CRIME AND POLITICS: Proving that the Justice Department doesn’t indict only Republicans, New Jersey’s Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, the powerful Democratic chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, was charged yesterday with taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes — including gold bars — to apply corrupt influence abroad and at home, aiding the government of Egypt and businessmen in New Jersey.

  The indictment includes photos of gold bars and $480,000 in cash stored in envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe. The money was displayed on top of a blue jacket emblazoned with “Robert Menendez” and “Hispanic Caucus.” New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy, a close political ally of Menendez, called for him to resign. The senator did step down from the foreign relations committee.

  The three-count federal indictment also charges the senator’s wife and three New Jersey businessmen. In one instance, Menendez is accused of secretly attempting to provide Egypt with sensitive US government information. In two other instances, he’s charged with trying to influence criminal investigations of two New Jersey businessmen, one of whom was a longtime fund-raiser for the senator.

  Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a news conference that, “Behind the scenes, Senator Menendez was doing those things for certain people — the people who were bribing him and his wife.” 

  Menendez issued a statement blaming unnamed forces that have “repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave.” Menendez was tried for corruption six years ago and got off with a hung jury.

THE WAR ROOM: Russia says Ukraine attacked targets in Sevastopol again today. A Ukrainian missile yesterday hit the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea, causing serious damage. The Russians say one soldier is missing.

  Over the past month, Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian military bases and other installations, including air defenses, in Crimea, demonstrating Russian vulnerability. The Ukrainians have battered the Russian Black Sea fleet, last April sinking its flagship, the Moskva. Last week the Ukrainians severely damaged and maybe even destroyed a Russian submarine in drydock.

  In their continuing counter-offensive on the ground as winter approaches, Ukrainian armored vehicles are operating beyond the final line of the Russia’s defensive layer of anti-tank ditches and dragon’s teeth concrete obstacles, according to the Institute for the Study of War. They caution that they are not ready to say whether the Ukrainians have broken fully through. 

STRIKE WIDENS: The United Auto Workers yesterday ratcheted up the strike pressure on General Motors and Stelantis, the parent of Jeep and Ram, widening their walkout to include 38 spare parts distribution centers that fed the two companies. That will cause the strike to affect not just the manufacturers but also drivers who need spare parts and repairs. “We will shut down parts distribution centers until those two companies come to their senses and come to the bargaining table,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. He also said the new action does not include Ford because that company has done more to meet the union’s demands.

THE THOMAS FILES: In another devastating article, ProPublica reports that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas over the years has maintained a close relationship with the Koch network, one of the largest and most influential political organizations in the country, and that on at least two occasions he spoke at fundraising events for the conservative organization.

  Those appearances, ProPublica says, put Thomas in what ProPublica called “the extraordinary position” of having served as “a fundraising draw” for a network that has repeatedly brought cases before the Supreme Court.

  ProPublica has been hammering Thomas over ethics and conflict-of-interest allegations that include undisclosed luxury travel and gifts paid for by a billionaire GOP megadonor.

TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES: The Washington Post reports that, “Academics, universities and government agencies are overhauling or ending research programs designed to counter the spread of online misinformation amid a legal campaign from conservative politicians and activists who accuse them of colluding with tech companies to censor right-wing views.”

  What misinformation researchers are encountering is a political world in which extreme opinion is presented as fact and truth. Extreme opinion wins votes while truth deflates political passions.

  The Post says that “The escalating campaign — led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and other Republicans in Congress and state government — has cast a pall over programs that study not just political falsehoodsbut also the quality of medical information online.”

THE SPIN RACK: Tropical Storm Ophelia is expected to make landfall in North Carolina today, battering the East Coast, with a “life-threatening” storm surge, and winds 50-70 mph. — The Delbridge Museum of natural History in Sioux Falls has closed after 40 years following the discovery that its collection of taxidermy from buffalo to kangaroos has closed after the discovery that the collection was preserved with poisonous arsenic. — The New York police department is planning to deploy a 420-pound, 5-foot-2-inch robocop to patrol the Times Square subway station overnight. 

BELOW THE FOLD:  The New York Post reports that along with all the diplomats in New York for the United Nations general assembly, there’s a delegation of high-priced hookers from Las Vegas and Europe. Translators are not necessary because, you know, they all speak a universal language.