A look back at 2017: Winter edition
The year 2017 was full of ups and downs, drama, surprises, and enough outrage to go around, and it all started right after the New Year.
In January, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States in a historic inauguration ceremony. He was the first person elected to the highest office with no prior political experience, and his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway was the first woman to run a winning presidential campaign.
The next day, White House press secretary Sean Spicer held his first news conference, but didn't take questions. He was there to angrily criticize media coverage of the inauguration crowd size, which from aerial photos appeared smaller than President Obama's. Spicer insisted it was the largest crowd ever to witness a presidential inauguration. His demeanor became the subject of a popular ongoing SNL skit starring actress Melissa McCarthy as an irate version of Spicer.
When NBC's Chuck Todd questioned Conway about Spicer's claim on "Meet the Press," Conway made headlines herself by calling Spicer's falsehoods "alternative facts."
This was all juxtaposed with another event that did turn out record-breaking numbers, the Women's March. The day after Mr. Trump was sworn in, hundreds of thousands of people descended on Washington, D.C., and millions more took to the streets in cities across all 50 states as well as dozens of countries abroad. While organizers said the day was not about being anti-Trump, critics felt it excluded conservative women and would lead to little positive change.
One week later, Mr. Trump signed an executive order placing strict travel restrictions on people coming to the U.S. from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Chaos erupted as protesters descended on airports around the country and lawyers rushed in to defend detained travelers. Courts quickly put the travel ban on hold.
The administration also faced some personnel challenges early on. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had to resign just 25 days after the inauguration when it was revealed that he'd lied about his contacts with Russia. And Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos struggled at her confirmation hearing, at one point claiming guns in schools could prevent grisly bear attacks, before she was narrowly confirmed by the Senate.
There were also some significant entertainment industry headlines over the winter of 2017. Actress Mary Tyler Moore died in January at the age of 80. Her iconic role as an independent, career-minded TV news producer in the 1970s inspired women across the country. Then in February, an unprecedented flub at the Oscars shocked Hollywood and viewers around the world, when "La La Land" was accidentally announced as the Best Picture winner instead of "Moonlight."
Watch the full episode of CBSN's year-end special "2017 Unsubscribe" below.
