[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Happening now, your child could be in danger from a favorite toy. Another massive recall of products made in China. Tonight, who is at risk and who's to blame? Also this hour, Dan Rather's complaint. Does the former anchor think successor Katie Couric is tarting up the news? I'll ask Rather about comments some have called sexist. And a state of emergency in Hawaii. Hurricane Flossie closes in on the big island, already shaken by a big earthquake and aftershocks. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Tonight, more than 20 million hazardous toys are being yanked from store shelves and out of the hands of children around the world. Almost half of those toys are right here in the United States. All were made in China. Words that now create fear in the minds of many people. CNN's Joe Johns covering the story. Popular toys, a famous toy maker under harsh scrutiny. What are we learning today, Joe?
[Joe Johns, Cnn Correspondent:] Suzanne, here we go again. Another massive recall of products made in China, and the company is none other than the world's largest toy maker, a household name, Mattel.
[Johns:] Nine million toys recalled in the U.S. because of hazards to children. Toys with harmless-sounding names Doggie Daycare set, Barbie and Tanner play sets, Batman and one-piece magnetic action figures, Sarge toys that look like army jeeps. Mattel is in full-throttle damage control, posting information on its Web site today, featuring this video with the
[Ceo. Bob Eckert, Mattel Ceo:] I know these recalls have been upsetting, and I want you to know that I'm as upset and disappointed as anyone.
[Johns:] Of those nine million toys, seven million are Polly Pocket dolls and accessories, produced between 2003 and 2006, which contain small magnets that can come off the toy, magnets which, if swallowed, can make holes in a child's internal tissues. That, says the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is an old-fashioned design flaw, suggesting the problem may have started on the drawing board, not necessarily in China's factories.
[Nancy Nord, Cpsc:] We have been working with the toy industry generally to insist that toys that have magnets in them be designed in such a way that those magnets cannot come loose.
[Johns:] But that doesn't take China off the hook, not by a long shot. Some of the other toys had lead paint on them, which is an absolute no-no. Somebody apparently decided to bend the rules, and Mattel claims that somebody did it without their knowledge.
[Rachel Weintraub, Consumer Federation Of America:] What this incident shows is that there are major gaps in safety in our supply chain.
[Johns:] Why? They caught it.
[Weintraub:] Way too late. I mean, they caught it when these unsafe products are already in the hands of potentially mouths of babies. I don't see that as a victory.
[Johns:] The recalls are also shining a spotlight on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is now defending itself against charges that it doesn't have enough people and resources to keep American consumers safe. More on that tonight on "
[Ac 360". Malveaux:] Joe Johns, thank you so much. Obviously a big concern to a lot of people. And with this recall, how worried should you be? Let's turn to our CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth, how often do kids get lead poisoning from toys?
[Elizabeth Cohen, Cnn Medical Correspondent:] You know what, Suzanne? It's not known exactly how often kids get lead poisoning from toys, because you can get lead poisoning in a variety of ways. But what experts do know is that lead poisoning is a serious health problem. Nearly 500,000 children in the U.S. have lead levels in their blood that are so high that they have irreversible damage.
[Cohen:] A parent might be panicked to hear it toys could be hurting your child. So how do you know if these toys have harmed your child? There are two problems lead in paint and these magnets, which are a much more acute concern. Already, three children have had surgery.
[Nord:] This agency has been warning about the dangers of small magnets for more than a year. If more than one magnet is swallowed, they can attract inside the body, causing intestinal perforations, infections and blockages.
[Cohen:] The Consumer Product Safety Commission says if your child has flu-like symptoms, is vomiting, lethargic and you think they might have swallowed magnets like these, take them to the doctor. And as for the lead paint on toys like these, most of the time there are no symptoms. If you're worried, ask your pediatrician for a lead test. It's done with a simple finger prick. Experts we talked to said if your child occasionally has had a toy like this in his mouth, chances are he's taken in very little lead. But since it's hard to know exactly how much time a child has spent mouthing a toy and since too much lead can cause loss of I.Q. developmental delays and even mental retardation, if you're worried, it's always best to pay a visit to the pediatrician. Now, if the pediatrician finds that your child, indeed, does have high lead levels, there's a therapy called chelation therapy that can help children with extremely high levels Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] So, Elizabeth, are there other things besides toys that parents should be concerned about?
[Cohen:] Yes, parents should talk to their pediatrician about lead in water and lead in their house from lead paint. And usually this is both of those are issues with older homes.
[Malveaux:] Good advice, Elizabeth Cohen. And toys are just a fraction of the story. If you want to know it all, go to CNN.com for a special report, "Made in China". You won't believe what you see. That address, CNN.commadeinchina. Now, turning now to northern Iraq, where one of the worst attacks in the war has devastated an Iraqi town. Iraqi authorities say suicide truck bombs hit residential areas in a town west of Mosul. The death count ranges up to 175, as many as 200 are wounded. Let's go live to CNN's Arwa Damon in Baghdad. Arwa, what are we learning at this hour?
[Arwa Damon, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Suzanne, as you just mentioned, there is some discrepancy in the reporting, but anywhere from three to four suicide bombers drove trucks laden with explosives into residential areas in that town, a predominantly Yazidi town. It's called Qahtaniya, some 62 miles west of Mosul. The death toll ranging from 120 to 175. Hundreds more wounded. The U.S. military, according to Iraqi police, involved in the effort to try to evacuate the injured to a nearby hospital, pleads across local television stations for Iraqis to come forward and donate their blood. We do know that the U.S. military is also helping to move via helicopter medics and supplies into the area to try to help. These simultaneous bombings took place at about 8:00 p.m., at a time when residents would have been outdoors just trying to enjoy what time they could in the evening Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] And Arwa, I know it's fairly early, but do we have any sense of who is responsible for these bombings or has anybody claimed responsibility?
[Damon:] There's been no official claim of responsibility, but this corner of northwestern Iraq is right up against the Syrian border. It is a very vast terrain and sparsely populated with U.S. troops, boots on the ground. They're stretched very thin. And it's been a known battleground between U.S. forces and Al Qaeda in Iraq. We've also seen strikes by Sunni extremists, specifically against the Yazidi population. So no claim of responsibility just yet, but this does remain a very dangerous area with known movement and activity from al Qaeda and other groups Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] Arwa Damon, thank you so much. Be safe. The U.S. military suffered another tough blow today in Iraq. Five soldiers died when a helicopter went down near Falluja in Anbar province. The military says the CH-47 Chinook crashed during a routine test flight. The crash is being investigated. Jack Cafferty now joining us from New York. Jack, what are you looking at, at this hour?
[Jack Cafferty, Cnn Anchor:] This isn't exactly news to anyone. We have a fat problem in this country. Two-thirds of U.S. adults aged 20 and older are overweight, two- thirds. And almost one-third are considered obese, which is even fatter than just fat. All this according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Dieting, of course, has become a national pastime, and the diet industry is raking it in. A new book, "She Loses, He Loses: The Truth About Men, Women and Weight Loss," takes a look at how men and women diet differently. Author and chief science officer of Weight Watchers, Karen Miller-Kovach, says that men tend to take a more pragmatic approach to dieting, cutting things out of their diet completely, like the mayonnaise or beer. They want results and they want to get results quickly. Women, on the other hand, negotiate when they diet and make smaller changes. For example, instead of leaving the mayo completely off the sandwich, they negotiate with themselves and have the light mayo instead. Men are also more likely to hit the gym in order to lose weight, while women prefer modifying their diets and are less likely to consider exercise as a part of a weight loss program. So here's the question. Why do you think men and women diet differently? E-mail caffertyfile@CNN.com or go to CNN.comcaffertyfile Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] Jack, I bet you'll get a lot of responses for that. Thanks, Jack.
[Cafferty:] Well, we'll see.
[Malveaux:] Dan Rather on his replacement, Katie Couric. Do you stand by that, the statement you made before, "dumbing it down, tarting it up"?
[Dan Rather, "dan Rather Reports":] Absolutely. I've been saying it for 10 years.
[Malveaux:] The former anchor talks about his old network and his own new investigation of electronic voting machines. Find out why he says the next election is at risk. Plus, taxing bottled water. A look at why some cities want you to start hitting the tap. And Hurricane Flossie barrels towards Hawaii, and there's also Tropical Storm Dean. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.