It was a beautiful morning on December 7, 1941. The sunrise was just beginning to sweep across the beautiful island of Oahu. It was Sunday, so while many started their routines, others enjoyed some extra time sleeping in. Without warning, “just before 8 a.m. … hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The barrage lasted just two hours, but it was devastating: The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and more than 300 airplanes.

“The number of wild animals living on Earth is set to fall by two-thirds by 2020, according to a new report, part of a mass extinction that is destroying the natural world upon which humanity depends. The analysis, the most comprehensive to date, indicates that animal populations plummeted by 58% between 1970 and 2012, with losses on track to reach 67% by 2020.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is increasing in Western nations as a tool for a woman to become pregnant when she is naturally unable. According to the Department of Health, “Almost 2.5 million embryos have been deliberately destroyed in the United Kingdom since 1990” (Catholic Herald, November 23, 2016). With IVF, multiple fertilized embryos are used in order to maximize the probability of a successful pregnancy.

China recently launched a Shenzhou 11 spacecraft marking “another great leap forward for the nation’s space program… China is NASA’s biggest rival in space exploration… In 2007, the nation tested an anti-satellite missile by blowing up a Chinese craft… U.S.-based analysts are concerned that China is hitting the accelerator as NASA hits the brakes” (Bloomberg, November 28, 2016).