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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Attorney on Toy Safety: "My Goal is to Not Be Necessary"

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Monday, December 8, 2014   

PORTLAND, Ore. – Before wrapping toys purchased as gifts this holiday season, it may be time to take a closer look at them.

A rubber duck, backpack, shopping-cart play set and a tambourine all are on store shelves despite potential hazards, according to the annual Trouble in Toyland report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG).

The list of 24 toys doesn't surprise Portland attorney David Sugerman. He says he has represented distraught families over the years in cases involving poorly designed water toys and hazardous coatings on toys, and buyers have to be the first line of defense.

"There are some standards and some guidelines," Sugerman says. "But the idea that a product is always tested by men and women in white coats, being very careful, unfortunately is more myth than reality when it comes to just things that you buy at the store."

This is the 29th year for the Trouble in Toyland report. And Pam Clough, a campaign organizer with PIRG, says the findings have resulted in more than 150 toys either being recalled or taken off store shelves, but there's still a lot to do.

"It is great to see that progress is being made, but it's evident that there are still dangerous toys on the shelves,” she says. “Toxic hazards in toys, choking hazards, magnetic toys and excessively noisy toys."

Clough says passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act has helped – a ban goes into effect next year on small magnetic sets that are dangerous if swallowed.

The Toy Industry Association says PIRG has used improper testing methods not approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Sugerman says juries have been tough on manufacturers of items such as children's sleepwear, which has sent a strong message. And he credits such efforts as the PIRG reports for seeing fewer toy safety-related cases in his office, which he says is a good thing.

"My goal is to not be necessary,” he states. “When somebody has a reason to call me, it's because there has been a tragedy, or such widespread harm that somebody has to do something about it."

Sugerman says choking hazards are the most common, and he cautions adults to look not only at small parts on a toy but parts that could break off accidentally, and also whether the packaging can be ingested.




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