April 17, 2026

Now, on to the news…

Photo credit: Joe Raedle / Staff / Getty Images News via Getty Images

Far-left activists have been targeting American technology firm Palantir. In April of last year, they launched a campaign of rallies, marches, and “internal disruptions” to pressure the company into moving its headquarters from Denver to Miami. Emboldened by that win, they’ve shifted their activity to Florida and other cities in which the firm operates.

Their reasoning? The company is supposedly central to immigration enforcement, the war in Gaza, and U.S. military operations.

“The campaign against Palantir Technologies is not a spontaneous surge of grassroots activism but part of a long-term strategy of the far Left,” Stu Smith writes. “These activist offensives can and will have serious national security consequences. America’s military and law enforcement apparatus depend on Palantir’s technology to be more effective and more humane.”

Read more about the groups behind the protests.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made it official: New York City is getting its first government-owned grocery store. The city will pay to build the 9,000-square-foot store in East Harlem using $30 million from its capital budget. The store will be privately operated but will pay no rent or property tax.

In other words, it will compete with local grocery stores by using public subsidies to lower the cost of food, and it will pay employees union wages.

“It is by no means clear that both objectives are possible without additional subsidies,” Eric Kober writes. “Nor is this extravagant expenditure at a time of budget stringency the most effective way to achieve Mamdani’s food-affordability goals for East Harlem residents.” And, as Kober points out, the city shouldn’t be using taxpayer dollars to undercut small businesses that do pay taxes.

Read what Kober suggests Mamdani do with that $30 million instead.

Only five states provide universal school-choice programs, which let parents use public funds to send their children to any school they wish.

Florida invests the most in school choice, allocating 11.2 percent of its total education budget to these programs. Families clearly value the option: 53 percent of K-12 students attend a school their parents selected. “Ideally, more states will look to Florida as a blueprint for empowering families and supporting the growth of quality, customized educational options,” Danyela Souza Egorov writes.

Read more about the types of schools parents are choosing and the lessons Florida’s success offers other states.

Founder of the Open Therapy Institute Andrew Hartz and Rafael Mangual explore the growing influence of political bias in psychotherapy and what it means for both therapists and clients. Hartz makes the case for an approach to mental health care that respects personal beliefs while still promoting growth and well-being.

“Just confirms what I know about California’s governance: There’s no program or set of beliefs too self-destructive, immoral, crazy, or patently unconstitutional that the state won’t fund with your money.”

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MisterH, commenting on “gender-affirming care” in California