David Sherfinski profile background image
David Sherfinski profile image

David Sherfinski

U.S. Correspondent

Thomson Reuters Foundation

David Sherfinski is a U.S. Correspondent at the Thomson Reuters Foundation based in the United States. Before joining the Thomson Reuters Foundation, David covered the White House and Congress in Washington, D.C.

October 31, 2024

Forget polling or prediction markets - if you want to take the political temperature of the United States ahead of the presidential election, look at the stock prices of the country's biggest private prison conglomerates, said Bianca Tylek.

Tylek, executive director of the non-profit group Worth Rises, was on vacation when President Barack Obama issued an executive order aimed at phasing out the federal government's use of privately run prisons in 2016.

October 31, 2024

Alongside the first U.S. presidential election since the Supreme Court overturned a constitutional right to abortion, voters in 10 states will weigh in directly on whether to protect reproductive rights or, in at least one case, restrict them.

Proponents and opponents of expanding abortion rights are in the midst of a costly, high-stakes campaign to win in the states where abortion rights are also on the ballot.

October 28, 2024

As the U.S. braces for a fiercely competitive election, Checo Yancy has helped register 20,000 fellow formerly incarcerated individuals to vote, just a fraction of the people in his home state of Louisiana who have had their civil right restored.

"It's taken on a special urgency. Everyone is trying to get every vote they can get," said Yancy, co-founder of the non-profit Voters Organized to Educate (VOTE).

October 23, 2024

The devastation wrought by Hurricanes Helene and Milton across the southeastern United States has prompted calls for a swift and comprehensive overhaul of disaster preparedness as climate change fuels bigger storms, wildfires and extreme weather.

From new flood map requirements to updating sometimes decades-old building codes, now is the time to at least think about getting ahead of the next storm, experts said.

October 08, 2024

The devastation across the southeastern United States wrought by Hurricane Helene has brought the federal government's emergency response apparatus into focus ahead of the November election as authorities work to pick up the pieces.

With rebuilding in North Carolina, Georgia and elsewhere likely to take months, if not years, the responsibility will eventually fall to either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump, one of whom will replace President Joe Biden in January.

October 03, 2024

Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina is one of several area refuges receiving cash from President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which contains billions for clean energy and climate resilience.

Rebekah Martin, with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, said one shoreline area "changes a little bit" every time she visits, underscoring how vulnerable the region is to climate change.

October 02, 2024

Fearing that Donald Trump could kill off green initiatives if he wins the U.S. election, President Joe Biden's administration is racing to spend the tens of billions of dollars it had earmarked for climate action.

Trump, who is running against Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed Biden, has put the president's climate and energy agenda in the crosshairs on the campaign trail.

September 27, 2024

Filiberto Lares spends his days in a truck with no air conditioning restocking airplanes with food and drinks at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, where temperatures inside his cab can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius).

Lares struggles to protect his soles from the scorching metal in the trucks, but is still often left with a painful burning sensation in his feet.

September 19, 2024

The rights of millions of independent workers in the United States may hinge on the presidential election, with supporters of the candidates pushing widely divergent views of how federal policy should regulate the gig economy.

In the United States, workers who find jobs via apps are mostly treated as independent contractors and have far fewer legal protections than traditional employees.

August 26, 2024

Dulce Suarez-Resnick, an insurance agent in Florida, hears plenty from people complaining how flood maps can trigger new insurance costs for them yet leave their neighbours unscathed. 

As climate risk data becomes ever more prevalent, U.S. homeowners now have new know-how to future-proof their main asset but may also end up paying more to guard against the possible fallout of a fast-changing climate.