Latest USA Headlines

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

Key U.S. Senators Agree on Patent Litigation Reform

Apr 2 2009 // Leaders of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said Wednesday they had reached agreement on key elements of a bill to revise U.S. patent law.One of the changes would require judges hearing patent infringement cases to play...

U.S. Health Secretary Nominee Sebelius Vows Food Safety Upgrade

Apr 1 2009 // Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius vowed Tuesday to make the Food and Drug Administration a “world class” regulatory agency and to work with industry to improve food safety if she is confirmed as health and...

Angry Investors Take Aim at U.S. Bank Board Members

Apr 1 2009 // U.S. activist investors are seeking to oust board members at beleaguered banks whom they blame for helping cause the companies’ financial woes, setting the stage for drama at upcoming annual shareholder meetings.With...

Nevada Irrigation District Faces Flood of Trouble

Mar 31 2009 // The failure of a century old earthen canal in northern Nevada that sent flood waters into hundreds of homes on a frigid night in January 2008 was only the beginning of a nightmare for a rural irrigation district.The flood...

U.S. Mining Safety Officials Look to Reduce Number of Contested Cases

Mar 31 2009 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has announced that settlement conferences held between mine operators and MSHA personnel to resolve enforcement disputes will be deferred...

Lawsuit by a Father in Indiana Targets Polluters

Mar 27 2009 // Ron Kurth, who grew up in Gary, Ind., and worked in the steel mills, raised his family in the region near the outskirts of Chicago. He always wondered about the smoke and smog that overcast the Lake Michigan...

Obama Plan Would Tighten Regulation of Large Financial Firms

Mar 27 2009 // Wall Street faces curbs on risk taking and the prospect of lower profits under sweeping U.S. proposals to prevent a repeat of the credit crisis.The Obama administration’s plan to rewrite financial rules, announced...

Ratings Recap: Generali, XL, Blue Fin (Cat Bonds), Sun Hung Kai, B&B, Risk Re

Mar 27 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services stated that its ratings on the core operating companies of Italy’s Generali Group (AA/Negative/–) are unaffected by the termination of the agreement relative to the...

Democrats’ Bills Would Create U.S. Financial Product Safety Commission

Mar 26 2009 // Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday introduced legislation that would create a financial products watchdog to crack down on unsafe lending practices.Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts and Brad Miller of...

Sen. Nelson Seeks U.S.Help on Florida Hurricane Losses

Mar 25 2009 // U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has asked the U.S. Treasury to provide assurances to private market lenders that any loans they make in Florida would be repaid at fair market interest in the event of a catastrophe.Nelson, however,...

Obama Team Seeks Powers to Wind Down Non-Banks Like AIG

Mar 25 2009 // The Obama administration Tuesday mounted a full-scale push for government authority to shut down troubled institutions like insurer AIG to avoid the need for future bailouts.U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner,...

WTO’s Lamy Presses U.S. as World Trade Tumbles

Mar 24 2009 // World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy pressed U.S. trade officials Monday for a strong commitment to finishing the Doha round, while a U.S. business leader warned against accepting a “phony...

New York Federal Reserve Chief: U.S. to Get Back All Funds Given to AIG

Mar 24 2009 // The new head of the New York Federal Reserve Tuesday defended saving American International Group from collapse as the right thing to do to prevent further damage to the world economy and said AIG will eventually be able...

Spring Weather Warnings: Midwest Floods; Droughts in South, West

Mar 24 2009 // Flooding in the upper Midwest, which could rival the high water levels experienced in 2006 and possibly 1997, and continued drought in the South and West are among the warnings contained in the national outlook for this...

People

Mar 23 2009 // Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is President Barack Obama’s choice for secretary of health and human services.Sebelius, 60, is seen as a solid choice to head HHS because as a governor responsible for the Medicaid...

Defending Data

Mar 23 2009 // Data security represents both a new market opportunity to sell insurance coverage and a new risk — especially for independent insurance agencies that may not be compliant with data security laws or have plans to...

Greener Opportunities

Mar 23 2009 // Jim Henson’s famous Kermit the Frog said it the best, “it’s not easy being green.” Today’s property owners and insurers understand that while it’s not easy, being green can be...

State Regulators Say AIG Insurance Policyholders Still Protected

Mar 23 2009 // The nation’s insurance regulators are again telling policyholders of American International Group (AIG) that the insurance company is able to meet its obligations to them despite ongoing controversy surrounding the...

Defending Data

Mar 23 2009 // Data security represents both a new market opportunity to sell insurance coverage and a new risk — especially for independent insurance agencies unable to comply with data security laws or have plans in place to...

Anti-AIG Protests Draw Small Crowds

Mar 20 2009 // Small crowds of protesters angered by the government’s $180 billion bailout of AIG marched in cities across the United States Thursday, mocking bonuses paid to employees who helped push the company to the brink of...