Latest USA Headlines

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

Car Makers Offered Relaxed Regulation for Installing Ignition Lock Tied to Seat Belt Use

Nov 19 2013 // A U.S. regulator’s offer to relax auto safety rules for manufacturers that install technology to prevent drivers from starting a car unless seatbelts are fastened drew swift opposition from safety advocates. Cars...

Court Reinstates Pay Bias Suit Against North Carolina’s Family Dollar

Nov 18 2013 // A federal appeals court last week reinstated a lawsuit against North Carolina-based Family Dollar that says female managers were paid less than male store managers. A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in...

Philippine Disaster Fuels Call for Rich Nations to Compensate Poor for Global Warming Losses

Nov 18 2013 // The typhoon that killed thousands of people in the Philippines has energized debate about whether rich nations should compensate poor ones for climate-related losses, a proposal the U.S. and European Union are...

2013 State Specialist P/C Insurers Revealed

Nov 18 2013 // State Specialists are often an independent agent’s most reliable and consistent market. These companies are focused on a specific geographic area, understand it and consistently strive to serve it. The Demotech...

10 Things to Know About LTC and Assisted Living

Nov 18 2013 // 91% of assisted living residents say they are safer living in an assisted living community than they would be living on their own. (Assisted Living Federation of America’s 2013 Survey of Assisted Living...

People – East

Nov 18 2013 // Chevy Chase, Md.-based underwriting manager Victor O. Schinnerer & Company Inc. named Steve Cohen as senior underwriting manager for its management liability programs. In his new role, Cohen will oversee the growth...

Nevada Mine Pollution Deal Brings Residents $19.5M

Nov 18 2013 // Rural neighbors of an abandoned World War II-era copper mine that has leaked toxic chemicals in northern Nevada for decades have won up to a $19.5 million settlement from companies they accused of covering up the...

California Senator Says FBI Leaked Affidavit to Retaliate

Nov 15 2013 // California State Senator Ron Calderon said the Federal Bureau of Investigation leaked a sealed affidavit alleging he took $60,000 in bribes to retaliate for his refusal to participate in a sting operation. Calderon filed a...

Allianz Looks to Boost U.S. Presence, Improve Fireman’s Fund: Bhojwani

Nov 15 2013 // Allianz SE, Europe’s largest insurer, said it is committed to bolstering operations in the U.S. after international rivals scaled back in the country. “It is a monster market,” Gary Bhojwani, the...

Google Wins Copyright Scanning Case Against Authors; Judge Finds ‘Fair Use’

Nov 15 2013 // Google Inc. on Thursday won dismissal of a long-running lawsuit by authors who accused the Internet search company of digitally copying millions of books for an online library without permission. U.S. Circuit Judge Denny...

Europe Urged to Retain Climate Leadership As Competitive Advantage

Nov 15 2013 // Europe’s abdication from climate leadership would stunt growth in the region and hand a huge economic advantage to China and the United States as they carve out their share of a multi-billion low-carbon market, a...

Lenders Miss Chance as U.S. High Court Housing-Bias Case Settles

Nov 14 2013 // The settlement of a New Jersey housing-bias lawsuit scuttles a U.S. Supreme Court showdown that might have shielded lenders from discrimination suits pressed by the Obama administration. The Supreme Court had been set to...

Obamacare Banking on Enrollment Surge Near Deadlines

Nov 14 2013 // Almost 1 million people who applied for health care on the government insurance exchanges last month left without choosing a plan, a pipeline of potential customers the Obama administration must persuade to return. While...

Fairholme Offers to Buy Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Mortgage Insurance Business

Nov 14 2013 // Fairholme Capital Management has proposed to buy the insurance businesses of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a move that seeks to resolve the uncertain future of the mortgage financiers by freeing them from U.S. government...

J&J Reaches $4 Billion Settlement of Hip-Implant Suits: Sources

Nov 13 2013 // Johnson & Johnson will pay more than $4 billion to resolve thousands of lawsuits over its recalled hip implants in the largest settlement of U.S. legal claims for a medical device, three people familiar with the deal...

Detroit Mayor-Elect Duggan’s Plans Include City-Run Auto Insurer

Nov 13 2013 // Detroit Mayor-elect Mike Duggan rescued a county, a bus system and a 14,000-worker hospital network, served as a prosecutor, plotted Democratic campaigns and coached his four children’s soccer teams. Now, Duggan, 55,...

Reinsurer Arch to Help Freddie Mac Cover Mortgage Losses

Nov 13 2013 // Freddie Mac bought insurance covering a portion of losses on a pool of home loans from Arch Capital Group Ltd.’s Arch Reinsurance Ltd. unit, expanding risk- sharing efforts by the government-backed company. The...

New Global Ratings Agency to Vie with Moody’s, S&P, Fitch

Nov 13 2013 // Credit ratings organisations from five countries are launching a new global agency, touting it as an alternative to the Big Three agencies which they say no longer meet the needs of the new globalised world. In a statement...

Supreme Court Justices Probe Private Company Whistleblower Protections

Nov 12 2013 // U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday signaled they may have some difficulty deciding whether employees at private firms that contract with public companies are subject to whistleblower protections. The justices appeared...

U.S. Risk Rebrands PL Division, Launches Program for Texas Lawyers

Nov 12 2013 // U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc., a nationwide managing general agency and surplus lines, has launched a new program for Texas lawyers’ professional liability through its U.S. Risk Pro division. This admitted program,...