Ticking time bomb in your bathroom?

By Claudine Zap

Your toilet could be a ticking time bomb. 

A problem with flushing mechanisms that causes toilets to explode has prompted a recall of 2.3 million toilets in the U.S. and 9,400 in Canada.

There have already been 304 complaints of exploding devices bursting, causing 14 "impact or laceration injuries," according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Flushmate, the company that installed the faulty flusher, has established a website for customers to enter the serial number of their toilets to find out if they need to replace their toilet. They can also receive a repair kit.

According to the company, "The affected Flushmate III Series 503 units can burst at or near the vessel weld seam releasing stored pressure.This pressure can lift the tank lid and shatter the tank, posing impact or laceration hazards to consumers and property damage."

Products with the bad flusher include toilets from Home Depot and Lowes, and those made from 1997-2008 by "American Standard, Crane, Kohler, Eljer, Mansfield, St. Thomas and Gerber."

A Las Vegas woman filed a lawsuit earlier this month against Flushmate, the Los Angeles Times reports. The complaint claims that the repair kit failed to fix her faulty toilet and seeks class-action suit status.

Wisconsin recall vote to resonate in presidential race

Certain elements in Wisconsin apparently don't care for a candidate who does what he promises. His proposals  sounded good on paper, but when he put them in practice, he stepped on some toes. Some money probably either stopped or looked like it might stop going into certain coffers. Now, those same coffers are spending MILLIONS to get the green water flowing again...... jbd

By John Whitesides

LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (Reuters) - The battle over whether to recall Wisconsin's Republican governor, Scott Walker, has sharply divided the state and become a nationally watched test of his party's push to limit government, slash spending and challenge public-sector labor unions.

Tuesday's recall vote also has the attention of two very interested outsiders: Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, who are gearing up for their November 6 showdown for the White House.

Whatever happens when Wisconsin voters decide whether Walker should be replaced by Democrat Tom Barrett, the repercussions promise to echo deep into the presidential campaign.

At a time when national polls show Obama and Romney in a virtual tie, both sides see the wrangling in Wisconsin as a chance to organize and gain early momentum in a politically divided state that could be crucial in determining who wins the presidency.

The recall battle has raged for months, sparked by Walker's elimination last year of most collective bargaining rights for public-sector unions. That led to huge street protests in Madison, the state capital, and to the recall effort that will culminate in Tuesday's vote.

Walker's national supporters see the recall as a referendum on his take-no-prisoners brand of fiscal conservatism, and both sides in the presidential race plan to scour Tuesday's results to gauge the mood of the electorate heading into November's bigger battles.

Spider Web In Gas-Tank Vent Prompts Mazda Recall

by Bill Chappell

AP Mazda has recalled two model years of the Mazda6 sedan after a spider web was found in a car's gas-tank ventilation system.

Mazda is recalling more than 50,000 sedans after finding that the car offers an alluring spot for spiders to spin their webs — and possibly cause fuel to leak. The recall of Mazda 6 models from 2009 and 2010 was prompted by the discovery of a spider web in a vent connected to the fuel system.

The company says that without ventilation, excess pressure in the gas tank could create a leak, which then raises the risk of a fire.

Mazda told the government it had received two reports about problems with the tank. In one of the cases, a spider web was found in the vent.

The recall involves vehicles built from April 2008 and February 2010.