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David Sherfinski

dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com

David Sherfinski covered politics for The Washington Times.

Articles by David Sherfinski

"[T]he NRA and their acolytes underestimate our residents if they think this city will tolerate autocratic rule from Congress," said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, District Democrat, in response to a bill that would do away with D.C.'s ban on semiautomatic rifles and gut other gun restrictions. (ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS)

D.C. gun-control debate holds national clues

Gun-control legislation got a much closer look over the past year in the wake of the Connecticut school shootings — but the District and gun-rights activists have been fighting their own battle on the issue for the better part of a decade.

January 2, 2014
**FILE** Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District's non-voting member of Congress (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

D.C.’s gun debates a preview of national fights

Gun control legislation got a much closer look over the last year in the wake of the Connecticut school shootings — but the District and gun rights activists have been fighting their own battle on the issue for the better part of a decade.

January 2, 2014
Jammies and cocoa: The newest Organizing for Action outreach calling for the public to "talk" about Obamacare has inspired unintentional comedy in the social media realm. (ORGANIZING FOR ACTION)

Six in 10 had bad health care exchange experience: poll

Six in 10 uninsured Americans who visited one of Obamacare's health care exchange website in the last three months say their experience was mostly negative, as the White House touts new enrollment numbers and tries to mitigate fallout from the disastrous rollout of Healthcare.gov.

January 2, 2014
** FILE ** In this Sept. 8, 2013, file photo, a sign warning of the coming assault weapons ban in Maryland is next to AR-15 semi-automatic rifles at the Annapolis Gun Show. "You see people who've bought guns, you see older people. This is not about what everybody thinks it is. This is a plan to disarm America," said Neil Kravitz of Appalachian Promotions. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Six in 10 favor ban on semi-automatic weapons: poll

Fifty-nine percent of likely voters favor a ban on semi-automatic, military-style weapons, which have gotten heightened attention in the wake of recent mass shootings, while just 18 percent think there should be a complete handgun ban in the U.S.

January 2, 2014
FILE - This Aug. 12, 2013 file photo shows New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaking in New York. Bloomberg made a $350 million pledge to Johns Hopkins University in 2013. Philanthropy in 2013 made a comeback in large donations with the nation’s wealthiest donors giving more than $3.4 billion to charity, according to a new tally of the top 10 gifts of 2013 by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Bloomberg jumps into hot Hawaii Democratic primary

Former New York City Mayor Michael I. Bloomberg, who departed office Wednesday and handed the reins of the Big Apple to Mayor Bill de Blasio, is headed to Hawaii Thursday to headline a fundraiser for Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz.

January 2, 2014
Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, Louisiana Democrat, is among the red-state Democrats who will be challenged during her re-election campaign about her support of President Obama's judicial nominees. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Conservative group ad blitz targets Dems over Obamacare

The conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity wasted little time firing off one of the first big salvos in 2014 ahead of the November midterm elections, targeting three Democratic senators up for re-election with a seven-figure television ad campaign on President Obama's troubled health care law.

January 2, 2014
**FILE** Gene Sperling, director of the Economic Council, stands on the South Lawn of the White House before President Obama observes a moment of silence on Sept. 11, 2013, as they mark the 12th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. (Associated Press)

White House repeats demand for more jobless benefits

As President Obama rang in 2014 in Hawaii, the director of his National Economic Council said Wednesday there would be "no better New Year's resolution for Congress" than to make its first legislative priority restoring emergency unemployment benefits for the estimated 1.3 million people who were cut off Dec. 28.

January 1, 2014
President Barack Obama raises his glass for a toast by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon during a luncheon at the United Nations, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

2013 ‘one of the worst’ years in U.S. history

"In both the executive branch and Congress, Americans witnessed an unwinding of the country's founding principles and of their government's most basic responsibilities. The rule of law gave way to the rule of rulers."

December 31, 2013
**FILE** Rep. Ed Royce, California Republican (Associated Press)

Royce camp: GOP Rep. never filed to run in wrong district

The re-election campaign of Rep. Ed Royce, California Republican, is pushing back on a report from the Sacramento Bee that Mr. Royce filed to run for re-election in the wrong congressional district last week.

December 30, 2013
This undated identification file photo provided Wednesday, April 3, 2013, by Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Conn., shows former student Adam Lanza, who authorities said opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, killing 26 students and educators. (AP Photo/Western Connecticut State University, File)

No clear motive found for Newtown massacre

Newtown gunman Adam Lanza wrote obsessively about destruction and violence, was labeled "emotionally paralyzed" by a clinical nurse specialist at Yale University as early as 2006, and changed his socks 20 times a day.

December 27, 2013
"What we found out is that people just didn't trust government that they were going to stop there," says Sen. Joe Manchin III, a West Virginia Democrat who co-sponsored gun control legislation that failed this year. (Associated Press)

Website lets high-volume gun dealers skip background checks

Hundreds of high-volume private gun dealers are transferring tens of thousands of firearms every year over the Internet without conducting background checks, according to a report from the gun control advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns based on an investigation conducted from August to October.

December 25, 2013
Artur Davis (Associated Press)

Former Rep. Artur Davis won’t run for Wolf’s seat

Former Rep. Artur Davis, a Democrat-turned-Republican who represented Alabama in Congress and now calls Northern Virginia home, says he will not run for the seat of retiring Rep. Frank Wolf, Virginia Republican.

December 23, 2013
**FILE** Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. (Associated Press)

DOJ reaches largest-ever federal government settlement over auto loan discrimination

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced Friday that the government has reached a $98 million settlement agreement with Detroit-based Ally Financial over discriminatory auto lending practices — the federal government's largest auto loan discrimination settlement in history.

December 20, 2013
** FILE ** Actress Glenn Close arrives for the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences awards Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013, in Moffett Field, Calif. The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences recognizes excellence in research aimed at curing intractable diseases and extending human life. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Actress Glenn Close, advocacy groups prod Congress on mental health legislation

With a boost from some Hollywood royalty Wednesday, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are increasingly bullish about the likelihood they’ll be able to boost mental health spending in response to the Newtown school shooting, even as Democrats vowed not to let that spoil their push for a broader crackdown on gun ownership.

December 18, 2013