Oklahoma's Inhofe plans to leave Senate
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma's U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, will step down from the Senate in January, triggering a special election for the seat he's held for decades.
Inhofe, 87, announced his decision Friday and endorsed his chief of staff, Luke Holland, as his replacement. The senator did not attend a news conference in Oklahoma City on Friday because he had "a mild case of COVID," Holland said on his boss' behalf.
Inhofe, who was elected to a fifth Senate term in 2020, said he will serve until Jan. 3.
"Nothing is going to change as far as I'm concerned," Inhofe said as he called in for the news conference. "We are going to continue the work we've been doing."
The timing of the announcement is related to a quirk in Oklahoma law that requires the governor to call a special election if a lawmaker announces a retirement before March 1. That means Oklahoma voters will be electing both its U.S. senators in November because Sen. James Lankford is up for reelection as well.
"The Senate is losing a warrior," Lankford said. "His absence will be felt, and he will be missed."
Oklahoma hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1990.
Among those expected to consider the race are Republican U.S. Reps. Kevin Hern and Markwayne Mullin; former Speaker of the Oklahoma House T.W. Shannon, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2014; and Tulsa attorney Gentner Drummond, who is currently running for attorney general.
Arizona GOP lawmakers stop abortion bill
PHOENIX -- Three Republicans in the Arizona House defected from a united GOP front Thursday to defeat a measure that would have banned manufacturing or prescribing medication to cause an abortion.
The bill that unexpectedly failed would have eliminated the choice used by half of the people who have abortions in the state, leaving a surgical procedure as the only option.
"Members, I am about as pro-life as they come," Rep. Michelle Udall of Mesa said as she joined all Democrats in voting against the measure. "However, in my research of some of these medications, they are used for other purposes as well.
"They're used for women who have had a miscarriage. They're also used to treat Cushing's syndrome and they have other uses," she said. "And so to criminalize making these medications and using them will hurt other people."
Republicans control 31 of 60 seats in the House, so the loss of any one means a bill can't get the needed 31 votes to pass if Democrats are united in opposition.
The state has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation and Republicans in Arizona routinely enact bills targeting the procedure.
The measure could return later in the session.
Sailor faces court-martial in ship blaze
SAN DIEGO -- A sailor accused of starting the fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard will face a military court-martial for arson, the Navy said Friday.
Seaman Recruit Ryan Mays, 20, faces two counts in the July 2020 blaze that injured dozens of personnel aboard the amphibious assault ship as the fire burned for five days and sent acrid smoke wafting over San Diego.
It was one of the worst noncombat warship disasters in recent memory and the vessel had to be scrapped.
Navy prosecutors have said Mays set the fire because he was disgruntled after dropping out of Navy SEAL training. His lawyers say there is no physical evidence connecting him to the blaze.
Mays was charged with aggravated arson and the willful hazarding of a vessel.
Defense lawyer Gary Barthel said the decision to proceed to trial came despite a hearing officer's recommendation that there wasn't enough evidence to win a conviction after a preliminary hearing in December.
"In our perspective it's that the Navy's not looking for justice in this case," Barthel said. "What the Navy's looking for is to make Mays a scapegoat."
Mays, who is not being held in the brig, is disheartened by the decision, Barthel said. He maintains his innocence and looks forward to proving it at trial.
Man convicted of threatening senator
NEW YORK -- A New York man has been convicted of making deadly threats to a U.S. senator and two Fox News personalities.
Military veteran Rickey Johnson, 48, was convicted by a jury Thursday in Manhattan federal court of threatening a federal official and making interstate threats.
Sentencing was scheduled for May 25, when he faces up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors said he posted videos online early last year threatening to kill U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Fox News hosts Greg Gutfeld and Laura Ingraham.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a news release that Johnson committed federal crimes when he tried "to scare and stifle" Manchin and the TV hosts. "Rather than express his political differences constructively, Rickey Johnson escalated his discord by instilling fear," he said.
FILE - Chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks as U.S. Central Command Commander Gen. Joseph Votel appears before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Feb. 5, 2019, in Washington. Inhofe plans to announce he that he will retire from Congress before his six-year term is up, triggering a special election this year in Oklahoma to pick his replacement, according to a person who with direct knowledge of the senator's plans. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)