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 12, 2008

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Iran Top Threat To Iraq, U.S. Says
Last week's violence in Basra and Baghdad has convinced the Bush administration that actions by Iran, and not al-Qaeda, are the primary threat inside Iraq, and has sparked a broad reassessment of policy in the region, according to senior U.S. officials.
(By Karen DeYoung, The Washington Post)

Marketing McCain(TM)
Campaign Plays Up a Political Brand That Stands for Independence From GOP
(By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post)

A Year After Massacre, Family Lives 'in Darkness'
Parents of Va. Tech Gunman Secluded
(By Sandhya Somashekhar and Sari Horwitz, The Washington Post)

N.Va. College Applicants Face Extra Hurdle
Abundance of Achievers Stiffens Competition
(By Jay Mathews, The Washington Post)

Testing May Kill Animals Needlessly
Critics Cite Options Used in Europe
(By Gilbert M. Gaul, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
Marketing McCain(TM)
Republican Sen. John McCain is a champion of an unpopular war, he is trying to succeed an unpopular GOP president, and he is a member of an increasingly unpopular party in a year when the historic race of his rivals has caused hundreds of thousands of voters to register as Democrats.
(By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post)

Iran Top Threat To Iraq, U.S. Says
Focus on Al-Qaeda Now Diminishing
(By Karen DeYoung, The Washington Post)

Administration Set to Use New Spy Program in U.S.
Congressional Critics Want More Assurances of Legality
(By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post)

Bush Approved Meetings on Interrogation Techniques
President's Comments to ABC News Prove Top-Level Involvement in Allowing Harsh Coercion
(By Dan Eggen, The Washington Post)

Opponents Paint Obama as an Elitist
Clinton, McCain Try to Score Off 'Bitter' Remark
(By Perry Bacon Jr.and Shailagh Murray, 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
Administration Set to Use New Spy Program in U.S.
The Bush administration said yesterday that it plans to start using the nation's most advanced spy technology for domestic purposes soon, rebuffing challenges by House Democrats over the idea's legal authority.
(By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post)

Testing May Kill Animals Needlessly
Critics Cite Options Used in Europe
(By Gilbert M. Gaul, The Washington Post)

Iran Top Threat To Iraq, U.S. Says
Focus on Al-Qaeda Now Diminishing
(By Karen DeYoung, The Washington Post)

Wisconsin Feels Turbulence Over Pulling Power From Air
State Finds More Opposition Than Expected to Wind Turbines
(By Kari Lydersen, The Washington Post)

Mexicans Recall Marine Suspect in Cabin
(By TRACI CARL, AP)

More Nation

WORLD
'Like a Tsunami That Won't End'
ALUM KULAM, Sri Lanka -- As gray-bellied clouds started to blot out the scorching sun, Sara Waeathi, 46, and her sister Kannaga, 30, called their seven children inside just as a light rain accelerated to a downpour.
(By Emily Wax, The Washington Post)

A Lighter Day for Torch in Argentina
Olympic Flame Met By Fewer Protesters
(By Monte Reel and Maureen Fan, The Washington Post)

Philippines Caught in Rice Squeeze
Complicated Blend of Economic Factors Requires Government Action, Experts Warn
(By Blaine Harden, The Washington Post)

French Troops Attack Somali Pirates After 30 Hostages Freed
(By Angela Doland, The Washington Post)

Iran Top Threat To Iraq, U.S. Says
Focus on Al-Qaeda Now Diminishing
(By Karen DeYoung, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
A Year After Massacre, Family Lives 'in Darkness'
Like so many thousands of Virginia Tech parents, Sung Tae and Hyang Im Cho spent the day of April 16 calling their son's cellphone and sending him e-mails, hoping he hadn't fallen prey to the man who was shooting students and professors at Virginia Tech.
(By Sandhya Somashekhar and Sari Horwitz, The Washington Post)

Va. Grants 60% More Permits For Guns
Concealed-Carry Surge Tied to Va. Tech Killings
(By Tom Jackman, The Washington Post)

No Longer Held in Reserve
From Rockville to Iraq, With a Stop in N.J., Soldiers Gear Up for Combat
(By Christian Davenport, The Washington Post)

Man Accused Of Failing to Pay Rail Fare, Lands In U.S. Custody
(By Martin Weil, The Washington Post)

Gilmore's Aides Confident He's Ahead
Foe Disputes Ex-Governor's Claim of Securing GOP Senate Nomination
(By Tim Craig, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
G-7 Endorses Proposals Intended to Ease Crisis
Top economic officials from the world's major industrial countries yesterday embraced a set of proposals aimed at increasing the transparency of banks and other financial institutions in hopes of calming tumultuous global markets.
(By Michael A. Fletcher, The Washington Post)

Sallie Mae To Charge For Loans To Students
(By David Cho, The Washington Post)

Frontier Becomes 4th U.S. Airline in Month to File for Bankruptcy
(By Kendra Marr, The Washington Post)

Publisher of Post's Online Media Leaves
(By Frank Ahrens, The Washington Post)

Philippines Caught in Rice Squeeze
Complicated Blend of Economic Factors Requires Government Action, Experts Warn
(By Blaine Harden, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
U.N. Teams With Google Earth To Track Refugees, Educate Public
Can Google Earth save the world? The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees announced a new partnership with the search engine this week. The goal: To use the company's globe-mapping software to illustrate the plight of parts of the planet's population.
(By Mike Musgrove, The Washington Post)

Clicking With Buyers
As Real Estate Web Sites Evolve, So Do Home Shoppers' Habits
(By Renae Merle, The Washington Post)

Testing May Kill Animals Needlessly
Critics Cite Options Used in Europe
(By Gilbert M. Gaul, The Washington Post)

Rabbit Ears Fears? Converters Clear Picture.
(By Kim Hart, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
Immelman Takes A Healthy Position
AUGUSTA, Ga., April 11 -- There were times less than five months ago when Trevor Immelman was lying on a hospital bed back home in South Africa and wondering if he would ever again be able to play competitive golf. Birdies and bogeys were no longer an issue. The tumor his doctors had found on his...
(By Leonard Shapiro, The Washington Post)

After Meeting, Nats Lose Again
Braves 3, Nationals 0
(By Dave Sheinin, The Washington Post)

Maxiell Helps Pistons Crush Cold Wizards
Pistons 102, Wizards 74
(By Ivan Carter, The Washington Post)

Good Things Come in Threes
Final-Period Burst Leads To Win in Playoff Opener
(By Tarik El-Bashir, The Washington Post)

Par-5 Success Goes Long Way For Flesch
(By Leonard Shapiro, The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
More Honorable Mentions From Week 756
We just got so many good plays on headlines this week that we couldn't help spilling some over into the Great Maw of the Web. In addition to the Honorable Mentions below, there were a number of funny ideas that were sent by too many people to be credited individually. Lots of people came up with:
(The Washington Post)

The Rewrite Man
Charles Overby Had a Plan to Increase Circulation. Build a New Newseum.
(By Jacqueline Trescott, The Washington Post)

A Glitzy Gathering of Newsgatherers
(By Marissa Newhall, The Washington Post)

Tavis Smiley Will Cut Ties With Joyner Radio Show
Listeners Have Been Critical of Commentator's Tough Stance on Obama
(By Paul Farhi, The Washington Post)

'Amnesia,' Pseudo-Science With Soul
(By Nelson Pressley, The Washington Post)

More Style

A Fair Bailout?
POLITICAL momentum in favor of a larger federal housing bailout appears to be growing. In the past week, President Bush broadened access to "FHASecure," his Federal Housing Administration program that helps subprime borrowers refinance into government-guaranteed mortgages. And on Friday, the pres...
(The Washington Post)

A Good Arbiter
Congress considers new laws regulating the resolution of disputes between businesses and consumers.
(The Washington Post)

Belated Action
Relatives of neglected D.C. girls go to court -- months after their deaths.
(The Washington Post)

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