Good morning! Some scientists try to cure diseases. Some build rockets. Others figure out how to make cold brew in 3 minutes.

In less exciting food news, inflation means a lunch at McDonald’s is now just as expensive as one at Applebee’s or Chili’s. Or, depending on your perspective, the McDonald‘s-level quality of Applebee’s is now more obvious.

CRIME

🚔 Embarrassing crimes in Japan

Well, that’s embarrassing. Tokyo police arrested a Japanese organized crime boss for stealing 25 Pokémon cards.

Keita Saito is a boss in the second-largest Japanese crime syndicate. These guys are usually known for engaging in more typical mob fare — drug trafficking, money laundering, prostitution, etc.

A 1990s crackdown banned organized crime from loads of daily activities like opening bank accounts. They can't even drive on highways. The laws make it difficult to recruit new members, so the yakuza are aging. Their numbers have fallen by nearly 75% since 2006 to just ~22,000 members. And the majority are over 50 years old.

Unable to excel at their traditional crimes, many yakuza have had to get creative. They're illegally catching and selling sea cucumbers. They're retouching racy photos. And now they're stealing collectible Pokémon cards.

We can only assume Japanese organized crime syndicates of old would be horrifically embarrassed by how far their progeny have fallen. Given a bit more time, the yakuza might look less like HBO's "Tokyo Vice" and more like an untrustworthy pickleball team.

Over in the United States…

• Sen. Marco Rubio wants to deport foreign students who engaged in "protests-turned-riots," saying they violated the terms of their visas

• The (second) federal corruption trial for Sen. “Gold Bar” Bob Menendez begins today

• Viola Ford Fletcher, the oldest survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, turned 110

• A federal judge blocked Biden's plan to limit credit card late fees, saying it violates other federal laws

• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel to plan for post-war Gaza to ensure Hamas can't govern again

POLITICS

🔴 Trump: Change of plans. The youngest Trump, Barron, will not serve as a delegate to this summer’s Republican National Convention due to “prior commitments.”

• Trump firmly shot down rumors that former Republican challenger Nikki Haley was in the running for the VP nomination.

• Trump’s NYC criminal trial continues today. Michael Cohen, his former attorney and "fixer" will testify.

• Trump got a big turnout at his Saturday rally on the Jersey Shore. An estimated 80,000-100,000 people turned out.

🔵 Biden: Biden got good news out of Wisconsin. A new poll found him leading Trump 50% to 44% in the swing state that could decide the election.

• Biden is doing better with senior voters than is typical for Democrats. Part of his strategy? Emphasizing his efforts to cap the cost of insulin to $35 per month for Medicare patients.

• Biden is looking to keep his huge lead in the money race. His campaign is planning a star-studded Hollywood fundraiser featuring Barack Obama, George Clooney, and Julia Roberts.

🟢 After a Minnesota court ruling, the Legal Marijuana Now Party is no longer considered a major political party. Minnesota’s "major" designation has a few benefits like automatically being listed on the ballot. Smaller parties have to petition for ballot access. Until 2022, Minnesota had two weed-flavored major parties: the Legal Marijuana Now Party and the very super different Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis Party.

🔴 Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) announced he’ll run for reelection this year to a fifth term. Scott is a moderate Republican in charge of the nation’s most Democratic state. Vermont is one of two states (with neighboring New Hampshire) that elect governors to two-year terms.

TRIVIA

We told you on Friday that Louisiana is considering rewriting its state constitution. Despite the U.S. Constitution being 235 years old, many state constitutions are far newer. How many current U.S. state constitutions are more recent than 1970?

Hint: This is a single-digit number.

WORLD

🇦🇺 Australia: Australia signed a deal with the tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu (~10 square miles) The agreement allows hundreds of Tuvaluan climate refugees to resettle in Australia each year. In exchange, the Aussies will get to influence Tuvalu's foreign policy.

🇮🇱 Israel: Israel opened a new border crossing in northern Gaza for aid delivery as it slowly pushes into the southern city of Rafah. But it might be losing an ally. Neighboring Egypt joined international accusations of genocide in Gaza.

🇷🇺 Russia: The Russian military shot down a Ukrainian missile. Unfortunately for eleven Russians, a chunk fell into Russia and destroyed an apartment building. Elsewhere, Putin, hoping to tighten his war budget, hired an economist as his new defense minister.

🇪🇸 Spain: Pro-Spanish parties won yesterday's elections in Spain's wealthy Catalonia region (home to Barcelona). Catalonia has long been governed by pro-independence parties that want it to break away from Spain. Those hopes have, for now, been dashed.

BRIEFS

• Fas-fashion slinger Shein is planning a public stock offering in London after running into snags with New York City regulators

• Employees of the first unionized Apple Store (near Baltimore) voted to authorize a strike over scheduling and wage concerns

• About 30 Duke University students walked out of their graduation ceremony to protest speaker Jerry Seinfeld’s support for Israel

• Afghanistan’s Taliban government said flash flooding in northern villages killed 315 people and injured more than 1,600

• Western Canada's first major wildfires of the season spread to cover 38 square miles in British Columbia and Alberta

• North Macedonia's new president committed the mortal sin of referring to her country as "Macedonia," sparking outrage in Greece

• Two climate protestors took a hammer to the case protecting the 809-year-old Magna Carta that first limited the power of kings

QUOTE

SNACKS

🎤 Eurovision: Swiss singer Nemo won the Eurovision Song Contest. Amid controversy, Israel’s contestant came in fifth. Astute observers might recognize that no, Israel is not in Europe. But it's, y'know, close-ish.

🌌 Aurora: Didn’t get a chance to see the northern lights over the weekend? The internet has you covered. Check out some of the best pics here.

🎬 The Office: Peacock’s new same-universe spinoff of “The Office” will begin production in July. Set at a small Midwestern newspaper, Domhnall Gleeson will star.

ANSWER

Since 1970, seven states have rewritten their constitutions. Here are those states and the years their new governing docs took effect:

• Illinois — 1971

• Virginia — 1971

• North Carolina — 1971

• Montana — 1973

• Louisiana — 1975 (must not have done a bang-up job if it already needs a redo)

• Georgia — 1983

• Rhode Island — 1987