Good morning, it's Tuesday, Oct. 6. President Trump signed a diesel tax break in Nebraska, then suggested Iran could "take out" two California cities.

Also in today's issue: New York's measles emergency, $1.8 million migrant fines blocked, a climate case opens the Supreme Court term, U.S. bombers leave Britain.

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On Monday night in Nebraska, President Trump signed a tax break for truckers and farmers. Then he told a cheering crowd, "Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego."

Both moments were about the same question: who pays for the Iran war at home?

Start with your wallet. Diesel hit a record $6.53 a gallon last month, according to AAA. That matters even if you drive a gas car. Diesel moves your groceries, your packages and the gravel under new roads, so its price shows up almost everywhere.

Trump's executive order lets anyone use red-dyed diesel on the highway. It's the same fuel farmers put in tractors, dyed to show that no road tax was paid. Normally, getting caught with it in a truck means fines. Now the federal tax on that fuel is put off through the end of the year.

Trump said the typical trucker will save "more than $100 every time they fill up." The White House's own announcement tells a smaller story.

So how does this work? The federal fuel tax pays into the fund that repairs highways. The order defers that tax rather than canceling it, and it doesn't touch state fuel taxes. Several states, including Nebraska, had already paused their own dyed-diesel penalties. What the order can't do is make more diesel. It changes who pays tax on fuel that already exists.

Then came the line that lit up phones. Trump called war-driven prices "a little bit high" and "a small price to pay for keeping the world safe." According to ABC7 Los Angeles, he seemed to be saying Iran could have destroyed an American city if it had built a nuclear weapon.

Supporters hear a blunt case for the war: short-term pain beats a nuclear Iran. Critics hear a president naming two cities, home to millions of Americans, as acceptable losses. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, wrote, "This is not normal." Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the remarks dangerous.

Back to that smaller story. The White House says the federal diesel tax is 24.4 cents a gallon, or about $60 on a 250-gallon fill. Savings top $100 only where states drop their taxes too. At around $6 a gallon, that fill costs roughly $1,500, so the federal break is about 4%. That's real money for a small trucking company, but it's not a price reset.

The midterms are four weeks away, and Trump signed the order onstage at a rally for Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts. The same day, he blamed high prices on Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries and on refinery closures in California.

So watch the states first. If more of them match the federal move, the $60 becomes $100 for drivers there. Then watch the pump. If diesel falls below $6 soon, as Energy Secretary Chris Wright predicted on Sunday, the White House gets its proof. If it doesn't, "a small price to pay" may follow Republicans to Election Day.

New York's governor declared a statewide disaster emergency over measles Monday, the first such state declaration since cases surged in 2025. Gov. Kathy Hochul's order lets paramedics, pharmacists and midwives give the measles vaccine, and lets nurses order tests. New York has 108 cases this year, most in under-vaccinated rural counties. Next door, Pennsylvania passed 1,004 cases, with 198 people hospitalized and five deaths, all unvaccinated. The order doesn't force anyone to get a shot; consent is still required. What it removes is a bottleneck. In rural areas the nearest doctor can be far away, but there's usually a pharmacy down the road.

A federal judge in Boston on Monday blocked fines of up to $1.8 million on migrants who stay after a deportation order. Judge George O'Toole ruled that the $998-a-day penalties were imposed unlawfully. The forms gave no specific reason for each fine, he found, and a faster process skipped the public comment the law requires. The scale is striking: the Department of Homeland Security said in July it had issued more than 103,000 fines worth about $84 billion. The judge wrote that collecting them would likely leave the plaintiffs insolvent. Because the ruling rests on process, the Trump administration could try again with new rules, and an appeal is likely.

The Supreme Court opened its new term Monday with a case that could decide who pays for climate damage. Boulder, Colorado, is suing ExxonMobil and Suncor under state law, saying they misled the public about climate change. The companies, backed by the Trump administration, argue that only federal law can govern pollution that crosses state lines. Justices on both wings pushed back on each side. Justice Elena Kagan compared Boulder's case to the 1990s tobacco lawsuits, while Chief Justice John Roberts worried that every state would copy it. One quirk could decide it: Justice Samuel Alito sat out, so a 4–4 tie would let Boulder's case go forward. A ruling is expected by June.

The Pentagon confirmed Sunday night that every U.S. bomber at RAF Fairford in England, including about a dozen B-1s, has flown home. The move followed a suspected Iran-linked plot against the base, where police found vehicles loaded with fuel last month. On Monday, Trump said "there were some threats." Fairford is the only base in Europe set up for American heavy bombers, and it was used for strikes on Iran. Flying from the U.S. means longer missions, though the Pentagon says its bombers can still strike "anywhere, anytime." Vice President JD Vance also said the U.S. is reviewing flight security after last week's attack inside a FlyDubai cockpit.

That's how many measles cases the CDC has counted nationwide so far in 2026. It's the most since a resurgence from 1989 to 1991, and the year isn't over. Two doses of the vaccine are 97% effective.

P.S. Would a $60 diesel tax break sway your vote? Hit Reply — one word is enough.