Plus: First Tuesday of October means National Taco Day!{beacon} It’s Tuesday. Looking for something good to watch tonight? There are plenty of midterm debates to tune into. We'll fill you in.   In today's issue:Trump's California comments Collins and Jackson debate in MaineFiring squad for convicted terroristWHO update on Russia plague Programming note: We’re Joshua Feldstein and Claire Leibowitz, filling in for Cate today.

Please send your tips, comments and story ideas to jfeldstein@thehill.com or cleibowitz@thehill.com.    IN THE WHITE HOUSE Trump's LA, San Diego comments trigger Golden State rage: The Associated Press | Charlie Riedel and Jae C. Hong California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called President Trump "deranged and dangerous" following his comments on Monday that Iran could "take out" Los Angeles and San Diego."

It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, for keeping our country safe," Trump said at a Monday rally in Grand Island, Neb. "Let 'em take out Los Angeles, let 'em take out San Diego.""

After sending the National Guard to occupy California, Donald Trump is now saying our foreign enemies should 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego," Newsom wrote on social media. "He is deranged and dangerous."

The White House pushed back on California officials' response to Trump's comments, with communications director Steven Cheung saying, "The media freakout over President Trump's comments is not rooted in reality."

“He was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped. America is safer because of the President. Iran has no nuclear, no navy, no air force, and no money,” Cheung wrote on social media.

Encouraging attacks: Newsom and other California politicians believe the president was encouraging violence on their state.

"At least 19 servicemembers have made the ultimate sacrifice in Trump's unauthorized war with Iran — including Noah Tietjens of Nebraska," Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) wrote on the social platform X about Trump's comments in Nebraska.

"Now Trump is in Nebraska inviting an attack on U.S. soil, putting millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of our servicemembers at risk while trying to get Americans to cheer for an attack on our own country,” Padilla continued. “What kind of Commander in Chief does that?”Los Angeles's Mayor Karen Bass (D) wrote on the social platform X that Trump's comments "are dangerous and could potentially compromise our safety."

"The role of the president is to protect the country, not actively threaten it and encourage attacks on American lives," Bass continued. San Diego's mayor Todd Gloria (D) also told the president to "keep our city out of your reckless war talk," in a social media post.

FBI warned California in February: Multiple outlets reported on March 11 that the FBI warned California police departments of potential retaliatory Iranian attacks on California's coastline. The agency's Joint Terrorism Task Force reportedly sent memos to police departments across the Golden State in late February that Iran allegedly "aspired to conduct a surprise attack" on the state's coastal cities.

On March 12, the day after the FBI report came out, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back on the FBI's attack claims, saying there was "no such threat from Iran to our homeland." Trump told reporters at the time that he was not worried about retaliatory strikes on the U.S., according to Reuters.

Follow today’s live blog ➤ TRUMP SPURS ANTI-TRANS BLOWBACK IN SC: President Trump's anti-trans comments made towards South Carolina Senate candidate Annie Andrews (D), a cisgender mother of three, have stirred up some controversy among Democratic and GOP lawmakers. "Annie 'T——' Andrews is running against our wonderful Darline Graham [R-S.C.] for the Senate in South Carolina," the president wrote on Truth Social, later repeating the slur.

Andrews stays on message: Andrews responded saying she's "going to work with anyone to put South Carolina first, because lowering costs and making life better for families across our state is going to take all of us working together." Former South Carolina Gov. David Beasley (R), who was in office from 1995 to 1999, chimed in on the social platform X, calling Trump's comments "abhorrent." "South Carolina deserves better," Beasley continued.

"I urge voters to look at the merits of each candidate and cast their vote accordingly. We must reject politics based on division and hate." According to current predictions from Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), Graham has a 72 percent chance of winning.  ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL Jackson and Collins go head-to-head: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and former state Senate President Troy Jackson are set to face off in their first debate Tuesday night at 7 p.m. EDT. Jackson got the Democratic nod after Graham Platner dropped out of his campaign in July over allegations of rape, which he denied.

Jackson largely picked up where Platner left off, trying to tie Collins to President Trump in the blue state. On this day 8 years ago...Collins voted to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Democrats have tried to dig into this point, as the justice became a deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. Collins has said she doesn’t regret support Kavanaugh, but disagrees with his decision in the landmark case. Jackson is lesser known around the state, so the five debates planned with Collins will be a high-stakes opportunity to make an impression — for better or worse.

Jackson has held 50 public events and participated in 67 interviews in the 10 weeks since he became nominee, NBC reports. Tight fight: DDHQ currently forecasts that Jackson holds a slight edge over Collins. But the two have been going back and forth.

Collins and Jackson are set to debate again Thursday night. ➤ EYES ON IOWA:State auditor and Democrat Rob Sand has been leading his GOP opponent Zach Lahn in polls for months. Tonight, they will debate at 8 p.m. EDT. At stake on stage: Tonight's questions will be focused on the economy and cost of living, according to KWQC, the debate's host. Republicans in rural areas have been struggling to put forward a positive message on affordability as the war in Iran drives up energy prices and fuels broader inflation.

The GOP nominee for Senate, Rep. Ashley Hinson, has broken with Trump, calling to end the war and impose a diesel export ban. Lahn has largely stuck with the president. Sand and Lahn are fighting to succeed Gov. Kim Reynolds's (R), one of the least popular governors in the country.➤ MICHIGAN'S HAT-TRICK:Michigan politics watchers are in for a busy week: Candidates face off in a gubernatorial debate Tuesday, the state's 7th Congressional District Wednesday, and then former Rep. Mike Rogers (R) and his Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed meet for the first Senate debate on Thursday.

Tuesday's 7 p.m. EDT match-up is between Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Republican Congressman John James, who has been endorsed by Trump.

According to DDHQ, Benson is slightly favored to replace Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), who is term limited.  OTHER NEWS Terrorist to face firing squad: Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced Monday that convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, who opened fire on U.S. troops at Ft. Hood in 2009, will be sentenced to death by firing squad.

"The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution," Parnell said. "Judgement day for Hasan has finally come."

What happened at Ft. Hood?: Hasan opened fire at a medical facility at Ft.

Hood on Nov. 5, 2009, killing 13 people and injuring 32 others. During the attack, he continuously shouted "Allahu Akbar." How often is the firing squad done?: The last person to be executed by firing squad in the United States was 67-year-old Brad Sigmon in 2025. Sigmon was convicted in South Carolina of killing his ex-girlfriend's parents in 2001 and was sentenced to death in 2002. Before Sigmon, nobody had been killed by firing squad in 15 years. The last death sentence carried out by the U.S. military was in 1961. ➤ QUICK HITS: — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a statewide measles emergency Monday.

The state has reported 108 measles cases as of Oct. 3, state officials have reported. — Paramount closed a multi-billion-dollar deal to acquire Warner Brothers Discovery on Tuesday, which will create the largest provider of news, sports and entertainment. — The World Health Organization (WHO) said no further signs of infection have been detected at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia.

Authorities are still investigating if the pneumonic plague caused a researcher's death in Russia. — Cornell University faculty have prepared a no-confidence resolution against the university's administration over their handling of the alleged gang rape in 2024. The resolution is led by Paul Ortiz, a professor of labor history at Cornell.  ➤ MORE READS: Associated Press: Kenya confirms first Ebola case after traveler from Congo dies in Nairobi NBC News: Flydubai pilot planned 9/11-style attack, source tells NBC News Reuters: McDonald's hit with class action alleging AI-powered menu price-fixing Politico: OpenAI says its Australian Medicare hack 'not super sophisticated' COMING UP The House and Senate are out.

President Trump is in Washington and Baltimore. (All times EDT)  1 p.m.: Trump and First Lady Melania Trump host Gold Star Families4 p.m.: Trump to give remarks at Tradepoint Atlantic 7 p.m.: Maine Senate debate7 p.m.: Michigan gubernatorial debate 8 p.m.: Iowa gubernatorial debate INTERNET BUZZ Celebrate: Today is National Taco Day! It’s the most important Taco Tuesday of the year, and we hope you celebrate well.

It’s also National Orange Wine Day. Not sure how a funky, floral pairing would go with birria, but it’s worth a shot… Two B. Robinsons had quite the performance on Monday Night Football. Atlanta Falcons' running backs Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr. combined for five touchdowns against the New Orleans Saints.  AND FINALLY… Because you made it this far, here’s a baby elephant having fun.

We hope you have fun, too. Stay Engaged We love hearing from you — send your feedback, tips and World Series predictions to  jfeldstein@thehill.com or cleibowitz@thehill.com.  Check out more newsletters here. See you next time! {optout_confirm_url} [sailthru_widget name="Sailthru Widget Block" sailthru_list="12:30 Report" title="12:30 Report"]