Axios

A Jesuit priest who ministers to LGBTQ Catholics tweeted a letter from Pope Francis praising his work on Sunday.

Why it matters: The letter was delivered the same week the Vatican protested a proposed Italian law that would criminalize hate speech against the LGBTQ community, continuing a pattern of mixed signals from the Church.

Black people in the city of Philadelphia, the nation's largest predominantly Black county, are lagging far behind white people when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: It's a reflection of larger racial disparities in vaccination rates across the United States. "Coronavirus immunizations are the latest iteration of the pandemic’s unequal burden," the Post writes.

Texas advocacy and political groups will launch a new coalition Monday to fight Republican efforts to change voting laws in their state and support Texans in need after the pandemic and last winter's paralyzing storm, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: While Democratic lawyers are fighting proposed or enacted changes in voting laws in battleground states, a grassroots response will be critical if the party and its backers hope to have any effects on the 2022 midterms and 2024 presidential election.

Some Democratic economists who questioned the size of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill — including Larry Summers — are now offering their full-throated support for his bipartisan infrastructure proposal.

Why it matters: Support for the package, undercut when Biden issued a veto threat last week, is fickle. Endorsements from both the political and policy worlds will be key to convincing nervous lawmakers to back or stick with it.

As Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain navigate the legislative minefield of the next few months, they'll often turn to a moderate Democrat who gets far less ink than Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) or Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.).

The big picture: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) has become a pivotal player in the multi-trillion-dollar negotiations that will shape the Democrats' electoral prospects, Joe Biden's presidency and the future of the country.

Nearly three-dozen corporate PACs have donated at least $5,000 to Republicans who objected to certifying the 2020 election, yet Toyota leads by a substantial margin.

Why it matters: Following Jan. 6, huge segments of corporate America rethought their political-giving programs. The new numbers suggest some large companies have decided to maintain support — even for members of Congress deeply enmeshed in the pro-Trump conspiracy theories that fueled the Capitol attack.

The Biden administration is sending their A-list officials — and actual celebrities — across the country, devising ads for niche markets and enlisting community organizers in a major vaccine push, the Associated Press reports.

Why it matters: President Biden had previously set a goal of vaccinating 70% of U.S. adults with at least one dose by July 4. However, the White House has recently acknowledged that it is likely to miss that goal.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that hospitalizations are up among the unvaccinated and that vaccinations have slowed in his state during an appearance Sunday on CBS' "Face of the Nation."

Why it matters: States nationwide are seeing a worrying trend of increased hospitalization and slowing vaccinations. Arkansas, in particular, has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, per Politico.

Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. resigned on Sunday, hours after welcoming Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to D.C., where he will meet on Monday with President Biden at the White House.

Why it matters: Gilad Erdan's decision comes as the Biden administration and new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett feel each other out, particularly on the most contentious issues like Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The former managing editor of the English edition of Apple Daily, Hong Kong's biggest pro-democracy newspaper, was arrested at the Hong Kong airport on charges of collusion, Bloomberg reports.

Why it matters: Apple Daily shuttered last week following the freezing of its assets under China's national security law.

Serena Williams said Sunday that she will not be competing in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, the Associated Press reports.

Why it matters: Williams has won four gold medals for the United States during past summer games, competing in both single and doubles tennis competitions.

The victims of the collapsed Surfside residential building hail from around the world, the Associated Press reports.

The big picture: The residents of the 12-story Champlain Towers South reflected the international makeup of Miami.

J.D. Vance — whose raw bestseller, "Hillbilly Elegy," helped elites process the Trump upset — plans to announce at a factory in Ohio this week that he's seeking the Republican nomination for Senate, sources tell me.

Driving the news: Vance's top issues will be the culture wars (including cancel culture, critical race theory and Big Tech), immigration and economic populism (with an emphasis on inflation).

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said they were relieved by President Biden's statement on Saturday, walking back his implied veto threat of the bipartisan infrastructure deal.

Why it matters: The passage of the $1.2 trillion agreement seemed to be in jeopardy after Biden made several remarks on Thursday suggesting an ultimatum.

Two women's rights activists are free, nearly three years after Saudi Arabia arrested them during a government crackdown on dissent, the London-based Saudi rights group ALQST announced on Sunday.

Why it matters: The international community condemned the detention of Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sadah back in summer 2018.

Republicans, defined by one thing and one man for four-plus years, see a new, unifying platform to run on in the 2022 elections and potentially beyond.

The blueprint: Republicans tell us the work-in-progress plan argues that Biden Democrats are soft on crime, soft and ineffective on illegal immigration, and reckless and wrong with government spending.

Former Sen. Mike Gravel, who served Alaska as a Democrat from 1969-1981, died on Saturday, the AP reports.

Driving the news: Gravel was a noted anti-war politician, who led a filibuster against the Vietnam draft and read over 4,000 pages of the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional record.

Oregon Republicans nominated former Rep. Mike Nearman to retake the seat he was just expelled from, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.

The big picture: Nearman was ousted by Oregon Lawmakers after a video emerged that appeared to show him coaching right-wing demonstrators on how to breach the state Capitol last year.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr said the Justice Department always knew Trump's claims of election fraud were "bullsh*t," according to an excerpt from journalist Jonathan Karl's upcoming book published in the The Atlantic.

Why it matters: Barr's new comments come as Trump continues to propagate the lie that the 2020 election was "rigged." Republicans in swing states now are conducting "audits" of election ballots based on false conspiracies about the election.

The death toll from the Surfside, Fla., building collapse has risen to five after rescue workers pulled another body from the rubble of the 12-story Champlain Towers South, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (D) said Saturday.

The latest: 156 people remained unaccounted for, Levine Cava said. Miami-Dade police on Saturday night identified four of the people who'd lost their lives in the tragedy at the 12-story Champlain Towers South as Stacie Dawn Fang, 54; Antonio Lozano, 83; Gladys Lozano, 79; and Manuel LaFont, 54.

Former President Trump called Rep. Anthony Gonzalez a "grandstanding RINO [Republican in name only]," as he advocated for GOP congressional challenger Max Miller, a former White House aide, at a rally in Wellington, Ohio, Saturday.

The big picture: In his first rally since leaving office, Trump said Gonzalez — one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach him over January's U.S. Capitol riot — was a "sellout." He spent much of the rally complaining about his election loss and criticizing the Biden administration on policies including immigration. Trump again hinted at a 2024 run.

Go deeper: Trump seen as likely to run in 2024

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) declared a state of emergency Saturday over what she called "extraordinary flooding," which caused power outages, sewer backups and left dozens of drivers stranded.

Driving the news: Flood watches were in place through Sunday, after up to 7 inches of rain fell in some parts of the state over the past few days, per the National Weather Service.

The Environmental Protection Agency watchdog has found two former EPA employees were kept on the payroll by political appointees of former President Trump after their contracts were terminated, Politico first reported Saturday.

Why it matters: The EPA's Office of Inspector General found the agency's former chief of staff Ryan Jackson and former White House liaison Charles Muñoz had "made and used official time sheets and personnel forms that contained materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements," per the Washington Post.

Survivors and families of victims of a 2017 mass shooting in a Texas church can't sue the gun retailer that sold the weapon used in the attack, the state's supreme court has ruled.

The big picture: Plaintiffs alleged in four lawsuits against Academy Sports and Outdoors that the San Antonio-area store negligently sold the gun to Devin Kelley in 2016, who went on to kill 25 people at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs before killing himself.