We’ve impressed generally by the work that U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has been doing, advocating for higher classroom standards and supporting the notion of charter schools.

The Horn of Africa is once again facing a devastating drought — the worst in 60 years. More than 10 million people are in urgent need of food, water and emergency health care.

Hope springs eternal. Well, OK — hope springs for an hour or two and then vanishes like a thief in the night.

What a shocker: Potato chips are the main culprit behind the average American’s small but steady yearly weight gain, according to a study at Harvard University.

Norman Olsen spent 25 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, dispatched to trouble spots around the globe. But he had to come home to Maine to find out what backstabbing feels like.

Among the bombshells set off by outgoing Marine Resources Commissioner Norman Olsen was his allegation that Gov. Paul LePage shot down efforts to help the groundfishing industry because it would involve collaborating with the city of Portland.

If the charges in a lawsuit against former Maine Turnpike Authority Executive Director Paul Violette hold up in court, he will enter some sort of state Hall of Fame for the Creative and Flagrant Misuse of Public Funds.

As Aug. 2 fast approaches, there’s a lot going on in Washington to try to come up with a fiscal plan that would garner enough votes in both houses of Congress to raise the ceiling on the national debt.

A group of researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has come up with some good news for grandparents: Their grandchildren are safer with grandma or grandpa behind the wheel than they are when they are in a car driven by mom or dad.