NJ Senate: Democrat Bob Menendez struck back yesterday after news leaked out that the U.S. Attorney's office had launched a federal probe into his financial dealings with a NJ not-for-profit. Not surprisingly, Menendez called the charges a politically motivated smear. But a passage buried at the bottom of today's Philadelphia Inquirer illustrates why this story probably isn't going away any time soon:

Menendez has said that he got an informal approval from the House ethics committee before he went ahead with the lease. His spokesman, Matt Miller, said yesterday the ethics committee has no record of that conversation, which took place more than a decade ago.

The ethics committee does provide members with advisory opinions, both in writing and verbally. But verbal opinions afford members little protection, and cannot be used to head off an ethics investigation if their conduct is called into question.

RI Senate: With only days left to save his political hide, Lincoln Chafee unloads with both barrels on Steve Laffey in a new tv spot. More news on the Rhode Island Senate Primary here.

AZ-8: The Arizona (Tucson) Star editorializes today that the NRCC has "no business" getting involved in the Republican primary in Arizona's 8th Congressional District. Tom Tancredo isn't happy outside meddling in the race either.

VA Senate: Yesterday Jim Webb made news launching an ad with a clip of Ronald Reagan praising him in 1985. Today he's making news again, though in a bad way: Nancy Reagan has asked him to take the ad down.

MO Senate: A very interesting story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that bodes well for Jim Talent.

VA-2: Thelma Drake's campaign has released a new poll showing her up 7 points on Phil Kellam, contradicting the results of the RT Strategies/Constituent Dynamics IVR poll released earlier in the week showing Kellam with an 8-point lead. Drake's pollster slammed the RT Strategies/CD poll saying, "This looks totally unscientific and unreliable. The geographic model is way off."

Get more news from races all around the country on the RCP Politics & Election page.