Obama: I would ban all toys from China

CONCORD, N.H. — Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Wednesday he would ban all toys made in China after a series of safety scares, and he called for tougher U.S. inspections of Chinese imports.

"I would stop the import of all toys from China. Now, I have to say that that's about 80 percent of toys that are being imported right now," the Illinois senator told voters in New Hampshire, which helps kick off the 2008 White House race.

Many U.S. parents are weighing the hazards of Chinese products while buying their children toys for Christmas next week, after recalls of millions of Chinese-made toys for lead paint and other hazards, such as small magnets.

Scandals involving imported products ranging from toothpaste to pet food and fish have added to the scrutiny of Chinese goods. Chinese officials acknowledged some problems but insisted foreign media have hyped the issue.

Paul to keep money from supremacist

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul has received a $500 campaign donation from a white supremacist, and the Texas congressman doesn't plan to return it, an aide said Wednesday.

Don Black, of West Palm Beach, recently made the donation, according to campaign filings. He runs a Web site whose motto is "White Pride World Wide."

"Ron is going to take the money and try to spread the message of freedom. And that's $500 less that this guy has to do whatever it is that he does," Paul spokesman Jesse Benton said.

Black said he supports Paul's stance on ending the war in Iraq and securing U.S. borders.

Reject torture, close Gitmo, McCain says

BOSTON — Republican presidential hopeful John McCain said the United States should declare it would never torture anyone in its custody and close its military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

Speaking in Boston with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the Arizona senator said tribunals should be set up for those still detained at Guantánamo.

While he has seen no evidence of detainee mistreatment, McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war who suffered mistreatment, said the prison is harming the United States' reputation worldwide. In addition, the CIA's destruction of videotaped terror interrogations has led to the impression that the United States is torturing suspects, he said.

Kissinger, secretary of state for presidents Nixon and Ford, said McCain's experience as a prisoner of war helped forge his character.

Sorry, kids, no Hawaii this year

The Obama family traditionally spends Christmas in the senator's native Hawaii. So when his children learned of a different destination this year, there was trouble.

"When I told my 9-year-old that we would be in Iowa, she cried," Michelle Obama said.

The new holiday headquarters, as those of many political families, will be in Des Moines, Iowa, a comfortable place but not typically called a "paradise" like Hawaii.

Michelle Obama explained the survival strategy:

"There are museums in Des Moines. ... [The children] will have their family and friends around them, with a Christmas tree in a hotel room. We will have had Christmas, and it will be fun, fun, fun."

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