A new president, racial tensions, devastating hurricanes and a magnificent sight in the sky are just a few of the major national news stories from 2017.

The year started with a changing of the guard, a shift in U.S. leadership, and diplomacy.

"From this day forward, it's going to be only America first," says President Donald Trump.

Among the toughest tests for the president and the nation has been rising racial tensions.

“We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence, on many sides," says Trump.

A few months later the nation was shaken again, this time by the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

A gunman opened fire from a casino hotel room in Las Vegas onto a concert crowd below, killing nearly 60 people and hurting more than 500.

Just five weeks later, there was a shocking mass shooting inside a church in the small Texas town of Sutherland Springs.

Nearly 30 people were killed.

"You think you're safe in the house of the lord, but the devil never rests," says Gloria Rodriguez Ximenez, who knew the victims of the shooting.

On Halloween, a terror attack in lower Manhattan killed eight people when a man drove a rented truck onto a bike path.

The native of Uzbekistan was shot by police, but survived.

2017 also brought a grueling hurricane season, with three monster storms causing nearly $500 billion in damage.

Harvey's record rainfall flooded much of Houston and killed more than 80 people.

Irma lashed the Caribbean, the Keys, then churned through Florida, killing more than 60 people.

Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico, killing more than 40 people.

In California, more than a dozen major fires ravaged parts of the state, scorching more than a quarter of a million acres.

More than 40 people died.

Sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein sparked a movement in Hollywood that spread across social media with #MeToo.

Media and entertainment titans such as Bill O'Reilly, Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose were just a few of the major figures brought down by sexual assaults or misconduct allegations in 2017.