Michelle Obama wins battle of dolls

While Michelle Obama has big plans for her role as First Lady – on Monday she gave her debut speech in Washington lauding the merits of her husband's $890bn stimulus bill – she has just won a small but important victory over a US toy company who had manufactured two dolls bearing an uncanny likeness to her daughters, Malia and Sasha.

The dolls, which appeared on the shelves shortly before the presidential inauguration in January, had been called 'Marvelous Malia' and 'Sweet Sasha'. While not exactly asking the dolls to be recalled, Obama's press secretary, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, made it clear to the company, Ty Inc, that Michelle felt it was "inappropriate".

This did the trick. The company, who at first claimed that the names were purely coincidental and that the dolls were not modelled on the Obama daughters at all, has caved in. Ty Inc's website now shows the Marvelous Malia and Sweet Sasha dolls under a red banner that reads 'Retired', and it is has agreed to donate all the profits from sales to charity. Said McCormick Lelyveld: "We appreciate the company's response to this matter." ·