Almanac for April 17, 2026
Today is Friday, April 17, the 107th day of 2026. There are 258 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1961, about 1,400 CIA-trained Cuban exiles launched the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in a failed bid to topple Fidel Castro. Cuban forces crushed the incursion within three days. Also on this date: In 1964, Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock completed the first solo around-the-world flight by a woman, landing her single-engine Cessna plane in Columbus, Ohio, after a 29-day journey. In 1969, a jury in Los Angeles convicted Sirhan Sirhan of assassinating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. ...
Little kids, big government
Child care got expensive — more than $13,000 per child, per year. So many people want government to pay for it. My state just agreed. New York will fund free child care. Yay! But wait ... what government does isn't free. Taxpayers pay. And taxpayers pay more because "government rules have ...
Federal judge again stalls most work on WH ballroom
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump railed against a federal judge's decision on Thursday that continues to block above-ground construction of a $400 million White House ballroom, allowing only below-ground work on a bunker and other "national security facilities" at the site. U.S. ...
Court rules federal government can't ban at-home distilleries
Judges occasionally declare federal laws unconstitutional. But usually when a law passed by Congress has been on the books for more than 150 years, it’s in the clear. Not so for the federal ban on homemade whiskey, vodka and gin. Last week, an appeals court invalidated a federal law dating to 1868 that criminalizes at-home distilleries. The spirited ruling is a boon to small-time liquor hobbyists and entrepreneurs — but also an important statement on the limits of the federal government’s taxing power. Congress imposed the ban as a companion to legislation taxing alcohol and ...