8 things to know: Businesses battle credit card swipe fees; Oriole rookie makes history; Tony Awards go unscripted

Good morning and happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend. I managed a little getaway to the Jersey shore to see some family. It was perfect beach weather. (The ocean water on the other hand was freezing.)

Speaking of weather, the forecast is looking pretty good for much of the week except for today. Clouds and rain are predicted to move in later today. That's good news for anyone who has a lawn or garden. My potted herbs and flowers are pretty thirsty. They're looking forward to the rain.

Here's what else you need to know to start your day.

Ellicott City's Blackpoint Cyber raises $190M

Tech companies in search of funding should be encouraged by the what's being considered the first megadeal of the year. Blackpoint Cyber nabbed a $190 million Series C growth investment round led by Bain Capital Tech Opportunities with participation from Accel and existing investors, including Adelphi Capital Partners, Telecom Ventures, Pelican Ventures and WP Global Partners. Blackpoint Cyber works with managed service providers, or third-party companies that remotely manage the day-to-day operations of a company’s internet technology infrastructure.

Businesses gear up for fight over credit card swipe fees

Business groups across the country are gearing up for another fight over credit card swipe fees — with billions of dollars on the line. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, has reintroduced the Credit Card Competition Act, with bipartisan support that includes Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas; Peter Welch, D-Vermont; and J.D. Vance, R-Ohio. A companion bill was introduced in the House by Representatives by Lance Gooden, R-Texas; Zoe Lofgren, D-Californis; Thomas Tiffany, R-Wisconsin; and Jefferson Van Drew, R-New Jersey. The legislation would require banks with more than $100 billion in assets that issue credit cards to allow their cards to be processed on at least two unaffiliated networks — Visa or Mastercard plus at least one competitor. Nearly 2,000 companies and 270 trade associations from across the country called on Congress in a letter to pass the legislation.

Officials warn travelers away from Interstate 95 north of Philadelphia

If you had plans to drive Interstate 95 in North Philadelphia anytime soon, rethink your plans. An overpass on the main East Coast artery that collapsed on Sunday will take months to replace, state officials said. A tanker carrying gasoline went up in flames under the overpass, causing the bridge to collapse. The accident that led to the fire is being investigated. Meanwhile, motorists are being told to follow detours and use public transportation to avoid the gridlock that's expected by the road's closure. The collapse comes at the start of the busy summer travel season — a time when motorists head up and down I-95 to get to vacation destinations.

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Whiting-Turner exec among new Girl Scouts board members

The Girl Scouts of Central Maryland elected four new members to their board of directors during the council’s annual meeting in May. The new members are: Karen Evans, division vice president, Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.; Jennifer Sproul, president, Maryland Center for Construction, Education & Innovation; and two Girl Scout members, Aaminah Abdur-Rahman and Wawira Waiganjo. The four members' board service began June 1. “We are pleased to welcome these new members to our board of directors,” Girl Scouts of Central Maryland CEO Violet M. Apple said in a news release. “They will be a great complement to our current board, and I am confident that their experiences and expertise will help our ongoing efforts to move the organization forward.”

Moore appoints five members of new racetrack authority

Gov. Wes Moore appointed five people to Maryland’s new Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority. The authority, created through Senate Bill 720 passed earlier this year, will make recommendations regarding the racing industry in Maryland with a goal to improve horse racing and training facilities in the state. “The horse racing industry is an important part of our state's history and our present-day economy. We have a long, distinguished tradition of racing here in our state,” Moore said. The appointees are: Mary Tydings, a retired executive from Russell Reynolds Associates, a recruitment firm; Jeff Hargrave, founder and president of Mahogany Inc., a construction firm; Thomas J. Rooney, a former Congressman and current CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association; Greg Cross, an attorney at Venable LLP with experience in the state horsing industry; and Alan Foreman, a racing attorney and CEO of Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Associations Inc.

SpongeBob cleans the Gwynn Falls

Anyone who's a fan of SpongeBob, Patrick the Starfish and the other creatures living in the pineapple under the sea should be excited about this one. The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore has formed a partnership with Paramount and Nickelodeon in which the nonprofit and its solar-powered interceptors, known as Trash Wheels, will form a multi-year global ocean conservation and sustainability initiative called SpongeBob SquarePants: Operation Sea Change. The announcement was made on World Oceans Day on June 8. To celebrate, Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore unveiled a SpongeBob SquarePants branded trash wheel. “We’re thrilled that the Mr. Trash Wheel family — both his impact and innovation — resonated with Nickelodeon and Paramount. This adoption of Baltimore’s fourth Trash Wheel, Gwynnda the Good Wheel of the West, will fund the removal of over 500,000 pounds of trash and debris while educating children and families across the world about ocean pollution and how to stop it,” Adam Lindquist, vice president of the Healthy Harbor Initiative at the Waterfront Partnership, said in a statement.

Tony Awards telecast celebrates Broadway without a script

"Kimberly Akimbo," a play about a girl with a life-threatening illness won best musical and “Leopoldstadt,” a Tom Stoppard play about antisemitism, won for best play in a Tony Awards ceremony on Sunday night that was live and unscripted. The show went on despite a Writers Guild of America strike that threatened the evening. A group of playwrights convinced the striking group to back the awards night. “Parade,” a 1998 show based on the lynching of a Jewish businessman in Georgia, won for best musical revival. The New York Times has the full list of winners.

Gunnar's hit makes history

Gunnar Henderson hit a 462-foot home run — the longest ever to Eutaw Street — during the Orioles' 11-3 rout of the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. “That was probably one of the furthest balls I’ve hit, especially here. I felt like that was a good one to look at,” the Rookie Henderson said after the game.

Joanna Sullivan, Editor-in-Chief of the Baltimore Business Journal, can be reached at [email protected].