It’s Friday! Take it away, Rebecca Black! 🎵 Tomorrow is the first official day of fall, so you can feel better about drinking your pumpkin spice lattes. All right, let’s get down to business:

• Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and his wife have been indicted on federal bribery charges. Photos of gold bars and wads of cash were used as evidence by the prosecution.
• The House left town for the weekend without a plan of how to keep the government open past Sept. 30. *nervous laugh*
• The National Zoo is holding a “Panda Palooza” celebration before its giant pandas return to China.

I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-release.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.  

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and his wife, Nadine, have been indicted on federal bribery charges. The couple is accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes in exchange for using the senator’s “power and influence” to help three businessmen.

The bribes include: “Cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value,” according to prosecutors.

Omg, these photos included in the indictment: They include gold bars and wads of cash.

Read the indictment

Watch prosecutors announce the indictment

The Hill’s Ella Lee has a helpful explainer on the indictment.

💡 If you’re thinking to yourself, ‘Hmm, I thought Menendez was indicted before’: You’d be correct. Menendez was indicted in 2015 over federal corruption charges, but jury couldn’t reach a verdict and the charges were dropped.

List of the major players in the case: (The New York Times)

“The excesses of these prosecutors is apparent,” Menendez said in a statement. “They have misrepresented the normal work of a Congressional office. On top of that, not content with making false claims against me, they have attacked my wife for the longstanding friendships she had before she and I even met.”  Read his full statement

House Republicans left town Thursday without a funding deal to keep the government open by Sept. 30 — or even a short-term funding bill to buy them more time.

*Checks watch*: Meaning, they have one more work week left before a government shutdown.

How you know the chances of a shutdown are getting much higher: Some offices have begun forming contingency plans for a shutdown. For example: “Some say they’re providing pay bonuses to staff to tide them over in the event a long-term funding lapse causes pay disruptions.” More on the shutdown preparations, via The Hill’s Aris Folley

If the government shuts down, will that impact the Oct. 1 date for student loan payments resuming? Nexstar’s Addy Brink has a helpful explainer of what we know.

And put it in the room for next week’s weekly caucus luncheons.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) caused an uproar this week by loosening the Senate’s dress code to accommodate Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) casual attire.

Manchin is trying to reinstate the dress code: “Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is circulating a resolution among Senate colleagues to reinstate the Senate’s dress code, which would require senators to wear a coat and tie or business attire on the Senate floor — a standard that had been in place in the chamber for decades.”

^ This resolution is the talk of the Senate: “Manchin’s resolution was the subject of table talk among senators at a bipartisan barbecue lunch hosted by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) in the Kennedy Caucus Room on Thursday.”  

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton has some interesting reporting on the chatter among senators.

It was “Pet Night on Capitol Hill” on Wednesday. The Hill’s photographer Greg Nash got some great photos. Photos of the puppies on Capitol Hill

🍦 Celebrate: Today is National Ice Cream Cone Day, which TBH, feels like it should have been in July or August. But what do I know?

🐼 I heard ‘Panda Palooza’ and I was sold: The two giant pandas at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., are returning to China soon. The zoo is holding a send-off celebration with a nine-day “Panda Palooza.” (The Hill)

✈️ Tidbit — the meal on Air Force One: Politico’s Jonathan Lemire posted a photo of the meal provided on Air Force One as it left New York City on Wednesday. New York pizza! Photo

🧀 What’s dominating my TikTok feed: Chick-fil-A added a honey pepper pimento chicken sandwich to its menu. I’ve seen some mixed reviews, but it looks worth trying. TikTok review NBC’s ‘Today’ review

🍪 Interesting read: ‘Many of today’s unhealthy foods were brought to you by Big Tobacco’ — “A new study suggests that tobacco companies, who were skilled at marketing cigarettes, used similar strategies to hook people on processed foods.” (The Washington Post)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky finished his whirlwind visit to Washington, D.C., on Thursday where he lobbied for more U.S. support in his country’s war against Russia.

Keep in mind: This is his second trip to the U.S. Capitol in less than a year. He had a surprise visit in December 2022.

How D.C. has changed since his last trip: Funding for his country’s conflict with Russia has become more unpopular among some U.S. lawmakers. In fact, Ukraine funding is one of the major sticking points in the government funding battle. More on the shifting dynamic, via The Hill’s Laura Kelly

Zelensky met with a small group of U.S. journalists Thursday evening: Laura Kelly was one of those reporters. She reports that Zelensky said he had a good meeting with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). “He said that they will be on our side — it’s not simple — that they will support,” Zelensky said about McCarthy. Read Laura Kelly’s reporting from the Zelensky meeting

^ But McCarthy is under a lot of pressure from a group of House Republicans who do not support continued Ukrainian aid.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters: “There was a single sentence that summed it all up, and I’m quoting him verbatim. Mr. Zelensky said, ‘If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war.’ That’s a quote from him.”

Photo of the Zelenskys and the Bidens: From Politico’s Jonathan Lemire

Up next on Zelensky’s tour: Zelensky is in Canada today where he will address Canada’s Parliament. (The New York Times)

“[The] U.S. [is] close to providing Ukraine with long-range cluster missiles: After nearly a year of rebuffing Kyiv’s pleas, the Biden administration intends to send a variant of the Army Tactical Missile System, which would enable strikes farther into Russian-held territory.” (The Washington Post)

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas attended at least two private donor events hosted by the Koch brothers’ network. (ProPublica)

Why this matters: “That puts Thomas in the extraordinary position of having served as a fundraising draw for a network that has brought cases before the Supreme Court, including one of the most closely watched of the upcoming term.”

“The United Auto Workers (UAW) will expand its strike Friday afternoon, with employees walking off the job at General Motors and Stellantis parts distribution facilities, union President Shawn Fain announced.”

Keep in mind: “The expanded strike could threaten economic gains and poses a growing problem for President Biden, who is staunchly pro-union but has backed policies to incentivize the use of electric vehicles, which is a factor in the strike.” (The Hill)

The House and Senate are out, but both have pro forma sessions today. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C. (all times Eastern)

• 1:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) brief reporters. 📺 Livestream
• 2:45 p.m.: Biden and Harris deliver remarks on gun safety. 📺 Livestream
• 3 p.m. Tuesday: The Senate meets next. Tuesday’s agenda
• Sunday: GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie (R-N.J.) and House Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (S.C.) appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
• Sept. 30: Government funding runs out unless Congress strikes a deal.

Because this made me laugh out loud, I have to share it with you. Here’s a cat who is equally as frustrated at how finicky printers can be.

I believe that is the official recommendation of how to fix malfunctioning technology — repeatedly hit it.