Morning coffee hazards and a new rule for flooded basements

There's a chill in the air this week that makes you want to brew a hot pot of coffee and double-check the weather stripping. But before you settle into the colder months, a couple of surprising safety notices are worth a look. We've got a hidden hazard on your kitchen counter and a long-overdue rule for flooded basements. Here's what you need to know before winter sets in.

The danger in your morning coffee

Bodum USA is recalling 5.9 million of its popular glass French press coffee makers. The recall covers a massive lineup of models sold at Target, Walmart, and Amazon. The danger actually stems from the glass carafe.

CBS News reports the company has received 70 reports of the glass shattering unexpectedly and causing severe burns. The culprit is the metal spoon most of us use to stir the grounds. Metal scratches the glass. That creates microscopic weaknesses that eventually give out under the pressure of boiling water. Bodum isn't offering refunds for brewers like the Chambord or the Brazil. Instead, they want owners to immediately stop using metal utensils, and they're shipping out free plastic stirring spoons to anyone who asks.

What's happening in your state

If you're buying or selling a house in Pennsylvania, the rules of the game are about to change. Governor Josh Shapiro just signed a law that will finally force sellers to come clean about a property's flood history.

Starting in July 2028, anyone selling a home will have to explicitly tell buyers if the property has suffered flood damage or sits in a FEMA-designated flood zone. They'll also have to disclose if they've ever filed a flood insurance claim or received government disaster assistance. It's a massive win for buyers who historically had to play detective to figure out if a basement was prone to taking on water.

This transparency is long overdue, given how few people are financially prepared for a washout. Pennsylvania's insurance commissioner recently warned residents that if it can rain, it can flood. Yet standard homeowners policies generally don't cover water that flows in from the outside. In reality, barely one percent of households in the state actually carry dedicated flood insurance, according to Insurance Journal. When the sky opens up, unprotected homeowners are entirely on their own.