Nation in brief: Stagehands strike set to begin today

Stagehands will go on strike today, a move expected to darken most of the plays and musicals on Broadway, according to a person close to contract negotiations.

The strike was to begin at 11 a.m., shuttering an early matinee of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical,” said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity Friday night.

The union, Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and the League of American Theatres and Producers held two days of unproductive meetings Wednesday and Thursday, reportedly contentious negotiations.

The union has been without a contract since the end of July. The two sides have been wrangling over work rules and staffing requirements, particularly during the expensive process of loading a show into a theater.

Neosho, Mo.

Stepfather faces charges for death

The stepfather of a 9-year-old girl whose body was found Friday in a hillside cave in southwest Missouri was arrested in her death, authorities said.

Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland said 24-year-old David Spears was arrested in the death of Rowan Ford.

“The stepfather was a possible suspect,” Copeland said. “I will confirm that he has been arrested, as well as one of his friends.”

Copeland said a 24-year-old man from Wheaton, in adjacent Barry County, was also arrested. Charges had not been filed as of Friday night.

Rowan’s body was found on private land about 10 miles south of the girl’s hometown of Stella, a village of about 200 people, Copeland said.

Des Moines, Iowa

Clinton aide gave student question

An aide for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a Grinnell College student a question to ask the Democratic presidential candidate during a forum this week in central Iowa.

That the question had been planted by the campaign was not mentioned at the event.

“This is not standard policy and will not be repeated again,” the campaign said in a statement issued Friday night. Clinton herself did not know when she called on the student that the question had been suggested by one of her staff, the campaign said.

“The senator had no idea,” Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee said.

Clinton appeared at a biodiesel plant in Newton on Tuesday to introduce her energy plan. A student, Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, later told Grinnell College’s student newspaper, the Scarlet & Black, that she was asked by a senior Clinton staffer to pose a question about global warming.