Some Americans used their stimulus checks to pay down all sorts of debt. Which might have been a forward-thinking plan, since federal student loan payments are set to restart this fall.

At mentoring program Gameheads, students draw on lived experience to create video games. Some are tackling the gentrification happening in their own neighborhoods. Plus, the latest on student loan repayments.

From the BBC World Service: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to visit Beijing this week as the US and China try to patch up a broken relationship. BBC China Media Analyst Kerry Allen gives the lowdown on how her trip could be received. Plus, an environmental campaign group claims the Anglo-Dutch energy giant, Shell, continues to trade Russian gas, more than a year after promising to pull out of the country. And Warren Bull reports on the hot topic of a shortage of Sriracha sauce.

Employers will now have to accommodate their employees’ religious observances, unless they can prove doing so imposes a substantial burden on their business operations. Plus, the price of a monarchy, and the hot topic at today’s EU meeting.

Colleges may respond to the overturning of race-based affirmative action by putting more emphasis on socio-economic status, or even de-emphasizing legacy status. Plus, a law protecting pregnant workers went into effect this week

From the BBC World Service: After months of negotiating, the International Monetary Fund has reached a financing deal with Pakistan to avoid a default. The British are coming… for your airport stores; many of the shops you see in airports in the US are run by a British company, WHSmith, and they’re planning even more. A new airline, K9, is giving pets seats on private jets for routes including London to New York, New Jersey and Dubai. 

An updated estimate put first quarter GDP growth in the U.S. at the equivalent of 2% per year. We’ll discuss what that robust GDP means for future rate hikes. Plus, state UI agencies still have frustrating filing processes.

The results of this year’s big bank stress tests are in, and the outcomes are encouraging… according to some. Then, the economic case for LGBTQ equality. 

From the BBC World Service: Sri Lanka has begun a five-day bank holiday to allow the crisis-hit nation breathing space to restructure $42 billion in domestic debt. China is set to double its capacity to generate renewable energy by 2025, hitting government targets five years ahead of schedule. Virgin Galactic is  launching its first commercial rocket plane spaceflight. The mission is scientific — with plans to collect biometric data and conduct tests.