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.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Key Setbacks Dim Luster of Democrats' Year
The first Democratic-led Congress in a dozen years limped out of Washington last night with a lengthy list of accomplishments, from the first increase in fuel-efficiency standards in a generation to the first minimum-wage hike in a decade.
(By Jonathan Weisman and Paul Kane, The Washington Post)

Will Enough Men Stand By This Woman?
Hillary Clinton's Fight for the White House Reflects the Battle of the Sexes
(By Lois Romano, The Washington Post)

For Israel's Arab Citizens, Isolation and Exclusion
(By Scott Wilson, The Washington Post)

D.C. Gets 25 Cents' Worth of Respect
District Will Finally Get Its Own Quarter From Mint
(By Mary Beth Sheridan, The Washington Post)

State Unlikely to Create Fund for Victims
Possible Settlement, Talks With Families Could Head Off Lawsuits, Kaine Says
(By Tim Craig, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
A Reading Program's Powerful Patron
When Congress decided to appropriate $2 million in fall 2001 to help D.C. kindergartners and first-graders learn to read, city school officials were told that the money could be spent only on the Voyager Expanded Learning literacy program, a new product with virtually no track record. They had ju...
(By James V. Grimaldi, The Washington Post)

Key Setbacks Dim Luster of Democrats' Year
(By Jonathan Weisman and Paul Kane, The Washington Post)

Surging Huckabee Takes Lead in Iowa Over Romney
(By Jon Cohen and Chris Cillizza, The Washington Post)

EPA Chief Denies Calif. Limit on Auto Emissions
Rules Would Target Greenhouse Gases
(By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post)

White House Lawyers Told Of Videotapes
CIA Chief Says They Urged Caution in Destroying Tapes
(By Michael Abramowitz and Joby Warrick, The Washington Post)

More Politics

Add topics to this e-mail

Make this e-mail your own by selecting the topics and columnists that interest you! Personalize this e-mail now.

NATION
EPA Chief Denies Calif. Limit on Auto Emissions
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson yesterday denied California's petition to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, overruling the unanimous recommendation of the agency's legal and technical staffs.
(By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post)

Mukasey Limits Agency's Contacts With White House
(By Dan Eggen, The Washington Post)

Congress Passes Bill to Stop Mentally Ill From Getting Guns
(By Elizabeth Williamson and Brigid Schulte, The Washington Post)

Dentist on a Mission: Extracting the Coach of N.Y.'s Knicks
(By David Segal, The Washington Post)

Inquiry Cites Friendly Fire In Deaths of Two Soldiers
(The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
For Israel's Arab Citizens, Isolation and Exclusion
KARMIEL, Israel -- Fatina and Ahmad Zubeidat, young Arab citizens of Israel, met on the first day of class at the prestigious Bezalel arts and architecture academy in Jerusalem. Married last year, the couple rents an airy house here in the Galilee filled with stylish furniture and other modern gr...
(By Scott Wilson, The Washington Post)

Strictures in U.S. Prompt Arabs to Study Elsewhere
Australia Is Viewed As 'More Welcoming'
(By Ellen Knickmeyer, The Washington Post)

Zuma Inspires Mix of Trust, Fear in S. Africa
Newly Elected Head Of ANC Has Shared Little of His Plans
(By Craig Timberg, The Washington Post)

Sanctions Against Cuba Are Excessive, GAO Says
(By Karen DeYoung, The Washington Post)

Congress Sets Limits on Aid to Pakistan
Bill Withholds $50 Million Until U.S. Confirms Islamabad Is Reinstating Rights
(By Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
2 Unions Back Challenger Over Incumbent in 4th District
Two major labor unions made rare endorsements of a challenger to a Democratic congressman yesterday, promising to make their choice matter through a vigorous effort to help lawyer Donna F. Edwards unseat eight-term Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.).
(By Rosalind S. Helderman, The Washington Post)

Gansler Wants 17-Year-Olds To Participate In Md. Primary
(By Lisa Rein, The Washington Post)

A Reading Program's Powerful Patron
(By James V. Grimaldi, The Washington Post)

Crowd Drops for 3rd Meeting on Boundary Proposals
(By Michael Alison Chandler, The Washington Post)

D.C. Gets 25 Cents' Worth of Respect
District Will Finally Get Its Own Quarter From Mint
(By Mary Beth Sheridan, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Two Turtledoves, My Love
On the third day of Christmas in Washington, my true love realized that French hens get no formal recognition from bird experts in North America.
(By Jackie Spinner, The Washington Post)

Patch Approved For Alternative Minimum Tax
Early Filers to Wait for Refunds As IRS Applies Fix to Computers
(By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, The Washington Post)

Economic Outlook
(Lawrence H. Summers, washingtonpost.com)

First Quarterly Loss Posted In Morgan Stanley's 72 Years
(By Tomoeh Murakami Tse and David Cho, The Washington Post)

For Israel's Arab Citizens, Isolation and Exclusion
(By Scott Wilson, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
Steps to Get Your New Computer Running Right
The consumer electronics business can craft products that can be taken out of the box, turned on and properly used without a glance at a manual, but the home computer still isn't among them.
(By Rob Pegoraro, The Washington Post)

Gambling Ads Cost Internet Giants
Google, Yahoo, Microsoft Agree to $31.5 Million Settlement
(By Jim Salter, The Washington Post)

Google-DoubleClick Deal Nears Approval
FTC Likely to Vote on Merger This Week
(By Catherine Rampell, The Washington Post)

Shrinking the Savings Bonds Limit
(By Michelle Singletary, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
Jordan Sticks to the Plan
Coach Eddie Jordan was well aware of the pressure on him after the Wizards started the season 0-5, but now he has them playing about as efficiently as they possibly can.
(By Michael Wilbon, The Washington Post)

Redskins' Collins Sets Proper Tone
(By Jason Reid, The Washington Post)

Mids Set for Utes' Defense Mechanism
(By Christian Swezey, The Washington Post)

Cold Spell Dooms Wizards
Butler Posts a Triple-Double, But Bulls Pull Away in Stretch: Bulls 95, Wizards 84
(By Ivan Carter, The Washington Post)

Thompson Receives Apology
(The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
Will Enough Men Stand By This Woman?
Like many New Hampshire voters, Matthew McLaughlin is rather well schooled in presidential politics. He exhaustively reads newspapers, takes in the television ads flooding his state these days and watches the debates. He is a former Navy pilot with a particular interest in the next commander in...
(By Lois Romano, The Washington Post)

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

American Ballet's 'Nutcracker,' A Fairy Tale Missing Its Magic
(By Sarah Kaufman, The Washington Post)

The Other Spears Does The Bump
Britney's Little Sister No Longer the, Uh, Role Model
(By Monica Hesse, The Washington Post)

Burning Brightly, From Behind Bars
(By Celia Wren, The Washington Post)

More Style

LIVE DISCUSSIONS
Washington Week
WETA's "Washington Week and National Journal" moderator Gwen Ifill takes questions and comments about her weekly PBS program and the latest news.
(Gwen Ifill, washingtonpost.com)

Slate: The Best Music of 2007
Who Kept You Humming in 2007? Mixing the Best Albums and Songs of the Year
(Jody Rosen, washingtonpost.com)

Celebritology Live
Get the Scoop on the Latest Gossip Making Waves on the Web
(Liz Kelly, washingtonpost.com)

Personal Tech: Holiday Guide 2007
(Rob Pegoraro, washingtonpost.com)

The Redskins
(Jason La Canfora, washingtonpost.com)

More Live Discussions

EDITORIALS
Congress's Mixed Results
FOR CONGRESSIONAL Democrats, the first session of the 110th Congress offered a sobering lesson in the practical limits of majority control. Democrats delivered part of what they had promised to the voters who returned them to power last November and recorded some significant achievements. But mor...
(The Washington Post)

A Better Life in New Orleans
Failed public housing must be demolished.
(The Washington Post)

More Editorials

E-Mail Newsletter Services
• To sign up for additional newsletters or get help, visit the E-mail Preferences Page.

Unsubscribe | Feedback | Advertising | Subscribe to the Paper