MON SIX

Obama made the comments after podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen said in the interview that a series of messages from White House officials,such as the video posted by Trumpand administration officials labeling people who died at the hands of ICE agentsas "domestic terrorists,"showed a level of cruelty that would have been disqualifying in earlier political times. He asked Obama how the country can come back from that discourse.

Barack Obama served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Take a look at his life in photos.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sen. Barack Obama poses for a portrait on Feb. 2, 2006, at the Capitol.

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See former President Barack Obama's journey to White House and his life after

Barack Obama served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Take a look at his life in photos.

"It is true that it gets attention. It's true that it's a distraction,"Obama said. "But as I'm traveling around the country, as you're traveling around the country, you meet people, they still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness."

"There's this sort of clown show that's happening in social media and on television, and what is true is that there doesn't seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sort of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office," Obama added.

More:Trump shared Obama ape video. Here's the dark history behind the imagery.

The video was one of several posts on Trump's Truth Social account in the late hours of Feb. 5 and early hours of Feb. 6. A brief portion at the end of the video showed the faces of the Obamas on the bodies of two apes, in what appeared to be a jungle.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at one point defended the video as a depiction of Trump "as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King."

However,the post was deleted Feb. 6. Later that day on Air Force One, Trump said that he had only looked at the first part of the video, and hadn't seen the part with the Obamas.

"We took it down as soon as we found out about it," Trump said.

Asked whether he would apologize, Trump said, "No, I didn't make a mistake."

Contributing: Zac Anderson – USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Clown show': Barack Obama responds to Trump post of Obamas as apes

The wait has been frustrating. But making matters worse: While she's in limbo, the government employee responsible for distributing payments to people whose homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged has already received a six-figure payment.

"They cannot figure out for the life of them how to pay us," said Mathews of Las Vegas, New Mexico, "but they sure as hell figured out how to pay themselves."

From floods to fires: See FEMA respond to disasters across the US

Four years after the fire, the worst in New Mexico's history, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is facing questions about how it has administered a compensation fund set up by Congress to help the wildfire victims. Critics are demanding to know how the money has been distributed, who has received it and whether it's going to the people who need it most.

People who have filed claims complain that the review process has been complicated, frustrating and painstakingly slow and that cases are closed with no notice and no money awarded for their losses.

"Getting money fromFEMA, that's like getting blood from a rock," Mathews said. "They're not giving us anything."

On Thursday, Feb. 12, FEMA placed the director in charge of distributing the money and his deputy on administrative leave after revelations that each received six-figure payouts through the program while other victims are waiting for their claims to be processed.

Jay Mitchell, who works out of the FEMA claims office in Santa Fe, and his wife, Lisa, a real-estate broker, were awarded $524,000 through the compensation fund last year, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY. The money was to be used to repair smoke and ash damage to the couple's home in Angel Fire, New Mexico, and to cover Lisa Mitchell's reported business losses, the documents say.

An independent news outlet calledSource New Mexicowas the first to report the payments.

Lisa Mitchell said in a brief phone interview with USA TODAY that she and her husband have been unfairly targeted. "We're being harassed for absolutely no wrongdoing," she said, declining to respond to a reporters' questions.

Jay Mitchell's deputy, Jennifer Carbajal, and a woman named Jennifer Sanchez, identified in local news reports as her ex-wife, also received $267,000 for smoke and ash cleaning and for flooding at a consulting business in Pendaries, New Mexico, the records show.

FEMA and Carbajal did not respond to requests for comment. But Paul Judson, a deputy assistant administrator in FEMA's headquarters in Washington, stressed in an email to staff of the Santa Fe office that the decision to place Mitchell and Carbajal on leave "does not reflect a finding of wrongdoing."

Judson did not say how long either would remain on leave or whether they will be paid while they are away. Juan Ayala, a senior FEMA official, will oversee the office's daily operations, he said.

Criticism of FEMA's handling of the payments comes as the agency is already under intense scrutiny in Washington. PresidentDonald Trump's administration has initiated a dramatic overhaul of the agency, which is responsible for coordinating the federal government's response to natural disasters. Trump has repeatedly characterized FEMA as ineffective and has pushed for states to have a larger role in disaster response.

Hundreds of jobs at the agency have been eliminated since Trump began his second term last year. A lawsuit filed in January by employees' unions and public interest groups says claims the Department of Homeland Security plans even deeper cuts, with more than 10,000 of the agency's roughly 20,000 employees expected to be terminated in the coming months.

Questions about the agency's handling of the compensation fund for the wildfire victims and the disclosure that Mitchell and Carbajal each received large payments have infuriated several of the state's elected leaders and families and business owners who are still waiting for their claims to be processed.

"It's a slap in the face that Mr. Mitchell and his wife got paid out," said Maria Lowe, a community activist who has been assisting people with their claims. "He should be ashamed of himself."

'Disproportionately devastating':California to investigate if Eaton Fire response involved discrimination

'Like poking a rock with a stick'

Mathews and her family did what they could to help friends and neighbors as the flames scorched and scarred just about everything in their path.

They housed firefighter crews on their ranch. Her restaurant, the Prairie Hill Café, provided meals to neighbors whose homes or businesses were destroyed or heavily damaged. Her father, Oren Mathews, who owns a gravel and well-digging company, dispatched water trucks that helped save other people's homes.

Mathews vividly remembers riding in one of her father's water trucks through thick smoke as black as the night to help family members and other ranchers save their homes.

At one point, a state trooper who had blocked the road with his vehicle stopped them and said they would not be allowed to continue. It was too dangerous, he said. The truck driver, one of her father's employees, told the officer to move his car and let them through or he'd run over it.

"You'll have to shoot us to stop us," he said.

Mathews' father suffered smoke inhalation while helping battle the flames and had to be hospitalized. He now has permanent lung damage. But people like him weren't willing to watch their homes and ranches go up in flames without a fight.

"We're stewards of our land," Sara Jo Mathews said. "They were not going to abandon their ranch that's been here for generations and their sheep and their horses and their cows to let them burn. They stayed and fought."

The destruction from the inferno, known as the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, was surreal.

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More than 341,417 acres of rugged mountain terrain burned across three counties in northern New Mexico between early April and late June in 2022. The conflagration started as two separate fires – one that resulted when the U.S. Forest Service lost control of a prescribed burn at the base of Hermits Peak in the Pecos Wilderness, the other when a holdover burn pile from the previous winter reignited near Gallinas Canyon.

Heavy winds fanned the flames and merged the two fires into one. As many as1,400 structures, including houses, were destroyed. Dozens of others were damaged.

People lost homes, cars and trucks, businesses, livestock, pets, even their land. Buildings that were left standing suffered heavy smoke and ash damage. Flooding in the following weeks and months worsened the damage and the misery.

To help with the recovery, Congress created a special fund in September 2022 and provided $5.4 billion to compensate those who suffered losses. The goal was to set up a simple, expedited process to submit a claim. Jay Mitchell, who had worked for the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, was hired in April 2024 to oversee the FEMA claims office responsible for distributing the money.

But people who sought compensation say the process for filing claims was far from quick or easy.

FEMA demanded detailed paperwork, such as insurance forms or payroll records, that many mom-and-pop businesses didn't have. Some people filing claims complained that they spent hours gathering the necessary documents – only to have FEMA lose them and ask for them again.

As of Feb. 4, FEMA had paid 23,549 proof of loss claims totaling $3.36 billion, according to the office of Sen.Martin Heinrich, D-NM. How many claims are pending is unclear. FEMA did not respond to a request to provide those numbers. But community leaders say at least 73 people who suffered total losses to their homes or businesses are still waiting for their claims to be processed. The number of pending claims is likely significantly larger since people can file multiple claims.

Aninspector general's reportissued on Feb. 24, 2025, found that 13% of claims already filed were overdue a response. Specifically, FEMA had not acknowledged 1,508 of 11,695 active claims more than six months after they were filed, the report said.

Lowe said at least 20 of the 75 people she has helped with their claims are still waiting to hear how much money they'll receive, if any.

One of them is El Rialto Restaurant, a small family-owned eatery in Las Vegas, New Mexico, that has been in business for over half a century. The business was forced to shut down for extended periods during the fire and its aftermath, Lowe said. The owner filed a claim with FEMA in July 2024 to recover his losses, but nothing happened.

Lowe got involved, helped the owner find the necessary documents and filed them with FEMA. The "navigator," or FEMA employee assigned to the case, estimated the restaurant's losses at $180,000. Lowe thought they were higher, but was still gathering paperwork to make her case. The navigator advised them to sign the paperwork and said the loss estimate could be adjusted later, Lowe said.

Lowe was stunned when she discovered later that he had closed the case without telling them. The restaurant would get no money. When Lowe complained, the navigator suggested she should appeal and even said he thought she had a good case, she said.

"He just needed me to sign something so he could close out the case," a frustrated Lowe said. "He never had any intention of allowing us to submit further documentation."

Mathews said dealing with FEMA has been exasperating. "It's like poking a rock with a stick and saying, 'Move! Move! Move!'" she said.

Three members of New Mexico's congressional delegation – Heinrich, Sen.Ben Ray Lujanand Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez – say they have been working with claimants to help them get the money they are due.

In November, the three lawmakers, all Democrats, sent a letter to FEMA raising concerns about how the program had been administered, citing a lack of communication, trust and urgency by the agency. They demanded to know how many claims are outstanding, how many are tied up in appeals and how much of the funding has been spent on administrative costs.

FEMA has yet to respond, Heinrich's office said.

'A big problem'

The revelations that Mitchell and Carbajal had received six-figure payments added to the frustration. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the three Congress members have called for Mitchell's resignation.

"When the person in charge of claims moves himself to the front of the line and receives a half-million-dollar payout while thousands of others are still waiting to be made whole, that's a big problem," said the governor's spokesman, Michael Coleman.

If Mitchell refuses to resign, Coleman said, he should be fired immediately.

State Rep. Joseph Sanchez, a Democrat whose district in northcentral New Mexico was the epicenter of the fires, said residents of the impacted areas "deserve much better than how they have been treated by FEMA."

"Jay Mitchell must go," he said.

Families and businesses affected by the fire are hurting, but they'll survive, Mathews said. New Mexicans are strong, she said. Some live in communities that were founded centuries ago and are among the oldest in the nation.

"Long after the federal government forgets us, we'll be here, pulling each other up, helping one another," Mathews said. "We have survived because of our resilience and our close-knit communities. And we're not going to give up."

With or without the government's help.

Michael Collins writes about the intersection of politics and culture. A veteran reporter, he has covered the White House and Congress. Follow him on X: @mcollinsNEWS

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:A FEMA director got wildfire payments while New Mexico victims wait

• The FDA upgraded a nationwide cake mix recall to Class I due to undeclared milk allergens.

• The recall affects large commercial Spice Cake and Swiss Chocolate Cake mixes.

• Businesses are urged to stop using the products due to serious allergy risks.

If you've got a baking project on the calendar, you might want to double-check what mix you're using first. Anationwide recallinvolving commercial cake mixes has just been upgraded to the FDA's most serious classification, meaning there's a real risk for people with certain food allergies.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has elevated a recall involving Dallas-based B.C. Williams Bakery Service to aClass I recall, its highest warning level. That classification signals there's a reasonable chance that consuming the product could cause serious health consequences or even death.

The issue traces back to undeclared milk found in certain cake mixes, meaning milk wasn't listed on the label despite being present. While milk might seem harmless to most shoppers, it can trigger severe or life-threatening reactions in people with dairy allergies, especially children and those with diagnosed sensitivities.

The recall originally began in late December but was recently escalated after further review. The affected products were distributed nationwide, though exact retail or foodservice destinations haven't been fully clarified. Because these mixes are sold in large 50-pound bags, they're more commonly used by bakeries, restaurants, and large-scale food operations than by home bakers.

The products included in the recall areSpice Cake MixandSwiss Chocolate Cake Mix,both in 50-pound bags. The specific lot numbers can be foundhere.

Businesses or distributors in possession of the affected mixes are being urged not to use them and to dispose of the products or return them to their supplier. For consumers, the biggest concern is indirect exposure. If you or someone in your householdhas a milk allergyand you've recently bought baked goods from local bakeries or foodservice locations, it may be worth asking about ingredient sourcing until the recall is fully resolved.

No illnesses have been officially confirmed at this time, but a Class I designation shows the FDA isn't taking chances.

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Fiala had surgerySaturday on his left leg, and he won't play again in the tournament after getting injured when he got tangled up with Tom Wilson duringSwitzerland's game against Canada. Given the likelihood that it's severe enough to end his NHL season, too, it's not just a blow to Switzerland but also the Los Angeles Kings as they push to try to make the playoffs.

"It sucks for him and for us," Kings teammate Adrian Kempe said afterSweden's game against Slovakia. "It's really tough for him personally and for us as a team. You know how much he means to our team back home in L.A. It's just very unfortunate for him that it comes in a tournament like this that we've been looking forward to playing in for so long."

The NHL is backin the Games for the first time since 2014, when John Tavares' season with the New York Islanders was cut short whenhe tore ligamentsin his left knee playing for Canada in Sochi. Owners decided not to go to Pyeongchang in 2018 for various reasons, and losing players to injuries at the Olympics has always been an argument against taking part.

Two decades ago in Turin, six-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender and two-time NHL MVP Dominik Hasek tore an adductor muscle, just below his groin, and did not play again for the Ottawa Senators. They lost in the second round when backup Ray Emery allowed 16 goals in five games, and owner Eugene Melnyk in 2021 beforehis death in 2022said Hasek's injury cost his team a shot at the Stanley Cup.

Brock Nelson was on the Islanders 12 years ago when they had to go the rest of the way without Tavares and missed the playoffs.

"Johnny was our leader at the time," said Nelson, who's playing for the U.S. in Milan. "Devastating. You're happy for him to go over there and represent his country on the biggest stage, but to see him go down was tough. And then for us on the Island, you have to try and bridge that gap as best you can."

Nelson knows exactly how Kempe and the Kings feel from that experience.

"Obviously you're never going to replace guys like that — both Johnny and Kevin — but there's opportunity for guys to be had and I'm sure it'll be a group mindset for them to try to overcome it," Nelson said.

The Kingsacquiring high-scoring winger Artemi Panarinin a trade with the New York Rangers just before the roster freeze on Feb. 4 is certainly a boost, but Fiala's absence still creates a void. He's their second-leading scorer with 40 points in 46 games.

"It's really tough," Kings teammate Joel Armia said after Finland's game against Italy. "As soon as I saw it, I was so sad. Yeah, it's not great."

A team spokesperson said general manager Ken Holland and coach Jim Hiller will address Fiala's status when L.A. resumes practice on Wednesday.

The Kings are three points out of the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with 26 games remaining and will attempt to close that gap without Fiala.

"I hope it's a speedy recovery for Kevin," said Kempe, who leads the team with 46 points. "He's an unbelievable player, a great teammate and obviously it sucks to see something happen like that to him."

Kempe, Nelson and the rest of the NHL players at the Olympics expressed empathy over Fiala's injury. They understand anything can happen when they step onto the ice.

"It's hockey: You can injure yourself in a practice, in a game," Slovakia's Martin Fehervary said. "Hockey's a hard sport, and you never know when you can get injured."

Fehervary has played with Wilson in the league with the Washington Capitals for the past five years. Before that, Czechia's Michal Kempny won the Stanley Cup with Wilson and the Capitals in 2018 and found it incredibly difficult to watch the play on which Fiala was injured.

"I think it was an unlucky accident," Kempny said. "I know Tommy very well: a great man, a great guy, a great teammate. He's a guy that he's tough to play against, for sure, but the play last night, I think it was an unlucky play — an accident."

Accidents and injuries happen in every sport, as evidenced byLindsey Vonn's horrific crash up in the mountainsthat broke her left leg. Those involved in hockey at the Olympics do not want to use Fiala getting hurt as any sort of excuse not to participate.

"We're very conscious of it," U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said. "It's a violent game, it's a physical game and you're always going to assume risk. It's the nature of the sport. Everybody understands it. But these guys are hockey players. That's what they do, that's what they love and they're going to play hockey."

AP Winter Olympics:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Ford suffered a gruesome lower left ankle injury after he rounded first base and was celebrating his home run. As he faced his dugout, his left ankle rolled outward with his foot on the ground and he fell to the dirt.

(Warning: the video below shows Ford's injury.)

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Ford's injury was so serious that a stretcher was brought out on the field. A pinch runner was allowed to replace him and score Ford's run from the homer.

Friday was college baseball's first day of the season and the two teams were playing in the Puerto Rico Challenge. A junior in 2026, Ford appeared in 17 games as a sophomore with 12 starts. He had a .171 average and his home run against the Eagles was the third of his career.

Boston College won the game 6-4 and will play Houston on Saturday while Seton Hall takes on Manhattan.

Northern Iowa announced that tight end Parker Sutherland died Saturday morning.

Sutherland was a freshman in 2025 and played in four games. He was a native of Iowa City, Iowa.

"I'm heartbroken," Northern Iowa coach Todd Stepsis said in a statement. "No words can express my condolences to [parents] Adam, Jill and [sister] Georgia. Parker embodied everything we look for in a UNI Football Panther. His talent and potential excited us on a daily basis, but it failed to compare to the type of person and teammate he was. His character, humility, toughness and genuine love of others are what champions are made of. While I'm saddened that our time together was short, we will celebrate the bright light that he brought to our football team for the rest of our lives."

On Thursday, a spokesperson for Northern Iowasaid in a statement to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courierthat "Cedar Falls Fire & Rescue responded to a call at the UNI Athletics facilities on Thursday. There are no further details that can be shared at this time."

Saturday morning,CBS 2 in Cedar Rapids reportedthat "multiple sources tell Iowa's News Now that Sutherland collapsed during a workout that day."

Sutherland appeared in games against Utah Tech, North Dakota, Illinois State and Murray State. He was a second-team all-state player at Iowa City High School as a senior in 2024.

"It is a heartbreaking day for our Panther Athletics family with the passing of Parker Sutherland," athletic director Megan Franklin said. "He embraced the opportunity to play Panther football and represent the university through sport. We are devastated — just devastated. The blessing is that we have a Panther family who will hold the Sutherland family, our football team, and our athletics staff close as we grieve."

All Star HBCU Classic Basketball

It was the Aggies' first lead since they scored the game's first basket.

Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt's potential tying floater just missed at the buzzer.

Middleton's defense was key over the final 57 seconds. He had consecutive steals that led to baskets by the Aggies (10-14, 3-10 Coastal Athletic) after they trailed by eight with nearly six minutes to go.

Lewis Walker led the Aggies with 18 points, including four straight free throws that tied the game at 68-all. Middleton finished with 15 points, including 6 of 7 free throws, and Will Felton added 12 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting.

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Hampton (12-14, 6-7) was outscored 9-2 over the final 43 seconds, getting just two free throws by Gaines-Wyatt. He and Xzavier Long led the Pirates with 17 points each. Elijah Kennedy had 13 points off the bench. They had five players in foul trouble, including Long and Josh Ogundele who fouled out.

The neutral court matchup counted as a conference game for the schools that traveled over 2,500 miles to play in Kia Forum, the former home of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Both schools brought their bands, cheerleaders and mascots. The Pack Drumline that plays for Chicago Bulls and Chicago Sky games entertained before the game while Black fraternities and sororities showed off their dance moves. Chloe Bailey sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing" and the national anthem.

The HBCU Classic started five years ago during Black History Month to highlight historically Black colleges and universities as part of NBA All-Star weekend.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphere. AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball