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6 Minutes or Less: The Neurobiology of Altruism

This newsletter-only feature will be available only to paid subscribers: I ask a thought leader or expert to educate/enlighten/explain an issue via audio in 6 Minutes or Less.

Issue: As protests and the ongoing COVID-19 threat upend notions of safety and unleash deep-seated fury and grief, stress and worry abound, particularly for communities of color.

Question: How can altruism reduce stress — and how can adults manage effects of stress on their children?

Guest: Dr. Sheila Ohlsson Walker holds various science and teaching positions and sits on Turnaround for Children’s advisory board. She has written a series of articles for Turnaround called ”Back to Basics.” This audio excerpt comes from our full conversation for The 180 podcast.

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The World

Employment stunningly rose by 2.5 million in May and the jobless rate declined to 13.3%, far better than economists had been expecting and indicated that an economic turnaround could be close at hand. (CNBC, Wall Street Journal)

Restaurants and bars, health care employers and construction were among the sectors that drove the job market improvement. About 1.4 million people gained or took back their restaurant jobs, even as hotels continued to shed workers. About 460,000 were hired or rehired in construction, 370,000 in retail, and 390,000 in health care and social assistance. That latter boost came heavily from dentist’s offices, which took back some 245,000 workers. (New York Times)

Unemployment for black workers continued to rise, while the Black-white economic divide is as wide as it was in 1968. President Trump said his plan to address racism is a strong economy. (New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Post)

Politicians, civil rights legends and pro athletes joined family members at a Minneapolis memorial to mourn George Floyd, while new abuses are caught on camera and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed the street in front of the White House “Black Lives Matter Plaza.” (Star Tribune, Washington Post, Washington Post)

The U.S. scrapped plans to ban Chinese airlines after Beijing permits foreign carriers, but will limit flights to two a week. Meanwhile, airlines from America to Australia are ramping up June and July flights. (CNBC, Reuters)

The latest UK-EU Brexit talks are set to finish without a breakthrough, with both sides stuck on trade and other crucial issues after another week of difficult negotiations. (Bloomberg)

State-backed hackers from China have targeted Biden campaign staffers, while Iranian hackers recently targeted Trump campaign staff email accounts, Google said. (Reuters)

Japan's fertility rate fell for the fourth straight year, reaching its lowest level in 12 years as births fall below 900,000, 2 years ahead of expectations. (Nikkei Asian Review)

In Senate testimony, college presidents outlined plans to reopen campuses, highlighting the need for robust testing for the virus, contact-tracing measures and social-distancing tactics. (EducationDive)

Economy

Companies that protected their labor forces and supply chains during this year’s stock-market drawdown saw more net inflows from institutional investors and better returns than industry peers. (Wall Street Journal)

Simon Property Group, the country’s largest mall owner, filed a lawsuit against Gap over unpaid rent and other charges it says amount to $66 million. (Wall Street Journal)

The U.S. public-pension funding crisis worsened, as funding ratios fall while the cost of provision has risen. Meanwhile, debt-repayment problems are increasing in the rapidly growing private credit market. (The Economist, Wall Street Journal)

Hong Kong’s monetary authority stepped into the financial market twice on Friday to rein back the local currencyahead of several blockbuster initial public offerings on the local stock exchange. (South China Morning Post)

Technology

Zoom is in advanced talks with Google to use its cybersecurity service. (The Information)

Slack announced an integration deal with Amazon, amid increased competition from Microsoft Teams. Amazon employees will start using Slack, while Slack will increase use of Amazon Web Services and migrate voice and video calling features to Amazon Chime. (The Verge)

Fifty-two percent of U.S. adults say they are very concerned about fake video, up from 35% in June of 2019. (Civic Science)

As China’s access to international markets has grown more unreliable, Chinese e-commerce platforms are partnering with manufacturers to launch their own domestic brands. (