Bilateral trade agreements are languishing in Washington, a symptom of what is looking more like a dysfunctional government all the time.

Gov. Paul LePage and Portland officials are meeting in Augusta today to clear the air over anti-Portland comments attributed to the governor by a former member of his cabinet.

At a moment when the president of the United States could have, and should have, stepped up to his responsibilities as leader of the greatest nation on Earth — on a day when the American people and the world looked to him for reassurance and vision — Barack Obama chose to indulge himself in yet another round of petty, cynical partisanship.

One of the most terrible things about the story out of Norway about one man’s bombing and shooting attacks on defenseless people was how familiar it was. How many times have we read this story? How many times have we seen carnage fill our television screens?

A contract settlement has much that will please both owners and experienced players.

They’re small amounts, usually overlooked by most customers and, according to recent Federal Communications Commission estimates, affect 15 million to 20 million American households.

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.