CBS News
Biometric gun safes are recalled because they don’t keep out unauthorized users, including kids
More than 120,000 biometric gun safes sold by retailers nationwide are being recalled amid reports of unauthorized users opening them — including a six-year-old boy — posing a serious safety hazard and risk of death.
The U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission on Thursday announced four separate recalls of biometric safes, with the companies that imported the Chinese-manufactured safe collectively receiving 91 reports of the products being accessed by unpaired fingerprints.
No injuries were reported in the latest recalls, which follow the October recall of 61,000 Fortress safes for the same reason, that the safes can allow unauthorized users, including children, to access them and their potentially deadly contents.
The Fortress recall came after the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy able to access a gun safe in his home in January 2022.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
The four recalls announced on Wednesday include roughly 60,000 Awesafe biometric Gun Safes sold at Walmart stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com and Walmart.com from August 2019 until Dec. 7, 2022, for about $130, according to Shenghaina Technology, or Awesafe, of China.
The company has received reports of 71 incidents of the safes being opened by unauthoized users, the recall notice said.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Consumers should stop using the biometric feature, remove the batteries and only use the key for the recalled safes to store firearms until they get a free replacement safe. Instructions on how to safely disable the biometric reader can be found here.
Another recall involves about 33,500 Bulldog Biometric Firearm Safes that can also be opened by unauthorized users, posing a serious injury hazard and risk of death, according to the product’s importer, Danville, Va.-based Bulldog Cases.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Sold at Bass Pro Shops, Walmart, firearm stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com from July 2016 to January 2024, the black steel safes used to store firearms and other valuables sold for between $194 and $216, its recall notice stated.
The recall includes the following:
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Bulldog has received four reports of the safe being opened by an unauthorized user, the company said.
As with the other recalls, owners should stop using the biometric feature, remove the batteries and only use the key to store firearms until the get a repair kit or replacement safe. More information can be found here.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Additionally, Springfield, Mo.-based Machir LLC is recalling about 24,820 personal safes after getting 15 reports of the biometric lock failing. The recalled safes sold at Walmart stores nationwide and online at Walmart.com and Machir.com for about $98 from July 2019 through at least September 2021, according to the recall.
Consumers can find the serial numbers of the impacted units here.
A fourth recall by Monterey Park, Calif.-based Jomani International involves about 2,200 MouTec brand Biometric Firearm Safes sold by Amazon.com from September 2021 through February 2023 for between $170 and $400.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
The company said it had received one report of a safe opened by an unauthorized user, a six-year-old boy.
Information on model and serial numbers involved in the recall can be found here and a form to receive a replacement safe can be found here.
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CBS News
Kamala Harris will speak with “60 Minutes” tomorrow. Here’s what to know for the interview.
Voters will get the chance to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday as she presents her case for why she should be president in a “60 Minutes” election special.
For decades, “60 Minutes” has featured both Republican and Democratic nominees for presidents, but this year, former President Donald Trump backed out after previously indicating he would be on the show. Correspondent Scott Pelley, who’d been set to interview Trump, will instead travel to Arizona’s Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of Arizona’s voters and a critical battleground in a key swing state.
One thing is certain about the election; with the U.S. deeply involved in both the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, whoever wins on Nov. 5 will become a wartime president.
What Harris will discuss
Israel’s war started one year ago after Hamas launched a surprise terror attack and correspondent Bill Whitaker will discuss the ongoing war with Harris.
Harris will also discuss the economy, immigration, her record as vice president and the differences between herself and Trump.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz will also appear.
Whitaker joined the Democratic ticket on the campaign trail this week to gain insight into their platform’s priorities and values, and what the candidates believe voters should know.
Why Trump pulled out of the “60 Minutes” interview
Leading up to the candidate hour, Trump, through campaign spokespeople, was the first candidate to accept the “60 Minutes” request to be interviewed for the special, according to CBS News. It had been agreed that both candidates would receive equal time during the broadcast.
Trump last sat down with 60 Minutes in 2020. He walked out during the interview with Lesley Stahl. Trump referenced the incident on Tuesday night at a Milwaukee press conference when asked about his decision not to participate in the Oct. 7 “60 Minutes” election special.
“Well, right now, I went to – they came to me and would like me to do an interview, but first I want to get an apology, because the last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged me on the computer,” Trump said. “They said the ‘laptop from hell’ was from Russia, and I said it wasn’t from Russia. It was from Hunter, and I never got an apology, so I’m sort of waiting. I’d love to do ’60 Minutes.’ I do everything.”
The Republican nominee for president emphasized that he felt he was owed an apology from “60 Minutes.”
“Let’s see if they do it. I wouldn’t mind doing 60,” Trump continued. “I’ve done ’60 Minutes’ a lot.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that Trump’s team had not agreed to an interview.
“Fake News,” Cheung said in a post on X. “60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020. There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in. They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented.”
Previous Trump, Harris appearances on 60 Minutes
Trump previously sat down with “60 Minutes'” Mike Wallace in 1985, Pelley in 2015 and Lesley Stahl twice in 2016, first in July of that year and then again in November of 2016. He also spoke with Stahl again in 2018 and 2020.
Harris previously sat down with Whitaker last year. She also was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell, “CBS Evening News” anchor and “60 Minutes” contributing correspondent, in 2020.
