Reuters World News - UPDATE- Trump’s racist Obama post, Olympics and Japan election

Episode Date: February 6, 2026

This podcast was updated for the latest news on the White House’s removal of a racist video posted by Trump, the Olympic opening ceremony and a blast in Pakistan. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. And I'm Christopher Walgessper in Chicago. Today. A racist video is posted, then deleted, from President Trump's social media. Iran calls nuclear talks with the U.S. a good start. And why penis injections, and yes, you heard that right, are the big topic at this year's Winter Olympics. This is Royce's World News,

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Empecies to your period of a month in Shopify 7 days a week. We start in the White House, where officials have removed a racist video posted on President Donald Trump's social media. The video that included images depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes sparked outrage when it appeared on the president's truth social account.

It drew bipartisan criticism, including from a Trump ally. Republican Senator Tim Scott said he was praying it was fake, because it was, quote, the most racist thing he'd seen from this White House. The White House first defended the post, but then removed it 12 hours later. Officials now say it was erroneously made by a White House staffer. The U.S. has arrested a key suspect in the 2012 attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Attorney General Pam Bondi says Zubayar al-Bakush has been extradited to the United States and now faces an eight-count indictment, including murder, attempted murder, arson,

and terrorism-related charges. Four Americans were killed in that attack, which the U.S. has said was a planned assault by extremists. Two other suspects have already been convicted, and another was killed in 2015 in an airstrike. The Winter Olympics have officially kicked off with some star power. Mariah Carey performing Volare in Milan's San Ciro. Stadium. The ceremony stretched across multiple venues with Milan and the Alps sharing the spotlight. In the stands, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

While outside, protests flared over the presence of U.S. security agents linked to ice. But the most curious story so far is about penis enlargement. Claims that male ski jumpers are artificially enhanced. their penis size to gain an aerodynamic advantage. Oshin-Chine, our sports editor, has more. Yes, I mean, day at the Olympics. So obviously, all anyone is talking about is penis enlargement. Essentially, it's about ski jumpers injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid or

paraffin, apparently, to secure a different cut of their ski suit, which can have meters to their jumps. So think about it like, I guess, a flying squirrel. and the fabric, the ski jumpers are measured at the start of the season and there's a certain measurement point and from that point the ski suit is cut. So if they can enlarge their genitals in some way, then the distance between the neck and the bottom of the trunk of their body where the ski suit is is longer.

And just two centimetres of additional fabric can add 5.8 metres to a jump. This first surfaced inbuilt. The German newspaper reported that ski jumpers were doing this. I mean, certainly people go to great lengths to get an advantage in the suit. This obviously would be fairly extreme. FIS, the World Ski Federation has said, you know, there's nothing to see here. Nobody's doing this. While the World Anti-Doping Agency said that they would look into if this was happening

and if it would constitute technical doping. Iran says nuclear talks with the United States in Oman are often, to a, quote, good start. Tehran says the dialogue will continue, but it's drawing a clear red line. It won't discuss its missile program, something Washington has been pushing for. Iran is showing some flexibility on uranium enrichment, but is insisting that the U.S. sanctions must be lifted. The talks come as U.S. naval forces build up near Iran, with Tehran warning it will respond to any strike. At least 31 people are dead and nearly 170 wounded in Pakistan after a suicide bomber struck a Shiite mosque in Islamabad during Friday prayers.

It's the deadliest attack in Pakistan's capital in more than a decade. The bomber was stopped at the mosque gate before detonating the blast. No group has claimed responsibility. The attack comes amid a surge in militant violence across Pakistan. President Trump has rejected an offer from Russia's Vladimir Putin to voluntarily extend a nuclear arms treaty, writing on Truth Social that they should instead have our nuclear experts work on a new, improved and modernized treaty. Washington and Moscow have agreed to re-establish high-level military-to-military dialogue, possibly signaling a move toward normalizing some ties between the two.

In the U.S., Democrats are pushing. for new limits on President Trump's immigration crackdown ahead of a deadline, now a week away, to keep funding the Department of Homeland Security. But Republicans who control Congress so far aren't budging. At issue is whether immigration agents can wear masks, enter homes without judicial warrants, and conduct sweeps instead of targeted raids. Democrats hope they'll have better luck with Trump. White House spokesperson, Caroline Levitt, says,

Trump will consider the demands to a point. I know Senator Schumer and Leader Jeffrey sent over a very long list of demands, some of which the administration is willing to discuss. Others don't seem like they are grounded in any common sense, and they are non-starters for this administration. The White House says President Trump has not discussed formal plans to deploy ICE near polling sites in November, but it wouldn't rule it out.

The statement follows comments from former advisor, Bannon saying ICE should surround the polls and Trump's call this week to nationalize elections, both of which are raising concerns about voter intimidation ahead of the midterms. Investigators in Arizona say they still believe Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC Today Show host Savannah Guthrie, is alive. Authorities have discovered her doorbell camera and pacemaker app were both disabled early Sunday morning when she was taken. And Pima County Sheriff, Chris Nanos says they found DNA evidence too. The blood on the porch, that was one we did. It came back to Nancy.

With no suspects identified and no proof of life, the FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information. Japan heads to the polls on Sunday, and the country's 64-year-old Prime Minister, Sanai Takaichi, is finding followers in unexpected ways. Younger voters are driving a full-blown craze, creating a youth-led fandom being dubbed Sanakatsu, or in English, Sanamania. Reporter Tim Kelly has more from Tokyo. So if you look at how many followers,

Prime Minister Takaichi has on the X platform, $2.6 million. Now, by a US or European standard, that might not have seen too many, but if you compare that to the leader of the main opposition party, he has 60,000 followers. So there's a huge gap. Appearing on viral videos of her drumming with the sub-Baroom president

or singing happy birthday to Italian Prime Minister Melodi. So they're very much getting a lot of online, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X, you know, you see a lot more posting. But Tim says there's also a physical element to it. So she carries a bag that's made by a bagmaker in Japan called Hamano. They've seen a backlog of nine months in orders because of demand. She carries a pink pen that she's been seen scribbling notes in parliament and at press conferences and there's been an increase in sales. So the polling ahead of the election shows her on course to get a big majority, a landslide victory.

And we do believe from what the indications we've seen and from, you know, what we've seen in the polling, that a lot of that could come from the young voters. And for a final play before your weekend, we will stick with sports and a recommended listen. Tune in to On Assignment with Ethan Plotkin, our very own Pats fan, for everything you need to know ahead of the Super Bowl 60. And it's not just about the touchdowns, but also the noise outside the lines as this year's game has become a lightning rod for the culture wars.

That pod drops on Saturday morning. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest. news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.