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, May 29, 2008

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Ex-Colleagues Ask, 'What Happened?'
Scott McClellan was the ultimate Bush loyalist. He went to work for George W. Bush when he was Texas governor in 1999, helped Bush gain the White House in 2000, and then came to Washington to defend the president for the next six years on such issues as the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina.
(By Dan Eggen, The Washington Post)

Citizens' Groups Step Up In China
Wary Rulers Allow Role in Quake Aid
(By Maureen Fan, The Washington Post)

On Policy, Obama Breaks Little New Ground
(By Perry Bacon Jr., The Washington Post)

U.S. Experts Bemoan Nation's Loss of Stature in the World of Science
(By Keith B. Richburg, The Washington Post)

In Britain, Rape Cases Seldom Result in a Conviction
(By Mary Jordan, The Washington Post)

More Today's Highlights

POLITICS
On Policy, Obama Breaks Little New Ground
Already famous for his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama entered the Senate with more than the usual aspirations about the impact he could have.
(By Perry Bacon Jr., The Washington Post)

Ex-Colleagues Ask, 'What Happened?'
Former Bush Aide Stuns Many With Critical New Book
(By Dan Eggen, The Washington Post)

For McCain, A Switch On Telecom Immunity?
Recent Statements Signal Deeper Privacy Concerns
(By Jonathan Weisman and Ellen Nakashima, The Washington Post)

DNC Lawyers Rule Against Clinton
(By Shailagh Murray and Karl Vick, The Washington Post)

In Rebuking Minister, McCain May Have Alienated Evangelicals
(By Kimberly Kindy, The Washington Post)

More Politics

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NATION
Colonel Says Speaking Out Cost a Medal
The former chief military prosecutor for terrorism trials at Guantanamo Bay thinks the Defense Department has punished him for testifying publicly that he faced political pressure to speed up the cases and to use evidence derived from torture.
(By Josh White, The Washington Post)

ANALYSIS: Justices Show Ability To Move to the Center
(By Robert Barnes, The Washington Post)

Ex-Colleagues Ask, 'What Happened?'
Former Bush Aide Stuns Many With Critical New Book
(By Dan Eggen, The Washington Post)

'Learning as We Go'
(The Washington Post)

U.S. Experts Bemoan Nation's Loss of Stature in the World of Science
(By Keith B. Richburg, The Washington Post)

More Nation

WORLD
111 Nations, Minus the U.S., Agree to Cluster-Bomb Ban
LONDON, May 28 -- More than 100 countries reached agreement Wednesday to ban cluster bombs, controversial weapons that human rights groups deplore but that the United States, which did not join the ban, calls an integral, legitimate part of its arsenal.
(By Kevin Sullivan and Josh White, The Washington Post)

Citizens' Groups Step Up In China
Wary Rulers Allow Role in Quake Aid
(By Maureen Fan, The Washington Post)

Search Is Urged for Syrian Nuclear Sites
U.S. Presses U.N. on 3 Alleged Facilities
(By Joby Warrick and Robin Wright, The Washington Post)

Indonesia to Pull Out of OPEC
(By Anthony Deutsch, The Washington Post)

Food Relief For Africa 'Insufficient,' GAO Says
Failure by U.S. to Cultivate Local Farms Adds to Crisis
(By Anthony Faiola, The Washington Post)

More World

METRO
Cardiac Response Lags in D.C.
Only one in eight cardiac arrest patients transported by District ambulances make it to an emergency room with a pulse. Across the river in Arlington County and Alexandria, the rate is twice as high.
(By Elissa Silverman, The Washington Post)

Not Safe Even at Home
The bullet in the living-room wall. The sight of a daylight gunfight. Residents have plenty of evidence of the dangers in the District's Rosedale neighborhood. And the violence tends to increase in the summer.
(By Sue Anne Pressley Montes, The Washington Post)

Man, 18, Is Shot, Left at Hospital
(By Elissa Silverman, The Washington Post)

Plan to Remake Tysons Corner Envisions Dense Urban Center
(By Amy Gardner, The Washington Post)

D.C. United Wants $225 Million Subsidy
CFO's Office Says Financing Would Push City Over Debt Limit
(By David Nakamura, The Washington Post)

More Metro

BUSINESS
It's Wall Street, Without the Cash
NEW YORK, May 28 -- What's truly odd about the demise of a Wall Street firm, it turns out, isn't the noise of the implosion but the quiet of the rubble. A post-calamity hush has settled over Bear Stearns's Manhattan headquarters. Traders who haven't left their desks for years take two-hour lunches....
(By David Segal, The Washington Post)

Food Relief For Africa 'Insufficient,' GAO Says
Failure by U.S. to Cultivate Local Farms Adds to Crisis
(By Anthony Faiola, The Washington Post)

HGS to Test Lupus Drug as MS Treatment
(By Kendra Marr, The Washington Post)

There's No More Free Munch
(The Washington Post)

Rebuffing The Rockefellers
(By Steven Mufson, The Washington Post)

More Business

TECHNOLOGY
U.S. Experts Bemoan Nation's Loss of Stature in the World of Science
NEW YORK, May 28 -- Some of the nation's leading scientists, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's top science adviser, today sharply criticized the diminished role of science in the United States and the shortage of federal funding for research, even as science becomes increasingly...
(By Keith B. Richburg, The Washington Post)

Personal Tech
(Rob Pegoraro, washingtonpost.com)

It's Not The Money, Can You Hear Me?
(By Rob Pegoraro, The Washington Post)

There's No More Free Munch
(The Washington Post)

If They Build It, They Will Learn
Sixth-Graders Show Off Underwater Robots
(By Julie Rasicot, The Washington Post)

More Technology

SPORTS
Penguins Finally Find Offense at Home
Sidney Crosby scores Pittsburgh's first two goals of the Stanley Cup finals and the Penguins beat the Red Wings, 3-2, to cut into Detroit's 2-1 series lead.
(By IRA PODELL, AP)

Flores Helps Nationals Slam Down a Victory
Nationals 6, Padres 4
(By Chico Harlan, washingtonpost.com)

Cycling's Drug Test
After Years of Doping Controversies, the Tarnished Sport Knows It Has to Come Clean or Become Obsolete
(By John Ward Anderson, The Washington Post)

Celtics Are One Win From Trip To Finals
Garnett, Allen, Pierce Combine for 78 Points: Celtics 106, Pistons 102
(By Michael Wilbon, The Washington Post)

Big Brown's Owner Hasn't Owned Up
(The Washington Post)

More Sports

STYLE
'City' Extends Its Chic Streak
Girls, can we talk? When it comes to "Sex and the City," the breathlessly anticipated feature adaptation of the hit HBO show, the question isn't whether it's good. The question is whether it delivers the goods -- the goods being shoes, romance, ribald humor, shoes, sex, shoes, pithy observations ...
(By Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post)

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

It's Wall Street, Without the Cash
With Only Memories to Trade, Bear Stearns Employees Awaiting Sale to JP Morgan
(By David Segal, The Washington Post)

Dancing in The Dark: 'The Visit' With Chita Rivera
(By Peter Marks, The Washington Post)

Dressing the Part: Fans Champion Their Right to Choos
(By Monica Hesse, The Washington Post)

More Style

LIVE DISCUSSIONS
'Rita Rudner: Live from Las Vegas'
Standup comic Rita Rudner takes your questions about her act, career and her new PBS special.
(Rita Rudner, washingtonpost.com)

Personal Tech
(Rob Pegoraro, washingtonpost.com)

Celebritology Live
Get the Scoop on the Latest Gossip Making Waves on the Web
(Liz Kelly, washingtonpost.com)

Slate: McCain at Rock Bottom
McCain at Rock Bottom
(Jacob Weisberg, washingtonpost.com)

Washington Sketch
(Dana Milbank, washingtonpost.com)

More Live Discussions

GI Twist
"THERE ARE many issues that lend themselves to partisan posturing, but giving our veterans the chance to go to college should not be one of them." So pronounced the Democrats' likely presidential nominee, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, on the floor of the Senate last week. This was a lovely sentimen...
(The Washington Post)

Flawed Victory
The Supreme Court stretches the law to help victims of workplace retaliation.
(The Washington Post)

Judicial Tampering
Who pressured a panel to nominate a state senator's son for an Anne Arundel County court seat?
(The Washington Post)

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