First Lady forgives and forgets

Washington - Regardless of what Newt Gingrich thinks of her, Hillary Rodham Clinton has invited the new Republican Speaker of the House and his mother for a personally-guided tour of the White House. The initial tension over the remark Mr Gingrich 's mother, Kathleen, was coaxed to whisper to a CBS-TV interviewer about what her son thought of the First Lady - "a bitch" - was all forgotten when President Bill Clinton handed Mr Gingrich a personal note from his wife during a meeting on Thursday with the new congressional leaders at the White House.

"I think the invitation speaks for itself," said Mrs Clinton's spokeswoman, Lisa Caputo. AFP