Latest USA Headlines
All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Researchers Use Drones to Help Forecast Fires as Wildfires Hit Western U.S.
Jul 1 2021 // In a grassy meadow outside Missoula, Montana, Jennifer Fowler eyes two drones high in the sky with weather instruments — part of a program to see how drones can help to fight and monitor wildfires. Missoula is a...
U.S. Goes on Offense to Fight Growing Threat of Cyber Attacks
Jun 30 2021 // For the last several years, FBI agents debated turning the tables on hackers by remotely accessing breached computer networks and booting out the attackers caught in mid-hack. They got their chance earlier this year after...
Severe Drought in Western U.S. Raises July 4 Fireworks Fears
Jun 28 2021 // Many Americans aching for normalcy as pandemic restrictions end are looking forward to traditional Fourth of July fireworks. But with a historic drought in the U.S. West and fears of another devastating wildfire season,...
U.S. Supreme Court Backs Businesses Challenging California Labor Law
Jun 24 2021 // The Supreme Court on June 23 sided with California agriculture businesses that objected to a state regulation giving unions access to farm property in order to organize workers. As a result of the ruling, the...
U.S. Suit Against Aon-Willis Merger Assigned to Bush Nominee Judge Walton
Jun 18 2021 // Senior Judge Reggie Walton, who joined the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2001, will hear the Justice Department’s lawsuit aimed at stopping insurance broker Aon’s $30 billion acquisition...
U.S. Pet Insurer Trupanion Plans Overseas Growth, Hiring Agria’s Wheeler to Lead Expansion
Jun 17 2021 // Trupanion, the Seattle-based medical insurer for cats and dogs, announced it has hired Simon Wheeler as its executive vice president of International Business. A 30-year veteran of the animal health industry, Wheeler will...
U.S. Justice Department Files Suit to Block Aon’s Purchase of Willis Towers Watson
Jun 16 2021 // Aon’s proposed $30 billion acquisition of Willis Towers Watson has hit a major roadblock, with the U.S. Department of Justice suing to block the deal. The DOJ’s civil antitrust lawsuit argues that the merger,...
U.S. Water, Power Cyber Networks Are Shockingly Vulnerable to Hacks
Jun 16 2021 // When the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was hacked in 2018, it took a mere six hours. Early this year, an intruder lurked in hundreds of computers related to water systems across the U.S. In Portland, Oregon,...
Study Says Earthquakes Are Increasing in U.S. Oil Regions
Jun 15 2021 // The number of noticeable earthquakes has been increasing year after year since 2017 in the key oil producing regions of the U.S., according to an analysis by an independent energy research firm. The analysis of seismic...
U.S. Sending $1 Billion to Farmers Hit by Natural Disasters in 2018-2019
Jun 14 2021 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will release more than $1 billion in payments over the next several weeks starting June 15 for agricultural producers who suffered losses in 2018 and 2019 natural disasters. The...
Intact Financial, Tryg Agree to Sell Danish Unit to Alm. Brand for Total of US$2.52 Billion
Jun 14 2021 // Intact Financial Corp. and Tryg A/S have entered into an agreement to sell Codan Forsikring A/S’s Danish business to Alm. Brand A/S Group for about 12.6 billion Danish kroner (approximately $2.52 billion) in...
U.S. Drug Enforcer Testimony Cites ‘Systemic Failure’ in Monitoring by Opioid Distributors
Jun 11 2021 // A retired high-ranking official with the Drug Enforcement Administration has testified that three large opioid distributors had a “systematic failure” in monitoring suspicious pill orders. Joe Rannazzisi,...
U.S. Chamber Urges U.S., EU to Adopt Data Privacy Shield, Halt Tariffs
Jun 10 2021 // The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday urged the United States and European Union to quickly resolve their disputes over steel and aluminum tariffs and aircraft subsidies, and adopt a new privacy shield to better...
First U.S. Artificial Intelligence Czar Seeks ‘Responsible Use’ of AI Tools
Jun 8 2021 // Computer scientist Lynne Parker made breakthroughs in getting robots to work together so they could perform difficult missions, like cleaning up after a nuclear disaster, waxing floors or pulling barnacles off a ship. Her...
Safety Qualms, Slow Demand Hamper J&J Vaccine Rollout in U.S.
Jun 7 2021 // Safety concerns about Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine along with overall flagging demand for vaccinations have slowed its U.S. rollout to a crawl, leaving close to half of the 21 million doses produced for...
Western U.S. Wildfires Have Made Insurance Tough for Contractors
Jun 7 2021 // Things look bad with California’s ever-sooner wildfire season seemingly approaching and what’s shaping up to be a severe drought across the Western U.S. The plague of wildfires in the past few years in...
Ascot, Highland to Offer U.S. Builders Risk Program
Jun 4 2021 // Ascot as a partnered with Highland Insurance Solutions LLC, a subsidiary of WNC Insurance Services Inc. to provide a builders risk insurance program for projects in the U.S. The partnership will provide Highland with...
U.S. Insurers Lag Euro Counterparts in Climate Rating Report
Jun 3 2021 // Legislation to provide farmers with tools to help New York efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change is making its way through state Legislature. The Soil Health and Climate Resiliency Act passed the Assembly...
Aon to Sell U.S. Retirement, Retiree Health Units for $1.4B to Smooth WTW Acquisition
Jun 3 2021 // Global insurance broker Aon has agreed to sell its U.S. retirement business to private investment firm Aquiline and its Retiree Health Exchange individual health insurance business to Illinois-based digital services firm...
U.S. Western States Preparing for Summer Wildfire Season
Jun 1 2021 // Wearing soot-smudged, fire-resistant clothing and helmets, several wildland firefighters armed with hoes moved through a stand of ponderosa pines as flames tore through the underbrush. The firefighters weren’t there...
