Contenders to lead Merkel’s party seek January decision

BERLIN (AP) — The three main candidates to become the new head of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party have agreed that the decision should be made in mid-January, a party official said Saturday as leading contenders scrambled to end an increasingly bitter dispute. The center-right Christian Democratic Union has been in leadership limbo since current chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who succeeded Merkel in 2018, announced in February…