News and Prophecy Staff

A number of nations around the world celebrate a Thanksgiving holiday. Yet, the central element of “giving thanks” is frequently overshadowed by the self-centered commercialism associated with Halloween and Christmas. In the United States, even before the shopping madness of  America’s “Black Friday” (the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S. and one of the busiest shopping days of the year), retailers are already busy promoting items for Christmas.

The United States, like many other nations, is facing an ever-growing mountain of national debt. The interest paid on the U.S. national debt is on pace to even exceed military spending in the years ahead (Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2018).

Some question the media hype about an apparent connection between increasing “screen time” among youth and their increasing rates of unhappiness. However, a new study at the San Diego State University published in the peer-reviewed journal Emotion adds more weight to the connection between poor psychological health and screen time (Research Digest, October 2, 2018).

Britain’s Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) just put out a new warning about antibiotic resistance (The Guardian, November 7, 2018).

Many companies are turning away from a leadership model based on “charm and charisma”—thanks to the realization that effective leaders tend to have more humility.