Microsoft Surges After AI/Cloud Growth Accelerates; But CapEx Slowed
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
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).
"The World Is Witnessing A Revolution Of Common Sense" - Trump's (Second) First 100 Days
At the beginning of his remarks tonight, celebrating his (second) first 100 days, President Trump proclaimed that "the world is witnessing a revolution of common sense."
"In the first 100 days, we have delivered the most profound change in this country in 100 years," Trump commented, highlighting that "we are ushering in the golden age of America."
"Nothing will stop my mission to keep American safe again." Trump stated, pointing out the impact of the judiciary on his orders: "judges are trying to take away presidential power... I hope the Supreme Court will save this."
With regard to tariffs, Trump said that "we have been abused by friend and foe on trade."
"India, France, and China officials are coming to make a deal," said Trump, adding that he is offering automakers some "flexibility".
Watch President Trump's full remarks here...
Upon returning to the White House, President Donald Trump unleashed a wave of executive orders and aggressive policy shifts, making his first 100 days of his second term one of the most impactful starts to a presidency in recent memory.
Now serving as the 47th president, Trump has resumed many of the core initiatives from his previous administration -initiatives he says were obstructed by the Russia probe, civil unrest tied to Black Lives Matter protests, and the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With renewed urgency, Trump has zeroed in on the cornerstone issues of his “Make America Great Again” platform: securing the southern border, confronting China’s trade abuses, and boosting American energy independence.
And or course, the highly controversial tariffs that sent investors on a round-trip rollercoaster from hell this month.
Trump has already surpassed President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s historic mark of 99 executive orders within the first 100 days, a sign of his determination to reshape federal policy without waiting for Congress.
Which were of course met with a flood of legal challenges in front of left-wing judges...
Nearly all of the legal challenges are working their way through the courts. Some of the president’s actions have been blocked or allowed temporarily pending further court action. The court allowed the deferred resignation, or voluntary departure plan, by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to continue. Harvard University’s legal challenge to the administration’s funding freeze over anti-semitism and removal of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs has yet to be heard by the court. -Epoch Times
Backers view Trump’s opening stretch as a return to American assertiveness, while critics argue it reflects executive overreach and instability.
Eager to seize the early momentum, Trump has pushed forward rapidly on both international and domestic priorities, knowing the political clock is already ticking.
As his administration hits the 100-day mark, here is a breakdown of the major actions taken so far by the Epoch Times.
Economic Indicators: Up, Down
Economic indicators mostly improved through March, the last month for which complete data is available. Nonfarm job creation nearly doubled since Trump took office, although the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percent.
Inflation declined by 0.5 percent, reaching 2.8 percent, its lowest level since February 2021.
Trump’s tariff strategy, launched on April 2, which he called “Liberation Day,” appeared to cause uncertainty among investors, which could affect economic indicators for April.
The president said his tariff strategy is to reverse the trade imbalance between the United States and other nations by levying reciprocal tariffs on their goods coming into this country. The tariffs will also encourage manufacturers to create products in the United States, according to Trump.
The Standard and Poor’s 500, an index that tracks the performance of leading companies, dropped steeply in the days following the tariff announcement. Prices rallied on April 8, the day after Trump announced a pause in many of the tariffs.
Manufacturing Build-Back: $1.75 Trillion
More than a dozen domestic and foreign manufacturers have announced large investments in their U.S. operations since Trump took office.
In at least one case, Trump’s tariff policy played a part in the decision to invest here. Honda is expected to manufacture its next-generation Civic hybrid in Indiana rather than Mexico.
Nissan and Hyundai are expected to move some manufacturing facilities to the United States as well, according to the White House.
Those investments include more than $1 trillion from tech giants Nvidia, Apple, Oracle, and others. Merck, the German pharmaceutical company, opened a $1 billion manufacturing facility in North Carolina this year.
Multinational automaker Stellantis announced a $5 billion investment in its U.S. manufacturing sites.
Illegal Border Crossings: 90 Percent Reduction in 40 Days
Trump’s early actions on border security included a national emergency declaration, invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to combat speed deportation, and directing the military to augment security at the nation’s borders.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began increased deportation operations targeting criminal illegal immigrants on Jan. 21. Immigration officials reported 32,800 arrests in the first three weeks of the Trump administration, about 73 percent of whom were illegal immigrants with a criminal charge or conviction.
ICE made 113,400 total immigration arrests during the last fiscal year of the Biden administration, according to the agency’s records.
Customs and Border Protection reported a nearly 90 percent drop in illegal immigrant apprehensions at the southern border between December 2024, the last full month before Trump took office, and March.
Taxpayer Savings: $1.6 Billion per Day
Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, on Jan. 20. Headed by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, DOGE took rapid action to reduce government spending with the goal of reaching $1 trillion in cost savings.
Immediate targets included tax-payer funded programs related to gender ideology and diversity, equity, and inclusion. DOGE also targeted waste, such as leases on unoccupied buildings.
Agency heads have reduced spending to save Americans about $160 billion in 100 days, or nearly $1,000 per taxpayer, according to DOGE.
Trump offered a Deferred Resignation Program, which allowed federal employees to voluntarily resign and retain salary and benefits until Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. About 77,000 of the more than 3 million federal employees opted into the program.
Other staff reductions have eliminated about 66,000 positions, nearly all of which were retirements or voluntary transitions, according to DOGE.
Three other recent presidents made significant staffing reductions during their first 100 days, as did Trump during his first term.
Now let's see what happens in May with all this port FUD and talk of empty shelves...
In a stunning display of misplaced priorities, Democratic lawmakers recently traveled to El Salvador—not to address the border crisis devastating American communities, but to advocate for MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
This disturbing development perfectly encapsulates how far the Democratic Party has strayed from protecting American interests.
The same Democrats who rushed to El Salvador to defend a gang member remained conspicuously silent when Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was brutally murdered by an illegal alien on her college campus.
They offered no words of comfort when 18-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was found dead in a San Diego canyon, raped and murdered by two illegal immigrants. And where were their impassioned speeches about "due process" when Rachel Morin, a mother of five, was murdered on a hiking trail by an illegal alien with a violent criminal history?
Border Czar Tom Homan and former Trump advisor Stephen Miller have both exposed the dangerous hypocrisy of these actions.
While Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) claims he's merely defending "due process," the facts tell a different story.
Garcia's own wife has accused him of domestic abuse, and he's been accused of MS-13 gang affiliation.
And then there are his connections to human trafficking.
"The Democrat Party has become the party of terrorists and illegal aliens," Miller declared during a recent Fox News appearance.
"Who does it fight for? Who does it move heaven and earth to protect? Illegal alien gang members and foreign terrorists."
The statistics are damning: Under the Biden administration, America witnessed a 600% increase in sex trafficking, while over 10.5 million people entered illegally. A quarter-million Americans have died from fentanyl flooding across our open borders. The brutal Tren de Aragua gang now plots assassinations on U.S. soil.
"Where were you when thousands of American parents buried their children?" Homan demanded of the Democrats during a recent appearance on Sean Hannity’s show.
"They got separated from their children forever 'cause they were killed by illegal aliens. That's preventable crime."
The graves of Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray, and Rachel Morin stand as stark testimonies to this preventable tragedy.
Even more shocking, Van Hollen spent taxpayer money to meet with Garcia while ignoring murders committed by illegal aliens in his own state—released despite ICE detainers.
During Biden's presidency, Van Hollen never once visited the border to witness the catastrophe firsthand or spoke with the family of Rachel Morin, one of his actual constituents.
The American people face a critical choice.
We can either stand with those working to secure our borders and protect our communities or watch as radical Democrats continue dismantling our national security to protect criminals and terrorists.
We will continue to expose the radical left for their indifference to the safety and security of this country and its citizens.
"Being mean or telling the truth is indistinguishable to far too many people."
- Mike Thompson on X
Woke liberalism is exactly what Christopher Lasch predicted in The Revolt of the Elites, published in 1995 the year after his early death at 61. Lasch saw how the juvenile idealism of Boomer hippiedom would slide into the narcissistic, sado-masochistic degeneracy of open borders, drag queen story hours, Covid-19 despotism, DEI racism, showbiz Satanism, censorship, forever wars, and now, the legal insurrection of lawfare.
In doing so, Lasch also predicted the “mass formation psychosis” described by Belgian psychologist Mattias Desmet, spawned by a crisis of meaning and purpose in the thinking classes of Western Civ. And now you know exactly how come a place like Boston, with its concentration of “elites” in universities, computer tech, and medical research displays a batshit-crazy dedication to ideas bent on destroying our political culture: the American republic.
The word republic derives from the Latin, res publica: the public thing, the idea of a state dedicated to the common good. By “state” you can infer both a group of people in a certain place, but also the set of conditions they dwell in. You can’t have a common good without a common culture, which means a general agreement among citizens on values in that certain place — which is our country, the USA.
You can’t overstate the importance of shared ideas and values in that enterprise of being a nation, we-the-people in our particular place.
The juvenile idealism of Boomer hippiedom wrecked the crucial idea of a common culture, and I will tell you exactly how that happened.
Two crusades: first, the civil rights campaign, and second, stopping the War in Vietnam, defined the era.
The first of these climaxed in twin landmark legislative acts designed to abolish Jim Crow racism: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination in public places, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited unfair obstacles to voting.
The idealism in that moment of history was extreme.
The dominant old-school Liberal ethos displayed a sense of triumph. Its cardinal belief in human progress was validated in the new law-of-the-land. We were supposedly entering a utopia of racial harmony.
It proved to be a huge disappointment, a failure.
In some fundamental ways, black and white America could not agree on certain values, especially language and behavior. These matters were so hypersensitive that discussing them became taboo, and when someone dared to — such as the rogue journalist Tom Wolfe in his book Radical Chic, which made fun of the cultural elites trying to socialize with the Black Panthers — he was buried in the most extreme censorious opprobrium by the elite good-thinkers of politics, academia, and the cultural media. They couldn’t believe old Tom dove clear through the Overton Window the way he did, head first.
In fact, a big segment of black America after 1965 became much more overtly separatist and oppositional, while white America became more frantically confounded and depressed by it. The result was the elite’s solution to that quandary: multiculturalism! Which basically meant: we don’t need a common culture in the USA. (We don’t need an agreement about values, language, and behavior.) Each group in America can have its own menu of these things. This accomplished two ends: it allowed criminal behavior to explode; and it allowed the elites to excuse themselves from any serious further attempts to manage the res publica. The people of the ghettos were free to do their thing; while the elites turned their full attention to Boomer careerism and Gordon Gecko style financial moneygrubbing.
As for the crusade to end the War in Vietnam, that was also an epic failure, never properly acknowledged. In fact, no one in the USA, no party or faction, ended the war. We simply lost the War in Vietnam. We just never said so, and still don’t. It ended in ignominy, with the last remnants of US officialdom in Saigon having to be rescued by helicopter from the roof of the American Embassy. The so-called “gooks” in their black pajamas beat the giant American “grunt” army with its bottomless supply of attack helicopters and napalm. Chalk up another “L” for old school Liberalism.
You can’t overstate how demoralizing this was. And so. . . the serial reenactments of our forever wars of recent decades, mostly botches and failures despite our vaunted “defense” establishment, our glorious war technology, and our fake commitment to “spreading democracy.” We simply need to prove that we can’t possibly lose wars against more primitive people — though we have lost repeatedly, the fiasco in leaving Kabul in 2021 being even more ignominious than the flight from Saigon. This can only be understood, finally, as a species of national neurosis.
As was absolutely everything about the George Floyd riots of 2020, Wokery-in-action, with the torching of cities, the looting flash-mobs, and the tearing down of statues honoring American heroes. Try understanding that as the latest chapter in civil rights egalitarianism gone awry, starting with the sanctification of the druggie thug George Floyd, who so perfectly personified the failures of multiculturalism. (What were his values? Ever ask yourself that?)
Now, try (if you can) to understand what the election of Mr. Trump represents: the drive to restore a viable American common culture, to re-set our agreement on values, to repair the broken res publica.
And note how wildly that is resented and opposed by this corrupt and degenerate residue of idealism gone to hell (literally), this ragtag and bobtail of Democratic Party elites, consumed in their mass formation psychosis, addicted to lying and violence, and furious that they are no longer in command.
So, now you know how all this works. An American common culture matters, and if we can’t put it together, we’re sunk. This is our chance to put it together.
Once again, the failing New York Times is running interference and burying the real story to protect their preferred narrative.
An article headlined "Missteps, Equipment Problems and a Common but Risky Practice Led to a Fatal Crash," which is about January's devastating crash at Reagan National Airport, is a textbook example of mainstream media malpractice.
An honest headline would have read, "Helicopter Pilot Ignored Multiple Safety Warnings Before Fatal Crash."
The liberal paper of record spent roughly a thousand words dancing around the obvious truth: a helicopter pilot directly caused this tragedy by ignoring multiple explicit warnings.
But that wouldn't fit their preferred story about "systemic failures," would it?
Let me spell out what the Times buried deep in their article: The Black Hawk pilot received clear, explicit warnings about altitude from their co-pilot.
The co-pilot explicitly instructed them to turn away from the passenger jet. And what did they do? They ignored those warnings and flew straight into the path of an American Airlines flight carrying 64 innocent people.
The Black Hawk was 15 seconds away from crossing paths with the jet. Warrant Officer Eaves then turned his attention to Captain Lobach.
He told her he believed that air traffic control wanted them to turn left, toward the east river bank.
Turning left would have opened up more space between the helicopter and Flight 5342, which was heading for Runway 33 at an altitude of roughly 300 feet.
She did not turn left.
But instead of leading with these crucial facts, the Times gives us a meandering story about "visual separation procedures" and "aviation practices." Classic mainstream media sleight-of-hand — when the facts don't fit your preferred narrative, bury them under a mountain of context and systemic analysis.
Here's what the Times doesn't want you to focus on: This wasn't some complex system failure that Democrats can use to blame the Trump administration for.
This wasn't about equipment problems or procedural issues.
This was about a pilot who ignored basic safety protocols and clear warnings from their co-pilot. Full stop.
As we know, the liberal media and the Democratic Party immediately sought to blame the Trump administration for the crash, claiming that FAA cuts created the environment for the crash to happen.
The Army Black Hawk was flying well above its approved altitude.
The co-pilot knew it.
Air traffic control knew it.
The families of the 64 people who lost their lives in this entirely preventable tragedy deserve better than the Times' narrative manipulation.
They deserve the truth, plainly stated: Their loved ones died because a pilot ignored multiple explicit warnings and violated basic safety protocols.
They don’t want us focusing on the pilot because then some uncomfortable questions have to be asked.
Remember this the next time the mainstream media tries to lecture us about "speaking truth to power" or "holding people accountable." Their idea of accountability apparently depends entirely on whether the truth fits their preferred narrative.
In the meantime, I'll keep doing their job for them -- telling the truths they won't tell, and calling out their propaganda for what it is.
US Warns Mexican Beef Imports May Halt Next Week Over Flesh-Eating Fly Crisis
American ranchers have been battered by multinational corporations flooding the food supply chain with cheap beef imports from third-world countries, much of it ending up in supermarkets without consumers ever realizing it. Now, in a move to protect both consumers from flesh-eating parasites and support mom-and-pop ranchers, the Department of Agriculture warned Mexico on Saturday that the U.S. will cease imports of live animals — including cattle and bison — unless Mexico steps up efforts to combat pests.
Fox News first reported that U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins wrote a scathing letter to Mexican Secretary of Agriculture Julio Antonio Berdegué Sacristán, threatening to restrict US livestock imports from Mexico if its government does not urgently address the New World Screwworm by the middle of next week.
"I must inform you that if these issues are not resolved by Wednesday, April 30, USDA will restrict the importation of animal commodities, which consist of live cattle, bison, and equine originating from or transporting to Mexico to protect the interest of the agriculture industry in the United States," Rollins wrote in the letter, obtained by Fox.
She said, "We are now at a critical inflection point in our shared campaign against this pest, and I am very concerned about our collaboration."
"The outbreak in southern Mexico continues to expand, and every day that passes without full deployment of sterile insect technique (SIT) operations represents a lost opportunity to contain this pest and prevent its spread beyond the Isthmus of Tehuantepecm," Rollins noted.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the New World Screwworm targets open wounds in warm-blooded animals, including birds, deer, and humans, laying hundreds of eggs that hatch into flesh-eating maggots.
Rollins' message is very clear: Move quickly on combating the screwworm fly by:
Secure a one-year or indefinite operational clearance for Dynamic Aviation.
Waive import duties for NWS-related materials.
Appoint a high-level contact to resolve bureaucratic obstacles.
... or face trade restrictions on live cattle, bison, and equine entering the U.S.
Unbeknownst to consumers, the U.S. imported 3.7 billion pounds of beef in 2023, accounting for 15% of the total U.S. beef consumption. This volume increased to record highs due to a collapsing U.S. cattle herd, pushing supermarket prices to new highs.
At the supermarket, USDA data from the end of March showed the average price for a pound of ground beef reached yet another record high of $5.79.
Years of multinationals flooding America with cheap beef imports from third-world countries have financially wrecked mom-and-pop ranchers. This creates a serious national security threat, as foreign nations and multinational corporations have increasingly gained control over critical segments of the U.S. food supply chain. For a country to thrive, control of the food supply should remain with local ranchers and farmers, rather than distant megacorporations with little interest in the community.
"For decades, America outsourced its food production under the illusion of efficiency. Now a single screwworm threat exposes how fragile and foolish that model really is. If you don't control your own cattle, you don't control your own future—and that's exactly where we are," clean beef think tank Beef Initiative wrote in a statement.
ZeroHedge, in collaboration with the Beef Initiative, is committed to supporting the "Make America Healthy Again" movement by restoring control of the food supply chain—currently dominated by corrupt multinational corporations within the processed foods industrial complex—to local, family-owned ranchers and farmers.
We're calling this effort "Rancher-Direct Clean Food"...
Weird AI videos and pictures depicting President Trump and Vice President JD Vance are being virally shared on Chinese social media as a response to the ongoing tariff trade war.
The videos, widely shared across platforms like TikTok, Douyin, and X, depict Trump as (ironically) a Communist dictator and Vance as “eyeliner man,” poking fun at their policies and public personas.
The meme campaign began in response to Trump’s aggressive tariff hikes on Chinese imports, which Vance defended on Fox News, controversially referring to “Chinese peasants.”
The CCP's propaganda is taking aim at the Trump administration.
An AI-generated music video, inspired by the iconic 1960s revolutionary song "We March on the Great Road," features characters resembling Trump, Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Elon Musk, all holding… pic.twitter.com/U8DfB0Boxz
— NFSC Red Leaf Canada (@hli953777191713) April 25, 2025
Chinese commentators using state-backed accounts have been producing odd content that reimagines Vance in drag with exaggerated makeup or as Chairman Mao, while portraying Trump in absurd scenarios, like applying mascara to Vance in a pink bedroom.
One notable video, racking up hundreds of thousands of views, features a satirical “Song of MAGA” with Trump, Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and Elon Musk marching through the streets under red socialist banners, carrying Chairman Mao’s ‘Little Red Book’.
The lyrics of the song are changed to ‘Led by Chairman Trump, we shout “MAGA”,’ with the footage then depicting the four working in a factory wearing blue overalls, an attempt to mock Trump’s efforts to revive domestic manufacturing in the US.
The memes also contend that Vance’s “luscious lashes” will cost more due to tariffs, while some suggested halting eyeliner exports as “precision retaliation.”
🇺🇸🇨🇳 They thought they could wage an info war on China.
Then AI entered the chat… and it wasn’t on their side.
Chinese netizens just digitally dismantled Trump’s ex-press secretary and Senator Vance - turning them into virus-themed memes that went viral for all the wrong… pic.twitter.com/ZEDM4h8l1J
Earlier this week, Trump appeared to suggested a potential de-escalation with regards to the tariffs on China, noting that the high tariffs on Chinese goods, currently at 145%, will “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero.”
He further emphasised that the tariffs “won’t be anywhere near that high” and expressed a desire to avoid playing “hardball” with China, indicating a willingness to negotiate a deal.
Trump also claimed that the U.S. and China are “actively” discussing tariff resolutions, though China’s Foreign Ministry contradicted this on Thursday, stating that no consultations or negotiations have occurred.
On Friday, reports emerged that China has exempted certain U.S. goods from its 125% retaliatory tariffs, focusing on semiconductors and integrated circuits. The Shenzhen HJET Supply Chain announced on Chinese social media that eight tariff codes related to these products were reduced to zero, a move confirmed by multiple businesses and reported by Reuters.
Additionally, some U.S. pharmaceutical products, medical gear, and aerospace equipment parts, such as engines and landing gear, have also been granted exemptions, as noted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China and French company Safran.
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Former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) was sentenced on April 25 to more than 7 years in federal prison on wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.
The sentence of 87 months behind bars is what was requested by the Department of Justice.
He was also ordered to pay almost $374,000 and more than $205,000 in restitution and forfeiture, respectively.
Santos, who was charged in 2023, faced a minimum of two years and a maximum of 22 years behind bars.
The former congressman, who represented New York’s Third Congressional District, told One America News on April 24 that he plans to serve his entire sentence in solitary confinement out of fear for his safety.
Santos pleaded guilty in August to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
“I betrayed the trust of my constituents and supporters. I deeply regret my conduct,” he said upon pleading guilty.
Following the hearing, Santos said he felt he had no choice but to admit wrongdoing.
“Pleading guilty is a step I never imagined I’d take, but it is a necessary one because it is the right thing to do,” Santos told reporters.
“It’s not only a recognition of my misrepresentation to others, but more profoundly, it is my own recognition of the lies I told myself over these past years.”
Santos, while running for Congress, filed false reports with the Federal Election Commission that consisted of inflated campaign fundraising numbers in order to qualify for funding and logistical support from the Republican National Committee. His campaign falsely reported that Santos loaned $500,000 to the campaign.
Additionally, Santos charged the credit cards of campaign donors without their permission.
He also took $24,000 in unemployment insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic despite being employed.
Moreover, Santos made false statements to the House of Representatives such as how much he had in assets.
Santos was expelled from Congress on Dec. 1, 2023, following a House Ethics Committee reportthat he “knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission; used campaign funds for personal purposes; engaged in fraudulent conduct, ... and engaged in knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act.”
The report also said that Santos “continues to flout his statutory financial disclosure obligations and has failed to correct countless errors and omissions in his past FD Statements, despite being repeatedly reminded by the ISC and the Committee of his requirement to do so.”
Santos initially filed to run as an independent to win back his seat in the 2024 election but dropped his campaign.
Even before entering Congress, Santos was subject to controversy, having admitted to allegations about him fabricating parts of his personal and professional life. This included him claiming that he was Jewish—only for him to later say that he is “Jew-ish.”
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on April 23 did not deny that he’s considering removing COVID-19 vaccines from the childhood vaccination schedule.
“We need to ask questions and we need to consult with parents, we need to give people informed consent, and we shouldn’t be making recommendations that are not good for the population,” Kennedy said during an appearance on Fox News.
Politico, citing anonymous sources, reported this week that Kennedy is mulling the removal of COVID-19 shots from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s schedule for children.
An official with the Department of Health and Human Services, which Kennedy heads, told The Epoch Times in an email that “no final decision has been made.”
The CDC, which is part of the department, did not return an inquiry.
Kennedy said on Fox that President Donald Trump does not believe that any person should be required to receive a vaccine, and noted that all vaccines carry risks.
“The COVID vaccine, the recommendation for kids was always dubious,” Kennedy said.
“And it was dubious because kids had almost no risk for COVID-19. Some kids—certain kids that had very profound morbidities—may have a slight risk. Most kids don’t, so why are we giving this to tens of millions of kids? Because the vaccine itself does have profound risks.”
Kennedy noted that established side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine include a form of heart inflammation called myocarditis and a related condition called pericarditis. He also pointed out that 15 vaccinated participants in Pfizer’s clinical trial died, compared with 14 participants who did not receive the company’s vaccine.
Three COVID-19 vaccines are currently available for use in the United States: one from Pfizer, one from Moderna, and one from Novavax.
Advisers to the CDC recommended in 2022 that the agency add COVID-19 vaccines to the schedule, concluding that the benefits of the shots outweighed the risks. The CDC in 2023 added them to the schedule.
According to the schedule, all children who have never received a COVID-19 vaccine should receive at least one dose, depending on their age, while those who have received a vaccine in the past should receive at least one additional dose. Unlike many vaccines on the schedule, the COVID-19 vaccine has not been made compulsory for school attendance in states.
Kennedy said during his confirmation hearings, “I recommend that children follow the CDC schedule, and I will support the CDC schedule when I get in there if I’m fortunate enough to be confirmed.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician, who had been considering voting against Kennedy, said in a speech on the Senate floor that Kennedy committed to maintaining the vaccine schedule without changes. Cassidy later wrote on social media platform X that the commitment “never precluded him from conducting sound scientific research” and that he was “confident any reputable review will further confirm settled science of the safety and efficacy of the childhood vaccine schedule.”
Only 13 percent of children have received one of the COVID-19 vaccines with the 2024–2025 formula, according to CDC data.
Children could still get a COVID-19 vaccine if it is removed from the schedule, but insurance may not pay for it if the removal happens.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), also a physician, wrote on X, “Secretary Kennedy would be well within his right to reverse the CDC’s Covid-19 vaccine recommendation for children.”
Harris said he has been concerned that the COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children “were based on politics rather than science.”
The CDC’s advisers recently discussed telling the agency to narrow its COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. The advisers plan to convene again over the summer to weigh the matter.
Jessica Adams, a former officer with the Food and Drug Administration, said on X that she supports updating the COVID-19 vaccine recommendations but that having the advisers back a change “would be helpful for the full public to embrace this move.”
Alphabet Surges After Easily Beating Estimates, New $70 Billion Stock Buyback
In our preview of Alphabet's Q1 earnings, we said the company was "Cheap, Room For Error, And Optimism Worst Is Over", and sure enough, the company is surging after hours after the company reported earnings that largely beat expectations across the board, including capex (with the exception of cloud which came in light on revenue but more than made up for it on profit).
Here is what the company just reported for Q1:
EPS $2.81 vs. $1.89 y/y, smashed estimate $2.01 (Bloomberg Consensus)
Other Bets revenue $450 million, -9.1% y/y, missed estimate $473.9 million
Operating income $30.61 billion, +20% y/y, beat estimate $28.86 billion
Google Services operating income $32.68 billion, +17% y/y, estimate $30.42 billion
Google Cloud operating income $2.18 billion vs. $900 million y/y, estimate $1.94 billion
Other Bets operating loss $1.23 billion, +20% y/y, estimate loss $1.12 billion
Operating margin 34% vs. 32% y/y, beat estimate 32.3%
Number of employees 185,719, +2.7% y/y, estimate 183,718
Notably, in a time when many are expecting capex to be slashed, Alphabet's capital expenditures came in hotter than expected, at $17.2BN, up 43% YoY, and just above the median estimate of $17.1BN.
Commenting on the quarter, Sundar Pichai, CEO, said: “We’re pleased with our strong Q1 results, which reflect healthy growth and momentum across the business. Underpinning this growth is our unique full stack approach to AI. This quarter was super exciting as we rolled out Gemini 2.5, our most intelligent AI model, which is achieving breakthroughs in performance and is an extraordinary foundation for our future innovation. Search saw continued strong growth, boosted by the engagement we’re seeing with features like AI Overviews, which now has 1.5 billion users per month. Driven by YouTube and Google One, we surpassed 270 million paid subscriptions. And Cloud grew rapidly with significant demand for our solutions.”
That said, Alphabet needs to ensure momentum in its search advertising and cloud businesses in order to justify its heightened investment in the artificial intelligence race. Competition is prompting the company and its rivals to spend heavily on infrastructure, research and talent, and as noted above, While Google benefits from AI startups spending on its cloud and business tools, it’s also racing to present an answer to popular conversational AI chatbots, which consumers are beginning to think of as an alternative to using Google Search.
Google’s beginning of the answer to that threat: its “AI Overviews” and “AI Mode” in search, in which summarized responses are drafted by generative AI and highlighted ahead of Google’s web links, have seen mixed success. Meanwhile, Google’s AI changes to search have decimated traffic to independent websites across the open web.
Tough for them, as for Alphabet, just to make sure the stock would not slump despite the solid beat, the company also announced a new $70 billion stock buyback authorization. Then again, with $75BN in LTM FCF and soaring capex, one wonders if GOOGL will soon need debt to meet all its funding needs.
GOOGL stock jumped as much as 5% after hours, precisely what the straddle implied move said it would do, rising just above $169 - the highest price since mid-March and well above its Liberation Day levels - before fading some of the gains.
Two alleged intelligence community leakers have been referred to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for prosecution, according to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard.
Gabbard said in an April 23 post on the social media platform X that besides the two already referred for prosecution, a third referral is on its way.
Gabbard wrote that “politicization of our intelligence and leaking classified information puts our nation’s security at risk and must end” and that “those who leak classified information will be found and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
“These deep-state criminals leaked classified information for partisan political purposes to undermine POTUS’ agenda. I look forward to working with [the Justice Department and FBI] to investigate, terminate and prosecute these criminals,” she said.
Gabbard’s office did not respond to a request for more information, and the DOJ did not return an inquiry.
Gabbard said that the unidentified officials leaked information to The Washington Post, which had reported recently on a classified assessment of the Tren de Aragua gang that allegedly found Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is not directing the invasion of the United States.
President Donald Trump in March invoked the Alien Enemies Act, finding that Tren de Aragua, at the direction of the Venezuelan government, was invading the United States.
“The weaponization of intelligence to undermine the President’s agenda is an assault on democracy. Those behind this illegal leak of classified intelligence, twisted and manipulated to convey the exact opposite finding, will be held accountable under the full force of the law,” Gabbard said on April 21.
She said that her office “fully supports the assessment that the foreign terrorist organization, Tren De Aragua, is acting with the support of the Maduro Regime, and thus subject to arrest, detention and removal as alien enemies of the United States.”
Gabbard also said that “rooting out this politicization of intelligence is exactly what President Trump campaigned on and what Americans overwhelmingly voted for.”
Federal law states that a person who communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available classified information to an unauthorized person can be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The DOJ announced in March that it was probing the disclosure of other intelligence concerning Tren de Aragua.
“The Justice Department is opening a criminal investigation relating to the selective leak of inaccurate, but nevertheless classified, information from the Intelligence Community relating to Tren de Aragua,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said at the time.
“We will not tolerate politically motivated efforts by the Deep State to undercut President Trump’s agenda by leaking false information onto the pages of their allies at The New York Times.”
"Give Them All the Fentanyl They Want": SoCal Mayor Under Fire For Homeless 'Purge' Comments
A Southern California mayor is facing a wave of outrage after doubling down on a proposal to eliminate his city's homeless population by giving them "all the fentanyl they want" and calling for a federal "purge."
"What I want to do is give them free fentanyl," said Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris, a Republican who has led the high desert city since 2008, during a Feb. 25 city council meeting when a local resident objected to the city's controversial plan to house the homeless on the site of an abandoned golf course.
“I mean, that’s what I want to do. I want to give them all the fentanyl they want." Parris continued.
NEW: California mayor says he wants give homeless people “all the fentanyl they want,” doubles down on his comments after facing backlash.
Woman: “It sounds like you want to kind of enclose all these homeless people in one territory.”
The stunned resident fired back, telling the mayor that his comments were “not kind.”
But Parris hasn’t backed down.
In a follow-up interview with FOX LA on Friday, he said he had no regrets and clarified that his comments were aimed at a subset of the unhoused population he claims are hardened criminals.
“I made it very clear I was talking about the criminal element that were let out of the prisons that have now become 40 to 45% of what’s referred to as the homeless population,” Parris told the outlet. “They are responsible for most of our robberies, most of our rapes, and at least half of our murders.”
He offered no data to support the explosive claims but insisted “there’s nothing that we can do for these people.”
Parris argued that no one should take his fentanyl comment “literally,” claiming the deadly opioid is already “so easy” to obtain on the streets that city-sponsored distribution wouldn’t make a difference.
He then praised Lancaster’s homeless response as the most “innovative” in the country—before urging President Trump to allow a national “purge.”
“Quite frankly, I wish that the president would give us a purge. Because we do need to purge these people,” he said.
“Now, is it harsh? Of course, it is harsh. But it’s my obligation as the mayor of the city of Lancaster to protect the hardworking families that live there, and I am no longer able to do it,” Parris continued. “It’s an untenable situation and I’m open to any solution … I want these people out of our city.”
Parris, no stranger to controversy—he once made headlines in 2018 for wanting to ban neckties in the workplace—has since become the target of a budding recall campaign.
Johnathon Ervin, a Democrat who lost to Parris in the last mayoral race, told the Los Angeles Times that his former opponent is “unfit to hold public office.”
“Anyone willing to give homeless people all the fentanyl they want, or to suggest that President Trump should allow a purge of the homeless population, has no business in public office,” Ervin said.
As of Sunday night, the online petition to recall Parris had gathered just 6% of the 20,000 signatures needed to move forward.
Gunmen Execute 26 Tourists In Indian-Controlled Kashmir
India has suffered one of its worst terror attacks in recent years, after gunmen conducted mass killings in a picturesque and tourist-poplar spot in the disputed and Indian-administered region of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.
The site's location in the mountainous Anantnag district is so remote that it took at least half a day for casualty figures to emerge, but authorities have since announced that 26 people were killed. Most the dead were travelers visiting a popular tourist destination in the Baisaran Valley, which is only accessible by foot or horseback. A huge military rescue operation and search for victims ensued.
Emerging eyewitness accounts indicated that men were separated from women and children by unknown armed militants which had descended on the area. The men, all civilians, were then asked their names before being executed at close range.
Reutersdescribes that "About 1,000 tourists and 300 local service providers were in the Baisaran Valley - known as mini Switzerland for its lush hilltop meadow, surrounded by dense pine forests - when three gunmen launched the Tuesday attack, the worst, opens new tab in India in nearly two decades."
The initial reaction of the Indian government was to point the finger at Pakistan, but without naming specific culprits responsible. Indian leaders have for decades accused Pakistan of knowingly harboring terrorists along the disputed border.
There's also been anger and confusion at what's clearly a major security lapse, given is Jammu and Kashmir is heavily militarized and patrolled by the Indian Army. India also suspects that it was a Pakistan-backed massacre conducted by Islamic extremists due to the sectarian nature of the attack, given almost all the victims were Hindu:
General Hooda said the fact that the victims were civilians, and that witness accounts in Indian media suggested Hindus had been singled out by the militants, had only added to the pressure. A list of the victims circulating online, which was verified by local officials in Kashmir, showed that 25 of the 26 killed were Hindus.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri specifically charged Wednesday press conference that "cross-border linkages of the terrorist act" had been "brought out" - in a clear reference to Pakistan. Authorities have identified that 25 victims were Indian, and one a Nepali citizen.
Traumatic experience of those tourists who saw Pahalgam terror attack in front of their eyes in Kashmir and managed to escape. Indian Army comes to the rescue. Heart goes out to all the victim families in India. We stand in solidarity with each one of you. pic.twitter.com/d8WeM0vuvM
Pakistan has vehemently denied that it was behind the killings, as it has prior such terror attacks. The country's defense minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, declared in the aftermath that his country did not "support any form of terrorism" - but instead said "homegrown" elements were behind it.
A relatively unknown group calling itself The Resistance Front claimed responsibility in a social media post. It blamed "outsiders" who settled the region and caused a "demographic change" - strongly suggesting the terror attack was tied to Indian claims over the disputed region.
According to some eyewitness accounts featured in CNN:
“My husband was shot in the head while seven others were also injured in the attack,” one woman survivor said, according to PTI.
Another survivor, Asavari Jagdale, told PTI the gunmen came into the tent where her family was hiding. The attackers accused the family – hailing from India’s western Pune city – of supporting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, before shooting Jagdale’s male relatives, including her father, she said.
Local resident Abdul Waheed told CNN he jumped on his pony to help transport the injured back to areas where they could be driven to the hospital, and enlisted others in his local pony association to help. For those who were too injured, they used makeshift cots to carry them down the valley.
“I saw people crying, screaming, just lying in the aftermath of the attack. There were children, women, men, everyone,” he said. “It was a massive trauma. I did not sleep all night.”
India's security forces have launched a manhunt after gunmen opened fire on tourists and killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir’s worst attack on civilians in almost a quarter of a century.
The Indian government has offered monetary reward for "any information leading to the neutralization of the terrorists involved in this cowardly act."
President Trump's statement in reaction to the deadly terror attack...
The Himalayan region is administered in some parts by both Pakistani and Indian soldiers, and has long been a hotbed of violence; however, regional media has highlighted that direct attacks on tourists remain very rare.
