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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.

Report: Dangerous Toys Lurking Online

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Tuesday, November 29, 2016   

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – As Missouri parents and caregivers tackle their holiday shopping lists, a new report is reminding them to keep toy safety top of mind. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group or "PIRG" Education Fund released its annual "Trouble in Toyland 2016" report last week, focused this year on toy recalls.

Consumer program advocate with the group Mike Litt said more than 40 recalls of toys and children's products have been announced since January of 2015, yet their research found more than a dozen of the items might still be for sale.

"The ones that we were still able to find online included those that had exceeded the limits on lead," he said. "They were magnet hazards; they also included chargers and batteries that overheated and could cause burns or fires."

Litt said thanks to the efforts of safety advocates, parents, policymakers and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, toys are safer than ever before. But he cautions that adults should still be vigilant by examining toys for hazards, both those they're considering buying and those already in the home. Recall information is also posted online at cpsc.gov.

Litt noted that over the past 30 years, the annual report has contributed to more than 150 recalls, as well as regulatory actions. He said that includes a 2008 law that expanded the scope of the CPSC.

"It gave the commission more tools to speed recalls of dangerous toys," he added. "It banned toxic metals and certain phthalates from many types of toys and children's products, and then also required mandatory third-party testing of toys and other children's products by manufacturers."

The recalled items listed in the report that are available online include die-cast metal cars with sharp edges; a "Little Digger" toy that contains excessive lead levels; and a pacifier clip that could break, posing a choking hazard.


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