41% OF REPUBLICANS STILL REFUSE COVID-19 SHOTS
By Laura Santhanam, @LauraSanthanam
Health reporter and coordinating producer for polling

As fewer people die from the coronavirus, the pace of vaccinations is stalling, and four out of 10 Republicans say they do not plan to get a vaccine, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll.

So far, 59 percent of U.S. adults said they have gotten vaccinated, and another 14 percent say they plan to, according to this latest poll. But 24 percent do not plan to get vaccinated.

Since August 2020, the percentage of those who do not want to get immunized against COVID-19 has declined by only 9 points — not as much of a change as experts hoped. That concerns public health experts because getting vaccinated is no longer an abstract concept in the U.S. In August, no vaccine had been authorized for use against COVID-19. But today, three different vaccines are widely available in the U.S. and hundreds of millions of Americans have either been vaccinated or know someone who has.

Earlier during the nation’s vaccine rollout, issues with access, such as lack of transportation or Internet access to sign up for appointments, raised concerns about the logistical hurdles separating the public from much-needed protection against the virus. But at this point in the pandemic, politics may be a greater predictor of one’s inclination to get vaccinated. Republicans were less likely to say they’ve already been vaccinated, at 45 percent, and more likely to say they do not plan to get vaccinated, at 41 percent. Just 4 percent of Democrats and 27 percent of independent voters said they do not plan to get vaccinated.

The above was excerpted from a poll story published on Monday. Read the full story here.


FIVE OVERLOOKED POLITICAL STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK
By Saher Khan, @SaherMKhan
Politics associate producer
 
These Tenants Faced Income Discrimination When Seeking Housing. Akron Just Made That Illegal. May 17. Low-income renters who use assistance like housing vouchers have long faced housing discrimination in Akron, Ohio, but a new law now makes it illegal for property managers to reject renters based on their source of income. Why it matters: Since the Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing Acts were passed decades ago, outlawing racial discrimination in housing, landlords have taken advantage of loopholes like the one closed by the new legislation to accomplish the same goal of keeping people of color out. Advocates hope the change will be a positive step toward equity. -- The Devil Strip
 
Rural Areas Are Looking for Workers. They Need Broadband to Get Them. May 17. Rural communities across the country have complained for years that unreliable or unavailable internet access has been restricting their economic growth, and the pandemic further exacerbated the problem. Why it matters: President Joe Biden’s focus on broadband investment in his infrastructure bill would help improve economic opportunities in rural communities by helping them attract younger workers and new businesses.. -- The New York Times
 
Documents Show Trump Officials Used Secret Terrorism Unit to Question Lawyers at the Border. May 14. Newly released records show that Trump officials, citing conspiracies about Antifa, used a secret CBP terrorism response team to target and interrogate immigration lawyers at the border. Why it matters: The records reveal how the former administration used its expansive federal powers to target immigration lawyers, journalists and activists suspected of having communication with a migrant caravan that in 2018 was making its way toward the southern border. -- Pro Publica
 
Unemployed Texans will stop getting additional $300-per-week benefit next month after Gov. Greg Abbott opts out of federal program. May 17. Businesses in Texas concerned that unemployment benefits have prevented people from returning to work have succeeded in their push to get the governor to bring an end to two unemployment aid programs — the $300-per-week supplemental benefit from the federal government and the program that extended jobless aid to more than 300,000 gig workers who wouldn’t normally qualify for unemployment insurance. Why it matters: Texas is one of several states with Republican governors who are bringing an early end to the supplemental unemployment benefit program, which business owners argue will incentivize people to get back to work, but which would take away financial assistance from thousands of Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic and might not be able to find work. -- Texas Tribune
 
Minnesota’s racial divide: Will land bridge right Rondo’s wrongs? May 11. The Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota, was once home to 80 percent of the city’s Black residents, but the construction of a highway 60 years ago displaced the once vibrant community and culture. Why it matters: Biden’s infrastructure bill would allocate funding to address inequities in communities of color like Rondo. Local officials are hoping to use the money from Biden’s plan to right historical wrongs and build a land bridge over the highway that could house an African American enterprise district. -- Al Jazeera


#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Kate Grumke, @KGrumke
Politics producer

Today President Joe Biden visited a Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, where he test drove a new electric pickup truck.. In 1904, a future first lady became the first woman on record to receive a license to drive a vehicle in Washington, D.C., and that vehicle, too, was electric. 

Our question: Which future first lady drove an electric vehicle in Washington, D.C., more than 100 years ago?

Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: Which rail company were workers striking against in 1894?

The answer: The Pullman Company

After President Grover Cleveland sent in troops to enforce the first-ever federal injunction to block a strike, former railroad worker and political activist Eugene Debs was arrested. Debs challenged the injunction all, appealing to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the federal government had the authority to issue a strike injunction because of its role in regulating interstate commerce. Debs would go on to run for president multiple times as the candidate for the Socialist Party of America. 

Congratulations to our winners: Bob Schmid and David C. Rickard!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.