Barack Obama

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas). Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party.

Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and transparency legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in an auto accident when the younger Obama was twenty-one years old.

Off-Duty Firefighter Shot During Carjacking

An off-duty firefighter was shot during a carjacking in the early-morning hours in the 2300 block of G Street, NE. He was taken to an area hospital, where his injury was determined not to be life-threatening.

Post Tue, 31 Jul 2007 09:38:01 EDT

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/31/AR2007073100611.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
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Obama's fundraising prowess was affirmed again in the second quarter of 2007, when his campaign raised an additional $32.5 million, the most ever raised by a Democratic Presidential candidate in a single quarter. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. He is a member of the Senate committees on Foreign Relations; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and Veterans' Affairs; and the Congressional Black Caucus. In September 2006, he was the featured speaker at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual steak fry, an event traditionally attended by presidential hopefuls in the lead-up to the Iowa caucus. "Obama's rapid rise from Illinois state legislator to U.S. " The audio book edition earned Obama the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. In December 2006, Obama spoke at a New Hampshire event celebrating Democratic Party midterm election victories in the first-in-the-nation U.S. presidential primary state. " He describes his Kenyan father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian step-father as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful. On returning to Chicago, Obama directed a voter registration drive. "The announcement followed months of speculation on whether Obama would run in 2008. However, Hull's popularity declined following allegations of domestic abuse.

Ehrenstein says these films are popular because they offer U.S. audiences a comfort for "white guilt. Through the first two quarters of fundraising, Obama's campaign has received donations from a grand total of about 258,000 contributors, the most of any 2008 candidate. The family moved to Jakarta in 1967, where Obama attended local schools from ages 6 to 10. Following Obama's statement, opinion polling organizations added his name to surveyed lists of Democratic candidates.