connections to another friend who had been in President Barack Obama’s administration to help get Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, a White House tour. Read more.
Man whose mother was found among 189 decaying bodies tells the story
Derrick Johnson buried his mother’s ashes in 2023 beneath a golden dewdrop tree with purple blossoms alongside his home on Maui’s Haleakalā Volcano, fulfilling her wish of a final resting place looking over her grandchildren. One year later, the FBI called and told him those weren’t his mother’s ashes. Johnson’s mother’s remains were among nearly 200 bodies found decomposing inside a Colorado funeral home. The owners sent families fake ashes in an attempt to conceal their actions and were arrested and charged with abuses of corpses. One of those owners will be sentenced Friday and Johnson will be among the people who will confront him in court to tell him how much pain he’s endured. Read more.
Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show performer Bad Bunny departs after a news conference, Thursday, in San Francisco ahead of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Singer Mariah Carey performs during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Live updates: Milan Cortina Winter Olympics kicks off with a four-site, two-cauldron opening ceremony
An unprecedented four-site, dual-cauldron Winter Olympics opening ceremony replete with references to Italian icons and culture has officially kicked off the Milan Cortina Games. Follow along with our live blog; check out the fashion; and see our Winter Olympics 2026 guide. You can also sign up for our daily Olympics newsletter, helmed by your regular Afternoon Wire writer, Sallee Ann Harrison.
Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Amy
Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Amy
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