What to know now:
1. State of the Union: President Barack Obama will give his final State of the Union speech Tuesday before a joint session of Congress. The president is expected to talk about the accomplishments of his administration during his two terms in office, and outline his goals for the next 12 months. The speech, which can be seen on every network channel, cable news channel and via live streaming through their websites, begins at 9 p.m. (ET).
2. Tide takes championship: The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated No. 1 Clemson Monday to win college football's national championship. Behind the efforts of Kenyan Drake, O.J. Howard and Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry, and with the help of an onside kick, Alabama outlasted Clemson 45-40.
3. Not hiding anything: Sean Penn says he has "nothin' to hide" when it comes to his meeting with notorious drug kingpin Joaquin Guzman. The actor, with the help of actress Kate del Castillo, met last fall with the man known as "El Chapo." Penn interviewed the drug lord as he hid out following his escape from jail last year. Penn's interview ran in Rolling Stone Saturday, a day after Guzman was captured in a dramatic shootout. According to authorities, Penn and del Castillo, were followed as they left for the meeting with Guzman, allowing police to help find the fugitive drug dealer.
4. Ruling on unions: The U.S. Supreme Court seems to be ready to scrap a decades-old ruling that allows unions to collect fees from workers who decline to join the labor organizations. The suit being considered was brought by a group of teachers in California who object to mandatory union dues, saying the fees violate their free-speech rights. On the other side, union leaders are worried about how they would recover the costs of collective bargaining if employees are not required to pay union dues.
5. Debate stage is shrinking: Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul have been bumped from the prime time debate sponsored by the Fox Business Network. Fiorina and Paul failed to qualify for the "main" debate, and were invited to participate in the first debate of the evening, the one that has come to be called the "cocktail hour debate." Paul said he refuses to participate in the "undercard" early debate in Charleston, S.C., which will feature Fiorina, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. "We will not participate in anything that is not first-tier," Paul told CNN shortly after the announcement.
And one more
The last known survivor of the Great Earthquake that hit San Francisco in 1906 has died. William Del Monte died Monday in a retirement home in Marin County, Calif., 11 days shy of his 110 birthday. Del Monte was 3-months-old when the quake struck Del Monte's family made a dash to safety in a horse-drawn buck board with fire burning on both sides of the street. Del Monte loved to play the stock market, his niece said, and he made and lost several fortunes – he was a millionaire at age 23 -- during his lifetime.
In case you missed it
Cat vs. box. There can be only one winner.
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