Rupert Murdoch, 92, is engaged for the sixth time

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The media mogul is now engaged to 67-year-old retired molecular biologist Elena Zhukova. Rupert Murdoch, 92, got engaged to his girlfriend, Elena Zhukova, a spokesman said on Thursday, which would mark his fifth trip down the aisle. The wedding will be held in California, at Murdoch’s vineyard and estate, Moraga, a spokesman said. The impending nuptials come just months after Murdoch stepped down as chairman of Fox and News Corp, ending a more than seven-decade career at the helm of a sprawling media empire. The New York Times, which first reported the news, said Zhukova, who is from Moscow, is 67. She is a retired molecular biologist whom Murdoch began dating in the summer, it added. They met through Murdoch’s third wife, Wendi Deng, according to a report in the Daily Mail. Murdoch’s most recent marriage to actress and model Jerry Hall ended in divorce in 2022 after six years. Hall previously was a longtime partner of Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger. The media mogul was briefly enga
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JetBlue and Spirit Airlines terminate $3.8 billion merger

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The news comes weeks after the two airlines lost a federal antitrust lawsuit that challenged the deal.



JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines on Monday said they were terminating their merger agreement weeks after losing a federal antitrust lawsuit that challenged the deal.


A federal judge blocked the attempted merger in January after the Justice Department sued to bar the deal last year alleging the acquisition would stifle competition in the airline industry and eliminate Spirit as a discount alternative for price-conscious travelers.


JetBlue and Spirit appealed the judge’s decision a couple of days later, but JetBlue noted the appeal was required under the terms of the merger agreement.


Spirit shares tumbled 17% in premarket trading, while shares of JetBlue were up roughly 4%.


“It was a bold and courageous plan intended to shake up the industry status quo, and we were right to compete with Frontier and go for an opportunity that would have supercharged our growth and provided more opportunities for crewmembers,” JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said in a note to staff Monday.


“However, with the ruling from the federal court and the Department of Justice’s continued opposition, the probability of getting the green light to move forward with the merger anytime soon is extremely low.”


JetBlue’s prospective purchase of Spirit would have been a buoy for the struggling discounter airline, which is facing the grounding of dozens of its Airbus planes for inspections stemming from a Pratt & Whitney engine defect. Spirit expects compensation from the engine maker as a result of the flaw.


With the deal off the table, Spirit must confront its financial problems alone, something its leaders say it is equipped to do.


The company said it was working to refinance its debt, and last month said it was on a path back to profitability thanks to better-than-expected demand. It projected revenue for the first quarter above analysts’ expectations.


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He said Spirit shareholders received $425 million in prepayments from JetBlue during the agreement, and that JetBlue will pay Spirit $69 million related to the agreement’s termination.


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