Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 1-1

By Patricia Callahan Tribune staff reporter Sharon Grigsby pleaded with the operator at the federal safety hot line. A popular new toy, Magnetix, nearly killed one of her preschoolers. Please do something, Grigsby remembers urging. When the plastic building sets broke, she told the operator, they shed powerful magnets inside her northern Indiana preschool. Grigsby see the loose magnets, not much bigger than baby aspirin.

But one of her 5-year-old students did. He found some and swallowed them. The extraordinarily strong magnets connected in the digestive tract, squeezed the folds of his intestines and tore holes through his bowels. Only emergency surgery saved his life. If this product recalled, Grigsby remembers warning, children will die.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commissionresponded with a form letter. of limited resources and the volume of incidents reported to us, only a few complaints may be selected for follow-up investigation at this stated the letter, which arrived a week after May 2005 call to the hot line. If complaint were important enough, the agency informed her, an investigator would call within 30 days. Thirty days went by, then another 30.

No recall, no word from government investigators. The magnets that doctors re- moved from the globs in a hospital specimen in a drawer in office waiting for an investigator to examine them. felt like I was pushed Grigsby said. thought I was helping the next Precisely what she feared would happen did, six months later and more than 2,000 miles away. Kenny Sweet a suburban Seattle toddler with wispy blond hair, died from Magnetix injuries on Thanksgiving Day 2005.

parents thought he had a stomach bug. By the time they realized something was seriously wrong, it was too late. His heart stopped within minutes of his arrival at the emergency room. But this is not a story about just one defective product and one grief. A Tribune investigation found that Kenny death is emblematic of how a weakened federal agency, in its myopic and docile approach to regulation, fails to protect children.

The result: injury and death. For instance, the safety agency waited years to respond to consumer and attorney complaints that soapmaking kits were landing children in hospital burn units. In the meantime, more kids suffered disfiguring injuries. The safety commission also recalled several types of playpens after they collapsed and suffocated babies. But the Sweet family photo Kenny Sweet of suburban Seattle was 20 months old when he died in November 2005 after swallowing Magnetix magnets.

PLEASE SEE MAGNETS, PAGE22 Alarms sounded that a magnetic toy was dangerous. The federal agency charged with toy safety act. Neither did the manufacturer. Not until a boy died. PART 1: A captive of industry, the Consumer Product Safety Commission lacks the authority and manpower to get dangerous products off store shelves Tribune photo by Bob Fila Tiny, powerful magnets can fall out of Magnetix toys, and children can swallow them.

The magnets then attach to each other inside the intestines, causing life-threatening injuries. TRIBUNE INVESTIGATION HIDDEN HAZARDS How do I know if a product is safe? Where can I find out more about recalls? Plus: Investigative of a dangerous craft kit. In the Web edition: A guide Go to chicagotribune.com/safety Pistons flatten Bulls SPORTS Pirates spiders Shreks Summer movie preview ARTS Tips on how to spice up your garden Weather: Sunny; high 74, low 52 Index, Page 2 Online at chicagotribune.com day tour of the U.S. on Monday and departing for Australia. For the first time, his office has declined all interview requests or news conferences while on tour.

A majority of his time has been spent away from crowds, at a Wisconsin monastery where one of his own spiritual mentors resides. Some believe the subtle retreat springs from a sense that his temporal mission has been accomplished. He has transformed the Tibetan government-in-exile from theocratic monarchy to democracy. And he has witnessed the Tibetan Buddhist culture thrive in di- aspora. time has come for the By Manya A.

Brachear Tribune religion reporter Plucked from his birthplace in northeastern Tibet as a toddler, faced with an invasion as a teen and forced into exile in his 20s, the 14th Dalai Lama has spent most of his life shouldering the leadership burdens of his beleaguered homeland. Now observers say the Dalai Lama, 71, is inching out of the political spotlight to reclaim the role he has always wanted to of simple Buddhist On Sunday, the Dalai Lama will deliver his first official Buddhist teaching to a Chicago audience, a sign that the Tibetan Buddhist leader is at long last focusing on his divine role and increasingly leaving politics to his people. Appearing at Millennium Park twice, to near-sellout crowds, he will also give a public talk before concluding his 12- Exiled Tibetan leader will offer his first Buddhist teaching in Chicago on Sunday Dalai Lama sheds politics for divine PLEASE SEE DALAI LAMA, PAGE9 Dalai Lama By Mike Dorning Washington Bureau time it may be the Democrats who are getting religion. Former Sen. John Edwards invoked in the first Democratic presidential debate when asked about moral influences on his life.

At a campaign event on the day of the Virginia Tech massacre, he offered a prayer a pointed break from Democratic usual wariness of offending religious with the words Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) comfortably works in references to his faith at public appear- ances. Even before his presidential candidacy, he gave a well-received speech arguing for a greater role for religion in politics and cultivated relationships with influential church leaders, including mega-church pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton included a paragraph about faith in the official biography on her campaign Web site.

And in her Senate re-election campaign last year, she drew notice in the New York press for wearing a cross at some public events. Reversing recent political history, the leading Republican candidates who for various reasons have so far been reluctant to speak too much about matters of faith. Democrats find religion on campaign trail GOP seems to be avoiding talk of faith PLEASE SEE RELIGION, PAGE12 IN METRO Tribune photo by Chuck Berman An academic ace Franco Lopez, a senior at Latin School of Chicago, is the top- rated member of the Chicago All-State Academic Team. The 10 from 204 rated on grades, test scores, activities and community commitment. $1.79 City and Suburbs; $2 Elsewhere FINAL BB CHICAGOLAND 160THYEAR NO.126 CHICAGOTRIBUNE SPORTS Sensible winner in run for roses Favored Street Sense charges from next-to-last to win the Kentucky Derby by 2 1 4 lengths.

SECTION 3 NATION Deadly tornado wipes out town Several people are killed and dozens injured in Greensburg, as storms rip through region. PAGE 4 Product: CTMAIN PubDate: 05-06-2007 Zone: ALL Edition: SHD Page: CMAIN1-1 User: bmcdonald Time: Color: CMYK.