NPR's Ari Shapiro takes a look back at the political news of 2017, and the first year of Trump's presidency, with Matt Yglesias, columnist, editor and co-founder of Vox, and Rachael Larimore, online managing editor of The Weekly Standard.
It was a messy year in Congress. Despite control of the House and Senate — and a president willing to sign legislation — Congressional Republicans spent much of the year fighting amongst themselves. But at both the start and the finish of the year, they scored some important wins.
NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Devin Leonard about President Trump's tweet saying the U.S. Postal Service should charge more to deliver Amazon packages. Leonard wrote a book about the U.S. Post Office called Neither Snow nor Rain.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says contractors and diplomats will be sent to Eastern Syria to help stabilize the country. They will be protected by American troops already there. Mattis says that besides rebuilding, the increased American presence will make sure diplomatic efforts continue for the future of Syria. Both Russia and Syria have said U.S. forces should leave.
Studies show some promising results for new approaches to opioid addiction, but some insurers won't pay for alternative treatments like classes on pain management.
President Trump has given relatively few interviews to networks other than Fox News since taking office. But CBN, founded by the televangelist Pat Robertson, is an exception.
NBC News White House Correspondent Geoff Bennett talks with NPR's David Greene about what to watch for as some of biggest political stories of 2017 continue unfolding into the new year.
A fire in the Bronx in New York City has left at least 12 people dead. Also, Doug Jones has been certified as the winner of Alabama's Senate election and Liberians have elected a new president.