It is a bad time to fly. Willie Walsh, head of the International Air Transport Association, drove home the point this week when he warned that “war-related disruptions in the Middle East and rising fuel costs have shifted the outlook for airlines to the worse.”

Walsh pointed to the recent closure of Spirit Airlines, America’s most iconic budget carrier, and warned that more airlines could suffer the same fate if current trends continue. That means fewer choices for fliers and higher prices at the airport.

Before Democrats demand that courts second-guess another antitrust settlement, they should reckon with the consequences of the last one they cheered.

But blaming the state of air travel solely on the Iran war is far too convenient. Airlines are also struggling because overzealous regulators and left-wing antitrust activists decided they knew better than the market.

Three years ago, Spirit had a plan to survive. It struck a merger agreement with JetBlue, another economy carrier, to create a new, globally scaled affordable airline. The Justice Department joined six states and the District of Columbia to file an antitrust lawsuit blocking the deal.

In early 2024, a federal judge sided with the Biden administration and blocked the merger. Biden officials and congressional Democrats cheered. Without JetBlue’s capital, Spirit’s struggles mounted. The airline filed for bankruptcy and earlier this year shut its doors.

Now many of the same officials who applauded the court order that killed Spirit are trying to shift blame to President Trump. The American people should not buy it, especially given what those same Biden officials said at the time.

Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland called the judge’s ruling “a victory for tens of millions of travelers who would have faced higher fares and fewer choices had the proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit been allowed to move forward.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) took to X to declare, “I’ve warned for months that a @JetBlue-@SpiritAirlines merger would have led to fewer flights and higher fares. @JusticeATR and @USDOT were right to stand up for consumers and fight against runaway airline consolidation. This is a Biden win for flyers!”

Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s transportation secretary, openly bragged about siding with the Justice Department and helping prevent the merger in the name of protecting “low fares” and “competition.”

The reality looks very different now.

Spirit’s shutdown was the first complete closure of a major U.S. carrier in 25 years. It was caused directly by the same actions the Biden administration once boasted about.

Travelers lost a low-cost option. Spirit’s more than 11,000 employees saw their lives upended. And Spirit’s disappearance will deepen the coming travel recession. The airline placed downward pressure on fares for years. Without it, prices are rising.

RELATED: Dear airlines, please stop pitching your credit cards at 33,000 feet

Kevin Carter/Getty Images

Travelers now face fewer choices at the airport. The remaining choices tend to be pricier, more consolidated carriers that no doubt welcomed Spirit’s demise.

One might hope antitrust enforcers would learn the obvious lesson: Bigger does not always mean worse. Sometimes mergers preserve competition. Sometimes they lower out-of-pocket costs for consumers. Sometimes blocking a merger kills the very competitor regulators claim to protect.

Unfortunately, many Democrats refuse to accept that reality.

Some of the same members of Congress and state attorneys general who supported blocking the Spirit-JetBlue merger now want courts to use the Tunney Act to second-guess other Trump administration antitrust decisions. The Tunney Act gives courts a limited role in reviewing antitrust settlements negotiated by the Justice Department. Democrats now want judges to stretch that role and challenge straightforward Trump settlements, including one merger backed by the intelligence community on national security grounds.

Historically, courts have deferred to the executive branch’s enforcement decisions. Democrats now want judges to intervene because they do not like the Trump administration’s policy choices.

Perhaps they should look in the mirror first.

Competition policy should protect consumers. It should not exist to punish private commerce, indulge ideological hostility to business, or let socialist antitrust activists pretend they can manage markets better than the people actually operating in them.

Spirit Airlines offers a painful lesson. The Biden administration, Elizabeth Warren, and other antitrust crusaders celebrated the decision that prevented Spirit from joining forces with JetBlue. Today, Spirit is gone, more than 11,000 workers have paid the price, and travelers have fewer choices at the airport.

Before Democrats demand that courts second-guess another antitrust settlement, they should reckon with the consequences of the last one they cheered.

​Spirit airlines, Democrats, Air travel, Elizabeth warren, Merrick garland, Antitrust, Biden administration, Airline industry, Jetblue, Opinion & analysis 

As expected, President Trump’s White House UFC celebration sent liberals into meltdown mode, with the women of “The View” hysterically calling the event a “desecration” of the White House.

“We are talking terminal cases of Trump derangement syndrome all across the country with the libs,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says before playing a clip of the angry hosts.

“I don’t know how MMA or cage fighting is emblematic of our country,” Sunny Hostin said to the rest of the panel. “I just don’t understand how that sort of reflects American culture.”

“This doesn’t feel like a sport. This feels like you’re trying to show us who we’re supposed to be,” Whoopi Goldberg chimed in, before Ana Navarro added that it was evidence of the “continued desecration of the White House.”

“They’re concerned about the desecration of the White House because they believe that the White House should be respected, is what I’m hearing,” Gonzales says, pointing out that under the Biden administration, they had no issues with Biden essentially turning the White House into a Pride flag.

“You guys are prancing trannies around on the White House lawn. You want to talk about desecrating the White House? Give me a break,” she continues. “How about Joe Biden desecrating Easter Sunday, calling it Trans Visibility Day and hosting the event at the White House?”

Gonzales illustrates her point with a clip of a transgender woman on the White House lawn, pulling down his shirt to flash his fake breasts to the camera.

“That’s what happened on the White House lawn under Joe Biden’s tenure,” she says. “I’m not going to be lectured by these people. I’m not going to listen to these people claim that they care about desecration of the White House because it’s just such an esteemed place.”

Want more from Sara Gonzales?

To enjoy more of Sara’s no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Biden administration, Sara gonzales, The view, Ufc, White house, Whoopi goldberg, Joe biden, Sunny hostin, Ana navarro, Sara gonzales unfiltered 

Two Democrats vying for the same seat in New York are going viral for saying they would cheer for a team other than the U.S. team in the World Cup.

At the end of a WPIX-TV candidates’ forum, Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat and his socialist challenger Darializa Avila Chevalier (D) were asked who they believed would win the final game of the global soccer tournament.

‘I can’t imagine an elected official not rooting for the country they are officially elected for.’

Chevalier said she was supporting Senegal, while Espaillat said he rooted for Mexico.

Espaillat said earlier in the forum that he had been an illegal alien after overstaying his visa before legalizing his status. Chevalier is the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic and spent much of her time growing up there and Florida. Espaillat was also originally from the Dominican Republic.

A video clip of the exchange was posted to social media, where many were outraged that neither had said they were backing the U.S. soccer team.

“It’s just a soccer game, you might say. but that’s exactly why this strikes me as so insane. there are zero stakes, the easiest ‘I care about america’ in the world, and they still can’t support our country. in fact, they seem to see any demonstration of support as a liability,” writer Mike Solana said.

“These scumbags can’t even root for the USA in the World Cup. Their loyalty is to everywhere but here. That’s exactly why Americans are rejecting them,” one user said on X.

“It is so crazy. I can’t imagine an elected official not rooting for the country they are officially elected for,” another user said.

Others called for them to be immediately expelled from Congress.

RELATED: Mamdani-endorsed candidate deleted extremist posts about seizing private property and abolishing police, prisons

Still others argued that they were being pragmatic, as the U.S. men’s team is considered a long shot to make it to the finals, despite its decisive first victory.

The contest between Espaillat and Chevalier is seen as a battle between the centrist establishment wing of the party and the far-left socialist fringe trying to take over. Chevalier has already had to apologize for extremists posts she previously made about abolishing private property, prisons, and police.

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​World cup, Online backlash, New york democrats, Online outrage, Politics 

An 18-year-old male allegedly gunned down a 40-year-old mother as she protected her son amid a Facebook Marketplace watch transaction last week in Indiana.

John Harrison Ford is now charged with murder, felony murder, attempted murder, and attempted armed robbery after Jean Gragg died from her injuries Saturday, WNDU-TV reported, citing amended charging documents. Ford also faces a felony firearm enhancement, the station said.

‘2 words….DEATH PENALTY!’

The shooting occurred Wednesday, June 10, in the 2600 block of MacArthur Avenue on South Bend’s east side, WNDU reported.

Police said Gragg’s son was trying to sell a watch to Ford as part of a transaction he arranged through Facebook Marketplace, the station said.

Gragg’s son told police that Ford pulled a gun while looking at the watch, said he needed it, and tried snatching it from the son, WNDU reported.

But police said Gragg got in between Ford and her son and chased Ford away from the property, the station said.

Surveillance video shows Ford shooting toward Gragg multiple times after she turned around and ran back toward the home, WNDU reported, citing investigators. Police said Gragg was shot in the head, the station said.

Ford during an interview with detectives reportedly admitted that he shot Gragg, WNDU reported.

He remained Tuesday in St. Joseph County Jail, records indicate. No bail is listed.

RELATED: Final words revealed from Marine who survived war — but was gunned down at home in Facebook Marketplace trap

More than 150 comments hit the sheriff’s office Facebook post about the upgraded charges. The following are but a few of them:

“Life in prison,” one commenter wrote.”If you’re gonna sell stuff on Marketplace, go to the South Bend police station, 701 W. Sample onto East End,” another user said. “They have a designated area with cameras. It’s a safe zone. I use it all the time.””Condolences to her family,” another commenter reacted.”2 words….DEATH PENALTY!” another user suggested.”Public hanging,” another commenter offered.”Does he look sorry?” another user wondered.

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​Arrest, Murder charge, Fatal shooting, Facebook marketplace transaction, Indiana, South bend, Mother fatally shot, Crime 

A high school teenager won a $95K settlement after a school accused her of vandalizing a rock with a tribute to Charlie Kirk and then painted over it.

Ardrey Kell High School student Gabby Stout said she got permission from officials for the tribute on a large rock at the school that students painted to support various causes.

‘Today’s settlement shows that students do have free speech rights, and school officials, when they overstep their bounds, can be held accountable.’

The design had a large red heart with the benign messages “Freedom 1776” and “Live Like Kirk — John 11:25.”

After she painted the innocuous tribute, the school officials apparently changed their minds, painted over it, and then accused her of vandalism. They also said there was an investigation under way and that law enforcement had been contacted.

Stout told Fox News she was shocked by the school’s actions.

“I was very intimidated and scared, as I had no idea what I did wrong or that I could be getting in trouble for simply sharing and expressing my views and beliefs,” she said.

Stout’s family was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom in court.

“The school’s paying a very substantial settlement here because it violated Gabby Stout’s constitutional rights,” ADF senior legal counsel Travis Barham said.

“They publicly accused Gabby of engaging in vandalism, of violating the school student code of conduct,” Barham added.

The school made the accusation in an email sent to the entire community. In the settlement, the school was forced to make another statement admitting the accusation was false.

“That’s exactly the kind of name‑clearing statement that we wanted to get from the school from the outset,” Barham said.

Barham had previously noted that the students were allowed to make other political statements on the rock, including one for the Black Lives Matter movement, without incident.

RELATED: Liberals spew hatred against moment of silence for Charlie Kirk on Thursday Night Football

The lawsuit also forced the school to adopt a formal student free speech policy in order to have a consistent policy about expression.

“Today’s settlement shows that students do have free speech rights, and school officials, when they overstep their bounds, can be held accountable,” Barham added.

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​Alliance defending freedom, Charlie kirk memorial, Free speech, First amendment rights, Politics