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, November 20, 2007

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
For Democrats, Iowa Still Up for Grabs
The top three Democratic presidential contenders remain locked in a close battle in Iowa, with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) seeing her advantages diminish on key issues, including the questions of experience and which candidate is best prepared to handle the war in Iraq, according to a new ...
(By Anne E. Kornblut and Jon Cohen, The Washington Post)

U.N. to Cut Estimate Of AIDS Epidemic
Population With Virus Overstated by Millions
(By Craig Timberg, The Washington Post)

Suspicious Refunds on Gandhi's Tax Tenure
Millions in Checks Raise Questions
(By Carol D. Leonnig and Dan Keating, The Washington Post)

Iraqis Joining Insurgency Less for Cause Than Cash
(By Amit R. Paley, The Washington Post)

Radiation Detectors for Border Are Delayed Again
(By Robert O'Harrow Jr., The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
Bush Calls for More Community Service
CHARLES CITY, Va., Nov. 19 -- In a speech at the historic Berkeley Plantation, where 38 English settlers held what many consider to be the nation's first Thanksgiving in 1619, President Bush on Monday saluted the military and the nation's "good Samaritans" and called on Americans to perform more...
(By Tim Craig, The Washington Post)

For Democrats, Iowa Still Up for Grabs
(By Anne E. Kornblut and Jon Cohen, The Washington Post)

Radiation Detectors for Border Are Delayed Again
(By Robert O'Harrow Jr., The Washington Post)

Homeland Security Adviser Townsend Leaving White House
(By Peter Baker and Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post)

U.S. Attorney for Minnesota to Leave Post
Paulose Was Facing Justice Dept. Probe
(By Amy Goldstein, The Washington Post)

More Politics

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NATION
Radiation Detectors for Border Are Delayed Again
A $1.2 billion plan by the Department of Homeland Security to buy a new kind of radiation-detection machine for the nation's borders has been put on hold again, a blow to one of the Bush administration's top security goals.
(By Robert O'Harrow Jr., The Washington Post)

U.S. Attorney for Minnesota to Leave Post
Paulose Was Facing Justice Dept. Probe
(By Amy Goldstein, The Washington Post)

New York Tightens Shelter Policies
Single-Night Stays No Longer an Option for Families Deemed Ineligible
(By Robin Shulman, The Washington Post)

DHS Erred in $475 Million Contract Given to Native Firm
(By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post)

A Call to Advocacy for Nonprofits
(By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
U.N. to Cut Estimate Of AIDS Epidemic
JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 19 -- The United Nations' top AIDS scientists plan to acknowledge this week that they have long overestimated both the size and the course of the epidemic, which they now believe has been slowing for nearly a decade, according to U.N. documents prepared for the announcement.
(By Craig Timberg, The Washington Post)

In Cyclone's Wake, Tales of Tragedy and Horror
Rescuers Reach Remote Areas of Bangladesh
(By Pavel Rahman, The Washington Post)

Iraqis Joining Insurgency Less for Cause Than Cash
(By Amit R. Paley, The Washington Post)

Grand Jury to Probe Shootings by Guards
Blackwater Among Contractors Facing Scrutiny
(By Steve Fainaru and Carol D. Leonnig, The Washington Post)

Shots Fired From Convoy Set an Iraqi Mob to Action
(By Sudarsan Raghavan, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
Suspicious Refunds on Gandhi's Tax Tenure
In the last year that Natwar M. Gandhi ran the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, the agency issued 15 property tax refund checks worth $2.46 million without required court orders and sometimes to companies that did not exist, a Washington Post analysis has found.
(By Carol D. Leonnig and Dan Keating, The Washington Post)

For Va., Half a Holiday Loaf
Bush Acknowledges Thanksgiving Claim but Won't Pardon Pig
(By Brigid Schulte, The Washington Post)

O'Malley Increases Influence With Wins on Taxes and Slots
Md. Legislators Praise Effort, Flexibility
(By John Wagner, The Washington Post)

Teen Is Killed, Another Critically Hurt in Crash
(By Elissa Silverman and Martin Weil, The Washington Post)

Metro Cashes In On Its Castoffs
Unclaimed, Outdated or Just Unused, Surplus Items Find Eager Buyers Online
(By Lena H. Sun, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Bills Would Let Judges Remake Mortgages
Congress is considering legislation that would allow bankruptcy court judges to rewrite loan terms for people at risk of losing their homes, a change that supporters say could save half a million borrowers from foreclosure through early 2009.
(By Dina ElBoghdady, The Washington Post)

Energy Dept. Criticized Over New Standards for Residential Furnaces
(By H. Josef Hebert, The Washington Post)

Rural Health Groups to Get Millions From FCC
Money to Provide Broadband Access To Isolated Clinics
(By Kim Hart, The Washington Post)

On the Money at Treasury
Working Behind the Scenes, Paulson Had His Department Ready to Confront the Credit Crisis
(By Neil Irwin, The Washington Post)

Iraqis Joining Insurgency Less for Cause Than Cash
(By Amit R. Paley, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
Radiation Detectors for Border Are Delayed Again
A $1.2 billion plan by the Department of Homeland Security to buy a new kind of radiation-detection machine for the nation's borders has been put on hold again, a blow to one of the Bush administration's top security goals.
(By Robert O'Harrow Jr., The Washington Post)

DHS Erred in $475 Million Contract Given to Native Firm
(By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post)

Rural Health Groups to Get Millions From FCC
Money to Provide Broadband Access To Isolated Clinics
(By Kim Hart, The Washington Post)

Energy Dept. Criticized Over New Standards for Residential Furnaces
(By H. Josef Hebert, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
Youth Shows in Secondary
The Redskins move to shore up a secondary that could be without Sean Taylor for another few weeks after the glaring breakdowns in deep coverage against Dallas.
(By Jason Reid, The Washington Post)

Terps Take Heart In Loss
'Best Effort' Not Enough vs. Bruins: UCLA 71, Maryland 59
(By Eric Prisbell, The Washington Post)

Back at Full Strength, Caps Remain in a Rut
Panthers 4, Capitals 3
(By Tarik El-Bashir, The Washington Post)

For Better or for Worse
Season Takes Unexpected Turns for Cavs' Simpson and Hokies' Ore
(By Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post)

Big Plays Propel Resurgent Broncos Past Titans
Broncos 34, Titans 20
(By Eddie Pells, AP)

More Sports

STYLE
That's Using The Old Onion
MONTVALE, N.J. Here, in a gleaming stainless-steel test laboratory, six employees in hairnets and white coats are peering at our Thanksgiving destiny. It is a tray of French's French Fried Onions, or FFOs, those succulent morsels of oil and shame that must top the green bean casserole that must a...
(By Monica Hesse, The Washington Post)

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

With a Little Push, A Rookie Idol Shows Her Range
(By Kevin O'Donnell, The Washington Post)

After Smithsonian Loses Oceans Gift, Board to Review Donation Process
(By Jacqueline Trescott, The Washington Post)

The Multiple Personalities of 'Frank TV': Sketchy, Indeed
(By Tom Shales, The Washington Post)

More Style

LIVE DISCUSSIONS
D.C., Maryland and Virginia Politics
WTOP political commentator Mark Plotkin will be online to take one last look at the Virginia election as voters are heading to the polls.
(Mark Plotkin, washingtonpost.com)

Freedom Rock
(David Malitz, washingtonpost.com)

Opinion Focus
(Eugene Robinson, washingtonpost.com)

Lean Plate Club
Talk About Nutrition and Health
(Sally Squires, washingtonpost.com)

K Street
(Jeffrey Birnbaum, washingtonpost.com)

More Live Discussions

EDITORIALS
Gen. Musharraf Is the Problem
LIKE MANY autocrats before him, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has confused his own fortunes with those of his country. Over the weekend he told a visiting U.S. envoy that only he could save Pakistan from terrorism and lead it toward democracy. In fact, the opposite is true: It is increasin...
(The Washington Post)

Bite the Bullet
When their forensic test proved to be flawed, the FBI and the Justice Department fell short.
(The Washington Post)

Reporting Against the Odds
Honoring journalists who risk death to write the truth.
(The Washington Post)

More Editorials

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