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Toymaker Mattel Inc on Tuesday announced a third recall of Chinese-made toys, saying it would take back more than 800,000 units globally that contain "impermissible" levels of lead.

In total, 522,000 U.S. toys and 322,000 outside the United States are being recalled. The toys were shipped between August 3, 2006, and July 31, 2007, the company said.

The latest recall involves three Fisher-Price toy models and eight Barbie brand playsets. No Barbie dolls were included.

Mattel instructs people to go to its Web site (www.service.mattel.com) to establish whether they own an affected toy. After they fill out a form and send back the affected parts, Mattel will send them replacement and bonus parts.

Full report: Reuters

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Microsoft Corp., facing its second Xbox 360 headache of the summer, will replace parts of its Wireless Racing Wheel video game controllers after 50 reports that they overheated and released smoke.

The $130 steering wheel-shaped controllers mimic the physical sensations of race car driving for games such as "Forza Motorsport 2." About 230,000 have been sold to consumers worldwide, the company said Thursday.

When the unit is plugged into an electrical outlet, its AC/DC adapter can overheat, Microsoft said, adding that it’s safe to continue using the gadgets with battery power.

Full report: SFGate.com
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The 2008 BMW 5 Series was the worst performer in new side-impact crash tests of luxury sedans by the insurance industry.

The Acura RL, Kia Amanti and Volvo S80 all earned the highest safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, according to results released Thursday. The Cadillac STS and Mercedes E-Class earned the second-highest rating.

The tests were designed to show what would happen if a truck or sport utility vehicle hit the side of the sedan at 31 mph, the speed of a serious crash. Side-impact crashes are the most common type of fatal crash after a frontal crash, killing around 9,000 people on U.S. roadways in 2005, the institute said.

Full report: The Associated Press
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Mattel announced recalls Tuesday for 9 million more Chinese-made toys, including popular Barbie, Polly Pocket and “Cars” movie items, and warned that more could be ordered off store shelves because of lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed.

The recalls came nearly two weeks after Mattel Inc., the nation’s largest toy-maker, recalled 1.5 million Fisher-Price infant toys worldwide, which were also made in China, because of possible lead-paint hazards for children.

The government warned parents to make sure children are not playing with any of the recalled toys.

Full report: The Washington Post

See also:
Answers on toy recall for worried parents
Fisher-Price to Recall Nearly 1M Toys

Children under the age of 16 are seven times more likely to ride bicycles than all-terrain vehicles, yet ATVs cause more deaths among youngsters than their peddling counterparts, according to a study released Tuesday.

Jim Helmkamp, who tracks ATV statistics as director of West Virginia University’s Injury Control Research Center, found that on average, 171 children died each year across the country in ATV accidents between 2000 and 2004, compared to 157 deaths from bicycle crashes.

Full report: The Associated Press
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