user: Problem: Mitt Romney Confirms Secret Meeting With Newt Gingrich Last Week

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney confirmed reports Thursday that he and Newt Gingrich met secretly in New Orleans the day before the Louisiana primary.

But Romney played down the importance of the meeting between the himself and Gingrich, who earlier this week scaled back his campaign and laid off staffers.

“We’re pretty much in regular communication between the different campaigns and I said hello to Newt,” Romney told Sean Hannity in a radio interview. “Nothing new, nothing exciting except we keep a friendly discourse open.”

A source close to the Gingrich campaign confirmed the meeting happened early on Friday morning at around 6:30 a.m. at Romney’s hotel in the French Quarter district of New Orleans. Gingrich was staying at a hotel about 30 minutes away from Romney’s hotel and met with him before heading to the southern part of Louisiana to campaign in Port Fourchon.

“We do meet from time to time and I’m sure that the Speaker meets with Rick Santorum as well but we don’t go off and report the discussions,” Romney said. “But they are friendly and we discuss the issues, we discuss the way forward but we don’t reveal our secret campaign strategies.”

Gingrich campaign spokesman R.C. Hammond told ABC News that he was not the source of other reports that the two candidates had met, however, “Newt does speak Santorum and Romney on a regular basis.”

Romney is the clear front-runner in the Republican race and holds a commanding delegate lead. Gingrich has stayed in the race even though he could never maintain spurts of momentum heading into the Iowa Caucus and after a big win in South Carolina. Any sort of agreement between the men would be a turn of events. Gingrich has blamed negative advertising both from the Romney campaign and a superPAC that supports Romney for hurting his candidacy. Still, Gingrich has pledged to take his candidacy to the Republican candidacy in Tampa, Florida, later this year. Gingrich has finished fourth in 13 of the last 27 Republican primary contests.

A financial backer of Gingrich, Nevada casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, recently said he still supports Gingrich, but thinks the former House Speaker has reached the “end of his line.”

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Summary: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney confirmed reports Thursday that he and Newt Gingrich met secretly in New Orleans the day before the Louisiana primary. But Romney played down the importance of the meeting between the himself and Gingrich, who earlier this week scaled back his campaign and laid off staffers. “We’re pretty much in regular communication between the different campaigns and I said hello to Newt,” Romney told Sean Hannity in a radio interview. “Nothing new, nothing exciting except we keep a friendly discourse open.” A source close to the Gingrich campaign confirmed the meeting happened early on Friday morning…


Problem: U.S. Olympic team features Miller, Thomas in net, Kane on offense

By Mike Brehm, USA TODAY

Team USA, seeking to get back to the medal stand after a quarterfinal loss in the

, named a team Friday that is strong in net.

Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller is second among starting goalies in goals-against average (2.05) and first in save percentage (.933). He will joined in net by reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins. Jonathan Quick (21 wins) has helped the Los Angeles Kings exceed expectations.

The U.S. roster was announced right after the Winter Classic and Thomas was the last player named and walked out to cheers from the crowd.

"I've been waiting 30 years for this," Thomas said. " I feel like I've been waiting my whole life for this opportunity. You know, to be able to be named at your home crowd, but at Fenway Park, you add those things together, and this is a story that will be told for the rest of my life."

The U.S. defense will feature Brian Rafalski (Detroit), Ryan Suter (Nashville), Mike Komisarek (Toronto), Paul Martin (New Jersey), Erik Johnson (St. Louis), Jack Johnson (Los Angeles) and Brooks Orpik (Pittsburgh).

Among forwards, Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane is the lone player in the top 10 in NHL scorers. But there is plenty of scoring potential among the forwards, including Zach Parise (New Jersey), Paul Stastny (Colorado), Phil Kessel (Toronto), Ryan Malone (Tampa Bay), Joe Pavelski (San Jose) and Bobby Ryan (Anaheim). Dustin Brown (Los Angeles), Ryan Kesler (Vancouver) and Jamie Langenbrunner (New Jersey) will form an effective checking line. Other forwards named were David Backes (St. Louis) and New York Rangers teammates Ryan Callahan and Chris Drury.

Langenbrunner (1999) and Rafalski and Drury (2002, 2006) are the only players on the team with previous Olympic experience.

Six different countries have played in the gold medal game during the three Olympics that featured NHL players. Sweden beat Finland at the 2006 Games in Torino. The USA won silver in 2002, falling in the finals to Canada at Salt Lake City.

The USA will open the tournament in Vancouver on Feb. 16 against Switzerland.

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Summary: Team USA, seeking to get back to the medal stand after a quarterfinal loss in the 2006 Olympics, named a team Friday that is strong in net.


Problem: Mexican-born killer put to death in Texas

Wednesday, August 6th 2008, 12:01 PM

With the parents of his victims watching a few feet away, Jose Medellin apologized before he was executed for his part in a horrific attack on two teenage girls 15 years ago.

"I'm sorry my actions caused you pain," Jose Medellin told the teens' parents late Tuesday. "I hope this brings you the closure that you seek."

Nine minutes later, Medellin was pronounced dead. His execution, the fifth this year in Texas, was delayed for about four hours while the U.S. Supreme Court weighed his appeal.

"It's been a long night," Randy Ertman, whose daughter was killed by Medellin and five other gang members, said after watching the 33-year-old man receive lethal injection.

The appeal to the nation's highest court focused on whether Medellin was denied treaty-guaranteed help from the Mexican consulate when he was arrested.

The court rejected his request for a reprieve, with the majority opinion noting that the Justice Department had not sought the court's intervention.

"Its silence is no surprise," the court said, adding that prosecutors never wavered from their position that Medellin "was not prejudiced by his lack of consular access."Four justices dissented.

The case attracted attention after the International Court of Justice said Medellin and some 50 other Mexicans on death row around the United States should have new hearings in U.S. courts to determine whether the 1963 Vienna Convention treaty was violated during their arrests.

Texas authorities argued Medellin, who came to the United States when he was 3 and grew up in Houston, never sought Mexican consular protections until four years after he was arrested. By then, he already had been tried for capital murder, convicted and condemned.

Medellin was the first to die among the cases cited by the international court, also known as the World Court.

"It's important to recall this is a case not just about one Mexican national on death row in Texas," one of his lawyers, Sandra Babcock, said after watching him die.

"It's also about ordinary Americans who count on the protection of the consulate when they travel abroad to strange lands. It's about the reputation of the United States as a nation that adheres to the rule of law."

President Bush asked states to review the cases, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year neither the president nor the international court could force Texas to wait.

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Summary:

assistant: A Mexican-born condemned killer whose case drew international attention has been executed over the objections of an international court and the Mexican government.