The Erase Button: Text messages for President Trump’s acting homeland security secretary Chad Wolf and acting deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli for the critical period  leading to the January 6^thinsurrection are missing, The Washington Post reports, according to unnamed sources.

  It’s similar to the story of the missing Secret Service texts purportedly lost in a switchover of telephones.  DHS notified its agency’s inspector general in late February that Wolf and Cuccinelli’s texts were lost in a “reset” of their government phones when they left their jobs in January 2021, the Post reports.

  The communications of Wolf and Cuccinelli in those days would be valuable in determining what Trump was saying and doing surrounding the insurrection. In the weeks before the Capitol assault, Trump had been pressuring both men to help him claim that the 2020 election results were rigged and even to have voting machines seized in key swing states.

  As for the missing secret Service messages, The Post reports that experts are stunned and divided on their opinion whether it was an act of incompetence or intentional coverup.

Flooding: At least 16 people are dead and many are missing after flooding in eastern Kentucky this week. Twelve counties and two cities have declared states of emergency and authorities suspect more bodies might be found.

  Gov. Andy Beshear said it might take weeks to find all the victims. Interrupted cell service and other forms of communication have prevented the state from making an accurate count of the people both accounted and not accounted for. Beshear estimates that nearly 300 people have been rescued by aircraft or boat.

The War Zone: As many as 50 Ukrainian prisoners held by the Russians in a southeastern Ukraine prison were killed by an explosion. Both sides are blaming the other.

  The blast that ripped through barracks in a prison camp in the Russian-occupied town of Olenivka also wounded and maimed dozens more prisoners, according to both Ukrainian and Russian officials. Russian war reporters posted videos of twisted bunks and charred bodies. 

  Russia claimed the explosion came from an American-made rocket used by the Ukraine military. The Ukrainians say the Russians did it themselves and neither version has been verified.

Teed Off: One of the controversies of the week is that Donald Trump is hosting a golf tournament at his New Jersey club sponsored by the Saudi sponsored LIV Golf. 

  Big name golfers playing for Saudi money has caused some critics to call it “sports washing” of the Saudi reputation. Trump fed it the other day by backing off his previous condemnation of Saudi Arabia for the 9/11 attacks, saying “nobody’s gotten to the bottom of 9/11.” Well, they have, and 15 of the 19 terrorists were Saudi.

  While he’s out there on the links, Trump has been surrounded by the presidential seal on things like towels and bags on the heads of golf clubs. It’s illegal to use the presidential seal in a way that suggests commercial sponsorship.

The Obit Page: Aaron Latham, the writer whose Esquire magazine article became the basis for the John Travolta movie “Urban Cowboy,” has died of the effects of Parkinson’s disease at age 78.

  Latham was married to CBS “60 Minutes” Correspondent Leslie Stahl. The writer had worked for The Washington Post, Esquire, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and other publications. He also wrote or co-wrote the movies “Perfect” and “The Program.”

  Latham’s first contact with Stahl was a phone call he made in August 1973, while reporting on the Watergate scandal, which Stahl was also covering. He once told People magazine that she said “How dare you call me at home?’” and told him to call at the office before slamming down the phone. 

  The two agreed to meet and Latham said he turned on CBS news first to see what she looked like. He said that when he did he was terrified. “I thought, ‘She’s so beautiful.’ My heart stopped, my mouth dried up and I said, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’”

  They married in 1977.

The Spin Rack: After a spate of mass shootings carried out with semi-automatic rifles, the House passed an assault weapons ban that doesn’t stand a chance in the Senate. Only two Republicans voted for the bill and five Democrats against. — The State Department has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information about Russian interference in American elections. — Prince Charles and his wife Camilla arrived at the Commonwealth Games in a vintage Aston Martin powered with byproducts from wine and cheese. His security detail burns regular gas. — It’s unclear whether anyone won last night’s $1.28 billion Mega Millions jackpot. The lottery’s website crashed immediately after the numbers were announced. 

Cancel Their Subscription: Time Magazine is getting a heated reaction to its August 8^th cover featuring imprisoned basketball star Brittney Griner and the headline “BRITTNEY GRINER AND THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM.”

  The professional basketball player was arrested last February bringing cannabis-based vape cartridges into the Moscow airport, a violation of the law in Russia. She has garnered a lot of support from people who believe she is “unfairly” detained, even though she’s already pleaded guilty.

  Among internet comments on Time’s cover:  

– “My brother has been locked up 6 times and he’s never been on the cover of a magazine 

– “That’s exactly what she will be doing, TIME.

– “Should be cover of CRIME MAGAZINE”

– “Should be on the cover of High Times instead.”

– “Time is still published?”

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