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Nov. 1 (UPI) — Berkshire Hathaway has a record-high cash reserve of $381.7 billion after increasing its third-quarter earnings by 34% from a year ago, the firm said in its quarterly report on Saturday.

Berkshire Hathaway generated $13.485 billion in revenue during the third quarter, which is a 34% increase from $10.1 billion a year earlier.

“Investment income continues to benefit from rising cash balances and relatively high, though declining, yields on cash and short-term securities,” Edward Jones analyst James Shanahan wrote after the earnings report was released, as reported by MarketWatch.

Income from insurance underwriting topped $2.37 billion during the quarter, which was a 200% increase, partly due to relatively little by way of natural disasters and other common drivers of catastrophic losses.

The Omaha, Neb.-based conglomerate’s primary insurance and reinsurance companies produced pre-tax quarterly profits after reporting losses a year ago.

Although its insurance sectors posted profits, property and casualty insurer GEICO’s underwriting profits dropped by 13% due to an increase in claim amounts, according to Bloomberg.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A and Class B shares each rose 5%in value so far in 2025, and the firm did not undertake share buybacks through the first nine months of the year, CNBC reported.

It’s also the fifth consecutive quarter in which Berkshire Hathaway did not buy back any shares, which boosted its cash reserves to its current record of $381.6 billion.

That amount exceeds the prior record of $347.7 billion, which was set during the year’s first quarter.

Berkshire Hathaway also continued its recent trend of selling more equities than it buys, with a $10.4 billion gain from equities sales.

Sept. 17 (UPI) — An immigration judge has ordered former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil to either Algeria or Syria, court documents filed Wednesday show, as his lawyers argue the Trump administration is ramping up its retaliation against the Palestinian activist.

Khalil has been at the forefront of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown targeting pro-Palestine activism at universities. He was arrested March 8 for his pro-Palestine speech by the federal government, which has sought to remove him from the country.

He fought his detention in the courts, gaining his freedom in June. But the Trump administration continues its attempt to remove him, despite his wife and children being American citizens, this time on grounds that he omitted or misrepresented information on his green card application. His attorneys described the allegations as “baseless.”

Civil rights organizations, advocates and Trump administration critics argue its targeting of Khalil is an attack on his due process rights in retaliation for expressing his support for Palestine.

In a letter dated Wednesday to U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz, the judge who issued Khalil’s June release, the Palestinian activist’s representation revealed that immigration Judge Jamee Comans ordered Khalil’s removal to either of the two countries Friday when he denied their motion for a waiver to prevent his removal.

The lawyers said Khalil has 30 days from Friday to file an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals, and they called on Farbiarz to intervene.

“The only meaningful impediment to Petitioner’s physical removal from the United States would be this Court’s important order prohibiting removal during the pendency of his federal habeas case,” Khalil’s representation said.

Farbiarz, a President Joe Biden-appointee, had ordered Khalil’s release from federal immigration detention in June after denying the government’s argument that the former Columbia University graduate student was a threat to U.S. foreign policy.

The Trump administration is now seeking his removal alleging Khalil omitted or misrepresented information on his green card application, specifically not mentioning his previous internship with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, better known as UNRWA.

The letter to Farbiarz on Wednesday states Comans denied Khalil’s request for a waiver against his removal without conducting an evidentiary hearing.

His lawyers also said Khalil was denied the waiver because of the alleged misrepresentation to adjust his immigration without the opportunity to present contrary evidence. Instead, the judge relied on Secretary of State Marco Rubio‘s statement that Khalil’s presence in the country is a threat to U.S. foreign policy to justify the denial.

“It’s no surprise that the Trump administration continues to retaliate against me for my exercise of free speech,” Khalil said in a statement provided by the American Civil Liberties Union.

“Their latest attempt, through kangaroo immigration court, exposes their true colors once again.”

He accused the Trump administration of “fabricating baseless and ridiculous allegations” against him following its first failed attempt to deport him to try and silence his speech in support of Palestine.

“Such fascist tactics will never deter me from continuing to advocate for my people’s liberation,” he said.

June 26 (UPI) — Amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the establishment of another buffer zone along the U.S.-Mexico border where the military can apprehend non-citizens.

The National Defense Area, announced Wednesday, will cover about 250 miles of the Rio Grande River in Texas’ Cameron and Hidalgo Counties. According to a statement from the U.S. Air Force, Hegseth issued the directed on June 18.

“This designation marks the latest in a series of NDAs established to strengthen interagency coordination and bolster security operations along the U.S. southern border,” the Air Force said.

With the move, three NDAs have been established along the U.S.-Mexico border under President Donald Trump‘s April 11 memorandum directing the U.S. military to seal the southern border to repel an alleged “invasion” of immigrants trying to enter the country.

Border security was a key focus of Trump’s re-election campaign, which included him spouting derogatory rhetoric and misinformation about migrants. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has led a crackdown on immigration.

In NDAs, U.S. military personnel can temporarily detain alleged trespassers and then transfer them to appropriate law enforcement.

So far, the Trump administration has erected three NDAs including the one announced Wednesday.

The first NDA was established in New Mexico on April 21 and spans some 170 miles along the state’s border. The second one was erected on May 1 in West Texas, covering about 63 miles between El Paso and Fort Hancock.

The first trial conviction for trespassing in an NDA occurred earlier this month.