In the news today: The Secret Service had perhaps the best view of anyone into what transpired during the Jan. 6 coup attempt by Donald Trump, but the House select committee investigating the coup has now learned that the agency wiped all Secret Service text messages from that day. Coincidentally. And only after the House committee asked that they be turned over.

Dangerous far-right groups continue to gain power in America, and Republicans continue to back that rise.

Ivana Trump, first wife of Donald Trump and mother of Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump, passed away at the age of 73. Multiple news outlets report that the disgraced former president confirmed on Thursday that she passed away at her home in New York City. The Trump family released a statement saying, “Our mother was an incredible woman — a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but … monkeypox is coming for us. In fact, according to epidemiologists and public health officials, it’s already here. And although we have a vaccine that’s approved to prevent the virus, the red tape took forever to cut. 

Monkeypox is quickly spiraling into epidemic levels in the U.S., The Washington Post reports.

In January, when President Joe Biden made it clear he intended to nominate a Black woman for the seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell delivered what The New York Times called a “stern warning” to Biden against making a radical choice. Instead, declared McConnell, Biden needed to look for someone who would “govern from the middle, steward our institutions and unite America.

House Republicans added yet another brick in their growing wall of far-right extremism this week: They voted unanimously against a measure requiring federal military and law enforcement officials to analyze and report on the breadth and depth of the presence of right-wing extremists, particularly neo-Nazis and white supremacists, within the ranks of the nation’s military and law enforcement.

The Wall Street Journal and other conservative media outlets claimed that President Joe Biden’s anger over a 10-year-old Ohio girl having to leave the state to get an abortion after being raped was “fanciful” or made up.

On Saturday, in the greater Houston area of Texas, children played little league baseball. One such game between the 9-and-under Scorpions Baseball team and Prospects Baseball team ended with a Scorpions loss. It happens every weekend—one team wins and the others lose. Little league baseball (like many youth sports) has a great tradition where both teams and their adult coaches line up and then give one another high fives after the game.

On Tuesday, former high-ranking Oath Keeper Jason Van Tatenhove testified during the latest Jan. 6 committee hearing.

Some state officials are acting quickly as country-wide debates on whether the U.S. needs stricter gun laws continue. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law an effort to limit the availability of “abnormally dangerous” guns in the state on Tuesday. According to The Los Angeles Times, the bill will also allow victims of gun violence and others to sue firearm manufacturers.

Former New York Police Department Commissioner Raymond Kelly, who is best known for his support of the catastrophically racist stop-and-frisk policy, has a son. That kid is named Greg. Greg, like most corrupt east coast officials’ progeny, has found his way into the ultra-right-wing media sphere. He’s a face on Newsmax. Newsmax is where people go when they feel like Fox News is getting too heady to follow.