Ex-senator Edwards admits affair

Mr Edwards said he had told his wife of the affair and asked for forgiveness

Former Democratic US presidential hopeful John Edwards has admitted that he had an extra-marital affair and that he lied about it during his campaign.

Mr Edwards, whose wife has terminal cancer, said the affair in 2006 was with a film-maker whose company made documentaries for his campaign.

He denied he was the father of Rielle Hunter’s child, born in February, but said he had not taken a paternity test.

He confessed to the affair in an interview with US broadcaster ABC News.

In a statement released following his television appearance, Mr Edwards said he had made “a serious error in judgment”.

He said he was “ashamed” of his actions, and that he had informed his wife about the affair in 2006 and had asked for her forgiveness, the statement said.

‘Tabloid trash’

The admission followed reports of the sex scandal in the National Enquirer newspaper, which he had dismissed as “tabloid trash”.

Rielle Hunter’s daughter was born in February this year, and no father’s name was given on the birth certificate.

Mr Edwards told ABC that his affair had ended too soon for him to have been the father. However, he said he was willing to take a paternity test.

Correspondents say the revelations could affect John Edwards’ chances of receiving a post in government if Democrat Barack Obama wins the presidency in November.

Hilton spoof hits back at McCain

Socialite Paris Hilton has made a spoof advertisement in response to a jibe by US presidential hopeful John McCain.

A commercial suggested Mr McCain’s Democratic rival, Barack Obama, was no more than a lightweight celebrity, like Hilton or Britney Spears.

But in a spoof recording placed on the comedy website Funny or Die, Hilton referred to Mr McCain as “that wrinkly, white-haired guy”.

She claimed being used in his ad meant she was now “running for president”.

‘Complete waste’

Reclining on a chair in a swimming costume and gold stilettos, she said: “Thanks for the endorsement, white-haired dude.

“I want America to know that I’m, like, totally ready to lead.”

Hilton (left) joked she wanted to be president after Mr McCain’s jibe

At the beginning of the star’s film, an announcer called Mr McCain “the oldest celebrity in the world, like super-old; old enough to remember when dancing was a sin and beer was served in a bucket”.Hilton’s spoof also intersperses images of Mr McCain and Yoda from Star Wars and the cast of TV show The Golden Girls.

The star, who spent 23 days in a Los Angeles prison for breaching probation on a driving ban last year, then discusses her energy “policy”.

The 27-year-old suggested a hybrid of Mr McCain’s offshore oil-drilling plan and Mr Obama’s incentives for new energy technology.

“Energy crisis solved. I’ll see you at the debates,” she said.

A spokesman for Mr McCain’s campaign, Tucker Bounds, said: “Paris Hilton might not be as big a celebrity as Barack Obama, but she obviously has a better energy plan.”

Hilton’s mother Kathy, who – along with her husband – donated $4,600 (£2,353) to Mr McCain’s campaign earlier in the year, has commented on the Republican advert.

This was “a complete waste of the country’s time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs”, she said.