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.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Immunity Jeopardizes Iraq Probe
Potential prosecution of Blackwater guards allegedly involved in the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians last month may have been compromised because the guards received immunity for statements they made to State Department officials investigating the incident, federal law enforcement officials...
(By Karen DeYoung, The Washington Post)

In His Wife's Campaign, Bill Clinton Is a Free Agent
(By Anne E. Kornblut, The Washington Post)

In NBA, Wins Can Multiply By the Power of Three
(By Michael Lee, The Washington Post)

Preteens Trading Fairy Wands for Fishnets
Halloween Trend Toward Racy Get-Ups Vexes Parents
(By Brigid Schulte, The Washington Post)

O'Malley Calls for Unity at Start of Special Session on Budget Gap
(By John Wagner, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
In His Wife's Campaign, Bill Clinton Is a Free Agent
LITTLE ROCK -- In the complex transformation of Bill Clinton from former president to candidate's spouse, last week was typical.
(By Anne E. Kornblut, The Washington Post)

Giuliani Still Working at Firm He Promised to Leave
(By John Solomon, The Washington Post)

Weary, Wary Lawmakers See Compromise as Way Forward
(By Jonathan Weisman, The Washington Post)

Blue or Pink States
Those Riding the Election Cycle First Deliver the Vote, and Then the Bundle of Joy
(By Libby Copeland, The Washington Post)

Immunity Jeopardizes Iraq Probe
Guards' Statements Cannot Be Used in Blackwater Case
(By Karen DeYoung, The Washington Post)

More Politics

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NATION
Justices to Examine Punitive Damages In Exxon Oil Spill
The worst oil spill in U.S. history begat the costliest punishment in U.S. history, but the Supreme Court agreed yesterday to decide whether Exxon Mobil has been penalized too much for the environmental damage caused when the Exxon Valdez ran aground in pristine Alaskan waters in 1989.
(By Robert Barnes, The Washington Post)

2007 Spying Said to Cost $50 Billion
Some Formerly Classified Figures Are to Be Disclosed Today
(By Walter Pincus, The Washington Post)

Fake FEMA Briefing Costs Official New Assignment
Missteps Too Common At Agency, Critics Say
(By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post)

NATION IN BRIEF
(The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
Cuba's Waning System of Block-Watchers
CAMAGUEY, Cuba -- Children swarmed the table outside Blanca Peleaz's concrete home in this central Cuban city. There were cakes and cookies, gooey frosting and candy speckles, rare abundance in a place where food shortages are the norm.
(By Manuel Roig-Franzia, The Washington Post)

Pride and Joy in India Over La.'s Bobby Jindal
Governor-Elect Is Latest Scion Idolized for Making It in U.S.
(By Rama Lakshmi, The Washington Post)

Iraqi Dam Seen In Danger of Deadly Collapse
(By Amit R. Paley, The Washington Post)

Premier Quits Amid Turmoil In Somalia
Pressure by U.S., Ethiopia Is Seen Behind Resignation
(By Stephanie McCrummen, The Washington Post)

Va. Sergeant Is Killed in Iraq
(By Jonathan Mummolo, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
Governor Jumping Into Races In N.Va.
RICHMOND -- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is planning to visit Northern Virginia today to launch a final push to help his fellow Democrats make substantial gains in the Republican-controlled General Assembly in next Tuesday's elections.
(By Tim Craig, The Washington Post)

Cabbie Strike Looms In D.C.
Halloween Protest Targets Switch To Meter System
(By Sue Anne Pressley Montes, The Washington Post)

O'Malley Calls for Unity at Start of Special Session on Budget Gap
(By John Wagner, The Washington Post)

Council Votes to Stay an Immigrant 'Sanctuary'
(By Steve Hendrix, The Washington Post)

Unity Is Urged as Assembly Convenes
O'Malley Gives Case To Plug Budget Gap
(By John Wagner, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Financial Futures
Washington Post columnist Martha M. Hamilton and Ellen Rinaldi of Vanguard's Investment Counseling and Research group, will discuss how to make smart retirement decisions.
(Martha M. Hamilton, washingtonpost.com)

Oil and Trade Gains Make Major Investors Of Developing Nations
(By David Cho and Thomas Heath, The Washington Post)

Investors Put Bets On a Fed Rate Cut
Week Will Reveal Health of Economy
(By Neil Irwin, The Washington Post)

Lerach Enters Guilty Plea In Class-Action Conspiracy
(By Carrie Johnson, The Washington Post)

Cabbie Strike Looms In D.C.
Halloween Protest Targets Switch To Meter System
(By Sue Anne Pressley Montes, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
Hearing on Beef Packaging Fails Activists' Smell Test
The process of writing legislation has often been compared to sausage-making, but rarely is rotten meat actually present at a congressional hearing. Yet some is expected this afternoon at a House Agriculture Committee hearing "to review technologies in the meat industry."
(By Rick Weiss, The Washington Post)

BEA Systems in Fight With Icahn
Software Firm's No. 1 Investor Has Been Pushing for a Sale
(By Michael Liedtke, The Washington Post)

2 Accounts of Sex Tapes as Doctor's Trial Starts
(By Raymond McCaffrey, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
The Test of Time
Boston's second title in four years has tilted the baseball world on its axis, and the new center of gravity in MLB is now at Fenway Park, not Yankee Stadium, and a new era in baseball has begun.
(By Thomas Boswell, The Washington Post)

Redskins Go A Little Too Quietly
(By Michael Wilbon, The Washington Post)

In NBA, Wins Can Multiply By the Power of Three
(By Michael Lee, The Washington Post)

Pryce Check: Ravens' End Ready to Play
(By Camille Powell, The Washington Post)

Statistically Speaking, Little to Brag About
(By Christian Swezey, The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
Blue or Pink States
Political campaigns require at least as much care and feeding as babies, which is a good reason not to try to manage both at the same time. Those who work in politics are well aware of the dangers of trying to juggle two whiny, unpredictable and demanding creatures at once.
(By Libby Copeland, The Washington Post)

The Reliable Source
(By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts, The Washington Post)

Turning Novel Ideas Into Inhabitable Worlds
Orhan Pamuk, Honored by Georgetown, Speaks of a Power Inherent on the Page
(By Bob Thompson, The Washington Post)

'Blackout': Britney Is Back, Not That You'd Notice
(By J. Freedom du Lac, The Washington Post)

Eagles' 'Eden' Is Far From Paradise
(By Chris Klimek, The Washington Post)

More Style

LIVE DISCUSSIONS
Books: Two Authors on Saving the Constitution, Nation
Authors Eric Lane ("The Genius of America") and Larry J. Sabato ("A More Perfect Constitution") will examine and debate the Constitutional crises that have arisen during the Bush administration, and the steps that can be taken and changes that can be made to preserve our rights and the power of our nation's founding document.
(Eric Lane and Larry J. Sabato, washingtonpost.com)

D.C., Maryland and Virginia Politics
D.C., Maryland and Virginia Politics
(Mark Plotkin, washingtonpost.com)

Freedom Rock
(J. Freedom du Lac, washingtonpost.com)

Books: Fair Play: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House
Portions Redacted by the CIA
(Valerie Plame Wilson, washingtonpost.com)

Opinion Focus
(Eugene Robinson, washingtonpost.com)

More Live Discussions

EDITORIALS
The Waterboarding Dodge
IT'S A SAD day in America when the nominee for attorney general cannot flatly declare that waterboarding is unconstitutional. The interrogation technique simulates drowning and can cause excruciating mental and physical pain; it has been prosecuted in U.S. courts since the late 1800s and was rega...
(The Washington Post)

New President, Old Cycle
Can Argentina's Cristina Fern¿ndez de Kirchner avoid another economic bust?
(The Washington Post)

The Ghost of Brownie
A fake news conference raises doubts about the 'new' FEMA.
(The Washington Post)

More Editorials

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