Malia Obama safe in Mexico, White House says

Malia Obama, President Barack Obama's 13-year-old daughter, is safe following the 7.6-magnitude earthquake in Mexico, the White House said on Tuesday.

"In light of today's earthquake, we can confirm that Malia Obama is safe and was never in danger," Kristina Schake, communications director for first lady Michelle Obama, said in a statement.

Malia Obama is currently on a spring-break trip with a school group in Oaxaca in southwestern Mexico.

On Monday, Agence France-Press and several media organizations posted stories about the trip, but after the White House expressed security concerns, many were taken down. (Politico even scrubbed a story about those stories being scrubbed, Buzzfeed.com noted.)

Meanwhile, Rick Santorum criticized the Obama family's decision to allow the first daughter to travel to Mexico when the State Department has issued travel warnings about the country.

"If the administration is saying that it's not safe to have people down there, then just because you can send 25 Secret Service agents doesn't mean you should do it," Santorum told Glenn Beck on his radio show. "You should set an example. I think that's what presidents do. They set an example."

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