DANGEROUS TOY: The federal government fined the maker of an arts and crafts toy $1.3 million, after it was shown to contain a chemical that turns into the the date rape drug gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) when metabolized in the human body. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said that the Canadian firm Spin Master failed to act after learning in 2007 that children and a dog had become ill after ingesting the product, called Aqua Dots. The Aqua Dots crafts kits were sold between April and November of 2007.
COLLEGE COSTS: The latest report from the non-profit College Board shows that tuition and fees at public colleges and universities increased so much over the past year that it skewed the results for the entire country. Tuition and fees went up 21% for public universities in the state, and 37% at two-year colleges. Without including California, tuition at public universities went up 7.0% nationwide; including the Golden State, that number jumped to 8.3%.
HALLOWEEN MASK: Target Corp. is recalling 3,400 children's Halloween masks in the shape of frogs, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The plush masks lack proper ventilation, the agency said, so children wearing them could suffocate. The masks sold for about $1 at Target stores nationwide in August and September. They were manufactured in China.
WALMART DEAL: The world's largest retailer said it will match other stores' prices on almost everything sold between now and Christmas - even if competitors put it on sale after you bought it. Any consumer who buys something at WalMart, later to learn that it is on sale somewhere else, need only bring back the receipt and apply for a refund.If the item is precisely the same, sold in the same local area and put on sale before Dec. 25, Walmart will issue a gift card for the amount of the difference, the company said.
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