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.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Groundings Prompt FAA Safety Overhaul
The nation's top transportation official yesterday announced steps that she said will improve oversight of airlines' compliance with safety mandates and ensure that last week's mass groundings and flight cancellations do not recur.
(By Del Quentin Wilber, The Washington Post)

Afghan Commandos Emerge
U.S.-Trained Force Plays Growing Role in Fighting Insurgents
(By Ann Scott Tyson, The Washington Post)

Maybe Not 'Bitter,' But Aware of the Loss
In Western Pa., Witnessing a Steady Decline
(By Alec MacGillis, The Washington Post)

Verdict Out On Impact Of Outreach To Victims
(By Jacqueline L. Salmon and Alan Cooperman, The Washington Post)

Mettle, Not Medals, Is Goal of U.S. Team
Olympic Officials Emphasizing Character Instead of Athletic Achievement
(By Amy Shipley, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
Senators Ask For Pentagon Explanation on Contract Abuse
Two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee called yesterday on Pentagon officials to further explain the awarding of a $50 million Air Force contract to a company owned by people close to senior Air Force officials, demanding accountability at the highest levels of the service.
(By Josh White, The Washington Post)

Bush Picks Executive for HUD
Critics See a Place-Holder With Little Housing Experience
(By Michael Abramowitz and Carol Leonnig, The Washington Post)

Obama Fights On Two Fronts
(By Shailagh Murray and Perry Bacon Jr., The Washington Post)

Maybe Not 'Bitter,' But Aware of the Loss
In Western Pa., Witnessing a Steady Decline
(By Alec MacGillis, The Washington Post)

At Warmdaddy's, Cooling Toward Clinton
(By Krissah Williams, The Washington Post)

More Politics

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NATION
Senators Ask For Pentagon Explanation on Contract Abuse
Two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee called yesterday on Pentagon officials to further explain the awarding of a $50 million Air Force contract to a company owned by people close to senior Air Force officials, demanding accountability at the highest levels of the service.
(By Josh White, The Washington Post)

Pope Stresses Human Rights, Ethical Science
(By Michelle Boorstein and Colum Lynch, The Washington Post)

Mettle, Not Medals, Is Goal of U.S. Team
Olympic Officials Emphasizing Character Instead of Athletic Achievement
(By Amy Shipley, The Washington Post)

Afghan Commandos Emerge
U.S.-Trained Force Plays Growing Role in Fighting Insurgents
(By Ann Scott Tyson, The Washington Post)

Sect Children To Remain In State Care, Judge Says
DNA Tests Ordered To Reveal Parentage
(By Michelle Roberts, The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
Carter Meets With Hamas Chief In Exile, Defying Israel and U.S.
JERUSALEM, April 18 -- Former president Jimmy Carter followed through on a planned meeting with the exiled leader of Hamas on Friday, despite U.S. and Israeli protests that the session would give legitimacy to a group they consider a terrorist organization.
(By Griff Witte, The Washington Post)

Redskins Cheerleaders Shake Up Cricket In Modest India
(By Emily Wax, The Washington Post)

Afghan Commandos Emerge
U.S.-Trained Force Plays Growing Role in Fighting Insurgents
(By Ann Scott Tyson, The Washington Post)

Canada Bans BPA From Baby Bottles
(By Lyndsey Layton and Christopher Lee, The Washington Post)

Pope Stresses Human Rights, Ethical Science
(By Michelle Boorstein and Colum Lynch, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
Cab Switch To Meters Is Tied Up
Thousands of District taxi drivers have not yet installed the fare meters required by May 1 under a new law, and the Fenty administration says drivers face a $1,000 fine every time they're caught picking up rides without meters after the deadline.
(By Sue Anne Pressley Montes and Petula Dvorak, The Washington Post)

Most Crimes Occur At Ends of the Lines
(By Lena H. Sun, The Washington Post)

The Last Holdouts
Their Neighbors Left, but the Martinez Women Stood Firm
(By Sylvia Moreno, The Washington Post)

Man Implicated In 6 Robberies Hits Downtown Bank
(By Martin Weil, The Washington Post)

U-Md. Officials Approve Minor in Latino Studies
(By Valerie Strauss, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
Former Fannie Chief Settles
The government said yesterday it has settled its long-running effort to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars from Franklin D. Raines and two other former executives of Fannie Mae for their alleged role in an accounting scandal.
(By David S. Hilzenrath, The Washington Post)

Citigroup Reports Dismal 1st Quarter
It's No Surprise, Though, And Its Shares Advance
(By Tomoeh Murakami Tse and Thomas Heath, The Washington Post)

Groundings Prompt FAA Safety Overhaul
Committee to Monitor Airlines' Maintenance
(By Del Quentin Wilber, The Washington Post)

Insurers Are At Odds Over Paulson Plan
New Federal Overseer Favored Mainly by Large Companies
(By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, The Washington Post)

McCain Releases Tax Returns
Citing Privacy Concerns, Candidate Withholds Wife's Filings
(By Matthew Mosk and James V. Grimaldi, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
Held by Egyptian Authorities? Time to 'Tweet'
James Karl Buck says he has Twitter to thank for his freedom.
(By Mike Musgrove, The Washington Post)

Shout at the Xbox: '80s Metal Innovations
(The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
Playing With a Vengeance
As the Wizards tip off yet another playoff meeting with the Cavaliers, they feel they have the experience, talent and health to win the series and advance to the second round.
(By Ivan Carter, The Washington Post)

Caps 3-1 Down, but Say They're Not Out of It
Team Has Thrived in Underdog Role This Season
(By Tarik El-Bashir, The Washington Post)

Mettle, Not Medals, Is Goal of U.S. Team
Olympic Officials Emphasizing Character Instead of Athletic Achievement
(By Amy Shipley, The Washington Post)

Johnson Helps Nats To Finally Unload
Nationals 6, Marlins 4
(By Barry Svrluga, The Washington Post)

New Guard Looks Like Old Guard
NBA Playoffs Should Receive a Huge Assist From Four Players Who Make Their Teams Go
(By Michael Lee, The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
The U.S. of Anxiety
You stare at your sunglasses. They stare back. You ask, "Et tu?" Are they also toxic? And what other toxins have they been hiding behind those rose-colored shades through which you've looked at the world all these years and thought it good?
(By DeNeen L. Brown, The Washington Post)

NAMES & FACES
While Garry Trudeau is on a 12-week hiatus from "Doonesbury," The Post will test three new comics. The first is "Daddy's Home." Please let us know how you like it. Visit http://comicsurvey.washpost.com; write Comics Feedback, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071; e-mail comics@washpost.com; or call the Comics Hotline at 202-334-4775.
(The Washington Post)

Obama's Got Jay-Z On His iPod And Moves To Prove It
(By Teresa Wiltz, The Washington Post)

Olney's '1776,' Declaring Itself a Winner
(By Nelson Pressley, The Washington Post)

Week 761: Strip Mining
(The Washington Post)

More Style

Colombia's Case
HOUSE SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says the Bush administration's free-trade agreement with Colombia may not be dead, even though she has postponed a vote on it indefinitely. If the White House doesn't "jam it down the throat of Congress," she said, she might negotiate. Ms. Pelosi wants an "ec...
(The Washington Post)

A Blight at the Museum
For the Smithsonian, another exit under an ethics cloud
(The Washington Post)

A Less Cruel Punishment
A Supreme Court ruling shouldn't end the debate on the methods or morals of lethal injection.
(The Washington Post)

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