Latest USA Headlines

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

Ex-Coal Boss Blankenship Announces U.S. Senate Run From West Virginia

Nov 30 2017 // Donald Blankenship, the former Massey Energy chief executive who went to prison in the wake of a 2010 mine explosion that killed 29, plans to run for the U.S. Senate from West Virginia.Blankenship is filing election papers...

New Sensors Tracking Earthquakes Across Texas

Nov 29 2017 // Note: This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune.Three years ago, a series of quakes rattled North Texas — and some residents’ nerves. Larry Walden, a Parker County commissioner, remembers a public...

Researchers Find Drones Can Cause Significant Damage to Aircraft

Nov 29 2017 // The millions of small civilian drones plying the nation’s skies can cause significant damage to airliners and business jets in a midair collision, new research commissioned by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration...

2017 Hurricane Season Ranks as Costliest Ever for U.S.

Nov 28 2017 // This year’s U.S. Atlantic hurricane season is officially the most expensive ever, racking up $202.6 billion in damages since the formal start on June 1.The costs tallied by disaster modelers Chuck Watson and Mark...

Supreme Court Conservative Justices Raise Doubts About U.S. Patent Review Process

Nov 28 2017 // U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared divided over whether a federal agency’s in-house process for challenging patents violates the constitutional rights of patent owners, leaving the fate of a system that...

Trending in 2017

Nov 27 2017 // Within a month, we’ll be archiving our 2017 whitepapers and reports, as we seek the most current content available for 2018. For those of you new to Research & Trends, here is a chance to review and easily locate...

Trump Wants NAFTA to Limit Liability of Internet Firms Including Google, Facebook

Nov 27 2017 // The Trump administration is pushing to add legal protections in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that would limit the liability of internet giants such as Google and Facebook, marking the latest in a...

Uber Paid Hackers to Hide Breach of 50 Million Customer, Driver Records

Nov 22 2017 // Hackers stole the personal data of 57 million customers and drivers from Uber Technologies Inc., a massive breach that the company concealed for more than a year. This week, the ride-hailing firm ousted its chief security...

Fatal Crashes on Private Planes at Lowest in 50 Years

Nov 22 2017 // The rate of fatal crashes on privately owned aircraft in the U.S. dropped to the lowest level in 50 years in 2016.The fatal-accident rate was less than 1 per 100,000 flight hours, the first time it has reached that level...

Experts See Expanding Role for Parametric Insurance, Including for U.S. Disasters

Nov 22 2017 // Catastrophic losses this year due to extreme weather events have led to a growing interest in parametric insurance in the U.S., according to industry experts.Parametric coverage is also gaining traction as hazard modeling...

Global Regulators’ Rethinking of Risk Assessment Welcomed by Large Insurers

Nov 21 2017 // Global regulators are rethinking how to assess risks in big insurance companies, marking a shift that could make life easier for the industry.The Financial Stability Board said on Tuesday it could take a different approach...

Factbox: Growing List of Insurers Decide on Post-Brexit EU Headquarters

Nov 21 2017 // Sompo International Holdings, a Bermuda-based unit of Japanese insurer Sompo, said it will set up a subsidiary in Luxembourg, in case Britain does not have access to the single market after Brexit.Below are insurers’...

Conservatives Now Want to Abolish Board They Hoped Would Curtail Patent Suits

Nov 21 2017 // In August, a dozen inventors gathered around a fire pit outside the headquarters of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia, and set alight patents they said had been rendered worthless by an...

California Fires Will Add to 2017 Insurer Catastrophe Losses, Fitch Says

Nov 20 2017 // No U.S. reinsurance companies in Fitch Rating’s rated universe are expected to be downgraded as a result of losses from the California wildfires alone, but for a number of companies the impact of wildfire losses adds...

Only a Third of U.S. Vehicles with Defective Takata Air Bags Repaired

Nov 20 2017 // Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. vehicles containing defective air bag inflators made by Takata Corp. remain unrepaired as automakers have made varying degrees of progress addressing the largest auto recall in U.S. history.As...

Drugmaker Purdue Moves to Settle States’ Claims Over Opioids

Nov 20 2017 // Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma LP is proposing a global settlement in an attempt to end state investigations and lawsuits over the U.S. opioid epidemic, according to people familiar with the talks.Purdue’s lawyers...

The Senior Care Market Still Going Strong

Nov 20 2017 // The aging U.S. population will create unprecedented demand for the senior living industry for decades to come and that opens the door for agents and brokers to grow their business in this sector. But understanding the...

Disaster Planning for Agencies: Minding Your Business

Nov 20 2017 // Northern California and specifically Sonoma and Napa Counties have experienced the worst wildfires in the history of California. Most of these fires began around Oct. 8, 2017, during night with extremely high winds, that...

Markel Finalizes Acquisition of State National Companies

Nov 17 2017 // Markel Corp. has completed its previously announced acquisition of State National Companies, a specialty provider of property/casualty insurance services that operates two core businesses, program services and lender...

Barbican Insurance Launches U.S. Specialty Property MGA Targeting Southeast, Gulf Coasts

Nov 17 2017 // Barbican Insurance Group has launched Barbican Specialty US, a new managing general agency (MGA) providing wholesale excess and surplus (E&S) property insurance for small-to-medium-sized commercial operations along the...