Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
China’s Fosun Aims to Lead in Insurance, Tourism, Healthcare; Plans to Cut Debt
May 18 2016 // Fosun Group, China’s largest private conglomerate, is aiming to become a world leader in insurance, tourism and healthcare but also has a “clear plan” to reduce its debts, chairman and co-founder Guo...
U.S. Top Court Rejects Exxon’s Appeal of $236M Verdict in N.H. Pollution Case
May 16 2016 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected Exxon Mobil Corp’s appeal of a $236 million judgment against the oil company in a case brought by the state of New Hampshire over groundwater contamination linked to a...
Supreme Court Sidelines Class Action Alleging Injury from Inaccurate Internet Information
May 16 2016 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a narrow victory to Spokeo Inc. over the online people-search company’s bid to avoid a class action lawsuit for including incorrect information in its database. The court, in a...
Ex-New York Senate Leader Skelos, Son Get Prison Terms
May 16 2016 // A once-powerful New York politician convicted of using his position as Senate majority leader to help his son extort hundreds of thousands of dollars was sentenced May 12 to five years in prison after each asked for mercy...
8 Suits Filed over Crude Oil Spill along Louisiana’s Bayou Teche
May 16 2016 // Eight lawsuits have been filed by people seeking damages from a Texas industrial services company that spilled about 12,500 gallons of crude oil in March along and into the Bayou Teche in Louisiana. The Advocate reports...
Vermont to Become 1st State Requiring Drug Makers to Explain Price Hikes
May 16 2016 // Vermont is poised to become the first state requiring drug companies to explain their price increases, and Bob and Deborah Messing think that’s a good idea. The Messings live in Montpelier and are in their early 70s....
Outdated SAP Software May Be Vulnerable to Hackers if Not Properly Patched
May 16 2016 // Europe’s biggest software company, SAP, is the subject of a U.S. security alert over a vulnerability the firm disabled six years ago that can still give outside attackers remote control over older SAP systems if the...
Previous Telecom Efforts Flopped But Google, Apple See Future for Telemedicine
May 16 2016 // Google and Apple Inc. have some bright ideas about the future of health care. Not so long ago, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. had similar ideas: a networked world of devices and services that would...
Kentucky Doctor Gets 100 Months for Over-Prescribing Pain Pills
May 16 2016 // A former doctor with offices in Louisville, Ky., and southern Indiana has been sentenced to 100 months in prison for unlawfully distributing prescription drugs. Jamie Guerrero agreed to pay $827,000 in restitution to...
Lowe’s Pays $$8.6M for Firing Disabled Workers Who Sought Extended Medical Leave
May 13 2016 // Lowe’s Cos. has reached an $8.6 million settlement of a U.S. agency lawsuit accusing the nation’s second-largest home improvement retailer of illegally firing workers who went on medical leave for a long...
Blankenship Headed to Jail After Judge Denies Appeal Request
May 13 2016 // Former Massey Energy CEO Donald Blankenship is headed to prison even as he appeals his conviction for conspiring to flout mine-safety laws in connection with the worst U.S. coal industry disaster in almost 40 years. The...
Uber Tells Judge Not to Trust Cab Companies in Battle Over Safety
May 13 2016 // Uber Technologies Inc. fired back at taxi operators accusing it of lying about superior safety, telling a judge the cab companies “fabricated” a customer endorsement with a photo of MySpace’s co-founder...
U.S. Judge Nixes Obamacare Funds to Insurers for Lower Income Insureds; Administration to Appeal
May 12 2016 // A U.S. judge on Thursday handed a victory to congressional Republicans who challenged President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, ruling that his administration overstepped its constitutional powers relating...
Number of Dog Bite Insurance Claims Falls But Average Claim Rises to $37K
May 12 2016 // The cost of dog-bite claims for U.S. insurers climbed 16 percent last year on higher medical expenses and larger settlements to resolve court disputes. The average claim increased to $37,214 in 2015 from $32,072 a year...
Goldman Sachs Says Insurers Need Hedge Funds to Diversity Investments
May 12 2016 // Mike Siegel, who oversees about $190 billion at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s asset-management arm, said insurers should stick with hedge funds even after their recent slump, because the industry needs investing...
Investigation of $81M Bangladesh Bank Heist Uncovers 3 Hacker Groups: Sources
May 11 2016 // Investigators examining the theft of $81 million from Bangladesh’s central bank have uncovered evidence of three hacking groups — including two nation states — inside the bank’s network but say it...
Medical Device Firm to Pay Massachusetts $1.9M in Kickback Settlement
May 10 2016 // Authorities announced that a medical device distributor has agreed to pay nearly $1.9 million to Massachusetts’ Medicaid program (MassHealth) over an alleged scheme to pay kickbacks to health care...
Insurer’s Hospital Claims Study Corroborates High Death Risk from Medical Errors
May 10 2016 // Death claims are the most common hospital liability claims, according to an insurance company study released after researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine reported that medical errors are the third...
Alberta Wildfires Could Hit Canada Economy Harder than Hurricane Katrina in US
May 10 2016 // Intact Financial Corp. may post insured losses of as much as C$1.1 billion ($850 million) from the wildfires in Alberta, which could dent the Canadian economy harder than Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Intact,...
Hiscox Launches New US Flood Cover
May 9 2016 // Hiscox London Market has launched a new flood product for U.S. homeowners — FloodPlus. Working with wholesale brokers in the US to distribute the new product, FloodPlus offers higher limits and a wider scope of cover...
