Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Commissioner Explains Call for Insurer Divestment from Coal
Feb 4 2016 // One can say California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has a beef with coal. Jones made a bold move on Jan. 25 when he asked all insurance companies doing business in California to voluntarily divest from their...
Arkansas Utility Wants U.S. to Uphold Exxon Mobil Spill-Related Fines
Feb 4 2016 // A water utility company in Arkansas is urging a federal regulatory agency to uphold fines and new safety requirements for Exxon Mobil Corp. regarding an oil spill in Mayflower. In a letter to the Pipeline and Hazardous...
Sexually-Transmitted Zika Virus Case Confirmed in Texas
Feb 4 2016 // Health officials on Feb. 2 reported that a person in Texas has become infected with the Zika virus through sex in the first case of the illness being transmitted within the United States amid the current outbreak in Latin...
Major Railroads Say They’ll Again Miss Safety Deadline First Set in 2008
Feb 4 2016 // Three of the biggest freight railroads operating in the U.S. have told the government they won’t meet a 2018 deadline to start using safety technology intended to prevent accidents like the deadly derailment of an...
XL Catlin Unveils Workplace Violence Coverage for Mid-Size Companies
Feb 4 2016 // XL Catlin has introduced a new insurance policy to help mid-size companies in the U.S. respond and recover from incidents of workplace violence. According to Denise Balan, Americas Head for XL Catlin’s Crisis...
FBI Joins Investigation into Lead Contamination of Flint Water System
Feb 3 2016 // The FBI is working with a multi-agency team investigating the lead contamination of Flint’s drinking water, alongside Environmental Protection Agency investigators who can tackle criminal violations of federal...
International Insurers Still Reluctant to Provide Cover for Iran Oil Cargoes
Feb 3 2016 // Oil companies looking to steal a jump on rivals in the race to benefit from Iran’s emergence from Western sanctions risk having tankers left in limbo by international insurers’ continued reluctance to provide...
Officials Expect Zika Virus in U.S. by April; Outdoor Spraying Called Ineffective
Feb 3 2016 // Health experts are bracing for Zika virus to spread to the United States by April or May, borne by a mosquito that craves human blood, feeds during the day and lives under beds and inside closets. Until now, the best...
U.S. Mine Safety Rule to Curb Black Lung Goes Into Effect
Feb 3 2016 // Underground coal mines will ramp up testing for the dust that causes breathing problems and leads to black lung disease under a new federal rule that took effect February 1. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration...
For 1st Time in Months Midwest Economic Forecast Figures Rise
Feb 2 2016 // January results from a survey of supply managers in nine states in the Midwest and Plains suggest some improvement in the regional economy, but the conditions apparently didn’t engender much optimism from those...
N.Y. Gov. Announces 3 Appointments to Department of Financial Services
Feb 2 2016 // New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has announced three appointments to the state Department of Financial Services. These appointments follow Cuomo’s recent nomination of Maria Vullo to serve as the superintendent of...
Arthur J. Gallagher Names Cavaness to Replace McGurn as Head of U.S. Wholesale Business
Feb 2 2016 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced a leadership transition in its U.S. wholesale brokerage business, Risk Placement Services (RPS). The international brokerage firm said David E. McGurn Jr., current RPS chairman, who...
Multi-Year Trend of Reduced Natural Hazard Activity Continues in 2015
Feb 1 2016 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. Low-Level Hazard Activity Results in Decreased Damage and Loss Totals Looking at the big picture, 2015 was a quiet year in terms of natural hazard activity. Overall,...
New York Man Gets 15 Years for No-Fault Insurance, Stock Fraud Scheme
Feb 1 2016 // A Long Island, New York, man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a $35 million fraud that a judge said wrecked investors’ lives. Mikhail Zemlyansky, 39, was led out of a Manhattan courtroom Thursday, Jan. 28, in...
3 Female Chauffeurs Awarded $130K Each in Minnesota Discrimination Case
Jan 31 2016 // A federal judge has awarded damages to three Minnesota women who sued after they were dismissed from their chauffeur jobs because a Saudi prince wanted only male drivers. U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen awarded $130,000...
Officials, Poultry Producers Hope Nationwide Testing Contains Indiana Bird Flu
Jan 29 2016 // In the two weeks since bird flu reappeared in Indiana, U.S. veterinarians have swabbed the mouths of chickens and turkeys across the country, racing to uncover any more infections and contain the virus before it causes...
U.S. Utilities Examine Their Insurance Protection After Ukraine Grid Cyber Attack
Jan 29 2016 // U.S. utilities are looking hard at their cyber vulnerabilities and whether they can get insurance to cover what could be a multi-billion dollar loss after hackers cut electric power to more than 80,000 Ukrainians last...
Most Dangerous Cities in U.S. Ranked by Crime Data
Jan 28 2016 // East St. Louis, Illinois and Camden, New Jersey rank first and second in an annual ranking of the country’s most dangerous cities. New Orleans ((70), Philadelphia (65), Miami (63), Washington, D.C. (35) and Baltimore...
Record Western Wildfires a Contrast in Otherwise Quiet Year for U.S. Natural Disasters
Jan 28 2016 // It was a relatively quiet year for natural disasters – except for those living in the Western U.S. Property data provider CoreLogic today released its annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis. The report shows...
Gasoline Imports Easier to Insure than Crude Exports in Post-Sanctions Iran
Jan 28 2016 // Major oil firms and trade houses are gradually resuming energy trading with Iran but efforts remain very cautious and often face huge legal obstacles, meaning a post-sanctions return to full-scale activity will take weeks...
