Category: News
More than 130 arrested in North Carolina as governor says immigration crackdown is ‘stoking fear’
CHARLOTTE, N.C. —U.S. immigration agents arrested more than 130 people in a weekend sweep through North Carolina’s largest city, a federal official said Monday, as the governor warned that the crackdown is simply “stoking fear.”
The Trump administration has made Charlotte, a Democratic city of about 950,000 people, its latest focus for an immigration enforcement surge it says will combat crime, despite fierce objections from local leaders and declining crime rates. City residents reported encounters with immigration agents near churches, apartment complexes and stores.
“We’ve seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin color, racially profiling and picking up random people in parking lots and off of our sidewalks,” Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, said in a video statement late Sunday. “This is not making us safer. It’s stoking fear and dividing our community.”
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that Border Patrol officers had arrested “over 130 illegal aliens who have all broken” immigration laws. The agency said the records of those arrested included gang membership, aggravated assault, shoplifting and other crimes, but it did not say how many cases had resulted in convictions, how many people had been facing charges or any other details.
Stein acknowledged that it was a stressful time, but he called on residents to stay peaceful. If people see something they feel is wrong, he said they should record it and report it to local law enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Customs and Border Protection, has said it is focusing on North Carolina because of so-called sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local authorities and immigration agents.
Several North Carolina county jails honor “detainers,” or requests from federal officials to hold an arrested immigrant until agents can take custody of them. But Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, does not. Also, the city’s police department does not help with immigration enforcement. DHS alleged that about 1,400 detainers across North Carolina had not been honored, putting the public at risk.
U.S. courts have repeatedly upheld the legality of sanctuary laws.
Manolo Betancur, owner of Manolo’s Bakery, a Latino bakery that has been operating in Charlotte since 1997, closed his business temporarily because he said immigration enforcement officers were targeting his customers.
On Saturday, blocks from his business, he saw agents grabbing people walking along the street.
“I saw them with my own eyes,” he said. “And they just shoved people to the floor.”
On Saturday, he saw uniformed agents in vehicles several times in the parking lot near his business.
“I’m scared,” he said. “Nobody wants to see another human being treated that way.” He said he would hand-deliver paychecks to his employees so they don’t have to come in.
Earlier, Gregory Bovino, who led hundreds of Customs and Border Protection agents in a similar effort in Chicago, documented some of the more than 80 arrests he said agents had made in social media posts on Sunday. He posted pictures of people living in the U.S. without legal permission who allegedly have criminal records. That included an image of a man accused of having a history of drunk driving convictions.
The activity has prompted fear and questions, including where detainees would be held, how long the operation would last and whether the tactics used in North Carolina would be similar to those that were criticized elsewhere as aggressive and racist.
However, some welcomed the effort, including Mecklenburg County Republican Party Chairman Kyle Kirby, who said in a post Saturday that the county GOP “stands with the rule of law — and with every Charlottean’s safety first.”
Bovino’s operations in Chicago and Los Angeles triggered lawsuits over the use of force, including widespread deployment of chemical agents. Democratic leaders in both cities accused agents of inflaming community tensions. Federal agents fatally shot one suburban Chicago man during a traffic stop.
Bovino, head of a Border Patrol sector in El Centro, California, and other Trump administration officials have called their tactics appropriate for growing threats on agents.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/17/north-carolina-immigration/
EEUU: Juez solicita a fiscales mensajes de las autoridades en el caso de la legisladora McIver
Por MIKE CATALINI
NEWARK, Nueva Jersey, EE.UU. (AP) — Un juez federal que supervisa el caso penal contra la legisladora federal LaMonica McIver ordenó el lunes a los abogados de la administración Trump entregar los mensajes de texto de las autoridades de la caótica visita de la congresista a un centro de detención de inmigrantes en Nueva Jersey, que derivó en cargos que la acusan de agredir a agentes.
La instrucción del juez federal de distrito, Jamel Semper, llegó casi un mes después de que les dijera a las autoridades que necesitaban eliminar publicaciones en redes sociales que pudieran influir en el jurado. También dio al gobierno hasta la próxima semana para entregar videos adicionales de la visita de McIver el 9 de mayo a la instalación de Delaney Hall en Newark.
Los abogados de la demócrata de Nueva Jersey le dijeron al juez que, en lugar de recibir todos los mensajes de los oficiales involucrados en la visita, solo obtuvieron aquellos que el gobierno encontró después de aplicar términos de búsqueda desconocidos.
“No entiendo necesariamente la necesidad de términos de búsqueda”, dijo Semper. “¿Por qué usarían términos de búsqueda en lugar de simplemente entregarlos?”.
Mark McCarren, asistente de la secretaria de Justicia de Estados Unidos, le dijo al juez que los fiscales estaban buscando elementos relevantes.
El juez dijo que reconocía la posibilidad de que pudiera haber preocupaciones de seguridad sobre la divulgación de todos los mensajes, pero añadió que “a menos que sea por eso, deberían tenerlos”.
La audiencia del lunes se produjo días después de que Semper se negó a desestimar el caso contra McIver, quien se ha declarado inocente de agredir, resistir, obstaculizar e interferir con las autoridades federales. El juez aún está revisando una solicitud de la defensa para desestimar uno de los cargos.
Los abogados de McIver argumentaron que la acusación era selectiva y vengativa, y que ella no agredió a nadie durante su visita. También dijeron que McIver estaba realizando funciones legislativas protegidas por la Constitución.
El caso es un enfrentamiento de alto perfil entre la segunda administración del presidente Donald Trump y una legisladora demócrata que ha sido muy crítica con las políticas del republicano.
Dos de los cargos contra McIver conllevan una sentencia máxima de hasta ocho años de prisión. El tercero es un delito menor con un castigo máximo de un año de prisión.
Delaney Hall es una instalación con 1.000 camas, donde ocurrieron protestas tumultuosas en la primavera.
McIver fue una de varios funcionarios electos que intentaron visitar la instalación. Mientras intentaban obtener acceso, el alcalde de Newark, Ras Baraka, fue arrestado por agentes federales, aunque los cargos finalmente fueron retirados. Ella bestaba entre varias personas que se empujaban en la multitud alrededor de Baraka cuando ocurrió el suceso.
Los fiscales afirman que McIver “golpeó” a un agente con el antebrazo y se abrazó del alcalde para impedir su arresto.
No está claro en el video de la cámara corporal de la policía si el contacto con el agente fue intencional o el resultado de empujones en medio de la escena caótica.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Guatemala: policía derriba estructura metálica construida por pandillas para vivir dentro de prisión
Por MOISÉS CASTILLO
CIUDAD DE GUATEMALA (AP) — La policía guatemalteca derribó una estructura metálica de dos niveles que fabricaron pandilleros para vivir cómodamente dentro de una prisión ubicada en la capital del país, semanas después de la sonada fuga de más de una decena de pandilleros que obligó al gobierno a realizar cambios en la cúpula de seguridad.
Las autoridades penitenciarias indicaron el lunes que en un anexo del Centro de Restauración Constitucional, conocida como “Pavoncito”, una prisión destinada a pandilleros de la Mara Salvatrucha, que en febrero pasado fue designada como grupo terrorista por Estados Unidos, fue levantada esa estructura no autorizada. El hallazgo se dio durante una operación de requisa en las celdas para buscar armas y drogas.
La estructura tenía techo de zinc, paredes de tablaroca y aislamiento térmico para protegerse del frío.
En un comunicado la dirección general del Sistema Penitenciario dijo que tras el hallazgo se presentaron denuncias para que se realice una investigación y se dé con los responsables. Agregó que durante el operativo de destrucción también se verificó la identidad de los pandilleros recluidos.
El 12 de octubre pasado se conoció que 20 peligrosos pandilleros del Barrio 18, también designado como organización terrorista, se fugaron de una prisión contigua a la allanada el lunes.
Pandilleros de las dos agrupaciones mantienen una pugna entre sí que ha dejado a decenas de muertos en el país centroamericano.
En julio, el ataque a una funeraria donde se velaba a un pandillero dejó siete muertos y más de diez heridos. Tras el incidente, el entonces ministro de gobernación Francisco Jiménez, ordenó la reclusión en una prisión de máxima seguridad de diez líderes pandilleros del Barrio 18 y la Mara Salvatrucha. Los traslados generaron motines y supuestamente la fuga de los reos poco después.
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La periodista Sonia Pérez D. contribuyó con este reporte.
Afternoon Briefing: CTA Holiday Train returns soon
Good afternoon, Chicago.
Aldermen voted down Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2026 budget in a committee vote today, a historic display of rebellion against the freshman mayor who has been struggling to shore up support for his controversial head tax.
Johnson’s handpicked Finance Committee chair, Ald. Pat Dowell, moved to recess a meeting instead of considering the revenue ordinance for the mayor’s $16.6 billion budget, a sign that the mayor expected to lose. Last week, Dowell said a vote today would be “premature,” but she would allow it if the mayor nonetheless wanted to proceed.
Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.
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Kent Projansky, 40, was fatally shot Dec. 18, 2004, in his Gold Coast apartment at 1130 N. Dearborn St. in Chicago. Prosecutors charged a man, David Barklow, formerly of Chicago, with first-degree murder more than two decades later. Barklow returned to Chicago to face charges in November 2025. (Family photo)
Nearly 21 years later, family of slain Gold Coast man finds comfort as prosecutors bring murder charges
Dec. 18 marks 21 years since 40-year-old Kent Projansky was killed in his 30th-floor apartment in the Elm Street Plaza building in the 1100 block of North Dearborn Street in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. On Saturday, David Barklow made his first court appearance in Chicago on first-degree murder charges. Read more here.
More top news stories:
Federal judge certifies class in lawsuit over conditions at Broadview ICE processing center
Immigration agents have reportedly left Naval Station Great Lakes
Marcus Lemonis, the entrepreneur and Camping World co-founder who starred in the CNBC reality show “The Profit,” in September sold his three-bedroom, 4,788-square-foot condominium on the 21st floor of a Streeterville tower. The building is shown Sept. 21, 2020.
Camping World co-founder Marcus Lemonis sells Streeterville condo for $3.3M
Marcus Lemonis, the entrepreneur and Camping World co-founder who starred in the CNBC reality show “The Profit,” in September sold his three-bedroom, 4,788-square-foot condominium on the 21st floor of a Streeterville tower for $3.3 million. Read more here.
More top business stories:
Local 150 members, politicians picket outside Michigan City data center site
Novo cuts Wegovy prices, but doctors still see cost challenges for patients
Chicago Bulls forward Isaac Okoro (35) guards San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) during the fourth quarter at the United Center on Nov. 10, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Bulls embrace a pragmatic identity after skid: ‘We’re not talented enough not to play desperate’
The Bulls aren’t running from reality. After opening the season on a winning streak and a losing streak, the Bulls know there’s no margin for error. Read more here.
More top sports stories:
‘He was with me today’: Chicago Bears’ Nahshon Wright makes emotional interception after his coach’s death
Colton Dach’s late goal caps Chicago Blackhawks rally for 3-2 win over Toronto Maple Leafs on special night
A 54th/Cermak-bound CTA Holiday Train passes in front of the Chicago skyline prior to arriving at the 18th Street station in the Pilsen neighborhood on Dec. 12, 2023. (Talia Sprague/Chicago Tribune)
CTA Holiday Train returns to Chicago on Black Friday
Passengers on certain holiday fleet runs will have the opportunity to take photos with Santa. Read more here.
More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories:
Review: Ensemble Español celebrates 50 years with glimmers of things to come
Review: Repetition is a strength in Hubbard Street’s season opener at Steppenwolf
People protest against federal immigration enforcement, Nov. 15, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (Erik Verduzco/AP)
Border Patrol official touts North Carolina arrests despite objections of local leaders
Gregory Bovino, who led hundreds of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in a similar effort in Chicago, took to social media to document a few of the more than 80 arrests he said agents had made in Charlotte. Read more here.
More top stories from around the world:
Trump plans to meet with Mamdani, says he’ll ‘work something out’ with New York City’s mayor-elect
What’s next for the Epstein files after President Donald Trump’s social media posts
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/17/afternoon-briefing-cta-holiday-train-returns-soon/
Presunto plan para sobornar a un jurado interrumpe juicio por drogas de exboxeador en Nueva York
Por MICHAEL R. SISAK y LARRY NEUMEISTER
NUEVA YORK (AP) — Tres hombres fueron arrestados el lunes por supuestamente intentar pagar hasta 100.000 en efectivo a un jurado en el juicio por drogas en Brooklyn del exboxeador de peso pesado Goran Gogic, lo que llevó a un juez a despedir abruptamente al jurado cuando estaba a punto de escuchar los argumentos de apertura.
Se elegirá un jurado anónimo cuando el juicio de Gogic se reanude en un mes, dijo John Marzulli, portavoz de los fiscales federales en Brooklyn.
Gogic, de Montenegro, iba a ser juzgado por supuestamente conspirar para contrabandear 20 toneladas (18.1 toneladas métricas) de cocaína a Europa desde Colombia a través de puertos de Estados Unidos utilizando barcos de carga comercial. Se ha declarado no culpable. Su abogado no respondió de inmediato a una solicitud de comentarios.
Funcionarios de la ley han descrito a Gogic como un “importante traficante de drogas” y dijeron que operaba a una “escala colosal”.
Gogic, un exboxeador de peso pesado, peleó profesionalmente en Alemania desde 2001 hasta 2012, acumulando un récord de 21-4-dos, según el sitio web de boxeo Sport & Note.
En una denuncia penal en el tribunal federal de Brooklyn, un agente del FBI escribió que el esquema de soborno se desarrolló entre el jueves y el domingo.
En su juicio, Gogic está acusado de violar y conspirar para violar la Ley de Aplicación de la Ley de Drogas Marítimas. Si es condenado, enfrenta una sentencia de diez años a cadena perpetua.
Según los fiscales, Gogic y sus co-conspiradores trabajaron con los miembros de la tripulación de los barcos para contrabandear cocaína en contenedores de envío, izando cargas de la droga desde lanchas rápidas que se acercaban a los buques de carga a lo largo de su ruta, incluyendo cerca de puertos en Colombia, Ecuador y Perú.
Tres envíos fueron interceptados por agentes de la ley de Estados Unidos, dijeron los fiscales, incluyendo 1,437 kilogramos (3,168 libras) de cocaína a bordo del MSC Carlotta en el Puerto de Nueva York y Nueva Jersey en febrero de 2019 y 17,956 kilogramos (39,586 libras) de cocaína — con un valor en la calle de más de mil millones — a bordo del MSC Gayane en el Puerto de Filadelfia en junio de 2019.
With construction complete, downtown Flossmoor plans grand reopening
With months of construction on Flossmoor’s downtown finally concluded, the village will be host a grand reopening at the end of the month.
Flossmoor plans a Small Business Saturday event on Nov. 29, promoting local businesses, ringing in the holiday season and celebrating the end of what has been a long and sometimes disruptive construction project.
“I think it’s going to bring a lot of people that didn’t know everything was all done down here,” said Maureen Mader, owner of Dunning’s Market. “There’ll be a lot of foot traffic. We can all show off our stores in the best light.”
Construction work on the Downtown Flossmoor Streetscape Project began in June, but the project was in the works for nearly 10 years. Traffic analysis and work to obtain funding began in 2017.
“The streetscape project was twofold. One, making our downtown safer for pedestrians, and it’s a very pedestrian heavy part of our village, with the Metra stop there, with all of the restaurants, with it being a crossing for folks going to and from school,” said Mayor Michelle Nelson. “The most important part of that project was slowing cars down to make it safer for pedestrians.”
The second part was to beautify the downtown, which is nearly a century old.
“It was starting to look a little tired and show its age,” Nelson said. “You know, our village is 100 years old. The downtown was substantially built back in 1929, so it was starting to look a little tired.”
Mader said although the construction was “a little bit intrusive,” she and her customers were able to adapt. Dunning’s Market posted regular updates to social media of the status and how people could access its storefront, she said.
“We knew for a long time this was coming, so we had thought about some ways in which to mitigate the intrusion,” Mader said. “There was a downturn, I mean, a little bit of a downturn in business, but mostly people made up for it later in the day or they would order catering.”
Mader said she saw a high degree of community support during the construction.
“They would go out of their way to stop and buy something. They would always check on us, how are you guys doing, are you doing OK,” Mader said. “Everybody was worried about everybody. That’s what I saw.”
A sign hangs in the window of Dunning’s Market, advertising that the business is open despite the recently-concluded road construction, downtown Flossmoor. (Evy Lewis/Daily Southtown)
Javanah Barnes, owner of The Balloon Bar, said she’s happy with the results of the construction.
“Fresh sidewalks, fresh planters. I think it looks great,” Barnes said.
Barnes’ party supplies business occupies one spot in the multi-business Shops at Sterling complex at Sterling Avenue and Flossmoor Road, and she said the different businesses in the building plan to collaborate with special deals for Small Business Saturday.
“It’ll be my first Small Business Saturday with my brick-and-mortar, so we are very excited, we’re working on some deals,” Barnes said.
An awning advertises the Shops on Sterling, a collection of small businesses at Flossmoor Road and Sterling Avenue in downtown Flossmoor. (Evy Lewis/Daily Southtown)
Barnes opened her business in April, not long before work began.
“I think for the most part it wasn’t too bad. They tried to make it very accommodating for the customers by opening up the extra lot,” Barnes said. “Business did get a little slow, but not too dramatically slow.”
The area also had some other news businesses open. Beyond Borders Cafe opened in August, and the nearby Flossmoor Social opened last month.
Nelson said part of the intent behind the Small Business Saturday event is to announce to Flossmoor residents that downtown is once more fully open for business. The plans include a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m.
“Our streets are striped, you can park your car, you can walk along the sidewalk and we don’t have those obstacles that we had for most of the summer,” Nelson said. “Downtown is open! Our small business owners, who are so important to our local economy, they’re excited to see everybody and they’re excited for the Christmas season.”
A customer orders at Dunning’s Market, downtown Flossmoor. (Evy Lewis/Daily Southtown)
The event will also mark the start of the holiday season. There are all-ages activities scheduled at nearby Flossmoor Park, including visits with Santa, caroling and a holiday tree lighting. Santa will arrive by fire truck at 3 p.m. at Flossmoor Park.
Nelson said that although the construction is finished, there are still some finishing touches.
“What you’re not gonna see on Small Business Saturday, and what’ll come next spring or early summer, are native plants that are going to be going in all of the planters where the trees are, as well as big pots with the annual flowers that people are used to seeing,” Nelson said. “So there’s more to come, I wouldn’t say that this is the end of that project, but it is substantial completion.”
Businesses at Flossmoor Commons, at Governors Highway and Vollmer Road, will also participate.
A Flossmoor flag flies through the window of Beyond Borders Cafe, which opened earlier this year in downtown Flossmoor. (Evy Lewis/Daily Southtown)
If you go
Where: Downtown Flossmoor (Flossmoor Road and Sterling Avenue) and Flossmoor Park
When: Nov. 29, all day; ribbon cutting at 2 p.m.; all-ages park activities from 3 to 5:30 p.m.
elewis@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/17/downtown-flossmoor-construction-grand-reopening/
Yarbrough acuerda contrato de uno año y 2,5 millones para seguir con los Yankees según AP
Po RONALD BLUM
NUEVA YORK (AP) — El lanzador zurdo Ryan Yarbrough acordó un contrato de un año por 2,55 millones para permanecer con los Yankees de Nueva York, dijo el lunes a The Associated Press una persona familiarizada con las negociaciones.
La persona habló bajo condición de anonimato porque el acuerdo, el primer movimiento de temporada baja de los Yankees, estaba sujeto a un examen físico exitoso. Yarbrough puede ganar 250.000 adicionales en bonos por rendimiento.
Yarbrough, quien cumplirá 34 años el 31 de diciembre, acordó en marzo un contrato de un año por 2 millones, un día después de ser liberado de un acuerdo de ligas menores con Toronto, y ganó 150.000 en bonos por rendimiento basados en entradas.
Tuvo un récord de 3-1 con una efectividad de 4.36 en ocho aperturas y 11 apariciones como relevista, ponchando a 55 y otorgando 19 bases por bolas en 64 entradas. Yarbrough no lanzó para los Yankees entre el 18 de junio y el 5 de septiembre debido a una distensión en el oblicuo derecho. Fue dejado fuera del roster para las series de postemporada contra Boston y Toronto.
Con ocho años de experiencia en las Grandes Ligas, Yarbrough tiene un récord de 56-41 con una efectividad de 4.22 en 76 aperturas y 139 apariciones como relevista para Tampa Bay (2018-22), Kansas City (2023), los Dodgers de Los Ángeles (2023-24), Toronto (2024) y los Yankees.
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Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Number of sports bets have dropped — but amount of betting has increased following new Illinois per wager tax
The number of sports bets in Illinois dropped 15% after the state imposed a new tax on every wager, officials said, prompting warnings from licensed gambling operators that more bettors are fleeing to the illegal online market.
There were more than 5 million fewer bets placed in September 2025 than in the same month last year — a 15% decrease — according to statistics from the Illinois Gaming Board.
Despite the drop in the number of bets, the amount of money wagered on sports in September increased 9% from the previous year to a new record high handle of $1.4 billion. That means gamblers on average were spending more per bet, generating $10.6 million in taxes.
The average ticket size for the month ballooned to $46.44, a 28% increase from last year, according to Legal Sports Report. Keith Whyte, former executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling who now consults on gaming issues, has written about the harmful effects of higher taxes pushing gamblers toward the illegal market.
The reduction in the number of bets runs counter to sports betting nationwide, which is generally increasing, said Maura Possley, spokeswoman for the Sports Betting Alliance of Illinois, which represents online and retail gambling companies like Bet MGM, FanDuel and DraftKings.
“This data is a warning sign for Chicago, Illinois, and other state policymakers that overtaxing legal betting will have profound negative ramifications for the sustainability of the legal market and future tax revenues for state coffers,” Possley said.
The new state tax, which was the first in the nation when it took effect in July, levies 25 cents per wager on each company’s first 20 million bets, and 50 cents per bet after that.
The state tax followed a tiered tax increase instituted in 2024, which most affected the biggest online betting companies like FanDuel and DraftKings, potentially adding up to a tax rate of more than 30%. Numerous companies passed on the new tax to consumers in the form of transaction fees. But some companies skip the fee on wagers of $50 or more, or increased their minimum bets.
In addition, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has proposed an extra tax of 10.25% on sports gambling revenue as part of his proposed budget. A proposed state law would prevent municipalities from instituting a tax on sports bets.
The debate over sports betting taxes comes following a letter sent in August by 50 state attorneys general asking the U.S. Department of Justice to crack down on illegal online gambling.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul wrote that illegal gaming fuels criminal enterprises and preys on vulnerable adults and young people.
“These operations also increase the tax burden for all taxpayers, as states are forced to make up for billions in lost gaming revenue,” he wrote. “I urge the DOJ to prioritize enforcement against illegal offshore gaming operations, upholding the rule of law and protecting states and our residents in the process.”
Anti-gambling groups have criticized online gambling, both legal and illegal, as corrosive because it’s constantly available on users’ phones, making it more addictive for problem gamblers. Illinois is one of the biggest sports betting markets in the country, with nearly $11 billon bet this year through October.
Legal online gaming companies were once themselves the object of criticism. Before online sports betting was legalized in Illinois effective in 2020, former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan had considered online sports fantasy betting as illegal, but the Illinois Supreme Court ruled otherwise.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/17/sports-bets-illinois-wager-taxes/
EBITDA And The Warnings Of Charlie Munger
EBITDA And The Warnings Of Charlie Munger
Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,
This past week, Greg Feirman wrote an interesting article about “The Perils Of Adjusted EBITDA.” Before we get into his discussion, let’s discuss what EBITDA is.
EBITDA is an acronym that stands for “Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.” Over the years, EBITDA has become a go-to metric for evaluating corporate performance as it offers a simple way to assess a company’s profitability by removing non-cash charges and financing effects. However, the problem with EBITDA is that simplicity often comes at the cost of accuracy. Why do I say that? Because EBITDA ignores critical costs, such as depreciation, which can distort a company’s true economic picture in capital-intensive industries. When companies extend the lives of their assets to reduce depreciation expenses, EBITDA increases, even though the underlying cash outflows remain unchanged.
Read that last part again, because this is where Greg’s commentary hits home. Historically, capital expenditures tend to surge following recessions and economic downturns. This makes sense as companies expend capital to ramp up production as economic growth returns. You will notice a high correlation between economic and capital expenditures (CapEx) growth rates. Notably, this is particularly relevant in the AI sector, where firms are investing billions into chips, servers, and data centers, which will likely coincide with an increase in economic activity.
This is also where Greg’s comments are most relevant.
“On Monday morning, Michael Burry tweeted out more details about his AI Bubble thesis. He claims that the AI hyperscalers are “understating depreciation” by extending the period over which they are depreciating the Nvidia chips and all the other capital equipment they are buying to build out AI. This morning Jim Chanos applied the same logic to CoreWeave (CRWV). The first thing to understand is that Net Income is an accounting number. It is not the amount of cash that the company actually earns because it reflects certain approximations – one of the most important of which is depreciation.“
As Greg notes, a good example is CoreWeave (CRWV), which reported earnings this past week.
“Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $838 million from $379 million a year ago. On the surface, then, they are a profitable company – at least on this metric. But they backed out $630 billion in Depreciation and Amortization from their GAAP Net Loss of $110 million to arrive at that number. It’s only when we turn to the Cash Flow statement that we understand the how CoreWeave is financing their operations. Cash Flow from Operations in the first 9 months of 2025 was $1.5 billion. CapEx was $6.25 billion. Those are cash figures, not accounting ones. In other words, Free Cash Flow for the first nine months of the year was -$4.75 billion. That’s right: CRWV has burned up nearly $5 billion so far this year. How are they financing this? By selling debt. Essentially the whole difference is made up by their net debt issuance of ~$4.5 billion.”
This reveals the disconnect: EBITDA suggests “operating profitability looks good,” but the cash flow dynamics tell a very different story. If you rely only on EBITDA, you may miss the fact that the business is burning cash, depending on borrowing, or stretching asset lives unrealistically.
As Greg concluded:
“Clearly, the hyperscalers are spending an enormous amount of money on Nvidia chips and the other capital equipment required to build out AI. Their thesis is that the ROI on these investments over the long term will be excellent. If AI is truly the game changer many say it is, the returns may well outweigh any current concerns about the accounting. If not, a lot of this CapEx may be malinvestment and have to be written down in the future.
The overall point is that we are operating in the dark here because we don’t know the future returns on investment and we don’t know the appropriate rate to depreciate these huge Capital Expenditures to get the right Net Income numbers in the present.”
This is why investors need to be more realistic about understanding earnings reports and be cautious of the metrics they use to invest in companies. There are several pitfalls associated with EBITDA that you should be aware of. For example:
It ignores capital expenditures (CapEx) and replacement needs.
It omits changes in working capital—such as inventory, receivables, and payables—which can erode cash even when EBITDA is positive.
It may mask interest and debt burdens—two very real cash drains. Since interest is excluded, two companies with similar EBITDA may have vastly different risk profiles.
It allows for subjective “adjustments” (adjusted EBITDA) that reduce comparability across companies and time periods.
It may mislead in asset‑intensive sectors where hidden replacement or upgrade costs are large.
However, it isn’t just EBITDA, but earnings in general, that require closer inspection.
Earnings Aren’t What You Think
Just like the hit series “House of Cards,” Wall Street earnings season has become rife with manipulation, deceit, and obfuscation that could rival the dark corners of Washington, D.C. What is most fascinating is that so many individuals invest hard-earned capital based on these manipulated numbers. The failure to understand the “quality” of earnings, rather than the “quantity,” has always led to disappointing outcomes at some point in the future.
As Drew Bernstein recently penned for CFO.com:
“Non-GAAP financials are not audited and are most often disclosed through earnings press releases and investor presentations, rather than in the company’s annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Once upon a time, non-GAAP financials were used to isolate the impact of significant one-time events like a major restructuring or sizable acquisition. In recent years, they have become increasingly prevalent and prominent, used by both the shiniest new-economy IPO companies and the old-economy stalwarts.”
In the 1980s and early 1990s, companies typically reported GAAP earnings in their quarterly releases. If an investor dug through the report, they would find “adjusted” and “pro forma” earnings buried in the back. Today, GAAP earnings are buried in the back, hoping investors will miss the ugly truth.
These “adjusted or pro forma earnings” exclude items that a company deems “special, one-time, or extraordinary.” The problem is that these “special, one-time” items appear “every” quarter, leaving investors with a muddier picture of what companies are really making. This growing divergence between the earnings calculated according to accepted accounting principles and the “earnings” touted in press releases and analyst research reports has put investors at a disadvantage in understanding precisely what they are paying for.
As BofAML stated:
“We are increasingly concerned with the number of companies (non-commodity) reporting earnings on an adjusted basis versus those that are stressing GAAP accounting, and find the divergence a consequence of less earnings power.
Consider that when US GDP growth was averaging 3% (the 5 quarters September 2013 through September 2014) on average 80% of US HY companies reported earnings on an adjusted basis. Since September 2014, however, with US GDP averaging just 1.9%, over 87% of companies have reported on an adjusted basis. Perhaps even more telling, between the end of 2010 and 2013, the percentage of companies reporting adjusted EBITDA was relatively constant, and since 2013, the number has been on a steady rise.
So, why do companies regularly report these Non-GAAP earnings? Drew has the answer:
“When management is asked why they resort to non-GAAP reporting, the most common response is that these measures are requested by the analysts and are commonly used in earnings models employed to value the company. Indeed, sell-side analysts and funds with a long position in the stock may have incentives to encourage a more favorable alternative presentation of earnings results.”
How much of a difference are we talking about? About $3.59/share in earnings, where revenue comprises only about 25% of the result.
But here is the real question:
“If non-GAAP reporting is used as a supplemental means to help investors identify underlying trends in the business, one might reasonably expect that both favorable and unfavorable events would be “adjusted” in equal measure.”
However, research presented by the American Accounting Association suggests that companies engage in “asymmetric” non-GAAP exclusions of mostly unfavorable items as a tool to “beat” analyst earnings estimates.
So, why has there been such a rise in all these accounting gimmicks? Money, of course.
Better Earnings = Higher Stock Prices = Higher Compensation via Stock Buybacks
Why Munger Said “EBITDA is BullS***”
Wall Street is an insider system where the practice of legally manipulating earnings to create the best possible outcome and increase executive compensation has run amok. The adults in the room, a.k.a. the Securities & Exchange Commission, have “left the children in charge,” but will most assuredly leap into action to pass new regulations to rectify reckless misbehavior AFTER the next crash.
For investors, the manipulation of EBITDA and earnings not only skews valuation analysis but also specifically impacts any analysis involving earnings, such as P/E ratios, EV/EBITDA, and PEG.
Ramy Elitzur, via The Account Art Of War, expounded on the problems of using EBITDA.
“One of the things that I thought that I knew well was the importance of income-based metrics such as EBITDA, and that cash flow information is not as important. It turned out that common garden variety metrics, such as EBITDA, could be hazardous to your health.”
The article is worth reading and chock-full of good information; however, here are the four crucial points:
EBITDA is not a good surrogate for cash flow analysis because it assumes that all revenues are collected immediately and all expenses are paid immediately, leading to a false sense of liquidity.
Superficial common garden-variety accounting ratios will fail to detect signs of liquidity problems.
Direct cash flow statements provide a more detailed insight into the operating cash flows than indirect cash flow statements. Note that the vast majority (well over 90%) of public companies use the indirect format.
EBITDA, just like net income, is very sensitive to accounting manipulations.
The last point is the most critical. As Charlie Munger once stated:
“I think there are lots of troubles coming. There’s too much wretched excess. I don’t like when investment bankers talk about EBITDA, which I call bulls*** earnings. It’s ridiculous. EBITDA does not accurately reflect how much money a company makes, unlike traditional earnings. Think of the basic intellectual dishonesty that comes when you start talking about adjusted EBITDA. You’re almost announcing you’re a flake.”
In a world of adjusted earnings, where every company consistently outperforms its peers, investors often lose sight of what truly matters in investing.
“This unfortunate cycle will only be broken when the end-users of financial reporting — institutional investors, analysts, lenders, and the media — agree that we are on the verge of systemic failure in financial reporting. In the history of financial markets, such moments of mental clarity most often occur following the loss of vast sums of capital.” – American Accounting Association
Imaginary worlds are nice, but it’s just impossible to live there.
Where To Look Instead
So, if “operating earnings” and EBITDA are enough, where should you look? The answer is to focus on metrics that reflect real cash generation and sustainable operations. Free cash flow, which is operating cash flow minus capital expenditures, is one of the most important. It shows what’s left over after a business funds its maintenance and growth needs. A positive free cash flow tells you the company is generating more cash than it needs to sustain itself. A negative one warns that it’s living on borrowed money.
You should also examine trends in working capital, specifically, changes in receivables, payables, and inventory, to determine if the company is overextending itself to maintain operations. Asset lives and depreciation schedules should be realistic, not inflated to improve margins. Debt levels and interest costs matter too. EBITDA ignores both, but if a company’s cash flow can’t cover its debt service, that’s a red flag.
Here are the key metrics to prioritize over EBITDA:
Free Cash Flow (operating cash flow minus CapEx)
CapEx trends and whether they are delivering returns
Depreciation policy and asset life assumptions
Working capital changes in inventory, receivables, and payables
Debt and interest obligations
Reconciliation of EBITDA to net income and cash flow
When companies show a large gap between EBITDA and these real-world numbers, investors should be skeptical. In a capital-intensive sector like AI, where the future remains uncertain, the risks of relying on EBITDA are amplified. It may look clean on paper, but it can leave you blind to the business’s real financial health.
Tyler Durden
Mon, 11/17/2025 – 14:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ebitda-and-warnings-charlie-munger
Suspenden a líder de Iglesia anglicana conservadora por acusaciones de conducta sexual inapropiada
Por PETER SMITH
El líder principal de la Iglesia Anglicana en América del Norte (ACNA, por sus siglas en inglés) ha sido suspendido del ministerio para que enfrente acusaciones de conducta sexual inapropiada y otros comportamientos impropios.
La suspensión del arzobispo Stephen Wood entró en vigor el domingo y fue anunciada el lunes por el nuevo decano y líder interino de la denominación, quien asumió el cargo luego que su predecesor renunciara el fin de semana en otra agitación en la jerarquía de la Iglesia. La ACNA se formó en 2009 por conservadores que se separaron de la Iglesia Episcopal de Estados Unidos y su contraparte canadiense debido a tendencias liberalizadoras en esas Iglesias.
La suspensión de Wood, aprobada por otros obispos superiores, no implica culpabilidad o inocencia de ningún cargo contra Wood, afirmó el obispo Julian Dobbs, el nuevo decano de la ACNA.
Un ministro puede ser suspendido cuando “se determina que es en el mejor interés de la Iglesia”, explicó Dobbs en un comunicado.
Wood fue acusado el mes pasado en un pliego de cargos, o una lista de acusaciones compilada por miembros de la Iglesia. El pliego de cargos aún no se ha hecho público, pero un artículo de investigación del diario The Washington Post indicó que la denuncia alegaba conducta sexual inapropiada por parte de Wood antes que se convirtiera en arzobispo el año pasado, en sus roles como pastor y obispo regional.
El pliego de cargos también incluye acusaciones de que intimidó a empleados y plagió sermones, según el Post, medio que luego publicó que una segunda mujer ha acusado formalmente a Wood de acoso sexual.
Wood, un padre de familia casado con cuatro hijos, ha negado toda conducta impropia. Anteriormente tomó una licencia voluntaria con goce de sueldo. Continuará recibiendo su salario durante su suspensión, según la portavoz de la ACNA, Kate Harris.
Bajo las reglas de la ANCA, cuando los miembros de la Iglesia presentan un pliego de cargos contra un clérigo, una junta de investigación determina si se debe llevar el asunto a un juicio eclesiástico.
Desde entonces, se ha formado una junta, pero tomará tiempo determinar si hay motivos para un juicio eclesiástico, detalló Harris.
Wood se recusó de nombrar a la junta en su propio caso, delegando la tarea al entonces decano de la Iglesia, el obispo Ray Sutton, quien luego se recusó de esa tarea. Sutton también había sido nombrado para asumir las funciones de Wood como arzobispo durante su licencia.
Sin embargo, Sutton renunció como decano el sábado, argumentando que es “imprudente” continuar en múltiples roles, incluido el de obispo regional, cuando también lidia con problemas de espalda tras una cirugía.
En un comunicado emitido por la Iglesia, Sutton también se disculpó por haber negado previamente que “participó en una conversación sobre el nombramiento de una Junta de Investigación favorable al obispo. Mi intención era expresar que no podía recordar que tal conversación hubiera tenido lugar, y me disculpo por haberlo afirmado incorrectamente”.
Wood también es obispo de la Diócesis de las Carolinas. Durante su suspensión, esa diócesis será dirigida por el obispo interino David Bryan.
La ACNA informa que tiene alrededor de 130.000 miembros en aproximadamente 1.000 congregaciones en Estados Unidos y Canadá.
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La cobertura de religión de The Associated Press recibe apoyo a través de la colaboración de la AP con The Conversation US, con financiamiento de Lilly Endowment Inc. La AP es la única responsable de este contenido.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
