**US President Barack Obama is delivering his first State of the Union speech, in which he will try to reassure Americans the nation is on the right course.**The US economy, unemployment and the president’s plans for healthcare reform are expected to be central topics in the speech to Congress.
Mr Obama will say he has never been more hopeful for the future.
But he will urge all politicians to work together to give the American people what they deserve.
President Obama was given the traditional warm welcome by all sides of Congress.
The address follows the Democratic Party’s loss of a key Senate seat in Massachusetts last week which has deprived them of a majority of Senate votes.
The loss puts in danger the president’s sweeping legislative agenda he set out after taking office a year ago.