Top Kid Toy Picks for 2012 Holiday Season: Gift Guide

A look at the hot toys for tots this holiday season.

Every holiday season, the mailbox fills with the latest toy catalogs. Children peruse the pages as they scribble their lists, daydreaming about what they will find under the tree come Christmas morning. Parents pull out their pocketbooks, spending hard-earned cash as they anticipate the joy on those little faces. What will be the runaway favorites this year is always a guess, but here are some of the latest trends, mixed with tried-and-true perennial favorites.  jChews Smartphone teether by Jellystone No tears for parents or babies. Babies love nothing more than to gum Mom and Dad’s cell phone, but now they’ll be too intrigued with their own smartphone to chew on. The Jellystone smartphone teether comes in seven funky colors and is BPA …

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Hurricane Sandy: Shoppers Prefer Caution to Hardship

Memories of Hurricane Irene and the October 2011 snowstorm are still strong for residents.

At grocery stores and shopping centers throughout Florham Park, East Hanover, Chatham and Madison, residents of the area came to stock up on goods to help them weather Hurricane Sandy. Madelaine Quezada, a store manager at Target said water was the most common item people purchased on Friday. Chips, cereal, canned goods and pet food were also popular, along with batteries and flashlights. "People look worried," Quezada said. "It's not a normal Friday. It's been busy since really early." In Hurricane Irene, Mary Ann Callahan and her husband of Chatham Borough lost power for three days. They lost it again for two days during the snow storm. "I'm not really panicked, I just figure, be smart," Callahan said. Amanda Keller of Madison picked up …

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$100K SUV Theft Caught On Video

Security video from Target in East Hanover shows man drive off in Range Rover, according to police report.

Child Safety Locks Deemed Unsafe

The Safety 1st toilet and cabinet locks were sold at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Burlington Coat Factory, Home Depot, Target and Walmart.

Hundreds of thousands of child safety locks are being recalled because they can fail, exposing children to dangerous situations. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with Dorel Juvenile Group, Thursday announced a voluntary recall of about 183,000 toilet locks and 685,000 cabinet locks. Young children can unexpectedly disengage the toilet locks and gain access to water in the toilet, posing the risk of drowning, according to the CPSC, and the cabinet locks are being recalled because young children can disengage the lock, posing the risk of injury from dangerous or unsafe items stored in the cabinet. Have you had issues with these locks or others not working? Tell us in the comments below. Consumers …

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