Midday Roundup: Laundry pods a significant risk for small children

Health hazard. Thousands of children per year are harmed by biting into laundry pods, the colorful, single-use plastic bubbles filled with concentrated detergent, according to a study published today in the journal Pediatrics. In 2012 and 2013, poison control centers received about 17,000 calls reporting injuries from the pods to children under 6. About one child per day was sent to the hospital for treatment after exposure to the concentrated detergent in the pods, which makes kids much sicker than traditional laundry soap. Fortunately, injuries from the pods are declining, thanks to warning labels for parents and packaging changes designed to make the pods look less like a tasty treat.

Crashed. Pastor Myles Munroe of Bahamas Faith Ministries International died Sunday in a plane crash in Freeport, Grand Bahama. Munroe was a Bahamas native and one of the best-known faith leaders in that country. He wrote numerous books and traveled internationally as a motivational speaker, preaching that right living would help people unlock personal success. “I declare 2014 is the beginning of the season of positive progress, fulfillment, and completion of outstanding projects and promises and Success in all areas of life for those who align their lives with the Law of life in Righteousness through Jesus Christ,” he wrote on his website earlier this year. Munroe and eight other people died when the private jet they were on crashed into a construction crane. His wife was onboard the plane, and his daughter may have been, too, according to news reports. He had one other child, a son.

Killed. A 15-year-old boy shot by his cousin in a Washington school cafeteria last month has died. Andrew Fryberg, 15, was the fourth of the five shooting victims to die. The shooter, Jaylen Fryberg, 15, also died at the scene of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities say Jaylen sent an ex-girlfriend a photo of himself holding a gun before the shooting. He had invited the victims to sit at the same lunch table. Zoe Galasso died at the scene, and Gia Soriano and Shaylee Chuckulnaskit died later. The girls were all age 14. Nate Hatch, also 14, survived the shooting and was released from the hospital last week.

Back in the black. Detroit is emerging from bankruptcy after a judge on Friday approved the city’s turnaround plan. Judge Steven Rhodes begged the people of the city to work together to fix its problems. “What happened in Detroit must never happen again,” Rhodes said. The plan calls for cutting the pensions of 12,000 non-public safety retirees by 4.5 percent, erasing $7 billion of debt, and spending $1.7 billion to demolish thousands of blighted buildings, make the city safer, and improve long-neglected basic services.

USPS oops. The FBI is investigating a data breach at the U.S. Postal Service that could have compromised the personal information of about 500,000 employees. Hackers might have gained access to employees’ Social Security numbers and customers’ contact information, though no credit card data was accessed, according to the postal service.