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Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

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JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

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A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Report Says Some Toys a Risk to Children

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Wednesday, November 22, 2017   

CONCORD, N.H. – The holiday shopping season is getting started, and a new report can help consumers avoid toys that can be hazardous to children.

The day after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, but many toys still on store shelves can pose real risks to children.

Besides the usual cautions about small parts that can be swallowed, shoppers need to be careful about toys that connect to the Internet.

According to Kara Cook-Schultz, toxics director the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, an incident last February highlighted the risks of toys that collect and store data online.

"One of these toys got hacked and over 2 million customers' personal information was available online including recordings,” she relates. “And this is actually a teddy bear, so presumably many of those customers were children."

U.S. PIRG's 32nd annual “Trouble in Toyland” report provides examples of toys now on sale that pose potential risks to children's safety and privacy.

Price is no guarantee of safety. Dangerous toys span the price range from $1 to hundreds of dollars.

Cook-Schultz points out that some expensive toys such as hover boards or toy electric cars are powered by lithium-ion batteries that can catch fire or explode.

"Most of those toys are no longer available,” she states. “But we encourage parents to look for what's called a UL label on these batteries. That way, you can ensure they're not the lithium-ion batteries that have been causing problems."

On the lower end of the scale, Target recently recalled fidget spinners that were found to contain dangerously high levels of lead.

Cook-Schultz adds that consumers can get email updates on product recalls from the federal government by subscribing at www.recalls.gov.

"They can also check our website, toysafetytips.org, where we go through different things that parents can look out for and different toys that we're concerned about this year."

The full Trouble in Toyland report is available online at www.uspirg.org.





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