Nation in brief: Sources say Berry plans to retire
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Democratic Rep. Marion Berry plans to announce today that he won’t seek re-election this fall, people who have spoken to Berry told the Associated Press.
The three people, who had spoken with Berry on Sunday, said the congressman planned to announce his decision today. The people requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on Berry’s behalf.
Berry has represented the 1st District in eastern Arkansas since 1997.
A spokeswoman for Berry did not immediately return a call Sunday night.
Berry, 67, was first elected to his congressional seat after serving in the Clinton administration as a special assistant to the president for agricultural trade and food assistance.
In 2008, he was re-elected without opposition. This year, he faced opposition from Republican Rick Crawford, who owns a regional agricultural radio network.
Berry had repeatedly said he had no plans to retire, but he fueled speculation last week when he told a radio interviewer asking about his re-election plans that “nothing is certain in this world but death.”
“There has not been this much turmoil in Arkansas politics in a long time,” Berry told Little Rock radio station KUAR. “I would be afraid to predict anything. I think in the next couple months you could see all kinds of stuff coming down the pike.”
Door-opening try wasn’t terrorism
DENVER – A man accused of attempting to open an airplane’s exterior door while in flight has been released after investigators determined it wasn’t a terrorism matter, authorities said Sunday.
The incident occurred Saturday on a United Airlines jetliner en route from Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas. The plane, which had more than 100 people aboard, was diverted to Denver International Airport.
FBI spokeswoman Kathy Wright said a passenger tried opening one of the front doors of the airplane and may have tried to open the cockpit door before passengers restrained him. The man was taken into custody, questioned and released for a medical evaluation, she said.
Authorities will decide on charges after reviewing the incident, Wright said.
The man’s last known address was in New York state. Wright declined to release additional information. Passengers told Las Vegas television station KTNV-TV after the plane landed that the man said he was from California and was on the wrong plane.
Obama will skip Illinois jury duty
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – A White House official says President Barack Obama will be skipping jury duty after being summoned in Illinois.
The administration official confirmed to the Associated Press on Sunday that the president alerted the court weeks ago that he won’t be able to make it. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly.
Obama was summoned for jury duty at the Bridgeview courthouse in suburban Chicago starting Monday. The summons had arrived at the Obama home on Chicago’s South Side.
With his first State of the Union speech set for Wednesday, Obama has a busy week ahead.