Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| Equifax Breach Caused by Lone Employee' Error, Former C.E.O. Says |
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The Equifax data breach, which exposed the sensitive personal information of nearly 146 million Americans, happened because of a mistake by a single employee, the credit reporting company' former chief executive told members of Congress on Tuesday. Richard F. Smith, who stepped down last week, repeatedly apologized to the members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee =E2=80=94 and the American people =E2=80=94 for the security lapse. On multiple occasions, Mr. Smith referred to an =E2=80=9Cindividual=E2=80=9D in Equifax' technology department who had failed to heed security warnings and did not ensure the implementation of software fixes that would have prevented the breach. A company spokesman did not respond to questions about that employee' status with the company.
TARA SIEGEL BERNARD and STACY COWLEY, The New York Times 10/04/2017    |
| Read Article: The New York Times |
| Wells Fargo Accused of Lying to Congress About Auto Insurance Scandal |
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Wells Fargo was just accused of lying to Congress last year by failing to disclose a brewing scandal in the bank's auto insurance business. The startling allegation came from Senator Sherrod Brown on Tuesday during a Senate hearing on Wells Fargo's various scandals. "The company pure and simple lied to this committee -- and lied to the public," said Brown, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee.
Matt Egan, CNN Money, Yahoo News 10/04/2017 |
| Read Article: Yahoo News |
| Safety Advocates Criticize Congress for Bill That Greenlights Self-Driving Vehicles |
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Some traffic safety advocates are waving a yellow flag on a Senate bill concerning the development of autonomous vehicles, saying the measure has been written more to benefit the car industry than consumers. Representatives of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Consumers Union, the Consumer Federation of America and other groups on Tuesday accused lawmakers of writing a bill on autonomous vehicles offering few safeguards to the public. They warned the bill would mean little federal oversight of new automated vehicles as they enter the market in larger numbers.
Fredrick Kunkle , The Washington Post 10/04/2017 |
| Read Article: The Washington Post |
| $42M Federal Jury Verdict: Shoddy Auto Repair Traps Couple in Fiery Crash |
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A Dallas County jury has awarded $42 million to a couple who was trapped in their burning car after shoddy repair work by John Eagle Collision Center. In the federal lawsuit, the lawyer said the Dallas body shop chose to use a cheaper, untested repair method when fixing the vehicle roof after hail damage. Instead of using the welding approach recommended by vehicle manufacturer Honda, the body shop used a glue-like adhesive. The lawsuits claim the repair work made the car structurally unsound. The Seebachans had bought the used 2010 Honda Fit four months before the crash. They later discovered that its metal roof had been glued rather than welded by John Eagle for the previous owner. Its repairs were not listed in the car's vehicle history report.
Melissa Repko, The Dallas Morning News 10/04/2017 |
| Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| Plastic Surgery Videos Need Strict Ethics Standards, Doctors Argue |
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Some plastic surgeons have gained large social media followings by sharing theatrical videos of surgery with entertainment, rather than education, in mind. Now experts are proposing ethics guidelines to ensure that the content of plastic surgery videos on social media isn=E2=80=99t harmful to patients. Too often, plastic surgery videos cross an ethical line, exploiting patients and luring future customers with flashy before-and-after images that gloss over the dangers of surgery, doctors argue in the proposed ethics guidelines published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
LISA RAPAPORT, Reuters 10/04/2017 |
| Read Article: Reuters |
| Online Doctor Ratings Don't Predict Actual Performance |
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Using the five most popular online platforms - Healthgrades, Vitals, Yelp, RateMDs and UCompareHealth =E2=80=93 researchers looked at consumer ratings for 78 medical and surgical specialists. Next, they compared the consumer ratings to the doctors=E2=80=99 specialty-specific performance scores, which were based on how closely the doctors adhered to medical guidelines, certain outcomes of their patients=E2=80=99 hospital stays, and the cost of the care they provided. Patients=E2=80=99 ratings of individual doctors tended to be consistent across all five platforms - but there was no significant association between consumer ratings and objective measures of the quality and value of care doctors provided.
Carolyn Crist, Reuters 10/04/2017 |
| Read Article: Reuters |
| Residents Near Texas Chemical Plant Explosion File Second Lawsuit |
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Resident= s of Crosby, Texas, have filed a second lawsuit against Arkema over a chemical plant explosion that occurred after flooding in the wake of Hurricane Harvey on the Texas Coast. Included in the class of residents filing suit over the explosion are a Texas state trooper, Harris County sheriff' deputy, and sergeant. The lawsuit, filed against the global chemical company after the plant' organic peroxides ignited, alleges that testing on soil, water and ash samples found on the plaintiff' property revealed residents were exposed to toxic substances released from the facility. Additionally, the lawsuit states that the plaintiffs suffered personal injury, emotional distress, property damage, loss of income and more.
Stephanie Kuzydym and Scott Noll, KHOU-TV 10/03/2017 |
| Read Article: KHOU-TV |
| Remington Facing Lawsuit Over Child's Hunting Death |
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Remington is facing a lawsuit over the death of a young girl who was killed while on a hunting trip with her father in Sept. 2014. The lawsuit was filed by the Michigan family of the 12-year-old girl who was fatally shot when a gun accidentally discharged. The $5 million lawsuit filed against Remington alleges the company used a defective safety mechanism that allowed the gun to fire without the trigger being pulled. The father of the girl was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter but eventually pleaded guilty to a one-year misdemeanor of attempted discharge of a firearm causing injury or death.
John Agar, MLive 10/03/2017 |
| Read Article: MLive |
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