NPR News

Hospitals are often eager to embrace the latest medical technology, but the road to deploying tablet computers has been a little bumpy.

This month, consumer confidence jumped to its highest level since April, a sign that the U.S. economy is starting to mend. But the housing market isn't going along yet with this cheerier mood: Home prices were down 3.4 percent for the year as of October, according to a new report released Tuesday.

Congress' approval ratings hit an all-time low in December, according to the polling firm Gallup. Host Michel Martin looks at why many Americans seemed to be frustrated with Congress. She hears from NPR Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving and Mark Eaton of the Capitol Steps, a musical political satire group.

Many business owners were outraged when Amazon.com released an app offering discounts on items that customers scanned in stores but later bought on Amazon. Jasmine Johnson started an online petition against Amazon's promotion techniques. She and technology culture reporter Omar Gallaga speak with host Michel Martin.

WorkingMother.com recently released its list of the year's most powerful moms. Michel Martin and regular parenting contributors Leslie Morgan Steiner and Jolene Ivey discuss what it takes to be a strong mom, who they admire, and who should not have been on the list. Also joining the conversation is Helen Jonsen, editor of WorkingMother.com.