Good morning! The fun police are out in force in Wisconsin. Dozens of marijuana plants sprouted up last week in a tulip garden at the state capitol. Workers quickly removed them and like, totally, disposed of the plants properly.

On a more serious note: Is the Met Gala not your thing? Eighteen dogs walked the red carpet in New York on Monday at the Museum of the Dog. And yes, they're dressed exactly as you hope they are.

JUSTICE

⚖️ Turns out, all is not fair in love and war

Don't look now, but Israel and Hamas agreed on something: that the ICC sucks. A prosecutor at the International Criminal Court — often called the Hague — wants to arrest their leaders.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan requested the arrest warrants. A three-judge panel will need to approve them before they're issued. That process could take months.

• Targeted Israelis are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

• Targeted Hamas leaders are Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh.

Khan accused all five of committing war crimes against the other side. Israel pointed out that it is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize its authority.

What happens if the warrants are issued? The ICC is an independent court not part of the United Nations. 124 countries have signed a treaty that forces them to arrest anyone subject to an ICC warrant. So Netanyahu's next romantic Parisian getaway might have to wait.

• The ICC is distinct from the similarly named ICJ. That’s the International Court of Justice (part of the U.N.). It settles disputes between countries.

The international response has been, as you might expect, mixed. France voiced support for the ICC while the U.K. diplomatically called the decision "not helpful."

The United States isn't happy. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the ICC's move "totally wrongheaded" and said the Biden administration would "be happy to work with Congress... on an appropriate response."

• Bipartisan leaders in both houses of Congress slammed the ICC. House Speaker Mike Johnson called the decision "baseless and illegitimate," while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called it "reprehensible."

• Not everyone in Congress disagrees with the ICC, however. Sen. Bernie Sanders believes "the ICC prosecutor is right..."

Neither the U.S. nor Israel are members of the ICC, though that doesn’t prevent the court from threatening to arrest Israelis (as we've seen). On the American side, however, the ICC steers clearer.

• U.S. federal law gives the president the power to bring home any American personnel held by the ICC by "all means necessary." All. Means.

• This law has a fun nickname: The Hague Invasion Act. Don't expect the U.S. to full-on invade the Netherlands anytime soon, though. They're our only legit source of gouda.

P.S.: One of the international attorneys who pushed the ICC to move forward with this? A one Amal Clooney.

Back in the United States…

• ⛽ The Department of Energy will release 1 million barrels of gasoline from the federal government's fuel reserve. The release is timed to thwart rising fuel costs this summer.

• 🏛️ The FDIC's chair will resign soon instead of getting fired in disgrace. Investigators found he engaged in bullying, discrimination, and sexual harassment.

• 🍞 The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says most humanitarian aid delivered to the U.S.-built pier in Gaza is stolen before it reaches the warehouse.

POLITICS

🔵 Joe Biden and Doug Emhoff spoke at the White House in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month. Emhoff, Kamala Harris’s husband, is America’s first-ever second gentleman.

• First Lady Jill Biden, a working college professor, said Donald Trump will "destroy" public education if he wins. An English professor, she is the first-ever first lady to hold a paying day job while in office.

🔴 Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York is almost over now that his defense has rested its case. Next, his attorneys and prosecutors get to argue over exactly how the judge will instruct the jurors on the details of their job. They’re set to return on Tuesday.

• Trump's tech company (that owns Truth Social) lost a cool $328 million in Q1 and generated just $771,000 in revenue. The company says most of those losses were one-time and related to its initial public stock offering.

• Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, testified that he stole $60,000 from the Trump Organization.

⚪ A poll of New Hampshire has Biden and Trump tied in the state at 37% each. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. comes in third with 15%. While this may look great to Trump supporters, it’s a clear outlier. Biden has led every other public poll by solid margins. And New Hampshire last voted Republican back in 2000.

🔵 West Virginia Democrats are floating a plan to parachute retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (D) into the state’s governor’s race, seeing him as their only (remote) shot to win. Manchin’s mum on the issue but says he’s longtime friends with his party’s current nominee.

TRIVIA

Most international courts are pretty new. The ICC is no exception. In what year was the International Criminal Court established?

Hint: This is the same year the U.S.’s Hague Invasion Act (technically called the American Service-Members' Protection Act) was passed. You can get close on vibes.

WORLD

🇦🇷 Argentina: Argentina's president insulted Spain's prime minister and called the guy's wife "corrupt." Back in March, he called Colombia's president a "murderous terrorist." Spain fired back by calling this a "frontal attack" and pulling its ambassador out of Argentina. Aah, diplomacy.

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic: President Luis Abinader sailed to an easy reelection with 57% of the vote. The D.R. is a stable, middle-income country sharing an island with Haiti. That Haiti is a complete dumpster fire (and humanitarian tragedy) is obviously an issue here.

🇮🇷 Iran: World governments offered polite condolences. International media outlets tried to play it cool. Countless Iranians turned out to mourn their late president. Iranian exiles in Europe? They celebrated the death of the man notably nicknamed "The Butcher of Tehran."

🇹🇨 Turks and Caicos: Five Americans are facing 12 years in a Caribbean prison for having a few bullets in their luggage. Diplomatic (and tourism) tensions are rising after a congressional delegation failed to free them. The islands are self-governed but owned by the British.

BRIEFS

• A German (of all places) far-right party is in political hot water after its officials claimed Hitler's SS troops "were not all criminals"

• Scarlett Johansson declined OpenAI’s request that she voice their AI bot but says the company used her voice — or a copycat — anyway

• News reports that Tucker Carlson’s show has a distribution deal with Russian state-owned TV are “nonsense” according to his CEO

• Target is slashing prices on 5,000 items in a bid to hang on to budget-conscious shoppers hit by rising food prices

• French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting the territory of New Caledonia hoping to quell riots as tourists are evacuated amid unrest

• Moldova, the lil guy just west of Ukraine, became the first non-E.U. country to sign a defense deal with the European Union

• One passenger died and dozens were injured after a Singapore Airlines flight insta-sank 6,000 feet amid “extreme turbulence”

QUOTE

SNACKS

☕ Caffeine: If one company has its say, you'll soon replace your coffee with a drink made from a type of caffeinated holly native to the U.S.

🍿 Deadpool: MCU fans and Swifties are united in their belief (hope?) that Taylor Swift will appear as the mutant Dazzler in “Deadpool and Wolverine.”

🎙️ Elvis: Actress Riley Keough, Elvis's granddaughter and sole heir, says a bank's attempt to auction off Graceland is based on fraud.

💻 Microsoft: Everyone’s second-favorite computer company announced a new line of AI-native "Copilot+" PCs it believes are Macbook killers.

ANSWER

Planning for the ICC began in the late 1980s. But we’re looking for 2002 here. Apparently these things take a while.

The ICJ, on the other hand, is much older. It’s been around since 1945.