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, April 04, 2008

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Border Complicates War in Afghanistan
SPERA DISTRICT, Afghanistan -- As a cold darkness enveloped the tiny U.S. military camp just inside Afghanistan's border with Pakistan, word spread that Taliban fighters were on the move nearby, planning an attack.
(By Ann Scott Tyson, The Washington Post)

Basra Assault Exposed U.S., Iraqi Limits
Anti-Sadr Gambit Seen Aiding Cleric
(By Sudarsan Raghavan and Ernesto Londoño, The Washington Post)

Clinton Camp Feels Spent, and Outspent
(By Matthew Mosk, The Washington Post)

Mother of Slain Children Questions Court System
Md. Woman Voiced Worries About Husband
(By Dan Morse, The Washington Post)

In a Must-Win, It's Ovechkin
Star Scores Twice for Caps, Who Preserve Playoff Hopes With Sixth Straight Victory: Capitals 4, Lightning 1
(By Tarik El-Bashir, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
Administration Asserted a Terror Exception on Search and Seizure
The Justice Department concluded in October 2001 that military operations combating terrorism inside the United States are not limited by Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, in one of several secret memos containing new and controversial assertions of...
(By Dan Eggen and Josh White, The Washington Post)

Chemical Industry's Influence at EPA Probed
(By Lyndsey Layton, The Washington Post)

McCain Holds Off on Secret Service Protection
(By Michael D. Shear and Christopher Lee, The Washington Post)

Clinton Camp Feels Spent, and Outspent
(By Matthew Mosk, The Washington Post)

Clinton Emphasizes the Economy
(The Washington Post)

More Politics

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NATION
The Other Side of the Mountaintop
Near the end of his life, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. felt cornered and under siege. His opposition to the Vietnam War was widely criticized, even by friends. He was being pressured both to repudiate the black power movement and to embrace it. Some of his lieutenants were urging him to jettis...
(By Kevin Merida, The Washington Post)

Administration Asserted a Terror Exception on Search and Seizure
(By Dan Eggen and Josh White, The Washington Post)

Human Traces Found to Be Oldest in N. America
Remnants Provide New Clues in Debate Over Where and When Continent's First Inhabitants Lived
(By Marc Kaufman, The Washington Post)

Senators Back Bear Rescue, But Not Without Questions
(By Neil Irwin, The Washington Post)

Airline Safety Alarms Unheeded
Southwest Lapse Tied to Pattern Of FAA Leniency
(By Del Quentin Wilber, The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
Aides Study Mugabe's Options as Police Detain Foreigners
HARARE, Zimbabwe, April 3 -- President Robert Mugabe's fractured inner circle called an emergency meeting for Friday morning to debate whether the president should step down or participate in a second round of voting against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who appeared to receive more votes in...
(By Craig Timberg and Darlington Majonga, The Washington Post)

Border Complicates War in Afghanistan
Insurgents Are Straddling Pakistani Line
(By Ann Scott Tyson, The Washington Post)

8 Accused in Transatlantic Bomb Plot Go on Trial
British Muslims Targeted Seven Flights, Court Told
(By Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan, The Washington Post)

'A Society on the Threshold of Change'
Bhutanese Confront Modernization Warily
(By Emily Wax, The Washington Post)

Missile Defense Endorsed By NATO
A Victory for Bush; Czechs Set Deal to Host Radar Facility
(By Peter Baker, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
Mother of Slain Children Questions Court System
A Silver Spring woman whose three children were slain last weekend in a case in which her husband has been charged said yesterday that the court system in Montgomery County needs to better understand mental illness and that "some people . . . would not listen to me."
(By Dan Morse, The Washington Post)

Senate Approves Repeal of New Levy
(By John Wagner, The Washington Post)

Burglars Plunder Food From Charity
Best Goods Taken From Alexandria Warehouse
(By Theresa Vargas, The Washington Post)

Salaries, Strong Recruitment Ease Area Paramedic Shortage
(By Raymond McCaffrey, The Washington Post)

Constellation Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval
(By Annapolis Digest, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Census Back to Pen and Paper
The government is dropping plans to use handheld computers to count millions of people, citing problems with a contract that was intended to make the 2010 Census the nation's first high-tech head count.
(By Dana Hedgpeth, The Washington Post)

Airline Safety Alarms Unheeded
Southwest Lapse Tied to Pattern Of FAA Leniency
(By Del Quentin Wilber, The Washington Post)

Senators Back Bear Rescue, But Not Without Questions
(By Neil Irwin, The Washington Post)

The Other Side of the Mountaintop
Scholars Assess Nation's Progress -- And an Icon's Rougher Edges -- Four Decades After Assassination
(By Kevin Merida, The Washington Post)

Chemical Industry's Influence at EPA Probed
(By Lyndsey Layton, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
Senate Approves Repeal of New Levy
The Maryland Senate voted 30 to 17 last night to repeal the state's new tax on computer services and offset the lost revenue with a three-year surcharge on the income of millionaires as well as cuts to transportation projects and state agencies.
(By John Wagner, The Washington Post)

Every Click You Make
Internet Providers Quietly Test Expanded Tracking of Web Use to Target Advertising
(By Peter Whoriskey, The Washington Post)

Record Companies Link Up With MySpace
Once Targets of Lawsuits, Social Web Sites Now Looked to as Music Vendors
(By Peter Whoriskey, The Washington Post)

Provocative Blog Spawns Its Anti-Blog in Pr. William
(By Kristen Mack, The Washington Post)

Chemical Industry's Influence at EPA Probed
(By Lyndsey Layton, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
Nationals Fail to Cover All Bases
The Nationals give away a five-run lead and Jesus Colome walks Jayson Werth to force in the winning run in the 10th inning and give the Phillies an 8-7 victory.
(By Barry Svrluga, The Washington Post)

Wizards' Jamison Is Doubtful Tonight
(By Ivan Carter, The Washington Post)

At 19, Young Love Blossoms at UCLA
Bruins Smitten by Freshman Center
(By Eric Prisbell, The Washington Post)

In a Must-Win, It's Ovechkin
Star Scores Twice for Caps, Who Preserve Playoff Hopes With Sixth Straight Victory: Capitals 4, Lightning 1
(By Tarik El-Bashir, The Washington Post)

Mariners-Orioles Series Has an Emotional Angle
(By Marc Carig, The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
Footsteps of a Giant
NEW YORK Eyeing your run-of-the-mill overstuffed classical ballet, the trenchant British choreographer Antony Tudor was apt to scoff, "So much money, so little truth."
(By Sarah Kaufman, The Washington Post)

Will They Have a Bright Future in Baltimore?
(By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts, The Washington Post)

An Uplifting 'Resurrection'
Mahler Symphony Makes for a Big Night for NSO
(By Anne Midgette, The Washington Post)

'South Pacific': An Island of Musical Perfection
(By Peter Marks, The Washington Post)

'Leatherheads': A Throwback That Can't Quite Punch It In
(By John Anderson, The Washington Post)

More Style

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

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. with John Legend
(John Legend, washingtonpost.com)

On TV
Reality, Non-Reality and Everything In-Between
(Lisa de Moraes, washingtonpost.com)

Carolyn Hax Live
Friday, April 4, 12 noon ET
(Carolyn Hax, washingtonpost.com)

Final Four
(John Feinstein, washingtonpost.com)

More Live Discussions

Tortured Logic
SOMETIMES IT'S best to let an author's words speak for themselves. The following is from a 2003 Justice Department memorandum on the legal standards governing military interrogations of terrorism suspects: "As we have made clear in other opinions involving the war against al Qaeda, the Nation's r...
(The Washington Post)

Metro at Risk
In Congress, an Alphonse-and-Gaston routine imperils the region's main transit system.
(The Washington Post)

A Hint of Tolerance
Saudi Arabia's king proposes a dialogue with Christians and Jews.
(The Washington Post)

It's Come to This
Calling the police on a playful 6-year-old
(The Washington Post)

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