As his country crumbled around him, Fidel Castro's stature diminished abroad and at home.

ISIS goes after any group that deviates from its extreme ideology, dissident Muslims, for example, or the Yazidis who practice an ancient religion distinct from both Islam and Christianity.

Many who later lost faith in Fidel Castro can remember how they once admired the man who needed just a dozen men to launch the Cuban revolution.

And the pressure to clarify what exactly is happening to Christians and other minorities in the Middle East is certain to intensify in the New Year.

If you're wealthy like Donald Trump is, and you have a preacher who says your wealth is a sign God approves of you, you're probably going to like that preacher. And if there is one major element in Donald Trump's religious beliefs, it would be this prosperity gospel.

At one congressional hearing, Bishop Francis Kalabat complained that administration officials are overlooking what's happening to his fellow Chaldean Christians.

Fidel Castro was not interested in personal enrichment. His supporters say he deployed his enormous authority on behalf of health, education and welfare programs that brought Cuba attention around the world.