By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX – The parent company of American Airlines says the personal information of about 79,000 retirees, former and current employees that was held by the company's pension department has been compromised.
No customer data was affected. AMR says the breach happened when a hard drive was stolen from its headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas.
The data spans a period from 1960 to 1995. The drive contained images of historical microfilm files, which included names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and possibly some bank account information. Some health insurance information may have also been included.
AMR is offering one year of free credit monitoring for those affected.
Companies respond to claims of unmarked pipelines
Two pipeline companies are defending themselves after a federal official said the lines weren't marked before two deadly explosions last month in Texas.
Two workers were killed after a bulldozer hit a pipeline June 8 near Darrouzett in the Panhandle. One drill operator died in the June 7 blast near Cleburne in north Texas.
DCP Midstream, the Panhandle pipeline's owner, says it can't find evidence that the construction company followed notification procedures before the project started.
But Nick Thomas, the construction company owner, says the line was marked and it was an existing excavation site.
Enterprise Products, which owns the pipeline near Cleburne, says an employee tried to mark the line but couldn't find the project site.
House transportation panel reviews state contracts
A legislative panel is auditing state contracts awarded to some north Texas companies.
The Dallas Morning News reported Friday that one company under review, by the Texas Transportation Commission subcommittee, owns vehicles recently used by state Rep. Linda Harper-Brown of Irving and her husband.
Harper-Brown, who denies wrongdoing, this week announced she and her spouse no longer drive a 2010 Mercedes E550 owned by Durable Enterprises Equipment Ltd.
William E. Brown III does accounting work for Durable and related companies. He had use of the Mercedes and a 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe as part of his compensation.
An aide to the GOP legislator, Brian Mayes, says Harper-Brown sought an audit. She is on the House Transportation Committee.