President Barack Obama's fifth State of the Union address will begin at 9 p.m. EST Tuesday evening.

This special live blog will provide coverage, commentary, context and more as Obama delivers the remarks live before a joint session of the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C.

The speech, which Obama is delivering just weeks after his second inauguration, will deal with topics of great import to the future of America, from gun control and immigration to foreign conflicts and the economy.

The remarks provide a unique view of Obama's plans and priorities for his second term, and political types will be looking for indications of what he hopes to focus on for the next four years, as well as what kinds of policies he may pursue.

To stay up-to-date on our newest live blog coverage throughout the speech, simply periodically reload this page, as it will be updated every couple of minutes with insight from social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit, context on the specifics of his remarks and more.

8:26 p.m.: The nation is eagerly awaiting the start of the 2013 State of the Union address. Stay tuned as the speech gets underway

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