National headlines

To give the customary response to the presidential State of the Union address Tuesday night, Democratic congressional leaders selected a not-so-customary person.

Normally, the opposition party chooses someone well-known for their time in Congress or statewide office. But this year, Democrats turned to Stacey Abrams, who lost the governor's race in Georgia last fall.

Updated at 12:16 p.m. ET

President Trump's nominee to replace Brett Kavanaugh on the nation's second-highest appeals court defended herself amid scrutiny of her collegiate writings about sexual assault, environmental protections and multiculturalism.

Neomi Rao currently leads the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a position that's been described as the Trump administration's "deregulatory czar."

President Trump's inaugural committee has received a subpoena from Justice Department investigators. The subpoena reportedly orders the committee to hand over a wide-ranging collection of documents related to how it was funded and by whom.

The clock seems to be ticking for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.

The highest reaches of the Democratic Party inside and outside the state have said he should resign over a racist photo on his medical school yearbook page from 1984. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, presidential candidates and, perhaps most important, both of Virginia's senators and its longest-serving black representative all said Northam should step aside.