A daily roundup of fresh data from scholars, governments, think tanks, pollsters and other social science researchers. 

Politics
Vote ratings show how Congress’ ‘ideological middle’ has dwindled, Washington Post
How Republican and Democratic sex scandals differ, Washington Post
N.H. Sen. Shaheen continues to lead all Republican challengers, U. of New Hampshire
Rhode Island voters show some support for legalizing marijuana, Brown University
Public opinion on civil rights, 50 years after the Civil Rights Act, Gallup

Economy
Preliminary April consumer confidence higher than expected, U. of Michigan/Reuters
What’s behind the decline in prime-age (25-54) workers in the labor force?, Atlanta Fed
Lower prices pulled down natural gas reserves, despite some new production gains, EIA
Chart: How Washington spends your taxes, CNN Money
Relationship between single mothers and poverty not as simple as it seems, WashPost
Real male-female gap in academe may be representation, not pay, Chronicle of Higher Ed.
Interactive: How male and female pay stacks up in Washington, National Journal
Internet ad revenue surpassed TV ad revenue in 2013, PwC/IAB

Health & Society
8.3% of baseball’s top tier players are black, down from 19% in 1986, New York Times
Top reason seniors go online: communicating with friends and family, Brookings
People in West, Midwest most likely to say their teachers are well-respected, Gallup
Which cities’ residents are most satisfied with their communities? Gallup
Grads have less faith in value of higher ed but would do it again anyway, Nat’l Journal
Infographic: What we do and don’t know about how Obamacare has worked, Bloomberg

International
U.S. tops other global leaders in approval; Russian leadership has lowest ratings, Gallup
37% of young adults in EU have completed college, up from 24% in 2002, Eurostat
Across OECD, tax burdens on labor income continues to rise, OECD
India, China, Nigeria had largest share of world’s ‘extreme poor’ in 2010, World Bank

Got new data to share? Send it to us via email facttank@pewresearch.org or Tweet us @FactTank.

George Gao  is a former associate digital producer at Pew Research Center.