Latest USA Headlines

All the headlines from our USA Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Congress Could Get Pacific Trade Pact by Year-End

Jul 1 2015 // U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said he hopes to wrap up a trade deal with 11 other Pacific Rim nations soon and send it to the U.S. Congress for approval before the end of the year. Lawmakers last week granted...

Suit in Deaths Of 19 Firefighters Settled by Families, Arizona

Jul 1 2015 // The state of Arizona has settled a lawsuit brought by a dozen families who lost loved ones when a Hotshot firefighting crew was overcome by a wildfire near the small community of Yarnell. The settlement announced by state...

ACE to Acquire Chubb in $28.3 Billion Deal

Jul 1 2015 // In a major transaction, ACE Limited has agreed to acquire The Chubb Corp. for $28.3 billion in cash and stock. The two firms said the combined company will have complementary businesses, skills and distribution and greater...

Indonesia Military Plane Crash Puts Focus on Aging Aircraft

Jul 1 2015 // The loss of at least 150 lives in the crash of an Indonesian cargo plane raises fresh questions about the military’s reliance on old aircraft and on spending that has prioritized the army over the air force. The...

MetLife Seeks Documents from Systemic Risk Panel

Jun 30 2015 // MetLife asked a federal judge on Monday to force the U.S. government to hand over 500 pages of confidential records that relate to financial regulators’ decision to designate the insurance giant as systemically...

Judge Won’t Recuse Prosecutors on West Virginia Chemical Spill Trial

Jun 30 2015 // A judge will let federal prosecutors keep working on a criminal case over a chemical spill last year in West Virginia, shooting down arguments that prosecutors should be recused from the case because they were among the...

More than 1,300 Claims Filed in Ohio Asbestos Suit

Jun 29 2015 // More than 1,300 damage claims were filed in a northeast Ohio court on behalf of the heirs of Akron-area rubber and auto workers who died or developed serious illnesses from exposure to asbestos. The claims in Summit County...

Supreme Court Rejects BP, Anadarko Appeal of Gulf Spill Fines

Jun 29 2015 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected bids by BP Plc and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. to avoid penalties under federal pollution law in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The high court left in place a June...

Updated AIR Hurricane Model for U.S. Features Storm Surge Module

Jun 29 2015 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide has updated its hurricane model for the U.S. to help insurers and reinsurers better understand and quantify the risk from hurricanes. The update features a hydrodynamic storm...

Obamacare Tax Subsidy Recipients in Northeast Express Relief

Jun 26 2015 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the tax subsidies for health insureds across the country including those in states without their own health exchanges that use the federal health insurance exchange. The following...

Marriage Right Doesn’t Protect Gays in Employment, Commerce or Housing

Jun 26 2015 // The U.S. Supreme Court may have written the most consequential words in the history of gay rights with its recognition of same-sex marriage. But those words won’t be the last. While same-sex marriage was already...

Delaware Bans ‘Loser-Pays’ Fee-Shifting Bylaws in Corporate Class Actions

Jun 26 2015 // Delaware’s governor has signed into law a ban on companies adopting rules that could force investors who bring and lose certain lawsuits to pay the company’s legal costs, disappointing business groups. The U.S....

Greenberg Says Bailout Lawsuit About Government Overstepping Its Bounds

Jun 26 2015 // Maurice “Hank” Greenberg said that his partial victory in a lawsuit tied to American International Group Inc.’s bailout isn’t enough, and that he’s seeking financial damages to hold the...

Appeals Court Backs Claim under State Law in Colorado’s Rocky Flats Case

Jun 26 2015 // A U.S. appeals court has ruled a decades-old pollution case over nuclear weapons production in Colorado should be sent back to the district court that in 2006 ordered companies that ran the facility to pay damages of $353...

Supreme Court Opinion To Have No Effect on Health Insurers: S&P

Jun 25 2015 // Today’s Supreme Court opinion upholding current tax subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will not have any impact on rated U.S. not-for-profit and for-profit health insurance firms since it continues the...

Insurers Disappointed as Supreme Court Backs Disparate Impact Claims

Jun 25 2015 // The U.S. Supreme Court said people who file housing-discrimination suits don’t have to show they were victims of intentional bias, in a blow to lenders and insurers and a surprise legal victory for the Obama...

Congress Finally Approves Fast Track Trade Authority

Jun 25 2015 // Legislation vital to securing the largest U.S. trade deal in decades was passed by the Senate on Wednesday by a comfortable margin, advancing President Barack Obama’s efforts to strengthen U.S. economic ties around...

6 Decisions Coming from Supreme Court Over Next Few Days

Jun 25 2015 // The U.S. Supreme Court is saving the best for last. The nation’s top court will issue a series of major rulings over the next several days as it closes its nine-month term. In addition to landmark gay-marriage and...

Senate Advances Fast Track Trade Bill

Jun 24 2015 // The U.S. Senate advanced legislation that would give President Barack Obama enhanced authority to complete free-trade deals including a landmark agreement with Pacific nations. The 60-37 vote Tuesday paves the way for...

Judge Delays Federal Fracking Safety Regulations

Jun 24 2015 // New U.S. fracking safety rules set to take effect Wednesday were put on hold by a Wyoming federal judge who said he needed more evidence to decide whether to block them as requested by drillers and four western...