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, February 28, 2008

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Sunni Forces Losing Patience With U.S.
BAGHDAD, Feb. 27 -- U.S.-backed Sunni volunteer forces, which have played a vital role in reducing violence in Iraq, are increasingly frustrated with the American military and the Iraqi government over what they see as a lack of recognition of their growing political clout and insufficient U.S....
(By Sudarsan Raghavan and Amit R. Paley, The Washington Post)

'Virtual Fence' Along Border To Be Delayed
U.S. Retooling High-Tech Barrier After 28-Mile Pilot Project Fails
(By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post)

Clinton Campaign Pours Resources Into Two Crucial Primaries
(By Anne E. Kornblut and Shailagh Murray, The Washington Post)

At the High Court, Damage Control
(By Dana Milbank, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
Clash on Iraq Could Be McCain-Obama Preview
TYLER, Tex., Feb. 27 -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) accused Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) of making ill-informed comments about Iraq and al-Qaeda in Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate, signaling that a general-election brawl between the colleagues would center in part on who has the foreign...
(By Michael D. Shear and Shailagh Murray, The Washington Post)

Pact Would Give Global AIDS Fight Triple the Money
(By David Brown, The Washington Post)

House Democrats Hold Plan for Ethics Office
(By Ben Pershing, The Washington Post)

Senate Continues Debate on Iraq Pullout
2 Bills Unlikely to Pass, but Both Parties Square Off With Eye Toward Elections
(By Paul Kane, The Washington Post)

House Votes to End Big Oil's Tax Breaks
Despite Veto Threat, Bill to Boost Renewable Energy Is Sent to Senate
(By Steven Mufson, The Washington Post)

More Politics

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NATION
'Virtual Fence' Along Border To Be Delayed
The Bush administration has scaled back plans to quickly build a "virtual fence" along the U.S.-Mexico border, delaying completion of the first phase of the project by at least three years and shifting away from a network of tower-mounted sensors and surveillance gear, federal officials said...
(By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post)

Justices Assess Financial Damages in Exxon Valdez Case
Supreme Court May Reduce Billions Awarded Over Environmental Debacle in Prince William Sound
(By Robert Barnes, The Washington Post)

An Upside for the Middle Class
Lost Amid the Stresses Are Gains in Standard of Living
(By Michael A. Fletcher, The Washington Post)

Justices Let Age Bias Lawsuit Move Ahead
(By Robert Barnes, The Washington Post)

NATION IN BRIEF
(The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
Pact Would Give Global AIDS Fight Triple the Money
House leaders from both parties and the White House yesterday reached agreement on a bill that would more than triple funding for the Bush administration's global AIDS program, already the largest foreign aid initiative aimed at fighting a single disease in U.S. history.
(By David Brown, The Washington Post)

Strikes Destroy Ministry in Gaza, Kill 10 Palestinians
Rocket Attacks By Hamas Leave One Israeli Dead
(By Griff Witte, The Washington Post)

Sunni Forces Losing Patience With U.S.
Citing Lack of Support, Frustrated Iraqi Volunteers Are Abandoning Posts
(By Sudarsan Raghavan and Amit R. Paley, The Washington Post)

Clash on Iraq Could Be McCain-Obama Preview
(By Michael D. Shear and Shailagh Murray, The Washington Post)

Senate Continues Debate on Iraq Pullout
2 Bills Unlikely to Pass, but Both Parties Square Off With Eye Toward Elections
(By Paul Kane, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
D.C. Could Have Done More To Help 4 Sisters, Families Say
Relatives of the four girls whose decomposed bodies were found last month in a Southeast Washington rowhouse have hired lawyers to pursue claims against the D.C. government for failing to prevent months of neglect and abuse.
(By Keith L. Alexander and Petula Dvorak, The Washington Post)

District to Limit Visitor Parking Near Ballpark
(By Daniel LeDuc, The Washington Post)

Bill Targets Frequent Test-Takers at DMV
Officials Say Some Who Repeatedly Fail Exams Are Using Office as Driving School
(By Anita Kumar, The Washington Post)

D.C. Health Alliance Faulted on Eligibility Control
(By Susan Levine, The Washington Post)

Parents Protest Plan for School Closures
In Revising List, Chancellor Cites Academic Achievement, Facility Design Issues
(By V. Dion Haynes, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Bernanke Signals Rate Cuts On Concern About Economy
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke came to Capitol Hill yesterday during a swirl of new evidence that the economy is getting weaker and inflation is on the rise. But his message was the same as it has been since the beginning of the year: His foremost concern is the slumping economy, and more...
(By Neil Irwin, The Washington Post)

House Votes to End Big Oil's Tax Breaks
Despite Veto Threat, Bill to Boost Renewable Energy Is Sent to Senate
(By Steven Mufson, The Washington Post)

Color of Money Book Club
(Michelle Singletary, washingtonpost.com)

An Upside for the Middle Class
Lost Amid the Stresses Are Gains in Standard of Living
(By Michael A. Fletcher, The Washington Post)

D.C. Could Have Done More To Help 4 Sisters, Families Say
(By Keith L. Alexander and Petula Dvorak, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
Comcast Accused of Falsely Taking Hearing Seats
The organizer of a federal hearing Monday at Harvard Law School on Comcast's treatment of subscriber Internet traffic said yesterday that "seat-warmers" hired by the company prevented other people from attending.
(By Mark Jewell, The Washington Post)

The Frustration of Format Wars
(By Rob Pegoraro, The Washington Post)

E.U. Slaps Third Fine on Microsoft
(By Kevin Sullivan, The Washington Post)

'Virtual Fence' Along Border To Be Delayed
U.S. Retooling High-Tech Barrier After 28-Mile Pilot Project Fails
(By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post)

Traversing a Parallel Universe
(By Mike Musgrove,, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
For Johnson, An Exhibition Of Pure Joy
Wednesday brings a huge adrenaline rush for Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson as he gets his first semblance of competition since he fractured his right leg on Sept. 23, 2006.
(By Barry Svrluga, The Washington Post)

NFL's Buried Treasure
Extensive Use of Franchise Tag Keeps Stars off Free Agent Market
(By Mark Maske, The Washington Post)

Butler Has Torn Labrum In Left Hip
(By Ivan Carter, The Washington Post)

Sprink Shoots Navy Into First Place
Senior Scores 34 To Sink American: Navy 83, American 68
(By Christian Swezey, The Washington Post)

Big Burst in Second Half Lifts Colonials
No. 15 George Washington 75, Richmond 59
(AP)

More Sports

STYLE
Empty, Open Arms
Chris Pohl came to the recent Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington to peddle hats.
(By Kevin Merida, The Washington Post)

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

Taylor Swift Puts The Kid in Country
At 18, the Singer-Songwriter Already Has a Lot to Crow About. Sweet.
(By J. Freedom du Lac, The Washington Post)

William F. Buckley Jr., Rapier Wit Of the Right
(By Henry Allen, The Washington Post)

NSO's Promising Date With Christoph Eschenbach
(By Anne Midgette, The Washington Post)

More Style

LIVE DISCUSSIONS
Celebritology Live
Join Celebritology blogger Liz Kelly to gab about the latest celebrity pairings (and splittings), rising stars (and falling ones) and get the scoop on the latest gossip making waves across the Web.
(Liz Kelly, washingtonpost.com)

Got Plans?
(The Going Out Gurus, washingtonpost.com)

National Security and Intelligence
(Dana Priest, washingtonpost.com)

Washington Week
(Gwen Ifill, washingtonpost.com)

Color of Money Book Club
(Michelle Singletary, washingtonpost.com)

More Live Discussions

False Choices
CHILD WELFARE officials in the District are under scrutiny again for bungling a case of suspected child abuse. This time, it's twin baby girls taken from parents who were wrongly accused, and the issue is whether an overzealous agency overreacted. That's in contrast to how the four daughters of B...
(The Washington Post)

Bad Beef
Lessons learned from the largest meat recall in U.S. history
(The Washington Post)

William F. Buckley Jr.
Conservatism loses its most eloquent voice.
(The Washington Post)

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