​The A-10 Warthog has taken on a new maritime role, focusing on fast, small boats and coastal threats in the conflict with Iran. This shift could extend the aircraft’s service life even as the Air Force has long sought to retire it. Congress has resisted those retirement efforts, blocking attempts to reduce the fleet and maintaining a larger number of A-10s in service.

In a Pentagon briefing, Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said the A-10s are “in the fight” on the southern flank, including operations against Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz. He noted that the campaign targets mine storage facilities and naval ammunition depots and has involved destroying afloat assets, with more than 120 vessels and 44 mine layers cited as part of ongoing pressure. He added that the A-10 is actively hunting fast-attack watercraft in the Strait of Hormuz, with AH-64 Apaches joining southern operations and some allied forces employing Apaches to counter one-way attack drones.

This comes as President Donald Trump has escalated threats against Iran over its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global energy shipments. A temporary ceasefire was reached hours before Trump’s stated deadline to strike energy infrastructure if Tehran did not reopen the strait.

As of 2026, the Air Force inventories around 280 A-10 aircraft, with Congress requiring that the fleet not fall below 103 aircraft in Fiscal Year 2026 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Although the A-10 is slower and less stealthy than newer aircraft, it offers long loiter time over target areas and the ability to visually identify and engage threats. Originally designed as a Cold War-era tank killer, the A-10’s expanded role against small, fast-moving boats and coastal threats has intensified the debate over the Air Force’s decade-long effort to retire the jet.  

​Hope Town, Bahamas — The American woman Lynette Hooker, 55, and her husband Brian Hooker, 58, were reported missing after their dinghy trip from Hope Town’s Abaco Inn to their yacht on Elbow Cay. They left the inn around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, four minutes after sunset, on a small boat headed to the marina. Bahamian officials say the ignition key was reportedly lost when Lynette fell into the water, causing the engine to shut off. The current carried her away, and Brian paddled back to a Marsh Harbor marina, reporting Lynette missing about 4:00 a.m. Sunday.

John Waters, a friend of the couple, told Fox News Digital he met Lynette and Brian at an oyster bar in Panama City Beach, Florida, in 2023. He said the couple was on a journey around the Gulf of America and described them as very nice, explaining they were pursuing their retirement dream of sailing, though he noted they weren’t highly experienced sailors.

Three days into the search, authorities have provided few answers. Richard Cook, team leader with Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue, told People that foul play isn’t suspected. “It was just a lot of bad decisions,” Cook said, adding that it was nighttime, very windy, with no moon and rough conditions for the small boat.

Karli Aylesworth, Lynette Hooker’s daughter, who isn’t related to Brian Hooker, told Fox News Digital that Brian has a history of violence toward her mother. She spoke in several interviews, including with Griff Jenkins, and said she believes something may have happened to her mother, citing past choking and threats to throw her overboard as part of a troubling pattern. Fox News Digital has reached out to Brian Hooker multiple times but has not received a response, and he has not been charged with a crime.

Aylesworth described changes in Brian Hooker’s behavior when drinking, saying he becomes more confrontational and provocative, seemingly aiming to irritate. The investigation into Lynette Hooker’s disappearance continues as authorities review information and pursue leads.  

​NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!. A Connecticut judge has declared a mistrial in the case involving an 11-year-old girl who was raped and killed over a revelation involving decades-old evidence.. Marc Karun, 60, was on trial on murder and kidnapping charges stemming from the alleged killing of Kathleen Flynn, according to FOX 61.. Flynn, a sixth grader, was reportedly walking home from Ponus Ridge Middle School in Norwalk when she was attacked on Sept. 23, 1986. Her body was found in the woods along a path to nearby Hunters Lane.. REALTOR’S COLD CASE MURDER FINALLY SOLVED AFTER 15 YEARS, POLICE SAY. While the case ran cold for a period of time, Karun was taken into custody at his home in Stetson, Maine in 2019.. During Karun’s trial in Stamford last week, prosecutors revealed that they received an email from retired Norwalk police lieutenant Robert Fabrizzio disclosing that shortly after Flynn’s body was discovered, a state crime lab officer informed him that she had been disposed of in a used body bag, FOX 61 reported.. Fabrizzio reportedly informed prosecutors that he was concerned about the possibility of evidence contamination in the case, leading Judge John Blawie to declare a mistrial – though he did not dismiss the charges against Karun.. DAUGHTERS’ RELENTLESS SEARCH SHATTERS ‘OVERDOSE’ CLAIM, LEADS TO ARREST IN MOM’S 1992 MURDER. The state crime lab officer who made the revelation about the body bag was 87-year-old Henry Lee, a famous forensic scientist who previously worked on the O.J. Simpson murder trial and worked as the head of the lab at the time, according to FOX 61.. Lee died last month.. “We’re obviously disappointed by this turn of events, especially for the family members of Kathy Flynn, who have waited 40 years for justice and some degree of closure,” State Attorney Paul Ferencek said in a statement, FOX 61 reported.. YALE PROFESSOR’S FATHER CHARGED IN MOTHER’S DECADES-OLD MURDER, SAYS HE ‘USED ME AS BAIT’: REPORT. Prosecutors are now working with the medical examiner’s office and state crime lab to verify if the revelation is true.. FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X. The information surrounding the body bag was reportedly a surprise to crime lab officials, agency spokesperson Rick Green said.. “This is all a surprise to us. We stand by our testimony in the case,” Green said in a statement to Fox News Digital, adding the agency has no further comment.. SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER. Karun previously served 10 years behind bars after being convicted of sexually assaulting or kidnapping four other female victims throughout the 1980s, FOX 61 reported.. SEND US A TIP HERE. DNA testing technology advancements and the case’s similarities to Karun’s other attacks reportedly lead investigators to take him into custody in 2019.. LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST. Shortly after Karun’s arrest, police found nearly 90 guns inside his Maine home, which he was  

​NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!. A Haitian illegal immigrant who was caught and released by the Biden administration in 2022 was arrested after allegedly bludgeoning a mother to death with a hammer on Friday outside a gas station in Fort Myers, Florida, in broad daylight.. Rolbert Joachim, 40, is charged with second-degree murder and criminal damage to property, according to Lee County Sheriff’s Office jail records.. Surveillance footage appeared to show Joachim smashing the woman’s car windshield, approaching her, and repeatedly hitting her in the head with a hammer — killing her in broad daylight, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).. The woman, whose identity has not yet been publicly released, was reportedly a store clerk inside the gas station.. SUSPECT IN FATAL NEW JERSEY HIT-AND-RUN CRASH IS ILLEGAL ALIEN, FUGITIVE: DHS. She was also the mother of two teenage daughters, according to a report from local outlet Gulf Coast News.. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) assisted the Fort Myers Police Department in tracking down and arresting Joachim on Mango Street in Fort Myers.. Joachim first entered the U.S. in August 2022 and was released into the country under the Biden administration, according to DHS.. A federal judge issued a final order of removal against him later that year, but he was granted Temporary Protected Status — which expired in 2024.. “This illegal alien barbarically hit this woman in the head multiple times with a hammer,” DHS acting assistant secretary Lauren Bis wrote in a statement. “This heinous murderer was RELEASED into the country by the Biden administration. Not only did the Biden administration release him into the country, but they then gave him temporary protected status. Their reckless immigration policies cost this woman her life.”. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP. ICE has lodged a detainer against Joachim, and he will be deported regardless of the outcome of the case.. “The arrest of this criminal is an example of how ICE and local authorities can work together to swiftly bring criminals to justice and make our communities safer,” Bis said.  

​Prosecutors released a haunting black-and-white photo showing 7-year-old Athena Strand moments before her abduction and death at the hands of FedEx driver Tanner Horner while delivering her Christmas present. The image, released on Tuesday, shows Athena behind Horner on the day she was strangled in Texas in November 2022; she appears uneasy as Horner concentrates on the road ahead. Horner, 34, a former delivery driver accused of kidnapping and strangling Athena after hitting her with his van during a delivery, admitted to capital murder in a Tarrant County courthouse on Tuesday morning. After jurors were seated, Judge George Gallagher asked for the plea; “Guilty, your honor,” Horner replied, and the judge accepted.

Horner admitted to abducting Strand while delivering a package to her father’s home in Paradise, a town of fewer than 500 people about 60 miles northwest of Dallas. Her body was found on December 2, two days after she was reported missing, less than 10 miles from the home. Authorities said Horner was delivering a package of Barbie dolls that were intended to be Strand’s Christmas present. Athena was set to return to Oklahoma with her mother after the holidays and had been staying with her father, Jacob Strand, and stepmother, Ashley Strand, in Wise County.

According to the arrest warrant, Horner told investigators that he strangled the 7-year-old after accidentally hitting her with his van while delivering at her father’s home. He said Strand wasn’t seriously hurt after he hit her while backing up, but he panicked and put her in his van. On Tuesday, Ashley Strand testified about the immediate aftermath when she realized her stepdaughter had vanished. She recalled thinking perhaps she was hiding somewhere. The only thing she noticed as unusual on the property was a Walmart package containing Barbie dolls that had been ordered for Athena as a Christmas present and had been left in front of an abandoned trailer on the property.

Athena was reported missing, and an Amber Alert was issued, triggering 72 hours of searching. Wise County’s former Sheriff Lane Akin testified that the search efforts for the 7-year-old were a grassroots effort with community members standing shoulder to shoulder if she was found.