Quartz Daily Brief—Americas edition—Britain’s parliament returns, ISIL captures Ramadi, “Mad Men” ends, whole milk

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What to watch for today

Europe discusses migrants and Greece. EU foreign ministers are expected to approve a naval mission off the coast of Libya, the source of thousands of migrants making their way across the Mediterranean. Talks also continue with Greece over a deal to unlock another tranche of aid, with hopes of wrapping up a deal by Friday.

Clothing and game companies report. Urban Outfitters is expected to show a second consecutive quarter of rising sales after a year of declines, thanks to a brand revamp. Take-Two Interactive Software, responsible for the Grand Theft Auto franchise, will also report earnings.

India and China’s leaders on a world tour. After meeting each other last week, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi starts a two-day visit to South Korea, and Chinese premier Li Keqiang heads to Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Chile after a stop in Ireland.

Britain’s parliament reconvenes. The House of Commons meets with its first Conservative majority in parliament since 1992, following the May 7 election. It’s a new world: the official Labour opposition has no leader and the Scottish nationalists are now the third-largest party.

Fighting resumes in Yemen. A five-day ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians came to an end on Sunday (paywall), after neither side of the conflict suggested an extension. An Iranian aid ship and naval boats are currently en route to Yemen, which could represent an escalation in the conflict against the Saudi Arabia-led coalition.

Amtrak’s northeastern corridor reopens. Normal rail service will resume a day earlier than planned following a fatal derailment last week. Amtrak said it has finished replacing a stretch of rail where a speeding train killed eight and injured 200.

Over the weekend

Fresh sanctions for North Korea. US secretary of state John Kerry said the US and China are discussing new joint penalties to “ramp up” pressure after Kim Jong-un refused to discuss a reduction in his country’s nuclear arsenal. Kerry also said North Korea could be referred to the international criminal court for human rights abuses.

Shia militias headed to Ramadi. The Iraqi government has sent Iranian-backed militants to retake the capital of its largest province after ISIL forces captured it following several days of fighting. Ramadi, 70 miles (112 km) from Baghdad, is a Sunni region in which several tribes have advised against employing Shia militias.

Qatar jailed a BBC journalist. A reporter invited by the Qatari government to see preparations for the 2022 World Cup tournament spent two nights in jail and had his belongings confiscated, according to the BBC. He had been researching the conditions migrant laborers were being housed in, but was later allowed to continue his trip after no charges were made.

China’s house prices fell for the eighth consecutive month. New home prices in 70 major cities fell 6.1% in April from a year earlier. On a monthly basis, though, they were flat, and some cities are showing signs of growth.

Thailand’s GDP missed estimates. The Southeast Asian economy grew 3% in the first quarter from a year earlier, its fastest pace in two years, but lower than expectations of 3.4%. Thai officials downgraded their forecast for growth this full year.

“Mad Men” went off the air. The TV show aired its finale with Don Draper and Peggy Olson finally—well, spoilers here. Some consider the show the last of the Golden Age of TV, and some don’t.

Nine people died in a Texas biker gang shootout. A brawl between several biker gangs escalated into gunfire between the gangs and police, leaving at least 17 people injured and nine dead. One witness said up to 30 guns were fired and police recovered 100 weapons at the scene.

Egypt’s former president Mohamed Morsi was sentenced to death. The country’s first freely-elected president and more than 100 other people face execution for their roles in a mass prison break in January 2011. The decision will be referred to Egypt’s highest religious authority and a final decision will be announced next month.

Quartz obsession interlude

Akshat Rathi on how most children start out happy no matter what, but materialism catches up eventually. “There is also a noteworthy difference in the nature of of kids’ carefree attitudes in rich and poor countries. Despite being generally happy, children in developed countries were relatively less satisfied with their body, appearance, and self-confidence.” Read more here.

Matters of debate

Job insecurity is changing how we bring up our children. It could diminish their expectations regarding commitment.

The US presidency is an elected monarchy. Executive overreach goes back centuries.

We should drink more whole milk. Dairy fat actually helps stave off obesity.

Jay Z’s artist-led social network could revive the value of music. His weekend shows brought the music fans care most about back into the picture.

We are in an age of “fast TV.” Scriptwriters are packing more plots into each episode to try to surprise increasingly jaded viewers.

Surprising discoveries

The internet is reaching peak capacity. Without an engineering breakthrough, broadband speeds will hit their limit in as few as five years from now.

Scientists created a fingerprint test for cocaine. Unlike a urine sample, a fingerprint can’t be faked.

Taylor Swift has her own emoji. Tweet #BadBloodMusicVideo and you’ll get Twitter’s first custom celebrity emoji.

Some Manhattan women get “wife bonuses” from their rich husbands. They are rewarded for how well they manage the household.

You can make timelapse videos out of online photos. Millions of shared photos show how landmarks and cities change over time.

Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, whole milk, and reaction as Don Draper ended up shooting Tony Soprano in a diner while the cast of Seinfeld disinterestedly watched on to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day.

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