Spirit Airlines, the budget airline beleaguered by gunfire in Haiti and incidents of violence involving passengers and staff alike, has now filed for bankruptcy.In a letter issued Monday and addressed to "All Spirit Guests," Spirit admitted that it had filed for Chapter 11 in hopes of restructuring its debts. The letter called the move "a proactive step ... to position the company for success" and claimed it should be completed sometime in the first quarter of 2025.The letter also indicated that the Chapter 11 filing had been "prearranged."Spirit's standing as a publicly traded company is likely to change. Spirit told the Business Journals that it expects to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange sometime soon.According to the New York Post, the financial situation at the airline is quite dire. Spirit has already lost $2.5 billion in the last four years and within the next year will have to make debt payments totaling more than $1 billion.In 2022, Spirit tried to merge with another airline. Frontier first attempted a merger but was soon afterward outbid by JetBlue.The merger with JetBlue never took place either after the Biden-Harris Department of Justice intervened in March, claiming it would cause ticket prices to skyrocket. A federal judge later sided with the DOJ, and the two companies dropped the merger two months later, the Post reported.In an effort to restructure its finances, Spirit bondholders have now offered $350 million in equity investments that will allow the company to "complete a deleveraging transaction to equitize $795 million of funded debt," the Jacksonville Business Journal reported.Bondholders have likewise offered an additional $300 million in debtor-in-possession financing, the outlet added.Spirit did not go into such details in the letter. Instead, it promised that its agreement with bondholders will "reduce [the company's] total debt, provide increased financial flexibility, position Spirit for long-term success and accelerate investments providing Guests with enhanced travel experiences and greater value."The letter did indicate that the customer experience likely won't change much despite the major financial shifts behind the scenes. Customers may still purchase tickets and use credit or loyalty points as normal. Its rewards program and credit-card terms likewise remain in place.Employee wages and benefits will also be unaffected by the Chapter 11 process, according to a website with further information about the case.However, Spirit's corporate standing is likely to change. Spirit told the Jacksonville Business Journal that it expects to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange sometime soon. Once that happens, its stock shares will "have no value as part of Spirit's restructuring," the outlet reported.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The medical examiner of Manhattan testified last week she was certain Daniel Penny was the sole cause of Jordan Neely's death after watching video of the incident, even though Neely had drugs in his system.Dr. Cynthia Harris, who performed his autopsy, told jurors she did not wait for the toxicology report to declare his cause and manner of death being asphyxiation, not cardiac arrest, the New York Post reported. Harris said she would stand by that ruling even if Neely had enough drugs in his system "to put down an elephant."'I wasn’t trying to kill the guy. I was just trying to de-escalate the situation.'Harris had originally listed Neely's cause of death as being "inconclusive." She said she changed the cause after watching the video, deciding Neely’s death was caused by “asphyxia” since the video showed Neely being choked and “dying” while Penny’s arm was wrapped around his neck.“After watching it, I had no further questions about how he was dead,” Harris testified, because "there are no alternative reasonable explanations."The toxicology report confirmed Neely had used the synthetic marijuana drug K2 prior to making threats on a NYC subway car in May 2023. Prosecutors have told the jury that while it was understandable for Penny to restrain Neely at first, he went too far by not letting him go after passengers left the car.“I wasn’t trying to kill the guy. I was just trying to de-escalate the situation,” Penny said in a videotaped interrogation that was shown to jurors.The controversy around the incident and Alvin Bragg's office deciding to pursue charges resulted in Eric Gonzalez, who helped Penny restrain Neely, testifying that he lied when he was initially interviewed by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office as a suspect in Neely's death. Gonzalez said he lied out of fear of being "pinned for" Neely's death, telling the DA's office he arrived on the scene earlier than he actually did and claiming that Neely had hit him. Neely was not accused of making physical contact with anyone prior to Penny restraining him.Penny's defense is expected to call its own witnesses this week with the prosecution wrapping up a long list of witnesses.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the Biden administration for being opposed to Israel's strategy during its ongoing war with Hamas and others in the region, the Times of Israel reported.

The House Rules Committee on Monday postponed a markup on the contempt of Congress resolution against Secretary of State Antony Blinken without announcing when it might get rescheduled, the Washington Examiner reported.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed higher Monday, recovering some losses as investors anticipate quarterly earnings from AI leader Nvidia, and Tesla jumped on the prospect of favorable policy changes from the incoming Trump administration.