1/ Trump vowed to investigate NBC News and MSNBC for “country threatening treason” and make them “pay a big price” if he gets reelected. On his personal social media platform, Trump claimed that Comcast, the parent company of NBC News and MSNBC, is not “entitled to use the very valuable Airwaves of the USA” for free because of their “knowingly dishonest and corrupt coverage of people, things, and events.” Despite being the featured interview guest on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last week, Trump repeated his baseless claim that the media is “THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!” that “should pay a big price for what they have done to our once great Country!” The White House called Trump’s threats “an outrageous attack on our democracy and the rule of law.” (The Guardian / The Hill / Forbes / Talking Points Memo / Mediate)

2/ Trump suggested that Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley should be executed for reassuring the Chinese that Trump was not planning an attack them following the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Milley made two calls to China in the waning months of Trump’s presidency: The first was October 2020 when the Chinese had become concerned that Trump would preemptively attack them because he was losing the 2020 election. And the second was two days after the Capitol attack to again reassure the Chinese that Trump was not planning to attack them. Both calls were authorized by Trump-administration officials and coordinated with the rest of the Defense Department and other relevant agencies. Nevertheless, Trump wrote on his personal social media platform that Milley “turned out to be a Woke train wreck who, if the Fake News reporting is correct, was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States. This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” (Salon / The Atlantic / Yahoo News)

  • Trump didn’t purchase a Glock firearm after initially tweeting that he had. A since-deleted video posted by Trump’s spokesman, Steven Cheung, showed Trump being shown the firearm and commenting: “I want to buy one.” Another Trump spokesperson clarified that the purchase did not actually happen. Federal law prohibits the sale of guns to people under felony indictment. Trump currently faces 91 counts across four criminal indictment. (The Hill / CNBC / Associated Press)

3/ Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez refused to resign after a federal indictment accusing him of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” in exchange for his political influence. The indictment alleges Menendez and his wife received bribes included “cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle and other items of value.” He’s denied all wrongdoing, stating that “the allegations leveled against me are just that: allegations.” Last year, investigators found more than $480,000 in cash “hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe” – much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in a safe, closets and clothing, including a jacket with the Senate logo, according to the indictment. Menendez suggested that the cash was “from my personal savings account.” This is the second time Menendez has been indicted on bribery allegations: A 2015 indictment ended in a mistrial. He is up for reelection next year. (CNN / Politico / New York Times / Washington Post / CNBC / NBC News / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / ABC News)

4/ The House will reconvene and continue budget negotiations tomorrow with six days until a government shutdown. Kevin McCarthy will try to move forward on four spending bills, even though they’re unlikely to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The House Freedom Caucus, however, has signaled they’ll continue to block any short-term spending bill, seeking deep spending cuts and limits on aid to Ukraine, among other demands. The House recessed last week after being unable to pass a basic rules measure to debate a Pentagon funding bill. McCarthy can lose only four Republican votes to pass legislation without having to rely on Democratic support. (Politico / CNN / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CNBC)

✏️ Notables.

  1. Trump argued that the First Amendment protects him from being barred from the 2024 ballot. A group in Colorado has filed a lawsuit seeking to block Trump from the ballot under a clause in the U.S. Constitution aimed at candidates who have supported an “insurrection.” Trump’s lawyer argued that the clause doesn’t apply because “the Fourteenth Amendment applies to one who ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion,’ not one who only ‘instigated’ any action.” (Associated Press)

  2. The Biden administration has allocated more than $1.4 billion to improve railway safety and boost capacity. The money from the 2021 infrastructure law is funding 70 projects in 35 states and Washington, D.C. (Associated Press)

  3. A group of 25 state governors and the Biden administration pledged to quadruple the number of heat pumps in U.S. homes by 2030, from 4.7 million to 20 million. Buildings account for more than 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. (Associated Press)

  4. Fracking wells in the U.S. have used about 1.5 trillion gallons of water to extract fossil fuels since 2011 – as much tap water the entire state of Texas uses in a year. Fracking a single oil or gas well can use 40 million gallons of water or more. (New York Times)

  5. The International Energy Agency and the COP28 climate summit are urging the U.S. and China to forge an agreement on confronting global warming. The U.S. and China are the world’s biggest emitters of carbon dioxide. (Washington Post)

  6. Ron DeSantis suggested that humans are “safer than ever” from climate change. DeSantis’ remarks come less than a year after Hurricane Ian, the second-deadliest storm the continental U.S. has seen in decades. DeSantis, meanwhile, promised to roll back several of the Biden administration’s climate initiatives, calling them “part of an agenda to control you and to control our behavior.” (Politico / New York Times)