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Some sports analysts might have “found religion” this baseball season. The Chicago Cubs, against their century-long tradition of incompetence, played incredible baseball. They were the best team in Major League Baseball during the regular season and capped it all off with a thrilling win in game seven of the World Series. Have the Four Horsemen been unleashed? Is the Cubs’ World Series Championship a sign of the end of the world?

In spite of positive job growth in the U.S., “the percentage of working-age Americans in the labor force remains stuck near its lowest level since the late 1970s. Although retiring baby boomers are the main reason, there’s another troubling factor that experts predict won’t be solved by stronger economic growth. Too many men in their prime don’t have a job and aren’t even looking for one. Experts trying to figure out the reasons are probing the roles of criminal background checks, painkillers and even video games.

President Duterte of the Philippines recently stated that “if China and Russia decide to create a new world order, he would be the first to join them and leave the U.N.” (Wall Street Journal, November 17, 2016).

The Roman Pope has been working hard to reach out to and welcome the return of Protestant denominations to the Catholic fold. “Pope Francis and Dr. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, jointly presided at a Vespers service on October 5, and signed a statement affirming their commitment to ecumenical progress.

Many Europeans are uncertain about the impact President-elect Trump will have on Europe, and many are fearful. One German commentator wrote, “Europe in uncharted waters… The popularity of US presidents has always waxed and waned, but never has one struck fear into the heart of his allies like Donald Trump” (Deutsche Welle, November 9, 2016). Comments posted on Twitter (that were later deleted) by the French ambassador Gerard Araud stated, “After Brexit and this election, everything is possible.