BY EMILY SWANSON AND VERENA DOBNIK
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Emotionally wrenching politics, foreign conflicts and shootings at home took a toll on Americans in 2016, but they entered 2017 on an optimistic note, according to a new poll that found that a majority believes things are going to get better for the country this year.
A look at the key findings of the Associated Press-Times Square Alliance poll:
SO HOW WAS 2016?
Americans weren’t thrilled with 2016. Only 18 percent said things for the country got better, 33 percent said things got worse, and 47 percent said it was unchanged from 2015.
On a personal level, they were optimistic about 2017.
Fifty-five percent said they believe things will be better for them in 2017. That’s a 12-point improvement from a year earlier.
Americans interviewed about the poll’s results expressed some of that optimism.
