Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Disasters Affected 8% of U.S. Population in 2017, FEMA Notes in Review of Historic Year
Jan 3 2018 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supported 59 major disaster declarations and 16 emergency declarations in 2017, a year during which unprecedented disasters affected more than 25 million Americans, almost...
Citing National Security, U.S. Kills MoneyGram Sale to China’s Ant Financial
Jan 3 2018 // Ant Financial’s plan to acquire U.S. money transfer company MoneyGram International Inc. collapsed on Tuesday after a U.S. government panel rejected it over national security concerns, the most high-profile Chinese...
Railroads Urged to Accelerate Installation of Safety System
Jan 3 2018 // U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao urged the nation’s railroads and transit agencies to take all possible measures to meet deadlines to install a safety system called positive train control (PTC) to prevent...
Minnesota Chiropractor, Patient Recruiters Found Guilty of Insurance Fraud
Jan 2 2018 // A federal jury has found an Edina, Minnesota, chiropractor and his recruiters guilty of insurance fraud conspiracy, the Minnesota Department of Commerce announced in late December 2017. According to Acting United States...
Pioneer Taps McAbee to Launch Ocean Marine Division in Washington
Jan 2 2018 // Pioneer Underwriters has added Zach McAbee as head of ocean marine. McAbee is based in Seattle, Wash. and reports to Gene Hinman, chief executive officer of Pioneer’s U.S. operation. The new division under McAbee...
GM Court Win Could Narrow Ignition Switch Liability Litigation
Jan 2 2018 // General Motors Co. on Dec. 28 won a court ruling that could reduce the private litigation it faces over flawed vehicle ignition switches, which have been linked to 124 deaths and triggered a big recall. U.S. District Judge...
QBE Insurance Settles Shareholder Class Action in Australia for US$103.2M
Dec 29 2017 // QBE Insurance Group Ltd. has agreed to pay A$132.5 million (US$103.2 million) to settle a shareholder class action in Australia. The class action was commenced by Money Max Interest Pty Ltd on Sept. 9, 2015 in the Federal...
2017 ‘One of Worst’ for U.S. Weather with 15 Events Costing $1 Billion or More
Dec 29 2017 // In the year that President Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris accord and downplayed global warming as a security threat, the U.S. received a harsh reminder of the perils of the rise in the planet’s temperature: a...
Trump Administration Seeks to Ease Offshore Drilling Safety Rules
Dec 29 2017 // The U.S. Interior Department on Thursday proposed eliminating some safety regulations for offshore oil and gas drilling that the Obama administration put in place after BP’s massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a move...
Top Insurance Journal National Stories of 2017
Dec 29 2017 // It wouldn’t feel right to close out the year without looking back at the most popular stories on Insurance Journal during the past 12 months. Here are the national stories that attracted the most readers in 2017,...
Sugary Sports Beans, Uber Divorce Claims Among Chamber’s ‘Most Ridiculous’ Lawsuits of 2017
Dec 28 2017 // A lawsuit by a woman claiming she was deceived about the amount of sugar in an exercise supplement called Sport Beans tops the list of what a top U.S. business lobby sees as the “most ridiculous” lawsuits of...
Judge Nixes $150M Damages Against Testosterone Drugmaker AbbVie
Dec 27 2017 // A U.S. judge on Friday overturned a $150 million verdict against AbbVie Inc. that was the first to result from lawsuits claiming that the company fraudulently misrepresented the risks of its testosterone replacement drug...
EPA Clears Monsanto Roundup Chemical of Health Risks to Humans
Dec 27 2017 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said that glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto Co.’s top-selling weed killer Roundup, is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans, contradicting a World Health...
CNA’s Sather Joins AXIS Insurance U.S. Programs as Underwriter
Dec 22 2017 // Matthew Sather has joined the U.S. Programs, Property & Casualty team of AXIS Insurance business unit as a vice president of Underwriting. Sather is based in the company’s Chicago office and reports to John...
What They Are Saying About Effects of Trump Tax Cuts on Insurance Industry
Dec 22 2017 // Congress has passed and President Donald Trump has signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (HR1) into law. It is the biggest tax change in 30 years. Under the legislation, insurers, agencies and other businesses organized as C...
EU Ruling Upholding Taxi Rules for Uber a Contrast to U.S. Approach
Dec 22 2017 // A European Union decision to treat Uber Technologies Inc. like a taxi company spotlights a trans-Atlantic divide over how governments cope with disruptive technologies and could embolden U.S. cities to restrict the...
Trump Effort to Roll Back Rail Safety Rules Questioned Following Amtrak Crash
Dec 22 2017 // As investigators sift through the wreckage of this week’s Amtrak train crash in Washington state, critics have begun questioning President Donald Trump’s recent efforts to roll back or delay finalizing U.S....
Tracking System Could Speed OK for Drone Deliveries in U.S.
Dec 21 2017 // Deliveries by drones took a step closer to being allowed in the U.S. after a federal advisory panel agreed on a framework for allowing law enforcement to routinely track the small devices. The committee’s report to...
Company Co-Owner Pleads Guilty in Louisiana’s Camp Minden Explosion Case
Dec 20 2017 // One of the owners of a company that abandoned thousands of tons of potentially explosive artillery propellant in Louisiana has admitted lying in order to be awarded federal contracts to “demilitarize” the...
Factbox: Growing List of Insurers Make Brexit Plans for EU Subsidiaries
Dec 20 2017 // Below are insurers’ plans for EU subsidiaries (in alphabetical order) in case Britain does not have access to the single market after Brexit: ADMIRAL. British motor insurer Admiral Group said last year that it could...
