Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, newly picked Faithful cheer McCain VP running mate ...
Media say McCain names Palin as running mate ...
Court overturns Exxon $2.5bn fine ... as Republican John McCain's running mate, has revealed that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.
Mrs Palin, a social conservative who is opposed to abortion, said in a statement her daughter Bristol would keep the child and marry its father.
The Alaska governor, a mother-of-five, was presented three days ago as her party's vice-presidential candidate.
The McCain campaign and Palins asked for respect for the family's privacy.
Mrs Palin and her husband Todd said in a statement: "Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realise very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family."
Advisers to the McCain campaign said they had known about the pregnancy before offering Mrs Palin the vice-presidential nomination.
The BBC's Justin Webb in St Paul, where the Republicans' national convention is taking place this week, says the news will certainly be a talking point but may not damage Mrs Palin's standing.
She was brought on board to appeal to social conservatives, our correspondent says, and they may respect the decision by her daughter to keep the baby and to marry the father.
However, some people in the party who already had concerns about the lack of knowledge about Mrs Palin's record may fear what other revelations lie in wait, our correspondent adds.
The party's four-day convention opens on Monday but its schedule has been curtailed because of the threat of Hurricane Gustav to states on the southern US coast.
Mrs Palin is due to be formally nominated by delegates as the party's vice-presidential choice later this week.
She was elected governor of Alaska in 2006 and before that was mayor of the small town of Wasilla, Alaska.
(BBC)
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