HOUSTON (AP) — Goalkeeper Claudia Dickey made an early save on a free kick and the Seattle Reign went on to preserve a scoreless draw on the road against the Houston Dash on a rainy Friday night.
It was the lone match on the National Women's Soccer League schedule on Friday.
Dickey finished with five saves for the Reign (3-2-2), who were coming off a 3-0 loss at home to the Utah Royals last weekend. She was pressured at the start, but saved Kat Rader's free kick in the seventh minute.
Jane Campbell also had five saves for the Houston (3-2-1), which fell 1-0 to the Courage last weekend in the team's first loss at home this season.
The Reign were without veteran midfielder Jess Fishlock, who was carted off the field with a leg injury against Utah. Coach Laura Harvey said this week the injury was not season-ending and she expects Fishlock back at some point.
Just days before she was injured, Fishlock had announced that she planned to retire at the end of the season. She has played for the Reign since 2013, when the league launched.
Houston's Danielle Colaprico started for her220th career NWSL appearance, second in the league among active players behind Fishlock.
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FILE - Houston Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell (1) gestures during an NWSL soccer match against the Angel City FC, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration delivered a “final proposal” to Spirit Airlines while continuing to weigh a taxpayer-funded takeover that might keep the budget carrier from going under during mired in bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in less than two years.
The president did not provide details but said an announcement could come later Friday or Saturday.
“We’re looking at it. If we could do it, we’ll do it. But only if it’s a good deal,” he said earlier Friday, speaking to reporters before departing the White House for Florida.
The possibility of a bailout first emerged publicly last week, when Trump floated the idea of the U.S. government offering Spirit a financial lifeline to help keep it from going out of business. Separately, a lawyer for the airline told a U.S. Bankruptcy Court that Spirit was in advanced talks with the government about a financing package.
The president suggested the government would be able to resell the airline known for its bright yellow planes and “no frills” service for a profit once oil prices driven up by the Iran war come down.
Lawmakers from both parties and some Trump administration officials have criticized using taxpayer funds to keep the ultra-low cost airline afloat. Speculation around Spirit's future has grown with every day that passes without a resolution and its operating expenses and debts mount.
A spokesperson for Spirit, headquartered in Dania Beach, Florida, declined to comment on ongoing discussions Friday and said “Spirit is operating as usual.”
Although travelers still could book flights on the airline's website Friday evening, customers flooded Spirit's X account with questions about upcoming flights and demands for refunds. Some U.S. airlines say they would step in to support Spirit customers if the airline goes under.
American Airlines said in a statement that it was capping main cabin fares for flights on Spirit routes where American also offers nonstop service. Budget carrier Frontier said in an X post that it was “ready to support customers who may be impacted if Spirit Airlines ceases operations."
Trump framed the possible federal intervention as an effort to preserve jobs but stressed that any deal must benefit the government.
“If we can help them, we will," he said. “But we have to come first.”
The size and terms of the deal have not been shared publicly. The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, both reported an amount of $500 million that would give the government an option to acquire a sizable stake in the airline.
Supporters of a rescue — including labor unions representing Spirit's pilots, flight attendants and ramp workers — say a collapse would put thousands of Americans out of work and hurt consumers by reducing airline competition and increasing airfares. About 17,000 jobs could be impacted, according to Spirit lawyer Marshall Huebner.
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said Friday in a post on X that if Trump wanted to help the airline, “it's in his hands.”
“Everyday Americans will hurt,” Nelson wrote, including consumers and the employees who stand to lose their jobs if Spirit shuts down.
Miami resident Caleb Euzebe, 27, who works at an insurance company, said he flies Spirit “all the time" and compared the carrier to “that reliable car that you have. It always gets you from point A to point B safely.”
Euzebe, who was at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport after his Spirit flight to Houston was canceled Friday, said he supported the government stepping in if it meant saving jobs.
Spirit's employees have to “put food on the table, keep the lights on for their homes,” he said. "So if that means that bailing them out keeps these people working, I support 100%.”
Spirit has struggled financially since the COVID-19 pandemic, weighed down by rising operating costs and growing debt. By the time it filed for Chapter 11 protection in November 2024, Spirit had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020.
The budget carrier sought bankruptcy protection again in August 2025, when it reported having $8.1 billion in debts and $8.6 billion in assets, according to court filings.
Shortly before, its parent company revealed in a quarterly report that it had “substantial doubt” about Spirit’s ability to stay in business over the next year, citing “adverse market conditions” — including weak leisure domestic travel demand and ongoing “uncertainties in its business operations.”
The company, Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc., struck a more optimistic tone earlier this year, saying in February it had reached a preliminary deal with creditors and expected to exit Chapter 11 in late spring or early summer. It pitched a “new Spirit,” — smaller and leaner, but still focused on low fares while adding more premium seating options.
Instead, the war that started days later when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran intensified the airline's cash flow problems. Rising jet fuel costs tied to the war added pressure across the industry, and Spirit's creditors last month expressed doubts about whether it could continue operating, raising the possibility of the airline being forced to sell off assets and shut down.
Gianfranco Finizio, a bankruptcy expert and partner at law firm Lowenstein Sandler, said Spirit’s situation reflected an unusually turbulent stretch for the airline, shaped in part by shifting signals from Washington.
He cited the Biden administration’s successful 2023 lawsuit to block Spirit’s merger with JetBlue, followed by mixed messages from the Trump administration about a potential rescue.
“The thought of there even being a bailout is unusual. It’s not something that happens in every day bankruptcy practice,” said Finizio, who is not involved in the airline's Chapter 11 proceedings.
"It's been a tumultuous couple of years and certainly a tumultuous couple of weeks for Spirit,” he said.
Budget-conscious and leisure travelers would likely feel Spirit's absence the most — especially where the airline has a big footprint, such as Las Vegas and the Florida cities of Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
The carrier flew about 1.7 million domestic passengers in February, roughly half a million fewer than it did during the same month a year earlier, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. It has also sharply reduced its capacity, with about half as many seats available this month than in May 2024.
Yamat reported from Las Vegas. Associated Press video journalist Daniel Kozin contributed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One, Friday, May 1, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
President Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters as he prepares to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
FILE - A Spirit Airlines 319 Airbus approaches Manchester Boston Regional Airport for a landing, June 2, 2023, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
FILE - The tail of a Spirit Airlines Airbus A320 is shown as the plane prepares to take off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Jan. 19, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
