Clinton, Obama, Edwards won’t join early primaries

Clinton, Obama, Edwards
won’t join early primaries

WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards on Saturday joined three other Democrats who say they will skip states that break party rules by holding early primaries. Their decision is a major boost to the primacy of four early voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — and a welcome development to the Democratic National Committee. The DNC has tried to impose discipline on a handful of unruly states determined to vote before Feb. 5 and gain influence in the election cycle. Their pledges came a day after rivals Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson and Joe Biden endorsed the plan, which was promoted by Democratic leaders of the four states that have party approval to hold early contests. They have now agreed that they won’t compete in any other states that vote before Feb. 5, as Florida plans to do and Michigan is poised to do.

Sex offender charged
in death at NYC hotel

NEW YORK — A fugitive sex offender wanted in two states was charged Saturday with strangling a woman and leaving her body beneath a bed at a Times Square hotel. Police detained the 35-year-old suspect, Clarence Dean, on Friday night after announcing he was wanted for questioning. The unemployed drifter abruptly checked out of his room at the Hotel Carter on Wednesday after a stay of nearly two weeks. A chambermaid cleaning the room the next morning found the rigid corpse, wrapped in plastic and shoved beneath a bed. Investigators were still trying to determine the woman’s identity Saturday.

American whiskers win

LONDON — One contestant had a mustache twisted into the shape of London’s Tower Bridge; others sported bushy beards that would make Grizzly Adams envious. In the end, Beard Team USA nabbed four of the top honors — by a whisker — at the World Beard and Mustache Championships. About 250 shaggy men from around the world competed Saturday in 17 classes of facial hair at the competition in Brighton, England. The event had long been dominated by German beard clubs, but the Americans made a strong showing at this year’s competition, taking victories in four categories.

Combined dispatches