Dear Annie: I have a close friend who I love very much, but whenever we’re together, whether in social settings or professional environments, it feels like I’m always playing second fiddle to their charisma and charm.

VOL. (6) The Legislative session is winding down for the year.

Mel Brooks said it's good to be the king -- but is it good to be speaker of the House of Representatives? You're the most powerful legislator in Congress, if not the world, and just two heartbeats away from being president. If you're a Republican, though, your task is thankless and possibly hopeless.

Most recent Gallup polling in March shows that 36% of Americans 'approve of Israeli military action in Gaza' and 50% disapprove. Last November, a month after the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel that claimed the lives of more than 1,200 innocent Israeli civilians, 55% approved of the military action that Israel initiated.

Annie Lane Dear Annie: I was abused by my dad as a child, and my relationship with my mother was hell growing up. She was verbally and physically abusive toward me well into my 20s.

Dear Annie: My own experience tells me that your advice to Starving Wife may have overlooked another possibility. I lived for years with what Starving Wife is experiencing.

Sometimes we fail to understand how an event that happens many miles away — like the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore — can have an impact on Kansans and possibly the Kansas economy. As a State Senator, and Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I try to take notice of issues affecting Kansas’ leading industry — agriculture.

Wallet a little thin these days? With some creative thinking and a relaxed, open-minded attitude, you can plan a fantastic date without breaking the bank. Think about it this way: Going frugal is a way to make sure you're with someone who values experience over material things!

Our nation's Declaration of Independence begins with the famous statement that 'all men ... are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'

Dear Annie: I am very confused. I have a friend who is 70 and is in the hospital.