Mattel to announce recall of Chinese-made toy

Mattel to announce recall
of Chinese-made toy

NEW YORK — Mattel Inc. is set to announce the recall of a Chinese-made toy as early as today because it may contain excessive amounts of lead paint. The expected announcement would mark the second recall involving lead paint by the world’s largest toy maker within two weeks. The latest recall, whose details could not be immediately learned, involves a different Chinese supplier, according to three people close to the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. It follows a highly publicized worldwide recall, announced Aug. 1 by Mattel’s Fisher-Price division, of 1.5 million preschool toys featuring characters such as Dora the Explorer, Big Bird and Elmo. That action included 967,000 toys sold in the United States between May and August. One of the three people confirmed the latest case involves lead paint. Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, declined to comment. Mattel officials did not immediately return phone calls.

Cat survives fire
by hiding in couch

WEST ORANGE, N.J. — A New Jersey cat may have only eight lives left after it survived a house fire by hiding in the couch. Firefighters initially thought the feline, who belonged to one of the tenants in the two-story house, had been killed by flames and smoke Saturday night. But after putting out the blaze and surveying the damage, they found the cat wedged into the couch. “To our amazement, it had survived,” Fire Chief Peter Smeraldo told The Star-Ledger of Newark. “They should change that cat’s name to Lucky.” No one was injured, and the cat’s owner, who was ecstatic to have the animal back, took the cat to stay at a relative’s house.

Socialite Brooke Astor dies

NEW YORK — Brooke Astor, the civic leader, philanthropist and high society fixture who gave away nearly $200 million to support New York City’s great cultural institutions and a host of humbler projects, died Monday. She was 105. Astor, who recently was the center of a highly publicized legal dispute over her care, died of pneumonia at Holly Hill, her Westchester County estate in Briarcliff Manor, family lawyer Kenneth Warner said. “Brooke was truly a remarkable woman and an irreplaceable friend,” longtime family friend David Rockefeller said. “She was the leading lady of New York in every sense of the word.” Although a legendary figure in New York City and feted with a famous gala on her 100th birthday in March 2002, Astor was mostly interested in putting the fortune that husband Vincent Astor left to use helping others. Her efforts won her a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 1998. “Money is like manure, it should be spread around,” was her oft-quoted motto.

Karl Rove to resign

WASHINGTON — Karl Rove, the political mastermind behind President Bush’s races for the White House and an adviser with unparalleled influence over the past 61⁄2 turbulent years, announced Monday that he will resign Aug. 31, ending a partnership stretching back more than three decades. It was a major loss for Bush as he heads into the twilight of his presidency, battered in the polls, facing a hostile Democratic Congress and waging an unpopular war. A half dozen other senior advisers have left in recent months, forcing the White House to rebuild its staff at the same time the president is running out of influence. “I’ll be on the road behind you here in a little bit,” said a rueful Bush, announcing the departure alongside Rove on the White House South Lawn. Bush leaves office Jan. 20, 2009. Bush nicknamed Rove “the architect” and “boy genius” for successfully plotting two national election strategies and helping strengthen Republican majorities in Congress in 2002 and 2004.

Taliban release two
South Korean hostages

GHAZNI, Afghanistan — Two South Korean women kidnapped by the Taliban burst into tears Monday after being turned over to the Red Cross on a desert road where the body of one of the original 23 hostages was dumped. The women’s release was the first breakthrough in a drama that began more than three weeks ago when a busload of Korean church volunteers was seized. A second male captive also was shot to death in late July, meaning 14 women and five men are still being held. The handover came after two days of face-to-face talks between the Taliban and a South Korean delegation. A spokesman for the hard-line Islamic militants said the group released the women as a show of good will during negotiations that he said were going well. The spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, also reiterated the militants’ demand that Taliban prisoners be released in exchange for the remaining 19 hostages. The Afghan government has ruled out any prisoner swap.

Associated Press