By JOSH FUNK

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Berkshire Hathaway is buying back shares for the first time in nearly two years, and new CEO Greg Abel said he has no immediate plans to sell off Kraft Heinz shares now that the packaged food giant has shelved its plan to split the company into two.

FILE – Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Greg Abel is seen at the CenturyLink Center, May 5, 2018, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Abel appeared on CNBC Thursday — less than a week after releasing his first letter to shareholders after taking over the top job at Berkshire from legendary investor Warren Buffett in January. Berkshire also took the unusual step of filing a formal notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had begun repurchasing its shares Wednesday for the first time since May 2024.

When Kraft first announced its plan to split the company in two last fall, Abel and Buffett expressed concerns about that because of the costs involved and the current struggles for some of the brands. So Abel said he agreed with new Kraft CEO Steve Cahillane’s decision to pause the split.

“For Steve to come in and say we’re pausing it, there’s opportunities within Kraft Heinz to fix things and get the business back on track and then he’ll evaluate things. We thought that was absolutely the right approach,” Abel said.

Berkshire has long been Kraft’s biggest shareholder with 325 million shares ever since Buffett and the Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital orchestrated the merger of Kraft and Heinz in 2015 because they already owned Heinz and believed in the power of their brands.

FILE – Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett speaks during an interview with Liz Claman on Fox Business Network’s “Countdown to the Closing Bell,” May 7, 2018, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Over the years since Buffett had made comments about how Kraft’s competitive moat around its brands wasn’t as strong as he thought and Berkshire likely overpaid for the investment. Berkshire even took a $3.76 billion write-down on its Kraft-Heinz stake last summer. But until January there had been no hint that Berkshire might sell off its Kraft shares.

Abel also told CNBC that he felt it was important for Berkshire to let shareholders know that its approach to buybacks hasn’t changed. The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate will continue to use some of its $373.3 billion cash to repurchase shares whenever Abel and Buffett conclude that the stock is worth more than what it is selling for. It’s Class A shares gained more than 2% to sell for $745,451.75 apiece Thursday.

Abel also disclosed Thursday that this week he used all $15.3 million of his take-home pay for 2026 to buy Berkshire stock, and he told CNBC that he plans to continue doing that as long as he remains CEO so that his interests will be aligned with shareholders.

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“As CEO, I absolutely obviously believe in Berkshire with — with the transition from Warren. And I inherited a company that has an incredible foundation. I believe in its — you know, future, the opportunities that exist there,” Abel said.

In his letter that was released last Saturday, Abel promised not to make any significant changes in the way Buffett has run Berkshire for the past six decades. The two men talk regularly because Buffett remains chairman and continues to come into the office every day to hunt for new investments.

Abel said that includes not paying a dividend because he and Buffett believe that they can generate better returns for shareholders by keeping Berkshire’s cash and reinvesting it instead or returning it in a dividend.

Berkshire owns dozens of companies, including major insurers like Geico, the BNSF railroad, well known brands like Dairy Queen, several major utilities and an assortment of manufacturing, retail and service businesses like fractional private jet company NetJets.

Yellowjackets and JazzMN Orchestra with Michael Mayo will headline the 28th annual Twin Cities Jazz Festival on June 19 and 20 in and around Mears Park in Lowertown St. Paul.

The free festival was founded in 1999 as a nonprofit organization with “a mission to keep the art form of jazz alive and well in our community.” It has since grown into one of the largest free civic jazz festivals in the Midwest.

While the full schedule will be released in April, organizers have announced a handful of acts. They include the following concerts at Mears Park:

Long-running jazz fusion band Yellowjackets; 8:30 p.m. June 19.
Composer and drummer Yogev Shetrit’s trio; 6 p.m. June 19.
Selby Avenue Brass Band with Thomasina Petrus; 4 p.m. June 19.
Jazz ensemble JazzMN Orchestra with vocalist Michael Mayo; 8:30 p.m. June 20.
Pianist Sullivan Fortner’s trio; 6 p.m. June 20.
Local favorites Zacc Harris Group; 4 p.m. June 20.
Saxophonist Lucia Sarmiento; 2 p.m. June 20.
Students from Walker West Music Academy and MacPhail Center for Music; noon June 20.

For further details, see twincitiesjazzfestival.com.

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There’s a watershed moment that still sticks with Wild general manager Bill Guerin however many years later. He was working for the Pittsburgh Penguins at the time. They were trying to bolster their roster ahead of the stretch run.

That sparked an internal debate about whether it was worth giving up a third-round pick at the trade deadline. The rebuttal from longtime Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford was the stuff of legend.

“That third-round pick better be a pretty good (expletive) player,” he said.

Though it should be noted that Guerin didn’t specify the particulars of the move itself, the Penguins traded a third-round pick to the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 27, 2016 in exchange for defenseman Justin Schultz.

That successfully helped the Penguins shore up their blue line. They won the Stanley Cup a few months later.

That anecdote feels relevant when considering the sticker shock some people felt after the Wild traded a second-round pick to the Nashville Predators this week in exchange for center Michael McCarron.

The rhetoric in the immediate aftermath focused almost solely on what the Wild were giving up rather than what they were getting back. Not that Guerin seemed too concerned. He took a page out of his mentor’s book when asked about the cost of doing business, saying, “That second-round pick is not going to help us right now.”

It’s good to hear Guerin say that because that’s exactly how the Wild should be operating ahead of Friday afternoon’s NHL trade deadline. They shouldn’t be thinking about the future; not when they can accomplish so much in the present.

This is the first time in maybe forever that the Wild are legitimate contenders to win the Stanley Cup. The main objective for Guerin in the short term should be doing everything in his power to maximize the opportunity in front of him.

That logic should apply to any move — big or small — that could potentially help the Wild get over the hump.

Who cares that the Wild just traded a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft? It will be a small price to pay as long as the 6-foot-6, 230-pound McCarron can win some faceoffs and add some sandpaper to the bottom half of the lineup.

Those criticizing Guerin for what he gave up for McCarron probably couldn’t even name who the Wild selected with their second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. The answer is winger Ryder Ritchie, who currently plays for Boston University and is still years away from contributing at the highest level.

That underscores a larger issue that spans all sports: an obsession with the future that often blinds fans from enjoying the present.

A good example of that came a few months ago when the Wild acquired superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. There were some people concerned at the time that Guerin had to part with young defenseman Zeev Buium to make it happen. Now that deal is proving to be the best trade in franchise history by a wide margin.

That doesn’t mean Guerin has been perfect. He made a blockbuster deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets a couple of years ago, for instance, that netted defenseman David Jiricek, the sixth overall pick in the 2022 draft. He’s currently toiling away in the minors.

That didn’t stop Guerin from taking another big swing when he had the chance. That might be his best quality as a decision maker. He puts himself in position to hit home runs because he isn’t afraid to strike out.

The biggest reason the Wild finally seem to be good enough to win the Stanley Cup is because they have trio of superstars in Hughes, winger Kirill Kaprizov, and winger Matt Boldy leading the way.

The next step for the Wild (36-16-10, 82 points) is rounding out the rest of their lineup. That will be of the utmost importance ahead of a silly NHL playoff format that makes likely they’ll have to play Central Division rivals Dallas (38-14-9, 85 points) and Colorado (41-10-9, 91 points) before even reaching the Western Conference Finals.

The addition of McCarron by himself likely isn’t going to be the difference between the Wild winning and losing a Stanley Cup. The fact that Guerin was willing to pull the trigger without fear might be.

Especially if it allows the Wild reel in another big fish.

Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) plays during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

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By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI said this week that it is investigating “suspicious activities” on an internal system that contains sensitive information related to surveillance operations and investigations.

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The bureau is working to determine the scope and impact of the problem, according to a notification sent to members of Congress that says the unnamed culprit is using sophisticated techniques to exploit FBI network security controls.

The notification, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, says that the FBI on Feb. 17 began investigating abnormal log information related to a system on its network.

“The affected system is unclassified and contains law enforcement sensitive information, including returns from legal process, such as pen register and trap and trace surveillance returns, and personally identifiable information pertaining to subjects of FBI investigations,” said the notification reviewed by The Associated Press.

A pen register is a common surveillance tool that enables law enforcement to log phone numbers dialed by a particular line.

The FBI confirmed the cyber incident in a statement but did not provide additional details.

“The FBI identified and addressed suspicious activities on FBI networks, and we have leveraged all technical capabilities to respond,” the FBI said. “We have nothing additional to respond.”

Neither the FBI statement nor the notification identified who might be responsible for the incident, but the bureau and other federal agencies have long been targets of foreign hackers seeking to spy on sensitive operations and decision-making.

In this instance, the FBI said, the techniques being used were “sophisticated” and included leveraging a commercial internet service provider vendor’s infrastructure to exploit FBI network security controls.