Speaking on her new endeavour, McCartney commented, 'For years now I've wanted to create a collection for kids... I believe that this one-off collaboration will be a great way for customers to be able to participate in the Stella McCartney brand.'

Alluding that the credit crunch had been a factor in her choice of partner, she added, 'I believe that kids clothing should be more accessibly priced, which is particularly important at the moment given the current climate.'

The health department's Web site Monday showed 201 swine flu victims have been hospitalized. It also recorded four deaths related to swine flu since the outbreak began in the city in April. Autopsies to determine the exact cause of deaths of three of those cases are pending.

The city's first confirmed swine flu fatality was Mitchell Wiener, I.S. 238's assistant principal in Hollis. He died May 17 of "complications of novel influenza A (H1N1)," said Ellen Borakove, a medical examiner office spokeswoman, citing the autopsy report.

Borakove declined Monday to discuss the pending cases.

The success of Babye's transactional website contributed to its decision to expand. The site accounts for 35% of total turnover and drives footfall to the Ealing shop.

Owner Elizabeth Pilgrim said although trade was down on last year at the Ealing store, the second outlet would boost Babye's profile. She said: "We have negotiated a very good rent deal. A lot of customers in the Ealing shop say they wish they could buy our brands in Chiswick."

Some retailers and manufacturers, responding to pressure from consumers, have already eliminated BPA from their products. But state Senator Sandy Rummel, chief author of the BPA legislation, says the situation is still inconsistent from store to store.

"Parents will go into the store and you'll see some items that are marked BPA-free but other items are not marked at all. They go to let's say a friend's house and their friend uses a cup and you don't know. And so knowing that the products that are on the market today do not have this chemical in it I think brings consistency and comfort to parents who are conscientious."

"This acquisition strengthens our position as a top entertainment destination for kids and families, and a trusted online resource for parents," says Paul Yanover, executive vice president and managing director of Disney Online. "These new web properties complement Disney Online`s category-leading kids and family sites, broadening our audience and infusing an array of new content into our sites, particularly in the baby and mom categories."

In an Early Show world exclusive, James Kambewa tells correspondent Priya David, "I want to take care of her and I'm capable to take care of my baby. ... Mercy, she is a Malawian -- so (I) need her to grow as a Malawian, as well with our culture." Kambewa, who wears a necklace he made bearing his daughter's name, has never held or even met her, and says he's only seen her "in newspapers and TV, not face to face."

The interview will be featured in an Early Show three-part series about Madonna's adoption starting Monday. Lucy Chekechiwa, Mercy's maternal grandmother, says she remains conflicted about the matter, telling David the orphanage has been determined. "I did not want my granddaughter to be adopted," she says, "but because they have been persistent enough, I have been forced to let my granddaughter go."

This application was deeply offensive and should not have been approved for distribution on the App Store. When we learned of this mistake, the app was removed immediately. We sincerely apologize for this mistake and thank our customers for bringing this to our attention.

Applications have been banned for containing off-color language. The creators of South Park were not allowed to sell their application because of "potentially offensive" content, despite the fact that the show's episodes are available in the iTunes Store. And Apple has rejected applications that appear to compete with its business interests while approving applications submitted by well-connected friends that break App Store rules.

Traces of a chemical used in rocket fuel were found in samples of powdered baby formula, and could exceed what's considered a safe dose for adults if mixed with water also contaminated with the ingredient, a government study has found.

The study by scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked for the chemical, perchlorate, in different brands of powdered baby formula. It was published last month, but the Environmental Working Group — a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization — issued a press release Thursday drawing attention to it. The chemical has turned up in several cities' drinking water supplies. It can occur naturally, but most perchlorate contamination has been tied to defense and aerospace sites.

No tests have ever shown the chemical caused health problems, but scientists have said significant amounts of perchlorate can affect thyroid function. The thyroid helps set the body’s metabolism. Thyroid problems can impact fetal and infant brain development.

The chemicals Fei and colleagues looked at belong to a group called perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, which appear in a variety of common products, from upholstery to pesticides. In particular, the researchers focused on perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate, which are respectively called PFOS and PFOA.

Studies have linked PFOS and PFOA to toxic effects in the livers, immune systems, and reproductive systems of animals. In people, Fei and colleagues previously found that women with many children had lower blood levels of PFOS and PFOA than did women with fewer children. In turn, the scientists wondered if these chemicals might affect fertility. Eight percent of women in the United States have visited their doctors for infertility-related reasons, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To investigate, the team collected blood and surveyed more than 1,200 newly pregnant women who are taking part in the Danish National Birth Cohort, a long-term health study. All of the women had become pregnant on purpose. About 30 percent of women tried for more than six months before conceiving, results showed. Half of those tried for more than a year. There was an equally big range in chemical levels in the women's blood — with more than 40 times more PFOA in some women than others and more than 16 times more PFOS from the lowest to highest concentrations.

For analysis, the researchers divided the women into groups of high and low chemical levels. Their calculations showed that women with the most PFOS in their blood were up to 134 percent more likely to have needed six months or more to get pregnant. Women with the most PFOA were up to 154 percent more likely to have trouble conceiving.

Nanny agencies promise to deliver competent temporary child care for a few hours up to several weeks. We put four to the test. We tried three local agencies: Babysitter's Guild in New York City, North Shore Nannies in Chicago, Annie's Nannies in Seattle. In Miami we used Nanny Poppinz, which operates in 33 U.S. cities.

We chose these agencies because they put their nannies through a rigorous screening process, requiring substantial previous child-care experience and a minimum of three references. Most are CPR certified. (Other services charge a fee for access to a list of available babysitters in their area. These sitters, however, aren't reference checked.)

Each agency says it matches sitters with a family's needs -- if you have a newborn, for instance, you'll be sent a sitter who is well-versed in baby care. Fee structures vary, but each service has a four-hour minimum and was amenable to same-day requests, though they might charge extra for the service. While we left our children alone with the sitters for part of the time, we also stayed around and blended into the background to observe them interacting.

*****

The Miami office [of Nanny Poppinz] serves the city and surrounding areas, and charges a $40 per day placement fee and an hourly fee of $12. The hiring procedure was the same as with Babysitter's Guild. One difference: We were charged $120 ahead of time for three days of use.

Our nanny, a woman in her 40s, needed some guidance on bathing our daughter and making her formula when she first arrived, but was otherwise exceptional. She took the baby on walks around the hotel, played with her on the beach, helped us pack for the trip back home and even made her baby food. We asked for two last-minute changes and she accommodated both -- once we requested that she arrive at 8 a.m. instead of 2 p.m. Another time, we decided to go out for dinner at the last minute and asked her to stay late. The agency says clients usually have flexibility in changing timings.