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Amazon and Walmart still selling older dressers at risk of tipping over, Consumer Reports finds

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Amazon, Walmart and Wayfair are among the retailers that continue to sell older dressers at risk of tipping over — a particular concern for U.S. households with little kids, according to findings released this week by Consumer Reports.

A year after the implementation of new furniture safety standards, tests by the consumer advocacy group  have found newly built dressers to be meeting the stability requirements. However, out of 12 dressers tested, two that were built before September 2023 failed, according to Consumer Reports, while the 10 newer ones manufactured under the new standards passed.

The tests replicated a child pulling out drawers and climbing or hanging from them. According to the federal Sturdy Act, unanchored dressers should remain upright for at least 10 seconds with a 60-pound weight hanging from an open, top drawer.

The new rule applies only to dressers built after Sept. 1, 2023, and allows manufacturers to continue selling older ones, a loophole that has caused consternation among one parent and advocate. 

“They could have followed the spirit of the law, and not just the letter of the law, and taken all their old crap off the shelves,” Crystal Ellis, whose 2-year-old son, Camden, died after a tip-over incident in 2014, told Consumer Reports. 


Amazon to face increased accountability for items sold on its site

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Major retailers continue to sell dressers that may not meet the new standard or pass tip-over tests, and product listings and labels often don’t make clear when the furniture was made, making it hard for people to know if it complies with the updated rule. 

“In the interest of child safety and to end the uncertainty in the marketplace, Consumer Reports calls on all retailers and online platforms to commit to a public timeline by which they will sell only those dressers that pass the new, rigorous tip-over tests,” said Gabe Knight, safety policy analyst at Consumer Reports.

Ikea in April announced that its chests and dressers sold in the United States would meet the new mandatory standards established by the law, which passed in 2022 and took effect in September the following year. 

Clothing storage unit tip-overs killed 234 people from January 2000 through April 2022, including 199 children, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. It estimated 5,300 injuries involving trips to emergency rooms each year from dressers tipping over. The agency advises that furniture, including dressers, be anchored to a wall.

The federal agency and Dania Furniture of Boise, Idaho, in June announced the recall of the Hayden Bookcase after an incident in which an unanchored bookcase fell over, resulting in the death of a 4-year-old.

Earlier in the year, millions of plastic furniture tip restraint kits were recalled because the product’s zip ties were subject to becoming brittle and then breaking, CPSC said

Amazon sidestepped the request by CR that it commit to selling only dressers that meet the new standards. 

“We require all dressers offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies,” an Amazon spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch. 

Walmart and Wayfair did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



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9/27: CBS Evening News – CBS News

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9/27: CBS Evening News – CBS News


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Helene remnants bring catastrophic flooding to southeastern U.S.; Ohio man’s Halloween display cheers up woman on way to cancer treatments

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Mark Robinson, North Carolina GOP gubernatorial candidate, treated for burns, campaign says

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Embattled Republican North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson — whose gubernatorial bid has been rattled by allegations that he previously posted racist and sexually explicit comments online — was hospitalized with burns Friday, his campaign said.

Mike Lonergan, a campaign spokesperson, told CBS News in a statement late Friday night that the 56-year-old Robinson was “currently being treated for burns following an incident at a campaign event in Mt. Airy.”

Lonergan added that Robinson was in “good spirits,” but did not provide any further details on his condition or the circumstances that prompted.

A source close to the campaign told CBS News that Robinson had been hospitalized.

This follows a bombshell CNN report last week which found that Robinson posted inappropriate comments to the message board of a pornographic website between 2008 and 2012, often under the name of “black NAZI.”

Since the report’s publication on Sept. 19, Robinson has seen several campaign staffers resign, including his campaign manager, general consultant and senior adviser, finance director, and deputy campaign manager. He has also appeared to lose support among the Republican leadership.  

Robinson has not appeared in the two North Carolina rallies Trump has held since the CNN report. And when asked Thursday by reporters if he would pull his endorsement for Robinson, Trump responded, “I don’t know the situation.”

When asked Tuesday if Republicans should halt support for Robinson’s campaign, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell responded, “It won’t surprise to you know I’m happy that there’s not a Senate race in North Carolina.”

Robinson, however, has so far vowed to stay in the race.

“This is an election about policies, not personalities,” he wrote on social media Wednesday. “Now is not the time for intra-party squabbling and nonsense.”

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Helene blamed for over 40 deaths; millions without power

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Helene blamed for over 40 deaths; millions without power – CBS News


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Helene weakened to a tropical depression Friday afternoon but continued to dump rain across the south. More than 40 storm-related deaths have been confirmed as millions of residents remain without power. CBS News national correspondent Dave Malkoff reports on the devastation.

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