McCain Picks Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for Veep

John McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his VP choice, NBC reports; McCain is expected to make the announcement at a rally in Ohio at noon today. Palin is a socially conservative mother of five who is both the state’s first woman governor and, at 42, its youngest.

The pro-lifer, who's a former Miss Alaska contestant, will be the first woman to serve on a Republican presidential ticket and the first Alaskan to appear on a national ticket. She was elected in 2006, besting fellow Republican Frank Murkowski on a clean-government platform.