• Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for an Easter cease-fire in his invasion of Ukraine.
• A statement said Russian military operations would cease from 6 p.m. Moscow time Saturday to 12 a.m. Monday.
• Ukraine has not yet responded to the statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared an Easter cease-fire in his invasion of Ukraine.

During a meeting at the Kremlin, Putin called for his forces to cease all military operations from 6 p.m. Moscow time Saturday to 12 a.m. Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a post on Telegram.

"Guided by humanitarian motives, the Russian side announces an Easter cease-fire from 06:00 p.m. today to 00:00 a.m. Monday. I hereby order all military operations ceased for this period," a statement reads.

It added that Moscow expected Ukraine to follow its example but that Russian forces should be "prepared to repel possible cease-fire violations and provocations by the enemy, as well as any aggressive acts on their part."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has yet to respond to the statement.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

• My parents raised us in the US but immersed in Korean culture.
• To my sister and me my parents' friends were like aunts and uncles.
• Being raised alongside other children of immigrants was so special.

I know my mom's kimchi by taste. I can also recognize that of her friends', who would often stop by my childhood home with reams of other Korean side dishes, or "banchan."

Because of them, I have always associated the sound of a doorbell with food. They would pass onto us Tupperware of pickled vegetables and seasoned roots, my mom would return the favor with her own plastic containers packed to the brim, and so the cycle would go on.

My parents moved from Korea to the US in the 70s and made sure me and my siblings were still experiencing Korean culture despite being abroad.

We were connected to culture through food

This side-dish whirligig is a common practice across Korean communities, referred to "nanum munhwa". Directly translated, it means a culture of sharing. Making banchan is time-consuming, arduous work, yielding dishes with short shelf lives. It thus makes sense to make the dishes in bulk and share them with others. My mom, who grew up on a farm along Korea's countryside, recalls having to bring her own mother's fare to her neighbors and friends. She dreaded having to make these deliveries at night, she tells me.

She and her friends would bring that same culture of sharing to America, albeit with a few modifications. With different ingredients to improvise old recipes, they concocted their own staple versions of banchan: kimchi made with kohlrabi, pickled radish wraps made with roast beef. And side dishes were not delivered between neighbors trekking across farms, but by way of Volvo Station Wagons and Subaru Foresters.

These side dishes, though, meant much more than just good eats. Connected within this culture of sharing was a network of first-generation parents who had emigrated from Korea to America, many of whom I still consider a core part of my upbringing.

They were like family

My parents' friends emulated a quasi-Korean, quasi-American citizenry in ways that went beyond good neighborly samaritan. For my sisters and I, they were also de facto aunts and uncles. Consequently, their children were our de facto cousins. Our families shared every Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother's Day and Father's Day together. We would tag along on each other's day trips and extended holidays. Clothes, games, toys were exchanged, swapped, handed down. And being the youngest, I always had my pick of the crop.

To this day, there is no perfect word to describe what exactly those within this network mean to me. To call them my friends is ungenerous, and to call them family is a fib. What's more is I do have extended family — actual extended family — in Korea. Still, with my blood relatives oceans away, it only seemed right to let those around me err on the side of kinship. Connected by heritage, they define to me what it means to be Korean. To this day, my title for my so-called "cousins" translates to "older sister" or "older brother".

I grew up around other children of immigrants

I have also grown up with a feeling of gratitude, a common sentiment among children of immigrants. Connected by our parents' decision to move abroad, many of us raised within this community would carry with us a deep appreciation that would come to characterize our generation's experience. Sometimes, though, I wonder if it will define that of the third.

A new generation is taking shape today. Proudly, it includes my niece, Sloane. At times, my sisters and I consider how our upbringing will shape hers. It seems the proof will be in the pudding, however. My parents live close by, and are playing a strong role in her upbringing. And Sloane, like many others, is being raised in a multicultural household — inspired by the values of her parents and her parents' parents.

In our growingly multigenerational community, the dedication to bringing forward our Korean-ness lives on. From language to food, Sloane and others within our community are surrounded by reminders of their roots. And while many of the neighborhood kids I grew up with have moved across the country, we are sure to remind those around us they are more family than friends. Distance means we can no longer deliver to each other fresh side dishes on a daily basis. But when we do visit each other, we bring gifts and reminders of our new homes.

We can only hope that the experience of the third generation will be as enriching as it was for us, contoured by our parents' ability to lean on one another.

• Main Street businesses say they're feeling the impacts of Trump's tariff policies.
• Economists said small businesses are hit harder by tariffs than their large, corporate competitors.
• Small businesses said tariffs are cutting into profit margins and forcing them to raise prices.

Marc Bowker's shop, Alter Ego Comics, has been a staple on North Main Street in downtown Lima, Ohio, for 16 years.

The shop sells comics and collectibles and frequently hosts community events, including an annual free comic book day, where they give away thousands of comics.

But now Bowker says he doesn't know what Monday will bring, given the whiplash of President Donald Trump's tariff policy.

He said suppliers are charging him as much as 34% more as a direct result of tariffs, some of which he's had to pass down to his customers.

"If you see prices go up at your local small business, it's not because we want to," he told Business Insider. "It's because we're forced to."

About 70% of Alter Ego's revenue comes from high-end collectibles based on characters from brands like Star Wars, Marvel, DC Comics, and Disney. Those products are made in China, which has been hit with up to a 245% tariff rate for some goods. Bowker said his profit margins have been slashed in half on many items, including some that were pre-ordered months ago.

"The tariff is not being paid by the Chinese government, the tariff is being paid by the American consumer and the American small business, and the American company paying to have the product manufactured in China," he said.

Small business owners and retail experts told BI that smaller businesses are being hit hard by tariffs. Meanwhile, bigger, corporate counterparts are better positioned to weather the storm.

Trump has framed his economic policy as explicitly for middle America. "President for Main Street, Not Wall Street," the White House touted on an online recap of Trump's speech earlier this month after his tariff policy sent financial markets tanking and businesses around the world scrambling.

Businesses on America's main streets are feeling the impact of Trump's trade war.

Many independent retailers — some of which have been longtime fixtures in their towns — are struggling to adapt to the tariffs, especially the steep tariff placed on goods from China. Think bridal stores, toy stores, coffee shops, specialty food and beverage stores, and importers.

"It's all devastating, but small businesses have a worse ability to manage it," Wayne Winegarden, an economist at the Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank, told BI. "This is not pro-Main Street, this is anti-Main Street."

"The larger companies are in a better position to absorb some of the costs," said Winegarden. "They have probably more fat that they can cut than small businesses. Small businesses operate in lower margins, so they can't really absorb it as easily."

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Winegarden said a lot of small businesses are family-owned, and are the classic example of how Americans climb the economic ladder to middle class, upper middle class, and beyond.

"These tariffs just cut off rungs," he said.

Trump has said Americans could feel "short-term" pain as a result of tariffs, but experts said that pain may not be short-term for everyone, and that it's the small businesses that will go out of business first.

"It's temporary for Starbucks. They will withstand it," Winegarden said, adding, "But if it's a year, that's probably too long for a lot of small businesses, and that's permanent pain."

Why small businesses struggle more with tariffs

Jason Miller, a Michigan State University professor and expert in supply chain management, told BI there were several factors that make tariffs harder for small businesses. For one, their cash flow is more limited, meaning they aren't necessarily able to pay a tariff for a product that they won't actually sell until some point in the future, sometimes months later.

Small retailers are also less likely to source directly from vendors and instead rely on an intermediary like a wholesaler or importer. That gives them far less leverage to negotiate prices on their goods.

"They're in a take it or leave it situation," Miller said.

In contrast, a huge buyer like Walmart has a lot more options and negotiating power to get better deals on the products they sell.

Miller said toy stores stand out to him as a sector of small businesses that could be especially hard hit by the tariffs on China, where 80% of all toy imports to the US come from.

Owners of independent, brick-and-mortar bridal shops, a common fixture on main streets, previously told BI they are also being hit hard, as a majority of wedding dresses sold in the US come from China.

In contrast, David's Bridal CEO Kelly Cook said the company, which is the largest bridal retailer in the US, was more tariff-resilient thanks to its larger and more varied supply chain and production.

Peter Cohan, associate professor of management at Babson College, told BI that the pain small players on Main Street are feeling would likely exacerbate the existing trends toward market concentration, with cascading effects on prices, innovation, employment, and economic inequality.

"Small retailers employ nearly half of all US private-sector workers. Their decline would eliminate jobs disproportionately in local communities," said Cohan. "Concentrated employers can suppress wages. Retail giants like Walmart have been linked to lower wages in local labor markets."

Cohan added that the tariffs could push out local retailers and allow large corporates to expand unchecked, which hurts competition for consumers and workers. Walmart's rapid expansion between 1990 and 2010 was often associated with the decline of local retailers within the same region, and Amazon's rise is similarly associated with the reduction of local bookstores, which diminished diversity in the publishing industry.

"Dominant retailers use their buying power to demand lower prices from suppliers, but these savings are rarely passed to consumers. Instead, suppliers may cut quality or reduce wages to meet demands," said Cohan. "Profits would concentrate among shareholders of large firms, worsening wealth gaps."

Importers directly serving retailers are struggling, too

When Trump announced widespread tariffs on April 2, Victor Schwartz and his daughter Chloe Schwartz, who owns and runs VOS Selections, a specialty wine and spirits importing company based in New York, spent the next two days in an intense math marathon trying to figure out how to re-price their products — and which ones to give up.

A week later, Trump decided to pause so-called reciprocal tariffs on most trading partners for 90 days but left a 10% baseline rate in place, and the Schwartzs' efforts immediately disappeared into the wind.

"We're in that position of having to make firm decisions about what our pricing was going to be under very uncertain situations," Victor Schwartz told BI. "This means we have to be much tighter in our inventory. We had to reduce some orders where we could, we stopped some orders where we could, we didn't move forward on new projects or we delayed them."

Despite being a small, owner-operated company of just 19 employees, VOS Selections handles around 600 products from 350 different producers around the world. Its vast portfolio used to be a merit, yet under constantly changing tariff rates, it became more of a nightmare.

Alcohol is a heavily regulated product, and regulations mandate that importers report their prices at least one month ahead of time before anything reaches retailers — prices importers cannot change later. For Schwartz, this means deciding prices for May in March, leaving room for supplier negotiations, shipping delays, and port processing. Any surprise expenses in this process, such as a sudden change in tariffs, would spell disaster for a small business with limited cash flow.

But surprise expenses aren't the only concern, said Schwartz. Retail stores and restaurants that buy wines from him haven't been doing well in the first quarter under dampened consumer sentiments and other tariff-associated costs, which he said caused his business to be down 16% in comparison to the first quarter in 2024.

"If a restaurant has a $20 price point for their white wine, and I can no longer offer it at $20, they're going to buy something else, and I'll lose that business," said Schwartz. "The customer that was paying $20, they're not going to say 'yes, we really liked that wine, so we're willing to pay $24 for it.'"

"There is an inflexibility in pricing in terms of what the customer is looking for," he added.

Schwartz's business is now the lead plaintiff in the broadest lawsuit yet against Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs, which no prior president has done. The lawsuit argues that Trump's use of the IEEPA to completely bypass Congress violates constitutional limits on executive power, and that a decadelong trade deficit does not meet the "unusual and extraordinary threat" criteria in the Act.

As of April 18, the Liberty Justice Center, a Libertarian legal group that is representing this lawsuit in court, has filed an application with the US Court of International Trade for a temporary restraining order to suspend Trump's tariffs.

Winegarden, from the Pacific Research Institute, said he is concerned that the tariffs would do what COVID did to small businesses. Where Winegarden lived in New York, the storefronts that closed down during the pandemic have remained shuttered for years.

"Everyone talks about small businesses, right? They're the heroes," Winegarden said. "Everyone liked small businesses, so it's just so ironic. Why are we implementing policies that punish them in particular?"

Do you have a story to share about how tariffs are affecting your small business? Contact these reporters at [email protected] or [email protected].

• In the past year, I've gotten a variety of different types of manicures.
• I wasn't blown away by my structured gel manicure, despite the fact it lasted four weeks.
• I was surprised by how well my press-on nails fared during an international trip.

Over the past year, I've tried a variety of different manicure techniques at salons around the world.

From Japanese gel in Chicago to a French manicure in Paris, each technique offered something different for my nails, like affordability, improved nail health, or speedy application.

Here's how I'd rank all the manicures I've tried.

Le Mini Macaron's at-home gel manicure came in last place.

Le Mini Macaron's $38 at-home gel kit was incredibly user-friendly.

The kit included nail-prep tools, a 3-in-1 polish, and a macaron-shaped LED lamp, making the process very straightforward.

Although the kit was affordable and made gel manicures more accessible, it only lasted a few days after I applied the polish.

When I attempted to touch up the manicure, the uneven polish layers made my nails look lumpy.

I liked my structured gel manicure, but I wasn't amazed.

I went to my usual nail tech, Teresa "Tere" Rodriguez, for a structured gel manicure.

This technique uses an extra layer of soft or hard gel before the polish is applied, creating a stronger foundation for your nails.

I opted for gold chrome and gems scattered across every nail, which cost $110 and took about two hours to complete.

I thought the manicure was a good option for prioritizing my nail health. It lasted the expected four weeks (sans a few gems), I didn't have to worry too much about breakage, and my nails weren't as flimsy as I thought they'd be when I had the set removed.

Japanese gel felt like an elevated version of a structured gel manicure.

I went to Tokyo Nails in West Loop, Chicago, for a Japanese gel overlay on short natural nails with a simple design.

The salon owners, sisters Nomin and Nomundari Uuganbayar, source their 100% gel polish directly from Japan.

After four weeks of no chipping, my $160 Japanese gel manicure fulfilled its promise of longevity, and my nails weren't as damaged as I expected after removal.

Overall, I preferred this option over a structured gel manicure due to the 100% gel polish.

I was surprised by how much I liked my Brazilian manicure.

I went to Maria Bonita Salon & Spa in New York City for a Brazilian manicure, which includes applying generous coats of regular polish all over the nail bed and surrounding skin before removing the excess.

During the service, my nail tech offered advice for keeping my nails healthy in the coming months. The careful cuticle work juxtaposed the messy regular-polish application, which had beautiful results after she cleaned my skin with a wooden cuticle stick and a small puff of cotton soaked in polish remover.

My manicure didn't last very long (it started chipping within the week), but it reminded me of my appreciation for regular polish and my interest in prioritizing cuticle care and overall nail health. Plus, it only cost $35 (not including tip).

It was also great knowing I could do the technique on myself for a full-coverage manicure.

I adored my professional press-on nails.

Tokyo Nails offers pre-made, professional press-on nails for a flat rate of $50, regardless of design. The sets come in extra-small, small, and medium sizes, but large sizes can be custom-made.

I paid $90 for a silver set, which included the press-ons, previous manicure removal, tax, and tip.

Although my appointment went over the allotted 35-minute time because of my manicure removal, the application process was fast.

My nails lasted about a week with minimal setbacks. One thumbnail came off six days after application, but I was able to fix it with gel glue provided by my nail tech in an at-home repair kit.

However, my other thumbnail fell off a few days later and didn't respond to the glue. Still, I thoroughly loved this manicure for its stunning design options, surprising longevity, and easy application process.

My French manicure grew out beautifully.

Even though the salon (Nail Club Paris) used a technique similar to what I've experienced in the US, getting a French manicure in Paris was a memorable experience.

My $160 tortoiseshell French manicure, which was done using Aprés gel extensions, was finished so quickly that I genuinely didn't expect it to last as long as it did (over four weeks).

I ranked this manicure so highly because of its unexpected longevity and the nail tech's impressive craftsmanship. I also appreciated how on-trend these French tips were and how beautiful they looked weeks later.

The Russian manicure reigned supreme.

My $300 Russian manicure with hard-gel extensions from Say-It Nails in New York City claimed the top spot.

Russian manicures are done dry and emphasize the importance of cuticle care, removing the excess skin to create more surface area for polish application. Nail techs also prioritize correcting each nails' apex (it's thickest part) to keep them strong.

I still think about the meticulous cuticle care and the satisfying 'pops' of my hard-gel extensions coming out of their plastic molds.

I had this set on for a month, but fully believe it could've lasted weeks longer without chips or lifting (which is one of my biggest pet peeves).

Although my nails needed a little breather after removing this set, the nail care during this manicure — and longevity afterward — had me itching to make another appointment.

• Himera is a Ukrainian tech startup that makes electronic warfare-resistant walkie-talkies.
• It was founded after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• Its products are being tested by the US Air Force.

The Ukrainian defense tech industry has boomed in recent years.

From drone and robotics makers to electronic warfare system providers, Ukrainian innovation has been on full display since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.

One company to have sprung up since the conflict began is Himera, which makes electronic warfare-resistant walkie-talkies.

Its products include the G1 Pro — a tactical handheld radio — and the B1 repeater, which extends communication ranges.

Despite only having launched in 2022, the company has quickly caught the attention of the defense tech industry, as well as the US military.

The product's major selling point is that it offers a potential solution to one of the defining challenges of the war in Ukraine — electronic warfare.

The G1 is EW-resistant, using frequency-hopping technology to help evade electronic warfare interference, which seeks to disrupt and jam certain signals like GPS, radio, and video.

Reticulate Micro, which supplies Himera's radios in the US, announced the first US delivery of G1 Pro radios to the US Air Force in October 2024.

The company said the Air Force would test the G1 Pro alongside Reticulate's Video Assured Secure Transmission (VAST) technology, which delivers real-time video streaming.

In a press release at the time, Joshua Cryer, then the president and CEO of Reticulate Micro, said: "By combining the Himera G1 Pro with VAST, we're aiming to democratize secure video transmission on the battlefield—empowering every warfighter with video-capable radio technology for enhanced situational awareness."

Misha Rudominski, one of Himera's cofounders, told Business Insider that Himera's tech "bridges the gap" between tactical and commercial communications solutions.

"We take the best from both worlds," he said. "We provide all the tactical relevant functionality like low probability of detection, low probability of interception, and low probability of jamming, which you don't find in commercial spec solutions."

"But we do it in a very user-friendly way," he continued. "We want the lightest radio, we have one of the longest battery lives on the market."

The G1 Pro has a battery life of around 48 hours and weighs just 300 grams. It can support the transmission of multiple information types, such as GPS, voice data, and texts, and is programmable by an encrypted app on a mobile or tablet device.

"We make a very scalable and affordable solution," Rudominski added. "The scalability is a big point because we only use commercial off-the-shelf components."

Representatives for Himera told Ukrainian news outlet Militarnyi in March that the company was "producing up to 1,000 radios per month" and that it had the capacity to "scale quickly to 2,500 units."

"For large-scale orders, we are prepared to supply 10,000 to 15,000 radios per month," they said.

Innovation has been crucial to Kyiv's fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces, and Ukrainian firms have continually adapted to meet the battlefield's ever-evolving demands.

Rudominski told BI that this had also been key to Himera's success.

"Over the last three years, we've done more than 80 versions of firmware updates," he said. "We've done more than probably 20 versions of separate kinds of hardware products. Most of them didn't go into production, but most of them have at some capacity been tested on the battlefield."

Along with Reticulate, Himera has also partnered with Quantropi, a Canadian quantum security company, to integrate its security solutions into Himera's products.

"We have our own software, but they can enhance our capacity," Rudominski said.

Stop trying to predict and appraise President Trump's tariffs policies based on economic theories or market realities. Tariffs are pure psychology for the president, fused into his brain like no other topic.

Why it matters: Trump's tariff brain is unpredictable to the outside (and to market analysts) but wholly knowable to those who know how his mind works.

• "There'll be trial and error. There'll be pushing the envelope. There'll be all of that Trumpian stuff," said a top adviser involved in trade discussions.

The big picture: Trump approaches tariffs, the remaking of the U.S. economy and the reshaping of global trade as a continuation of his presidential campaign.

• He ignored experts and assembled a team dedicated to executing his will and shrugging off the consequences of his unpredictability. He's not changing now — rocky rollout and chaotic financial markets be damned.
• "Donald Trump works at his own tempo, and he doesn't change the subject until he's sure he's clubbed people into seeing it as he does," the adviser said.

Between the lines: In Trump's first term, free traders such as then-National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn controlled Trump's impulses to impose tariffs the way he has now. Trump's current NEC chief, Kevin Hassett, is pro-tariff.

• So is the rest of the economic team: Vice President Vance, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, Council of Economic Advisers chair Steven Miran, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

The intrigue: Trump keeps such a huge team of advisers because he invariably solicits conflicting opinions. He often suffers from analysis paralysis and can be particularly influenced by whomever he talks with last.

• Trump also can be unclear on specifics, resulting in contradictory messages from his advisers, each of whom serves as a TV avatar of his tariff brain. Bessent and Lutnick have been criticized for giving mixed messages.
• "We saw it in business with Trump," one adviser said. "He would have these meetings and everyone would agree, and then we would just pray that when he left the office and got on the elevator that the doorman wouldn't share his opinion, because there would be a 50/50 chance [Trump] would suddenly side with the doorman."
• "There are too many people in his ear," the adviser said. "You didn't see this with other presidents. Nixon didn't act as the maître d' of his own supper club, where every millionaire and billionaire who could get to him at dinner could chime in and affect policy."

On political issues, Trump is often more directionally consistent than his critics give him credit for. He's liable to switch up on policy specifics. But the direction is clear: tariffs. The specifics: wide-ranging.

• "It's about several things," his adviser said. "It's about isolating China. It's about making money for the United States Treasury. It's about settling what Donald Trump is believes is a score where, as he says, stupid people allowed countries to take advantage of us and ripping us off."

The backstory: Trump's tariff-based chip-on-the-shoulder "America First" mindset has been part of his political DNA since his first presidential-style campaign visit to New Hampshire in 1987.

• 'We should have these countries that are ripping us off pay off the $200 billion deficit," he told the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce then.
• Today, the annual deficit is nearly $2 trillion. And the U.S. trade deficit is just over $1 trillion.
• In 1987, Trump's trade obsession was Japan. Today, it's China.

Animating Trump and his team is the belief, his adviser said, that "in its very most basic form, the patient, which is the United States economy, has been very sick. It's been sick for 40 years, and nobody would say so."

• "It took Trump to come in and say, 'Okay, the patient is really sick. It's going to die. So I'm going to put it on life support, and let's all hope and pray and work together to make sure this life support works.' That's really the way we look at it."

Reality check: Trump's mammoth imposition of tariffs and his on-again-off-again implementation of them has shaken the global financial order, caused consumer sentiment to drop, spread recession fears and damaged Trump's poll numbers.

What they're saying: Many traditional economists (and other critics) think Trump's ideas are crazed, and that his advisers are too scared to say it.

• Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, arguably the most powerful voice in the U.S. economy, warned Wednesday that Trump's tariffs will ignite inflation. That led an angry Trump to suggest he might try to fire Powell, who later said the the removal or demotion of top Fed officials was "not permitted under the law."
• Trump's team is "trying to implement a policy that, frankly, no economist believes in," Justin Wolfers, a University of Michigan economist told MSNBC on Tuesday. He criticized Trump's economic team for not giving "the hard advice that he needs."
• One outside adviser to the White House who called himself a '"plan-truster" said there is a plan and "a method to the madness," but that Trump's "grenades-first approach will also be bumpy."

What's next: During the 90-day pause Trump imposed last week on "reciprocal" tariffs, Greer's team and Bessent are working most prominently on negotiating trade deals with other countries.

• For about an hour Wednesday, Lutnick and Bessent negotiated with Japan's trade minister in the White House's Roosevelt room, a source said.
• China's president, Xi Jinping, isn't yet talking to Trump. Xi is touring other countries to present China as a more reliable and stable partner than the U.S.
• Bloomberg reports China wants Trump to show more "respect" and appoint a point person for negotiations.
• "We're looking at a trade war with China," another Trump adviser said. "It's no time for summer soldiers."

• US airlines are gearing up for a slow travel season this summer.
• WalletHub ranked major US airlines on reliability, comfort, safety, and price.
• Budget carrier Spirit Airlines was No. 1 on the list.

US travelers might be flying less this summer thanks to economic instability and anxiety around flight-related incidents in the news.

For those still planning to travel, choosing a reliable and cost-effective airline can be a priority, especially as ticket prices continue to rise.

In 2024, airfare prices rose by 7.9%, while the Consumer Price Index for all products increased by 2.9%, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In a new report, WalletHub rated the largest nine domestic airlines, along with two domestic carriers, based on metrics like flight cancellations and delays, reports of mishandled baggage and animal incidents, in-flight comfort, price, and safety, using 2024 data from the US Department of Transportation.

Here are the airlines that made it to the top 10.

10. American Airlines

Of the top 10 airlines, American Airlines received the lowest score on mishandled baggage claims and the second-lowest for delays.

However, the airline scored well for leg room, entertainment options, and complimentary refreshments.

9. Frontier Airlines

WalletHub ranked the budget carrier Frontier Airlines as the second-safest airline of 2025. WalletHub's safety scores were determined by the number of injuries and fatal injuries in airline accidents between 2019 and 2024, the number of incidents per an airline's total number of flight operations in that same time period, and the age of the airline's fleet.

Among these metrics, Frontier received the top score for fleet age. In December, Forbes reported the average age of an aircraft was around 4.6 years. Frontier also received high scores for mishandled baggage reports and price.

8. United Airlines

While United Airlines received low scores for mishandled baggage reports and flight cancellations, it tied with the regional carrier SkyWest and Envoy Air for best treatment of pets.

7. Hawaiian Airlines

Coming in seventh, Hawaiian Airlines tied with JetBlue Airlines for the most comfortable airline of 2025. Both carriers provide amenities like free WiFi, complimentary refreshments, entertainment options, and extra legroom, per WalletHub.

6. Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines ranked high in both the safety and comfort categories, receiving the top scores for legroom, entertainment options, complimentary refreshments, fleet age, and safety markers.

5. Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines also scored the top score on flight cancellations, legroom, in-flight entertainment, and complimentary refreshments.

However, WalletHub ranked the airline low for price, delays, and mishandled baggage reports.

4. JetBlue

Ranking fourth overall, JetBlue tied with Hawaiian Airlines for the most comfortable airline of 2025.

The carrier, which does not transport animals, received the top score for WiFi, complimentary refreshments, entertainment options, and legroom.

It also scored high on reliability, receiving high scores in the categories for mishandled baggage reports and canceled flights.

3. Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines was ranked the most reliable airline in 2025, with the lowest rate of cancellations, delays, mishandled luggage, and denied boardings.

It also received the top score on legroom, in-flight refreshments, and entertainment options.

However, the airline received low scores on price and fleet age, which contribute to safety. As of December 2024, the average age of its aircraft was 14.9 years, the airline reported.

2. SkyWest Airlines

SkyWest Airlines, a regional carrier serving American, Delta, Alaska, and United Airlines, tied with United for the most pet-friendly.

While the airline doesn't offer in-flight entertainment options, it received the top score on legroom and complimentary refreshments.

1. Spirit Airlines

WalletHub ranked budget carrier Spirit Airlines as the best airline overall, as well as the most affordable and safest airline.

Spirit also received the second-highest score on delays and mishandled baggage reports, showing a high rate of reliability. It also received the top score for fleet age, which contributes to safety.

Still, the budget airline, which ranked highest for price, received low scores on legroom, entertainment options, and in-flight refreshments, which it offers at a price.

• My parents spelled my name as phonetically as possible, but people still get it wrong.
• They named me after a character in a Brazilian movie.
• I traveled to my namesake's home and there I met a Brazilian named John Lennon.

My parents spelled my first name as phonetically as possible, but pronouncing it still seems to cause most people trouble. The most common mispronunciations are when people add extra syllables and letters to my name, so Sheeka becomes Sheneka, Shereka, or Shakeeya.

I do my best to let it roll off my back, repeatedly correcting it to the way it's intended to sound: SHEE-kuh. I love my name, even if it's always mispronounced. That's because I know the origin of my name and that it would take me on an adventure to another part of the world.

When my mom was pregnant with me, my parents watched a foreign film in their small indie movie theater in Tucson, Arizona. The movie, originally from Brazil, was a historical comedic drama called Xica da Silva. My parents loved Zezé Motta's portrayal of the lead character so much that they decided they would give me her character's name.

My parents Americanized the spelling to help people pronounce it correctly — if only they had known back then that it would be futile!

Researching my name brought wild revelations

As an adult, I grew more curious about the origin of my name. As I researched the film, I learned that a popular telenovela by the same name had been made in the 1990s and syndicated across Latin America. Then, I learned that Xica da Silva's filmography was inspired by a real woman named Chica (same pronunciation) who lived in 18th-century Brazil.

That sent me deeper down the rabbit hole. According to her biography, the original Chica da Silva was born enslaved in the early 18th century in Milho Verde, Brazil. As a young adult, a Portuguese diamond contractor bought her, then manumitted her within a matter of weeks or months, which was highly unusual for Brazilian colonial times. Chica da Silva went on to have several children with the diamond contractor. Chica accessed power, wealth, and high society for the rest of her life through her connection to her manumitter.

When I discovered that her 18th-century home in Diamantina, Brazil, had been turned into a museum interpreting her life, I knew I needed to see it in person.

Visiting my namesake's home

It was a journey just to get to Chica da Silva's hometown of Diamantina, Brazil. I flew from Atlanta to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and then drove a rental car for four hours into the Chapada Diamantina mountains. The road trip took my son and me through some magnificent highland landscapes, but by the time we made it to Diamantina, I was exhausted from driving a manual car in a foreign country for hours.

Chica's museum was due to close for the weekend in an hour, and since we would only be in Diamantina for a couple of days, this was my only opportunity to go before it closed. We scurried along the stone-paved street to the museum entrance. I greeted the staff and told everyone who would listen that I was named after the woman who lived in the house nearly 300 years ago.

I met a man named John Lennon

After walking through the first and second floors of the museum, taking my time to study exhibits on the town's history of diamond mining and Chica da Silva's folkloric impact on Brazil, I walked outside to the back courtyard. I was overjoyed that I'd made it to my namesake's home. That's when I met a staff gardener who offered to show me something off the typical tour: Chica da Silva's garden.

My son and I followed him along a stone path, stopping to try an orange, mint leaf, and sugar cane cut fresh from the stalk. As an avid plant lover, this spontaneous garden tour felt like a dream, as though my namesake was personally rewarding me for making the journey in homage to her.

The gardener told me his name is John Lennon — his mom was a huge fan of The Beatles. My jaw dropped in shock. Here I was, four thousand miles away from home, to learn about the Brazilian woman whom I'm named after, and the person showing me around is also named after an international luminary, in fact, one of the most famous British musicians in history.

As I stood in Chica's garden, in disbelief of my good fortune, I couldn't help wish the same fate for my new friend. Hopefully, one day, the Brazilian John Lennon will be able to visit Liverpool and walk in the footsteps of the artist who inspired his name. I know from experience it'll be a life-changing journey.

• My daughter called me from college every day, crying because she hated school.
• Parents told me not to answer her, but I did anyway because I knew it would help her.
• I also told her she could come home whenever she wanted, which gave her a way out.

Moving my daughter into college came with the expected emotions: tears, excitement, and a healthy dose of nerves. Hugging goodbye, we kept smiling, but the tears were just below the surface. Change always feels hard, but I had no idea this was just the beginning of a long road.

In high school, my daughter took advanced placement and early college classes. She worked hard, graduated with a great GPA, and got into every school she applied to. College was the next step, and she was ready.

But everything came crashing down once I left her on campus to finally start this next phase. My daughter called me crying, telling me she hated college. I didn't know how to help her.

My daughter struggled to adjust to college life

At first, everything seemed fine. Her classes were great, and her first assignments reflected the high grades she had earned in high school. While I expected a period of homesickness, what I didn't expect was how deeply unhappy she would be.

She called daily, crying and declaring how much she hated it and missed home. She was committed to her honors program and coursework, but every conversation made clear that this wasn't just a difficult adjustment. It was something more.

It came down to her being uncomfortable in her environment. She missed being somewhere familiar and having the regular support of family.

After a month, it became clear that no amount of encouragement or waiting would change her feelings. My daughter felt trapped and stuck in a situation she hated.

Supporting her was going to be key

Because my daughter was already independent and capable, I had to carefully consider how best to help her, on her terms.

Despite advice from other parents, I picked up the phone every time she called. Sometimes, we barely talked; she just needed to feel less alone. Other times, she poured out everything that felt wrong. Sometimes, I reminded her that she could do hard things.

There were tears every single time. I learned to stop reacting to them and let her feel whatever she needed.

Her friends — and other parents I knew — insisted she stay on campus every weekend to adjust. While this advice works for many, it didn't work for her. So I told her to come home on the weekends. Since we were in-state, it was feasible and made all the difference.

During a hard week at school, she knew she only needed to make it through a few more days before coming home. This motivated her and helped her push through when it felt hard.

We took drastic measures that helped my daughter better adapt

She wasn't interested in the support services offered on campus that typically help many college students in similar situations. Instead, we found a virtual counselor who provided coping strategies and decision-making tools that actually helped.

I also surprised both of us with my advice: I told her she could leave the college — for good.

Giving her permission to leave reminded her that she chose to be there. That shift changed everything. It gave her the freedom to leave, but it also gave her ownership over staying.

Ultimately, she decided to stay at the school. She moved off campus for her sophomore year and has been much happier having her own space. Some separation between the school and where she lives has been key.

I had to go against parenting advice to do what was right for my kid

At the peak of my daughter's struggles, I turned to other parents for help. Most told me to ensure my daughter stayed on campus and just power through. They also told me not to answer the phone every time she called so that she could deal with these issues herself.

These can be helpful guidelines — if they work for your child. Those tips didn't work for my kid.

Instead of following generic advice, I trusted my gut and listened to what I knew about my daughter. That made all the difference.