Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
South Dakota Judge: No Dismissal of $1.2B ‘Pink Slime’ Defamation Suit
Mar 31 2014 // A South Dakota judge has refused to throw out a defamation lawsuit against ABC related to its coverage of a meat product called lean, finely textured beef, which critics have dubbed “pink slime.” Beef Products...
States Collaborating on Rules to Address Earthquake Risks of Fracking
Mar 31 2014 // Several U.S. states are banding together to combat the mounting risks of earthquakes tied to the disposal of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. Regulators from Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Ohio met for...
Obamacare Reaches Enrollment Milestone But Faces Obstacles Ahead
Mar 31 2014 // President Barack Obama’s embattled U.S. healthcare law, having survived a rollout marred by technology failures, reaches a milestone on Monday with the end of its first enrollment wave, and with the administration...
Supreme Court Takes On Software Patents Today
Mar 31 2014 // The U.S. Supreme Court will on Monday delve into the hotly contested question of when software is eligible for patent protection. The nine justices will hear a one-hour oral argument in a case of interest not just to...
Hunt for Missing Flight MH370 ‘Bedeviled by Regional Rivalries’
Mar 31 2014 // The search for flight MH370, the Malaysian jetliner that vanished over the South China Sea on March 8, has involved more than two dozen countries and 60 aircraft and ships but been bedeviled by regional rivalries. While...
Proposal Envisions Artificial Islands Near N.Y. to Blunt Future Storm Surges
Mar 31 2014 // A string of artificial islands off the coast of New Jersey and New York could blunt the impact of storm surges that proved so deadly during Superstorm Sandy, according to a new proposal. It’s a big proposal —...
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Exec on Acquisitions, Expansion Plans
Mar 31 2014 // Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI), part of Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway, has its eyes on overseas expansion, according to BHSI’s top executive. BHSI’s...
Life Insurers Flock to ‘Easy’ Iowa As More Federal Oversight Looms
Mar 28 2014 // After Symetra Financial Corp. was formed in 2004, the life insurer set up shop in a 25-story glass tower outside Seattle, put its name on the building and pushed the state to adopt more favorable rules for its...
Malaysia Jet Search Shifts, as New Lead Shows It Flew Shorter Distance
Mar 28 2014 // The three-week hunt for Malaysian Air Flight 370 focused on a new area in the Indian Ocean today after radar data indicated the plane probably flew a shorter distance than earlier estimated. The new lead was based on...
Coast Guard Begins Surprise Safety Inspections of Cruise Ships
Mar 27 2014 // The Coast Guard has begun unannounced inspections of cruise ships at U.S. ports, targeting those with patterns of safety problems, officials told the National Transportation Safety Board at its first-ever forum on safety...
For Safety Advocates, GM Recall Highlights Cuts in Government Investigations
Mar 26 2014 // The U.S. office responsible for monitoring safety defects in cars has had its budget stagnate and its staff cut by one-fifth from highs more than a decade ago, when Congress tried to strengthen it. While no one has...
Supreme Court Justices Appear Split Over Contraception Benefit
Mar 26 2014 // A divided U.S. Supreme Court debated whether companies can assert the same religious rights as individuals, hearing arguments in an ideological clash over Obamacare and rules promoting contraceptive coverage. The 90-minute...
U.S. Law Firm Seeks Records from Malaysian Airlines, Boeing
Mar 26 2014 // Malaysian Airlines and Boeing Co are facing a potential lawsuit over the Beijing-bound flight that disappeared more than two weeks ago with 239 people on board, according to a law firm representing passengers’...
Malaysia Jet’s Mystery Disappearance Leaves Liability Riddles
Mar 25 2014 // As the final hours of Malaysian Air Flight MH370 remain wrapped in mystery, the question of who bears full liability for the jet’s disappearance is also unresolved. This much is clear: Families of the 227 passengers...
Best Affirms Markel and Affiliates Ratings; Outlooks Stable
Mar 25 2014 // A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+” of the members of the Markel North America Insurance Group, as well as the FSR...
IRS Expects ‘Glitches’ by Firms Reporting Under New Anti-Tax Evasion Law
Mar 25 2014 // A new U.S. anti-tax evasion law, set to take effect on July 1, will encounter “inevitable glitches,” said the head of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service on Monday, adding that the IRS will be sympathetic to...
Could ‘Missing Number 1321’ on Subsidies Derail Affordable Care Act?
Mar 25 2014 // If President Barack Obama’s signature health-care law unravels, it could be for want of a single number in crucial passages of the 2,409-page statute. The missing number, 1321, refers to a section of the Patient...
Malaysia Jet Search Highlights Doubts over Air Traffic Radar
Mar 24 2014 // The ease with which a big jetliner melted into the ether after vanishing from Malaysian radar illustrates an uncomfortable paradox about modern aviation: state-of-the-art airplanes rely on ageing ground infrastructure to...
Maersk Sees Alliance of 3 Largest Container Shipping Lines Starting Mid-2014
Mar 24 2014 // An alliance of the world’s top three container shipping firms, which could control more than a third of the market, is likely to start operating in mid-2014, No.1 player Maersk Line said after the tie-up was approved...
University of Nevada Earthquake Lab Now World’s 2nd Biggest
Mar 24 2014 // There’s a whole lot of shakin’ going on at the University of Nevada, Reno. UNR’s seismic-simulation facility became the largest in the United States and second largest in the world in March with an...
