The Consumer Product Safety Commission today announced the recall of two models of Optimus portable electric space heaters, including one model that Consumer Reports judged a Don't Buy: Safety Risk last year and asked the safety agency to recall.

For as long as we've been testing laundry detergent pods—those convenient, single-use packets—only Tide Pods have cleaned well enough to make our winner's list. But there's a new top pod in our tests of laundry detergents, and it costs about 30 percent less than Tide Pods. The only catch is you'll need a Costco membership to find it. And if you have kids at home, special safety precautions are a must.

With the unofficial start of summer just a few weeks away, now's the time to do a thorough safety check around the yard to prevent the slips, trips, falls, burns, and other accidents that each year send tens of thousands of people to the emergency room. A recent outdoor safety survey of nearly 1,300 adults by the Consumer Reports National Research Center revealed the top danger spots.

Six months ago today—on October 29, 2012—Sandy slammed into the mid-Atlantic region. A new Consumer Reports survey documents the deep disruption and devastation Sandy wrought, along with highlighting the steps that helped victims cope in its aftermath.

With their low prices and ease of use, aerosol fire sprays are a tempting purchase. But the sprays are no substitute for a fire extinguisher. In fact, in Consumer Reports' tests the sprays sometimes made a grease fire flare up, which could make it spread. Performance problems caused us to judge two aerosol fire sprays—the First Alert AF400 Tundra Fire Extinguishing Spray and Shield Fire Protection Kitchen Guard—Don't Buy: Performance Problem. Now we've found a third brand being advertised called Knockout 360 that's also an aerosol fire spray.

Super strong rare-earth magnet sets are being recalled by several retailers according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The retailers, which include giants such as Barnes & Nobel and Toys R Us, have been marketing the magnetic kits as decorative and novelty items for adult owners. However, the high-powered magnets may cause serious injury if swallowed by children who mistake the items for colorful candy.

A mowing accident in Florida in which a two-year-old lost both her feet tragically underscores the dangers posed by powerful lawn equipment. "The energy transferred by a typical lawn mower blade is equivalent to being shot in the hand with a .357 Magnum pistol," says the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, whose doctors see many such injuries. "In addition, a lawn mower can eject a piece of metal or wood up to 100 miles per hour."

There's a reason that safety experts recommend keeping your child in an age-appropriate child restraint as long as possible before graduating to the next type. Moving the youngster to a less restrictive car seat too soon can be a step backward in terms of safety. This is especially true with booster seats that can be used with the car's three-point seat belt rather than a harness. In Consumer Reports recent tests of booster seats, we found that 80 percent of manufacturers suggest a weight limit typical of a child well under three, which is too young for a booster seat.

Each year more than 5,200 children suffer falls from windows and at least one in four is injured badly enough to be hospitalized. So it's no accident that National Window Safety Week occurs in early Spring when the weather is mild enough to open the windows again. Safety experts take advantage of this week to remind parents and caregivers about the dangers of window falls. And there's evidence in at least one state that it's working. The Oregon Trauma Registry reports it is seeing a decrease in the number of falls.

Planning a home remodel? Take note: An estimated 535,000 (2.6 percent) of U. S. children ages 1 to 5 years have blood lead levels greater than or equal to the reference value of 5 micrograms per deciliter, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lead-laced paint chips and dust kicked up during renovation projects is a common source of contamination.

Colorful, small toy balls and beads made of superabsorbent polymer can pose a safety hazard to children if they are ingested.

A simple phone call could have averted a blaze last month that scorched a home in Berkeley, California, and started a fire in a nearby van. Caused when a worker hit a gas line with a pick axe, the incident illustrates why homeowners or workers should call 811 to learn the location of underground utilities. Unfortunately, that's a precaution many Americans ignore when planning projects that require a hole in the ground such as installing a mailbox, putting up a fence, or planting a tree.

How much progress have federal officials made in taking steps to reduce Americans' exposure to arsenic in everyday foods such as rice and apple juice? Not as much as we'd hope to see. While there is an arsenic standard for drinking water, no federal limit exists for arsenic in most foods.

iCandy World has recalled 830 of its Cherry strollers because the opening between the bumper bar and seat bottom can allow an infant to pass through and become entrapped at the neck, posing a strangulation hazard, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Over 90,000 OneTouch VerioIQ blood glucose meters are being recalled by its maker LifeScan, Inc. According to the company, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, the meters can inadvertently shut off if readings are extremely high. That could lead lead to incorrect or delayed treatment.