Former US Sen. Jim Inhofe, defense hawk who called human-caused climate change a 'hoax,' dies at 89

Former Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma has died. He was 89. The family says in a statement that the Republican had a stroke over the July Fourth holiday and died Tuesday morning. Inhofe was a powerful fixture in state politics for decades. He doubted that climate change was caused by human activity, calling the theory “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.” As Oklahoma’s senior U.S. senator, he was a staunch supporter of the state’s military installations. He was elected to a fifth Senate term in 2020 and stepped down in early 2023.