Two national news stories, and one here at home, about drug abuse caught our attention within recent weeks.

When the hot, humid days of summer arrive in the Ohio Valley, a lot of us stay inside -- where it's air conditioned -- as much as we can.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

Throughout the school year, the National School Lunch Program offers free or reduced breakfasts, lunches and after-school snacks to more than 30.4 million children each day, according to the USDA. In 2016, school cafeterias served more than 5 billion lunches, with nearly 75 percent of those …

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

Americans need a healthier diet of news. Evidence of our poor news consumption habits is everywhere and it’s making us less and less healthy as a nation and as neighbors.

In this space we have supported our share of national days, weeks and recognition — everything from health warnings to celebrating public servants, teachers, nurses and more.

It’s not a bad time to be a Kentucky sports fan. Kentucky basketball remains a title contender every year, and the football program looks like it’s here to stay. Last season, both were staples in the Top 25 rankings, a pretty good indication of their quality.

Have America’s freedoms become a proverbial Jenga tower, with block after block being pulled away?

Last week Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced he would sponsor legislation to raise the legal age to buy tobacco in every state from 18 to 21 years old — an idea we believe will go up in smoke.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

There are more than 5,000 cases of sex crimes in Kentucky annually, including incest, statutory rape and forcible rape, according to the Crime in Kentucky report for 2017, the last year for which data is available.

This past week, the meeting of Muhlenberg Fiscal Court included a discussion of efforts to address the public littering problem in the community.

The Washington Post on President Donald Trump's proposed $4.7 trillion budget:

Summary of recent Kentucky newspaper editorials:

We in Kentucky may be behind in adopting casino gambling to help pay for needed government services, slow on the uptake when it comes to medical marijuana to treat our ills and behind the eight ball on recreational marijuana to fill our coffers.

FRANKFORT – With almost all its work done, has the current session of the Kentucky General Assembly acted in the public interest?

Each day, journalists throughout the country are working tirelessly to inform their readers what the government is up to. The free press is one of the most important pillars of American democracy. By reporting the truth, reporters allow the citizenry to elect leaders that represent their val…

Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter

In the wake of the Marshall County High School shooting that claimed the lives of two 15-year-old students just one year ago, the legislature’s passage of and Gov. Matt Bevin’s pledge to sign a bill allowing Kentuckians to carry a concealed handgun without proper training or a permit is appa…

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Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

Summary of recent Kentucky newspaper editorials:

In the coming days, you’re going to hear a lot about helping students that are poor, and school choice, and scholarships. It’s all going to sound very uplifting, and positive, and why of course we want to help those underprivileged children!

Concern and relief were two takeaways from a Paducah state senator's short-lived attempt at new legislation.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

Often loquacious and poignant, Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham struggled Thursday to find the right words summarizing the coming sunset to his career, emotion seeping through his typically laid-back demeanor.

Summary of recent Kentucky newspaper editorials:

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to send 2018 packing and start fresh in 2019. The Christmas holiday was a good one, and I hope yours was too, but you might say it was a bright spot on the end of a 12-month rollercoaster that somebody built without seatbelts, and too many people have fl…

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

It was the type of email we receive hundreds of times each day, an attention-seeking blast from a public relations firm hoping for a free plug online and in print.

Summary of recent Kentucky newspaper editorials:

America has a problem with voter turnout.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

Summary of recent Kentucky newspaper editorials:

Helen Sims, the owner and CEO of Superior Care Home in Paducah, was not happy after reading our paper last Sunday.

A new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy confirms what we’ve long known: Kentucky’s tax system sucks. And it’s worse now than it was a few years ago.

Like many newspapers around the country, we carried an editorial during National Newspaper Week promoting the importance of a free press.

An in-depth newspaper investigation revealed that a state-operated home for aged military veterans was providing sub-standard care and that taxpayer money that was to go to improve the home was spent elsewhere. The result was the replacement of the state’s veterans secretary and numerous cor…

“White House bans CNN reporter from event for ‘inappropriate’ questions”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has a penchant for the absurd. He is the only politician we can think of who could come up with a policy outrageous enough to persuade the American Civil Liberties Union to come to the defense of the National Rifle Association.