Month: April 2025

Authored by Catrina Barker via The Center Square,

An Illinois appellate court judge says the arrest of Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was “reminiscent of King George, Hitler and Mussolini.” An Illinois constitutional attorney disagrees.

Judge James Knecht criticized the Trump administration’s heavy-handed courthouse arrest of Dugan. 

“The administration practiced jack booted, ham handed, procedures to arrest Judge Dugan at the courthouse. Reminiscent of King George, Hitler and Mussolini,” Knecht wrote. 

David Shestokas, a constitutional attorney who ran in the Republican primary for Illinois Attorney General, accused Dugan of defying federal authority by helping an illegal immigrant avoid Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

“The problem is, she just exhibited her own disrespect for the authority of the federal government. In terms of providing her with your typical kind of nonviolent courtesy, you know, we’ll give you a call and you can come and turn yourself in sort-of-thing. She had just demonstrated her own disrespect for the federal officers,” said Shestokas. 

Knecht called the arrest an “overreach.” He suggested the proper approach would have been to contact Dugan’s chief judge, the court administrator, and Wisconsin’s chief justice to clarify how state judges should interact with ICE.

“Am I asking for a judge to receive special treatment? No – Judge Dugan is being used as an example to strike fear into the heart of state authorities, judges included,” stated Knecht. “The state judiciary and the federal authorities are obligated to cooperate. One does not encourage such cooperation by arresting a judge to punish her for what may have been a mistake in judgment, or a reaction to the furor over immigration policy.”

Shestokas said physically arresting the judge is a bit unusual.

“[The federal authorities] were clearly interested in sending a message … that it didn’t matter who you are or what position you hold,” said Shestokas. “If, in fact, you aided and abetted someone who was lawfully to be detained by ICE and you interfered with that, you’ve broken the law and you’re subject to arrest.” 

Dugan allegedly led Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer out a restricted jury door to avoid ICE agents, a route the judge controls, according to Shestokas.

Knecht said on social media that he usually sleeps peacefully. However, he suggested he was awake thinking about Dugan’s arrest.

“I did not sleep well last night. I usually sleep peacefully. I was thinking about Judge Dugan in Wisconsin,” stated Knecht. “Some states and cities have laws or policies to not assist federal authorities such as ICE or FBI – of course, not assisting is not the same as obstructing. For me, the issue is not what Judge Dugan did (I do not support how she handled this) but how the authorities responded.”

In 2023, Knecht received $249,337 in pension benefits from the Illinois Judges Retirement System. 

Shestokas said Knecht’s social media post reflected a call for judges to be treated with a certain level of respect.

“I have no idea why there was any suggestion that there should be a consultation with the Wisconsin Supreme Court to determine how judges are supposed to do things. We know they’re not supposed to help criminals avoid arrest, prosecution, or detention,” said Shestokas. “It’s not unusual at all to inform the judge that there’s agents of whatever law enforcement agency outside intending to arrest someone when they leave the courtroom.”

Shestokas said no one uses the jury door without the judge’s permission, and despite being courteously informed about the planned arrest, she responded by allegedly breaking the law.

“Judge Duggan was given a heads up that there were agents outside the courtroom preparing to arrest an individual that was in their charge with the crime. And after she was given that heads up, apparently she sent a message to the agents that they should go visit with the chief judge. And then apparently she took the guy they wanted outside the side door, out the jury door,” said Shestokas. 

Knecht served as a law clerk to Illinois Supreme Court Justice Robert C. Underwood from 1973 to 1974, then as an Associate Circuit Judge from 1975 to 1978, and as a Circuit Judge from 1978 to 1986, before being elected to the Fourth District Appellate Court in 1986.

It is impossible to know the degree to which this is typical conflict propaganda, but Pakistan is claiming that India is planning a military strike on its territory, and that this is coming within less than one to two days.

“Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends to launch a military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours, using the Pahalgam incident as a false pretext,” Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X Tuesday evening.

“Any act of aggression will be met with a decisive response. India will be fully responsible for any serious consequences in the region,” Tarar added.

India has charged that Pakistan harbored the terrorists responsible for the attack on Indian-administered Kashmir which came one week ago and left 26 dead. They were mostly tourists from India visiting the popular and picturesque spot, and the gunmen chose them for execution on the spot because they were Hindu.

Gunfire has already been exchanged between the nuclear-armed rivals over the last several days, with neither side reporting any casualties or major incidents.

The last time there was a major terror attack targeting Indians in Kashmir, the Indian Air Force did respond:

The worst attack in recent years in Indian-run Kashmir was at Pulwama in 2019, when an insurgent rammed a car packed with explosives into a security forces convoy, killing 40 and wounding 35.

Indian fighter jets carried out air strikes on Pakistani territory 12 days later.

Pakistan has meanwhile welcomed China and Russia’s efforts to mediate de-escalation, also as the United Nations has urged restraint.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he is holding dialogue with officials from both sides. “We are reaching out to both parties, and telling, of course, them to not escalate the situation,” a statement from the State Dept said.

The only significant military action so far is that Pakistan’s military said Tuesday it shot down an Indian spy drone over Kashmir, alleging that the UAV breached Pakistani-administered territory.

Pakistan has credible intelligence that within the next 24 to 36 hours, India is planning military action against Pakistan based on baseless and fabricated accusations related to the Pahalgam incident. – Information Minister Attaullah Tarar#IndiaPakistan #PakistanBehindPahalgam pic.twitter.com/8juDCkUFCJ

— Noor Fatima (@Fatima_Zahra120) April 30, 2025

The drone reportedly breached the Line of Control (LOC), Pakistani state-run media said, and it was subsequently shot down amid the air space incursion. Pakistani defense officials described to The Associated Press that the drone flew hundreds of feet into Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

And alarmingly, a Pakistani minister, Hanif Abbasi (though he’s not in defense or security) days ago warned that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal of more than 130 missiles was “not kept as models” and was aimed “only for India … these ballistic missiles, all of them are targeted at you” – as cited in The Guardian.

Authored by Rachel Acenas via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday announced he is scrapping a women’s leadership program implemented during President Donald Trump’s first term.

The program is operated by the United Nations and is “pushed by feminists and left-wing activists,” according to the defense secretary.

“This morning, I proudly ENDED the ‘Women, Peace & Security’ (WPS) program inside the [Department of Defense],” Hegseth wrote in a statement on X. “WPS is yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops—distracting from our core task: WAR-FIGHTING.”

Hegseth said that “politicians fawn” over the program but troops “hate” it.

The WPS program was developed in response to the Women, Peace, and Security Act, which Trump signed into law on Oct. 6, 2017. The Trump administration at the time said it recognized that women are important agents of change in preventing and resolving conflicts, countering violent extremism, and building peace and stability.

The law, outlined by the U.N. Security Council and adopted as in a resolution in 2000, had been championed over the years by various members of Congress. The cause was then taken up by Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and former advisor, after it was signed into U.S. law.

Ivanka said in a June 2019 statement that good defense policy requires women’s participation and empowerment. She also stated that women are “critically underrepresented in conflict-resolution and post-conflict peace building efforts” and women only make up 2 percent of mediators, 3 percent of military personnel, and 9 percent of negotiators globally.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem co-sponsored the WPS Act when she represented South Dakota in Congress.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who co-wrote the 2017 bill with then-Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), wrote on X that Hegseth’s latest move was “short-sighted.” She disagreed with Hegseth’s assertion that troops hate the program and argued it’s supported by military leadership and has proven to give the country a strategic advantage.

Amy McGrath, the first woman to fly a combat mission for the Marine Corps, argued in a statement on X that the program brought women to the negotiating table to end conflicts around the world. McGrath added that more sustainable peace is likely when women are included.

Hegseth later Tuesday appeared to push back on any criticism of his move on X.  He doubled down on his decision to scrub the program, suggesting that the Biden administration “distorted and weaponized” the women’s initiative that was meant to be “straight-forward and security-focused” after it launched in 2017. Hegesth did not further elaborate how Biden allegedly “ruined” the program.

Tuesday’s announcement aligns with the Trump administration’s efforts to end federal diversity initiatives across the government. It also aligns with the efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to slash government waste and abuse.

Hegseth declared he would “fight to end the program for our next budget.” The Pentagon did not provide specific details on how much the initiative costs.

From NTD News

In our preview of META’s Q1 results this afternoon (ahead of which Goldman’s desk had positioning as a 7 out of 10), we said that it feels like centuries ago that META had that 20-day winning streak in Jan/Feb with the name now nearly 30% below YTD highs, which put tactical positioning in cleaner spot into today’s print relative to recent META prints (bear case focused on macro/tariff-related risks to Revenues vs elevated capex/expense burdens). Well, the bulls can exhale because the results which META just reported will give them another taste of what that meltup felt lik,  because the stock is surging 5% on a big top and bottom line beat, coupled with an increase to the capex guidance.

Here is are the blowout results which META reported for Q1:

• EPS $6.43 vs. $4.71 y/y, beating estimate $5.25
   
• Revenue $42.31 billion, +16% y/y, beating estimate $41.38 billion
  • Advertising rev. $41.39 billion, +16% y/y, beating estimate $40.55 billion
  • Family of Apps revenue $41.90 billion, +16% y/y, beating estimate $40.89 billion
  • Reality Labs revenue $412 million, -6.4% y/y, missing estimate $496 million
  • Other revenue $510 million, +34% y/y, beating estimate $498.6 million
     
• Operating income $17.56 billion, +27% y/y, beating estimates of $15.52 billion
  • Family of Apps operating income $21.77 billion, +23% y/y, beating estimates of $20.04 billion
  • Reality Labs operating loss $4.21 billion, +9.5% y/y, above the estimated loss $4.54 billion
• Operating margin 41% vs. 38% y/y, beating estimate 37.5%

 

• Ad impressions +5% vs. +20% y/y, missing estimates of +6.87%
  • Average price per ad +10% vs. +6% y/y, beating estimates of +6.75%
  • Average Family service users per day 3.43 billion, +5.9% y/y, beating estimates of 3.33 billion

Here are some of the key charts from the quarter, starting with Revenue by geography:

EPS:

Segment results:

Expenses continued to shrink:

Users are growing…

… as is revenue per user

Meta needs its advertising business to continue growing in order to fund an expensive expansion in artificial intelligence, which is driving the future of the business through improvements to ads, algorithms and personalization. Sure enough, the guidance was solid, if harldy stellar:

• For Q2, META expects revenue to be in the range of $42.5-45.5 billion, in line with the estimate of $44.1 billion.
• For the full year, META expects total expenses to be in the range of $113-118 billion, down from the prior outlook of $114-119 billion.

But perhaps most important, at a time when everyone was freaking out about sliding capex, Meta boosted its capex forecast, and now sees it be in the range of $64-72 billion, increased from our prior outlook of $60-65 billion. 

This updated outlook “reflects additional data center investments to support our artificial intelligence efforts as well as an increase in the expected cost of infrastructure hardware. The majority of our capital expenditures in 2025 will continue to be directed to our core business.“

This is important because while META once again missed on its actual capex, spending $12.94BN on property and equipment in Q1, well below the $14.239BN expected…

… the company is once again hockeysitcking its capex forecast, and is clearly backloading spending in the second half of the year, when at least according to most nevertrumper eceonomists, the US will be in a deep recession.

In response to the blowout earnings, shares rose as much as 5.6% in after-hours trading, after closing at $549. Meta stock was down more than 6% year-to-date before the company reported earnings, still performing better than most of America’s biggest technology companies amid the recent market selloff.

The full META presentation is below (pdf link).

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A top Trump administration official confirmed that Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, is no longer working from the White House.

“Instead of meeting with him in person, I’m talking to him on the phone, but it’s the same net effect,” White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told the New York Post in an interview published Tuesday.

Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), “hasn’t been here physically, but it really doesn’t matter much,” Wiles said. “His folks aren’t going anywhere.”

Wiles said they are working in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the West Wing of the White House.

“He’s not out of it altogether. He’s just not physically present as much as he was,” Wiles said. “The people that are doing this work are here doing good things and paying attention to the details. He’ll be stepping back a little, but he’s certainly not abandoning it. And his people are definitely not.”

The Epoch Times contacted the White House for additional comment on Wednesday.

Last week, Musk told Tesla investors on a call that he would be stepping away from DOGE and White House work starting in May. As a special government employee, Musk also has to leave the government within 130 days of beginning his role there.

Musk said on the call that he will continue to support the Trump administration and DOGE “to make sure that the waste and fraud that we stop does not come roaring back.”

He made those remarks as his company posted lower-than-anticipated profits and net revenue for the first quarter of 2025. Tesla has also been subject to a series of arson attacks and vandalism since Musk joined the administration, leading to several arrests, which Musk has decried.

Before that, Trump told reporters on April 3 that Musk will leave in “a few months” and noted that he has “companies to run,” stressing he wants the tech billionaire to “stay as long as possible.”

Vice President JD Vance said in an early April Fox News interview that after Musk leaves the administration, he will provide recommendations to the administration because “DOGE has got a lot of work to do.”

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has been on a cost-cutting spree that has taken recommendations from DOGE, including the slashing of tens of thousands of federal jobs and the attempted dismantling of multiple agencies. DOGE and the administration have faced a number of lawsuits, with some judges temporarily pausing DOGE’s access to multiple agencies.

A DOGE website that gives regular updates says that some $160 billion has been saved to date, while more than 8,400 government contracts and more than 9,600 grants have been terminated so far. The organization has also canceled some 470,000 credit cards used by dozens of federal agencies since it started.

But the effort to slash government funding is not without critics. Congressional Democrats on Tuesday, without naming DOGE, said that Trump and Musk have blocked more than $400 billion in funding that they say was approved by Congress.

“Instead of investing in the American people, President Trump is ignoring our laws and ripping resources away,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrats on the Senate and House appropriations committees.

House Democrats in a letter this month also reminded Musk that he must leave the government before May 30, and asked for confirmation that he would do so.

“We demand an immediate public statement from your administration making clear that Musk will resign and surrender all decision making authority,” the letter said.

On the heels of Microsoft’s decision to walk away from discussions to lease new server farm space and slow construction on land it already owns, all eyes are on the giant tech company’s fiscal third-quarter earnings tonight for any signs of slowing on data center spending plans when it reports Wednesday.

“We believe that the Azure results and guidance as well as Microsoft’s commentary on capex are going to be the keys to the quarter,” wrote Kirk Materne, an analyst at Evercore ISI.

Investors watch these expenses closely for a glimpse of long-term cloud and AI demand expectations from the world’s largest software maker.

So, what’s the score?

MSFT beat on EVERYTHING…

Microsoft beat on the top line with Q3 revenues of $70.07 Billion (well above the $68.48 billion consensus) and the bottom line (EPS $3.46 vs $3.22 consensus)

• Microsoft Cloud revenue $42.4 billion, estimate $42.22 billion

• Intelligent Cloud revenue $26.8 billion, estimate $25.99 billion

• Azure and other cloud services revenue Ex-FX +33%, estimate +31%

• Productivity and Business Processes revenue $29.9 billion, estimate $29.65 billion

• More Personal Computing revenue $13.4 billion, estimate $12.67 billion

Cloud revenue surged more than expected with revenues of $42.4 billion (above the $42.22 billion consensus),

“We delivered a strong quarter with Microsoft Cloud revenue of $42.4 billion, up 20% (up 22% in constant currency) year-over-year driven by continued demand for our differentiated offerings,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft.

Azure & Other Cloud revenue (es-FX) up 35% (better than the 31% consensus).

…AI growth making up 16ppts of that 35% (exp 15.6ppts)…

“Cloud and AI are the essential inputs for every business to expand output, reduce costs, and accelerate growth,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. 

“From AI infra and platforms to apps, we are innovating across the stack to deliver for our customers.”

Operating income was also a solid beat: $32.00 billion, estimate $30.31 billion

But after 10 consecutive quarters of increased spending for artificial intelligence, the company has put on the brakes.

While top-line capital expenditure was $16.75 billion vs. $10.95 billion y/y (above the $16.28 billion consensus)

But, in the first three months of 2025, Microsoft spent $21.4 billion on Capital expenditures including assets acquired under finance leases, down more than $1 billion from the previous quarter (and below the $22.56 billion consensus).

The company is still on track to spend more than $80 billion on capital expenses in the current fiscal year, which ends in June. But, as The NY Times notes, the pullback, though slight, is an indication that the tech industry’s appetite for spending on A.I. is not limitless.

As a result of all this, MSFT shares are soaring after hours…

…and we can’t help but wonder if someone ‘knew’ about this ‘early’ given the moves in the market in the last minutes before the bell.

All eyes now on the call for any signals of a reduction in CapEx (expected at $88 billion for the fiscal year ending in June and $100 billion for the following fiscal year).

Last week we highlighted the next economic shock; a student loan default wave that could cause a $63 billion hit to GDP.

And here it comes. During Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said “We’re going to start getting it back,” adding “For those people who have borrowed money and have not been paying — that’s just not to be punitive, there are many ways that they can go online to understand how they can get back into the right payment structure. Because when they’re in default, they can’t buy a house, they can’t buy a car, their credit scores go down.” h/t Jennifer Jacobs

As we reported last week (full note available to premium subscribers), student-loan delinquencies began climbing after the pandemic-era forbearance on repayment ended in September 2023. The Biden administration allowed a year for payments to fully ramp back up, which temporarily suppressed delinquency rates. Now, though, missed payments are crossing the 90-day threshold and showing up on borrowers’ credit reports.

The New York Fed estimates 15.6% of federal student-loan balances —  more than $250 billion — were past due by the end of the ramp-up period, affecting 9.7 million borrowers. As these delinquencies hit credit reports, borrowers face steep declines in their credit scores and, more importantly, sharply reduced access to credit.

That said, delinquent borrowers could still enroll in income-driven repayment plans offered by the Department of Education, and the scale of past-due loans may have shifted since the end of the on-ramp period. Some borrowers who were past due may have come back into compliance since.

Overall, if 9.7 million borrowers default and face declining credit scores, BBG estimates a drag on annual PCE spending of 0.1% point to 0.3%. In the worst-case scenario, it could reduce PCE spending growth by as much as 0.4% by year-end… an outcome that is extremely deflationary, just in case Jerome Powell is still debating whether or not to pull the plug on rate cuts.

A slowdown in economic activity, combined with growing tariff uncertainty, appears to be curbing consumer appetite for highly processed junk food. The latest trends show a declining demand for sweet snacks in North America as more shoppers shift their spending toward real food, such as meat, vegetables, and eggs. 

Mondelez International — the maker of Sour Patch Kids, Oreos, Ritz, Toblerone, Cadbury, and other highly processed food brands — reported slower-than-expected sales for the first quarter.

Organic revenue, which excludes currency fluctuations and one-time items, increased 3.1%, falling short of the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 3.5%. Notably, sales in North America declined during the quarter. 

On an earnings call, Mondelez CEO Dirk Van de Put told analysts: “I really do not expect to see a significant improvement in consumer confidence in the near term in the US.” 

“Two, three years ago consumers would easily pay above $4 for a pack of biscuits,” Van de Put said adding, “We’re now seeing that we need to be below $4 and ideally below $3.”

Mondelez noted that shoppers are beginning to prioritize real food — if that’s meat, vegetables, and eggs — over snacks, chips, and candy. Also, lower-income consumers are pivoting towards smaller packages, while higher-income consumers are searching for larger value bundles. 

Mondelez reiterated its full-year guidance and warned profit will slide 10% this year “due to unprecedented cocoa cost inflation.”

Weighing in on the North American junk food slowdown, Goldman analysts Leah Jordan and Eli Thompson offered clients their first take on Mondelez’s first-quarter results and its unchanged full-year outlook:

1. North America came in softer-than-expected on the back of retailer destocking and softer cracker demand as the consumer remains value-focused;

2. chocolate elasticity tracked in-line with expectations, although more pricing is still to come; and

3. MDLZ reiterated its FY25 guide in constant currency while potential upside is likely to be reinvested throughout the year to support potential growth in FY26

The key takeaway for the North American market:

• North America softer-than-expected: Organic net sales in North America came in softer-than-expected at -3.6% (vs GS/consensus of flat/+0.1%), largely due to retailer destocking (-250 bps), while segment profitability also missed. The destocking impact should be one time in nature, but we do not expect it to reverse as we have heard from retailers that this effort has been driven by efficiency gains. Additionally, MDLZ noted softer demand for crackers (vs cookies), although both categories are holding up relatively better than other parts of snacking, plus the company is holding share due to investments in price pack architecture and key activations. Additionally, management spoke to increasing promotional activity by peers in crackers, and we see greater private label competition in the category as well. Regarding consumer behavior, the company noted a shift to smaller pack sizes by the lower end and toward multi-packs for upper income cohorts, along with a shift in channels toward dollar stores, clubs, and value retailers.

Details about the cocoa market:

• Chocolate elasticity tracking in-line, although more pricing still to come: MDLZ indicated elasticity within chocolate tracked in-line with expectations at -0.5%, while it gained share in the category. However, more pricing will be implemented in the spring with management taking a wait and see approach while expressing confidence in its chocolate strategy with a range of price points. The company expects a top line acceleration throughout the year, supported by both pricing and volumes, with Easter strength noted for 2Q and pricing negotiations are now complete in Europe (vs a disruption last year). By region, management highlighted solid Easter chocolate demand for Europe/UK, Brazil, and Australia, with stable YTD elasticities noted for Europe and Emerging Markets. Notably, MDLZ indicated greater elasticity for chocolate in the U.S. vs ROW with volumes tracking down -5%, which is a negative read-through for HSY.

Notes on guidance:

• Reiterated FY25 guide with potential upside expected to be reinvested: MDLZ reiterated its FY25 guidance with an adj EPS decline of -10% (constant currency), noting potential upside would likely be reinvested (e.g., 1Q beat planned to be reinvested in marketing this year), while the tariff impact remains small. FY25 organic sales guidance was also reiterated at +5%, with sequential improvements supported by both volume and pricing. We also expect a gross margin improvement throughout the year tied to its pricing action. Regarding FY26, MDLZ expects EPS growth y/y, but management stopped short on the magnitude of potential ranges given cocoa uncertainty. For cocoa, the company still sees a supply/demand surplus with further demand destruction likely (as some will likely reformulate). Furthermore, the company sounded constructive on its position given lower cocoa butter prices y/y, its bigger input exposure.

Despite key downside risks, such as an economic slowdown, Goldman analysts remained “Buy” rated on Mondelez, with a 12-month price target of $71. 

Mondelez did not indicate that the slowdown in junk food demand was influenced by the “Make America Healthy Again” movement in any way (well at least not yet). 

Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations,

Topline: The Houston Independent School District is facing a budget deficit that at one point reached $250 million, but that did not stop Superintendent Mike Miles from accepting a $126,730 bonus in April to supplement his $380,000 salary.

Key facts: Miles’ bonus was calculated after he received a 66.7 out of 100 on his first annual evaluation from the school board that measured student performance, “executive leadership” and “vision,” according to the Houston Chronicle. A perfect score would have netted Miles a $190,000 bonus.

The school district has struggled with funding for years, as have other large school districts in Texas. The state government has not increased public school funding since 2019 to keep pace with inflation, and yet some of Houston’s struggles come simply from overspending. Cumulative inflation from 2019 to 2024 in the U.S. was 22%, but Houston ISD increased its payroll by 29% in that timespan, according to OpenTheBooks’ database. 

Last year the school released an audit detailing “overtime abuse” that forced the district to pay $26 million in one year. Auditors also found an “overreliance on purchased services” and “overuse of consultants with several other costs to overall effectiveness.”

The district began the current school year with a $125 million deficit, but Miles asked the school board to approve an amendment that increased spending and ballooned the deficit to $250 million, forcing the district to dig into its reserves and one-time savings.

Next year the district projects a $33 million deficit after laying off 1,500 employees. Miles is also considering closing some school buildings to cut costs.

Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com. 

Supporting quote: Miles told the school’s community advisory committee, “I assure you, that bonus and incentive was well deserved, and I know my value, and achievement results show that.”

Critical quote: The Houston Chronicle’s editorial board equated Miles’ 66.7 evaluation score to a “D,” claiming that “It’s a lousy grade. The kind you bury at the bottom of your backpack in hopes it disappears before somebody sees. That’s essentially what the district tried to do. Chronicle reporters had to file a public information request to get a copy of the evaluation.”

Summary: Houston is far from the only school district giving its superintendent a generous bonus, but a fiscal crisis — and a “D” grade — is not the time to do it. 

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

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Via American Greatness,

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) has reintroduced the “Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments” (PELOSI) Act that would prohibit members of Congress and their families from trading stocks while in office.

The name of the act is a direct nod in the direction of 20 term Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) whose net worth has soared from $160,000 when she was first elected in 1987 to more than $140 million in 2024.

The bill to ban congressional stock trading is entitled the PELOSI Act, or “Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments.”

I usually don’t like cute names for pieces of legislation, but this one hit the nail on the head. Bravo.

Pass it!! pic.twitter.com/pN8nicKJRx

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 29, 2025

Pelosi’s husband Paul, who narrowly survived a hammer attack 2022, is an investor who has made significant financial gains on stock trades that some speculate may have been based on insider information.

Hawley first introduced the PELOSI Act in 2023 but it failed to gain traction under the Biden administration.

Since then, the proposal has gained support on both sides of the congressional aisle and Fox News reports that President Trump has said he would “absolutely” sign the ban if it arrives on his desk.

Hawley has been a consistent critic of members of Congress being more focused on day-trading than they are on representing their constituents.

In a statement, Hawley said, “Americans have seen politician after politician turn a profit using information not available to the general public. It’s time we ban all members of Congress from trading and holding stocks and restore Americans’ trust in our nation’s legislative body.”

The PELOSI Act would prohibit lawmakers and their spouses from purchasing, selling or holding stocks during the time that the lawmaker is in office.

Lawmakers would still be able to invest in U.S. Treasury Bonds, diversified mutual funds or exchange-traded funds while in office.

Should the PELOSI Act be signed into law, current members of Congress would have 180 days to comply with newly elected members being required to comply with in 180 days of entering office.

Lawmakers who violate the act would be required to hand over their profits to the U.S. Treasury Department and could also face fines of up to 10% on each transaction.