Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Two Plead Guilty to Insurance Fraud by Arson in West Virginia
Mar 16 2018 // Two men pled guilty in federal court for their respective roles in a scheme to commit insurance fraud by arson. Dudley Bledsoe, age 63, of Hanover in Wyoming County, West Virginia, and Ricky Dwayne Gleason, age 54, of...
U.S. Says Russia Behind Years of ‘Multi-Stage’ Cyber Attacks on Energy Grid
Mar 16 2018 // The Trump administration on Thursday blamed the Russian government for a campaign of cyber attacks stretching back at least two years that targeted the U.S. power grid, marking the first time the United States has publicly...
Equifax Sued by Australia’s Competition Regulator for Allegedly Misleading Consumers
Mar 16 2018 // Australia’s competition regulator said on Friday it was suing credit reporting company Equifax Pty Ltd, owned by U.S.-based Equifax Inc, alleging it misled consumers and used unfair tactics with people in financial...
Federal Appeals Court Sides with Financial Firms, Voids Obama Fiduciary Rule
Mar 15 2018 // A federal appeals court on Thursday voided the U.S. Department of Labor’s “fiduciary rule,” which had been adopted in 2016 under the Obama administration to curb conflicts of interest among providers of...
Study Links Severe Winter Weather in Northeastern U.S. to Arctic Temps
Mar 15 2018 // The frequency of extreme winter weather in the U.S. is sensitive to Arctic temperatures, and that’s something those paying weather-related losses may want to take note of. After all, you can’t spell polar...
Lawsuits Charge Automakers Knew of Takata Air Bag Problems
Mar 15 2018 // General Motors Co., Volkswagen AG, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Daimler AG knew of problems with Takata air bag inflators and should have moved faster to recall vehicles, according to company documents cited on...
Democratic Senators Call for Changes in Federal Autonomous Vehicle Bill
Mar 15 2018 // Five Democratic U.S. senators on Wednesday urged changes to a stalled landmark bill aimed at speeding the deployment and testing of self-driving cars. “We are concerned that the bill indefinitely preempts state and...
$1.5B Settlement in Syngenta Modified Corn Seed Lawsuit
Mar 14 2018 // A $1.5 billion settlement was reached in a class-action lawsuit covering tens of thousands of farmers, grain-handling facilities and ethanol plants that sued Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta over its introduction of a...
Judge to Decide on Evidence to Allow in Monsanto Product Liability Litigation
Mar 14 2018 // Picture Iowa farmers bathing in Roundup weed killer. That was a federal judge’s takeaway after seeing slides that “sort of seared into my brain” that the main chemical in Monsanto Co.’s Roundup is...
Nepal Plane Crash Followed Confused Chatter Between Pilot, Control Tower
Mar 14 2018 // “I say again, turn!” the air traffic controller called over the radio, his voice rising, as the flight from Bangladesh swerved low over the runway at Kathmandu’s small airport. Seconds later, the plane...
National Hurricane Center Updates Hurricane Irma Death Toll
Mar 14 2018 // The death toll from Hurricane Irma’s catastrophic rampage across the Caribbean and the southeastern U.S. has risen to 44 fatalities directly caused by its strong winds and heavy rains, plus 85 fatalities indirectly...
U.S. Population Trends: Elders to Outnumber Youth; More Ethnic, Racial Diversity
Mar 14 2018 // There will soon, within a few decades, be an important demographic turning point in U.S. history. By 2035, there will be 78.0 million people 65 years and older compared to 76.4 million under the age of 18, according to the...
What Cyber Insurance Industry Learned from 2017 Hacks
Mar 13 2018 // The NotPetya, WannaCry and Equifax hacks of last year were evidence that the U.S. insurance industry has been ill-prepared to handle a large cyber attack and needs to up its game. However, as a consequence of the attacks...
Yahoo to Face Lawsuit Over Breach of 3 Billion Users’ Data
Mar 13 2018 // Yahoo has been ordered by a federal judge to face much of a lawsuit in the United States claiming that the personal information of all 3 billion users was compromised in a series of data breaches. In a decision on Friday...
S. Africa Class Action Planned Against Food Producer Tiger Brands After Listeria Outbreak
Mar 12 2018 // A human rights lawyer plans to launch a class action lawsuit against South African food producer Tiger Brands on behalf of the families of people who died and those affected by the worst listeria outbreak in history. South...
Vehicle Recalls in U.S. Fell in 2017 After 3 Years of Record High Levels
Mar 12 2018 // U.S. motor vehicle recalls fell to 30.7 million in 2017, the lowest level since 2013, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Thursday, after a record 53 million were recalled in 2016 when a callback...
Judge Says Trial Over Opioids May Be Necessary
Mar 9 2018 // A federal judge pushing for a settlement in lawsuits by state and local governments against drug companies over their roles in the U.S. opioid epidemic said on Wednesday that trials may be needed after both sides...
Arctic Has Warmest Winter with Sea Ice at Record Lows: Weather Data
Mar 9 2018 // Winter at the top of the world wimped out this year. The Arctic just finished its warmest winter on record. And sea ice hit record lows for this time of year, with plenty of open water where ocean water normally freezes...
Cigna to Buy Pharmacy Benefits Manager Express Scripts for $52 Billion
Mar 8 2018 // U.S. health insurer Cigna Corp. struck a $52-billion deal to buy pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) Express Scripts Holding Co on Thursday, looking for new ways to hold onto their profits as the industry faces greater...
La Niña Has 55% Chance of Waning During March-May, Says National Weather Service
Mar 8 2018 // The current La Niña phase of the climate cycle will most likely transition during the March-May season to ENSO-neutral conditions, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday, a development that brings...