In his penultimate State of the Union address, Barack Obama said that the economy is improving.
Donald Trump, Hardik Patel, Kangana Ranuat... The year 2017 wouldn't have been the same if it weren't for these personalities and many more. As we herald in 2018, here's a look at the faces and stories which left an indelible mark on us.
'Once you've made up your mind that you don't like Smriti Irani because she has got where she has far too quickly or far too easily, you find reasons to dislike her and to justify your view,' says Pritish Nandy.
'They are not affected by ISIS' sentiment of avenging the suffering of the global ummah.' 'They have a huge ummah of their own in India, a huge Muslim population.' 'And because of that, they have to take into consideration the political and social conditions of Muslims in India.' 'They have to express themselves in a more political way and not through terrorism.'
Motivational speaker and bestselling author Priya Kumar has a knack of talking to people and telling them stories that inspire them to feel good about their lives even in the worst of circumstances.
One's dreams never end. If you don't dream, you don't exist. You need to dream to look forward to in life, Radha Daga, who went from a textile exporter to food entrepreneur at 60 years of age, shares her incredible journey with Shobha Warrier.
Epic Retold has the mighty Bhima tweeting his story as he lives it -- in first person, from the day he first meets his arch enemy Duryodhana, all the way through the Kurukshetra war and beyond.
'The Indian and Israeli rabbis were singing a small departure song for brave little Moshe, who had spent many, likely, heartbreaking but bittersweet hours at this home of his babyhood, looking at the drawings his mother had made for him, that were still up in his room.'
'In Hindu society, marriage is not between a man and a woman, but between their castes; politicians do not ask for human votes, but for caste votes....' 'Have you heard of such nonsense anywhere else in the world? And we claim we are civilised!' 'One or two or a few people becoming President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Speaker etc from the downtrodden do not mean that the untouchables are uplifted and caste-based slavery is over.'
Here is your ultimate guide to a happy one-night stand.
'On my way to Aamir Khan's office, I was thinking about what to say, how to react. I thought that I should get a picture clicked with him because the casting probably won't happen, as it's too big a film.' But Sakshi Tanwar *was* cast as Aamir Khan's wife in his sports drama, Dangal.
2014 will be a watershed election. Much is at stake and much needs to be changed. Women need their voice to be heard and they need representation with real power, says Sunanda Vashist.
'If 17-year-old Modi wanted to get out of the marriage, which was imposed on him by a socially backward society and his family, it's not only ethical but his right to walk out of the forced marriage...' 'Jashodaben, a highly conservative woman who understandably, by the social standards of India of the 1960s, opted to remain confined to the marriage instead of kicking Modi out from her life for not starting the marriage in the real sense...''In spite of media pressure, if she does not speak against Modi, it suggests that Modi has not ill-treated her or exploited her after parting ways.' Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt speaks to people in the know about the controversy over Narendra Modi's marriage.
Times Now, the English news channel Arnab Goswami headed until recently, had an average daily reach of 1.7 million people. That may be a fraction of the 48 million Aaj Tak reached every day in 2016, but Goswami had no trouble getting investors for his new venture.
And it's written with tears, blood and unspoken lines.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the US Open in New York on Wednesday.
There's a reaction expected when women make such statements, which is for you to prove them wrong, says Love Guru.
Away from the cricket field, it was a year in which Sania Mirza was unarguably the biggest success story with her staggering 10 titles on the Tour -- two of them Grand Slams.
'As the night wore on, we could hear insects, see fireflies and slowly, the stars took over the naked sky.' 'For those of us who spend the largest part of our lives in a cement jungle and wake up to machine sounds, this was music.'
'You will have good days and you will have hard days.' 'Go through all of them together.' 'Seek shared experiences with all kinds of people.' 'Build shared hope in the communities you join and the communities you form.' 'And above all, find gratitude for the gift of life itself and the opportunities it provides for meaning, for joy, and for love.'
Brands such as Gap, Primark and C&A which source some of their garments from Tamil Nadu say they do regular audits to ensure their suppliers comply with their codes of conduct.
'That Mad Men is currently the best-written show and quite unlike anything else out there is an understatement.'
It does not apply to anyone who might come to America illegally in the future. It does not grant citizenship, or the right to stay here permanently, or offer the same benefits that citizens receive, the President said.
Nebraska is not merely a black comedy, but one laced with light, with hope, with brightness. Black and White, then. Sometimes they do make 'em like they used.
Welcome to the weekly fashion round-up, where we bring you the latest on supermodels, style, designers and everything in-between!
'It might not be supercalafragilisticexpialidocious, sure, but at least it points us in that direction,' Raja Sen says after watching Saving Mr Banks.
Chanda Kochhar is among the three Indians in Time's Most Influential list.
Have you heard of the Burning Man festival? Or the Monkey Buffet festival?
Cancer surgeon Dr Ramakant Deshpande answers the most crucial questions on the disease. And offers very important advice on ensuring yourself a healthy, everyday life.
'I think the AAP is still in transition from being a movement to a political party so there is a mix of people who form the party. So there is somewhat of a overlapping and commonality of purpose.' 'Look at the way the government and party is functioning, not a single woman minister in the cabinet, or no woman member in the political affairs committee, it is all very tactical now.' 'After the 'sting' I decided to step back. I realised that my moral basis has been questioned by Kejriwal, it is truly despicable. He is around 15 years younger to me, I was aghast by his words.' AAP 'rebel' Prof Anand Kumar speaks of what went wrong with the party in the last few days in this interview with Upasna Pandey.
Tanmoy's story is one of hope in times of despair, courage in times of trouble and confidence in times of adversity. His story is a reminder that no matter what the situation is today, you can hope for a better tomorrow, say Jimmy John and Anoop Khanna.
Kainchi, near Nainital, attracts devotees from near and far, 42 years after the death of its spiritual leader, Neem Karoli Baba.
The AAP has adopted policies in an ad hoc manner, without thinking them through or deriving them from a broader framework. This must change if the AAP is to become a credible alternative, says Praful Bidwai.
Beautiful glimpses into Dilip Kumar's life with Saira Banu.
Goan beauty Gail Nicole Da Silva, first runner up Miss United Continent 2014 tells us how her personal success has inspired several others to believe in their dreams.
Sheela Bhatt meets Bharti Patel, a truly exceptional mother of our times whose son Dr Vikram Patel was recently ranked among Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2015, to find out her recipe for a remarkable upbringing.
'The whats app messages came as a tsunami on to dry, sparse, corroded, forgotten parts of the brain. Thoughts, memories, faces and long erased episodes were irrigated once again and with that came a turmoil not felt in a long while.' 'In the stark difference of time zones, how does one work in a work day and when checking messages cope with the instantaneous transport to a time that was different in every possible way?'
Check out the gold medallists on Day 15 of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, on Saturday:
Bajaj three-wheelers outsell Chinese three-wheelers in Peru. The Pulsar is number one in its category. Nikhil Lakshman discovers in Lima that even though the Chinese are far ahead in investments in Latin America's fastest growing economy, Indian manufacturing and IT are holding its own.
Atheela Abdullah, who grew up in a small village in the Malabar region of Kerala shares her inspiring success story.
