Essential Estrogen

John Miller is reporting for the Associated Press that IDAHO (not Iowa) Republican (not Democratic) Sen. Larry Craig is reconsidering his decision to resign from his post on Sept. 30.

A spokesperson for the senator is citing legal reasons for the change of heart.

On Aug. 27 Roll Call reported that Craig had been arrested for lewd conduct in a men's bathroom at a Minnesota airport on June 11, and that he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct on Aug. 8. As a result of the controversy surrounding his arrest and guilty plea, Craig announced his resignation from the Senate at a news conference three days ago on Sept. 1.

In other more important news, Mattel has issued its third toy recall.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Mattel announced the new recall just minutes ago. The recall includes roughly 700,000 Chinese-made toys that have excessive amounts of lead paint. Most are Barbie accessory toys that were manufactured between Sept. 30, 2006 and Aug. 20, 2007. It also includes 8,900 different toys from the Fisher-Price brand that were sold worldwide during July and August.

Lead can cause brain damage when ingested by young children.