Consumer Confidential: Bad shades, falling TVs

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Here’s your tantalizing Tuesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

-- More than 50 million Roman-style window shades are being recalled because of a risk that kids could be strangled by the cords. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says five deaths and 16 near-strangulations have been reported since 2006. The commission and the window-covering industry urge parents to examine all shades and see if cords pose a threat to little ones. More info can be found here.

-- As if that weren’t scary enough, there’s also word that kids could be hurt by falling TVs. As more households swap out clunky old sets for nifty new flat-panel jobs, experts say there’s a danger of the bigger TVs tumbling off old furniture or dropping from the wall. Nearly 15,000 furniture-related injuries are estimated to occur each year, and about half involve TVs. Something to keep in mind.

-- David Lazarus