The Ty Inc. dolls that were named Sasha and Malia but were in no way at all meant to be Sasha and Malia Obama have been retired and renamed, thus bringing the saga of the Obama Dolls to its conclusion. If you remember, the company originally claimed the dolls, Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia, were inspired by the Obama girls, but later backed off after they raised the ire of First Lady (and Mom) Michelle Obama. Since then, Ty has distanced themselves from the Obamas. The announcement was made via the company's website which also included this statement from founder Ty Warner:

In deference to the wishes of the First Family, Ty Inc. has officially retired the Ty Girlz names Marvelous Malia and Sweet Sasha. We have renamed the dolls Marvelous Mariah and Sweet Sydney. more ›

Ty Warner, the man in charge of the Beanie Baby empire, has bought the two-story, 10,000 square foot penthouse that will sit atop the Chicago Spire, giving him a 360-degree view of the city; it will be the highest residential unit IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD. While the asking was price was $40 million, it's not immediately known what Warner shelled out for his new digs. That's a hell of a lot of storage space for those damn toys. We wonder if he'll spend his time sitting on his deck, tossing random beanie babies off the side at unsuspecting pedestrians below. As for the Spire itself, more than 30 percent of the units have been sold and is still on schedule to be completed in 2012. more ›