From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

A new year, a new Congress, a new Obama.

I'm Sarah Terry sitting in for Warren Olney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International, a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Next month, President Obama faces a Republican-controlled House for the first time.

How will the new political realities on Capitol Hill affect the president's legislative agenda?

Obama's team won credit for bipartisan cooperation in getting important bills passed during the final days of

the last Congress.

But the administration angered many Democrats in making a tax deal with Republicans.

Who will be the new players on Obama's team as he enters the second half of his first term

and looks ahead to 2012?

On reporter's notebook, the story of an unknown Chicago nanny, who may turn out to be one of the most important street photographers of the 20th century.

First, the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur

Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation and its campaign for American workers. More at rockfound.org.

I'm Sarah Terry, sitting in for Warren Alley, back with To the Point, from PRI. We'll be talking

about the challenges facing President Obama as he deals with a new Congress and a

house controlled by Republicans. How will the new political dynamic on Capitol Hill affect the

White House? What new faces will Obama bring into his administration to help shape his policies

on the economy in Afghanistan? What can be accomplished with a 2012 election already on the horizon?

On reporter's notebook, how a purchase made on a hunch at an auction yielded a surprising

treasure of photographs by an unknown photographer that are now being heralded around the world.

...