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.

Friday, January 18, 2008

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Fed Chairman Backs Stimulus
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke endorsed government efforts to stimulate the economy yesterday, as congressional leaders and the Bush administration moved closer to agreement on a plan.
(By Neil Irwin and Jonathan Weisman, The Washington Post)

CIA Places Blame for Bhutto Assassination
Hayden Cites Al-Qaeda, Pakistani Fighters
(By Joby Warrick, The Washington Post)

Many Parents at Assemblies Oppose Plan
City Officials Criticized For Holding Hearings Despite Bad Weather
(By V. Dion Haynes and Michael E. Ruane, The Washington Post)

White House Study Found 473 Days of E-Mail Gone
(By Dan Eggen and Elizabeth Williamson, The Washington Post)

Chief of Veterans Charities Grilled on Groups' Spending
(By Philip Rucker, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
Coal Industry Plugs Into the Campaign
A group backed by the coal industry and its utility allies is waging a $35 million campaign in primary and caucus states to rally public support for coal-fired electricity and to fuel opposition to legislation that Congress is crafting to slow climate change.
(By Steven Mufson, The Washington Post)

Mining Giant to Pay $20 Million EPA Fine
Runoff Polluted Waters in W.Va., Ky.
(By David A. Fahrenthold, The Washington Post)

White House Study Found 473 Days of E-Mail Gone
(By Dan Eggen and Elizabeth Williamson, The Washington Post)

Campaigning for His Wife, Shadowed by Past Battles
(By Peter Baker, The Washington Post)

CIA Places Blame for Bhutto Assassination
Hayden Cites Al-Qaeda, Pakistani Fighters
(By 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
Foreclosures, Lenders' Preferred Fix
At a time when mortgage lenders were touting efforts to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, delinquent borrowers were almost twice as likely to lose their homes as they were to reach an agreement with their lender that would allow them to stay put, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association surve...
(By Renae Merle, The Washington Post)

Mature Human Embryos Created From Adult Skin Cells
(By Rick Weiss, The Washington Post)

Iraq May Need Military Help for Years, Officials Say
(By Ann Scott Tyson, The Washington Post)

NATION IN BRIEF
(The Washington Post)

Lawmaker Tells Court FBI Agents Bullied Him
Jefferson Testifies About 2005 Raid On His La. Home
(By Jerry Markon, The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
A Scholar's Legal Peril in Poland
WARSAW -- Polish prosecutors are considering taking the unusual step of filing criminal charges against an Ivy League professor for allegedly "slandering the Polish nation" in a book that describes how Poles victimized Jewish survivors of the Holocaust in the aftermath of World War II.
(By Craig Whitlock, The Washington Post)

South America's Constitutional Battles
As Three Leaders Attempt to Reshape Power, One Question Is Central: Who Would Benefit?
(By Monte Reel, The Washington Post)

Kenyan Opposition to Call for Strikes, Boycotts
Leader Accuses Police Of Using Deadly Force Against Demonstrators
(By Stephanie McCrummen, The Washington Post)

Compromise Plan May End Political Stalemate in Zimbabwe
(By Craig Timberg, The Washington Post)

China Wants U.S. to Do More to Prevent Taiwan Vote
(By Edward Cody, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
Bill Would Require Buyers to Pay Taxes at DMV
RICHMOND, Jan. 17 -- Northern Virginia residents could face long lines at the DMV after action by lawmakers Thursday that would force car buyers to pay auto sales taxes directly to the state instead of through dealers.
(By Anita Kumar, The Washington Post)

Candlelight and Prayers For Four Sisters in SE
Vigil Seeks to Keep Tragedy in Forefront
(By Robert E. Pierre, The Washington Post)

Many Parents at Assemblies Oppose Plan
City Officials Criticized For Holding Hearings Despite Bad Weather
(By V. Dion Haynes and Michael E. Ruane, The Washington Post)

$500,000 Raised for Campaign, Most of It From Developers
(By William Wan, The Washington Post)

Power Firm Reaped Extra $1 Billion, Officials Say
(By Lisa Rein, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Fed Chairman Backs Stimulus
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke endorsed government efforts to stimulate the economy yesterday, as congressional leaders and the Bush administration moved closer to agreement on a plan.
(By Neil Irwin and Jonathan Weisman, The Washington Post)

Coal Industry Plugs Into the Campaign
(By Steven Mufson, The Washington Post)

Foreclosures, Lenders' Preferred Fix
(By Renae Merle, The Washington Post)

Filling Up With Biofuel
Safeway's New Truck Policy Adds to a Retail Trend
(By Ylan Q. Mui, The Washington Post)

Dire Year on Wall Street Yields Gigantic Bonuses
Biggest Firms Pay Record $39 Billion
(By Christine Harper, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
DHS to Replace 'Duplicative' Anti-Terrorism Data Network
The Homeland Security Department spent more than $90 million to create a network for sharing sensitive anti-terrorism information with state and local governments that it has decided to replace, according to an internal department document.
(By Spencer S. Hsu and Robert O'Harrow Jr., The Washington Post)

White House Study Found 473 Days of E-Mail Gone
(By Dan Eggen and Elizabeth Williamson, The Washington Post)

$25 Million Begins Google's Charity
Philanthropic Unit to Focus on Climate and the Developing World
(By Kim Hart, The Washington Post)

Mature Human Embryos Created From Adult Skin Cells
(By Rick Weiss, The Washington Post)

IBM Retirees to Test the Waters at Treasury
(By Stephen Barr, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
Colts' Meeks Talks to Redskins
The Redskins meet Thursday with Colts assistant Ron Meeks and Daniel Snyder flys to Seattle to meet with Seahawks assistant Jim Mora.
(By Jason La Canfora, The Washington Post)

Quietly Quieting His Critics
(By Sally Jenkins, The Washington Post)

Bradley, Capitals Score a 12th-Round Knockout
Shootout Win Is Fourth in Last 5 Games: Capitals 5, Oilers 4
(By Tarik El-Bashir, The Washington Post)

Maryland Women Head to Virginia
No. 4 Terps Hope to Build on Win Over Duke
(Washington Post Staff, The Washington Post)

U-Va.'s Sewell Not Enrolled For the Spring
(The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
Dirty Tricks Without Illusions
Allen Raymond is out of prison now, and out of politics, too. The former Republican campaign operative did his time in federal prison for dirty tricks in the 2002 election. Now he's sitting on the couch in the bright, airy living room of his big brick house in Bethesda, looking back over the wrec...
(By Peter Carlson, The Washington Post)

In the Spotlight, Unhappily
(The Washington Post)

Tom Cruise's Scary Movie
In Church Promo, the Scientologist Is Hard to Suppress
(By Neely Tucker, The Washington Post)

Chris Matthews Backs Off 'Nasty' Remark on Clinton
(By Howard Kurtz, The Washington Post)

'Cloverfield's' Monster Also Behind the Lens
(By John Anderson, The Washington Post)

More Style

LIVE DISCUSSIONS
The Washington Capitals
Washington Post staff writer Tarik El-Bashir will be online to take your questions about the Caps and the NHL.
(Tarik El-Bashir, washingtonpost.com)

Real Estate Live
(Maryann Haggerty and Elizabeth Razzi, washingtonpost.com)

Election 2008: South Carolina Primaries
(Bruce Ransom, washingtonpost.com)

Behind the Screen
Hollywood and Indie Offerings
(Desson Thomson, washingtonpost.com)

Carolyn Hax Live
(Carolyn Hax, washingtonpost.com)

More Live Discussions

EDITORIALS
Iraqi Mirages
POLITICAL reconciliation in Iraq has a way of perpetually receding from the legal and political frameworks that are built for it. The pattern was set more than two years ago, when Iraqi leaders announced agreement on a new constitution but buried in its text fundamental differences over federalis...
(The Washington Post)

Mr. Fehr in Left Field
The baseball players union balks at outside drug testing.
(The Washington Post)

Corporate Impunity
Investors should be able to sue for losses caused by fraud.
(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