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Bahamas authorities race against deadline to charge or cut loose husband of missing American woman

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GREAT ABACO ISLAND, Bahamas – Bahamian authorities face a Monday evening deadline to either charge or release Brian Hooker, the husband of missing Michigan boater Lynette Hooker, as the investigation into her disappearance near Elbow Cay is up against the clock.

Hooker has been in custody since last week after authorities detained him in connection with his wife’s disappearance. His attorney said officials have until about 7:20 p.m. ET Monday to decide whether to file charges or let him go.

Police continue searching for Lynette by air, land and sea, though the effort has shifted from a rescue mission to a recovery operation.

Lynette Hooker was last seen the night of April 4 after the couple left the Abaco Inn on a dinghy headed back to their anchored yacht.

DINGHY ROUTE TAKEN BY MISSING AMERICAN WOMAN AND JAILED HUSBAND RECREATED AS DETAILS OF DISAPPEARANCE EMERGE

Fox News Digital previously retraced the route — a short trip through waters local experts say are typically shallow, clear and heavily trafficked.

According to Brian Hooker’s account, Lynette fell overboard in worsening weather and strong winds. He has said the couple was not wearing life jackets and that the dinghy lost power after the ignition key went into the water.

In a recorded phone call obtained by CBS, Hooker described the incident as a series of mistakes, saying Lynette “basically just bounced off the dinghy” before he lost sight of her in the dark.

He has said he later paddled for help after searching for her.

WATCH: Volunteer fire and rescue team searches for missing Lynette Hooker

In an interview on Ashleigh Banfield’s “Drop Dead Serious” podcast, Lynette’s mother described a volatile relationship and said her daughter had left her husband multiple times in the past.

“They had a lot of highs and a lot of lows,” she said. “When there were bad times, they were bad times.”

She alleged Brian Hooker could become “mean” and “hateful” when drinking and said there had been instances where he became physical, adding she had long feared for her daughter’s safety.

Lynette had been planning to leave the marriage, her mother said in the interview.

FRIEND OF BRIAN HOOKER SPEAKS OUT, QUESTIONS DISAPPEARANCE OF WOMAN IN BAHAMAS MYSTERY

Separately, Lynette’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, has questioned Brian Hooker’s version of events, saying the circumstances surrounding her mother’s disappearance “don’t add up.” 

In a previous appearance on “Fox & Friends,” she also alleged he had been physically violent in the past.

“I’ve seen him choke out one of his daughters before. And we had to go to court for that,” Aylesworth said. “So he’s just repeating patterns.”

MISSING AMERICAN’S HUSBAND HAD ‘SPOTTY’ CELL SERVICE DURING 8-HOUR TREK TO REPORT DISAPPEARANCE: TELECOM BOSS

Brian Hooker has denied wrongdoing and has spoken publicly about the incident, saying in a Facebook post that he is “heartbroken.”

“I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas,” he wrote. “Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus.”

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Hooker’s attorney said his client wants “closure” to find out what happened to his wife.

“He denied the allegations and he maintained his innocence,” Terrel Butler said, adding that a decision on whether to charge him would likely come before the deadline.

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The attorney also said the case would ultimately be handled by prosecutors, not just investigating officers, and that Hooker is “drained and tired” as he awaits a decision.

If he is not charged by the deadline, authorities would be required to release him, though re-arrest remains a possibility under Bahamian law.

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A flotation device believed to have been thrown to Lynette was recovered, according to multiple reports, but authorities have not announced that they have found her body.

Royal Bahamas Defence Force Commander Origin Deleveaux told NBC News that authorities were continuing to search for Lynette, and that early efforts were complicated by severe weather.

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Fox News Digital has also reported that local boaters say it would be unusual for someone to disappear without a trace in the area due to the water clarity and proximity to land.

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The Hookers had documented their boating lifestyle online after buying and restoring a sailboat in Texas, eventually making their way to the Bahamas.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Hooker’s attorney for additional comment.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Sabes contributed to this report.

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Sunny Hostin doesn’t know if president is the ‘right position’ for Harris, urges her to reconsider CA governor

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“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin urged former Vice President Kamala Harris to reconsider running for California governor on Monday, as the co-hosts discussed Rep. Eric Swalwell’s decision to end his campaign amid sexual assault allegations.

“I think the bigger question for me now is, you know, California, it’s like running a country. Swalwell was running to be governor, and he was the lead candidate for the Democrats. I mean, California overtook Japan as the fourth-largest global economy. It has a GDP of $4.25 trillion. And so, I’d like to see Kamala Harris maybe put her hat back in the ring for Governor of California. I know that she’s talked about being President—I don’t know if that’s the right position for her—but my goodness, she certainly knows California,” Hostin said.

Co-host Ana Navarro said the deadline for entering the race had passed.

The deadline to declare candidacy was March 6. The state’s primary election will be held on June 2.

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Swalwell announced Sunday that he would be suspending his campaign for California governor, citing personal issues and ongoing allegations in a statement posted on X.

“I am suspending my campaign for Governor,” Swalwell wrote. “To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.”

“I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s,” he added.

Harris announced in July of 2025 that she wouldn’t pursue the gubernatorial race in California.

However, the former presidential candidate said she was thinking about running for president last week.

Hostin was a staunch supporter of Harris in 2024 after she replaced former President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.

She asked a pivotal question of Harris during an October 2024 interview with the former vice president that was seen as a big turning point for her campaign.

Harris told the co-hosts during the interview ahead of the election that there wasn’t anything she would have done differently than President Biden over their term.

Harris’ office did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Gabbard claims ‘coordinated effort’ by intelligence community to advance narrative to impeach Trump

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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released newly declassified testimony that she alleges shows a “coordinated effort” by the intelligence community to “manufacture a conspiracy” used as the basis of President Donald Trump first impeachment.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Monday released two declassified transcripts from closed-door House Intelligence Committee hearings that Gabbard’s office says show former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson advanced as credible a whistleblower complaint based on secondhand information from an individual who had previously worked with then-Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine. Gabbard’s office argued that, based on this and other testimony, Atkinson’s actions “weaponize[d] the whistleblower process and exceed[ed] his statutory jurisdiction.”

Atkinson’s investigation helped trigger the first impeachment of Trump by advancing what he deemed a “credible” whistleblower complaint regarding a July 2019 phone call between the president and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson “did not follow standard IG procedures and relied upon politicized, manufactured narratives” while investigating the whistleblower claim that ultimately led to Trump’s 2019 impeachment, Gabbard’s office said Monday.

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Gabbard, citing previously classified House testimony by Atkinson, said the former inspector general “aggressively advanced” his preliminary probe while relying on secondhand testimony and what she described as politicized witnesses. Gabbard’s office also charged that Atkinson “never conducted a formal or complete investigation.”

“In his own words, IC IG Atkinson recognizes that his conclusions were based on a ‘preliminary investigation,’ noting that ‘I haven’t done an investigation to determine whether they actually, in fact, took place … that all of the alleged actions actually took place,’” according to the statement from Gabbard. 

Under federal law, the inspector general’s preliminary role is to determine whether a whistle-blower complaint “appears credible,” rather than to fully investigate or substantiate the underlying allegations. Atkinson did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The testimony reveals that Atkinson was aware that the primary whistleblower, whose identity has still not been officially disclosed, was a “registered Democrat” and had alerted staff on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence before submitting their “Disclosure of Urgent Concern” form, Gabbard’s office said.

The whistleblower also admitted having “worked closely with Vice President Biden” and “travelled with Biden to Ukraine and was part of conversations where LUTSENKO corruption was discussed,” according to the DNI release. Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraine’s prosecutor general from 2016 to 2019, was the official who inherited and closed the Burisma investigation and was subsequently courted by Hunter Biden-linked lobbyists seeking to facilitate connections between the Ukrainian government and Democratic political circles, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

Gabbard also accused Atkinson of ignoring any bias, highlighting testimony in which he said, “I also want to make it clear that I never considered the whistleblower to be politically biased.”

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The office said that on the initial form submitted by the whistleblower, they admitted, “I do not have direct knowledge of private comments or communications” by Trump. Notably, whistleblower laws do not require a whistleblower to provide first-hand information, according to the National Whistleblower Center.

Gabbard’s office said one of the “key” witnesses Atkinson relied on to corroborate the whistleblower’s report during his preliminary investigation was also a co-author of the controversial 2017 intelligence community assessment on Russian collusion that Gabbard has previously said was instigated at the direction of former President Barack Obama.

JAMES CLAPPER, JOHN BRENNAN HIT BACK AT TRUMP ALLEGATIONS ABOUT RUSSIA PROBE AS ‘PATENTLY FALSE’

Gabbard, herself a former Democrat, accused Atkinson of having “failed to uphold his responsibility to the American people, putting political motivations over the truth.”

“Deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative that was used by Congress to usurp the will of the American people and impeach the duly-elected President of the United States,” said Gabbard. “And this, along with the politicization of the whistleblower process by a former CIA employee who was working hand in glove with Democrats in Congress, are egregious examples of the deep state playbook on how to weaponize the Intelligence Community.”

She added that “exposing these tactics and showing how they undermine the fabric of our democratic republic furthers the critical cause of transparency and accountability and will help prevent future abuse of power.”

Democratic lawmakers largely dismissed the disclosures from Gabbard, framing the declassification as an attempt by the DNI to win favor from Trump. 

“This is a nothingburger — just another sad attempt by Tulsi Gabbard to get in Donald Trump’s good graces,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Politico’s NatSec Daily newsletter

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, also criticized the declassification on X. 

“Everyone can read the transcript of Trump’s phone call to extort President Zelenskyy for dirt on Biden. That was an impeachable offense, and no amount of dust kicking and sycophancy can obscure it,” Himes wrote. “Had Joe Biden made that call, Republicans would have burned the place down.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to House and Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats for additional comment. 

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Popular airline rolls out free bag perk for certain travelers — but there’s a catch

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One of America’s biggest airlines is adding a new perk for wine lovers.

On April 7, Southwest Airlines announced it was beginning a new program called “Sip and Ship,” allowing its customers to check one case of wine at no cost.

The deal applies to select West Coast locations and was announced alongside Southwest’s launch of service in Santa Rosa, California, in the heart of Sonoma wine country.

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Starting April 24, the perk allows passengers age 21 and older to check up to 12 bottles in one properly packaged wine case — subject to standard baggage limits and route restrictions, with no liability for damage.

Wine cases “should be placed in a standard wine shipping box or wine suitcase that meets checked bag requirements,” the company noted.

The program is only offered to customers flying to and from certain West Coast locations, including Santa Rosa, according to the airline.

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Southwest customers can fly to Santa Rosa directly from Las Vegas, Denver, San Diego and Burbank.

In a statement, Southwest’s chief operating officer Andrew Watterson said the airline was “excited to open the door to more of California’s incredible destinations.”

“[E]specially [to] the stunning wine region of Sonoma County, as we add our 14th airport to our already best-in-industry intra-California service,” the official added.

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“By adding service to Sonoma County Airport and launching Sip and Ship, we’re offering our customers even more convenience and an opportunity to continue sipping and savoring their time in wine country.”

The new deal is a “smart, experience-driven perk that taps into how people actually travel today,” said Amy West, a travel expert based in Florida.

West told Fox News Digital that travelers are increasingly seeking out food and wine experiences — and Southwest “is meeting them right at that moment of discovery.”

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“Being able to bring a case of wine home without added cost removes a common friction point and makes the trip feel more rewarding,” said West.

“It also signals a broader shift where airlines are looking beyond just the seat and focusing on enhancing the overall travel experience.”

Overall, West said that the offering “encourages more intentional travel tied to specific destinations, especially wine regions, while adding tangible value without raising fares.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Southwest for additional comment.

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