IN BRIEF

LOOKING TO FUTURE

Clinton expected to release delegates

Sen. Hillary Clinton, hoping to unite the Democratic Party and cement her future in it, will gather her hard-won primary delegates Wednesday at a reception where she is expected to release them to Barack Obama.

The high-profile gathering of political regulars who once fought against Obama serves a dual purpose for Clinton: Show fellow Democrats that she can be a team player and display her still-formidable political strengths for the future

Coming into the convention, many Democrats have wondered exactly how and when Clinton would throw her delegates to Obama and whether that would be a messy, contentious affair.

Some Clinton delegates still plan to vote for her at the convention, even if she releases them.

"This is much bigger than Hillary," said Pam Durham, a Clinton delegate from Fort Worth, Texas. "I have a responsibility. I do not own my vote. I have to represent the voters who sent me."

MICHIGAN, FLORIDA

Delegates awarded full voting rights

Democratic delegates from Michigan and Florida were awarded full voting rights at the national convention Sunday despite holding early primaries against party rules.

The convention credentials committee voted unanimously to restore the voting privileges at the behest of Barack Obama, the party's presumptive nominee for president.

The states initially were stripped of delegates for holding primaries before Feb. 5. The party's rules committee restored the delegates in May but gave them only half votes.

Democrats hope the gesture will strengthen their standing in two important battleground states while ending a contentious chapter of the nominating process.

The party's move raises questions about whether it will be able to control its primary calendar in the future. A commission will work on the issue over the next two years.

STILL IN CUSTODY

Man tried to carry guns into Pelosi's hotel

A man who tried to carry two hunting rifles and two pistols into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's downtown hotel remained in police custody Sunday.

Pelosi and other guests briefly left the hotel during the Saturday incident but were never in danger, Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said.

The man, Joseph Calanchini, 29, of Pinedale, Wyo., faces a charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon.

OBAMA SUPPORTER

Republican moderate to speak at convention

Former Iowa Rep. Jim Leach, a leading Republican moderate, is taking his endorsement of Barack Obama a step further by giving a speech tonight at the Democratic convention.

Leach broke ranks with the GOP and endorsed the Democrats' presidential nominee-to-be earlier this month.

Obama spokesman Brad Anderson says Leach's move shows Obama can appeal beyond the Democratic Party establishment. Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for Republican John McCain's campaign, says Leach is backing a failing agenda by putting his support behind Obama.

Leach was elected to Congress in 1976 and represented eastern Iowa for 30 years before losing his 2006 re-election bid to Democrat Dave Loebsack.