Rainforests are not the only things under threat in the Amazon region. There has also been an uptick in violence against native peoples: land invasions, illegal exploitation of natural resources and damage caused by invaders of indigenous lands went from 96 in 2017 to 109 in 2018.

Mexico is on edge after a wave of violence hit the country last week, culminating in heavy fighting between the army and alleged members of organized crime in Culiacán, the capital of the northern state of Sinaloa, that lasted for hours on Oct. 17.

The overall tone of the evening was lighthearted and provided a chance for prominent business executives, church leaders and politicians to come together in friendship and charity. This unity was helped by the fact that no one was safe from the jokes of Martin Short, the master of ceremonies for the evening.

John Paul II canonized more saints (482) than the popes from the previous 500 years combined, and Pope Francis is more than keeping up.

On April 4, 2018, the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., seven Plowshares activists illegally entered the naval submarine base in Kings Bay, Ga., staining the property with their blood and placing crime scene tape around the base. Now they are facing up to 25 years in prison.

Noting that Mother Cabrini was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized by the Catholic Church, Gov. Cuomo added, in perhaps a dig at political rival New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, “She is certainly deserving of a statue.”